"Teacher Kisame, have some meat."
At the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Water, Kazama Kaguya eagerly served up some cooked meat and smiled as he offered it to Kisame Hoshigaki.
Ninjas extracted chakra by pushing their cells to the limit, which consumed a tremendous amount of energy. Kisame was already ravenous.
But he didn't reach for the food. Instead, he eyed Kazama Kaguya warily. "Nobody does something for nothing. What are you plotting now?"
"Uh... Is it that obvious?"
Kazama Kaguya frowned and rubbed his cheek. "Sorry, Teacher Kisame. My body's different now. I've got a bit too much collagen in my face, so I don't look as gaunt as I used to. It's harder to control my expressions. I'll be more careful next time."
"..."
Kisame rolled his eyes, his forehead twitching. "Cut the crap. Spit it out."
"Sure."
Kazama Kaguya seized the opening and asked at once, "What are your plans from here, Teacher Kisame?"
"Plans? Nothing much. I'm going to keep an eye on you for three months, then take your head back to Kirigakure." Kisame hadn't forgotten his mission.
"I see..."
Kazama Kaguya nodded without the slightest annoyance, then asked, "So when are you planning to pay the price for the Sharingan intel you got from me?"
At that, Kisame knew the boy was up to no good.
He stiffened for a moment, then eyed Kazama Kaguya like a thief. "Don't try to swindle me. We agreed I could choose one of three options."
"One of three, right? No problem."
Kazama Kaguya nodded readily, then swiftly pulled a scroll from his ninja pouch and handed it over. "I wrote down my demands inside. Just consider them, Teacher Kisame."
"You've already worked out how to screw me over?"
Kisame took the scroll reluctantly and opened it. As he read through the contents, his expression grew darker and darker.
"Kirigakure barrier layout? A list of the higher-ups and their weaknesses? The summoning formulas for the Seven Ninja Swords?"
He read the contents aloud, word by word. By the time he finished, his face had darkened like the bottom of a pot, and he could barely contain his fury and killing intent.
"Kazama Kaguya! How dare you?"
Gritting his teeth, he couldn't resist Body Flickering over to teach the insolent brat a lesson, but a forest of sharp bone spikes burst from Kazama Kaguya's body and forced him back.
Kazama Kaguya wasn't the sickly weakling he'd been at the start anymore. He had strength and tricks to spare.
Did Kisame think he could still grab him by the neck like before?
No chance. Absolutely not.
Kisame belatedly realized that, too.
He took several deep breaths, forcing down his anger. "You want information about Kirigakure from me? Forget it. I'm with the Intelligence Protection Force. I'd never give you classified information."
"Huh? Information about Kirigakure? How'd that get in there?"
Kazama Kaguya blinked, then hurriedly took the scroll back. "Sorry, I grabbed the wrong one. I know you'd never betray your principles, Teacher Kisame. I wouldn't joke about something like that. Those are just demands I plan to make when I negotiate with Suikazan Fuguki later. Don't worry about it. Just pretend you never saw them."
Don't worry about it? Pretend he never saw them?
Kisame couldn't believe his ears.
Just look at what he'd discovered today.
A Kirigakure rogue ninja was telling a member of the Intelligence Protection Force that he planned to trade classified village information with his superior, Suikazan Fuguki?
That was like walking right up and slapping him in the face.
"Kazama Kaguya! You're asking for it!" Kisame was so furious his sharp shark teeth practically sparked.
He drew a Kunai and Body Flickered toward him.
Clang, clang, clang...
After a flurry of sharp clinks, Kazama Kaguya barely managed to keep up, relying on the defense of his Shikotsumyaku.
Two or three dozen centimeters of bone spikes jutted from his whole body, making him look like a hedgehog. Kisame had no choice but to abandon his close-range attacks.
Seeing Kisame start forming Hand Seals, Kazama Kaguya hurriedly pulled out another scroll. "Teacher Kisame, I really did grab the wrong one. This is the right one. Take a good look."
"..."
Kisame silently took the scroll and quickly read it.
This time, he didn't get angry. Instead, he looked utterly hopeless.
His brows knitted into deep furrows, his face full of misery, as if he could crush a fly between them.
At length, he murmured, "Give me any forbidden jutsu from the Scroll of Seals? Give me information about the Uzumaki Clan's core Sealing Jutsu, the Eight Trigrams Seal? Or train you properly for three months, including my own Water Release Ninjutsu and Taijutsu training?"
Kisame finished reading the scroll in a low voice, then exhaled heavily. "I knew it! I shouldn't have gone after your intel."
"You're rotten to the core. You've been plotting against me this whole time, and now you want to wring me dry."
Just look at those three options. What kind of choices were they?
Forbidden jutsu from the Scroll of Seals? The Uzumaki Clan's Eight Trigrams Seal? Those were top-secret Konoha secrets. How could a Kirigakure ninja like him possibly know about them?
The options were obviously designed to force him to pick the last one.
"I'm tired. Just destroy everything."
Kisame leaned against a tree in defeat, the light fading from his eyes.
He couldn't figure out how he'd ended up in such a predicament.
He gazed up at the sky, watching the clouds shift. "I only wanted to protect the village. What did I do wrong?"
Kazama Kaguya didn't answer. He simply waited quietly, giving Kisame plenty of time to collect himself.
When enough time had passed, he looked at the still-dejected Kisame and cautiously asked, "Teacher Kisame, the Mangekyo intel is worth just as much as all that stuff. Why don't I give you the first scroll? You could hand over that information right now, anyway."
"Get lost!"
Kisame snatched up a stone and hurled it at him. "Get lost! Get lost! Get lost! I don't want to see you today!"
Kazama Kaguya raised an eyebrow. He knew he'd gotten what he wanted, so he turned and left.
"Then get some good rest today, Teacher Kisame. I'll come see you tomorrow morning, when the first ray of sunlight appears."
Kisame said nothing.
His eyes were vacant as he stared at the clouds above.
Under the influence of rising air currents, the clouds turned into a dog, then an eagle, then rippling waves.
No one knew what they would become next.
He felt that everything he'd gone through since leaving Kirigakure was just like those clouds in the sky.
He'd never been the one in control of what happened next.
"Getting information always comes at a cost! Is this the price I have to pay?"
As Kisame recalled the principles he'd upheld all his life, the fading light in his eyes gradually sharpened.
The cold, ruthless monster of Kirigakure had returned.
He turned to look at the boy's retreating figure. His sharp shark teeth showed as he grinned, a cold glint flickering in his eyes.
"Heh. Kazama Kaguya, you really are my good student. Since I didn't train you properly back then, I'll make up for it now."
"You've been screwing me over the whole way, and now you want to learn my secret Water Release? We'll see if you have what it takes to endure it."
"Train you properly? Don't worry. I've got you covered."
Before you continue