Kisame

Two flowers bloom, each representing a different branch.

For the Uchiha brothers, the battle was just getting started.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, the battle between Sakura Haruno and Kisame Hoshigaki entered a fierce stage as soon as it began.

--Or perhaps, in the eyes of the Uchiha brothers, it had entered a white-hot stage? After all, they had already used techniques of this caliber.

However, on the other side, after the Ninjutsu clash ended, endless water droplets began to fall from the sky, forming a thick curtain of water so heavy that one could not see their own hand in front of their face. The two Water Release ninjas standing in the rain did not think so.

In fact, they might even see this as merely a probing Ninjutsu before the battle, an appetizer before the main course.

Kisame Hoshigaki's breathing was only slightly rapid for a few moments before it quickly calmed down, as if the Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique that had just destroyed the land had not consumed much of his strength, but was merely a warm-up.

A torrential downpour poured down from the sky, soaking him and quickly making Kisame's black cloak heavy and threatening to fall.

The shark-faced ninja casually tossed his cloak aside, revealing his burly and muscular physique. Water streamed down his cheeks, passing over his orange-yellow and sinister eyes, but he didn't blink, his gaze fixed intently on the girl not far away.

A thick curtain of water fell on her hair, flowing down her smooth pink hair, soaking the ninja's thin short shirt, which clung to the girl's body, revealing her slender figure. Sakura Haruno was so focused on the enemy in front of her that she didn't even pay attention to her usual rain-blocking skills.

Kisame's gaze fell on Sakura's feet.

The rain created by the clash of Ninjutsu flowed down, quickly forming a puddle at her feet. The light green water overflowed the grass, and the shimmering waves gently soaked the girl's delicate sandals, laden with fluffy white Utakata, lapping against her slender ankles in waves.

He unconsciously fixed his gaze on this spot because he sensed pressure from the other party during that probing move.

Having fought alongside Uchiha Itachi for many years, Kisame Hoshigaki had developed a habit of not looking into the eyes or hands of his enemies during battle.

Regardless of what Kisame said about Sakura Haruno's strength, he clearly regarded the girl as someone on Itachi's level at this moment, so he subconsciously made a move to guard against Itachi.

After staring at the girl's pale legs for a full second, he finally realized that his opponent was not Itachi, not a monster with the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Rather, it is a monster skilled in Water Release techniques.

"Interesting." Kisame sneered, his gaze shifting from the ground to Sakura Haruno's face, and said in a deep voice.

In that exchange of blows, he was the one who attacked first, but his opponent reacted extremely quickly, even using Water Release to suppress his attack.

Even he, after unleashing such a powerful Great Waterfall Technique, was panting heavily; but Sakura Haruno remained calm and composed.

The test revealed that his Water Release were slightly inferior.

Sakura Haruno's hair, soaked and plastered to her head, made her supposedly 165cm height appear two centimeters shorter; she looked even shorter. However, whether it was her claimed 165cm or the shrunken 16cm after the rain, it was negligible compared to Kisame's nearly two-meter height; there wasn't much difference. It was just that the huge difference in height or physique didn't translate into any difference in strength or Chakra.

Judging from the stance of her Ninjutsu, Sakura's Chakra reserves are even greater than his.

It's the effect of the Yin Seal...

Kisame a chill run down his spine.

The cold, hard words in intelligence reports can never compare to the vivid and powerful feeling of meeting face-to-face. It wasn't until Sakura Haruno Kisame that he realized what the Yin Seal Ninjutsu meant.

How much Chakra did she store in the Yin Seal?

Not only in terms of Chakra, but also in terms of Water Release, this young girl's Ninjutsu level was subtly superior to his.

This was the first time Kisame had encountered a ninja whose Water Release could rival or even surpass his own in Ninjutsu clash.

A formidable opponent.

"Your Water Release are indeed powerful..." Kisame said coldly, "However, before my Samehada, your Ninjutsu is meaningless."

As he spoke, he grinned menacingly, revealing a mouthful of dark yellow, menacing teeth.

"Samehada... the ability to absorb Chakra?" Sakura Haruno replied casually, her gaze falling on the large sword in Kisame's hand.

"Looks like you have a very thorough understanding of my intelligence. Did Kirigakure tell you? Hmph... So those dead-headed bastards are starting to learn how to cooperate with the outside world?" Kisame spat dismissively, letting out a cold snort through his thick nose. "But it's nothing... it's just a tie in terms of intelligence. I have just as much information about you! What truly determines victory is the difference in our strength..."

He brandished the Samehada sword and pointed it at Sakura Haruno.

The blade, originally wrapped in layers of dense bandages, tightly confined the greatsword, was now changing. Sakura looked closely and saw the blade writhing incessantly, as if it were alive—Strictly speaking, Samehada was a living being—then the bandages quickly untied, revealing a deep blue blade covered in barbs. A large mouth full of sharp teeth split open at the tip of the blade, and a dark red tongue lurked within Samehada's mouth, making strange, rustling sounds.

A thick, bandaged broadsword instantly transformed into a writhing, ferocious giant fish.

"You have absolutely no chance of winning!" Kisame sneered.

"You talk too much nonsense..." Sakura frowned slightly and said coldly.

It seems that many ninjas have this tendency to be talkative, especially the more powerful they are. In her previous life, when she read manga, she thought it was just a manga technique, using character dialogue to develop the setting and story. But in this life, she has witnessed firsthand that many ninjas are indeed very talkative.

This was somewhat different from the cool and aloof image of a ninja she had always imagined; after all, such a cruel profession as ninja should require people who are serious and taciturn.

This is where she misunderstood: the temperament of a ninja doesn't correspond to an army, but rather to mercenaries—elite and powerful, yet undisciplined and full of individuality. Their subconscious speech is often a way to alleviate the pressure of precarious survival and combat; the more powerful the ninja, the more likely they are to act this way. Ninjas like Itachi, who prefer to keep to themselves, are actually a minority. Ninjas with excessive psychological pressure that cannot be released for a long time are more likely to experience problems on the battlefield or in combat—meaning they die faster and more often.

Some people also try to put pressure on the enemy through rhetoric; this tactic is quite effective when the number of combatants is small.

Kisame belongs to the first type.

The Kisame I knew from the manga of my past life or the information in this life was a monotonous, pale image: a pure villain who had lost his beliefs and honor, betrayed his country and village, had no relatives or friends, and only wanted to survive. But from the opening Ninjutsu clash and from Kisame's slightly rambling words, this image of missing-nin gradually became more three-dimensional in Sakura Haruno's eyes—a feeling that could never be felt from words and images alone, but could only be vaguely understood after seeing it with one's own eyes, hearing it with one's own ears, and fighting it with one's own hands.

Sakura Haruno had this feeling: the person in front of her was definitely not the kind of missing-nin who had betrayed everything and lost his faith as described in the files. His eyes were fierce and brutal, but at the same time, they were very firm.

It seems they firmly believe in something.

A person walking in the darkness, yet without feeling lost.

Sakura, however, showed no intention of continuing the conversation.

Meanwhile, Sasuke was still holding Itachi back; she didn't have the time to waste with Kisame or engage in pre-battle banter. Sakura Haruno had no interest in understanding what beliefs he still held. If Kisame was merely a henchman, then he was a vicious enemy; if Kisame firmly believed that what he and Akatsuki were doing was right, then he was a vicious and resolute enemy.

The only difference is that the latter is harder to defeat.

The girl took out a pair of black gloves and carefully put them on. These were specially made ninja gloves, extremely tough, woven from silk threads with exceptional strength and perfect compatibility with Chakra. Naturally, they were also very expensive gloves. Even among Konoha's Jonin, they were considered rare items; only someone of Sakura Haruno's strength and status could afford such things. They provided excellent protection for the hands, preventing injuries from sharp weapons, and also offered excellent protection against Sakura Haruno's frequently used Monstrous Strength Technique.

However, once you reach Sakura Haruno's level, ordinary external objects offer very little help. No matter how good the gloves are, the slight increase in defense is not as effective as the layer of Chakra she adds to her hands. Her exquisite Chakra manipulation skills allow her to amplify the effect of this Chakra enhancement to an incredible degree; her seemingly delicate and soft skin can be transformed into a material harder and more resilient than steel under her control!

Therefore, unlike Sakura Haruno in the later part of the original work, she is too lazy to even use this equipment when facing ordinary enemies.

However, if the goal is to defeat Kisame as quickly as possible, this little bit of help is better than nothing.

Not to mention...

The girl squinted her light green eyes at the Samehada sword.

This large sword looks intimidating, but its true fighting method isn't to cut people down, but to shave them. More precisely, it's to shave Chakra.

The trick of using Chakra to enhance the body, making it much stronger and allowing flesh and blood to contend with steel weapons, is useless against it.

Because it will shave off Chakra along with flesh and blood.

It wouldn't be so bad elsewhere—after all, the meatiest parts don't have much meat anyway, or rather, they can be replenished with Yang Release Medical Ninjutsu —but the palms are where Medical Ninjutsu Hand Seals. With a glove protecting them, it's at least some consolation.

Sakura Haruno put on her gloves and stretched her fingers. The black gloves were extremely thin and silky, and she couldn't feel any resistance when wearing them, so they didn't hinder her Hand Seals at all. Sakura glanced at her hands; her slender and delicate fingers were making various movements with dexterity. If she hadn't been watching, she would have thought she was wearing nothing at all.

As she performed these actions, she was silently channeling her Chakra.

The massive amount of energy stored within the Yin Seal was released wildly under the girl's stimulation, but under her strong control, she remained outwardly calm.

Taking advantage of the pause in the conversation, she quietly prepared a Ninjutsu.