Whether he was putting on a mystifying act.
Whether he truly no longer had the strength to fight.
Whether it was a trap.
Whether it was the last struggle of a cornered beast.
Whatever it was, there was one thing I absolutely could not do—hesitate! My hesitation might be exactly what Taki Chiba wanted.
It might even lead to consequences worse than falling into a trap! The Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan reflected the enormous sword slashing down, as well as Uchiha Nobuhiko, who was being pushed forward by the heat wave and sword force, leaving behind hissing white vapor and boiling bubbles. Maintaining the posture of controlling Susanoo with his right hand lowered in a chopping motion and his left hand behind his back, he stared intently at the ring of Black Flames that had been cleaved apart and scattered.
"Crack, crack, crack!"
After that series of thoughts flashed through his mind, the lingering force of the Perfect Susanoo's Amaterasu-form slash extended all the way across the lake and crashed into the forest on the opposite mountain. The ground split in two, sand and stones flew everywhere, and trees toppled one after another into the ravine cleaved open by the sword's might.
"Boom!"
In the end, the shockwave of that strike, carrying pure destruction, only stopped when it collided with something hard.
The mountain bearing the lake and forest trembled slightly from the impact, taking quite some time to settle.
"Hiss, hiss, hiss, hiss!"
As the mountain shook and gradually calmed, dense steam rising into the air replaced the mist over the lake and spread everywhere, obscuring all within it. Even from afar, the giant wreathed in Black Flames had become a hazy silhouette.
As if it had been hidden by the spreading white mist of heat.
All that remained visible