By the time Uzumaki Shixia and Karin left the black market, Uzumaki Shixia had a thick stack of mission requests in his hands.
With those mission requests secured, he left the black market with Karin, feeling thoroughly pleased.
Elsewhere, Kisame was having nowhere near as leisurely a time as Uzumaki Shixia.
Not long after he entered Kirigakure, the village's ninja set their sights on him!
On a vast lake near Kirigakure, Kisame surveyed the people surrounding him, brimming with fighting spirit.
"Heh! A bunch of small fry actually came looking for death?"
Kisame spoke casually as he looked at the ninja encircling him.
Except that not one of those he called small fry might actually deserve the name.
The ninja leading the group had long brown hair, with long bangs covering her right eye.
She wore a dark blue robe and looked somewhat languid and relaxed.
She was none other than Mei Terumi.
In the Shinobi World's original course of events, she would become the Fifth Mizukage on the eve of the fourth Shinobi World War.
Behind Mei Terumi stood a shy boy wearing glasses.
He held the twin sword Hiramekarei: Chojuro, the future Sixth Mizukage in the Shinobi World's original course of events.
Beside Chojuro stood his superior, Gonbei, one of Genji's personal guards.
The other man was Ao, a Kirigakure jonin who possessed a Byakugan.
"Water Release: Hidden Mist Technique!"
Mei Terumi rapidly formed hand seals, sending billows of white vapor pouring from her mouth.
Her Hidden Mist Technique was remarkably powerful.
During the fourth Shinobi World War, it could even obscure the Rinnegan's vision.
In an instant, a blanket of white mist engulfed the battlefield.
Chojuro, Gonbei, Ao, and the other ninja immediately moved.
Mei Terumi's ninjutsu hindered only Kisame, leaving her allies unaffected.
"Water Release: Water Shockwave!"
Gonbei and Ao rapidly formed hand seals and attacked Kisame.
Meanwhile, Chojuro charged at Kisame, brandishing Hiramekarei.
Kisame remained perfectly calm under their combined assault.
He was tremendously powerful, and his enormous chakra reserves had earned him the name of the tailless tailed beast.
Whoosh-
He swiftly took the great sword Samehada from his back into his hand.
"Water Release: Water Shark Bullet Technique!"
Facing their attacks, Kisame formed hand seals with one hand. A shark-shaped water projectile enveloped him and hurtled toward Chojuro.
Gonbei and Ao's ninjutsu attacks immediately missed.
Encased in the water shark bullet, Kisame rapidly closed in on Chojuro.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Seeing Kisame approach, Chojuro hurriedly swung Hiramekarei, firing brilliant blue spheres of chakra at him.
"Tch!"
At the sight, a mocking smile crept onto Kisame's face.
Bang!
The bandages wrapped around Samehada swiftly snapped apart.
Kisame then swung Samehada repeatedly, swallowing every chakra sphere Chojuro had fired from Hiramekarei!
"Chojuro! Be careful!"
Mei Terumi's voice rang out nearby.
Clang!
At the same moment, Kisame brought Samehada slashing furiously down at Chojuro.
Chojuro summoned all his strength and raised Hiramekarei to block.
"Hss!"
Though the blow did not knock Hiramekarei from Chojuro's hands, it left his arms numb.
Fortunately, Mei Terumi's attack arrived just then.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"
Kisame remained composed in the face of Mei Terumi's attack, rapidly forming hand seals with one hand.
"Water Release: Great Shark Bullet Technique!"
Whoosh-
Water surged skyward.
It formed an enormous shark in midair, which spat a massive water projectile from its mouth.
Boom!
Rumble!
The two water projectiles violently collided in midair, scattering countless sprays of water like a sudden storm.
Thud!
Even as he blocked Mei Terumi's ninjutsu, Kisame raised his foot and lashed out with a vicious kick!
Kisame's monstrous strength slammed into Chojuro.
A dull thud came from Chojuro's abdomen. Still struggling against Kisame's one-handed grip, he was sent flying backward!
"Chojuro! Are you all right?"
Alarm seized Mei Terumi, and she hurriedly called out.
Gonbei and Ao cast concerned looks his way as well.
"Water Release: Water Prison Technique!"
"Rain Four Sharks!"
The instant Chojuro fell from high in the air and crashed into the water, Kisame activated the Water Prison Technique.
An enormous sphere of water instantly enclosed Chojuro.
Then Kisame slapped a palm onto the water's surface, and four sharks leaped out, lunging at Mei Terumi, Gonbei, and Ao with snapping jaws.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet!"
Without hesitation, Gonbei unleashed a Water Dragon Bullet at the shark-shaped torrent bearing down on him.
Boom!
After crashing into the Water Dragon Bullet, the shark-shaped torrent burst apart into a thousand smaller sharks, which swept toward Gonbei like a raging storm.
Bang!
After blocking some of the smaller water sharks, Gonbei's body burst into a shower of water.
At some point while defending against Kisame's attack, he had replaced his real body with a Water Clone.
Splash!
But when Gonbei's real body emerged from beneath the water elsewhere, he was already covered in wounds.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
While Gonbei fought Kisame, Ao was also countering Kisame's Rain Four Sharks.
Boom!
Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!
Kisame's Rain Four Sharks slammed savagely into Ao's Water Formation Wall, bursting into a thousand tiny shark-shaped streams.
The miniature water sharks battered Ao's Water Formation Wall like a raging storm.
Splash!
The Water Formation Wall soon shattered into a spray of water.
The remaining miniature water sharks continued their furious assault on Ao.
By then, Ao had removed his eye patch, using his Byakugan to quickly assess and evade the attacks.
Only after a long, perilous struggle did he finally counter Kisame's ninjutsu, drenched in sweat.
Mei Terumi seized the opportunity and spat out a fierce blast.
"Lava Release: Melting Apparition Technique!"
Orange-red liquid swept forth in a vast wave, instantly engulfing two of Kisame's Rain Four Sharks.
This ninjutsu could melt even Susanoo, so dissolving Kisame's Rain Four Sharks was no challenge at all.
But by then, Kisame had already closed in on Mei Terumi.
Samehada came crashing down in his hands, carrying terrifying force.
Boom!
Bang-
Kisame's strike blasted Mei Terumi's body apart.
Of course, that was merely the Water Clone Mei Terumi had left in place.
Her real body had already appeared behind Kisame.
"Lava Release: Melting Apparition Technique!"
"Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
From a short distance away, Mei Terumi unleashed Lava Release: Melting Apparition Technique once again.
Kisame used his overwhelming advantage in chakra to unleash an Exploding Water Colliding Wave, winning through sheer volume!
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
At first, Mei Terumi's Lava Release: Melting Apparition Technique steadily neutralized Kisame's Exploding Water Colliding Wave.
But Kisame's chakra reserves were practically bottomless.
When Mei Terumi's ninjutsu began losing momentum and became difficult to sustain,
Kisame's Exploding Water Colliding Wave remained at full strength, showing no sign of weakening.
"Water Release: Water Prison Technique!"
Mei Terumi cast this ninjutsu on herself.
A sphere of water enclosed her, shielding her completely.
Although Kisame's Exploding Water Colliding Wave sent the sphere hurtling in every direction, Mei Terumi remained unharmed.
Still, she plunged into the lake with a splash.
Seeing this, Kisame was overjoyed.
He prepared to leap into the air and unleash Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave, blasting Mei Terumi to death the moment she surfaced.
If she survived, he would fuse with Samehada, transform, and kill her underwater!
Just as Kisame's excellent combat instincts had mapped out his next series of moves,
an unexpected voice rang out nearby.
"Wait! Wait!"
"Leave them alive! Leave them alive!"
"I want them alive! Dead, they're worthless!"
The person who had just arrived was none other than Uzumaki Shixia.
Yet after hearing Sixia's words,
Kisame not only refused to stop, but formed his hand seals faster and faster!
"Well, well~ What's going on, little brother?"
Uzumaki Shixia was displeased by Kisame's reaction!
Kisame was giving him no respect at all!
In midair, Kisame continued rising as he rapidly formed hand seals.
Meanwhile, he thought to himself, Mr. Itachi has always told me...
This kid, Uzumaki Shixia, is incredibly strong.
Today is the perfect chance to see what he's really made of!
When he reached the highest point of his leap, Kisame finished his hand seals.
This ninjutsu was quite complex, involving who knew how many seals.
"Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
With his seals complete, Kisame drew on his inconceivably vast chakra reserves and spat from his mouth, sending a massive deluge crashing down!
"60 Million Volts: Thunder Dragon!"
Uzumaki Shixia had originally intended to use "200 Million Volts: Thunder God" directly, but to avoid killing Kisame, he switched to Thunder Dragon.
Roar-
Bzzzz!
Crackle!
Countless brilliant blue bolts of lightning instantly converged, forming a Thunder Dragon more terrifying than any he had created before.
The Thunder Dragon roared and surged upstream!
The ultrahigh-voltage current generated by the Thunder Dragon completely electrolyzed every enormous torrent around it.
Kisame was known as the tailless tailed beast.
Facing him, however, was Uzumaki Shixia, a walking Humanoid Ten-Tails.
Although Uzumaki Shixia currently possessed only part of the Ten-Tails' power, he was still beyond Kisame's ability to contend with.
With the Rumble-Rumble Fruit enhancing him, his power had grown much greater still.
To his horror, Kisame realized he had actually lost a contest of chakra.
His Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave was already drawing to an end.
Uzumaki Shixia's 60 Million Volts: Thunder Dragon remained at full strength.
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