His right hand closed around Hiramekarei's hilt, his eyes filled with deep wariness.
Even Kisame, who lived for battle, felt the pressure the moment he saw Uchiha Yin again.
Uchiha Yin's Wood Clone merely stood there, calm and still, yet Kisame did not dare move.
"Kisame Hoshigaki, do you feel lost?" the Wood Clone asked.
"Lost?" Kisame Hoshigaki's entire body tensed. He remained as vigilant as ever.
"That's right. You've carried out plenty of missions to kill Kirigakure Ninja, haven't you?"
"As a Kirigakure Ninja yourself, you kill Kirigakure Ninja. What does that make you?"
"Are you friend or foe? What is your purpose? Where do you stand?"
"Where are you going? Where could you ever find peace? Have you thought about any of that?"
The Wood Clone spoke quietly, but his words rang in Kisame's ears like a thunderclap.
Kisame was a member of ANBU, yet Suikazan Fuguki routinely assigned him the dirtiest, most grueling, darkest missions.
After carrying out so many such missions, Kisame had fallen into deep confusion.
All it would take was one spark.
Uchiha Yin thought highly of Kisame.
Whatever else could be said, even after joining Akatsuki in the original story, Kisame had stayed true to himself.
He might have been a villain, but he had his own appeal.
That was why Uchiha Yin wanted Kisame on his side.
"All I can see is how false this world is. And I'm just another false existence in it. Why are you telling me all this?"
Kisame took his right hand off Hiramekarei's hilt and asked the question.
"Let me free you from the pain of living a lie."
"I'll help you create a place where you belong!"
The Wood Clone held out his right hand to Kisame as he spoke.
Before Kisame could finish thinking