Whoosh—
The night wind howled across the grassland, rolling up waves of silvery grass while brushing over the damp earth beneath the stone pillar lotus. The sound of trickling water drifted with the night wind, slowly carried into the distance.
Hah—
As the sound of water traveled, a long exhale slowly dissipated into the air as well.
I never expected...
This isn't merely bad anymore.
The three figures before him—one kneeling and two lying down—suddenly vanished. Chiba slowly raised his head, his face filled with nothing but sighs.
Drip!
A drop of blood slowly slid down the bloody gash on his left cheek, splashing onto the ground, breaking into droplets, and soaking into the earth.
Just moments ago, as his hand rested on Minato Namikaze's shoulder, a hand had come from behind the left side of his head—a hand gathered with lightning, its Chakra Cloak condensed into a claw. In an instant, just one instant, it had pierced through the hair hanging by the left side of his face and a small portion of his cheek.
It had been close—so close. His skull would have been pierced. And likewise, Minato Namikaze's head had nearly been pierced just then.
Still, he truly was worthy of becoming the future Fourth Hokage. His reaction was unbelievably fast! In that extreme instant, caught completely off guard and just as he was about to activate the Flying Thunder God, he had still managed to turn his head and evade that strike! After that string of terrible thoughts, Chiba could not help but feel a surge of admiration. That tiny turn of the head had absolutely been the most perfect evasion he had ever seen—bar none!
Even an evasion made under One-Attack Perfect Prediction seemed pale in comparison to that slight turn of the head.
After