The chakra surrounding Shigure carried a faint golden hue.
And this was without him even activating Sage Mode.
At this point, there were only a handful of people left in the entire ninja world who were truly worthy of forcing Shigure into Sage Mode.
[Gluttony: Devoured 1% of the Eight-Tails' chakra.]
That was enough.
Anything more would draw unnecessary attention.
Shigure suddenly exerted force with his arm, hurling Killer Bee away as if throwing a bowling ball.
A sharp whoosh split the air.
In an instant, Killer Bee was sent flying straight toward the Fourth Raikage.
Inside the massive crater, the Raikage—still reeling from the earlier impact—snapped back to his senses. He leapt up and caught Killer Bee midair.
But in the very next second—
He was sent flying again.
Crack! Bang!
As the deafening roar echoed, Shigure raised the ninja sword Zangetsu high above his head.
Terrifying chakra condensed along the blade.
Rampant energy surged forth as the chakra of three Tailed Beasts poured violently into the sword.
The crimson glow in Shigure's eyes grew brighter and brighter.
Even the mere act of gathering chakra seemed to tear the surrounding air apart, drawing everything inward as if gravity itself had gone mad.
All chakra converged toward Shigure.
The expressions of the Kumogakure ninja changed drastically.
"Oh no… Is he trying to kill the Raikage-sama and Killer Bee-sama?!"
"That level of chakra—if that attack is released, the Fourth Raikage and Killer Bee will definitely—"
"Stop him! Quickly!"
The Kumogakure ninja surged forward in panic, desperately trying to intervene.
But in the next moment—
Shigure's blade slowly descended.
Moon Fang – Heaven Piercer!
Boom!
Black-red chakra erupted violently, instantly forming a gigantic cloud of black flames that surged forward like a collapsing sky.
Its terrifying power was in no way inferior to a Tailed Beast Ball.
By the time the Fourth Raikage and Killer Bee—still trapped within the crater—came back to their senses, it was already too late.
They realized there was no way to block it.
Even dodging was impossible.
So this was it.
Today—
Were they going to die here?
That brat from the Hidden Mist Village was actually trying to erase both of them in a single strike!
As despair surged through them, the two closed their eyes, silently awaiting death.
The next instant—
A terrifying shockwave swept directly over their heads.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A series of deafening roars echoed endlessly as the ground behind them was torn apart, forming an enormous passageway.
Everything struck by the black flame cloud was completely annihilated.
Slowly, the echoing explosions around the lake faded away.
Countless ninja stared, mouths agape, at the massive corridor carved straight through three towering mountains by that single slash.
The passage was over ten meters wide and nearly six meters tall.
If it were dug manually, it would take years—perhaps decades.
Yet under Shigure's blade, it was created in an instant.
Shigure calmly lowered his sword and slid it back into its sheath.
Silence fell over the battlefield.
One by one, all eyes turned toward him.
The Tailed Beast chakra surrounding Shigure slowly dissipated.
He looked coldly at the Fourth Raikage and Killer Bee.
"This battle," he said flatly, "I should be considered the winner. Right?"
Neither of them replied.
The Fourth Raikage felt a chill crawl up his spine, cold sweat soaking his back as he stared at Shigure.
His emotions were in complete turmoil.
He had never imagined that one day, he—the dignified Fourth Raikage—would be utterly defeated by a single ninja.
The combined power of three Tailed Beasts… It's terrifying.
He had always believed that even if he wasn't the strongest in the ninja world, no one could suppress him so completely.
But today, Shigure had shattered that belief.
Absolute domination.
No room for resistance.
Even with him and Killer Bee fighting together, they were utterly powerless.
If that last attack had struck them directly—
He would already be dead.
And Shigure had clearly spared them.
The Fourth Raikage slowly pushed himself to his feet.
Killer Bee, however, was still unwilling to accept it.
With a roar, he forced himself up and immediately entered his complete Tailed Beast transformation.
In an instant, the gigantic form of the Eight-Tails, Gyūki, appeared, its massive tentacles lashing out violently toward Shigure.
Thump! Thump!
Explosive impacts shook the ground.
In the next moment, Shigure appeared calmly atop Gyūki's head.
"Still refusing to stay down?" he said indifferently.
"Then I'll make it hurt a little."
Boil Release.
Ice Release.
In an instant, Gyūki's massive body was completely frozen.
Steam erupted as Shigure's fist, wreathed in boiling chakra, slammed down mercilessly.
At that moment, the Fourth Raikage's pupils contracted sharply.
He wasn't serious before at all…
Even while suppressing them earlier, Shigure hadn't truly used ninjutsu—only raw physical strength.
He had deliberately defeated them using the very power Kumogakure prided itself on.
And he had succeeded.
But now—
With ninjutsu added, Shigure's combat power became truly terrifying.
Crack! Bang!!
One punch.
The ice shattered instantly.
Gyūki let out a miserable roar as his massive body crashed heavily to the ground.
Before he could recover, ice spikes erupted from the lake one after another, impaling and pinning all of Gyūki's tails.
Shigure spread his hands.
"Water Release!"
"Water Dragon Bullet Barrage!"
Raging water surged forth, forming massive water dragons that coiled tightly around Gyūki, dragging his enormous body toward the lake.
After several violent struggles, waves crashed onto the shore.
Shigure landed lightly.
In the next instant, his sword was drawn once more.
Light Release – Heavenly Cloud-Gathering Sword!
Light converged along the blade.
The sword flashed.
One of Gyūki's tentacles was severed cleanly.
The Eight-Tails' form collapsed instantly.
Killer Bee's body floated quietly on the ice-filled water.
Shigure landed and casually returned Zangetsu to its sheath.
The Fourth Raikage stared in disbelief.
Even he would struggle to suppress the Eight-Tails so cleanly.
Yet Shigure had done it in just two moves.
Effortless.
Decisive.
If this man had truly fought seriously from the beginning—
Perhaps defeating him wouldn't have required even this much effort.
A complete defeat.
This time—
Kumogakure lost.
The Fourth Raikage looked at Shigure's back and spoke loudly.
"Shigure!"
All the Kumogakure ninja turned toward him.
"This time… I have lost. Not only me—but Kumogakure itself has been defeated by you alone."
"The sea territory we discussed before—will be divided exactly as you said."
The moment those words fell, the Kumogakure ninja froze.
Their faces turned pale.
Even the proud Fourth Raikage had openly admitted defeat.
Had the era of Kumogakure's rise ended—
And was it now the turn of the Hidden Mist Village to ascend?
...
TN:
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