Chapter 25: Bring Him Back Alive; a Corpse Is Worth Nothing!

By the time Uzumaki Sisi and Karin left the black market, Sisi’s hands were already holding a thick stack of mission request forms. With these in hand, he left the black market in high spirits, accompanied by Karin.

Elsewhere, Kisame was not nearly as relaxed or carefree. Not long after entering the Village Hidden in the Mist, he was targeted by its ninja. Standing atop a massive lake surrounding the village, Kisame glared at the figures encircling him with a fierce fighting spirit.

"Hah! A bunch of small fry, actually coming here to seek death on their own?" Kisame remarked, completely unfazed by the several ninja surrounding him. However, none of the "small fry" he spoke of were truly insignificant.

Leading the group was a woman with long, chestnut-colored hair, a long fringe covering her right eye. She wore a deep blue robe and carried herself with a somewhat languid, casual air. This was none other than Mei Terumi. In the original history of the ninja world, she would go on to become the Fifth Mizukage on the eve of the Fourth Shinobi World War.

Behind her stood a shy, bespectacled youth holding the twin blades, Hiramekarei—Chojuro, the future Sixth Mizukage. Beside Chojuro was Gonbei, one of the personal guards to the Elder Genji, and another man, a Jonin of the Mist who possessed a Byakugan: Ao.

"Water Style: Hidden Mist Jutsu!" Mei quickly formed her hand seals, and plumes of white mist erupted from her mouth. Her command of this technique was formidable; in the Fourth Shinobi World War, it was even capable of obscuring the vision of the Rinnegan. In an instant, the vast expanse of white mist engulfed the battlefield.

Chojuro, Gonbei, and Ao moved immediately. Mei's jutsu only interfered with Kisame, leaving her allies unaffected.

"Water Style: Water Colliding Wave!" Gonbei and Ao struck simultaneously, while Chojuro brandished his twin blades and charged toward Kisame.

Facing this coordinated assault, Kisame remained calm. His strength was immense, and his chakra reserves were so staggering that he was known as the "Tail-less Tailed Beast."

*Swish.* He drew the giant blade Samehada from his back.

"Water Style: Water Shark Bomb Jutsu!" Facing their attacks, Kisame formed seals with one hand. A water projectile shaped like a shark enveloped him, and he surged toward Chojuro. The attacks from Gonbei and Ao missed their mark.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!" Seeing Kisame approach, Chojuro swung Hiramekarei, releasing spheres of blue chakra to intercept him.

"Hmph!" Kisame let out a mocking laugh. *Bang!* The bandages on Samehada tore away, and Kisame swung the blade repeatedly, devouring every chakra sphere Chojuro had fired.

"Chojuro, be careful!" Mei’s voice rang out nearby.

*Clang!* Kisame’s Samehada slammed down toward Chojuro with savage force. Chojuro braced himself, lifting Hiramekarei to block. *Hiss!* Though the blow didn't knock the blades from his hands, the impact left his arms numb.

Fortunately, Mei’s counterattack arrived. "Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!"

Facing her, Kisame remained unmoved, his hand quickly forming seals. "Water Style: Great Shark Bullet Jutsu!"

*Splash!* A massive torrent of water surged into the sky, forming a gargantuan shark that spat out a colossal water projectile. *Boom!* The two projectiles collided in mid-air, sending spray flying in every direction like a torrential rainstorm.

*Bang!* While parrying Mei’s jutsu, Kisame lifted his leg and struck. His monstrous strength slammed into Chojuro’s midsection, sending the youth flying backward as he struggled to hold his ground.

"Chojuro! Are you alright?" Mei asked, her voice filled with urgency, while Gonbei and Ao looked on with concern.

"Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu! Rain of Four Sharks!" As Chojuro crashed into the water, Kisame immediately triggered the Water Prison, trapping him in a massive sphere. He then slammed his palm onto the water's surface, summoning four sharks that lunged at Mei, Gonbei, and Ao.

"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet!" Gonbei didn't hesitate, firing a dragon to meet the incoming stream. *Boom!* The two collided and shattered into a thousand smaller sharks, raining down like a storm.

*Bang!* Gonbei deflected some of the smaller sharks, but his body burst into a spray of water—a Water Clone. When his true form emerged from beneath the surface, he was already covered in wounds.

"Water Style: Water Wall!" While Gonbei engaged Kisame, Ao worked to neutralize the remaining shark projectiles. *Boom!* The sharks slammed into Ao’s water wall, shattering into a thousand miniature projectiles. Ao, having removed his eyepatch, used the Byakugan to observe and dodge. It took a long, exhausting moment before he narrowly managed to neutralize the attack.

Mei seized the opportunity. "Lava Style: Melting Apparition Jutsu!" Orange-red slime poured down, instantly covering two of Kisame’s water sharks. This technique was potent enough to melt even a Susanoo; dissolving Kisame's water sharks was trivial.

However, Kisame had already closed the distance. He swung Samehada with terrifying force. *Boom!* *Bang!* Mei’s form burst—it was only a Water Clone. Her true body had already relocated behind him.

"Lava Style: Melting Apparition Jutsu!"
"Water Style: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"

Mei unleashed her lava again, while Kisame, leveraging his massive chakra reserves, relied on sheer volume to overwhelm her. *Boom! Boom! Boom!*

Mei’s lava initially held its own, but Kisame’s chakra was bottomless. As Mei’s jutsu began to falter, Kisame’s technique remained at its peak.

"Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu!" Mei cast the technique on herself, creating a sphere of water to shield her. Though tossed about by the force of Kisame’s waves, she remained unharmed as she sank into the lake.

Kisame was ecstatic. He prepared to leap into the air, perform a "Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave," and finish her off the moment she surfaced. If that failed, he would fuse with Samehada and hunt her down underwater.

Just as his combat instincts laid out the next steps, a voice echoed from nearby: "Wait! Wait! Keep them alive! I need them alive—dead ones aren't worth anything!"

It was Uzumaki Sisi. But despite his words, Kisame didn't stop; if anything, his hand seals became even faster.

"Whoa, what’s going on here, little brother?" Sisi looked annoyed. Kisame was showing him zero respect.

High in the air, Kisame continued to rise while forming complex seals. He thought to himself, "I’ve always heard Itachi-san say that this kid, Uzumaki Sisi, is incredibly powerful. Today is the perfect chance to see what he’s truly made of."

At the apex of his leap, Kisame completed his complex seals. "Water Style: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"

Drawing upon his unfathomable sea of chakra, he spat out a massive, overwhelming deluge of water.

"60 Million Volts: Thunder Dragon!" Sisi had intended to use "200 Million Volts: Thunder God," but to avoid killing Kisame, he switched to the dragon.

*Roar!* *Crackle!* Countless bolts of deep blue lightning converged into a dragon more terrifying than anything he had summoned before. The dragon roared and surged upward, electrolyzing the massive wall of water into nothingness with its immense high-voltage current.

Kisame was known as the "Tail-less Tailed Beast," but standing before him was a walking, human-shaped Ten-Tails. Although Sisi only possessed a fraction of the Ten-Tails' power, it was still far beyond what Kisame could withstand. Empowered by the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Sisi’s strength was further amplified.

Kisame watched in horror as he lost the battle of chakra. His "Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave" was fading, while Sisi’s 60-million-volt dragon remained at its peak.