Black Zetsu was manipulating and deceiving the Ōtsutsuki Clan on the moon.
Meanwhile, far away in the shinobi world—
Sasuke Uchiha, along with several elite members of the Uchiha clan, was investigating the movements of the three major ninja villages.
Whether another Great Ninja War would erupt depended entirely on what those villages planned to do next.
But at that very moment, something even more terrifying was happening elsewhere.
Beneath the Mizukage's office in Kirigakure, Shigure was fusing two incomplete Ten-Tails.
The fusion process was incredibly slow.
Shigure had lost track of time.
All he knew was that, under his control, the chakra of the two tailed beasts was gradually merging together.
Little by little…
A completely new tailed beast was taking shape.
And the power it radiated was entirely different from before.
Feeling that immense surge of chakra, Shigure could clearly sense his strength rising once again.
The aura of Six Paths Chakra surrounded him.
With the blessing of Six Paths power, combined with the effects of his Great Sage analysis ability and the Degenerate (Metamorphosis) skill, the fusion of the two Ten-Tails fragments began evolving in a completely unexpected direction.
The tailed beast seemed to be developing into something entirely new.
Something far more extraordinary.
At that moment—
Another unexpected change occurred.
The skill Gluttony suddenly reacted.
[Great Sage: Gluttony requests fusion.]
Shigure blinked in surprise.
"Fusion?"
"What do you mean?"
Was Gluttony trying to fuse with the two incomplete Ten-Tails?
[Great Sage: Gluttony intends to merge with the Two-Headed Ten-Tails.]
Shigure frowned slightly.
"If Gluttony merges with it… will my tailed beast chakra still remain?"
[Great Sage: Yes. The power will remain.]
Hearing that answer, Shigure relaxed.
If the power would remain, then there was no real problem.
But another question immediately surfaced.
"If Gluttony fuses with the Ten-Tails fragments… what will it become?"
"Will the skill evolve?"
If it could upgrade…
Then it was definitely worth trying.
Shigure didn't hesitate.
"Fine. Let's try it."
After all, even if Gluttony absorbed the chakra, the power itself wouldn't disappear.
What he truly cared about was whether the skill could evolve.
If it did—
That would be far more interesting.
The Gluttony skill began activating.
But this time, it wasn't simple devouring.
It was closer to absorption and assimilation.
With assistance from Great Sage and the Degenerate skill, Gluttony continuously absorbed the power of the Two-Headed Ten-Tails.
Originally, Gluttony was just one of Shigure's abilities.
It had no physical form.
Yet now—
As the devouring continued, Shigure sensed something strange happening inside his inner world.
A mysterious black substance began to gather.
Slowly, it condensed into a solid shape.
Gradually, the form became clear.
It looked like a massive black serpent.
Its crimson eyes glowed with a sinister light.
On its head was a pattern resembling the Rinnegan, giving it an eerie and domineering presence.
Its overall shape resembled a king cobra.
Shigure stared at the creature, slightly puzzled.
"So Gluttony… becomes a snake after fusing with the Ten-Tails?"
He tilted his head.
To be honest, the appearance wasn't exactly what he had imagined.
Still—
It looked undeniably cool.
But appearance didn't matter much to him.
What truly mattered was the power.
After Gluttony finished absorbing the Two-Headed Ten-Tails…
Would the skill evolve?
Before Shigure realized it—
Three months had passed.
For the entire time, he had remained focused on the fusion process.
Only now had it reached its final stage.
The last trace of Ten-Tails chakra was absorbed.
At that moment, the Degenerate skill effect also came to an end.
Then—
The Great Sage began analyzing the results.
Shigure frowned slightly.
"Analysis?"
"What's there to analyze?"
After a long silence, the voice of Great Sage finally sounded again.
[Great Sage: Congratulations. The skill Gluttony has evolved into King of Gluttony after sacrificing the power of two Ten-Tails fragments and integrating the Degenerate skill.]
Shigure's eyes lit up.
"It upgraded!"
Just as he expected—
His active skills could continue evolving.
King of Gluttony — New Abilities
Soul Devouring
Devours a target's soul, gaining all of their memories, abilities, and power.
Zero-Tails Summoning
A new tailed beast born from the fusion of the two Ten-Tails fragments.
This entity, called the Zero-Tails, possesses the abilities of all tailed beasts and wields a unique chakra known as Dark Chakra, an extremely powerful force.
Complete Mimicry
Allows the user to perfectly replicate the appearance and abilities of anything that has been absorbed.
After reading the three new abilities, a satisfied smile slowly spread across Shigure's face.
The upgrade…
Was far more powerful than he had expected.
Of course, after the skill evolved, it did not gain only those three new abilities.
All of the previous abilities were still retained. The three newly listed ones were simply additional powers that came with the evolution.
The most obvious improvement after the evolution was the massive increase in devouring power.
The fusion of the two incomplete Ten-Tails had pushed Gluttony to evolve into King of Gluttony.
But this also made Shigure start thinking about something else.
If devouring two Ten-Tails fragments was enough to upgrade Gluttony…
Then what would it take to upgrade Great Sage?
Thinking about it gave Shigure a slight headache.
He couldn't help feeling a little depressed again.
Just then—
The voice of Great Sage sounded.
[Great Sage: Congratulations. The Degenerate skill has been completely repaired.]
Shigure blinked.
"Oh?"
"So Degenerate is finally fully restored?"
That was excellent news.
Now, among his three core active abilities:
King of Gluttony had evolved.
Degenerate had been completely repaired.
Great Sage remained as powerful as ever.
This was essentially Shigure's complete combat form.
Shigure slowly raised his hand.
Dark chakra flowed out from his palm.
This was the power of the Zero-Tails, born from the fusion of the two Ten-Tails fragments.
Black chakra streamed outward like mist.
The moment Shigure felt it, he immediately sensed something unusual.
This chakra carried a terrifying aura of destruction.
If he used this power to create a Tailed Beast Ball, the destructive force would likely be extraordinary.
Just thinking about it made Shigure quite satisfied.
The Zero-Tails was still a tailed beast in essence.
Since it was fused directly with Shigure, it constantly strengthened his physique, chakra reserves, and spiritual power.
As for the exact limits of these improvements, that would require further testing.
It wasn't something that could be fully understood in a short time.
However, thanks to Complete Mimicry and the Food Chain ability, Shigure could distribute the Zero-Tails' chakra to the original jinchūriki.
And the tailed beast chakra would restore itself to its original form within their bodies.
In other words—
Shigure could recreate the entire jinchūriki system.
Even the Nine-Tails' jinchūriki.
With that thought, a candidate immediately appeared in his mind.
Hizuki.
Hizuki possessed the Shikotsumyaku, the corpse bone pulse bloodline.
His combat ability was already extraordinary.
If he were given the chakra of the Nine-Tailed Fox, his strength would become even more terrifying.
Thinking of this, Shigure immediately acted.
Through the Food Chain, he located Hizuki and transferred a portion of the Nine-Tails' chakra to him.
Outside the room, Hizuki had been standing guard for three months without leaving.
Suddenly—
He felt a powerful new chakra appear inside his body.
His eyes widened.
Carefully sensing it, he quickly realized what it was.
This chakra…
Belonged to a tailed beast.
And not just any tailed beast.
It was the chakra of the strongest one—
The Nine-Tails.
Hizuki was stunned.
"What… is going on?"
At that moment, Shigure's voice sounded from inside the room.
"Hizuki. Come in."
Hizuki immediately pushed open the door and stepped inside.
"Lord Shigure!"
"Have you finally finished your training?"
Shigure looked at him and nodded calmly.
Hizuki hesitated for a moment.
"Lord Shigure… the chakra that suddenly appeared inside my body…"
"I know," Shigure said with a faint smile.
"That's your reward."
"You've guarded this place for three months."
As he spoke, Shigure walked forward and patted Hizuki on the shoulder.
"Come."
"It's time for us to go out."
Then Shigure looked at him with interest.
"Tell me what has happened in the ninja world during these three months."
He paused slightly.
"Has the Great Ninja War begun?"
(End of Chapter)
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