The clash between Uchiha Madara and Hashirama Senju was anything but subtle.
If the two of them were allowed to continue fighting within the Hidden Mist Village, the entire village would likely be reduced to ruins in a very short time.
And Shigure had no intention of letting that happen.
"ROOM."
A spatial domain expanded instantly, spreading across the Hidden Mist Village in the blink of an eye.
Before anyone could react, Shigure lightly moved his fingers.
"Transfer."
In an instant, both Madara and Hashirama disappeared.
The next moment, they reappeared at the edge of the village, in a remote and empty area.
The sudden shift left both of them momentarily stunned.
"That just now… was that the Mizukage of the Hidden Mist Village?"
Madara's eyes narrowed, a rare look of surprise appearing on his face.
To be moved elsewhere in an instant without resistance… such an ability was terrifying.
If Shigure had prepared traps or barriers in advance, he could have transported them directly into a killing zone.
Or worse, moved them straight into the range of a pre-prepared attack.
Unless one possessed a space-time technique like the Flying Thunder God Technique, it would be nearly impossible to evade such a method.
Madara's expression turned serious.
Shigure was far more dangerous than he had anticipated.
Even for him, defeating such an opponent would not be easy.
Madara glanced toward Shigure in the distance, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
There would come a time to deal with him.
But not now.
Shifting his focus back to Hashirama, Madara's lips curled slightly.
"This is a good place," he said. "Perfect for our battle. No one else will get caught in it."
Hashirama nodded faintly.
"Madara… are you ready?"
Madara lifted his head, his gaze burning with anticipation.
"I've been ready for this day for a long time, Hashirama."
Boom!
In the next instant, two immense chakra signatures erupted simultaneously.
At the edge of the Hidden Mist Village, their overwhelming presence surged into the sky.
Back within the village, countless shinobi felt the disturbance and froze.
"When did they get there?"
"I didn't see anything. No movement at all!"
The sudden relocation left everyone in shock.
Among the Ōtsutsuki forces, murmurs spread as they tried to understand what had just happened.
At that moment, shinobi from the three great villages spoke up.
"That wasn't their doing…"
"That was the power of the Mizukage of the Hidden Mist Village."
"The Mizukage's power…?"
All eyes turned toward Shigure.
Even Shinji fixed his gaze in that direction, his expression turning serious.
"So this is… the most outstanding existence among the descendants of the Sage of Six Paths."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"What an incredible ability. I can't wait to fight him."
A dark voice echoed beside him.
"Don't be careless," Black Zetsu warned. "You may be strong, but that one is not weak either."
Shinji nodded calmly.
"I know."
He looked ahead.
Between him and Shigure lay numerous obstacles.
But those obstacles would not require his attention.
The shinobi of the three great villages and the Ōtsutsuki clan were more than enough to clear the path.
Shinji stepped forward, walking steadily toward Shigure.
Along the wide streets of the Hidden Mist Village, he advanced step by step.
Mist shinobi attempted to intercept him, but they were immediately blocked.
The battlefield split into multiple clashes.
The patriarch of the Hōzuki Clan unleashed a powerful Water Release, attempting to block Shinji's path, but it was countered by Ōnoki's forces using Earth Release.
Earth suppressed water, neutralizing the attack.
Kakashi Hatake moved to intervene, only to be stopped by Darui.
At the same time, Tsunade and Mei Terumī stepped forward, but they were intercepted by the Second Tsuchikage, Mū, and the Second Mizukage, Gengetsu Hōzuki.
Gengetsu looked at them with a faint smirk.
"I never expected that one day, a woman would become the leader of a village."
The battlefield grew even more chaotic.
And at its center, everything was slowly converging toward one man.
Shigure.
For shinobi of the older generation, it was difficult to understand how a woman could become a Kage.
However, the strength of Mei Terumī and Tsunade left no room for doubt.
"Jinchūriki Unit!"
"Deploy!"
At Mei's command, immense chakra surged.
Through Shigure's methods, they were still able to draw upon the power of the Tailed Beasts.
One after another, Jinchūriki stepped onto the battlefield, cloaked in dense Tailed Beast chakra.
Their arrival instantly shifted the tide of battle.
The allied forces of the three great villages, who had previously held the advantage, were pushed back.
The power of a Jinchūriki was already formidable, but with the chakra cloak of a Tailed Beast, most ordinary attacks became nearly ineffective.
On a chaotic battlefield like this, such a force was overwhelming.
Even Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha were fully engaged.
The two seemed to be competing in silence, each trying to outdo the other in defeating enemies.
But the ones who stepped forward to block them were unexpected.
Orochimaru stood before Sasuke.
And before Naruto… appeared Jiraiya.
The resurrected Jiraiya stood in Naruto's path, causing Naruto to hesitate.
No matter what, he could not bring himself to harm his master.
Sasuke, however, showed no such hesitation.
Although Orochimaru had once taught him ninjutsu, Sasuke was not someone who would hold back because of that.
Still, something about Orochimaru had changed.
His body seemed to have fully recovered, returning to its peak condition.
His combat strength had risen dramatically.
As one of the Legendary Sannin, Orochimaru had rarely fought at full strength before.
Most of his previous battles had been in a weakened state.
But now, at his peak, his power was truly terrifying.
As the battle intensified further, new figures began to appear.
Members of the Akatsuki, long thought dead, entered the battlefield one after another.
With their addition, the situation shifted yet again.
A massive war erupted within the Hidden Mist Village.
The ground trembled violently, and destruction spread across the village.
Even Shigure had not anticipated the battle reaching such intensity.
Amid the chaos, Shinji continued forward.
Step by step, he advanced toward the Mizukage Building.
Every shinobi who tried to stop him was intercepted by his allies.
Before long, he arrived at the lake before the Mizukage Building.
Shigure, seated atop the structure, watched him approach.
He slowly prepared to stand.
But before he could move, someone stepped forward.
"Hinata!"
Shigure was momentarily surprised.
Without hesitation, Hinata Hyūga leapt down.
She stood between Shigure and Shinji, her Byakugan activated, veins bulging around her eyes.
"Shigure-sama," she said firmly, "if he wants to reach you, he'll have to get past me first."
Shinji paused, clearly taken aback.
Such pure Byakugan…
"I didn't expect to find someone like you in the Hidden Mist Village," he said slowly. "You're from the Hyūga Clan, aren't you?"
Hinata's gaze turned cold as she stared at him.
"You're going to pay… for what you did."
"For those whose eyes you stole…"
"I will avenge them."