Almost there!
Now... there was no room left to conserve Chakra! There was no time left to calculate or weigh his options! The cross-shaped seal formed by his raised fingers slowly loosened. Chiba's eyes shifted slightly as he once again swept his gaze over the grasslands beneath the night sky.
Under the night, silver waves of grass rolled on and on. The increasingly bright moonlight illuminated everything within his sight as brightly as day. Apart from the faint sound of flowing water from the enormous water sphere overhead and the retreating footsteps of Kumogakure, there was no other sound to be heard.
Then, after that sweep of the area, his gaze could not help but drift toward the Kumogakure troops retreating in orderly fashion.
They truly were Kumogakure's elite!
At that moment, watching those Kumogakure shinobi grit their teeth and desperately withdraw, Chiba could not help but sincerely think that.
Dodai's guess had not been wrong. Some of Chiba's actions during the earlier battle had indeed been intended to crush their morale and inflict losses while their army was unstable. After all, with trouble breaking out in Kumogakure's rear and their losses reaching a certain point, the pressure on Konoha's front lines would naturally lessen. Causing losses in Kumogakure's rear was also a means of guiding Konoha toward victory. However, although their morale had wavered several times, these Kumogakure shinobi truly lived up to the name of elite. They quickly stabilized themselves every time. After trying several times, Chiba no longer intended to deal with them.
After all, dealing with these Kumogakure shinobi was not the priority.
The priority was undoubtedly the Third Raikage. Even now, with the Yin Seal active and the Creation Rebirth Jutsu granting him temporary, extraordinary regenerative power and a nearly immortal body, his combat strength