Is there any other way... Is there any other way...
Looking at the burly Kumogakure shinobi, his entire body covered in a jet-like Lightning Release Chakra Cloak, emerging from behind the dispersing Four Pillar Prison, and at the identical figure lying face down, motionless, before him, Chiba's Shadow Clone swallowed hard as thoughts raced through his mind.
That shouldn't be possible!
This shouldn't be possible! After countless thoughts flashed through his mind, they ultimately condensed into those two sentences.
At this moment, aside from despair, all he felt was surprise.
Yes, surprise.
Though he was a Shadow Clone, he had inherited Chiba's memories and way of thinking from before he had been created. Although his combat ability was far inferior to the original's, in terms of thinking and tactical ability, he was no weaker than the original. With the original's memories, he was, in a sense, another Chiba—just weaker and easier to destroy.
And he knew very well that when the original had faced the Third Raikage, he had possessed quite a few plans and a fair degree of confidence.
At the very least, there was no way he should have been defeated so quickly.
In fact, according to his calculations, the original should have mastered and successfully used One Attack Prediction, a technique that could only be called an "incredible skill in battle." With such a combat technique at his disposal, losing this quickly should have been even more impossible.
Chiba had consciously begun researching the combat technique of One Attack Prediction several years ago, after learning to enter the critical state of Gate of Pain Mode. Though it had only been theoretical knowledge, and his predictive thinking had remained at the stage of imagined training, he knew very well just how powerful this technique was.
Over the past