However, this was also a good situation.
If Danzō chose to burn his bridges and unleash everything, then Shigure would have his opportunity.
If Danzō chose to hide again, Shigure's options would be extremely limited.
The only path left would be assassination.
But wouldn't it be far more satisfying to kill Danzō openly than to assassinate him in the shadows?
Shigure smiled faintly.
Behind him, a shinobi slowly knelt down, his movements cautious and solemn.
"Lord Shigure! We have already familiarized ourselves with our new powers. Thank you for your grace!"
"We will forever serve Lord Shigure."
Hearing the voice, Shigure turned his head and looked at the kneeling shinobi—one of the Kirigakure-nin.
"Rise."
"From today onward, you are my shinobi—the shinobi of the Blood Mist Organization."
In the distance, hundreds of kneeling Kirigakure shinobi awaited his command.
Shigure had devoured all one hundred of them and then bestowed power upon each.
It consumed a great deal of time.
Ten minutes per person—more than ten hours in total. By the time he finished, dawn had passed and breakfast time had arrived on the second day.
But it was worth it. After devouring and analyzing them, he had integrated every one of them into his food chain.
A hundred-man shinobi unit is not small, but when even the weakest among them reach elite chūnin level—and more than thirty of them stand at elite jōnin level—the situation becomes entirely different.
Among them, two even possessed strength comparable to top-tier elite jōnin.
With this, their collective power became something else entirely.
After a day's work, the food chain network was complete.
Thirty of them were given the Senju physique. According to the Great Sage's analysis, these thirty did not possess any kekkei genkai; giving them Bloodline Limit powers would not significantly improve their combat ability.
Instead, granting them the Senju physique allowed their chakra—already doubled thanks to Shigure—to surge once again.
The Senju physique excelled in two aspects: vast chakra and tremendous life force.
With this transformation, each of these thirty now possessed two to three times the chakra of an average jōnin.
And as former attackers of the Hidden Mist Village, most of their innate talent already lay in Water Release.
Pair vast chakra with Water Release, and their combat strength rose sharply—easily reaching elite chūnin level, if not higher.
They were no longer inferior to Konoha's ANBU. In fact, they far surpassed them.
Another twenty shinobi acquired the Invisibility Release kekkei genkai.
These twenty individuals were already highly skilled in kenjutsu. With the addition of Invisibility Release, they were now perfectly suited for assassination, stealth, and intelligence missions. After their chakra increased through Shigure's gift, they could maintain their invisible form for far longer than before.
Ten others were granted Boil Release. Following Shigure's instructions, the Great Sage carefully weakened the intensity of Boil Release: Heat Haze Blade, recalculating it into a technique that new Boil Release users could learn and master quickly.
These ten shinobi were already exceptional swordsmen; with Boil Release enhancing their strikes and the refined Heat Haze Blade supplementing their attacks, their combat power rose sharply.
Another twenty were given Ice Release.
They already possessed innate talent in Water Release—excellent talent, in fact. Building on that foundation, bestowing Ice Release allowed them to access far more of the kekkei genkai's true potential.
Twenty more were granted Shikotsumyaku.
With this, all one hundred shinobi had been assigned their respective Bloodline Limit or enhancement.
Shigure looked over the hundred shinobi standing before him.
"How do you feel? Are you satisfied with the power you now possess?"
"Satisfied!" they answered in perfect unison.
Shigure nodded.
"As I said earlier, you are all members of my Blood Mist organization… but from today onward, you will also have new identities."
The shinobi fell silent. Many among them were orphans or survivors of the Blood Mist era—ignored, abandoned, or left with few ties to anyone. Some had no relatives at all. Shigure didn't demand unwavering loyalty, but he required one thing: that they had no lingering attachments.
Only then could a new clan be forged.
"You thirty," Shigure said, addressing those who had received the Senju physique.
"It doesn't matter what surnames you held before. From now on, I bestow upon you a new one."
"Waves of the sea… From today onward, you are the Namikaze Clan of the Hidden Mist Village. As for your personal names, choose them yourselves."
Shigure had no special talent for naming, nor did he care for overcomplication.
The thirty nodded. Most had no remaining family; changing their surname to form a new clan was easy.
Then Shigure turned to the twenty with Invisibility Release.
"You twenty—your new surname shall be Kozuki, and your clan's Bloodline Limit is In Release."
"Yes!"
By renaming it to In Release and giving them a distinct clan identity, no one would associate the technique's origins with Shigure.
Next were the Boil Release users.
"You twenty—your clan surname will be Yumujō, and your Bloodline Limit is Boil Release."
"Yes!"
Then Shigure faced the twenty who inherited Shikotsumyaku.
"And you… will rebuild a long-lost Bloodline Clan of the Hidden Mist—the Kaguya Clan."
"Understood, Lord Shigure!"
Perhaps the Bloodline Limit influenced personality, for those who inherited Shikotsumyaku suddenly carried themselves with noticeable arrogance. They acted haughty toward their peers, though none dared display such pride before Shigure.
Finally, Shigure looked at the twenty who received Ice Release.
"And you—you are the most outstanding among the hundred. From now on, you are my direct clansmen, inheriting the surname Yuki."
The twenty Ice Release users trembled with excitement—though only slightly. Their expressions had grown cold and stoic after receiving the kekkei genkai, but just for a moment, joy flickered in their eyes. It vanished just as quickly.
'So inheriting different Bloodline Limits really does affect personality…'
The Boil Release group radiated enthusiasm.
The Invisibility Release shinobi had such low presence that they seemed naturally taciturn—quiet but not cold.
The Shikotsumyaku inheritors exuded arrogance, glancing at others with disdain.
The Ice Release shinobi were cold, composed, their faces unreadable.
Only the thirty with the Senju physique showed little personality change.
"As for the formation of your clans," Shigure continued, "I will have Lord Mizukage report everything to the village elders."
He narrowed his eyes.
"As for the rest… I trust you understand what can and cannot be spoken."
Though Shigure himself had no time to monitor them, the Great Sage did.
Anyone who dared to reveal a secret would be instantly devoured through the food chain before they could utter a single word.
...
TN:
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