"You!"
Shigure descended slowly from the Flying Nimbus.
Haku and Chōjūrō had already leapt down, their stances tense and alert.
Chōjūrō gripped Hiramekarei tightly, swallowing hard, his nerves plain on his face.
Haku, on the other hand, quietly slid on his hunter-nin mask. For him, it was ritual—once the mask was in place, he fought without hesitation.
Utakata's eyes narrowed as he studied the three.
That mask… he had seen it before on Kirigakure's hunter-nin, but this boy only donned it at the start of battle. Strange.
Then his gaze shifted to the other one—the boy with the twin-sword, Hiramekarei.
Even though Chōjūrō didn't seem old or experienced, wielding one of the Seven Ninja Swords of the Mist was proof enough.
This trembling boy, despite appearances, was far from weak.
And the one in the middle—Shigure. Calm, composed, his expression steady. He didn't seem like an ordinary shinobi at all. If anything, he looked like their captain.
The strange fish, the mist that blanketed the entire island… all of it had to be his jutsu.
Saiken's voice rumbled in Utakata's mind:
"Be careful, Utakata. That boy's chakra is strong—and I can sense traces of Shukaku's power within it."
Shukaku? Utakata froze. The One-Tail was the Tailed Beast of Sunagakure. So why did this shinobi, wearing a Mist headband, carry its chakra?
"Six-Tails Jinchūriki—Utakata," Shigure said evenly.
Utakata's expression darkened. Being called by name was one thing, but being labeled a Jinchūriki made his blood boil.
If not for that cursed title, he wouldn't have been branded a missing-nin, fleeing his own village.
"Kid," Utakata warned, "you'd best leave. I'll admit you're skilled—ANBU, no doubt—but you won't catch me."
Shigure smiled faintly. "Won't catch you? Haven't I already?"
He spread his hands. "My cage. Do you think you can escape it?"
Utakata glanced at the suffocating mist encasing the island. His frown deepened as he pulled a hollow reed from his pocket and blew. A single shimmering bubble floated outward—Bubble Ninjutsu, the signature technique of the Six-Tails' host.
It drifted gently, then struck the mist barrier—
BOOM!
The detonation cracked like thunder, but the mist cage didn't even ripple.
Utakata's jaw tightened. Impossible… how can mist form a barrier this strong? What kind of jutsu is this?
"You've only stalled me for now," Utakata said, his tone low and edged. "But if I truly wanted to escape, you wouldn't like what you'd see."
He was speaking of his partial transformation—the terrifying power of the Six-Tails.
Shigure shook his head. "You don't have to fight. But you do have to return to Kirigakure with us."
Utakata's eyes sharpened, voice cold. "I will never return to the Hidden Mist. Not now, not ever."
Shigure exhaled softly. "If you come back with me, I'll see to it nothing happens to you."
That drew a bitter laugh from Utakata. "Nothing happens to me? Do you even know the Mist? Once a missing-nin, always a dead man. If I set foot in that village again, I'll be executed before sunset."
"The Mist only wants the power of the Tailed Beast," he spat. "And you expect me to believe your empty promise?"
Shigure's brows knit in mild frustration. "The Six-Tails was originally Kirigakure's. To be precise, you stole it. If you don't want to be Jinchūriki anymore, then have it extracted. Let someone else take that burden."
"Extraction means death," Utakata snapped.
Shigure's eyes narrowed. "And for that, you doubted your master? When he tried to sacrifice himself to change your fate, you chose instead to kill him and run from the village."
Utakata stiffened, pain flickering in his gaze. "He… he only coveted the Tailed Beast's power."
"Idiot," Shigure said coldly. "Do you think just anyone can become a Jinchūriki? Without a special physique, it's impossible to withstand a Tailed Beast. Your master knew that. He could never have contained Saiken's chakra—did you really think he didn't understand?"
The words struck deeper than any blade.
Shigure pressed on.
"If you're going to doubt him, at least think. Do you believe the villages would scour their lands for suitable children if anyone could bear that curse? The Jinchūriki physique is rare—and you were chosen for a reason."
Utakata faltered, Shigure's words cutting through the bitterness he had carried for years.
He had always believed his master sought only the Six-Tails' power. That betrayal had driven him to abandon bonds, to despise the very title of Jinchūriki.
But now…
Could it be that he had misunderstood all along?
He wouldn't have been chosen as a Jinchūriki otherwise, would he?
But then… if his master hadn't intended to kill him, if he hadn't coveted the Six-Tails' power, why? Why had he tried to extract the Tailed Beast?
"Your master discovered a way to separate you from the Tailed Beast without costing you your life," Shigure said firmly.
"But every jutsu has a price. That price was likely his own life—sacrificed so that you could live."
Shigure's thoughts flickered to Sunagakure's Chiyo and her forbidden technique. Perhaps Utakata's master had found something similar.
But Utakata hadn't believed. Instead, he had assumed betrayal, lost control, entered a Tailed Beast transformation, and slaughtered everyone nearby before fleeing the village.
That was why the Mist branded him a missing-nin.
Utakata shook his head sharply.
"No… there's no such method. If a Jinchūriki is separated from their Tailed Beast, they die. Always!"
Shigure sighed. Words alone would never break through.
"Then there's no point in talking." His hand drifted to the hilt of his blade.
"So you're set on never returning to Kirigakure, no matter what?"
Utakata's lips curled into a bitter smirk.
"What now? Since you can't convince me, you'll draw your blade? With just you three children, you're wasting your effort."
Clang!
Steel sang as Shigure unsheathed his sword—and his form vanished.
In the next heartbeat, he stood before Utakata, blade wreathed in red chakra, pressed against his throat.
So fast—too fast!
Utakata's eyes widened.
That chakra… this isn't normal chakra. It's Tailed Beast chakra… Could it be—this boy is also a Jinchūriki?!
...
TN:
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