Couldn't he even buy a little time?
This was the final trump card I'd worked so many years to create. I'd finally managed to unleash it completely with the enormous Chakra of Exclusive Mode, yet it was broken in an instant?
Chiba's slightly stiff face snapped toward the rear. His neck seemed to crack from the sudden turn, and as his steps abruptly halted, his body twisted around in an unnaturally rigid posture.
His gaze landed on the Stone Pillar Lotus behind him, flashing with shock and unwillingness.
He had already played his trump card. He did not expect to kill the Third Raikage, but he had at least hoped to hold him back for a while. If he could not even delay him, then all he could do was wait for death.
No! He would not even need to wait. Within three seconds, the Third Raikage would break free of the Stone Pillar Lotus and take his life—and Hirohiko's as well.
The Kannabi Bridge mission, the Fate Alteration Plan—none of it would mean anything.
Damn it!
As he turned back, Chiba clenched his teeth, his mind naturally beginning to race.
What else could I do... what else could I do...
At the very least, I have to save Hirohiko!
Yukina might come looking for us, so at the very least, we have to die before she finds us. Otherwise, we'll only hold her back.
In that instant, there was no Kannabi Bridge mission and no Fate Alteration Plan in Chiba's mind. There was only that single thought.
Then, as that thought passed through his mind, his body abruptly froze. Halfway through turning around, he stopped! Uh...
After that, the corner of his mouth twitched. The stiffness in his expression instantly eased, even becoming somewhat strange.
As his expression changed,