Shigure's blunt tone made the Fourth Raikage's face twitch with embarrassment.
This brat…
Still as arrogant as ever—perhaps even more so.
Telling him, the dignified Fourth Raikage, to "stand aside."
But Shigure had no interest in arguing further.
His full attention was locked onto Nagato.
"With a Tailed Beast's chakra, it seems you've grown confident."
Nagato's eyes no longer held fear—they were steady, filled with power.
But before Nagato could respond, Yahiko suddenly dashed forward.
"The Mizukage of the Hidden Mist? This is Amegakure. Even if you're a Kage, this isn't your—"
Crack! Bang!
A blur cut through the air.
Haku appeared, delivering a sharp kick to Yahiko's ribs and sending him crashing through the rubble.
"Don't get in the way."
"Yahiko!"
Konan's expression sharpened instantly, her killing intent flaring.
Anyone who dared harm Yahiko would die.
Paper spread around her like wings—
Countless paper shuriken rained toward Haku.
Haku raised his hand.
Thousands of ice senbon shot forth in a shimmering arc.
Paper and ice collided mid-air, filling the battlefield with the constant clatter of impacts.
Shigure exhaled with mild annoyance.
"Looks like having a quiet battle is impossible."
His smile flickered—
and the next instant, he vanished.
When he reappeared, he was right in front of Nagato.
The Fourth Raikage's eyelids jumped.
That speed—when did he even move!?
Shigure seized Nagato by the throat and leapt, smashing him into a frozen building.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
He plowed through the structure, dragging Nagato straight through it and bursting out the other side.
High in the air—
Shigure tightened his grip—
then hurled Nagato across the battlefield.
His body dissolved into streaming water threads—
weaving around debris, streaking after Nagato like a torrent of living water.
"Leave the rest to all of you."
And he was gone.
Konan tried to rush after Nagato—
—but the opening in the shattered wall suddenly froze over, sealing completely.
"No one interrupts Lord Shigure."
Haku stood there gripping the Nuibari, his gaze fixed on her.
Konan's eyes narrowed.
"You're the one who attacked Yahiko."
"Let's see what makes you worthy of being one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist."
Their battle erupted instantly.
At that moment, Chōjūrō stepped forward, intending to assist—
—but a figure burst from the rubble.
Hanzō, his Edo Tensei body regenerating rapidly, glared coldly.
"Brat! You haven't finished off your opponent. Go deal with him!"
Chōjūrō hesitated. "But here—"
Zabuza cut him off.
"If a brat like you can handle him, do you think we can't? Get going!"
It sounded like bullying, but everyone knew—
Zabuza was protecting Chōjūrō in his own rough way.
These enemies weren't ones a careless youth could survive.
Suddenly—
"Zabuza Momochi, Demon of the Hidden Mist… Your opponent is me."
Zetsu lunged.
Wood Release vines erupted from the ground, binding and constricting.
Zabuza's eyes widened.
"Wood Release…!? He can actually use Wood Release!"
His kubikiribōchō whirled, slicing through the vines with rapid, brutal strikes.
At the same time, Ringo dashed toward Kabuto, lightning crackling around her blades.
But the Kabuto before them…
wasn't exactly Kabuto anymore.
More like Orochimaru wearing his skin.
Boom. Boom.
Ringo pursued relentlessly.
"A sneaking worm… afraid to show your true face?"
Her blades swung—
—splitting an entire building in a single arc.
The collapsing structure crashed down between the fighters, dividing the battlefield into several isolated arenas.
The Fourth Raikage, carrying Darui as they retreated to safety, looked around at the chaos unfolding across the battlefield.
"Hidden Mist…"
"This is the Hidden Mist…?"
The legendary Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, plus their Mizukage—Shigure.
The combined power they displayed far exceeded anything the Raikage had imagined.
All around him—
Seven Mist swordsmen, seven directions, each holding their own battlefield independently.
Kisame was clashing with Obito.
The Raikage didn't recognize Obito, but Kisame… that was a name he would never forget. The same "unremarkable" ninja who earlier forced elite Cloud shinobi into retreat with sheer Water Release.
Such overwhelming Water Release was not something ordinary shinobi could ever replicate.
Even the Raikage found it unbelievable.
Not far away, Ao was fighting a Kaguya Clan shinobi. Despite Ao's seemingly low-key presence, his strength was nothing short of astonishing. He fought evenly at first—then began overpowering the bone-wielding madman outright.
Further away, Oshiro Mumei, radiating heat like a living furnace, swung his blunt sword with terrifying power. Each strike shook the battlefield.
The Fourth Raikage even suspected that this man's strength…
might not be inferior to his own.
Zabuza Momochi, the Demon of the Hidden Mist, was still monstrously strong.
Facing an opponent capable of using Wood Release, he cut through the vines with raw technique and brute strength alone, his kubikiribōchō carving through the wood as though it were paper.
Haku—a prodigy of the Yuki Clan—used Ice Release at a level the Raikage had never seen. The slender Nuibari in his hands moved with frightening precision, even manipulated remotely through chakra threads.
He battled a kunoichi wielding bizarre paper Ninjutsu—and instead of struggling, he completely suppressed her.
What truly caught the Raikage's eye, however, were Chōjūrō and the lightning-style kunoichi Ringo.
One was pushing back Hanzō of the Salamander.
The other was dueling Kakuzu—
and neither legendary opponent could gain any advantage.
Raikage and his Cloud elites had faced Hanzō and Kakuzu before.
Their strength was unquestionable.
But now…
Two brats were matching them blow for blow.
That alone showed how terrifying these Seven Mist Swordsmen truly were.
The Hidden Mist Village had completely transformed.
This new generation of Seven Swordsmen…
finally lived up to their name.
If these seven ever led Mist forces to invade Kumogakure…
It would be a disaster.
Their power alone could severely damage the Hidden Cloud Village.
"Lord Raikage!"
Darui looked at him with concern, noticing how silent he had become.
The Raikage exhaled slowly.
"I'm fine. It seems the Hidden Mist… truly has become the strongest village in the ninja world."
Samui and her squad exchanged tense glances.
They couldn't deny it.
The strength displayed by these Mist shinobi was overwhelming.
Just then—
Uchiha Sasuke, who had been standing quietly nearby, suddenly froze.
A figure flashed through the battlefield.
His eyes widened—
—and in the next instant, he bolted after that shadow like a man possessed.
His breath trembled.
That figure… was that… Itachi?
Impossible.
Itachi was dead.
So how…how could he appear again?