A sharp breath of white mist escaped as Shigure exhaled, dashing toward the First and Second Hokage while twisting his body mid-air.
They struck at him from both left and right.
The speed was terrifying—so fast that Shigure had no time to dodge.
"Choose one or the other!"
At that instant, Shigure barely had time to think. Even with accelerated thought, he had no clear solution.
Both Hashirama and Tobirama were formidable in close combat, and their ninjutsu was no less dangerous.
Especially Hashirama—if Shigure was caught by his Wood Release, the battle would be over before it truly began.
That left only one option… target Hashirama.
Shigure spun suddenly and spat a freezing mist toward the First Hokage.
But instead of panic, Hashirama smiled calmly. It was almost as though he felt honored to be chosen by Shigure's attack.
The spreading white haze surged toward him, but Hashirama seemed unconcerned, his attention instead shifting toward Tobirama, who was rapidly closing in from behind Shigure.
"Boy… your choice isn't wrong, but it isn't completely right either!"
Just as Hashirama voiced his concern, something was amiss. His body froze in place.
Ice crystals formed across his arm where the mist had touched, locking his chakra flow.
What is this?
His eyes narrowed as the freezing mist spread. He immediately leapt back, but even so, frost had already consumed half his body. Shards of ice broke loose and scattered as he moved.
Crack!
At the same time, Shigure managed to force Hashirama back, but Tobirama's assault had already arrived. Clouds swirled around Shigure in a desperate attempt to shield him, but he couldn't guard every angle.
A crushing punch landed squarely on his back.
The impact launched him like a cannonball—straight into Tobirama's follow-up technique.
"Water Release: Heavenly Cry!"
Raindrops, sharp as needles, sprayed from Tobirama's mouth, piercing Shigure's body and leaving half a dozen bloody holes.
He crashed hard, rolling across the ground. Before he could rise, countless vines erupted around him, seeking to bind him tight.
"Ice Release: Instantaneous Shift!"
Without weaving hand seals, Shigure vanished, reappearing several meters away. His body reformed in a shimmer of mist and frost.
Tobirama's eyes widened.
"What an incredible teleportation technique! It seems to share the same principle as your healing jutsu."
Clutching his wounds, Shigure immediately activated his healing technique. The injuries weren't fatal, and the blood closed quickly—but facing two Hokage at once left him reeling.
Their speed and raw power were overwhelming, even without using their strongest jutsu. Against one Hokage, he could hold his own. Against both, he was barely staying afloat.
"Not bad, boy!" Hashirama praised, blasting the ice off his body with a surge of chakra. "That mist of yours carries both corrosive and freezing properties. A remarkable technique!"
Tobirama frowned. "Hashirama, are you still chilled?"
"Ah! I nearly froze just now," Hashirama admitted with a laugh.
Shigure's Cloud Release, a fusion of two different elemental transformations, had impressed even Tobirama.
"It's a pity the spread is too slow," Hashirama said, his tone almost instructional. "If that fog had expanded faster, I wouldn't have escaped so easily."
It was a lesson wrapped in battle—if Shigure wanted that jutsu to succeed again, he'd need to increase its speed. A cautious opponent wouldn't fall for it twice.
Moreover, fog lacked range and was easily countered by Wind Release. It was a double-edged sword.
Shigure gritted his teeth. He could sacrifice density for speed, but that would open up new weaknesses.
What next? Another element?
Boil Release… Ice Release… or even Transparent Release?
His hand drifted to the ninja blade Zangetsu strapped across his back, hesitation flickering in his eyes.
[Great Sage: Analysis complete.]
The voice of the Great Sage echoed suddenly in his mind. Shigure blinked—had three minutes already passed?
A wave of relief washed over him. Any longer, and even his defenses would have crumbled under this pressure.
The weight of facing two Hokage was on another level entirely.
The gap was clear—even among Kage, there were distinctions. Mei Terumi reached the Kage level because she qualified as one.
But Hashirama and Tobirama weren't Kage because they qualified. They were Kage because no weaker title could possibly contain their power.
"Are you preparing to use your blade? Close combat isn't your strong suit," Hashirama said calmly.
[Great Sage: Host in danger. Activating emergency override to seize control of host's body.]
Just as Shigure was racking his brain for a solution, the Great Sage's calm voice rang in his mind, leaving him stunned.
You can… control my body? Can you even fight?
[Great Sage: Of course.]
Shigure's eyes widened. Wait… that's right!
Hadn't the Great Sage taken over his body before when gathering information? If it could do that, fighting should be no problem.
"Then tell me—do you have a way to defeat Hashirama and Tobirama?"
[Great Sage: Analysis complete. Probability of victory: 80%. Host can defeat both without sustaining injury.]
"…Eighty percent?"
Shigure couldn't believe it. That number felt impossible. "Wait—doesn't controlling my body give me some kind of huge bonus? Like, a 620-point increase or something?"
[Great Sage: Negative. The host's strength remains constant.]
In other words, the Great Sage claimed it could win using Shigure's existing power.
How is that possible? Shigure thought, a mixture of disbelief and irritation swirling in his chest. If I can do it, why can't I do it myself?
[Great Sage: …]
Shigure twitched. "Did you just look down on me?"
Silence.
"Fine! Take over, then. I want to see with my own eyes how you plan to defeat them both!"
[Great Sage: Confirming conditions. Opponents cannot be destroyed or killed; sealing and binding are the only valid outcomes. Shall I proceed with sealing as the objective?]
"Yes! Seal them both!"
[Great Sage: Understood. Taking control of host's body.]
Shigure suddenly felt his consciousness wrapped in a strange force and pulled upward—like his soul had been lifted to the heavens.
The battlefield below shifted in his vision. He was no longer fighting directly, but observing from above, as though gazing through the eyes of a god.
And below… his body moved without hesitation.
Mist erupted from Shigure's form in great waves.
Ssshhh—!
Fairy-like ribbons of heated air coiled around him, his hair rising and crackling as though charged by unseen energy. A brilliant ring of white vapor spread outward beneath his feet, radiating like an aura of power.
Hashirama's eyes narrowed. "What is this…? That chakra—it's different."
Even Shigure, from his detached vantage point, felt shock ripple through him.
This… this power is mine?
...
TN:
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