"Souya!"
The Third Kazekage beat his iron wings rapidly and dived straight toward Shukaku.
"Is it really you?!"
"Your eyes... what happened?"
A look of anxious uncertainty crept across the Kazekage's resolute face. He seemed worried this was all some enemy ploy—or that the Souya before him had undergone some unknown change.
"Heh!"
"Don't worry, Sensei."
"I'm the real deal!"
"I was the one who picked up your wife for you back then. Otherwise, you'd probably still be a bachelor today..."
Souya said with a grin.
"You little punk!"
The Kazekage's face instantly stiffened as he feigned anger.
"Hey, Sensei..."
"Wait a moment. Let me deal with this guy first!"
Souya said casually, as if the Six-Tails Perfect Jinchuriki were nothing more than a rabble before him.
Then, when Souya turned to look at the Six-Tails, the purple glow in his Rinnegan suddenly blazed brighter.
The Sealing Squad had already withdrawn under the Kazekage's orders. Now that they knew the real Souya had returned, this battlefield could be left to him alone.
"What?!"
"Is that the legendary Sage's Eye?!"
"That terrifying ocular power..."
"He really can wield the eye's true power?!"
Yagura had finally escaped the enhanced Purple Flame Formation, but a sudden chill ran through him.
Inside him, Six-Tails Saiken kept warning him of the terrifying power of the man before them.
"The Mizukage came all the way to Sunagakure as a guest. If I don't show proper hospitality, won't the people of the Ninja World laugh at me?"
The towering Azure Gold Shukaku dispersed, and Souya returned to human form. He stood alone before Yagura, who had fully transformed into a Tailed Beast.
His icy words seemed to drift up from the depths of the underworld, steeped in the aura of death.
"Lord Souya!"
"It really is Lord