Chapter 017: Edo Tensei

What kind of creature is this?!

Staring at Kaido, who stood before him with horns on his head, Kisame didn't hesitate. His hands moved quickly, forming seals.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu!"

As the seals were completed, the coastline behind Kisame churned violently.

A massive dragon-shaped torrent of water, stretching hundreds of meters, surged into the sky. Twisting midair like a flood dragon turning over, it crashed straight toward Kaido with immense force.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The raging water dragon slammed into Kaido. Yet, instead of shattering on impact, it coiled and snapped at him like a real dragon, relentlessly tearing and crashing into him.

Feeling a faint pain from the attack, Kaido's eyes filled with surprise.

He hadn't expected this fish-man to be capable of controlling such an enormous volume of water.

But then again, so what if the water was massive?

"You bastard! I'm Kaido, damn it!"

"This little bit of water? It's barely enough for someone to take a bath!"

Kaido's furious roar echoed across the sky, his nostrils flaring as he exhaled two streams of white mist. He suddenly stomped down with immense force.

BOOM!

A thunderous explosion rang out as the ground beneath his foot shattered like a spiderweb, cracks spreading in all directions.

The massive, jet-black kanabo in his hands tilted slightly backward.

A smirk appeared at the corner of his mouth as he let out a thunderous battle cry.

"Thunder—Bagua!"

BOOM!

CRACK!

Terrifying electric eels surged from the kanabo, crackling with power. After gathering his strength, Kaido swung his weapon down, smashing it into the entangled water dragon.

With a single strike, the water dragon shattered, collapsing into a cascade of seawater.

"What a monster."

Kisame's heart pounded as he witnessed this. His understanding of the world's strongest fighters had been completely rewritten.

Was this thing even human?

With just his physical body alone, Kaido was already near invincible. This was no mere man—this was a monster wearing human skin!

But despite his shock, Kisame didn't believe he was outmatched.

Because he still had even stronger jutsu.

However, rather than his most powerful techniques, there was another jutsu he was far more eager to try.

And Kaido, standing right before him, was the perfect test subject.

At this thought, a grin spread across Kisame's face, revealing his sharp, jagged teeth.

"Kid, if that's all you've got, then go to hell!"

Kaido, having shattered the water dragon, wore a grim expression. Gripping his kanabo tightly, he locked eyes with the fish-man.

He had only come here to do Doflamingo a small favor—

Yet, he had run into a true powerhouse.

Yes, a powerhouse.

Just from that water dragon alone, Kaido had already acknowledged Kisame as one of the strong.

"Hahaha..."

Kisame sneered upon hearing the words and slowly spoke, "I have to admit, you are the first true powerhouse I've encountered in this world."

"As a fellow strong warrior, I will grant you a dignified death."

"Coincidentally, let me show you my masterpiece."

"Although it's only a half-finished product, it should be enough to deal with you."

As he spoke, Kisame formed hand seals, completing them in less than half a second, before slamming both hands onto the ground.

"Edo Tensei no Jutsu!"

Rumble!

Accompanied by a deafening roar, the sandy beach trembled, and the yellow sand before Kisame slowly bulged.

Watching the sand rise in front of him, Kisame felt a surge of excitement.

This jutsu had always been theoretical to him—this was his first time using it. He wasn't sure if it would actually succeed.

Unconsciously, his eyes fixated on the bulging sand, filled with tension.

Kaido, who had been preparing to attack, hesitated at the sudden disturbance. His fierce eyes fixated curiously on the mound of sand rising before his opponent.

As the sand rose, the surrounding quicksand retreated.

With the tremors intensifying, a coffin slowly emerged from within the shifting sands and stood upright before Kisame.

Looking at the seemingly ordinary wooden coffin, Kisame's stunned gaze was soon overtaken by bewilderment.

Then suddenly—he burst into laughter:

"Worororororo… brat, is this your way of accepting your inevitable death? Have you prepared your own coffin in advance?"

"But… isn't this coffin a little small?"

"Don't worry, though. With my group, I'll smash you into pieces and stuff you in there."

Despite Kaido's taunts, Kisame didn't get angry. Instead, he became even more focused on the coffin before him, tension rising in his chest.

Boom!

As he anxiously watched, the lid of the coffin suddenly crashed onto the ground.

Because he stood behind it, Kisame couldn't immediately see whether his summoning had succeeded.

"…The hell… what is that?"

On the other hand, Kaido, who was directly facing the coffin, widened his eyes the moment the lid fell.

What… was this?

Couldn't beat him?

So he dug up someone's grave instead?

Tap… tap…

In the eerie silence, light footsteps sounded.

"Hmm? Where is this place?"

A hoarse voice echoed. Slowly, a figure came into Kisame's view.

The moment he saw the figure, Kisame's pupils shrank abruptly.

It worked…

But also, it didn't.

The success was that his Edo Tensei no Jutsu had indeed functioned.

The failure?

This was not the person he had intended to summon.

"Huh?"

The figure paused upon seeing the towering Kaido before him. Then, with interest, he murmured,

"I bet this guy's heart would be pretty valuable."

Saying this, he turned his head back. When his gaze landed on Kisame, his green eyes flashed with surprise.

From the moment he stepped out of the coffin, he knew he had been summoned using Edo Tensei no Jutsu.

He had considered several possible summoners, but he had never expected it to be this big, goofy brute in front of him.

Yet, with the reality now before him, he still found it hard to believe. He hesitated before asking,

"Kisame… was it you who summoned me?"

"It was me."

"Kakuzu!"

Kisame looked at the resurrected Kakuzu before him, unable to hide his own surprise.

Edo Tensei no Jutsu—a summoning technique requiring the user to have physical remnants, such as cells, from the deceased in order to bring their soul back to the world of the living.

But Kisame had no such remnants.

However, within his storage scroll, he had various objects once used or gifted to him by former members of the Akatsuki.

Some of these items still contained traces of their previous owners' chakra.

The version of Edo Tensei he had developed was based on using those residual chakra imprints as a summoning medium.

The item he had just used?

A shuriken gifted to him by Itachi.

He had expected to see Itachi again…

But to his shock, he had somehow summoned the Akatsuki's treasurer instead.

"I never expected a simple-minded guy like you to fall this far…"

"Playing with souls, just like Orochimaru?"

Hearing Kisame's confirmation, Kakuzu's surprised expression slowly twisted into a sinister grin.

Kisame Hoshigaki—in the Akatsuki, he had always given off the impression of being straightforward and reliable.

Yet, who would have thought that this seemingly honest brute would one day resort to using forbidden jutsu like this?

Though Kakuzu felt a bit uneasy about it, he couldn't deny that stepping back into the sunlight again was exhilarating.

If there was anything that could make this moment even better…

It would be making money and counting money.

Kisame chuckled.

"Heh… honestly, I didn't really want to do this either. But in this world, I've been far too lonely."

"I meant to summon Itachi-san… but somehow, I got you instead."

"…"

"…The way you said that really pisses me off."

"I admit Itachi was strong, but don't forget—I once fought the First Hokage himself."

(End of Chapter)