3. Evolution: Sharktail Lightning Whip

"Fizz!"

Kisame suddenly drew in a cold, sharp breath. His pupils contracted to the size of mung beans, and beads of cold sweat streamed down his face like rain.

A searing pain shot from his posterior, and he groaned, arching his body. With a soft "poof," a tail burst forth from him.

It was a gray-brown, sword-like tail over a meter long, complete with two tail fins reminiscent of a shark's—the very image of his namesake. Yet, silver thunder patterns adorned the tail, and arcs of lightning danced around it, imbuing it with a deadly aura.

This was… the Sharktail Lightning Whip.

"Roar."

Kisame felt an overwhelming surge of raw power within him—a violent force longing to be unleashed. Instinctively, he swung his newly formed tail.

Click.

A large tree, roughly the size of a bucket, shattered under the impact and crashed down with a resounding bang. Almost immediately, a hefty bluestone, nearly as tall as a person, was blasted apart by the force of his tail, its fragments scattering in every direction.

What a powerful force.

It appeared that with the help of the "Iron Eater" cheat device, the Thunder Sabre Tooth and Thunder Blade had not only merged seamlessly with Kisame but had also retained all their original characteristics and strength.

As for the price Kisame paid for this transformation…

Aside from the intense pain in his rear, his appearance had grown even more "inhuman." Yet, considering that he'd always been more shark than man, this change hardly mattered.

If losing one's humanity was the cost of newfound power, then Kisame would wear that price with pride!

The only concern was that dragging such a tail back to the Hidden Mist Village would undoubtedly startle the locals.

At that moment, Kisame's mind raced. Consciously, he contracted his sphincter—and a miraculous scene unfolded.

Call out!

His Sharktail Lightning Whip retracted into his body as quickly as a snake retreating into a hole, disappearing completely. It was, in fact, a retractable tail.

A broad grin spread across Kisame's face.

The very first thought that flashed through his mind was of close-quarters combat: in a stalemate, he could suddenly lash out with his tail to target an enemy's vital points. This tail would allow him to fully utilize the unlimited fighting skills he'd honed over the years.

Time to get out of here.

After a brief moment of reflection, Kisame resolved to dispose of the body of Black Hoe Leiya and then return to The Hidden Mist Village to continue his life as a genin. The remaining six ninja swords of Kirigakure were his next goals.

However, perhaps his earlier display had been too loud—his actions might have drawn the enemy close.

Call out!

A scorching fireball roughly the size of a human head arced through the woods under the moonlight, trailing lightning as it roared toward Kisame.

"Um?"

Startled, Kisame grabbed the corpse of Mangetsu Hozuki and hurled it, colliding with the oncoming fireball.

Chi Chi.

In an instant, a burst of water vapor turned into a white mist. The water in Mangetsu Hozuki's body evaporated instantly, leaving behind a mummified corpse that drifted lightly to the ground.

In the very next second, Pakura emerged from the darkness, her expression cold.

She recognized immediately that the kid who had leapt from the dam and escaped was none other than Kisame—and what shocked her most was:

"You… killed your superior?"

Pakura's voice was icy, her brows knitting as she stared at the disoriented youth. She knew Mangetsu Hozuki had been dead long before her arrival.

Kisame, however, remained silent—neither confessing nor denying—leaving the question hanging in the air.

He hesitated, uncertain whether to act against this elite jōnin. Considering Pakura's reputation as a master of blood-based ninjutsu and her formidable entourage, even with the Sharktail Lightning Whip, he feared he might still be outmatched.

Determined not to be her opponent, Kisame repeated his old trick and activated his best move:

"run away!"

He spread his arms wide, stepped back, and flashed a defiant smile at Pakura.

"Pakura of the sand—if you can survive, let's meet again," he called out.

No sooner had he spoken than Kisame darted to the cliff's edge and leaped off, plunging straight downward.

Whoosh.

Pakura reacted instantly, racing to the cliff's edge. When she peered over, all she saw was the cascading waterfall and an unending abyss below.

At that height, even a skilled ninja would be shattered by a jump—a fatal plunge, in all likelihood.

But somehow… that stern, defiant smile on this unknown genin lingered in Pakura's mind.

It spoke of calm evasion amid enemy onslaught, ruthlessness in dispatching superiors, and the sheer madness of a cliff dive.

That was Pakura's impression of Kisame.

If this kid grew up, he'd undoubtedly become a dangerous force.

As Pakura stood dazed at the cliff's edge, the rest of the Hidden Sand Village ninjas finally arrived.

They soon discovered the shriveled corpse of Mangetsu Hozuki on the ground and quickly assumed that Pakura was responsible for his death.

This news sent shockwaves through Land of Wind; the operation led by Pakura had not only decimated crucial infrastructure in the Land of Water but had also eliminated one of the famed Seven Ninja Swordsmen—a major victory.

Returning from such a military exploit would surely bring rewards and promotions.

Pakura glanced at her frenzied subordinates and hesitated, offering little explanation.

One mystery remained: The Thunder Fangs were nowhere to be found.

Had it been swept away by that river and fallen off the cliff as well?

Pakura mulled over the possibility, then led her team around the waterfall to search for Kisame's body and the Thunder Sabre artifacts along both banks. But since this was the territory of the Land of Water and reinforcements from The Hidden Mist Village were imminent, she decided they couldn't linger.

Ultimately, Pakura gathered Mangetsu's body and departed swiftly with her subordinates.

On the cliff's edge, the waterfall thundered ceaselessly.

Halfway up, a small tree clung tenaciously to a rocky crevice, its roots gripping stone as its branches stretched skyward.

And there, amidst it all, lay Kisame—Hoshigaki Kisame—who had fallen from the sky.

When he had jumped off the cliff, he instinctively extended his tail, using it like a balancing pole, even as he repeatedly collided with protruding rocks. Though he suffered grievous injuries, his fall was noticeably slowed.

In that moment, as Kisame spied the small tree, he knew he must not die.

Wrapping his tail tightly around the trunk like a coil, he managed to suspend himself in mid-air.

After a moment's pause, he used his hands and feet—drawing on the rock-climbing techniques he'd mastered in his previous life—to descend smoothly from the half-mountain cliff to the valley's bottom.

It was pitch black; no moon was visible, only the relentless roar of the waterfall.

Kisame reentered the water, his tail moving slowly like that of a silent predator, and swam along the icy river toward the distant sea outlet.

Late that night, the bright moon was hidden behind dense, dark clouds, and the earth lay shrouded in darkness.

Everything that transpired that night was cloaked in uncertainty—like the moon, hidden by layers of doubt.