However, compared to the hundred-plus points he'd gained outright, Rasa cared more about the points that continued to trickle in afterward, +1 at a time. He suspected those were the result of the butterfly effect.
Killing people nonstop—or just constantly stirring up trouble—wasn't a solution. The Shinobi World was too small to keep one person busy forever, and sooner or later he'd run out of plot-relevant characters to kill.
Once his influence on the Shinobi World was great enough, and the steady stream of +1 points had accumulated sufficiently, those points would become a reliable source of income he could truly count on.
Putting that aside, Rasa turned to Kisame Hoshigaki, the shark-faced man whose attacks he'd deliberately avoided from the start.
Kisame still looked a little green. Calling a shark-faced man green might sound odd, but it was more or less the right way to put it.
Under Rasa's gaze, Kisame wasn't intimidated. He met Rasa's eyes, his own gaze burning fiercely.
In the original story, Kisame joined the Akatsuki and partnered with Itachi Uchiha. He fought Asuma, Jiraiya, Might Guy, and the AB Brothers of Kumogakure at various times.
He had a major role, so killing Kisame here would surely earn a lot of points—maybe even a few thousand. But in the long run, that wouldn't serve Rasa's interests.
Lying sprawled on the ground, Ringo Ameyuri saw Kisame stare fearlessly back at Rasa and grew anxious on his behalf. She frantically tried to catch his eye.
Ke Zhen'e: Wait for my signal before you act.jpg
What was the point of staring down a Kage Level powerhouse? The man didn't look like he meant to kill you. Couldn't you just keep your head down and make yourself invisible?
Perhaps because they both had a mouthful of shark teeth, Ringo Ameyuri and Kisame got along fairly well.
More importantly, she was badly injured while Kisame was unharmed. If he went down too, she might not make it back to Kirigakure alive.
Rasa smiled, making Ringo Ameyuri's heart skip. Even a ruthless man like him could smile? Was he thinking about how to torment them?
"You're a shinobi of Kirigakure, aren't you? A shinobi is like a blade, while a superior is the one who holds the hilt.
"Now your superior has been killed by me. So, what do you want to do?"
Rasa asked after a long pause, his voice low and distant.
Kisame was taken aback. He hadn't expected Rasa to ask him that. After a moment's thought, he answered.
Baring his sharklike teeth, he said, "According to the village regulations, if the squad leader dies and the unit is nearly wiped out, the surviving members must prioritize completing the mission.
"After that, they're to bring the intelligence back to the village."
Hot-blooded idealism belonged to the protagonist's circle. Most of the time, shinobi were just emotionless mission machines.
"And what will you choose?" Rasa asked, tilting his head. He was genuinely curious about Kisame's decision.
In the original story, Kisame was the purest kind of shinobi: loyal, true to his word, and devoted to his profession. Yet time and again, he was forced to kill his own teammates for the sake of a mission.
After joining the Akatsuki, he became partners with Itachi Uchiha. The two got along well, but Kisame still had to obey Obito and keep an eye on Itachi at all times.
Even a blade of loyalty was still a blade, and every blade needed a master.
"I still want to complete my mission."
A fierce glint shone in Kisame's sharklike eyes. He was eager to fight. Of course he knew how powerful the red-haired man before him was: he'd killed two elite jonin with a single strike and commanded every sword...
But Kisame believed that was simply what being a shinobi meant. Sometimes, you had to do what you knew you couldn't.
To die by the blade of a Kage Level powerhouse, rather than be ambushed by some nobody or betrayed and killed by a teammate, would be a fine end.
That was what Kisame thought as his fighting spirit surged. He regarded Rasa as the strongest opponent he'd ever encountered.
"Interesting."
Rasa nodded, then bent down and searched through the corpses of Suikazan Fuguki and Biwa Juzo. He found several Storage Scrolls and sent chakra into them. Just as he'd expected, they contained a large number of ninja tools.
There were even more than the number listed in his Mission Manual. Besides the share from Sunagakure, they must have included the portion Kirigakure had originally purchased.
Rasa tucked the scrolls into the belt behind his waist and planted Kubikiribōchō in the ground. Narrowing his eyes, he said, "Your mission is to bring these ninja tools back to your village, right?
"I'll give you a chance to complete it.
"Attack me with everything you've got. If you can wound me, you can leave with these scrolls.
"You get one strike. If it doesn't satisfy me, both you and her will die."
Points +1... +1...
The points were coming in a little faster. So, acting cool really was the way to go—affect these characters, change their beliefs, and in turn alter the story.
Rasa wanted to leave an indelible impression on Kisame.
At his words, Ringo Ameyuri couldn't help cursing inwardly. That shark-faced idiot was such a troublemaker. She hadn't been going to die before, but now she might have to die with him.
Hadn't he stopped to think? Three squad leaders at the elite jonin level hadn't lasted two strikes. What were the odds that a shark-faced man barely at jonin level would survive after one?
Kisame said nothing, mulling over Rasa's words and trying to figure out what he was thinking.
The gap between their strengths was enormous. Kisame had already prepared himself to die, but now it seemed there might still be a chance.
If he could wound Rasa with his next all-out attack, and Rasa kept his word, then Kisame would be able to complete his mission.
But what kind of attack could wound Himura Kenshin? Kisame racked his brains, his mind racing.
Shuriken and Kunai were out of the question. They were children's toys. His standard ninjutsu probably wouldn't work either; Rasa had cut apart every Water Release technique Kisame had tried.
Kisame's sharklike eyes settled on Samehada, lying quietly to one side. His heart stirred. Perhaps he could try that.
He looked up at Rasa and reached for Samehada's hilt. When Rasa showed no reaction, Kisame finally felt safe enough to grip it and lift the blade.
"Not a bad idea," Rasa said approvingly.
Kisame squeezed chakra from his body's cells and poured it into Samehada. Sensing the chakra, the sword—which had been feigning death—gradually woke, casting its fear of death aside.
Its body swelled rapidly, and spikes sprang up all over. Samehada transformed into a gigantic Piranha, wrapped in a deep-red layer of chakra resembling a Tailed Beast Cloak.
Kisame's chakra drained away at an incredible rate, yet he grinned, baring his sharklike teeth. Samehada was quivering with excitement in his hands, eagerly anticipating a gluttonous feast.
Perhaps with Samehada, Kisame's full-strength strike really could wound the enemy before him.
Ringo Ameyuri was utterly stunned by Kisame. She couldn't believe that his compatibility with Samehada surpassed even that of Captain Suikazan Fuguki.
A full-chakra, strongest-possible strike might actually wound Himura Kenshin. Maybe.
Rasa took a nail clipper from his clothes, pinched it between two fingers, and pointed it at Kisame. Calmly, he said, "Come on."
Thanks for all the recommendation votes, though I'm still going to ask for more~
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