Limited by the fact that they could only consume Chakra and not replenish it, Shadow Clones could never reach my top speed. At best, they could move at the highest speed of my normal state. Even a Shadow Clone in Gate of Pain Mode had to conserve Chakra more than the original body, since its Chakra was tied to maintaining its physical form. Therefore, regardless of their state, a Shadow Clone's top speed was only the maximum speed of my normal state.
Beyond that speed, the increased Chakra released through its feet would make every step consume more Chakra. Its duration would plummet, and it might not even get far before being forced to dispel due to excessive Chakra consumption.
The original body, however, could continuously refine Chakra before its stamina and mental energy were exhausted, replenishing its Chakra and allowing it to travel at extreme speed within acceptable limits.
Then, based on my normal top speed and the route length I remembered, I could reach that grassland in roughly ten minutes, and that unusually towering primeval forest in twelve.
By then, that person might have discovered my Shadow Clone and would probably not linger, leaving immediately.
In other words, I would be twelve minutes behind him...
Darting along the path he had taken before, Chiba pressed his lips tightly together. His entire body had become a faint blur, and the howling wind sent countless dead leaves and withered blades of grass flying.
Meanwhile, he kept calculating—the distance from here to that unusually massive forest, and the time required.
At the same time, relying on the visual and dynamic-vision enhancements of Gate of Pain Mode: Critical State, his eyes searched every possible trace on the ground ahead.
He also continuously recalled the scene from the Shadow Clone's memories, where it