By the time Uzumaki Senshi and Karihe bck market, Senshi had acquired a whole staission request forms. With those in hand, he cheerfully departed the bck market alongside Karin.

  Meanwhile, Kisame was having a far less leisurely time. Shortly after entering the Kirigakure, the local shinobi were already on his tail!

  On the surface of a huge ke he Kirigakure, Kisame stood, brimming with battle-lust, gazing at the several ninja who had him surrounded.

  “Heh! A bunch of nobodies—did they really e here to die?”

  Kisame spoke nontly, looking at the several shinobi encirg him. Only, those he dismissed as “nobodies” were probably anything but.

  Among the ninja surrounding Kisame, the leader had long brown hair, with lengthy bangs c her right eye. She was robed in a deep-blue mantle, carrying herself in a casually nguid mahat person was her than Terumi Mei—who, in the inal ninja-world timeline, would bee the Fifth Mizukage shortly before the Fourth Shinobi World War.

  Behind Terumi Mei stood a shy-looking boy wearing gsses. He gripped the Hiramekarei, a double-handled sword. In the inal timelihis boy would bee Chōjūrō, the future Sixth Mizukage. Standing beside him was his superior’s personal guard, “Gonbee,” while anure—Ao, a jōnin of the Kirigakure who possessed a Byakugan—pleted their group.

  “Water Style: Hidden Mist Jutsu!”

  Terumi Mei quickly formed hand seals, expelling puffs of white vapor from her mouth. Her Hidden Mist Jutsu was quite formidable; during the Fourth Shinobi World War, she could eve to block the Rinnegan’s vision. Thick white fog rolled in, bing the battlefield in the blink of an eye.

  Immediately, Chōjūrō, Gonbee, and Ao leapt into a. Terumi Mei’s teique hindered Kisame’s vision but left her own allies ued.

  “Water Style: Water Collision Wave!”

  Gonbee and Ao also formed seals in a fsh, ung attacks at Kisame. Meanwhile, Chōjūrō brandished Hiramekarei, charging Kisame head-on.

  fronted by the group’s pitack, Kisame remained unruffled. His strength was immense, and his chakra reserves were famously vast, earning him the niame “Tailless Tailed Beast.”

  Swish—

  Behind him y the huge sword Samehada, which Kisame promptly grasped in his hand.

  “Water Style: Water Shark Bullet Teique!”

  As his enemies closed in, Kisame formed a one-handed seal, juring a shark-shaped bullet of water around himself. It enveloped him entirely, propelling him straight for Chōjūrō. Gonbee and Ao’s attacks missed as Kisame barreled forward inside his Water Shark Bullet.

  Swish! Swish! Swish!

  Seeing Kisame approag, Chōjūrō hastily swung Hiramekarei, unleashing multiple azure chakra orbs in an attempt to repel him.

  Hiss!

  Kisame, spotting this, curled his lips into a sneer.

  Boom!

  The bandages wound around Samehada tore apart instantly. Then Kisame struck repeatedly with that great sword, directly “ing” every chakra orb fired from Chōjūrō’s Hiramekarei.

  “Chōjūrō! Watch yourself!”

  Terumi Mei’s voice sounded from not far away.

  g!

  At the same moment, Kisame swung Samehada down hard at Chōjūrō. Summoning all his strength, Chōjūrō raised Hiramekarei to block.

  Tch—!

  Though this strike didn’t knock Hiramekarei out of Chōjūrō’s hands, it rattled him enough to make his arms go numb. Fortunately, Terumi Mei’s move arrived just then.

  “Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!”

  Despite fag Terumi Mei’s attack, Kisame looked calm, quickly f seals with his free hand:

  “Water Style: Great Shark Bullet Teique!”

  Whoosh—

  Vast torrents of water surged skyward. A colossal shark took shape in midair and spat out a huge water bullet from its mouth.

  Boom! Rumble-rumble-rumble!

  Two water bullets cshed overhead, sending tless droplets flying, like a sudden tempest. Meanwhile—

  Thud!

  Blog Terumi Mei’s jutsu, Kisame snapped up a leg, nding a swift kick! Harnessing his monstrous strength, he smmed it straight into Chōjūrō. A dull b out from Chōjūrō’s abdomen, and his one-armed lock against Kisame was broken as he was kicked flying.

  “Chōjūrō! Are you alright?!”

  Terumi Mei asked urgently. Gonbee and Ao likewise gnced worriedly over.

  “Water Style: Water Prison Teique!”

  “Four Sharks Rain!”

  Just as Chōjūrō arced high through the air and crashed into the water, Kisame immediately performed Water Prison. A huge sphere of water swelled up, enclosing Chōjūrō at once. Simultaneously, Kisame spped his palm on the ke’s surface, causing four sharks to leap forth, lunging at Terumi Mei, Gonbee, and Ao.

  “Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!”

  Without hesitation, Gonbee formed seals again, using the Water Dragon to intercept the shark-like surge heading his way.

  Boom!

  The water-shark surge collided with the Water Dragon, exploding into a thousand smaller sharks that rained down on Gonbee like a ferocious storm.

  Crash!

  After defleg some of the smaller shark-water projectiles, Gonbee’s form burst into scattered droplets—he had been using a water e to take the brunt of the attack. His real body rose from beh the water’s surface elsewhere, already bearing numerous wounds.

  “Water Style: Water Formation Wall!”

  While Gonbee was tangling with Kisame, Ao grappled with the Four Sharks Rain.

  Boom! Splut-splut-splut-splut!

  Kisame’s four watery sharks smashed Ao’s water barrier, exploding into a thousand tiny sharklike streams that pounded his Water Formation Wall like torrential rain.

  Spaash!

  The water barrier burst, turning into a spray of droplets. The remaining miniature sharks tio crash down on Ao. He removed his eye patd activated the Byakugan, hurriedly analyzing and dodging. After a tense scramble, sweating profusely, he finally mao dispel Kisame’s prior teique.

  Meanwhile, Terumi Mei seized that ce, spitting furiously:

  “Lava Style: Melting Apparition Teique!”

  A swath e-red acidic fluid spread out, directly engulfing two of Kisame’s water sharks, dissolving them in an instant. This jutsu was strong enough to corrode even Susano’o, so melting Kisame’s water sharks posed no problem.

  But Kisame had already dashed close to Terumi Mei. Wielding Samehada with fearsome force, he smashed it down ferociously.

  Boom! Thump—

  Terumi Mei’s figure shattered. Naturally, it was just a water e left behind. Her real body had reappeared behind Kisame.

  “Lava Style: Melting Apparition Teique!”

  “Water Style: Exploding Water Shock Wave!”

  Off at some distaerumi Mei cast Lava Release yet again, while Kisame, capitalizing on his overwhelming chakra, used Exploding Water Shock Wave to push back with sheer volume.

  Boom-boom-boom-boom!

  At first, her Lava was dissolving Kisame’s Exploding Water, but his chakra reserves were unfathomably deep. As Terumi Mei’s jutsu began to falter and run out of steam, Kisame’s teique remai full power, showing no sign of weakening.

  “Water Style: Water Prison Teique!”

  Rather surprisingly, Terumi Mei used that jutsu on herself—f a protective bubble of water arouhough Kisame’s Exploding Water Shock Wave khe sphere around, Terumi Mei wasn’t harmed, merely plunging down into the ke with a spsh.

  Seeing this, Kisame was overjoyed. He po leap into the air and unleash a Great Exploding Water Shock Wave so the moment Terumi Mei surfaced, he could annihite her. If that didn’t finish her, he’d merge with Samehada and kill her uer.

  While Kisame’s superb battle instincts guided him through each step of his pn, an ued voice called out from a short distance away:

  “Wait, wait!”

  “We hem alive! Alive! A corpse isn’t worth the bounty!”

  That new arrival was her than Uzumaki Senshi.

  But upon hearing Senshi’s words, Kisame did not stop—instead, he sped up his sealing, weaving hand signs faster and faster!

  “Hey, what’s the big idea, buddy…?”

  Seeing Kisame’s reaade Senshi rather displeased.

  “Is he btantly ign me?”

  Up in midair, Kisame’s body asded, f plex seals at the same time. Inwardly he was scheming:

  “I’ve heard from Itachi that this brat, Uzumaki Senshi, is supposedly extremely powerful.

  Perfect ce to see just how tough he really is!”

  When he reached the peak of his jump, Kisame pleted a jutsu involving tless seal gestures.

  “Water Style: Great Exploding Water Shock Wave!”

  With that final seal, Kisame opened his mouth wide, releasing a massive flood of water. It spread everywhere like a tidal wave r down on them.

  “60 Million Volts: Thunder Dragon!”

  Initially, Senshi sidered using the “200 Million Volts: Thunder God” move, but fearing it might kill Kisame, he to down to Thunder Dragon.

  “Roooar—!”

  Zzzt-zzzt-zzzt!

  Crackle!

  tless dazzling blue lightning arcs verged in an instant, f a Thunder Dragon more terrifying than any before it. Letting out a roar, it surged upward!

  All the massive waves around them were electrolyzed away by the intense, high-voltage current of the dragon. Kisame, uded as the “Tailless Tailed Beast,” stood opposite Senshi, who was essentially a “walkiails.” Though Senshi currently only had part of the Ten-Tails’ strength, that was already beyond what Kisame could handle. Furthermore, thanks to the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Senshi’s power had grown drastically.

  Kisame watched in arm, realizing he was losing in terms of raw chakra. His Great Exploding Water Shock Wave was already winding down, whereas Senshi’s “60 Million Volts: Thunder Dragon” was still going strong.