No one knew how much time had passed...
In a daze, Kisame Hoshigaki heard the sound of his own heartbeat.
His body felt so heavy that it was almost as if it no longer belonged to him, and every inch of him hurt.
Clink...
The chains rattled.
The cold object made Kisame realize that they were shackles.
"I survived..."
Kisame thought groggily.
Then he began to struggle.
There was no doubt about it—he had failed.
But Kisame Hoshigaki was not a man who would give up so easily.
Because he was an elite ninja of the Bloody Mist Village.
After struggling for a while, Kisame Hoshigaki finally managed to sit up.
A ninja had to be aware of his position at all times and in all places.
"..."
Therefore, the first thing Kisame did after regaining consciousness was survey his surroundings.
It was a cave.
The blazing firelight illuminated the stone wall, outlining the shadow of a human figure.
"!!"
Kisame Hoshigaki widened his eyes and stared at that back.
A man dressed in black stood with his back to him. The flickering firelight illuminated him like a demon.
Then.
The White Devil turned around, revealing his stern face and white eyes.
"Kisame Hoshigaki, your mission has failed. We invaded the minds of the personnel from your Cipher Squad and obtained a great deal of intelligence..."
In other words.
Kirigakure's code-deciphering procedures.
Had also been mastered and deciphered by Konoha.
They had even stolen intelligence from Kirigakure in return.
"..."
Kisame said nothing. He merely stared expressionlessly at Hyuga Sho.
His mind raced. Judging from the current situation, there was no doubt that the White Devil had spared him...
But the question was—
Why hadn't he killed him?
If the personnel from the Cipher Squad still had value,
then someone