Bang!
A dull boom echoed far and wide from within the ravine.
Creak!
Then came an ear-grating sound of friction.
Clack! Clatter!
After that, a rain of wood chips fell from above Chiba's head, pattering onto the wooden floor of the hollow space inside the shield. A few fragments struck the emerald-green Chakra cloak of the Gate of View and shattered at once, turning into specks of dust that dispersed into the air.
Chiba remained looking upward without the slightest change in posture. He did not even blink.
Crrrack!
At that moment, several streams of earth collapsed from the ravine walls on either side of the shield, rolling down onto it with a series of sharp slaps.
What tremendous power.
As the earth slid down, the calm composure on Chiba's face shifted slightly. There was a hint of surprise, a sense of unexpected astonishment.
It was as if the current situation had caught him somewhat off guard.
As though it had overturned some assumption of his, or perhaps reality differed from what he had understood. It seemed he had underestimated his opponent.
This is...
At this moment, the giant poised in a powerful downward slash seemed to freeze as well. Uchiha Nobuhiko's eyes within the black gemstone on its forehead narrowed slightly, and a similar look of astonishment appeared on his face.
Wood Release, the All-Encompassing Bag Technique? The only difference between him and Chiba now was that Uchiha Nobuhiko's Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan reflected the sight of enormous wooden palms suddenly growing from both walls of the ravine just as the colossal blade, seemingly slow yet actually swift, was about to cleave into the cracked fanged demon-face shield. The palms fiercely clamped down on the giant blade.
Yes. At this very moment, that sword descending like a mountain had been