That was... the Nine-Tails' voice, wasn't it?
Looking at the thumb-length wooden tube he had picked up from the ground, Chiba gave a slight shake of his left hand. Another tube of the same length rolled out, and he gently picked it up, raising it together with the one that had fallen to the ground until they were level with his gaze.
At the same time, a thought flashed through his mind.
"Given the situation, this is the only thing I can do. I can only... do this."
Then, staring at the two identical wooden tubes before him, Chiba murmured softly.
The complex emotion in his eyes only grew denser.
Without realizing it, he glanced back again at the center of the lake, where Uchiha Nobuhiko had stood moments ago.
Could this really work? Would it succeed?
With "that" existing, wasn't this idea just wishful thinking?
But his past self had not denied it.
This plan should be feasible, and according to his past self's memories, worldlines could be changed.
There was simply enormous resistance.
In terms of credibility, it was absolutely possible.
Besides, he had no other choice now.
After that glance, Chiba suppressed the doubts and turmoil rising in his heart. His gaze drifted involuntarily toward the forest behind him, as though crossing space itself, and landed on the hometown of this life.
Konoha.
At that moment, a faint smile touched his lips.
"Phew—!"
Then, he let out a long breath and lowered his gaze to the wooden tube in his right hand.
The one that had just fallen to the ground.
"Crack!"
At that moment, a crack suddenly appeared across the sealed top of the wooden tube.
"Crack! Crack-crack! Crack-crack-crack-crack-crack!"
Then, as if it were some kind of signal, dense cracks instantly spread across the wooden tube.