Whoosh—
The blast wave became one last warm gale, sweeping over the grass bent flat against the ground before slowly dissipating across the nighttime prairie. The final trace of the explosion, accompanied by a faint sound of flesh striking flesh, scattered with the wind.
Everything returned to silence.
A light breeze after the gale slowly brushed through the grass that had risen from its flattened state, stirring soft waves through it with a rustling sound. At the same time, it swept over the crackling, wildly flickering Lightning Release Chakra Cloak, and the pair of widened eyes within it.
This... this...
At this moment, the Third Raikage's eyes were slightly widened as he maintained the posture of throwing his punch. The faint sneer at the corner of his mouth had frozen stiff, while his usually inscrutable face was now filled with shock. As the breeze passed, his lips quivered, yet he could not utter a word of astonishment.
"This... th-this is... th-this..."
At the same time, the two Kunai stabbing down from either side behind his neck had halted in midair, a hair's breadth away from piercing the Lightning Release Chakra Cloak. The other Hirohiko gripping the Kunai also wore a face full of shock. His eyes were wide as his gaze slowly shifted left, his entire body seeming to tremble. His lips moved, but he could not form a complete sentence.
This... what... what was going on?
Reflected in that other Hirohiko's eyes, Hirohiko, half-crouched on the ground, slowly turned his slightly distorted face to the right. His Three Tomoe eyes glittered with utter disbelief.
Whoosh—
The gentle night breeze brushed past Hirohiko's cheek, lifting the loose strands over his forehead and several motes of dust beside his face. They drifted past his eyes, which were slowly reflecting his own