"Pop, pop, pop!"
A string of bubbles suddenly surged out of the hollow in the water's surface carved by the Black Flames, followed by a torrent of water that instantly filled the hollow.
"Hmm?"
At that very moment, Uchiha Nobuhiko lowered his head slightly, his brow furrowing.
It hit that quickly?
The thought flashed through his mind.
Yet despite his doubts, his feet were not slow. Almost the instant the rushing water filled the hollow, he was already more than ten meters away.
Boom!
At that instant, the filled hollow suddenly exploded, and a pillar of black fire shot into the sky. In the blink of an eye, it scattered into countless little flames and dissipated into the air, leaving behind a crackling heap of fire on the lake's surface.
Like a black bonfire raised upon the lake.
Tap!
At that moment, Uchiha Nobuhiko, who had rapidly retreated, landed on the lake surface over ten meters away. Ripples slowly spread around him.
To the left?
The instant he landed, Uchiha Nobuhiko did not even glance at the bonfire-like cluster of Black Flames on the lake. Instead, he abruptly looked to his left.
The right!
After seeing nothing on the left, he immediately turned to the right.
Then, he carefully inspected nearly every direction, including beneath the water at his feet. Only after confirming that there were no further attacks, no sudden ambush by Taki Chiba, no final reversal strike, did he finally relax his tense body.
Then, while covering his left eye, which still seemed somewhat uncomfortable from incomplete restoration, he looked toward the heap of Black Flames ahead.
This should be... the real end, right?
Yet as he looked over, a trace of hesitation appeared on Uchiha Nobuhiko's face.
At that moment, within the cluster of Black Flames more