Shigure didn't actually have much interest in fighting Itachi.
What interested him were Itachi's abilities.
But Itachi's eyes were destined to belong to Sasuke.
As for Sasuke's eyes—
Shigure already had his own ways of obtaining them later.
"Don't worry," Shigure said calmly. "Itachi is yours. I don't have much interest in him."
"Good," Sasuke replied without hesitation. "Then let's go."
Shigure nodded, then glanced past Sasuke at Suigetsu, Jūgo, and the others standing behind him.
"You're bringing them along too?"
Sasuke paused.
"Is there a problem with that?"
"It's not that you can't," Shigure replied evenly. "But Itachi is currently alone and not with the Akatsuki. We can locate him directly. There's no need for extra manpower."
Hearing that, Sasuke looked back at his companions.
"You all wait here," he said. "Once I've dealt with Itachi, I'll return."
Immediately, dissatisfaction surfaced.
"I don't want to stay in the Hidden Mist Village," Suigetsu said first.
Karin nodded in agreement.
Jūgo, as usual, showed little concern either way.
Shigure spoke indifferently,
"If you don't want to stay in the Hidden Mist Village, then go somewhere else."
The village didn't care whether a few extra people remained or left.
Suigetsu opened his mouth, momentarily speechless.
He was irritated—but this was Hidden Mist Village, and the man in front of him was its Mizukage.
Provoking Shigure would be nothing short of suicide.
"Fine," Suigetsu said grudgingly. "We'll leave the village and wait on a nearby island."
"Nearby islands are also part of Hidden Mist territory," Shigure replied flatly.
"Go wait in the Land of Fire."
After saying that, Shigure took Sasuke and left without another word.
He had no intention of wasting time on Suigetsu and the others.
If they didn't want to stay, they were free to leave.
Once the two were gone, Suigetsu stood there sulking.
At that moment, Kuji approached from behind and coldly addressed the group.
"You all have one hour to leave the Hidden Mist Village," he said.
"After that, you will be treated as enemies."
With that warning, Kuji turned and left.
Jūgo let out a helpless sigh.
"I told you to keep quiet," he said. "If you didn't want to stay, we could've left after they were gone. No one would've stopped us."
"Did you really need to say it out loud?"
"Now it's not about whether we want to stay—they're driving us out."
Suigetsu clenched his teeth, clearly indignant.
"What's wrong with me just saying one sentence?"
Before anyone could respond—
A deafening roar echoed from the distance.
A ferocious Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet surged up from the sea.
Shigure leapt onto the dragon's head, pulling Sasuke with him as the massive construct soared into the sky and shot toward the horizon.
In the blink of an eye, they vanished.
Standing atop the Water Dragon Bullet, Shigure looked down at the churning dragon beneath his feet.
A sudden thought crossed his mind.
In the Hunter world… wasn't there a technique called Dragon Star Group?
I wonder if I can recreate something similar using Water Release.
[Great Sage: Analyzing and calculating]
[Water Release — Dragon Star Group: development difficulty low. Full development is feasible.]
"So that's how it is," Shigure thought.
"Then I'll leave the calculations to you, Great Sage."
[Great Sage: Estimated time — three hours]
Three hours.
Not too long.
[Alteration skill activated]
With Alteration active, Shigure became genuinely curious.
What kind of Ninjutsu would this ultimately become?
"How long?" Sasuke suddenly asked.
Shigure thought briefly.
"About two hours."
However, the Water Dragon Bullet could only sustain itself for ten minutes once it left the sea.
[Great Sage: Integrating Six Paths chakra and Alteration into Water Dragon Bullet can resolve the duration issue]
With Alteration—
It truly seemed that nothing was impossible.
Previously, even with the Great Sage's calculations, the Water Dragon Bullet's range and duration were severely limited.
Now?
Those limitations no longer seemed absolute.
"Alright," Shigure thought.
"Then let's evolve the Water Dragon Bullet as well."
[Great Sage: Parallel calculation initiated. Estimated time — one hour]
In one hour, they would be close to land.
By then, the calculations would be complete, and reaching Itachi's location wouldn't take two hours at all.
Shigure nodded in satisfaction.
At that moment, Sasuke looked at him.
"Every time I see you," Sasuke said quietly, "you bring something new."
"To use Water Release to this level… Shigure, you're truly terrifying."
Shigure smiled faintly.
"Maybe I just have a little talent for Ninjutsu."
Sasuke let out a helpless, bitter smile.
A little talent?
That kind of ability was already beyond the limits of humanity.
If he and Shigure ever truly became enemies—
It would be an unimaginably troublesome situation.
As Shigure and Sasuke rode the Water Dragon Bullet away from the Hidden Mist Village—
Elsewhere—
Obito stood quietly, looking at Zetsu.
"They're gone."
Obito slowly opened his eyes.
"So they finally left…"
A faint, cold smile appeared beneath the mask.
"Then it's our turn to act."
The space around him warped.
Kamui activated, and Obito's figure vanished.
When he reappeared, he was already hidden within a dark corner of the Hidden Mist Village.
At that moment, Obito turned his head slightly.
From the wall beside him, Zetsu emerged, half his body fused with the stone.
"Be careful," Zetsu warned.
"There are many strange cloud pigeons in this village."
"They're likely all Shigure's eyes—some kind of reconnaissance Ninjutsu developed by that genius Mizukage."
"If any one of them detects us, it's no different from being discovered by the Mizukage himself."
Obito frowned.
"That man really is a monster," he muttered.
"Constantly creating new Ninjutsu… just like the Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama, back then."
Zetsu tilted his head slightly.
"Perhaps… even more terrifying than Senju Tobirama."
Obito's gaze sharpened.
"Where is the Five-Tails?"
Zetsu turned and pointed in a certain direction.
"Follow me."
At the same time—
In the Hidden Cloud Village.
The Fourth Raikage, A, personally led his forces out of the village.
Kumogakure's ninja had finally located the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki, Killer Bee.
But—
It was already too late.
Killer Bee lay motionless on the ground, all signs of life gone.
The moment the Raikage saw this scene, veins burst across his eyes.
"Damn Akatsuki…"
His voice trembled with fury.
"This old man will never forgive you!"
Meanwhile—
The instant the Raikage left the village, Zetsu slipped silently into Hidden Cloud Village from another direction.
His target was already marked.
The Two-Tails Jinchūriki, Yugito Nii.
With the Raikage gone, Zetsu thought calmly,
there's nothing left to stop me.
A Two-Tails Jinchūriki shouldn't be difficult to handle.
Elsewhere—Near Konoha.
Konan looked at the man before her with concern.
"Are you really decided?"
Nagato nodded slowly.
"There isn't much time left."
"The Mizukage of the Hidden Mist Village is collecting Tailed Beasts. I don't know what he intends to do with them, but even if he simply seals them into his body, his power will continue to grow."
Nagato's eyes darkened.
"In the end… he may become an existence even I cannot defeat."
"If that happens, then all of our plans will fail."
Konan hesitated.
"If we spread the news that the Mizukage is collecting Tailed Beasts, the other great ninja villages will surely—"
"Konan."
Nagato interrupted her.
"Do you want even more people to die?"
Konan froze.
After a long silence, she slowly shook her head.
"…No."
(End of Chapter)
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