A colossal torrent of water suddenly poured down from the sky.
The massive crater left behind by the Super Shinra Tensei was nearly half-filled in an instant.
What had been broken earth now became a super-sized artificial lake.
The Nine-Tails struggled awkwardly atop the churning waters.
In the distance, the Six Paths of Pain stood upon the surface as well, watching the rising waves—
and Shigure, rising and falling with them.
Nagato's expression tightened.
Just a single instant.
In merely that moment, Shigure had summoned such an overwhelming amount of water. If Nagato hadn't reacted immediately, he'd already be lying somewhere at the bottom of the lake.
The water should have been still—yet he could feel current running beneath his feet.
Something was undeniably off.
This wasn't ordinary Water Release.
Shigure was manipulating the currents themselves.
A thunderous roar exploded from the Nine-Tails as it charged straight toward Shigure.
But this time, Shigure didn't even lift a hand.
Columns of water surged upward like living walls, blocking the Nine-Tails head-on.
Forced to detour, the beast moved to circle around—
but the moment it tried, the waters heaved.
Streams of water shot out from below like binding vines, slamming into the massive fox.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Under the relentless impact of several converging water whips, the Nine-Tails was sent skidding across the surface.
Shigure lifted his hand.
Countless tiny droplets hovered in front of him—he hadn't even noticed when they gathered there.
He lightly tapped one.
A sharp crack echoed as the droplet accelerated like a bullet, piercing through the air and striking the Nine-Tails.
The beast's form flickered as it attempted to dodge, but the rain of impact was too dense. Each hit slowed its movements more and more.
Then—
Water tentacles erupted from the surface, curling around the Nine-Tails and locking its limbs in place.
Shigure appeared in front of the restrained beast, forming hand seals.
He was preparing a sealing ninjutsu.
But at that very moment, the Nine-Tails' chakra violently erupted, shredding through the watery restraints in a single explosive wave.
Clang!!
A metallic screech rang out as Shigure was knocked backward across the water, sending twin walls of water rising on either side of him.
He steadied himself just as a small crystalline shard in front of him shattered into nothing.
Nagato's eyes widened in disbelief.
Ice Release.
But what kind?
He had clearly seen the Nine-Tails' claws thrust toward Shigure's abdomen—
only for Shigure to instantly manifest a tiny ice crystal, barely the size of a fingernail, to block the blow.
A fingernail-sized Ice Release construct had stopped a direct Nine-Tails strike—
and even created sparks on contact.
Nagato felt his breath catch.
This was absurd.
The waters burst outward again as the enraged Nine-Tails charged once more.
Shigure sighed.
"Still not going to behave?"
This time, he didn't raise a single Water Release defense.
He let the Nine-Tails rush straight toward him.
Just as the beast spread its claws, ready to rip him apart—
Crack!
A shockwave rippled outward.
Shigure's kick struck the Nine-Tails square in the chest, launching the massive fox backward like a boulder.
Hum—
Circular ripples spread from beneath Shigure's feet, pulse after pulse, shaking the entire lake.
This time, he initiated the attack.
His body blurred upward, bathed in golden light.
For a brief second, all eyes instinctively followed the flash—
just before Shigure shot downward like a golden comet.
Crack!
With light-speed acceleration, his kick slammed into the Nine-Tails once again.
The lake erupted beneath the impact, sending an enormous geyser of water blasting toward the sky.
The Nine-Tails was slammed straight into the bottom of the lake.
Shigure stood calmly atop the water.
A cold, ghostly blue glow flickered in his eyes.
Ice Release — Ice Age.
In the next instant, the entire lake surface froze solid.
The water that had filled most of the crater instantly crystallized into a vast sheet of ice.
Shigure placed his palms against the frozen surface.
A sealing jutsu unfolded.
Black sealing lines spiraled outward.
Within a few breaths, the Nine-Tails was completely suppressed beneath the ice, its chakra forcibly bound.
As the violent chakra fluctuations faded, Shigure finally exhaled.
"You'll behave yourself now, won't you."
The Nine-Tails fell silent, and the Konoha shinobi nearby swallowed hard.
"What just happened?"
"Is… the Nine-Tails dead?"
Despite their resentment toward the beast, it was still Konoha's Tailed Beast.
It absolutely could not die like this.
A Hyūga clan member activated his Byakugan, scanning the ice.
"No… it's sealed!"
Sealed?
The Mizukage had sealed the rampaging Nine-Tails—that quickly?
The destructive Water Release just moments earlier had achieved nothing.
But the instant he got serious, in only two strikes, he had rendered the Nine-Tails unable to resist.
And sealed it in the blink of an eye.
This was beyond overwhelming.
As expected of the man hailed as the strongest Mizukage in history.
The Nine-Tails might as well have been a toy in his hands.
Shigure turned his gaze toward the Six Paths of Pain—and Konan floating beside them.
"We meet again," he said directly to her.
Konan's expression tightened.
Her tone was solemn. "Do you really intend to fight him?"
Nagato, speaking through Yahiko's body, laughed lightly.
"At this point, do we really have the option to retreat?"
Leaving now would not be simple.
The Six Paths of Pain were powerful—but Nagato himself could barely move.
Konan shifted into a battle stance, but Nagato abruptly said:
"Leave this to me. You go!"
Konan's brows furrowed. Nagato alone against Shigure… was dangerous.
Shigure's voice cut through the icy air.
"If you want to fight, then fight.
I don't want to waste too much time."
The Six Paths of Pain advanced slowly toward him.
Konan rose higher into the air.
"Be careful!"
With that, she dissolved into countless sheets of paper and disappeared.
Shigure smiled faintly.
"She won't escape. And neither will you."
Nagato froze for a moment.
Was Shigure saying he intended to kill them?
Or… that he already knew something?
Nagato's eyes hardened.
"I'm not running. I'll face you head-on!"
"To be honest, I originally planned to fight you again after gaining the Tailed Beast's power…
but it seems I can't wait until everything is ready."
Shigure shrugged.
"It doesn't matter. Even if you had Tailed Beast power, the result would be the same."
That wasn't the answer Nagato expected.
Such arrogance… yet somehow it felt justified.
After all, Shigure—young as he was—had earned the title of the strongest Mizukage in history.
A little arrogance was natural.