That damned Orochimaru—when had he tampered with Taki Chiba? Within the jewel on the forehead of the giant formed from solid Chakra, Uchiha Nobuhiko slowly rose to his feet. Lowering his head, he stared at the fanged demon-faced shield reflected in his Mangekyō Sharingan, his teeth clenched tightly.
The white steam hissing from his lower abdomen seemed to grow even fiercer.
Wood Release.
This Taki Chiba had already awakened the Wood Release technique! This should be...
Wood Release: Ranked Technique! The thought flashed through his mind.
Though he seemed to be in an extreme rage, Uchiha Nobuhiko inexplicably calmed down and fell silent.
Clearly, the intact fanged demon-faced shield in that ravine was the technique Hashirama had used when he descended as reinforcements during an operation, saving that incarnation when he had been in danger. If Hashirama had not arrived as reinforcements, he likely would not have been able to kill that outsider.
He remembered this technique vividly.
And the only technique that could withstand a full-powered strike from a Perfect Susanoo was probably this one.
This Taki Chiba had already mastered Wood Release.
In other words, the intelligence from Orochimaru and Danzo was incomplete.
As for the reliability of that intelligence, he trusted Danzo's portion more. He believed Danzo would not give him false information, nor was there any need to. Though their positions differed, their interests were aligned for now. At the very least, Danzo, who had yet to become Hokage, did not have much conflict of interest with him. Moreover, he possessed a great deal of intelligence on Akatsuki. Since Danzo had begun paying attention to that organization, he still had plenty of leverage, and Danzo still had plenty of use for him. There was no reason for them to fall out.
Orochimaru was different. He had