At that moment, Obito froze.
His body locked for an instant, as if the air itself had solidified around him.
Cold sweat slid down his forehead. Even without turning back, he could feel it—
This chakra… was wrong.
"It seems I arrived later than expected."
"The Yuki sisters… so they've already died."
A voice echoed through the frozen cavern.
Konan felt it first—the temperature had dropped dramatically.
The underground space seemed completely encased in ice.
She slowly turned her head.
A figure walked past her, steps quiet, expression unreadable.
Walking straight toward the corpses of the twin Yuki sisters.
"Shigure? You're… back?" Terumi Mei asked sharply. "Didn't you say it would take at least half an hour?"
The moment she spoke Shigure's name, everyone fell silent.
Konan's eyes grew serious.
He broke the seal?
That was a fuinjutsu originating from the ancestor of sealing techniques—one of the most terrifying seals in history.
Breaking it should have been impossible.
And from the Land of Rain to Kirigakure…
Obito used space-time ninjutsu.
How did Shigure return so fast?
Does he also possess some kind of spatial ninjutsu?
Shigure knelt beside the fallen Qiansha and Caika.
He let out a long, quiet sigh.
He'd liked these two sisters—their talents were rare.
Among the Yuki Clan, only these two had been able to master Shigure's personal Ice Release methods.
They were special.
He had intended to train them further.
He never expected they would die here.
He raised a hand, letting mist and frost wrap gently around their bodies.
Then he turned, his gaze sharpening as it landed on Obito.
"So trapping me was just a way to attack my people?"
Obito's expression hardened.
He inhaled slowly, eyes narrowing.
"I didn't expect… you could break that sealing technique so quickly."
"It seems the 'great ancestor of sealing' was overrated."
His dismissal of Uzumaki Ashina hung heavy in the air.
Shigure smiled faintly.
"Is that so? And here I thought you'd come up with something clever to deal with me."
His expression cooled.
"But… it was useless."
His eyes shifted to Konan.
"So you prepared quite a bit. You absorbed a tailed beast and became a jinchūriki yourself."
Konan stiffened.
Shigure tilted his head.
"So? How does it feel—to be a host?"
Konan's eyes widened.
How does he know?
She hadn't used Shukaku's power even once.
Yet this man had seen through her instantly.
Yahiko stepped forward, emboldened by his Edo Tensei body.
"Sixth Mizukage of Kirigakure, huh? You act tough, but—why don't you show me what a Kage of the Five Nations can—"
Shigure looked at him with cold indifference.
"So many words for someone already dead."
He flicked his hand lazily.
"Begone."
In that instant—
Godly Suppression activated.
Yahiko froze.
He looked down, horrified.
His body was dissolving, turning into drifting ash.
"Yahiko!"
Konan lunged forward desperately, but she couldn't reach him in time.
She could only watch him crumble away again.
"Bastard! What did you do to Yahiko?! Give him back—give Yahiko back to me!"
Obito and Zetsu were stunned as Yahiko vanished with a single gesture.
Konan erupted in rage.
Countless explosive tags unfurled around her like wings, all aimed at Shigure.
Terumi shouted from the side, alarmed:
"Be careful—those are explosive tags!"
Shigure merely smiled.
"Don't worry."
He lifted a finger.
The tags vanished.
Konan surged forward anyway, but Shigure caught her by the throat in one clean motion.
He shook his head slightly.
"Shukaku…
It doesn't belong to you. Return it."
His palm pressed to her forehead.
Devour.
A black, consuming force erupted—
and Shukaku's chakra was pulled directly from Konan's body.
Swish—
In one swift motion, Shigure tore the tailed beast chakra straight out of Konan's body.
Obito was stunned.
He knew how long it normally took to extract and reseal a tailed beast—
yet Shigure had ripped Shukaku out of a jinchūriki as casually as pulling a thread from cloth.
And suddenly, everything became clear.
So that's why he distributed the tailed beasts to trusted ninjas.
Shigure could reclaim any of them at any time.
It wasn't generosity.
It was complete control.
He absorbed Shukaku into himself without hesitation.
Konan, unconscious, was tossed aside like a discarded puppet.
Then Shigure turned toward Obito—
and the power inside him surged.
[Gluttony Skill — 90% Restored]
Devouring the One-Tail had partially repaired the ability.
Another two-tailed beast and the skill would be nearly complete.
Obito exhaled slowly.
"Terrifying… You really are becoming more and more dangerous."
He lifted his hands.
"It seems today ends here."
He reached for Zetsu, clearly intending to withdraw.
But Shigure's voice stopped him.
"You think you can leave?"
Obito smiled beneath his mask.
Maybe he couldn't defeat Shigure—not right now.
But escape? Escape was easy.
He still had Kamui, after all—
instantaneous, absolute, untouchable.
"Whether I can leave…" Obito said, grabbing Zetsu. "Surely you know the answer."
He tilted his head.
"You've gathered so many tailed beasts. Aren't you afraid the other villages will come for you?"
Shigure smiled lightly.
"Afraid? No."
Obito nodded slowly.
"Fine then. I hope you won't regret it."
"No regrets," Shigure replied.
But then—
Obito's chakra faltered.
Kamui didn't activate.
A sharp, stabbing pain tore through his brain, and for the first time in his life—his Mangekyō's ability failed.
Obito's eyes widened behind his mask.
"You… did something?"
Shigure nodded calmly.
"You guessed it. I did."
A heartbeat later, Obito felt another pain—this time in his abdomen.
He looked down.
A blood hole had appeared cleanly through his stomach.
No movement.
No hand seals.
No attack he'd seen.
When…?
Was it when Shigure walked past?
Or when he looked away?
He couldn't remember it—because it hadn't existed until Shigure wanted it to.
"This… this must be an illusion…"
But even as he said it, Obito already knew—It was too real.
And Shigure's eyes held no trace of genjutsu.