That bastard...
Feeling the heat wave wash over him, Minato Namikaze's expression gradually tightened. He stared at the wall of Black Flames before him, lips pressed together in silence.
A heavy atmosphere slowly spread through the air.
Every mark had been covered in black fire. Even if the flames could not burn away the marks themselves, the moment he used one, he would inevitably be tainted by those Black Flames and eventually reduced to ash by the inextinguishable fire.
These marks could no longer be used.
This Uchiha Nobuhiko...
He had planned this from the beginning! The thought weighed heavily on Minato's heart.
Originally, he had intended to make use of those marks. Even if Uchiha Nobuhiko was outside the marked area, as long as they remained within it, he would not dare step inside rashly. At certain times, it could serve as a buffer, a foothold.
Especially when their Chakra ran low or they needed time to recover it.
But now, Uchiha Nobuhiko had undoubtedly cut off that foothold. What truly weighed on Minato was not that it had been severed, but the decisiveness and presence Uchiha Nobuhiko had displayed while doing so.
In that instant, Uchiha Nobuhiko's actions had perfectly dispelled the intimidation Kushina had created when she unleashed the Nine-Tails' power. Faintly, in terms of momentum alone, he had even overwhelmed them.
The imposing aura his wife had built up moments ago, the aura that had placed them above their opponent, had vanished completely. Because of this wall of fire cutting across their path and the destruction of their foothold, their momentum had inexplicably weakened by a great deal.
Though this was not enough to determine victory or defeat, when the enemy was strong and they were weak, losing ground in momentum could be fatal.
What now?