"Lord Shigure, why did the cloud change color?"
Chōjūrō leaned forward, his expression puzzled.
"I infused it with the Tailed Beast's Chakra," Shigure replied casually. "I wanted to see if it would move faster."
The moment he finished speaking, the Flying Nimbus suddenly surged forward with a violent burst of speed.
Whoosh!
Both Haku and Chōjūrō nearly tumbled off into the sky.
Fortunately, Shigure reacted instantly—his mist swirled out, forming two translucent hands that caught them midair and placed them safely back on the Nimbus.
The two clung to the cloud desperately, channeling Chakra beneath their feet to stabilize themselves against the howling wind.
At the front, Shigure calmly stood upright, letting a thin layer of Tailed Beast Chakra flow around him. It formed a shimmering barrier that split the wind, shielding the others.
When they had left the Hidden Mist Village earlier, the journey across the sea had taken over seven or eight hours.
Now, their return took less than thirty minutes.
If Shigure hadn't needed to conceal the Nimbus from the village's lookouts, they could have arrived even faster.
They landed several kilometers from the village outskirts. The Nimbus vanished, and Shigure froze the surrounding sea surface with Ice Release, creating a long, gleaming path over the waves.
Just as when they had left, the three sprinted across the frozen ocean—gliding toward the port of the Hidden Mist Village.
As the ice extended to Port Thirteen, the guards stationed there watched in shock as massive sheets of ice rose from the sea, like a colossal serpent surfacing and solidifying into a bridge.
"What is that?"
"Is that… ice?"
"It's formed a path over the ocean!"
Following the trail of frost, they spotted three figures racing across the ice toward them.
"It's them!" one of the guards exclaimed.
When Shigure, Chōjūrō, and Haku stepped ashore, the onlookers—both shinobi and civilians aboard nearby merchant ships—stared wide-eyed.
A soft white cloud floated beside Shigure as he walked calmly toward the Mizukage Building, with Chōjūrō and Haku at his side.
Several Anbu arrived soon after, watching the trio's backs disappear down the main street.
"Didn't they say they went to capture the Six-Tails' Jinchūriki?" one muttered.
"They're back already?"
Inside the Mizukage's office, Mei Terumī sat surrounded by scrolls and mission reports. She hadn't even finished briefing the elders about Shigure's departure.
The door suddenly burst open.
"Lord Mizukage!"
Ao stumbled in, gasping for breath.
"What's wrong?" Mei asked, startled. It was rare to see Ao so rattled.
He tried to speak but could barely catch his breath—until the next second, the door opened again.
"I'm back," Shigure announced, stepping inside.
Mei blinked, momentarily frozen. "Shigure?"
He had only left that morning. The sun hadn't even fully set—and he was already back?
Did he give up halfway? she thought, frowning. I told him traveling across the sea with Ice Release would be exhausting. Did he really turn back this soon? He could've at least rested on an island first!
She sighed inwardly, already preparing to scold him—
Until Shigure said, "The Six-Tails' Jinchūriki has been brought back."
He waved his hand. A small cloud drifted into the room. As the mist dispersed, Utakata appeared—still encased in a layer of frost.
Mei's eyes widened.
Shigure raised one hand, and waves of cold vapor lifted from Utakata's body as his temperature began to rise. Chakra flow returned, and soon, the man's eyes fluttered open.
"Is this… the Hidden Mist Village?" Utakata murmured weakly.
Ao pointed in disbelief. "Lord Mizukage—this is the Six-Tails' Jinchūriki!"
"I can see that," Mei said, her shock giving way to relief. "You actually brought him back…"
But as she extended her senses, her expression changed.
Something was off.
She couldn't feel any trace of the Tailed Beast's Chakra inside Utakata's body.
"Ao," she said sharply, "check his Chakra flow. Is the Six-Tails… still within him?"
Shigure's faint smile returned. "No need to check. The Six-Tails is with me."
For a second, Mei didn't process what she'd heard. "Right… with you?"
Then her eyes narrowed. "Wait. What did you just say?"
"The Tailed Beast is inside me now," Shigure said plainly. "I'm the Six-Tails' Jinchūriki."
The room went silent.
Ao and Mei both froze, staring at him.
"You—you're the Six-Tails' Jinchūriki?" Mei stammered. "But wasn't the Six-Tails sealed in him—"
"I extracted it," Shigure said, cutting her off. "Then sealed it within myself. Saiken's power is quite useful, and I need it."
Mei's mind blanked for a moment.
Extracted?
That shouldn't be possible. Extraction of a Tailed Beast killed the host—it was one of the unbreakable laws of the shinobi world.
Yet Utakata stood there, alive and breathing.
"How…" Mei whispered. "How did you separate a Tailed Beast from its host… without killing him?"
Shigure exhaled softly. "It seems you won't believe me unless I show you."
Chakra flared around him—six massive, translucent tails erupted behind his back, swaying slowly in the air.
The sheer pressure of the Six-Tails' Chakra filled the office, causing the walls to tremble.
Mei staggered back several steps, covering her mouth in shock.
Ao stared in disbelief.
"Impossible… You really became a Jinchūriki… in a single day?"
Shigure dismissed the tails, the air settling again.
"The Six-Tails has returned to the Hidden Mist," Mei finally said, her voice trembling with both awe and concern.
"It doesn't matter who the host is… as long as it's back."
Her gaze sharpened.
"But we'll need to verify the sealing method. If the Tailed Beast isn't properly contained, it could go berserk at any moment."
Shigure nodded calmly, as though none of this were extraordinary. "Understood."
And with that, the Hidden Mist had gained a new Perfect Jinchūriki—one who had changed the balance of power in the entire shinobi world in less than a day.
"Don't worry," Shigure said calmly, his tone casual and confident.
"I've completely mastered the Six-Tails' power. It's obedient and won't go berserk."
He added with a faint smile, "Even if I wanted it to go berserk, it wouldn't."
Mei Terumī's eyes widened in disbelief.
The Tailed Beast is obedient?
In the entire history of the Shinobi world, that had never been the case. No matter which Jinchūriki housed a Tailed Beast, the creature would always struggle to break free—its immense Chakra interfering with its host's, pushing them toward a berserk state.
And whenever that happened, the result was always tragedy—destruction, death, and chaos.
That was why Jinchūriki were treated as monsters. They weren't hated without reason; a rampaging Tailed Beast could easily wipe out one's comrades, family, and friends. How could anyone feel safe around such power?
"It's just the Six-Tails," Shigure said lightly.
"Controlling it isn't difficult. Saiken is quite well-behaved."
He smiled, unbothered by her shock.
"I'm a perfect Jinchūriki now. Even without a seal, there's no risk of losing control."
Mei stared at him in silence, her disbelief plain.
"You're serious?"
"Completely," Shigure replied, nodding without hesitation.
Mei slowly sat down, trying to steady her thoughts. Every word out of his mouth felt heavier than the last.
He had retrieved the Jinchūriki, extracted the Tailed Beast, yet the host survived—and then he himself became a Jinchūriki.
And now, he claimed the Tailed Beast obeyed him willingly.
Each revelation struck her harder than the one before. But as she watched him effortlessly shift into the state of borrowing the Tailed Beast's Chakra, she could no longer deny it.
Shigure wasn't exaggerating.
To control such a state so easily, right after becoming a Jinchūriki—perhaps complete mastery over a Tailed Beast wasn't impossible after all.
...
TN:
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