The sharp hum of the blade rang out.
Shigure's sword trembled with a strange ripple—an arcane fluctuation born from Six Paths power, amplified further as Tailed Beast Chakra surged into it.
With the Ten-Tails' chakra coursing through his arm, the moment Shigure's blade touched the Tailed Beast Bomb—
—it split cleanly in half.
RUMBLE!!!
Two crimson beams streaked past him on either side, dissolving into the sky and sea behind him.
Nagato stared blankly.
Impossible.
The Tailed Beast Bomb—the ultimate destructive power feared by every major village—had been bisected like a fruit.
With one swing.
"What… what did you do?" Nagato muttered.
Just one sword.
One stroke.
And it severed something even the Five Kage struggled to withstand.
Shigure flexed his fingers, feeling the swirling density of Ten-Tails chakra.
So this was its true quality—far beyond any ordinary tailed beast's chakra. It felt complete. Pure. Absolute.
His gaze rose to Nagato, and a faint smile curved across his lips.
A perfect test subject.
"Ice Release."
At once, the sea—and the entire towering water prison Shigure had created—froze solid in a single, thunderous instant.
Ice spread like a living network, cracking and locking the world in crystalline white.
Nagato's breath hitched as cold wrapped around him from every direction.
Shigure raised his blade and pointed it directly at him.
"Be careful, Nagato."
Snowflakes materialized in midair.
Tens… hundreds… thousands—spiraling, compressing, merging into a serpentine blizzard that roared toward Nagato like a dragon.
Shinra Tensei!
The gravity wave blasted the snow away, but it couldn't stop the overwhelming chill. Ice climbed Nagato's robes, creeping up his arms.
He was forced to dodge, breaking free just in time.
Shigure laughed softly.
Too strong.
Ice Release empowered by the Ten-Tails… it was on an entirely different level. Even he hadn't expected it to grow this potent.
A sudden flash burst from Shigure's hand.
Lightning Release—Laser Stream.
Light condensed, focused into a single razor-like thread.
He flicked it.
The beam shot out instantly—
—and tore through Nagato's shoulder.
Nagato's eyes widened.
So fast… what kind of technique—?
"Where are you looking?"
Shigure's voice whispered beside him.
Nagato turned—
Just in time to see the downward arc of Shigure's blade.
This time, the sword was coated in the molten glow of Lava Release.
Nagato raised a black rod to block—
CRACK!
The rod shattered.
The blazing edge carved through his chest armor, ripping open a burning gash that made Nagato's face blanch in pain.
But Shigure wasn't done.
He spun lightly, and the air shimmered around his fingertips.
Light gathered—dozens of points, hundreds—
Flash!
A concentrated beam exploded forward, aimed straight at Nagato's forehead from point-blank range.
The blast detonated a moment later.
FWOOM!
Fire engulfed a radius of dozens of meters.
Far away on the water, Shigure stood unharmed—having teleported with ROOM: Transfer the instant before the detonation.
He held the blade in a reverse grip, eyes trained on the fading explosion.
As the flames dissipated, Nagato emerged, breathing raggedly.
He had used Shinra Tensei to shield himself, but even then—he barely survived. The force of Shigure's attack had nearly overwhelmed his gravity repulsion.
Nagato wiped the blood at his mouth.
Such destructive power…
Then—
WHOOOOOSH—!!
Wind.
Fire.
Lightning.
Earth.
Water.
Five separate elemental jutsu surged toward him simultaneously—a roaring wall of nature itself, converging to crush him.
Nagato froze for half a heartbeat.
He's attacking with five nature transformations at once—?
He tried to raise Shinra Tensei again—
Too slow.
He jumped out of the way, but—
Shigure appeared above him.
His blade was raised high—coated in spiraling, condensed Tailed Beast Chakra.
"Crescent Moon—Heavenly Impact!"
The strike fell.
Rumble—!
A black-red arc of light tore across the frozen battlefield, engulfing Nagato entirely.
The ice beneath them split apart, and even the towering ice crystal prison was cleaved neatly in two.
From the distant ruins of Kirigakure, the surviving shinobi stared wordlessly, throats dry.
"That light—"
"Isn't that Mizukage-sama's technique? The sword art called Crescent Heavenly Impact!"
"Seriously?"
"That thing looks like it's about to slice the sky open!"
BOOM! BOOM!
Explosions erupted as Nagato pushed his failing body to evade the attack, but the crescent arc abruptly curved mid-flight.
Shigure smiled faintly.
"Trying to escape? Can you?"
The instant he expanded ROOM, his other abilities activated simultaneously.
This time, he controlled the trajectory of his own attack.
The dozens of black-red beams scattered in the air suddenly bent, converging as if pulled by invisible strings. With a flick of Shigure's hand, they accelerated toward Nagato like hunting predators.
Nagato couldn't avoid them.
He turned abruptly, eyes widening as he looked back at Shigure.
This man's combat style—
What was it?
It was as if Shigure could manipulate anything—matter, energy, even ninjutsu—at will.
Nagato no longer understood how Shigure was fighting, nor what rules governed his techniques.
Why?
The crescent light swept through his body.
The overwhelming force swallowed him whole.
Nagato's consciousness unraveled.
Darkness encroached—
—and then a black, writhing mass wrapped around him.
"Glutton. Extract the Eight-Tails for me."
Shigure's gaze shifted to Nagato's Rinnegan.
That was what he truly desired.
Six Paths power—fully compatible with Ten-Tails chakra.
"Glutton," Shigure ordered, "devour him."
The monstrous entity surged forward, consuming Nagato completely.
Meanwhile — At the Gedo Statue's Hidden Chamber
Obito jolted awake.
He blinked, looking around in confusion.
"I… didn't die?"
White Zetsu emerged from the shadows.
"You're lucky. That guy seemed to have some other problem at the end. You managed to survive."
Obito exhaled shakily.
"So the heavens didn't let me die after all."
"But Nagato is dead."
Obito's expression stiffened.
"What about the Rinnegan?"
Zetsu shook his head.
"Gone. Nagato's body disappeared. The Rinnegan might have been destroyed by that monster."
Obito's face fell into despair.
Without the Rinnegan, everything collapsed.
Without it, the Gedo Statue could not be controlled.
Without it, the Moon's Eye Plan couldn't proceed.
Centuries of planning—ruined.
Zetsu trembled with something like fury and hopelessness.
The Rinnegan was the core of the plan.
Without it, even reviving the dead—something only that eye could accomplish—became impossible.
Everything was over.
They would need to start from nothing.
And that could take millennia.
Back at the Frozen Sea
[Glutton: Fusion—Rinnegan]
Ice shattered outward as Shigure stood calmly, eyes closed.
He felt it.
The merging of ocular powers.
The rise of Six Paths energy.
A depth of strength that transcended all mortal limits.
When he opened his eyes, the sensation was unmistakable.
He no longer felt human.
In this moment—
Shigure finally understood what it meant to wield the power of a god.