Then...
Having made up his mind, Chiba straightened slightly, but instead of getting up and leaving at once, he reached both hands behind him. After fumbling around for a while, he removed the large and small Ninja Tool Pouches from his back. Scooting back a little, he placed them on a relatively level spot atop the massive tree root and slowly opened them.
Exploding Tags... Kunai... Shuriken... Smoke Bombs...
Were they all used up? Opening the small Ninja Tool Pouch first, Chiba began checking and counting the ninja tools he had left.
He found that the large supply of ninja tools he had brought from the village had all been used up. This pouch, specifically meant for offensive ninja tools, support ninja tools, and some sealing scrolls, was completely empty.
"Heh..."
Chiba set down the small Ninja Tool Pouch and let out a soft breath, his brow furrowing slightly.
Even the Sealing Fire Jutsu Scroll containing Amaterasu had been lost.
At that moment, the image of the Sealing Fire Jutsu Scroll lying on the ground surfaced in his mind. When he had sealed the flames of Amaterasu back into the scroll in front of Kumogakure, the scroll had been placed behind him.
He had originally intended to retrieve it, but he had not expected the Third Raikage to react so quickly. His blatant move to shatter everyone's hopes had not affected the Third Raikage at all. Instead, it had prompted him to attack immediately.
Left with no choice, Chiba had launched his attack early. To coordinate with that premature assault, he had been unable to retrieve the Sealing Fire Jutsu Scroll behind him, which contained Amaterasu's flames. After the subsequent chain of coordinated attacks, the scroll had been lost somewhere in the vast lake, and there was no way to