Obito was seething—rage boiling but utterly useless.
Because beneath that anger was helplessness.
The Jinchūriki.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen.
The elite sword units of the Hidden Mist.
And—
Hoshigaki Kisame.
Kisame had been watching him the entire time.
Obito was certain that the moment he allowed his real body to materialize, Kisame would lunge at him without hesitation—probably aiming to kill outright.
Staying here was dangerous—every second, every breath.
Because Shigure was on his way back.
And with Shigure's bizarre, unpredictable abilities, no one could guess when he would arrive.
Therefore—
Obito quietly put away the kunai in his hand and swept his gaze across the Mist-nin standing before him.
"Hidden Mist Village… truly impressive."
"To think it hides so many powerful shinobi."
"It seems the title of the strongest village in the shinobi world has already changed hands—and no one has realized it yet."
And he wasn't wrong.
In the present era, the Hidden Mist truly had the qualifications to be called the strongest village.
If the Fourth Mizukage hadn't been controlled back then…
If the Blood Mist era hadn't nearly destroyed the village from the inside…
Kirigakure would likely have become even stronger—perhaps overwhelmingly so.
In a way, the past chaos had been the only thing slowing this village down. Without it, today's Mist might have been terrifying beyond imagination.
"Not planning to continue, Mr. Invader?"
Obito turned, eyes narrowing.
The speaker was Kaguya Kuji—his tone openly mocking.
Obito remembered this man.
A shinobi who frequently accompanied Shigure.
A personal guard of the Mizukage—meaning his strength was unquestionably dangerous.
Kuji hadn't even moved yet, but Obito could tell:
This man's power was at least on par with a Kage-level fighter.
And coupled with the Shikotsumyaku kekkei genkai…
The combat capability he possessed was monstrous.
"I'll remember you, Kaguya Kuji."
Kuji simply smiled.
"Good. Remember it well. Come find me anytime."
"I'll take care of troublesome small fries like you for Lord Shigure."
Small… fries?
Obito had been called many things in his life.
Never that.
But then—
A sudden roar tore through the sky.
Thunder cracked instantly overhead, lightning ripping across the heavens.
A surge of raw, violent chakra blanketed the entirety of Hidden Mist Village.
Obito's expression shifted.
"…Not good. That man is back."
So fast.
From where he had fought Itachi all the way to the village—it had taken Shigure barely ten minutes.
How?!
Obito's face hardened—
—and then, with a ripple of distorted space, his body vanished.
Kamui.
After confirming Obito had fully disappeared, Kuji turned toward the village gates.
"Lord Shigure has returned!"
"Move! There are enemies outside too!"
Outside the village—
Countless Kirigakure shinobi stared upward in shock.
A massive Water Dragon Bullet, shaped into a towering, lifelike water dragon, spiraled through the sky—its body wrapped in rolling flame-like vapor, as if riding clouds of fire.
The sight alone left experienced Mist-nin speechless.
Deidara, too, was frozen in place.
That man… the Mizukage of the Hidden Mist—the Sixth Mizukage known as the strongest in history…
He could only tremble.
Just sensing Shigure's chakra…
One could feel the overwhelming, crushing power behind it.
Truly terrifying.
Such an existence was a monster far beyond what ordinary people could comprehend.
A trace of madness flickered through Deidara's eyes as he stared blankly at Shigure, hovering in the sky.
Shigure looked down at him, while simultaneously sensing the chakra fluctuations throughout the village.
"Hm. No trace of Obito… it seems he's already fled."
As Shigure spoke, the massive water dragon beneath him slowly descended.
He stepped forward—and streams of water condensed beneath his feet, forming translucent steps that lowered him gently to the ground.
When Shigure stopped in front of Deidara, Deidara raised his head, staring at him intently.
"You're the Mizukage."
"Akatsuki member, Deidara," Shigure replied calmly. "This isn't our first meeting, is it?"
Deidara frowned.
The last time they met, Obito had whisked him away before he could properly gauge Shigure's strength. Back then, he hadn't taken Shigure seriously at all.
But now—
Standing before him felt like an ant gazing up at a towering mountain.
The pressure alone made Deidara deeply uncomfortable.
Impossible.
He was a genius of Iwagakure—a prodigy recognized even among the Tsuchikage's forces. Shigure was even younger than him. How could this man possess strength that surpassed his own by such a ridiculous margin?
Yet now that Shigure stood right in front of him, there was no retreat.
No matter what, Deidara had to test him.
To see just how strong the Sixth Mizukage truly was.
A faint smile curled at Deidara's lips.
"You're standing awfully close," he said lightly. "Aren't you afraid… of danger?"
The Kirigakure shinobi nearby immediately tensed.
"Lord Mizukage! Be careful—this man uses explosive clay for direct attacks!"
"Please keep your distance!"
Before anyone could react—
Shigure raised his hand and calmly grabbed a small white clay spider.
"You mean this?"
Deidara burst into laughter.
This idiot… actually grabbing his explosive clay with his bare hand?
He was courting death.
"Explode!"
As Deidara formed the hand seal, he leapt backward at full speed, instinctively trying to reduce the blast's impact on himself.
At that distance, Shigure should have lost at least an arm.
BOOM!
A violent explosion erupted, freezing every Kirigakure shinobi in place.
"Lord Mizukage!"
Several Mist-nin rushed forward—
—but the smoke dispersed instantly.
Shigure stood exactly where he had been before.
Unharmed.
Not even his clothes were damaged.
Deidara, who had barely managed to regain his footing, stared at him in disbelief.
"How is that possible?!"
"That explosion—at that distance—you should've been torn apart!"
Shigure looked at him calmly.
Even without doing anything, his newly awakened light-elementalization ability would have allowed him to ignore an explosion of that level.
And just now, he had coated his entire body in Armament Haki.
That blast hadn't even scratched his defenses.
After absorbing the Nine-Tails' chakra, the surge of Six Paths power within him had elevated his strength to an entirely new realm.
Shigure grinned.
"An interesting brat."
Deidara's eyes instantly turned bloodshot.
Brat?
This guy was younger than him—yet he dared call him that?!
"You—!"
Before Deidara could finish—
Shigure vanished.
In the next instant, he appeared directly in front of him.
"Too weak."
"To dare invade the Hidden Mist Village…"
"…you're courting death."
Shigure's voice was soft—almost gentle—as it brushed past Deidara's ear.
Then—
BANG!
Deidara didn't even have time to react.
Shigure's fist slammed into his face, collapsing it inward as blood sprayed through his fingers.
Crack!
The air itself rippled violently.
Deidara's body shot backward like a cannonball, smashing straight through a thick ice wall before crashing into a cloud-like mass of condensed mist.
The fog surged, instantly binding him in place.
"Capture him," Shigure said calmly.
"Keep him under close watch."