Temari glanced at Shigure, her expression uncertain.
"Y-You're coming too?"
This ti, it was Temari who was completely bewildered.
Shigure—the Mizukage of Kirigakure—was personally joining the rescue mission for Gaara.
Was that really necessary?
The Hidden Mist Village was never short on internal affairs that required the Mizukage's attention. Leaving at a ti like this seed… excessive.
Or was it—
Her thoughts drifted, and her gaze unconsciously lingered on Shigure's face.
His eyes were calm, focused—yet there was an unmistakable sharpness to them.
That gaze made Temari's heart race slightly, a strange heat spreading through her chest and making her restless.
Nearby, Ringo watched the exchange in silence.
Then she glanced at herself.
Was she… inferior to Temari?
Why didn't Lord Shigure ever look at her like that?
"You've had a long journey," Shigure said calmly. "Take a short rest. We'll depart at noon."
Temari hurriedly shook her head.
"No—no need! I'm not tired at all!"
Shigure let out a helpless sigh.
"I am."
He pointed at the thick stack of docunts piled on his desk.
"These still need to be dealt with first."
Seeing that, Temari finally nodded.
"Alright…"
"Ringo," Shigure added, "take her to rest."
After the others left, Shigure had just picked up another docunt when Ringo returned, her expression sowhat unnatural.
"Lord Mizukage," she asked quietly, "am I… not beautiful?"
Shigure turned toward her, clearly surprised.
"You're fine. Quite pretty, actually. What's wrong?"
"Then why," Ringo blurted out, "does Lord Mizukage favor won from outside the Village instead of those from Kirigakure?"
"…What?"
Ringo clenched her fists.
"Lord Shigure—whenever you need , I'm always available."
With that, she turned and left, not waiting for a response.
Shigure stood there for a mont before understanding what she ant.
Did she think he was going to Sunagakure for Temari?
He shook his head slightly.
Temari was attractive—but that wasn't the reason.
His real target was the Akatsuki.
The fact that Akatsuki chose to act at this mont already proved one thing:
the tiline had deviated from the original course.
Since things had changed, then he would make them change completely.
Shigure had no intention of waiting any longer.
He would wipe out the Akatsuki—every last one of them—and strangle the Fourth Great Ninja War in its cradle.
After that, everything would beco much simpler.
He could slowly gather the chakra of the Nine Tailed Beasts, bring them under his control, and obtain complete Six Paths power.
As for Madara, Kaguya, or even the Divine Tree—
If necessary, he could simply replant it.
Whether in the shinobi world or on the moon made little difference.
After all, there were still Ōtsutsuki lingering there—
perfect nourishnt for the Divine Tree.
Once the affairs of Kirigakure were arranged, Shigure returned ho and found i Terumī.
"I'll be leaving the Village for a while," he said. "You'll temporarily handle the Village's affairs."
i, who had been enjoying a beauty treatnt, instantly sat up—face mask still clinging to her skin.
"I've only rested for a few days! And I'm already back to work?"
Shigure nodded.
"I'm going to Sunagakure."
"Sunagakure?" i frowned. "What happened?"
"The One-Tail Jinchūriki has been captured," Shigure replied calmly. "Akatsuki did it."
i froze.
"Are they the accomplices of those two idiots you sank to the bottom of the sea last ti?"
"Yes."
"What exactly are they planning?"
Shigure smiled faintly.
"Who knows?"
"But even if we don't know," he continued, his tone turning cold, "even if all they want is to burn incense and pray to Buddha (TN: Lol! Just the image.)—we can't allow them to succeed."
"The Tailed Beasts are too important."
i nodded slowly.
That much was undeniable.
Anyone who dared set their sights on the Tailed Beasts was a serious threat.
The sooner they were stopped, the better.
Thinking of this, i shot Shigure a resentful look.
"You little rascal… so now I work for you during the day and serve you at night?"
Shigure raised an eyebrow.
"Wasn't that the elders' arrangent? Why are you blaming ?"
"I don't always listen to the elders," i snorted.
Shigure chuckled softly.
"Then I'll make it up to you when I get back."
Shigure looked toward Hinata, who was just coming out of the kitchen.
"Take good care of Hinata," he said calmly. "It's not easy for her to be alone in Kirigakure."
i Terumī suddenly leaned over, lowering her voice as she whispered into Shigure's ear,
"Big sister has already checked for you. Hinata's developing very well—you'll be blessed in the future."
There was no need for i to remind him of that.
Shigure knew perfectly well what kind of player Hinata was.
"I'm leaving."
He walked over, took the sandwich from Hinata's hand, bit into it, then gently patted her head.
In the next instant, his figure blurred.
Shigure shot out through the window, chakra surging as he soared toward the distance.
At the port, Temari and the others were still waiting.
The mont Shigure appeared, Temari hurriedly asked,
"Which ship are we taking?"
Shigure shook his head.
"A ship? That's too slow. We're not taking one."
No ship?
Then how were they supposed to reach the Land of Wind?
Shigure smiled faintly. He raised his hand and pointed toward the sea ahead.
The ocean suddenly surged.
A massive Water Dragon erupted straight from the seawater, condensed and roaring as it coiled in midair.
The Water Dragon Bullet Technique, ford entirely of seawater, halted in front of Shigure.
He stepped onto it effortlessly and casually pulled Temari up with him.
Kisa and Kuji followed without hesitation.
The Water Dragon shifted direction, maintaining a height of ten ters above the sea.
With an explosive burst of mist and vapor, it shot forward—straight toward the Land of Wind.
This was Temari's first ti traveling in such a way.
She was completely stunned.
Water Release…
Could it actually be used like this?
Shigure glanced at Kisa.
"We're about to et so old acquaintances. Any thoughts?"
Kisa shrugged.
"They can't really be called friends."
"At least forr companions," Shigure replied calmly.
Kisa sneered.
"If I had to judge them, every single one of them is insane."
As he spoke, Kisa glanced down at Sahada in his hand.
"That said, their strength isn't bad. I wanted to kill them all back then."
"But I never got the chance."
"This ti… I finally can."
Kuji and Temari didn't quite understand the conversation between Shigure and Kisa.
Compared to that, Temari was more curious about sothing else.
"How long until we reach the Land of Wind?"
"By sea," Shigure replied, "we'll reach the border in less than half a day. Sunagakure itself will take a bit longer."
As he spoke, Shigure raised his hand.
The clouds above them began to shift and spread, condensing into white pigeons.
This was Shigure's reconnaissance Ninjutsu.
[Great Sage: Host, would you like to attempt partial integration of Six Paths power?]
Hmm…
I can try.
Integrate a portion.
[Congratulations, Host. You have acquired a new ability: Cloud Eye.]
[You may create up to thirty-six cloud pigeons. They function as the Host's eyes and ears, sharing vision and hearing.]
[These thirty-six cloud pigeons will exist permanently unless destroyed.]
Cloud Eye… not bad.
It was equivalent to having thirty-six additional pairs of eyes, allowing him to observe multiple areas simultaneously.
Once ordinary cloud pigeons discovered a target, the Cloud Eye pigeons could imdiately move in to observe the situation in detail.
A significant upgrade to his reconnaissance abilities.
(End of Chapter)
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