Feeling the breath emitted by Shigure, Shinji began to hesitate. For the first time, he was unsure whether he could actually defeat him.
But things had already reached this point. There was no turning back now.
He turned his gaze toward Kirigakure, watching the lava crashing down from the sky. It was clear that relying on the Mist's forces alone was no longer realistic.
Shinji let out a quiet sigh.
Compared to Shigure, who sat there without even moving, his subordinates were unleashing one devastating attack after another, forcing even him to take action.
This was the difference in foundation and heritage.
Raising his hand, Shinji looked toward the descending lava.
In the next instant, a powerful repulsive force erupted.
A deafening roar echoed across the battlefield as the falling lava was engulfed by an invisible force. It was violently blown away, crushed into fragments midair before completely dissipating into dust.
At that moment, every ninja of Kirigakure widened their eyes in shock.
The carefully crafted battle plan they had prepared was instantly rendered useless.
Clearly, their opponent was no ordinary enemy.
That level of power… in the entire village, perhaps only Shigure could rival it.
"Hurry, proceed with the second combat plan!"
As the order was given, the ice covering the sea surface shattered.
A terrifying force swept outward, pulverizing the ice into countless fragments.
At the same time, the fleet suddenly accelerated, its speed increasing dramatically as if being pulled forward by an invisible rope, charging straight toward the harbor of Kirigakure.
Simultaneously, the surrounding defensive islands began to collapse.
Cracks spread rapidly across their surfaces as an unseen force crushed them from within. In an instant, entire islands disintegrated, and the Mist ninja stationed on them were thrown into the sea.
One after another, they leapt back out of the water, faces filled with disbelief.
"What just happened?"
"Our defensive islands… they were destroyed?"
"Was that their doing?"
"That kind of power… besides Lord Shigure, who else could possibly have it?"
The shock quickly turned into unease.
With the defensive islands gone, their second-layer defense plan had completely failed.
And now, the fleet was closing in at an astonishing speed. In the blink of an eye, it crossed a distance of hundreds of meters.
"Quick, get out of the way!"
A large number of Mist ninja scattered, desperately trying to avoid the incoming ships. At that speed, a direct collision would be fatal.
At the harbor, Mei Terumi arrived with her forces, her expression tense as she observed the situation unfolding on the sea.
"Quick, have the Yuki Clan ice users block those ships…"
Before she could even finish her command, the fleet had already slammed into the port.
Several Mist ninja were sent flying upon impact.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A series of violent collisions rang out as the ships crashed through the defenses.
Mei Terumi's expression darkened. She had not expected the enemy to break through to the harbor this quickly.
From atop the Mizukage Building, Shigure watched the scene unfold and slowly began to clap.
"Heh… impressive."
"The power of this Ōtsutsuki patriarch is truly terrifying."
At that moment, Shigure clearly sensed a powerful trace of Six Paths chakra.
The power contained within the Tenseigan was unexpectedly strong. Logically, it should not have reached this level.
After all, Shigure had already absorbed the power of a Golden Tenseigan, and by all reasoning, that power should far surpass the ordinary Tenseigan wielded by Shinji Ōtsutsuki.
Yet the current situation told a different story.
In truth, the Golden Tenseigan was indeed stronger. However, Shinji had something else supporting him, Black Zetsu.
Back on the moon, Black Zetsu had discovered that it could extract and store fragments of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's chakra.
Even though Kaguya had been sealed, her chakra had never truly disappeared.
Because of that, it was not difficult for Black Zetsu to obtain a portion of her power.
Distance, however, still mattered. Kaguya's seal was extraordinarily strong, and if they were too far from the moon, even Black Zetsu would be unable to maintain a connection to that power.
But now, the chakra it had stored was being used.
By channeling Kaguya's power into Shinji, his Six Paths chakra had been amplified to an astonishing level.
Without Black Zetsu, Shinji would not even be comparable to Shigure.
But with this enhancement, his strength was no longer inferior. He might even surpass him, at least temporarily.
Of course, once that stored power was exhausted, Shinji would no longer be Shigure's match.
At the harbor, Shinji was the first to leap off the ship.
Immediately after, several figures appeared one after another:
The Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju.
The Third Raikage, A.
The Second Tsuchikage, Mū.
The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa.
And the Second Mizukage, Gengetsu Hōzuki.
Seeing so many Kage-level shinobi appear at once, Mei Terumi was momentarily stunned.
Even the Second Mizukage himself was among them.
"I didn't expect this… I truly didn't expect this!"
Gengetsu suddenly spoke, his tone filled with amusement.
The surrounding Kirigakure shinobi froze in shock.
The Second Mizukage stroked his mustache, smiling.
"To think that Kirigakure would one day be besieged like this."
"And by multiple great nations at once. Has my village really become this strong?"
He burst into laughter.
"Excellent. Truly excellent!"
Even though he was being controlled, Gengetsu could not hide his satisfaction at the village's current strength.
Of course, that did not mean he would hold back.
"So, who is the current Mizukage?"
he asked.
Mei Terumi stepped forward, her gaze steady.
"I am the Fifth Mizukage of Kirigakure."
"Fifth generation, hm?"
Gengetsu nodded.
"Not bad. To think a woman could lead the village to such heights, enough to attract a joint siege from multiple nations."
Although it sounded like praise, Mei did not react much. Instead, she shook her head slightly.
"It wasn't me who made the village this strong."
"It was the Sixth Mizukage."
"Sixth?"
Gengetsu paused, clearly surprised.
"The Fifth is still here, yet there is already a Sixth? That alone proves how extraordinary this person must be."
"To make you willingly step aside…"
Before the conversation could continue, Mū spoke coldly.
"Are you here to chat, or to fight?"
Gengetsu's expression immediately darkened as he turned to glare at him.
"You bandaged corpse, are you jealous of Kirigakure's strength?"
"Hmph. Our village has produced a shinobi so powerful that it makes you envious."
At this, Mū frowned.
"The Sixth Mizukage is not originally from Kirigakure."
"He is a shinobi from Konohagakure, transferred here through negotiation."
Gengetsu froze.
"A ninja from another village… becoming the Sixth Mizukage?"
He stared at Mei Terumi, disbelief evident in his eyes.
"What kind of decision is that? Have the people of Kirigakure lost their minds?"