Kisame's Mist of Life

"Itachi-san, the rain in the Rain Village is so heavy today."

Kisame Hoshigaki grinned.

He had always been the most obedient among all the rogue ninjas.

Before leaving the Bloody Mist Village, he had to carry out the Water Mizukage's orders to slay his seniors.

He was one of the few who were willing to follow the Infinite Tsukuyomi plan, and he did so willingly.

"This world is so illusory; my life before I was a teenager is like that of a completely different person compared to what came after."

"I can't tell what is real and what is fake anymore—the seniors I admired, the Water Mizukage I followed."

"They are all like waves that change too quickly; perhaps only the young can remain unchanged."

"Itachi-san, you once said that in the rain, one feels a sense of security, as if they aren't being watched."

"You said the moon is the greatest eye, like a Mangekyo that never closes."

Itachi was caught in the strongest form of Samehada fusion.

Yet, under Naruto's golden palm, there was absolutely no possibility of survival!

All of his techniques had been countered, and every path had been severed.

The sheer volume of chakra, exceeding anything Kisame could comprehend, brought with it the power to destroy all things.

Even the strength that had always served him well now seemed inadequate.

Everything before Kisame's eyes was slipping away.

He hung suspended in the air, unable to fall back into the water below.

The golden hand was like a mirror.

It reflected the Masked One-Eyed Man.

"Madara Uchiha? Can you truly create that perfect world?"

Kisame reached out.

For the first time, he wanted to interlock his fingers with the golden hand.

"It's so blinding!"

"How wonderful it would be if we didn't have to sleep, if we didn't have to see a world that rivals the Infinite Tsukuyomi only within an illusion."

"But this world is already beyond saving!"

Kisame did not speak a word aloud; it was all a murmur in the depths of his heart.

In the end.

He only bared his sharp teeth in a smile.

"I really have just been skimming the surface, like an old man on his deathbed constantly telling stale stories."

Death was approaching!

Even the great sword Samehada was trembling in fear.

This was undoubtedly influenced by the terrifying power of Naruto.

"I prefer the sun to the moon, but I understand better that this world must possess both the sun and the moon!"

Naruto seemed to be able to hear the inner voice of Samehada.

The chakra hand covered the surface of the lake.

The lake water swirled into a giant Water Prison Cage.

The lines on the palm were clearly visible.

It engulfed the tiny Kisame Hoshigaki within.

"Is that really power that a human can unleash?"

Kakuzu muttered behind his mask.

He had felt a lingering fear ever since he saw Naruto use Wood Style.

It was fortunate that he hadn't rushed in to throw his life away at the first opportunity.

The Tailed Beast Without a Tail, Kisame Hoshigaki, and the man who wiped out his clan, Itachi Uchiha.

Both of them were outrageously strong, yet they were being beaten into this state by Naruto.

"Hashirama Senju! After this battle, either there will be no power left in the Ninja World that can stop us, or a new God of Shinobi will be born!"

Kakuzu swallowed hard.

The several lives within his body were shivering, desperate to flee immediately.

Yet, deep down, he felt a glimmer of hope, wishing that a few major battles would consume as much of Naruto's chakra as possible.

If he could seize the chance to take the life of a chakra-depleted Naruto, it would be equivalent to avenging his failed assassination of Hashirama Senju all those years ago!

However.

Kakuzu's eyes nearly split at the corners as he stared at Naruto's invincible, celestial form.

Will I really lose?

Is there no end to the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki's chakra?

He did not know why.

Kakuzu always felt that Naruto still possessed a vast reserve of chakra and hidden trump cards.

Perhaps the Nine-Tails transformation was not the full extent of Naruto's strength.

In fact, ever since the white hair and skin had appeared beneath Naruto's golden Chakra Cloak, Kakuzu had felt an instinctive greed.

The fear of death deep within his heart, coupled with his pursuit of eternal life and wealth, made him desperate to know where that power—which merged so perfectly with nature—truly originated!

"Why are you two submitting to him?"

Kakuzu looked toward Orochimaru and Sasori, not sparing a single glance for Deidara.

Everyone in the Akatsuki knew that Deidara wanted to blow up anyone he found displeasing.

He was completely impossible to communicate with!

As long as Naruto gave him a reason to unleash his frantic bombings, it was enough to keep Deidara around indefinitely.

"I have spent my life pursuing the path to immortality, but now, I want even more to know how to shatter the boundary between life and death!"

At this moment, Orochimaru yearned even more for Naruto to achieve that god-like step.

"Behind the Nine-Tails, he hides a terrifying power unknown to the world. Puppets cannot possess life or souls, but if that Gate of Life and Death were ever truly broken, even the distinction between illusion and reality would vanish."

Sasori reached out his hand.

It was as if he were not touching the air, but a door.

A Gate of Life and Death that, once opened, would allow him to span time and space to embrace his parents.

"A bunch of incomprehensible lunatics. People need money to live, yet all you know how to do is chase after inexplicable things."

Kakuzu turned his head away.

The heavens and earth roared.

The air was shattered by shockwaves.

The Rain Village, already reduced to ruins, was suppressed even further.

Everyone felt a heavy weight press down on their chests.

A massive golden hand slammed down, pinning Kisame Hoshigaki to the ground as if he were nothing more than an ant!

The chakra was an energy blast of pure, destructive force.

Samehada opened its massive maw, desperately devouring the chakra and feeding it back into the fused Kisame.

Under normal circumstances, Kisame Hoshigaki would possess more and more chakra, until he had completely drained his opponent dry.

"Farewell! Itachi!"

Kisame's eyes were bloodshot.

He was already in excruciating pain from the overwhelming impact, and his chakra was expanding so rapidly that blood vessels began to rupture across his skin.

Mist began to fill the air at the end of his life.

Before Kisame's eyes was once again the inescapable blood mist, boundless and covering every node of his existence.

Samehada was like a generator, attempting to seize more and denser Nine-Tails chakra to keep itself running.

But the result was a swimming pool being swallowed by a tsunami, completely obliterating every water level.

"So much mist... the air is filled with the scent of blood!"

Kisame spat out a mouthful of black blood.

His body and the great sword Samehada began to separate bit by bit.

The massive chakra hand tightened, completely crushing the greedy Samehada and Kisame.

Trapped in the high-pressure grip, Samehada was in agony, yet in the depths of its eyes, it felt increasingly vivid as figures emerged from the blood mist.

There were his mentors, his seniors, his juniors, those he had killed, his fleeting teammates, the Fourth Mizukage, and his companions from the Akatsuki.

In the end, only the Masked Man and Itachi remained, standing by his side, each extending a hand.

"So, this is all death amounts to."

Kisame smiled as the final image he saw was a golden hand shattering all the blood mist and pushing aside the hands of the Masked Man and Itachi.

Darkness completely swallowed Kisame's mind.

Bang!

The sound of wooden planks cracking echoed in his ears.

Kisame Hoshigaki felt his body once again.

Didn't I die?

He pushed open the coffin lid.

What appeared before him was a small mountain made of ruins.

Standing atop the peak was a youth radiating golden light from his entire body.

Naruto turned his head and tossed the Great Shark Skin Samehada, which he had been toying with, to Kisame: "From now on, you are mine. You will work for me."

Reborn?

Kisame Hoshigaki looked at his own hands, then at Itachi Uchiha, who remained unconscious at his feet.

"A forbidden technique to bring the dead back to life! Why does it feel like I have even more chakra?"

The blood mist dispersed.

There were four enemies left in front of Naruto.

Kakuzu, Hidan, Nagato, and Konan.

"Who is next?"

Naruto clenched his fingers into a fist before stretching his hands out, as casual as if he were weighing fruit.