However, Shigure wasn't finished.
Zheng—!
The blade descended, water swirling violently along its edge.
Breath of Water – Fifth Form: Blessed Rain After the Drought!
Shigure's strike slashed toward the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama.
A towering column of water erupted upward the moment the blade cut through the air.
Hashirama responded instantly.
Wood Release vines coiled around him, forming a dense protective wall.
The water column collided with the wooden vines—but in the next breath, sword flashes burst forth like a shower of light.
The vines were shredded into splinters.
Shigure took a single step—
—and vanished.
A surge of blue light exploded beneath his feet as he accelerated.
In an instant, he was already in front of Hashirama.
Hashirama's eyes widened slightly.
Fast… and still getting faster?
Shigure's blade sliced cleanly across Hashirama's waist.
But—
Bang!!
A volley of bone projectiles shot toward Shigure from behind.
Kimimaro.
Shigure's sword blurred.
His blade intercepted each bone bullet with precision, deflecting them effortlessly.
Sparks burst from every impact, the friction between steel and sharpened bone echoing sharply.
Kimimaro stiffened.
He blocked my ten-finger bone bullets… with a sword?
Swish—
A gust of wind swept past.
Kimimaro's vision darkened for a moment—the next second, Shigure's face appeared directly in front of him.
"Kimimaro, your talent is exceptional. But unfortunately… you followed the wrong person."
Ice Release – Frozen Moment.
Crack!
Ice instantly enveloped Kimimaro from head to toe, locking him in place like a captured statue.
Shigure inhaled deeply, then exhaled a thick cloud of mist.
Storm Release – White Mist Sealing Technique.
The mist solidified into glowing chains that wrapped around Kimimaro, Kakuzu, and Hanzō, sealing all three Edo Tensei bodies in moments.
Shigure turned toward the two remaining reanimated shinobi—
Only Hashirama and Uzumaki Ashina remained.
Ashina stared at Shigure, shock tightening his expression.
Such speed… such precision… No wonder someone resorted to Edo Tensei just to restrain him.
This boy is terrifyingly strong.
Before he could fully process it, Shigure's gaze snapped toward him.
The Great Sage estimated half an hour to break the Edo Tensei seal.
Shigure didn't intend to wait that long.
If he could force this one to release the jutsu himself…
Perhaps with Kotoamatsukami, he could alter Ashina's will.
Shigure's eyes glimmered with sharp light.
He hadn't tested this pupil technique yet, but its effect should be absolute.
"Sage Art – Myojinmon!"
Hashirama's voice boomed from above.
A massive crimson torii gate plummeted from the sky, locking onto Shigure's chakra signature as it descended like divine punishment.
Shigure's expression darkened.
Not good.
This wasn't a technique one could simply dodge.
Myojinmon pursued its target relentlessly—it was a sealing art, not mere ninjutsu.
Once cast, it would chase him until it pinned him in place.
He could attempt to exhaust Hashirama's chakra, but Edo Tensei hosts had practically limitless reserves.
He wouldn't win a battle of attrition.
There was no choice—
He couldn't evade.
"Getsuga—Tenshō!"
BOOM—!
A massive crescent of red light burst upward, carving through the sky.
The brilliance illuminated the battlefield like a second dawn.
The descending torii gate split cleanly in half, crashing to the ground in two severed pieces.
Hashirama exhaled a long breath.
"…This is the first time anyone has broken that technique head-on."
He clapped his hands again.
Wood Release – Nativity of a World of Trees!
A massive wooden arm erupted from the earth, lunging toward Shigure.
A faint irritation flickered across Shigure's eyes.
Hashirama was becoming an annoyance.
Light Release – Heavenly Gathering Cloud Sword.
Shigure's left hand grasped the air, drawing forth a blade formed entirely from radiant light.
Dual-sword style—activated.
With both blades whirling at impossible speed, Shigure carved through the massive wooden hands erupting from the ground.
Gigantic Wood Release constructs shattered like fragile driftwood, collapsing around him in pieces.
ROOM.
A spherical field expanded instantly—Shigure's spatial domain.
He locked onto Hashirama's chakra signature.
Switch.
In a flash, Hashirama's reanimated body materialized directly in front of Shigure.
Bang.
Shigure's hand seized Hashirama by the throat.
His other hand drove a black chakra rod straight into Hashirama's chest.
Thud—thud—thud.
Spike after spike pierced Hashirama's body, pinning down his chakra pathways.
Hashirama's movements stopped entirely.
The sealing mist surged automatically, and the White Mist Sealing Technique activated.
White cloud-chains bound Hashirama in place; even a reanimated body couldn't break free.
Shigure turned immediately toward Uzumaki Ashina.
"It's your turn."
Ashina felt his body move against his will—controlled by the lingering remnants of the Edo Tensei command.
He raised his hands, beginning to form seals for a barrier technique meant to seal Sasuke.
But—
Sasuke's Mangekyō eyes met his.
Kotoamatsukami.
At the same moment, Orochimaru's expression shifted sharply.
His control over Ashina abruptly vanished.
The Edo Tensei itself remained intact—but he could no longer direct Ashina at all.
"…Did it work?" Orochimaru murmured.
Shigure frowned as he studied Ashina.
Ashina stood motionless.
No hostility.
No resistance.
It appeared—successful.
"Undo this seal," Shigure commanded.
Ashina bowed his head slightly.
"Forgive me. I cannot."
"…Why?"
"This barrier is a forbidden sealing technique. Once cast, it cannot be undone. It traps the interior space indefinitely. No person or creature within can escape—it is absolute confinement."
Shigure's brows twitched.
Kotoamatsukami had altered Ashina's will perfectly—
but Ashina genuinely could not release the barrier.
Meaning Shigure would have to wait half an hour for the Great Sage to decipher and break it.
But then—
[Great Sage: Congratulations. The host's pupil technique has successfully evolved. By using Kotoamatsukami to gather critical information, the system has synthesized a new ocular technique—Kotoamatsukami: Zenith.]
Shigure blinked.
He had assumed the evolution had stalled.
But apparently, using Kotoamatsukami earlier provided the Great Sage with the missing components.
He opened his eyes—
—and froze.
If Kotoamatsukami was already the pinnacle of illusion, capable of rewriting a person's will without them ever noticing…
Then Kotoamatsukami: Zenith was something else entirely.
This was no longer illusion in the conventional sense.
True illusions always faced one fundamental limit:
They could not affect reality.
But this new technique—
It could.
An illusion capable of altering reality itself.
This was no longer genjutsu.
It was a god-level rewriting of existence.