Obito slowly turned his head, his gaze locking onto the figure that had appeared not far away.
"So fast…"
"As expected of the man known as the strongest Mizukage."
Shigure had clearly heard the entire exchange between Kisame and Obito.
That alone was enough to confirm that Kisame had never harbored any intention of acting as an undercover agent.
"The Akatsuki want to destroy the Hidden Mist," Shigure said calmly.
"I'll be waiting."
He made no move to attack Obito.
There was no need.
This wasn't their first confrontation. Obito was always prepared to activate Kamui and escape at any moment.
As the familiar spiraling spatial distortion appeared once more, Shigure watched without any particular emotion.
He had seen this technique enough times now.
It no longer stirred envy—only calculation.
"Then wait, Mr. Shigure," Obito replied coldly.
"The Akatsuki will definitely come."
With those words, Obito vanished, taking Deidara with him.
Silence returned to the forest.
Kisame finally spoke, his expression serious.
"That ability… is troublesome."
Shigure glanced at him.
"What are you trying to say?"
"That space–time ninjutsu is extremely difficult to deal with," Kisame said frankly.
"If Lord Shigure truly intends to eliminate the Akatsuki, a proper battle plan will be necessary."
"Every member of the Akatsuki possesses terrifying combat power, each with their own specialized abilities."
Shigure smiled faintly.
Counting carefully, the Akatsuki currently consisted of:
Nagato, Obito, Itachi Uchiha, Sasori of the Red Sand, Deidara, Konan, and Zetsu.
Seven people.
On Shigure's side—excluding Kisame himself—there were the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, plus Shigure.
Also seven.
A perfect matchup.
Shigure had absolute confidence.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen he had personally forged were no longer something that could be described as mere elite jōnin.
And as time passed, their strength would only continue to grow.
"Relax," Shigure said lightly.
"The Akatsuki won't come knocking anytime soon."
Kisame understood this as well.
The Akatsuki's priority remained the capture of the Tailed Beasts. They would focus all their efforts there.
In truth, that suited Shigure just fine.
Once the Akatsuki gathered enough Tailed Beasts, he would intervene and seize them all in one stroke.
The mark he had left on Konan wouldn't fade with time.
As long as she wasn't hiding in another dimension, Shigure could track her whenever he wished.
"Still," Kisame said after a pause,
"there's another issue besides the Akatsuki."
Shigure looked at him.
"Konoha?"
Kisame nodded.
"Yes. Konoha."
Accepting the Hidden Sand Village's request for aid was, in effect, a direct challenge to Konoha's influence.
Konoha would never willingly give up such a crucial ally.
"It doesn't matter," Shigure replied calmly.
"We were bound to face Konoha sooner or later anyway."
A clash between a rising new hegemon and an old established power was inevitable.
"As long as Lord Shigure has a plan, then our next step—"
"Is to find Granny Chiyo of the Hidden Sand," Shigure interrupted.
"The battle over there should be ending soon."
Unlike the original course of events—
This time, Kuji fought alongside Chiyo.
And before Kuji's overwhelming destructive power, Sasori of the Red Sand's proud puppet jutsu was nothing more than fragile paper.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
One puppet after another shattered instantly.
In Kuji's hands, the Blast Sword: Flyback finally revealed its true, terrifying might.
Every slash triggered a violent explosion.
The puppets weren't merely cut apart by brute force—they were obliterated outright.
Explosions tore through them, scattering fragments in all directions, leaving barely anything intact.
Sasori's Red Secret Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets had become Kuji's personal stage.
Every part of Kuji's body was a weapon.
As he swung the Blast Sword: Flyback, bone spikes burst from his limbs again and again, piercing, crushing, and shattering puppets relentlessly.
One person.
He alone dealt with over seventy puppets.
Chiyo was stunned.
"As expected of the fearsome Kaguya Clan…"
Even she couldn't help but exclaim—let alone Kankurō, who stood beside her, utterly speechless.
Although Kuji was fighting on their side, he was annihilating the very puppet jutsu Kankurō admired and devoted his life to.
In front of this man, puppet techniques felt utterly insignificant.
They couldn't harm him in the slightest.
The puppets' deadliest weapons—hidden blades, mechanisms, even poison—were completely useless.
After all, they couldn't even pierce Kuji's body.
Beneath his skin lay a dense bone membrane, an impenetrable natural defense.
Watching Kuji casually dismantle puppet after puppet,
Kankurō felt a wave of bitterness rise in his chest.
Was puppet jutsu truly… a dead end?
Against ordinary shinobi, it was formidable.
But against monsters like this—
It was powerless.
When the final puppet had its head twisted off effortlessly, Kuji turned his gaze to Sasori, who stood frozen in shock.
"How is this possible…?"
"This can't be real… Why does someone like you exist?"
"My puppets… my puppet jutsu… it lost…"
For Sasori, this wasn't childhood trauma or emotional scars resurfacing.
This was far worse.
He had been utterly crushed—defeated completely in the one domain he had always been proudest of.
No resistance.
No counterplay.
At that moment, Granny Chiyo looked at Sasori, her expression complicated.
"In the face of absolute power," she said quietly,
"any skill becomes meaningless."
"Puppet jutsu was never about superiority. It was merely a method created by the Second Kazekage when brute force alone wasn't enough."
"In the end, all techniques exist for one purpose—killing the enemy."
"There is no hierarchy among them."
"But no matter how refined puppet jutsu becomes, it is useless without truly powerful puppets."
Chiyo had understood this truth long ago.
That was precisely why she had chosen to live in seclusion.
She turned her gaze to Gaara, lying motionless before her.
"This technique… was originally prepared for you, Sasori."
As she spoke, she placed both hands on Gaara's chest.
Sasori stared blankly.
What was she doing?
Gaara had already lost his Tailed Beast—he should have been dead.
"This jutsu is something I created myself," Chiyo said softly.
"One's Own Life Reincarnation."
"But it seems… you won't be needing it."
With a sigh, Chiyo began concentrating, pouring her life force into healing Gaara.
At that moment, another voice sounded.
"It looks like things went smoothly here as well."
Kuji turned sharply.
"Lord Shigure—are you done over there already?"
Shigure nodded calmly.
"Yes. She escaped."
Kisame chuckled.
"She was rescued by an enemy who appeared out of nowhere."
Kuji nodded and gestured toward Sasori.
"This man is Sasori of the Red Sand, formerly a genius puppet master of the Hidden Sand."
"I'll deal with him now."
He stepped forward—
But Shigure raised a hand.
"No rush."
Shigure's gaze swept over the shattered puppets littering the battlefield, then settled on Sasori.
At that moment, Sasori seemed completely unaware of Shigure's presence.
He stared at the ground, his expression dazed—as if his entire world had already collapsed.
(End of Chapter)
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