Was this change also caused by my appearance?
Perhaps I really should reconsider how I view the Night of the Nine-Tails.
Some things were not as simple as he had imagined.
Nor could this matter be resolved as simply as he wanted.
Obito probably really did have a backup plan.
There was a reason he was being so unhurried! Chiba slowly drew back the foot he had been about to step out with, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly as he watched the Masked Man abruptly freeze before his withdrawn foot.
"Tap."
Then, with a soft sound, he fully pulled his foot back.
"So you went through all that trouble just for this?"
After stopping, he looked at the Masked Man ahead of him, who had been poised to rush forward, and spoke with a hint of mockery.
Yet upon hearing Chiba's words, the Masked Man did not charge straight ahead as he appeared ready to do. Instead, he slowly turned around, looked at Chiba, then at the ground beneath Chiba's feet, and said nothing.
"That's a little too childish."
Then, seeing the Masked Man remain silent, Chiba's faintly derisive words drifted over.
As he spoke, Chiba glanced down by his feet again.
At that moment, a barely noticeable Steel Wire lay quietly stretched across the branch before him. If he had charged out in agitation just now, he would likely have triggered the trap Obito had set.
And once that trap was triggered, it could very well kill him instantly or leave him unable to fight.
Clearly, the sluggish pace and the deliberate challenge to meet were all nothing more than traps set by Obito.
All to make Chiba crash straight into the trap at this very moment.
And if Chiba had crashed into it just now, it