The intense heat generated by the flames devouring the Wood Release vines caused the air around Shigure to thin dramatically.
The temperature rose sharply, waves of heat distorting the air like a blazing mirage.
Shigure glanced at Nagato, who was already beginning to sweat.
"Can't handle this already?"
Shigure smiled faintly, raising his hand as streams of water coiled around his body with effortless precision.
Hashirama Senju watched this, astonished.
This level of ninjutsu control… even Tobirama might not reach it.
"Hmph."
Nagato suddenly exhaled, and—
Shinra Tensei!
A massive shockwave erupted outward, crushing every Wood Release vine nearby and snuffing out the flames in an instant.
The crater expanded violently, creating an open battlefield wide enough for a three-way clash.
Shigure's light-form shimmered and slowly condensed back into his physical body.
"Not bad." He grinned. "Your Shinra Tensei has improved. Is that thanks to Gyūki's chakra?"
Nagato said nothing.
Hashirama burst from the remnants of the flames, his body still smoking yet healing at incredible speed.
"Let's continue," he said with renewed vigor.
"I've only just finished warming up."
Shigure chuckled.
His gaze swept across the smoldering battlefield.
Inside his ROOM, an idea surfaced.
What if he tried moving something other than objects?
For example—
The flames themselves.
A spark ignited in his eyes.
Great Sage… your turn.
[Great Sage: Calculating]
[Estimated time: three minutes]
Three minutes.
Feasible.
Crack!
Shigure lunged forward, golden light bursting from his body as he drove a devastating punch straight toward Nagato, whose body surged with Eight-Tails chakra.
Nagato raised his hand—another Shinra Tensei burst forth.
Buzz—!
The collision sent out ripples like a stone dropped into a lake.
Air shattered.
Space warped.
Shockwaves tore through the battlefield.
Hashirama couldn't even approach.
Wood Release vines shot outward by reflex—
but the aftershocks alone pulverized them before they could reach Shigure.
Despite the clash, Nagato still held the advantage.
Shigure was blasted backward again.
He clicked his tongue.
Just a little more… and I could have sliced him into eight pieces.
But with Six Paths power protecting him, ranged cuts couldn't pierce Nagato's body.
Close-quarters strikes were required—continuous, relentless.
The moment Shigure steadied himself—
More Wood Release vines burst from the ground.
"How annoying."
A single sweep of his blade cleaved every vine into fragments.
Hashirama appeared before him—
ready to engage in taijutsu.
Shigure's eyes narrowed.
Not now.
In the distance, Nagato was gathering immense chakra—forming a Tailed Beast Ball.
Shigure grinned.
Good. Let's see whose power reigns supreme.
Bang!
After a brief exchange, Shigure accelerated, landing a kick that sent Hashirama flying.
At the same moment—
Nagato completed the Tailed Beast Ball.
"They say this power can destroy a nation," Nagato declared.
"I wonder how you'll handle it, Shigure."
The Tailed Beast Ball launched—
a crimson sphere of annihilation.
Hashirama looked at Shigure, stunned.
He isn't planning to dodge…?
Shigure's blade thrummed with dense chakra, dark energy swirling.
Getsuga — Tenshō!
A concentrated slash erupted forth—
so powerful that the ROOM itself shattered.
Black-red energy tore across the battlefield, colliding head-on with the crimson Tailed Beast Ball.
BOOOOOOM!!!
The world exploded.
Shockwaves split the earth.
The ground disintegrated to gravel—
then to dust.
Then to nothing.
The battlefield was swallowed by a storm of raw destruction.
All three figures were swallowed by the blinding explosion, their conditions completely unknown.
Around the ruins of the abandoned factory, Fourth Raikage and the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist stared in disbelief at the gigantic mushroom cloud rising from the center of the battlefield.
The shockwave shot upward like a pillar of light, then spread outward, forming an enormous burning cloud.
Everyone was left speechless.
Their jaws hung open, faces pale.
Even the Raikage felt a chill grip his spine.
What kind of attack… could create such a monstrous impact?
This is beyond terrifying!
He swallowed hard, silently thankful this explosion hadn't occurred anywhere near the Hidden Cloud Village.
If it had… the entire village might have been wiped off the map.
And yet—
The flames generated by the explosion only seemed to burn hotter, fiercer… hungrier.
Amidst the inferno, Shigure stood facing a panting Nagato, while Hashirama Senju's body rapidly regenerated beside him.
Shigure exhaled lightly.
"Now… it's my turn."
Nagato's eyes widened.
"What…?"
Shigure raised both arms toward the sky.
ROOM!
A transparent spherical space expanded instantly.
Then—
every flame in the ruined factory flickered violently, as if responding to a command… and surged toward Shigure.
The scene left the Raikage and the Swordsmen utterly horrified.
The flames—those raging, uncontrollable infernos—were gathering like rivers flowing toward a single point.
In mere breaths, the countless flames compressed into a massive, seething fireball.
A miniature sun.
Held aloft above Shigure's head.
He smiled, eyes narrowing.
"Let's try this on you, Nagato."
He lowered a single finger.
The fireball trembled—
Then fell.
Like a meteor.
BOOOOM!!!
Nagato stared at the descending inferno, raising his hand instinctively.
He attempted to activate the Preta Path absorption…
But nothing happened.
His eyes widened in shock.
These weren't chakra-generated flames.
They were natural flames—
pure heat and destruction, completely unabsorbable.
For the first time since the fight began, Nagato froze.
Hashirama regained consciousness just in time to witness the blazing sun falling toward them.
He stared at it for a long moment… then let out a helpless sigh.
I just finished regenerating… and now this?
What kind of terrifying technique is this kid using now?
Ultimate attacks one after another… truly a monster…