It was a strange, almost unreal sensation—seeing yourself from a god's perspective.
From this detached vantage point, Shigure could clearly sense the chakra flowing through his own body. The experience was uncanny.
Meanwhile, both Hashirama and Tobirama were caught off guard by the sudden transformation before them.
"Why does this kid suddenly feel… different?" Hashirama muttered, his brow furrowing.
"The fluctuations in his chakra—" Tobirama's eyes narrowed. "They've gone completely silent."
Before, Shigure's chakra had been like a restless volcano—turbulent, unrestrained, spilling over even when he stood still.
Now, however, his presence resembled a stagnant, lifeless pond—calm, still, almost unfathomable.
Yet while his chakra grew quiet, the disturbance around him only intensified.
The fog thickened rapidly, curling and spreading, and Shigure's eyes seemed to glimmer with an unnatural light. In the next instant, his body dissolved into mist.
A dozen shifting streams of vapor wove through the battlefield, blurring into the haze before converging again—right in front of Hashirama.
His body spun with fluid precision, droplets scattering through the mist as he unleashed a powerful kick straight at the First Hokage.
In that moment, an overwhelming surge of chakra erupted.
The Senju clan's secret art—monstrous strength.
Bang!!
The impact cracked through the air. Hashirama braced himself, fists raised to block, but the sheer force drove him several steps back—a rare sight indeed.
Tobirama, already moving, faltered for a heartbeat.
What's going on with this boy? Why does he feel like a completely different person?!
Shaking off his hesitation, Tobirama lunged from behind. But before his strike could land, the surrounding clouds surged to life, twisting around him. Mist condensed into a barrier, cutting off his advance.
At the same time, vapor coiled tightly around his legs.
The moment his right foot was snared, a hissing, corrosive sound followed.
His flesh began dissolving before his eyes.
Though Edo Tensei granted him regeneration, the sudden decay still left Tobirama rattled.
This corrosion… even Edo Tensei can't nullify the damage entirely? Impossible!
Crack!
Before Tobirama could react further, the Great Sage moved Shigure's body like a phantom, riding the currents of cloud.
A gap opened in the mist barrier just wide enough for a strike.
Wham!!
Shigure's fist shot through the opening and slammed into Tobirama, hurling him backwards into the mist cage.
From his detached perspective, Shigure's mind reeled.
So it can be used like this?
The clouds trapped the target, while a single, controlled gap created the perfect opening for offense. A simple, elegant trick Shigure himself had never thought of.
A moment later, dense fog spread in all directions, sealing off visibility entirely.
And yet—through the Great Sage's godlike perception, Shigure could still see the battlefield with perfect clarity.
"This is… the Hidden Mist Technique!" Shigure realized, awe rising in his chest as the fog swallowed everything.
Combined with his Cloud Solidification Technique, the effect was seamless. The mist cloaked the battlefield, while the condensed clouds vanished into the haze, their presence undetectable.
What a perfect match! Hidden Mist paired with cloud constructs… this completely negates their lack of speed!
Shigure almost cursed himself.
If I'd thought of this earlier, I wouldn't have been beaten down in that two-on-one brawl!
A laugh broke the silence.
"Hah! Clever boy, very clever~~!" Hashirama's voice carried through the mist.
The First Hokage, once a master of the Hidden Mist Technique himself, had understood instantly what Shigure was doing—and couldn't help but offer praise.
Rustle, rustle…!
In that moment, Hashirama felt his arms and legs seize. Mist tendrils tightened around him, binding his movements.
He prepared to shatter them with brute strength—
Clang!!
The ninja blade slid free of its sheath, trembling with a clear, resonant hum.
That sharp, lingering note cut through the mist. Hashirama's eyes narrowed—then widened in shock. The blade was already at his throat.
Shing!
In an instant, his head was severed.
The head dissolved into drifting ash midair, scattering in the fog. Meanwhile, Hashirama's body began reforming, the ashes condensing into flesh once more.
Yet even as he revived, Hashirama laughed. "Even if I come back, I won't be able to move in time!"
He was right. The delay was brief, but enough. More than enough to enact a sealing technique.
The surrounding mist shifted violently. Clouds condensed into a swirling storm of frost and snow, wrapping around Hashirama's body. Ice crystals spread from beneath his feet, crawling up his legs and chest.
By the time his head was fully restored, his body was frozen solid—encased completely, from the surface to his very core.
A lattice of sealing runes bloomed across the ice, glowing faintly. Chains of cloud and mist erupted forth, binding him tightly, anchoring him to the ground.
Hashirama—sealed.
The entire process had taken less than ten seconds.
From his elevated, detached perspective, Shigure slapped his thigh in astonishment.
Perfect.
The speed of the transformation between cloud and fog was breathtaking. To see Cloud Release used like this… it was beyond anything he could have imagined.
Even if he tried it himself, Shigure knew he couldn't replicate this speed. Still, the strategy itself was brilliant.
Solidify the clouds, bind the target, then shift them into mist. Alternate between corrosive acid mist and freezing snow mist, corroding or freezing from within.
Snow Mist's freezing effect was especially terrifying—forcing cold chakra directly into the opponent's body, locking them from the inside out. Even their chakra flow was frozen.
Ordinary Ice Release techniques only froze the surface. With enough chakra, a strong shinobi could break free. But this—this bypassed the surface entirely.
And now only Tobirama remained.
The Second Hokage was already weaving hand seals, his chakra locking onto Shigure's position. He aimed to strike hard, break through, and undo Hashirama's seal.
But when Tobirama raised his head, the thick mist obscured his vision. He couldn't see what Shigure—or rather, the Great Sage—was doing.
What he did see was a massive web of chakra threads descending on him.
Countless strands, fine and sharp, wove into a dense spiderweb that collapsed over him.
This wasn't ordinary ninjutsu—it was the Great Sage manipulating Cloud Release with surgical precision.
Shigure's heart trembled as he watched. To transform clouds into something this intricate… the Great Sage's control over chakra is a hundred times greater than mine.
The web closed around Tobirama, and in the next breath, mist surged from every side.
A cage of fog and cloud snapped shut.
Inside, the vapor split—half remained solid, binding Tobirama's limbs, while the rest became snow mist, flooding his body with freezing cold.
Tobirama struggled, but it was futile. His regeneration fought against the frost, but it wasn't enough. In only seven or eight seconds, his body was completely frozen, encased in crystalline ice.
Chains of mist and cloud burst forth again, binding the frozen Hokage in place.
"White Vine Seal!"
[Great Sage: Combat complete. Objective achieved. Enemies sealed. Returning control to host.]
The godlike perspective faded. Shigure blinked and found himself once more in his own body.
He stared down at his hands, then at the First and Second Hokage—both immobilized, sealed, and bound before him.
"…Less than thirty seconds?"
...
TN:
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