"Everyone! Follow me — drive the Sand shinobi out now!" Might Guy barked, glancing at Shigure. He patted Shigure's shoulder once and, without another word, hurried off with the Konoha shinobi at his back.
Before long only Shigure and Rasa remained in the arena.
From the stands, Mei Terumi — who had come with Ao and Chōjūrō — caught sight of the standoff between Shigure and the Fourth Kazekage.
"The Fourth Kazekage!" Mei froze. Seeing the Kazekage in that state was shocking — he looked less like a living man and more like a puppet.
"Edo Tensei — Impure World Reincarnation?" she murmured. It had to be that forbidden jutsu of the Second Hokage.
Somehow the dignified Kazekage had been killed without anyone noticing, then summoned back and used as a pawn. Mei found herself oddly impressed by Orochimaru's ruthlessness; as one of Konoha's Three Legendary Sannin, he had methods that matched his reputation. If someone wanted to destroy Konoha with a show like this, Orochimaru was certainly capable of it.
"Lord Mizukage — that's Shigure, right? Should we intervene?" Chōjūrō asked.
Mei waved him off. "Not yet."
"Not intervene? He bears the kekkei genkai of the Wuyue clan. Are we really going to let him stay in Konoha like this?" Ao protested.
"Of course not," Mei said, but a calculating light danced in her eyes. "Even if we don't drag him away by force, he won't remain in Konoha for long."
Ao frowned. Why would Konoha willingly let such a promising young shinobi leave? Mei expected the doubt — and only said, quietly, "Wait and see."
Konoha might behave differently under Hiruzen Sarutobi's direct leadership, but without him things could change. Mei moved to the edge of the crowd, prepared to watch the fight and then slip away.
Shigure paid little heed to Mei's whispering. His gaze was fixed on the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa. What commands had Orochimaru given him?
"Boy — what's your name?" Rasa called, and at that moment a shaft of golden sand shot up from the battlefield, slamming toward Shigure's flank.
Whether Rasa had meant to distract him or not, Shigure didn't flinch. His eyes flashed with a cold blue light; ice crystals condensed in an instant, forming a wall that met the sand head-on. The sand struck and froze where it hit.
"Ice?" Rasa sneered. "Are you from the Yuki clan of Kirigakure — the Hidden Mist Village?"
The appearance of a Kirigakure-style kekkei genkai in Konoha was surprising.
Shigure had little choice but to infer people's origins from their techniques. He considered whether to use Wood Release, and then thought better of it.
[Great Sage: I have analyzed one of the First Hokage's Wood Release techniques — a World-Tree type jutsu — but not all of his Wood Release ninjutsu.]
Shigure sighed inwardly. After so much effort, he'd only acquired a single Wood Release technique from the First Hokage's repertoire.
[Great Sage: I have also analyzed many of the Second Hokage's space-time/escape techniques. The host has already acquired several.]
"A consolation prize, then," Shigure muttered. "The Second's techniques are useful."
Rasa's eyes flicked back toward the rear. "But why would a Kirigakure kekkei genkai user be serving Konoha? Aren't you afraid Kirigakure will come claiming him?"
"That's not it," came a cold reply. "The Hidden Mist is already at our doorstep."
"Lord Kazekage, take care of yourself first!" someone called.
Shigure raised a hand. Clouds and mist billowed outward in a sudden expansion, sending tendrils of white steam skittering toward Rasa. At the same moment, a surge of golden sand burst from under Rasa's feet and rushed at Shigure, trying to sever the creeping white vines.
"Odd technique," Rasa said, watching the smoke and mist curl around Shigure. "What is this?"
Shigure's voice was calm. "So you think I belong to their village because of one smoke-style escape? You judged me by a single technique. Do you believe ice or smoke is unique to Kirigakure?"
Rasa shrugged, dismissive. "Just a kid."
He raised his hand and drove the sand forward in a relentless torrent.
This time Shigure didn't try to block with a single frozen wall. He let the clouds spread and cloak the incoming sand, then shifted tactics — extending his control outward to seize the battle.
Shigure focused. Activate thought acceleration.
His thoughts sharpened, calculations running faster as he probed Rasa's rhythm and the sand's flow. White tendrils tried to bind the grains; where the sand met the mist it hissed and clumped, then crystallized under Shigure's will. The two forces collided in a dazzling display: gold against silver, sand against frost, each attack answered by a precise counter.
Around them the arena hummed with tension. Mei watched, still considering her options. Rasa's expression hardened as he realized this boy was no ordinary shinobi. Shigure's control, his quick shifts between elemental methods, and his calm in the face of a Kage-level summons — all hinted at a deeper reserve of power than anyone had guessed.
Whatever Orochimaru had instructed Rasa to do, whatever role the Kazekage had been forced into, the fight between Shigure and Rasa was far from over.
[Great Sage: Thinking Acceleration has been enabled]
In the next instant, Shigure manipulated the surrounding clouds, thickening them into fog. Within that haze, a corrosive acid mist spread outward.
A sharp hissing followed as Rasa's gold sand was engulfed — but Shigure quickly realized his mistake.
Gold doesn't corrode.
The golden grains cut straight through the mist, surging toward him like a tidal wave, trying to envelop his body.
Shigure twisted aside in time, evading the attack, and clicked his tongue. "Tch… I forgot. So acid mist won't work on gold. Fine — I'll test Cloud Release again later. For now, I need to put an end to the Fourth Kazekage."
Ice Release, Boil Release, even his cloud and fog techniques weren't the ideal counters to gold sand. The best option here was—
Ninjutsu!
Shigure's hands blurred through a sequence of seals before he inhaled deeply. Just as another wave of gold sand rolled toward him, he released it.
"Water Release — Great Waterfall Technique!"
BOOM!
A massive torrent of water erupted from his mouth, slamming into the advancing sandstorm with crushing force.
Rasa narrowed his eyes. "Not bad. To immediately think of water to dampen my gold dust… impressive."
He lifted his hand slightly, and the soaked gold sand sluggishly rose again. "But remember this, boy. Even if it's heavy when wet, I can still control it!"
The glittering grains surged forward again.
Shigure's lips curved into a faint smile. "That's fine by me."
He pressed a foot down on a drifting cloud, his figure suddenly accelerating forward as if the air itself carried him. In a blink, he closed the gap between himself and the Kazekage.
He wasn't yet capable of the Great Sage's precision with Cloud Release, but with enough distance, it was more than enough to bind his target.
Rasa scowled, raising both hands to summon more gold sand — but Shigure was already upon him, palm extended.
White mist coiled into existence, twisting into solid tendrils. The vines spread out with uncanny speed, bypassing the defenses of the gold sand and snaking directly toward the Kazekage.
Rasa's eyes widened in shock as the vines coiled around his limbs, tightening with relentless force. He struggled, attempting to shatter the strange binding with his sand, but Shigure was already moving.
A blade of chakra extended in his grip, slicing through the wall of sand that tried to block him.
"White Vine Seal—!"
The glowing tendrils constricted, sealing Rasa's movements in an instant.
...
TN:
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