"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..."
Water continuously poured from the damaged round hole, cascading down with a rush. Beneath the petals of the stone lotus blooming on the rear side of the pillar that rose high into the air, it formed a small waterfall rushing downward, splattering against the sand-covered ground with sharp slaps and steadily soaking the surrounding earth.
He had actually... dodged it? At that moment, some distance before the stone pillar on the opposite side of the small waterfall, the Third Raikage's eyes widened slightly, filled with shock.
That strike had been certain to hit, and it absolutely had struck its target. This time, even Taki Chiba had not made any movement.
Yet the target of that thrust had actually dodged the swiftest, soundless attack. Though it had been somewhat hasty, he had dodged it.
He had already been able to picture that golden, spiky-haired head being pierced through, red and white matter spraying everywhere. He had never expected things to turn out like this—not only had his attack failed, but his opponent had even rescued two people.
After Taki Chiba, another person had given him such a profound shock! Konoha's dazzling younger generation...
What a terrifying bunch!
Then, as his eyes gradually widened, a thought that sent a faint chill through him flashed through the Third Raikage's mind.
In his previous battle with Taki Chiba, he had once been suppressed. In the end, Taki Chiba's S-rank ultimate ninjutsu combination had left him utterly unable to fight back, and the coordinated use of Water Release and Earth Release had forcibly trapped him inside this prison built around Earth Release being countered by Lightning Release.
Even after breaking free of that prison, he had been forced to bore a hole through the back of the stone pillar, quietly wait for