No... no? In their slightly widened eyes was reflected the shallow pit left after the dust settled. Whether it was Kakashi and the others or the rookie Genin, all of them were shaken, their expressions changing drastically.
At this moment, aside from the mark of something having crashed into it, there was nothing in the shallow pit after the dust dispersed!
Chiba, who should have been inside the pit, had vanished!
"Impossible! I didn't see anything happen!"
At this moment, Uzumaki Naruto, who had just thanked Second Pillar and suddenly realized that his unconscious thanks had been somewhat inappropriate, instinctively blurted it out in his shock.
And that was indeed the case. From the moment Taki Chiba had plunged headfirst into the ground until the dust cleared, less than a minute had passed. With so many people watching, even if he had used some kind of ninjutsu, there should have been some movement. He could not have simply vanished without a trace.
"Below!"
Just then, as Naruto voiced his confusion, Kakashi—his Teacher over there—seemed to flash with sharp light in his eyes, the words already leaving his mouth.
"Headhunter Jutsu!"
Almost at the same time, only about half a beat slower, Asuma and Kurenai Yuhi cried out in unison.
Even as they shouted, Asuma and Kurenai Yuhi had already leaped upward, their eyes fixed firmly on the ground beneath their feet.
Even Kakashi lowered his gaze, his body sinking as he prepared to jump.
"Bang!"
But at that moment, the ground to their right, where Might Guy stood, suddenly burst apart.
"Ha ha!"
Then, several meters above the point where the ground had exploded, a smug laugh rang out.
Might Guy was surrounded by streams of green Chakra, leaping high in a white crane spreading its wings pose. His eyes