[Talk no Jutsu: The Art of Gentle Persuasion], Kisame Got Tricked Yet Again (Please Vote!)

"Susanoo was broken?"

Seeing with his own eyes the colossal being, seemingly imbued with divine power, shattered, Aburame Ryoma's heart skipped several beats. He could hardly believe his eyes.

Before he had seen Susanoo, he had always thought that while the Uchiha Clan was powerful, it wasn't invincible.

But after witnessing that hundred-meter-tall giant, he'd once believed it represented the pinnacle of strength in the Ninja World—the divine power to control a weapon of nuclear peace, the Tailed Beast.

But now?

An insignificant nobody had shattered that seemingly invincible legend.

"What kind of power are those ashen bones?"

Aburame Ryoma was terrified. Even after Root Organization's training, his fear of the unknown still got the better of him.

He didn't have the courage to face the enemy. He quickly swallowed a soldier pill, pushed his body past its limits to extract chakra, and used the Body Flicker Technique to race toward Shisui Uchiha.

He knew his own abilities. The Aburame Clan's secret techniques were no match for Kisame Hoshigaki and that mysterious boy.

But Shisui Uchiha could handle them.

"Shisui Uchiha, you have to hold on. Otherwise, we're all going to die."

"Secret Technique: Insect Cloud."

He controlled his insects, turning them into a dark cloud that caught Shisui as he fell. Then he turned and ran.

"Shisui Uchiha, hurry! Summon your Susanoo again! They're coming!" he urged anxiously as he ran.

"Ah... my Mangekyo..."

Shisui Uchiha's eyes were bloodshot. He endured the pain and said weakly, "There's something seriously wrong with that person's attacks. They're extremely strange. Whatever you do, don't let them hit you. At least a third of my chakra limit was erased in an instant. My Mangekyo forcibly shut down. I can forget about using Susanoo."

"Run!"

Even now, he couldn't understand how those ashen bones had erased his chakra limit.

The part of Susanoo that had turned to ash along with the gray bone spikes had been constructed entirely from his chakra.

Normally, even if Susanoo was destroyed, it would only consume chakra. It wouldn't lower his limit.

It was like a pool of water: even after some flowed out, it could still be refilled.

But this time, someone had gone and smashed the pool itself.

More than a third of his chakra limit had been erased in an instant. Now, he could barely activate even his three-Tomoe Sharingan, let alone his Mangekyo.

To make matters worse, it seemed his vision had been erased as well. Everything more than fifty meters away was a blur.

Right now, he probably had less than a tenth of his former strength.

As Aburame Ryoma listened to Shisui Uchiha, his heart sank, and a chill crept over him.

This is the end! Aburame Ryoma thought bitterly.

He recalled every moment since he'd met Kazama Kaguya. He'd never imagined that the sickly weakling who'd once been on the verge of death would become a powerful figure after obtaining the Main Family's Byakugan and leaving for only a short while.

"Byakugan!"

Suddenly, he jolted as the answer dawned on him. "That's it—the Byakugan! I didn't mistake those eyes. That kid must have transplanted Hyuga Hiashi's Byakugan. But why did that give him such power?"

Aburame Ryoma knew what the Byakugan could do, but he couldn't understand why transplanting it into someone would cause such a dramatic change.

The weak, sickly boy had turned into a noble Byakugan wielder—and even wrecked Susanoo?

The more Aburame Ryoma thought about it, the more he suspected he'd fallen into that boy's scheme. He said furiously,

"Someone sent by Orochimaru? Bullshit! If Orochimaru had that kind of power, he'd have become Fourth Hokage ages ago. He wouldn't have been driven into exile! Danzo must have been fooled by him too. Damn kid!"

Aburame Ryoma's face darkened. He didn't dare stop using the Body Flicker Technique for even a moment.

Now he had to take this information back.

"Danzo's grand plan must never be exposed. He's destined to become the Fifth Hokage. I have to take this information back and let Danzo decide what to do."

He, Aburame Ryoma, was Danzo's most loyal subordinate.

Elsewhere, Kazama Kaguya looked at the wary Kisame Hoshigaki, deliberately reined in his surging chakra, and smiled. "Teacher Kisame, you don't have to be on guard against me. I owe you for protecting me all this time."

He didn't explain what had caused his transformation. Instead, he nodded toward the retreating figures of Aburame Ryoma and Shisui Uchiha.

"Shisui Uchiha is already running away. Didn't you accept Kirigakure's mission to 'steal the Mangekyo'? Now's your best chance. Go!"

As he spoke, the ashen bone spikes behind Kazama Kaguya crumbled into dust.

A layer of fine gray-white powder drifted to the ground, like the ashes of burned bones—pale and lifeless.

Kisame Hoshigaki took two more steps back to avoid getting any of the ashes on himself. With a grave expression, he said, "Your ability seems to have the power to end all things. Those ashes are deeply ominous."

As he spoke, he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, preparing to go after Shisui's eyes.

Just before leaving, he glanced at Kazama Kaguya without thinking.

The boy wore a smile, his eyes a hazy white, as if filled with dense fog. Kisame couldn't make out what lay within them.

Suddenly, a familiar feeling surged through him.

Kisame Hoshigaki stopped dead, his sharklike pupils contracting.

He sensed the stench of a scheme.

He looked at Shisui, fleeing in the distance in a sorry state, then at the unruffled Byakugan boy. His brow twitched a few times, and he asked in extreme annoyance,

"Kazama Kaguya, you're scheming against me again, aren't you?"

Kisame Hoshigaki trusted his instincts.

That instinct came from the frustration of a beast that had once fallen into a trap.

"You're definitely plotting something."

Kisame Hoshigaki stopped completely, his expression sour. "You said Shisui Uchiha's Mangekyo has the strongest Genjutsu, 'Kotoamatsukami.' I believe that. Maybe you didn't dare covet those eyes before because you lacked the ability, but with the power you have now, I don't believe you have no interest in Shisui's Mangekyo."

He stared fixedly at Kazama Kaguya's mist-white eyes, his tone certain.

"With your strength now, you can fly, you can fight, and you have an absurd amount of chakra. Taking down an injured Shisui Uchiha shouldn't be a problem. But you haven't moved. Instead, you're urging me to attack. That's the biggest problem."

"You're definitely up to some kind of scheme again. Am I wrong?"

Kisame Hoshigaki grew even more certain of his judgment.

"..."

Kazama Kaguya fell silent. He watched Kisame Hoshigaki for a long moment before finally speaking.

"Teacher Kisame, don't be so jumpy. What happened to trust between people? Why would I trick you?"

"Right now, this really is your best chance to get the Mangekyo. If you miss it, you'll never be able to complete your 'steal the Mangekyo' mission."

That wasn't a lie.

With Shisui Uchiha's Mangekyo damaged and his strength greatly reduced, this really was the best moment for Kisame to strike.

But Kisame Hoshigaki wasn't wrong, either.

Kazama Kaguya really was interested in Kotoamatsukami, and he really was setting a trap for Kisame.

He wanted to use Kisame Hoshigaki to test Shisui Uchiha.

Unfortunately, Kisame seemed to have gone on high alert.

A shark's danger instinct? Kazama Kaguya thought.

Though his plan had been seen through, Kazama Kaguya couldn't possibly admit it. He immediately put on a heartbroken expression and pointed at the distant figure of Shisui Uchiha.

"Teacher Kisame, there's no time to lose. Are you really not going to act? I absolutely won't compete with you for it. The Mangekyo is getting farther and farther away. Once this opportunity passes, it'll be gone for good. Are you sure you've thought this through?"

This was [Talk no Jutsu: The Art of Gentle Persuasion].

Only by considering everything from someone else's point of view could you make them jump into a trap even when they knew it was there.

Kisame Hoshigaki was hesitating.

Kazama Kaguya, meanwhile, was considering the risk of deliberately withholding information.

Shisui Uchiha was known as Body Flicker Shisui. His Taijutsu skills were undoubtedly formidable.

And Kotoamatsukami was the most dangerous ocular technique in the Ninja World.

Only his Mangekyo had been damaged. His Genjutsu would be greatly weakened, but his Taijutsu and Fire Release Ninjutsu wouldn't be affected much.

A wise man didn't put himself in danger.

A terrifying weapon like Kotoamatsukami had to be destroyed unless he could control it himself.

Kazama Kaguya didn't want some old schemer to use Shisui's Mangekyo to pull a stunt on him after he'd risen to power.

Besides, all ninja were ruthless.

He couldn't be sure Shisui was actually as badly injured as he claimed. Maybe he was pretending to be weak, just waiting to unleash something nasty once Kazama Kaguya charged in.

A cornered beast fought back. An injured Uchiha was at his most dangerous.

And with the Uchiha Clan's secret techniques, Izanagi and Izanami, even if Shisui Uchiha couldn't activate his Mangekyo, he wasn't some helpless lamb waiting to be slaughtered when it came down to a fight for his life.

If Shisui knew those two forbidden techniques, they'd be more than Kisame Hoshigaki could handle.

He needed someone to test the waters.

However, Kisame Hoshigaki didn't know all these secrets.

He looked at Kazama Kaguya and asked suspiciously, "You're really not plotting anything? I'm not sure I believe you. I can't shake the feeling you're tricking me again."

"Teacher Kisame, that really disappoints me."

Kazama Kaguya shook his head and continued using [Talk no Jutsu: The Art of Gentle Persuasion]. "Think about how difficult your mission is. Then think about this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I even wrecked Susanoo for you. Are you really willing to give up your chance to strike?"

"..."

This time, Kisame Hoshigaki was the one who fell silent.

The annoying boy before him was right. How could he possibly be willing to give up a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity like this?

If I obtain the Mangekyo that houses Kotoamatsukami, could I save the Village Hidden in the Blood Mist?

After pondering for a moment, Kisame Hoshigaki came to a conclusion: It was worth a try.

He fought for Kirigakure with all his heart, charging into battle and never backing down.

But sometimes, the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.

Kisame Hoshigaki hadn't yet reached the crossroads of his life.

He gritted his teeth, suppressed his instinct that he was being tricked, and turned to leave.

"Kazama Kaguya, I'll trust you one more time—for now."