Zabuza was surprised that Mei Terumī hadn't immediately attacked him.
A Missing-nin standing before the Mizukage — yet she remained calm.
The village really is changing, he thought. And that was good.
Even if his Missing-nin status couldn't be cleared, at least the Mist was heading toward a better future.
"Shigure," Zabuza said gravely, "the Three-Tails is at the bottom of the lake. We should set up a barrier to prevent it from escaping."
But Shigure only shook his head and began walking toward the water.
"No need."
To set up a barrier for a single Tailed Beast? That would almost be insulting.
With his current strength, if he couldn't handle the Three-Tails alone, then he wasn't worthy of being a Jinchūriki.
Zabuza frowned, about to ask what Shigure intended when the young man crouched beside the lake and pressed his palm against the surface.
"Let's see how long you can keep hiding," he murmured with a faint smile.
Ice Release — Freezing Moment!
A violent wave of frost exploded from his hand.
In an instant, the massive lake before them turned solid — the water crystallizing into jagged ice sheets that spread outward at blinding speed.
Within moments, the entire lake was frozen solid.
Zabuza stood frozen himself, stunned beyond belief.
That power… that was Ice Release — but it was nothing like Haku's gentle precision. This was overwhelming, absolute domination over nature.
Even Mei Terumī's expression twitched. She had expected something powerful, but freezing an entire lake was beyond anything she had imagined.
If another village possessed someone like Shigure, the Mist could easily have been destroyed. Just freezing the surrounding seas would have been enough to bring the Land of Water to ruin.
Cracks suddenly began to spread through the ice.
Crack—!
Boom—!
A surge of red-and-black chakra burst upward from below.
Mei's eyes widened. "That's Tailed Beast chakra!"
Zabuza gripped his blade tighter.
"The Three-Tails is coming up!"
A massive, shelled tail smashed through the ice like a battering ram, followed by an enormous turtle-like figure rising from the depths.
The Three-Tails had awakened.
Its roar thundered across the lake, a sound that shook the trees and rippled the mist itself.
The creature had just been frozen solid in its sleep — its fury was understandable.
As the white mist curled across the ice, a figure emerged, walking calmly toward the beast.
"Three-Tails," Shigure said evenly, his voice carrying across the silent expanse.
"You've been free long enough… I'm here to bring you back."
He spoke almost like a parent scolding a mischievous child.
Zabuza tensed. Shigure had stopped less than ten meters from the Tailed Beast — far too close for comfort.
If the Three-Tails attacked, even a Jinchūriki might not dodge in time.
And then — it did.
Without warning, the Three-Tails swung its massive tail with a thunderous crash. The blow could have crushed a building.
But Shigure didn't dodge.
He raised one hand — and caught the tail.
The impact threw waves of wind and ice outward, but Shigure held firm.
Ever since fusing with the Shikotsumyaku bloodline, his body had become far stronger — his bones denser, his strength greater. Even in its early stage, his physique now rivaled that of the strongest taijutsu users.
For him, wrestling a Tailed Beast was no longer unthinkable.
"A bit irritable, aren't you?" he said, smiling faintly.
"But don't worry… you won't stay that way for long."
With a sudden motion, Shigure pulled. His grip tightened, and with a roar of exertion, he heaved the massive creature off the ground — swinging the Three-Tails over his shoulder like it weighed nothing — and slammed it onto the frozen shore.
The Three-Tails crashed onto its back, limbs flailing in the air, eyes spinning in confusion.
What just happened?
Had a human just thrown it?
And not just any human — a boy.
How could he possibly have that kind of power?
"Cloud Release — Binding Mist!"
Shigure raised his hand, and the surrounding fog condensed into thick white tendrils of vapor that wrapped around the struggling beast.
The Three-Tails tried to thrash free, but the mist coiled tighter and tighter, sealing sigils flickering across its body.
"White Vine Seal!"
The sealing marks blazed with light as the Three-Tails' chakra was suppressed, its roars fading into muffled groans.
Gradually, the massive creature stopped moving.
Shigure exhaled and dusted off his hands.
"Done."
It had been almost effortless.
Zabuza could only stare, his jaw slack. The Three-Tails — a creature that could devastate armies — had been subdued in mere minutes.
This guy actually threw a Tailed Beast…
Mei Terumī stood silent, disbelief written across her face.
She had known Shigure was powerful, but this was beyond anything she'd imagined.
"That was… too fast," she whispered.
"Next is the sealing," Shigure said calmly, placing his palm on the Three-Tails' shell.
Great Sage, how's the analysis progressing?
Great Sage: Analysis progress — 23%.
Only twenty-three percent? That's slower than I expected.
Great Sage: The host completed subjugation too quickly.
Shigure sighed. Fair enough. I'll wait a bit.
Once the Great Sage completed its analysis, he could find the optimal method to seal the Three-Tails into his own body.
He closed his eyes and formed another hand seal.
"Cloud Release — Mist Cage!"
The mist around the lake surged upward, spiraling into a massive dome that sealed the area.
Within it, the Three-Tails' slumbering form was completely contained.
Mei Terumī and Zabuza stood outside, completely cut off from what was happening within the Mist Cage. Mei frowned slightly.
Was he deliberately preventing them from seeing his next move?
Did Shigure have a secret?
Then again, every shinobi carried secrets. That wasn't a crime—it was part of their nature.
Inside the Mist Cage, the calm, mechanical voice of the Great Sage echoed in Shigure's mind.
[Great Sage: Analysis complete. Sealing of the Three-Tails can begin.]
The analysis was finished, though no new or special chakra attributes had been detected.
It seemed the Three-Tails didn't possess any unique chakra nature beyond its immense raw power.
"Let's begin," Shigure said calmly.
At his command, the Great Sage initiated the sealing process. A moment later, Gluttony manifested, its presence heavy and suffocating, and began to devour the Three-Tails' essence.
Devouring wasn't the main method—merely support. With the Great Sage's intricate sealing techniques and Gluttony's consuming power working together, the process became astonishingly fast.
Inside Shigure's body, the Six-Tails watched in horror.
To contain even one Tailed Beast was a burden most couldn't imagine—but to hold two at once? That was madness.
And yet, Shigure stood there, calm and unshaken, as if it were nothing.
The overwhelming chakra of the Three-Tails struggled briefly, but it was hopeless. The beast was swallowed and sealed completely within Shigure's body.
As the final tendrils of chakra settled, Shigure closed his eyes.
Then, his body trembled slightly.
The combined chakra of the Six-Tails and Three-Tails surged outward like a storm, dark and violent.
Behind Shigure, the air distorted—nine shadowy tails unfurled in a terrifying display of power.
For a brief moment, it looked as though a Nine-Tails stood where Shigure did.
In a sense, he was now a Nine-Tailed Jinchūriki—
a being who had surpassed the limits of any ordinary shinobi.
...
TN:
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