"What? What happened? Why are you all looking at me? Aren't we saving him? Wasn't this Slug Sage Art clone called Hada Ichiba something you spent a great deal of effort cultivating?"
Two abrupt gazes fell upon him. Number 15, appearing behind White-robed Chiba, looked at one person, then the other, and spoke in confusion.
"No, it's nothing."
The two of them looked away in unison and answered together.
"No, that's not right. You two definitely plotted something while I wasn't around. Do you really take me for an idiot?"
Number 15 immediately sensed something amiss. His confusion instantly shifted into his usual state of finding everyone irritating.
This time, he did not even show Number 14 his usual courtesy, dragging her into it as well.
"Nothing of the sort. White Chiba already said that there is no need to pay too much attention to the matters you reported. Those allied forces are nothing but a mob. Their morale has already fallen apart. They are only fighting because of orders from above and Uchiha Nobuhiko's threats. They pose no threat at all."
Number 14 said so.
"Why do I feel like something is off with the way you're talking? Why does it sound like you're taking shots at me everywhere?"
The figure in the white robe patterned with flames turned around, helplessness written across his face as though he did not know what to say.
That face was identical to Chiba's. Unlike Hada Ichiba, whether it was his expression, gaze, bearing, or physique, the white-robed man was exactly the same as Chiba.
Or rather, he was Chiba himself.
One of the key reasons Uchiha Nobuhiko had attacked Konoha this time—the second Chiba, or rather, one of the two Chibas.
Sigh...
Have I been acting differently from the other me? White-robed