Kakashi had once believed that Shigure would grow into an elite jōnin no weaker than himself.
Given enough time and experience, Shigure would even be qualified to become the Hokage of Konoha.
Sasuke and Naruto, too, would rise to become extraordinarily powerful elite jōnin.
The three of them would revive Konoha together—known to the world as the Three Oddities.
But reality had taken an entirely different turn.
Because of Danzō, Shigure was traded away to the Hidden Mist Village.
Because of revenge, Sasuke left Konoha of his own will.
Only Naruto remained.
Yet even then, Kakashi could feel it—Naruto's disappointment with Konoha had never truly faded.
This village had disappointed three once-in-a-generation geniuses.
And that failure… lay partly with him.
Kakashi raised his glass and drank it down in one gulp, then lowered his head, deep self-reproach flickering in his eyes.
Naruto glanced at Kakashi, then turned to look at Sasuke.
Finally, his gaze settled on Shigure.
"…Is it still possible to return to Konoha?"
Though Naruto didn't say Shigure's name outright, Shigure knew exactly who the question was meant for.
Shigure smiled calmly.
"I am now the Mizukage of the Hidden Mist—the Sixth Mizukage."
Then he looked directly at Naruto.
"If I were to go to Konoha, your Hokage would need to personally come out and welcome me."
The meaning was obvious.
Return to Konoha—for what?
To become the Sixth Hokage?
As the Sixth Mizukage, his status was no lower than that of the Hokage.
And here, in the Hidden Mist Village, Shigure was the sole authority.
Konoha was different.
Naruto lowered his head.
He understood now.
Shigure was no longer someone he could simply bring back to Konoha.
More than that—if Naruto were to make a move against Shigure now, it would be seen as a direct provocation by Konoha toward the Hidden Mist Village.
It would become an international incident.
When facing Shigure, Naruto no longer had the freedom to act on impulse.
Naruto smiled bitterly.
"Back then… it was just Danzō who wanted to—"
"I know."
Shigure's voice was calm.
How could he not know what had happened back then?
But whether it was Danzō's decision or something else, no one had stepped forward to stop it.
And Danzō had never been the only one at the top of Konoha.
Even now—though the old guard was gone—Danzō, Koharu, and Homura were all dead.
Konoha had become a Hokage's one-man rule.
But even so…
What reason did Shigure have to return?
His life as Mizukage was good.
Very good.
Naruto looked at him.
Since Shigure understood everything, why did he still choose this path?
Shigure answered calmly, as if stating an obvious truth.
"For me, being in Konoha or the Hidden Mist makes no difference."
He paused briefly.
"But here, I live better."
"And that alone is reason enough not to go back."
Naruto was completely stunned by Shigure's words.
This meant that Konoha no longer held any place in Shigure's heart.
Anything more he said would be meaningless.
Naruto turned his gaze toward Sasuke.
Sasuke was calmly drinking juice. When he noticed Naruto looking at him, he spoke first—without waiting for Naruto to open his mouth.
"If you want to reminisce, I can talk with you for a while," Sasuke said coldly.
"Otherwise, there's no need to speak."
"I will never return to a place like Konoha."
Shigure had been abandoned by the village—Naruto understood that. He also understood that Shigure had already let go and no longer cared.
But the past could never be recovered.
Still… Sasuke?
"Sasuke," Naruto asked, frowning, "the village carefully nurtured you. So why did you still become a missing-nin?"
Hearing this, Sasuke laughed.
A cold, mocking laugh.
"The village nurtured me?" Sasuke asked. "What did Konoha ever give me? Did it give me the complete annihilation of the Uchiha Clan? Did it give me a broken home and death?"
Naruto frowned deeply. "What does that have to do with Konoha? That wasn't your brother's—"
"Naruto," Sasuke interrupted, his voice sharp, "do you really think that without the Third Hokage's tacit approval, an entire clan could be wiped out overnight?"
Ever since Shigure had hinted at it, Sasuke had thought deeply about that night.
Itachi was strong—there was no doubt about that.
But his father was by no means weak.
If a real battle had broken out, it would have lasted at least a full day and night. And the final victor might very well have been his father—not Itachi.
Yet the Uchiha Clan had been exterminated in a single night.
Quickly. Cleanly.
That alone proved that Konoha hadn't sent help.
More than that—it was very likely that Konoha's ninja had been involved.
Of course, the direct culprit, Danzō, was already dead.
But just like Shigure's case, the higher-ups of Konoha had never tried to stop it.
Sasuke would never return to Konoha.
"Sasuke… so that's what you think."
Naruto stared at him, anger flickering in his eyes. To him, accusing the village based on speculation and then defecting was nothing short of betrayal.
"Sasuke!"
Naruto slowly stood up.
"Let's go outside."
The meaning was obvious.
Naruto wanted to fight.
The moment those words fell, Suigetsu immediately drew his sword, grinning wildly.
"These Konoha bugs have been yapping for ages," he said. "Are they finally going to fight? I couldn't hold back anymore."
Jūgo also raised his hand, dense natural energy beginning to gather around his body.
Though Sai and Sakura said nothing, they both instinctively entered a combat-ready stance.
Kakashi's gaze locked onto Jūgo.
Among the three opponents, Jūgo was the most dangerous.
"You want to fight already?"
Shigure suddenly spoke.
"If that's the case, then let's take it outside."
"The Hidden Mist Village is under construction everywhere right now," he continued calmly.
"Don't you dare damage our buildings."
As he spoke, Shigure spread his hand.
A strange, transparent spherical space instantly expanded outward.
In an instant—
Before anyone could react—
ROOM — Transfer!
The next moment, everyone appeared on the lake outside the Mizukage Building.
The lake surface was completely frozen.
The vast expanse of ice sealed the entire area, forming a natural battlefield.
The Mizukage Building stood at the center.
Shigure looked around at everyone.
"How's this place?" he asked casually. "Enough room for you to go all out, right?"
Everyone stared at him in shock.
Just moments ago, they had been inside a private hotel room.
How had they suddenly arrived here?
A space–time ninjutsu?
Kakashi glanced at the cup still in his hand, a faint smile appearing on his face.
I always thought this kid would eventually master some form of space–time ninjutsu…
But I never imagined it would be something this bizarre.
It was terrifying.
Sasuke was surprised—but his focus was entirely on Naruto.
"Then come on, Naruto," Sasuke said coldly.
"Let me see how much you've improved to give you the confidence to say those things to me."
As he spoke, Sasuke drew his Kusanagi sword.
Lightning erupted.
Chidori Blade activated instantly, crackling violently along the blade.
At the same time, Naruto rapidly formed hand seals and drew a kunai.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Blade!"
A long blade formed from compressed flowing wind extended from the kunai.
The two faced each other.
In the next instant—
Their auras exploded outward simultaneously.
Sai's pupils shrank.
So this is the power of the Three Oddities of Konoha…
Just their killing intent alone is making my body tremble…
(End of Chapter)
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