Chapter 25: We need them Alive!

By the time Uzumaki Senshi and Karin left the black market, Senshi had acquired a whole stack of mission request forms. With those in hand, he cheerfully departed the black 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 lake near the Kirigakure, Kisame stood, brimming with battle-lust, gazing at the several ninja who had him surrounded.

"Heh! A bunch of nobodies—did they really come here to die?"

Kisame spoke nonchalantly, looking at the several shinobi encircling 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 covering her right eye. She was robed in a deep-blue mantle, carrying herself in a casually languid manner. That person was none other than Terumi Mei—who, in the original ninja-world timeline, would become the Fifth Mizukage shortly before the Fourth Shinobi World War.

Behind Terumi Mei stood a shy-looking boy wearing glasses. He gripped the Hiramekarei, a double-handled sword. In the original timeline, this boy would become Chōjūrō, the future Sixth Mizukage. Standing beside him was his superior's personal guard, "Gonbee," while another figure—Ao, a jōnin of the Kirigakure who possessed a Byakugan—completed 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 even use it to block the Rinnegan's vision. Thick white fog rolled in, blanketing the battlefield in the blink of an eye.

Immediately, Chōjūrō, Gonbee, and Ao leapt into action. Terumi Mei's technique hindered Kisame's vision but left her own allies unaffected.

"Water Style: Water Collision Wave!"

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

Confronted by the group's pincer attack, Kisame remained unruffled. His strength was immense, and his chakra reserves were famously vast, earning him the nickname "Tailless Tailed Beast."

Swish—

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

"Water Style: Water Shark Bullet Technique!"

As his enemies closed in, Kisame formed a one-handed seal, conjuring 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 approaching, 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 "consuming" every chakra orb fired from Chōjūrō's Hiramekarei.

"Chōjūrō! Watch yourself!"

Terumi Mei's voice sounded from not far away.

Clang!

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 next move arrived just then.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!"

Despite facing Terumi Mei's attack, Kisame looked calm, quickly forming seals with his free hand:

"Water Style: Great Shark Bullet Technique!"

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 clashed overhead, sending countless droplets flying, like a sudden tempest. Meanwhile—

Thud!

Blocking Terumi Mei's jutsu, Kisame snapped up a leg, landing a swift kick! Harnessing his monstrous strength, he slammed it straight into Chōjūrō. A dull boom rang 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 glanced worriedly over.

"Water Style: Water Prison Technique!"

"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 slapped his palm on the lake'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 deflecting some of the smaller shark-water projectiles, Gonbee's form burst into scattered droplets—he had been using a water clone to take the brunt of the attack. His real body rose from beneath 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.

Splaaash!

The water barrier burst, turning into a spray of droplets. The remaining miniature sharks continued to crash down on Ao. He removed his eye patch and activated the Byakugan, hurriedly analyzing and dodging. After a tense scramble, sweating profusely, he finally managed to dispel Kisame's prior technique.

Meanwhile, Terumi Mei seized that chance, spitting furiously:

"Lava Style: Melting Apparition Technique!"

A swath of orange-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 clone left behind. Her real body had reappeared behind Kisame.

"Lava Style: Melting Apparition Technique!"

"Water Style: Exploding Water Shock Wave!"

Off at some distance, Terumi 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 technique remained at full power, showing no sign of weakening.

"Water Style: Water Prison Technique!"

Rather surprisingly, Terumi Mei used that jutsu on herself—forming a protective bubble of water around her. Though Kisame's Exploding Water Shock Wave knocked the sphere around, Terumi Mei wasn't harmed, merely plunging down into the lake with a splash.

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

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

"Wait, wait!"

"We need them alive! Alive! A corpse isn't worth the bounty!"

That new arrival was none other 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 reaction made Senshi rather displeased.

"Is he blatantly ignoring me?"

Up in midair, Kisame's body ascended, forming complex seals at the same time. Inwardly he was scheming:

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

Perfect chance to see just how tough he really is!"

When he reached the peak of his jump, Kisame completed a jutsu involving countless 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 roaring down on them.

"60 Million Volts: Thunder Dragon!"

Initially, Senshi considered using the "200 Million Volts: Thunder God" move, but fearing it might kill Kisame, he toned it down to Thunder Dragon.

"Roooar—!"

Zzzt-zzzt-zzzt!

Crackle!

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

All the massive waves around them were electrolyzed clean away by the intense, high-voltage current of the dragon. Kisame, lauded as the "Tailless Tailed Beast," stood opposite Senshi, who was essentially a "walking Ten-Tails." 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 alarm, 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.