He!
He actually challenged them?
Shigure froze for a moment, and even Tsunade was caught off guard.
She hadn't expected Gaara to say something like this. After waiting for so long, he was actually challenging both Konoha and the Hidden Mist Village.
Although all of them were among the Five Great Ninja Villages, there was still a huge difference between a village with a Kage and one without.
Even if he wanted to settle things through force, he should have dealt with them one at a time.
Challenging two villages simultaneously—was this suicide?
Was he planning to drag Sunagakure straight into the abyss?
Tsunade frowned.
"Is Lord Kazekage serious?"
Gaara turned to her, his expression firm.
"I have never been more serious."
"Good!"
Shigure stood up abruptly.
"Then let us go to war! Let the Fourth Ninja World War begin!"
He chuckled lightly and added,
"Honestly, I've long felt that there are too many so-called Five Great Ninja Villages. Four would be more than enough."
Gaara's teeth clenched. Rage flashed across his face, but he quickly restrained himself and spoke in a calmer tone.
"It seems Lord Mizukage has misunderstood. I'm not proposing war—only a battle."
"A battle?"
Shigure paused.
Beside him, Kuji let out a cold snort and looked straight at Gaara.
"Hmph! You want to challenge Lord Shigure?"
"I alone am more than enough to deal with you. There's no need for Lord Mizukage to act personally!"
Gaara was well aware of Kuji's strength. Sasori had already told him exactly what kind of monster the man beside Shigure was.
A shinobi who possessed the Kaguya Clan's kekkei genkai—Shikotsumyaku.
In terms of raw combat power, Kuji was no weaker than Shigure himself.
If Gaara were to face him now… he would still be at a disadvantage.
Yet Gaara smiled faintly.
"What are you?"
"You're just a Kirigakure shinobi."
"Are you even qualified to represent the Hidden Mist Village?"
"What did you say?!"
Kuji took a step forward, killing intent surging—but Shigure raised his hand, stopping him.
Gaara then looked directly at Shigure.
"The Hidden Sand Village is challenging the Mizukage, not some unknown ninja from Kirigakure."
"Fine."
Shigure nodded calmly.
"I accept."
He wasn't worried in the slightest. Whether Kuji fought or he fought personally, Gaara posed no threat.
At that moment, Gaara suddenly spoke again.
"I assume that a dignified Mizukage wouldn't care who from our village challenges him, correct?"
Shigure narrowed his eyes slightly.
Is he planning to send someone else?
If Gaara fought him personally, it would be nothing more than self-destruction.
"It makes no difference," Shigure said with a chuckle.
"No matter who it is, do you really think they can stand against me?"
Gaara clenched his fist.
"That's not necessarily true."
As he spoke, he turned toward the black-robed figure standing beside him.
The man slowly stepped forward.
"The one challenging Lord Mizukage… is me."
Shigure looked at him carefully. His face was completely hidden beneath a strange black cloak.
But the moment he arrived, Shigure had already guessed who it was.
"Sasori of the Red Sand."
"I didn't expect you to actually return to Sunagakure."
At the mention of that name, Shikaku's expression changed.
"Sasori of the Red Sand? The missing-nin from the Hidden Sand Village?"
"I've heard he's a prodigy in puppet techniques…"
"This is him?"
Tsunade spoke with a cold expression,
"To bring a missing-nin back into the village…"
Gaara looked at her calmly.
"What? Is it forbidden?"
"I wasn't the one who set this precedent."
His gaze shifted toward Shigure.
"Didn't that person recruit plenty of missing-nin back into his own village?"
Tsunade fell silent, her expression dark.
"Two powerful Kage stand before us," Gaara continued.
"The Hidden Sand Village is weak. If I challenged both of you alone, that would be impossible."
"So having my guard step forward to challenge one of you isn't unreasonable, is it?"
Shigure looked at Gaara calmly.
If he wanted Sasori to fight him, there was no need for all this explanation.
He didn't care who stood in front of him.
"No need to explain," Shigure said lightly.
"It doesn't matter who fights me."
"What matters is this—if you lose, the price Sunagakure pays will only become more tragic."
Gaara's expression darkened.
"Fine."
"If we lose, the Hidden Sand Village will provide the Hidden Mist Village with an additional ten years of gold dust."
Ten years.
Shigure raised an eyebrow.
That was a substantial stake—but acceptable.
"Deal."
Gaara then turned toward Tsunade.
"If I lose to Hokage-sama, Sunagakure will compensate Konoha double."
That covered the loss.
But what about victory?
"If we win," Gaara continued,
"the twenty-year agreement with the Hidden Mist Village will be reduced by ten years."
Win meant gaining ten years.
Lose meant losing ten years.
Fair.
"The same applies to Konoha," Gaara said.
"If we win, Sunagakure owes nothing. If we lose, we compensate double."
In Shigure's eyes, Gaara was gambling everything.
But it made sense.
If Sunagakure didn't take this risk, it would be drained dry regardless—unable to recover for decades.
And decades of stagnation meant extinction.
Perhaps, in a few decades, there would no longer be Five Great Ninja Villages.
Only four.
That was why Gaara chose to stake everything.
"Your terms are acceptable," Shigure said calmly.
"Then let us begin."
At that moment, Sasori of the Red Sand frowned slightly.
If the battle took place on this island—surrounded by seawater—
That would be the worst possible environment for him.
"Here?" Sasori said slowly.
"Isn't this battlefield far too advantageous for Lord Mizukage?"
Before he could finish speaking—
Shigure looked at Sasori with icy calm.
"Don't worry," he said lightly. "The battle won't take place here. If I accidentally destroyed this island, I'd be rather troubled."
Then he added casually,
"And secondly—I won't be using Water Release. So you can put your mind at ease."
Not here?
Then where?
Before anyone could question it, the sea beneath them suddenly reacted.
In the next instant, the water on the ocean's surface began to churn violently. Vast currents converged, spiraling inward as if drawn by an invisible force, rapidly spreading outward into an enormous circular formation.
Crack!
A sharp, brittle sound rang out.
Bone-chilling cold surged through the air, and in the blink of an eye, the swirling seawater froze solid.
A colossal ice arena materialized directly atop the sea.
The frozen surface was smooth and expansive, stretching far into the distance—an artificial battlefield forged in a single moment.
Shigure looked at the vast ice platform beneath his feet and nodded slightly.
"How about it?" he asked calmly. "Big enough?"
He turned his gaze back to Sasori.
"Well?"
At that moment, Sasori was far more shaken than he let on.
How… did he do that?
There were no hand seals.
No obvious chakra fluctuations.
Yet an entire arena had been frozen into existence in an instant.
This wasn't simply Ice Release.
This was absolute, terrifying control over ninjutsu itself.
Sasori's eyes narrowed beneath his cloak.
Just how far has this Mizukage pushed his mastery…?
(End of Chapter)
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