"This guy… he's a monster.
Can we really win against something like this…?"
"Kill me if you can," Yugito snapped coldly. "I will never surrender."
No one in Kumogakure feared death and Yugito Nii least of all.
Her eyes burned with unyielding resolve as she stared straight at Shiki.
To someone who didn't know better, it might have looked like Shiki was the villain here. But faced with Yugito's glare, he didn't bother responding. Instead, he let out a quiet laugh.
Turning his head, he looked toward Nara Shikaku standing at his side.
"Do we have a sealing unit here?"
"…Yeah."
Shikaku had already guessed where this was going. He nodded quickly.
"Considering that Kumogakure deployed both the Two-Tails and Eight-Tails Jinchūriki, we specifically brought a sealing squad from Konoha."
"What are you planning to do?!"
Hearing their exchange, Yugito's expression finally wavered.
A sealing unit?
Was he planning something worse than death?
"Relax," Shiki said lightly as he glanced at her.
"You're not dying."
He still had use for Yugito.
Kumogakure's muscleheads wouldn't restart the war without their Jinchūriki.
Letting her die now would be a waste.
"Find the sealing team," Shiki ordered calmly.
"Reinforce the seal on the Two-Tails. Suppress her chakra completely. Then lock her up."
"Yes!"
Shikaku didn't hesitate. The order went out immediately.
Once that was settled, Shiki turned toward the surrounding Konoha shinobi who had been watching in silence.
He smiled—calm, almost gentle.
"First battlefield: victory."
"Yaaay—!!!"
The camp erupted instantly.
As Yugito was dragged away, she twisted back one final time, burning holes into Shiki with her glare.
"This war has only just begun! Kumogakure won't lose so easily!"
"…."
Shiki didn't dignify that with a response.
He simply looked at her the way one might look at a stubborn idiot.
"Hmph!"
That expression made Yugito seethe but it didn't change anything.
Soon after...
News of Konoha's overwhelming victory over Kumogakure spread across the entire ninja world.
The Third Raikage had lost an arm.
The Two-Tails Jinchūriki had been captured.
Once again, the world was forced to recognize Shiki.
After years of silence, his name exploded back into prominence—his reputation now even greater than before.
"Tch… figures he'd pull something like this."
On the battlefield of Sunagakure, Tsunade read the report, a proud smile tugging at her lips.
Anyone watching would've thought she was the one who defeated Kumogakure herself.
Truth be told, the thing she was most pleased about was still the same...
Her eye for talent had never been wrong.
"…Lord Shiki really is amazing."
Shizune, standing beside her, didn't bother hiding the admiration in her voice.
She'd read the reports too.
And far away, elsewhere—
"Well… now I'm really looking forward to how this war ends."
Orochimaru chuckled softly.
Even with multiple great villages declaring war at once, he never believed Konoha would lose.
If anything, Shiki's movements fascinated him the most.
If it were possible, Orochimaru would have loved to experiment on a man like that but he knew better.
That was a fantasy.
Meanwhile, on the battlefield of Iwagakure—
Unlike Sunagakure or Kumogakure, this front was hell.
The Third Tsuchikage Ōnoki, along with the Four-Tails Jinchūriki Rōshi and Five-Tails Jinchūriki Han, made it an extremely dangerous war zone.
Even with Minato Namikaze fighting alongside his teacher, progress was slow and brutal.
"At least there's some good news," Jiraiya muttered.
Kumogakure's defeat helped morale—
Even if the one responsible was his love rival.
"Tch… Figures."
He scratched his head in frustration.
"I mean, c'mon. This great Toad Sage is pretty damn handsome too, right?"
"And yet Tsunade chose Shiki of all people…"
"…Right, Minato?"
"..."
Minato didn't know how to answer that. After all, this was his sensei.
"Ahem," Minato cleared his throat, decisively changing the subject.
"Regardless… Lord Shiki's strength really is extraordinary."
That part, at least, wasn't debatable.
If Shiki could pressure enemy villages like this, Minato was genuinely relieved for Konoha's future.
"Boom!"
Jiraiya shot him a look.
Still—before he could complain—
"Jiraiya-sama! The Iwa forces are moving again!"
The brief calm vanished instantly.
"Damn it," Jiraiya cursed. "Ōnoki's been around since the village's founding—why won't that fossil just die already?!"
"Sensei," Minato said calmly, "now isn't the time."
"…Yeah. I know."
Jiraiya exhaled, refocusing.
"Gather the troops. Let's see how the Toad Sage hangs some old men."
The day after Yugito was imprisoned, Shiki received a message scroll from Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Inside the meeting room, Shiki stared at the scroll in his hand—then raised an eyebrow.
"…Huh."
His expression shifted just enough to catch everyone's attention.
"Lord Shiki?" Shikaku asked carefully. "What did the Hokage say?"
"See for yourselves."
Shiki handed the scroll over.
Shikaku read it.
And the longer he read, the worse his expression became.
"This… this has to be a joke."
"What did the Hokage order?" someone demanded.
Shikaku sighed, then spoke slowly.
"The Third Hokage wants us to return the Two-Tails Jinchūriki to Kumogakure…"
The room froze.
"…In exchange for a truce."
Silence.
Then outrage.
"That's insane!"
"Kumogakure wouldn't stop fighting even if we gave her back!"
"Letting a Jinchūriki go is the same as letting the enemy recover!"
"We've already lost too many shinobi!"
Everyone understood.
Even if Yugito were returned, Kumogakure would at best pause—then declare war again.
It was obvious.
Shiki exhaled slowly.
"…Don't worry," he said quietly, eyes chilled.
"I'm not agreeing to that nonsense."
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