[Come to think of it, Kisame was quite unlucky. His infiltration plan was flawless, but he just happened to run into Naruto activating Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, or, in other words, "Golden Naruto Mode." In that mode, Naruto could sense malicious intent and distinguish friend from foe. So poor Kisame, who had been hiding perfectly, was unlucky enough to be discovered.]
Many people watching this felt somewhat speechless. Was this the value of being the Child of Prophecy? The timing was just too perfect, enough to catch the unlucky Kisame. If he'd known, he might as well have just captured the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki directly.
The Sky Screen's scene shifted. Naruto, glowing with golden light and sporting two horns, pointed at Samehada behind Killer Bee: "I sense something like restless malice."
Following his words, Samehada behind Bee began to writhe, breaking free from its belt bindings and opening its mouth, spitting out Hoshigaki Kisame, clad entirely in black.
On the screen, after drawing Naruto and Bee's attention with words, Kisame quickly opened the gate and prepared to flee. And although Nine-Tails Chakra Mode hindered him briefly, Naruto hadn't yet mastered the power, so Kisame escaped with ease.
But Kisame's luck soon ran out. The moment he emerged from the waterfall, he ran into his fated enemy, Might Guy, who was talking to himself.
[Guy can be considered a key opponent for Kisame; the two have fought a total of three times.]
[The first battle took place after the Chūnin Exams, when Kisame accompanied Itachi back to Konoha. There, they encountered two Jōnin, Sarutobi Asuma and Yūhi Kurenai. Asuma was no match for Kisame, and at the critical moment, Kakashi and Guy arrived. Kisame, who was mid-attack, was repelled by Guy's Leaf Strong Whirlwind—marking their first exchange.]
[The first battle between the two was essentially interrupted. And if they had truly fought, Konoha would have suffered as well, so for either side, fighting under such circumstances was not a good thing. However, it could be said that the two had officially formed a grudge. Although Kisame remembered the man before him, Guy had forgotten about Kisame.]
[The second battle took place on the way to rescue Gaara. Gaara had been captured by the Akatsuki and had his Tailed Beast extracted. As an allied nation, Konoha shinobis launched a rescue mission, and Team Guy encountered Kisame on the way. Of course, this Kisame was not the real one; after all, compared to fighting, sealing Shukaku was a more important matter.]
[Even so, the Akatsuki used the Shapeshifting Technique to create a clone of Kisame, which could act under his control, its strength was still somewhat inferior to the real thing. And facing the clone's powerful Water Release, even Guy was initially at a disadvantage, getting punched into the water by the clone.]
[And at a critical moment, Guy opened the Sixth Gate of the Eight Gates; the Gate of View. He then blasted a channel straight through the water, burst to the surface, and instantly appeared before the clone, unleashing the "Morning Peacock." The clone was hit in rapid succession and ultimately defeated.]
[After this battle, Kisame's impression of Guy deepened, but Guy still didn't remember Kisame.]
[The third battle was this one. To transmit intelligence as quickly as possible, Kisame abandoned Samehada. And to catch up to Kisame, Guy summoned his summoning beast as a springboard. And the two finally got to face off on the open sea.]
---
[Konoha, Year 60. Akatsuki Hideout]
Kisame smiled with satisfaction.
So it seemed he would die in a final showdown with Guy? He was curious to see just how strong this man, said to rival Nagato, really was.
Since the Sky Screen had previously said Guy's strength rivaled the Gods, Kisame had mentally placed him at Super Kage-level. …So maybe, with prior intel, he could actually win?
Super Kage-level didn't seem that terrifying. After all, wasn't Nagato defeated by Uzumaki Naruto too?
---
[Team Guy's Location]
Neji, Tenten, and Lee were thrilled. Finally, they would get to see Guy-sensei take down this Kisame guy, and maybe even witness his true strength.
As for the possibility of Guy losing? They hadn't even considered it. How could someone the Sky Screen itself praised lose to a shark-faced guy who was merely Kage-level?
Meanwhile, on the screen—
The waterfall roared, mist filling the air.
A man in a green jumpsuit with a bowl cut stood at the edge of the pool before the waterfall, hands on his hips, talking to his own reflection on the water's surface.
"Show yourself! You can say what you like to my face." When he saw the shadow in the waterfall growing closer, he actually grew excited. "Good—time to see what I really look like."
But when the shadow truly stepped out of the waterfall, Guy's eyes went wide, his expression frozen as he stared at the gray monster before him.
"Is this my true self?! An Odd insect?" Guy blurted, his expression shifting from anticipation to shock, then from shock to confusion.
"I'm sure this is… the Odd Beast!" Although Guy didn't recognize Kisame, Kisame recognized him instantly.
"Hey me! The one who has forgotten what youth is! I'll beat some sense into you!" Guy took his opening stance, hands one forward one back, weight lowered, like a leopard about to pounce.
Even now, he still thought this was another side of himself.
"Guy! That's not your true self! Be careful!" Aoba Yamashiro called out quickly from the side.
But Guy's eyes had already turned red. "Leaf Rock... Crushing Square!"
He roared, his body launching forward like a cannonball, moving so fast only an afterimage remained as he kicked at Kisame.
Kisame couldn't react in time; his body flew straight into the wall beside the waterfall, creating a large crater into it.
"Ah—so that's not my true self?" Guy landed, finally turning to Yamashiro with a puzzled look.
He had no idea he'd just kicked a Kage-level fighter, an S-rank rogue-nin of the Akatsuki, the 'Tailed Beast Without a Tail.'
Soon, he turned back to the fallen Kisame, tilting his head, tapping his chin thoughtfully for a few seconds.
Then he spoke, his voice full of certainty: "This is... I'm certain it's... the fish they call pufferfish!"
Hearing that, never mind the Kisame on the screen, even the real Kisame felt his blood pressure spike.
'Pufferfish?'
'Do I look like a pufferfish?'
'Is this green-skinned bowl-cut's brain made entirely of muscle?'
'Or is this guy… completely brainless?'
On the screen, Kisame—still wrapped in Samehada—had thought Guy recognized him and was waiting expectantly for his answer. Instead, he got called a "pufferfish."
"I see that you are still dumber than a beast." He smiled wryly, somewhat helpless.
Just then, Bee emerged from the waterfall and quickly announced Kisame's identity. And Samehada, sensing Bee's presence, immediately released the emaciated Kisame and went to Bee's side, crawling from his foot up onto his body.
Kisame seized the opportunity—he quietly swam underwater and grabbed Samehada's tail!
At the same time, Samehada lightly bit Bee's arm, continuously siphoning his chakra. Soon, Bee collapsed weakly to the ground, while the once-gaunt Kisame recovered his normal physique.
But he didn't want to linger there. Kisame abandoned even Samehada, launching a Water Shark Bomb to fly away.
Seeing this, Guy immediately opened the Sixth Gate to pursue, and a partially recovered Bee entered partial Tailed Beast form to help, hurling Guy with all his strength toward the edge of the island.
But as he was mid-flight, Guy soon felt he didn't have enough momentum, so he rapidly started forming hand seals.
Poof!
After a puff of white smoke, a red turtle appeared in mid-air beneath Guy.
"I was going to say it's been a while... but really, midair?" The summon immediately noticed its surroundings and asked, puzzled.
"I'm going to borrow your back!" Guy didn't explain further. He just used the turtle's back as a springboard, accelerating onto the ocean's surface.
Across from him, Kisame had already summoned a shark and was about to transmit the intelligence he had gotten.
[Many people say Guy has no chakra, but that's a misunderstanding. He's just not good at Ninjutsu, not lacking in Chakra. In fact, his chakra reserves are quite large, scoring a perfect 10 in the Official Databook, while Kakashi only scored 6.]
[Also, for the record, Rock Lee does have chakra too, scoring a 7 in that category, higher than Kakashi. It's just that he's even worse at Ninjutsu. But walking on walls and water is still perfectly doable for him.]
---
[Land of Waves, Tazuna's House]
Kakashi glanced toward the sky, feeling somewhat speechless. Why did this screen keep dragging him into conversations about chakra reserves?
Of course Guy had chakra! The Eight Gates were essentially a Ninjutsu that worked on one's own body.
The eight gates were the valves that controlled chakra flow in the human body, and the massive surge of chakra enhanced the body, granting immense strength and speed.
So how could anyone use the Eight Gates without chakra?
Just the thought of it was ridiculous!
---
On the screen, seeing Guy arrive so fast, Kisame looked somewhat resigned.
"You sure are persistent!"
"So... that scroll you gave to that shark contains intel on us. I won't let you get away!"
Kisame, seeing that he had the terrain advantage, decisively activated his Jutsu: "Water Style: Thousand Hungry Sharks!"
Countless sharks surged forward with the waves, carrying an overwhelming momentum, rushing toward Guy!
It had to be said, on the ocean, Kisame's Water Release really received a buff, becoming even more absurd.
Seeing the attack, Guy directly used Morning Peacock (Asakujaku), sending countless flames at the shark swarm. But there were simply too many sharks, even Morning Peacock couldn't wipe them all out at once.
Releasing that it wasn't enough, Guy dove into the sea, then crossed his arms.
"The Seventh Gate of Shock—OPEN!!"
With a thunderous roar, his green chakra turned pale blue, and the sheer pressure of it sent the seawater surging into the sky.
"The next Taijutsu will be nothing like the previous ones. It's a special single-blow attack. It's something you'll rarely see..."
Kisame was somewhat shocked by this sudden surge of chakra and launched his attack first.
"Water Style: Super Shark Bomb!"
A massive blue shark appeared in the sea, speeding toward Guy.
"Daytime Tiger (Hirudora)!"
But Guy was not to be outdone, a giant white tiger appeared in the sea, charging straight toward the opposite side.
"This Super Shark Bomb is no ordinary Jutsu. The Jutsu itself absorbs chakra and becomes even stronger. And the stronger the opponent's Ninjutsu, the stronger it gets!" Kisame even had the leisure to explain his Jutsu.
[Unfortunately, Kisame here still suffered from insufficient intelligence. Guy's Daytime Tiger was pure Taijutsu, while Kisame's Super Shark Bomb absorbed chakra. In terms of nature, it was a natural counter.]
[Moreover, after opening the Seventh Gate, Guy's strength unquestionably reached Super Kage-level. Plus, Daytime Tiger could even be called one of the strongest Taijutsu attacks below Six Paths-level. In fact, Kisame taking it head-on with his bare body was destined to be doomed.]
[After all, this move could crack even Susano'o, and even Six Paths Madara was directly repelled when he tried to tank it. So the fact that Kisame only lost mobility after taking it head-on was actually quite impressive.]
The blue shark and white tiger met in the sea.
The shark opened its mouth wide to devour the tiger, while the tiger swung its claws to shred the shark.
The instant they collided, all sound seemed to vanish.
In the end, the white tiger pierced through the blue shark's body like a sharp blade, tearing its form apart, dissolving it into countless splashes.
The shark tried to absorb the Daytime Tiger's chakra, but the attack had no chakra at all, only pure physical force. So, the Super Shark Bomb's chakra absorption ability was completely useless here.
And the white tiger didn't stop. It continued forward with unstoppable momentum, slamming hard into Kisame's body.
To the shock of most of the people watching, the battle on the screen seem to have ended far faster than they expected.
From Guy catching up to Kisame to the Daytime Tiger's punch defeating him—it took barely a minute. Those Water Release users still marveling at the scale of Thousand Hungry Sharks hadn't even closed their mouths before the fight was over.
Meanwhile, the powerful shockwave from the attack swept across the entire island, forcing Bee and the others to squeeze their eyes shut. They shielded their faces with their arms, their bodies swaying from the impact, ears filled with roaring.
When the wind and waves finally settled and everything returned to calm, Guy stood on the ocean's surface, glowing blue, his foot planted on Kisame's body.
Kisame, on the other hand, lay motionless on the water, blood trickling from his mouth, eyes half-open, pupils unfocused—clearly incapacitated.
*****
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