Before summoning the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, Shigure decided to give a brief warning.
"Kuji."
He called out softly.
A moment later, Kuji entered through the doorway and stopped in front of Shigure.
"Did the Fourth Hokage of Konoha leave?" Shigure asked.
Kuji nodded.
"Yes. He already left."
When Minato first emerged from the underground chamber, everyone outside—including Kuji and the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist guarding the Mizukage Building—had been stunned.
The Fourth Hokage appearing in the Hidden Mist was not something anyone expected.
However, after confirming that Shigure had personally allowed Minato to leave, they let him pass.
After all, the only path leading outside came from the underground chamber. Without Shigure's permission, the Fourth Hokage could never have walked out so openly.
"Good," Shigure said with a slight nod.
Then he looked at Kuji again.
"Inform the jinchūriki."
"For the next period of time, I may temporarily draw upon the tailed beast chakra inside their bodies."
Kuji nodded without hesitation.
"Understood."
However, a trace of surprise still lingered in his mind.
Draw upon the power of the tailed beasts… directly from the jinchūriki?
That ability was terrifying.
But considering that it was Lord Shigure, it somehow did not feel surprising. His power had always been mysterious and unfathomable.
Thanks to the Food Chain ability, Shigure could mobilize the power of any creature within his food chain.
And he did not even require their consent.
The only reason he informed them beforehand was because he did not wish to cause unnecessary panic.
Once everything was prepared, it was time for the next step.
Summon the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
The empty shell of the Ten-Tails.
Shigure slowly closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, the Crimson Reincarnation Eyes appeared.
At that instant—
The entire underground chamber began to tremble.
Even the Mizukage Building above felt the vibration.
However, the shinobi of the Hidden Mist were already used to such disturbances.
Their Mizukage often experimented with terrifying techniques. Compared to the destructive power he usually displayed, a slight tremor beneath the building was hardly worth worrying about.
A moment later—
A massive cloud of white smoke filled the underground chamber.
When the smoke cleared, a gigantic figure stood before Shigure.
The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
The moment he saw it, Shigure could clearly feel the lingering Six Paths power emanating from the statue.
Just as expected.
Without the remnants of Six Paths power, the statue could not have existed for so long.
That power alone was capable of granting something near-permanent existence.
A smile appeared on Shigure's face.
"Ten-Tails…"
"Today, I will bring you back."
At that moment, the Nine-Tails, which Shigure had previously released, stared at the empty shell of the Ten-Tails.
An instinctive fear surfaced within it.
"You… intend to resurrect the Ten-Tails?"
"What are you planning to do?"
The Nine-Tails suddenly spoke.
Shigure paused slightly.
Since the Nine-Tails had been devoured by his Gluttony ability and placed within his food chain, its chakra technically should not resist him.
But the Nine-Tails was different from the other tailed beasts.
Even when faced with death, it still dared to question him.
Shigure smiled faintly.
"What's wrong?"
"Do you have any objections to resurrecting the Ten-Tails?"
The Nine-Tails—Kurama—stared at Shigure with visible horror.
Earlier, the Great Sage had activated Gluttony, and Kurama had felt as if it was about to be completely devoured.
Facing such a terrifying existence, even Kurama could not remain calm.
"If you already possess such power," Kurama said slowly, "why resurrect the Ten-Tails?"
Shigure shrugged.
"That's none of your concern."
"You cannot resist anyway. What's the point of knowing?"
As he spoke, Shigure formed a hand seal.
Instantly, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path began to move.
The statue opened its enormous mouth.
A gigantic chakra chain shot out, instantly wrapping around Kurama's neck.
With a violent pull—
The Nine-Tails was dragged directly into the mouth of the Demonic Statue.
The moment Kurama's chakra merged with the statue, the massive body began to change.
At the same time, Shigure raised his hand.
Streams of tailed beast chakra erupted from his body.
Across the Hidden Mist Village—
The jinchūriki suddenly felt something strange.
The tailed beast chakra within their bodies began to weaken.
Gradually…
The power was drawn away.
Ten minutes later—
The tailed beast chakra within their bodies had completely disappeared.
At this moment, the jinchūriki of the Hidden Mist finally understood what Shigure had meant earlier.
He had said he would temporarily draw upon the power of their tailed beasts.
But none of them expected it to happen like this.
None of them had even seen Shigure appear.
Yet the tailed beast chakra inside their bodies had suddenly begun to disappear.
Even their attempts to communicate with their tailed beasts failed. There was no response at all.
It was as if the chakra had simply been pulled away by an invisible force.
Meanwhile, deep beneath the Mizukage Building, streams of tailed beast chakra were continuously controlled by Shigure and injected into the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
Soon, the statue's body began to change.
Its originally humanoid form twisted and expanded, transforming into a grotesque monster with a single eye.
Behind it, the ten massive tails began to emerge and spread outward.
The underground chamber trembled violently.
A terrifying surge of chakra erupted from the creature.
The chakra of the Ten-Tails spread outward like a tidal wave, completely enveloping the entire Hidden Mist Village.
Shigure stared at the creature before him.
Light flickered in his eyes.
Because the Ten-Tails was naturally controlled by the Rinnegan, Shigure did not even need to activate Gluttony.
The Ten-Tails was directly incorporated into his Food Chain.
"Magnificent… what incredible power."
The moment the Ten-Tails fully manifested, an overwhelming surge of Six Paths power poured directly into Shigure's body.
His own Six Paths power increased once again.
Whether it was his ninjutsu, physical strength, or chakra capacity—everything had undergone a dramatic transformation.
The sheer scale of the improvement made Shigure unable to suppress the excitement rising within him.
He raised his hand.
Instantly—
ROOM expanded.
This time, the spherical domain easily enveloped the entire Hidden Mist Village.
Within this space, everything was under Shigure's control.
The feeling of absolute authority was indescribably satisfying.
At that moment, the voice of the Great Sage echoed in his mind.
[Great Sage: Beginning analytical calculations.]
[Hypothesis: If the Ten-Tails native to this world is fused with the incomplete Ten-Tails currently within the host, a far greater entity may be produced.]
[Designation: Super Ten-Tails.]
Shigure's eyes lit up.
That was exactly what he had been thinking.
The Ten-Tails inside his body had originally been created through the fusion of tailed beast chakra using the combined abilities of Metamorphosis, Great Sage, and Gluttony.
In contrast, the Ten-Tails of this world was the true original.
The two shared similarities, but they were not identical.
So what would happen if they were fused together?
Shigure asked calmly,
"Great Sage, how long would the fusion take?"
[Great Sage: Estimated duration—three months.]
"Three months?"
[Great Sage: The process will also require the host's active cooperation.]
Shigure frowned slightly.
That meant he would have to remain here the entire time.
For the next three months, leaving the underground chamber would be impossible.
After thinking for a moment, Shigure instructed someone to deliver a message to Kuji.
During these three months, the affairs of the Hidden Mist Village would be completely handled by Terumi Mei.
As for the other villages—Kumogakure, Iwagakure, and Sunagakure—
If they wanted to start a war, then let them try.
The current Hidden Mist was no longer afraid of them.
Holding the situation steady for three months would be more than enough.
Once the fusion of the Ten-Tails was complete…
Shigure would be able to wipe out the three great villages effortlessly.
"Begin the fusion," Shigure said calmly. "Great Sage."
[Great Sage: Fusion process initiated.]
[Request: Activation of Metamorphosis.]
Shigure nodded.
"Activate it."
He was curious to see what kind of existence would be born when the abilities of Metamorphosis and Great Sage fused the two Ten-Tails together.
(End of Chapter)
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