This...
Still not here?
As the black smoke around him gradually dispersed, Uchiha Nobuhiko's lips twitched slightly. A full ten minutes had passed, yet there had not been the slightest movement.
At that moment, Uchiha Nobuhiko suddenly felt a little awkward.
The other side seemed utterly indifferent, while he had been on the highest alert, nervously keeping watch here and there, jumping at every little sound.
It felt like he was being toyed with.
"Whoosh..."
Just then, a night breeze came from nowhere, sweeping up several wisps of dust by his feet and fluttering his somewhat tattered black cloak, making him appear even more desolate and alone.
Clang!
Then, after the night breeze passed, the Flying Thunder God Kunai embedded in the ground before him seemed to have been planted too shallowly. With the sound of metal striking the ground, it toppled over.
"..."
Seeing the Flying Thunder God Kunai lying crookedly on the ground, Uchiha Nobuhiko's lips twitched again.
At that moment, the toppled Flying Thunder God Kunai seemed to be mocking him, making him feel rather humiliated.
All his vigilance and calculations from before felt like a heavy punch landing on cotton—or thin air. The fighting spirit and force he had built up had nowhere to be vented, leaving him stifled.
He even nearly felt a surge of humiliated rage rise in his heart.
Could it be...
They were not coming to support Taki Chiba? As long as they guarded the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, were they planning to simply muddle through without seeking merit, only avoiding fault?
As he simmered in frustration and humiliation, Uchiha Nobuhiko's heartbeat quietly quickened by several beats.
Suddenly, he realized something.
Taki Chiba might have given his all, heart and soul, but that did not necessarily mean he was more important than the Nine-Tails