Nagato… dead?
Naruto froze. He had come here to find Nagato—not to kill him.
In truth, he had wanted to talk to Nagato.
He never expected that by the time he arrived… Nagato would already be gone.
For a moment, Naruto didn't even know how to react.
He looked at Shigure, who had suddenly appeared, but no words came out.
Not far away, Hashirama glanced between the three of them with a complicated expression.
These three… once part of the same squad.
Once friends.
But in the end, they each took different paths.
"Shigure!"
Naruto finally spoke, staring at him.
"I'm taking Sasuke back to Konoha!"
Shigure nodded lightly.
"I understand."
He turned to Sasuke.
"Sasuke… do you want to return to Konoha?"
Sasuke let out a quiet, mocking laugh.
"That place? Why would I ever go back?"
Shigure exhaled softly.
"He doesn't want to return, Naruto. You should go back."
"Train well. Didn't you want to become Hokage?
Right now, you should focus on that goal."
Naruto raised his head.
"Shigure, if you don't want to return to Konoha, I can't force you… but Sasuke must go back! Are you planning to interfere?"
"You're the Mizukage of the Hidden Mist now.
Sasuke is a Konoha rogue-nin!"
"A rogue of Konoha isn't someone the Mizukage has the authority to shelter!"
Shigure nodded calmly.
"That's true."
He looked at Sasuke again.
"Sasuke… would you consider joining the Hidden Mist?"
"Of course," Sasuke replied without hesitation.
The sudden shift left Naruto stunned.
"You—Sasuke…?"
"Shigure…?"
Shigure smiled faintly.
"Now that he joins the Mist, I do have the authority. I can't abandon a shinobi of my own village."
"But he's Konoha's rogue-nin!" Naruto protested. "How can the Hidden Mist accept him just like that? Even if you agree, many others won't!"
Shigure shrugged.
"I am the Mizukage. Who would dare oppose my decision?"
Behind him, Ao and the Mist-nin stepped forward.
"Lord Mizukage's orders are absolute!" Ao declared. "Accepting one rogue-nin is a trivial matter. Even if he commanded us to walk through fire—we would obey!"
Hashirama felt a headache forming.
Shigure clearly held absolute authority within the Mist.
Not just as Mizukage—many shinobi practically worshipped him.
Under those conditions, no one would object to anything he decided.
"Naruto!"
Hashirama stepped forward, trying to calm him.
But Naruto suddenly launched forward—striking at Shigure with a full-force punch at close range.
From a village standpoint, this was a provocation.
A direct attack on the Mizukage could spark war between the Mist and Konoha.
Yet—
Naruto never reached him.
He was blown backwards by an unseen force.
Shigure had simply activated Shinra Tensei.
Naruto's eyes widened.
This… is Nagato's ability. Why does Shigure have it?
Shigure's voice remained calm.
"That blow—I'll pretend it never happened.
But if you try again… there will be consequences."
"I'm not afraid of consequences!" Naruto snapped.
"Really?" Shigure raised a brow. "Even if a war breaks out between the Mist and Konoha? Even if you're the one responsible?"
Naruto froze.
"A war…? You're saying you want to go to war with Konoha?"
Shigure laughed quietly.
"The one provoking war isn't me. It's you."
"Attacking me is the same as attacking the Hidden Mist."
"And if anyone dares provoke the Mist… I won't hesitate to respond."
Naruto's clenched fist loosened.
For the first time, he realized the scale of his actions.
A war wouldn't just affect him, Sasuke, or Shigure—it would drag the entire village into chaos.
If a conflict broke out… he might become the sinner of Konoha.
And that was something Naruto could never allow.
"Naruto! This isn't the time to lose your temper!"
Hashirama scolded, stepping forward.
And at that moment, Shigure suddenly remembered—
Earlier, while testing the power of the Otherworldly Deva Path, he had accidentally… revived Hashirama.
It really seemed like he had made a mistake.
Shigure shouldn't have allowed someone who didn't belong to this era to be resurrected.
Someone like Hashirama Senju—a legend who had no place in the current timeline.
Maybe he should have… simply erased him.
Shigure even wondered whether the Otherworldly Deva Path could directly wipe Hashirama from existence.
But when he attempted it, the response was immediate and clear:
He couldn't.
His current mastery of the Divine Powers was still insufficient.
Perhaps one day he might be able to erase a soul entirely…
But not now.
To attempt something like that was nothing short of delusional.
If he truly had that level of power, he would already be a god.
Still, even without the ability to erase him, the resurrection had succeeded.
And when Hashirama returned to Konoha, the reactions were bound to be…
amusing, to say the least.
Shigure couldn't help but chuckle.
Especially thinking about Tsunade—how would she react knowing her grandfather had walked back into the world of the living?
"First Hokage-sama."
Shigure greeted him lightly.
At that moment, the Fourth Raikage finally arrived with his entourage.
The moment they appeared, they noticed Hashirama standing beside Shigure.
And when they looked closer—
Their eyes widened.
Hashirama didn't look like an Edo Tensei summon at all.
His body was intact. His skin alive. His chakra warm and natural.
This wasn't a reanimation.
This was a living person.
But that was impossible…
"Lord Mizukage," the Raikage said slowly, "you've noticed it too, right? The First Hokage does not appear to be under Edo Tensei."
Shigure smiled calmly.
"Of course. That's because he's been resurrected."
Resurrected.
He said it so casually, as if it were an everyday occurrence.
Sasuke's eyes immediately sharpened.
"Resurrection? What do you mean? How could he possibly be resurrected?"
Shigure tilted his head, amused.
"Surprising, isn't it?"
Raikage could only stare, speechless.
Why—how—would Shigure bring Hashirama back to life?
What purpose would that serve?
"Wasn't it the Sixth Mizukage who revived me?" Hashirama himself said patiently.
He still seemed dazed by the experience.
Everyone froze.
What…?
Shigure resurrected the First Hokage?
Sasuke turned toward Shigure, barely holding his composure.
"Shigure… is what he said true?"
Shigure nodded.
"Yes. I revived him. I wanted to experiment with a new power."
Sasuke's breath caught.
He didn't care why Shigure did it.
The meaning behind the act itself overshadowed everything else.
If Shigure could resurrect Hashirama Senju, then…
Then perhaps—
the Uchiha clan could be resurrected as well.
His fists trembled. His heartbeat quickened.
For the first time in a long while… hope flickered in his eyes.