Deidara crouched at the bow, pinching a lump of white clay in his hand, a wide grin stretching across his face.
"Kisame-senpai, I can't wait any longer!"
A mouth opened in his palm, and the clay writhed within it, splitting like a living thing into dozens of spiders.
Kisame stood at the stern, Samehada resting against his shoulder, his eyes fixed on the distant sea.
The water was calm.
Too calm.
He closed his eyes and sensed the flow of chakra around them.
Deep beneath the sea, faint chakra fluctuations stirred.
More than one.
It was an ambush.
Kisame opened his eyes, the corner of his mouth curling into a faint smile.
"Deidara, what do you want to eat?"
Deidara froze for a moment.
"Huh?"
"I know Kirigakure well." Kisame patted Samehada. "Once we're inside, I'll treat you to a meal. I remember plenty of restaurants with good food. Even Itachi-san never got this treatment."
Deidara laughed.
"Then I'm definitely going to bleed you dry!"
He rose to his feet and swept out an arm. Clay Spiders flew from his palm, raining densely down onto the sea.
"C1, Spider Web!"
Boom!
The sea exploded, and a column of water shot into the sky.
The blast wave raised massive waves, violently rocking the ship.
Deidara stood at the bow, his eyes locked on the water.
"They're out!"
A figure surfaced from the sea.
The Fourth Mizukage Yagura's Water Clone stood atop the water, chakra gathered beneath his feet as churning waves surged behind him.
His face was expressionless, his eyes staring directly at Kisame.
"Long time no see, Kisame."
Yagura's voice was calm.
"Even after all this time, I still haven't forgotten how outstanding you were."
Kisame fell silent for a moment.
He had long known that the Fourth Mizukage had