"Phew..."
Chiba lightly clenched his fists, half-crouching before Uchiha Nobuhiko's lifeless body, which sat propped up against something. As if frozen beneath that illusory pressure, he took a long while before finally letting out a breath.
And once that breath escaped, it was followed by harsh, ragged gasps.
The brief, frozen pause of just a few dozen seconds felt as though he had undergone a fierce battle. Chiba panted violently, like someone who had nearly drowned and suddenly broken the surface, desperately gulping down air.
"I finally understand why you were so obsessed with pursuing power. Under the control of 'that thing,' it really is terrifying enough to leave one unable to breathe. The fact that you didn't go mad under that pressure is truly remarkable."
After panting for quite some time, Chiba suddenly turned to look at Uchiha Nobuhiko and could not help but speak.
His words were filled with emotion and sincerity.
"Still, if it hadn't been for me, you should have succeeded by now. Or rather, you would have already embarked upon the path to victory. Unfortunately, you ran into me... not another transmigrator, and certainly not the transmigrators you spoke of."
After that involuntary remark, Chiba's eyes gradually turned cold, and his expression slowly darkened, churning with an indescribable emotion.
By the end, a cold smile had appeared at the corner of his lips, carrying a trace of mockery as well as an inexplicable feeling.
Especially whenever his gaze fell upon Uchiha Nobuhiko's face, his eyes closed yet still bearing traces of shock and bitterness, the mockery and inexplicable emotion in his smile grew stronger.
"I never knew I was this special. So special that even I can hardly believe it."
Then, as that mockery and strange emotion intensified, Chiba murmured to himself.
"But if you