[As one of the earliest Akatsuki members to appear, Kisame's initial display of strength wasn't particularly impressive; during the encounter in the Land of Waves, he fought Sarutobi Asuma to a standstill.]
[However, when he reappeared years later, his performance increased dramatically, he single-handedly defeated the Four-Tails Jinchūriki, Rōshi. And even after Sasuke's Team Hebi failed to capture the Eight-Tails, Obito, who had taken over the Akatsuki, directly dispatched Kisame alone to carry out the capture mission—a testament to his strength.]
---
[Konoha, Year 60. Land of Lightning, Kumogakure]
A, Killer Bee, Dodai, and the others, all wore grim expressions. From what the Sky Screen was saying, it seemed Bee would face this "Tailed Beast Without a Tail" in the future, and the outcome of that battle remained uncertain.
Still, A had confidence in his brother's strength.
After all, who was Bee? A perfect Eight-Tails Jinchūriki!
He definitely couldn't beat someone like Nagato, who was Super Kage-level fighter, but taking down a Kage-level one like Kisame should be a piece of cake.
A's lips curled slightly as an image formed in his mind: Bee crushing Kisame into a meat patty with his Eight-Tails Twister.
Hadn't they just seen Sasuke—with the Mangekyō Sharingan, plus three support shinobis—get thoroughly wrecked by Bee? And if Bee hadn't sneaked out to just play, Sasuke and his team would probably have died in that future battle.
So he estimated that Kisame would probably die at Bee's hands.
Still, the thought of Bee sneaking out made A angry again, and he shot Bee a fierce glare. As a Jinchūriki, his personal safety affected the entire village's security, yet he was always thinking about sneaking off!
Sensing his brother's not-so-friendly gaze, Bee instinctively took a step to the side, humming an off-key rap: "Yo, big bro, don't look at me like that, Bee just needs to relax sometimes, yeah…"
But before he could even finish, A's fist had already landed—slamming hard into Bee's head with a dull thud like a drumbeat.
Bee's head immediately throbbed, and he clutched it with both hands, grimacing but not daring to say a word, only muttering under his breath: "It was a joke… just a joke…"
Dodai, Mabui, and the others stood nearby, eyes forward, noses straight, pretending they hadn't seen a thing.
[In fact, looking at the battle between Kisame and Killer Bee, without Bee knowing the intel, Kisame actually counters him quite well.]
[During the fight, Kisame used Samehada to absorb the chakra from multiple of Bee's tails, nullifying the Jinchūriki's infinite endurance advantage.]
[Furthermore, since Bee relied primarily on close-quarters combat, Kisame absorbed massive amounts of his chakra during their first three exchanges, putting Bee at a disadvantage from the start.]
[Of course, Bee also had the issue of being overconfident in that battle. To protect his companions, and to avoid exposing his location to the Raikage, Bee couldn't enter full Tailed Beast transformation or use a Tailed Beast Bomb, effectively crippling his long-range options.]
Hearing this, A grew even angrier. He took a deep breath, then vanished in a flash, moving so fast that only an afterimage remained, instantly appearing beside Bee, who had retreated far away.
Seeing him, Bee's eyes went wide behind his sunglasses. His body instinctively tried to run, but how could his speed compare to the Fourth Raikage's?
A thick arm grabbed him by the back of his collar, followed by another punch that sent him flying into the wall. Bee's back slammed into the wall, creating a web-like pattern of cracks as his body became embedded in it like a hanging painting.
"That's for being overconfident… and for hiding from me…"
A's fist was still pressed against Bee's chest, his voice grinding through clenched teeth.
Bee hung on the wall, limbs flailing, letting out a stream of "eee-yaaa" wails. Even his sunglasses had flown off somewhere, revealing tearful eyes as his screams echoed through the Raikage's office.
[But this didn't diminish Kisame's strength, especially his Water Release: Great Exploding Water Shockwave, which created an ocean on dry land, reshaping the terrain and forming a water prison to trap Bee.]
[With that one Water Release Jutsu, he undoubtedly ended the debate over whether the Second Hokage was the strongest Water Release user.]
The Sky Screen suddenly zoomed in, revealing a dense forest. There, Kisame stood in a clearing, forming hand seals rapidly.
"Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
As Kisame roared, chakra surged frantically from his body.
The next moment, countless streams of water exploded from beneath his feet like a burst dam or a surging tsunami, spreading in all directions with him at the center. The water carried a terrifying force, uprooting trees, sending boulders tumbling, and drowning everything in its path.
In just a few seconds, a lush green forest was transformed into a vast ocean.
The people of the Shinobi World were struck with awe. Regardless of anything else, Kisame's mastery of Water Release was absolutely top-tier. A Ninjutsu of that scale could no longer be summarized by the term "Water Release"; it was practically terraforming.
Someone muttered quietly: "The Second Hokage's Water Release could shoot out a water dragon, but Kisame's Water Release can create an entire sea… How do you even compare?"
Another person chimed in: "Compare what? The Second Hokage didn't rely on Water Release anyway, he relied on the Flying Raijin."
Watching the Sky Screen, Senju Tobirama shook his head as well. His true strength lay in the Flying Raijin and various other Ninjutsu; Water Release was merely his standard repertoire. Still… creating an ocean on land, that amount of chakra was truly astonishing.
Tobirama's gaze lingered on Kisame's face on the screen for a moment, silently noting the name.
[Fortunately, at the critical moment, Samehada—drawn to Bee's Eight-Tails chakra—turned on Kisame, returning the absorbed chakra to Bee.]
[Kisame also took the opportunity to stage a fake death. He had a White Zetsu impersonate him and take the hit from the Raikage and Bee's combined technique, "Double Lariat," while his real body hid inside Samehada, successfully infiltrating Kumogakure alongside Bee.]
[To be honest, in this battle, Bee could have been GG'ed.]
---
[Land of Lightning, Kumogakure]
Bee peeled himself off the wall, rubbing his swollen head, and limped back to A's side.
He ducked his head, carefully peeking at his older brother, and seeing that his face was still livid, he quickly looked away.
A crossed his arms, his mind churning.
Dodai stood nearby, carefully choosing his words: "Raikage-sama, what the screen said… Bee-sama nearly died in that future battle. We need to strengthen our precautions."
A let out a cold snort, his voice practically steaming out of his nostrils: "Precautions? Precautions against what? Against Bee being overconfident? Against Samehada? Against Kisame faking his death? We have the intel now, so if we still can't guard against it, that's just stupidity."
"How embarrassing! I thought you beat Kisame, but it turns out you were the one who got beaten! And if he hadn't had other plans, the future you would've been gone! Do you understand, Bee?!"
Bee shrank back, not daring to talk back.
A turned and stared at Bee, enunciating each word: "From today on, you stay in Kumogakure. You don't go anywhere. Also, master the Tailed Beast Bomb. Next time you see that shark-faced bastard, don't get close. Just hit him with the Tailed Beast Bomb."
Bee nodded repeatedly, his sunglasses askew: "Yes, big bro! Bee will remember!"
A continued glaring at him, and Bee quickly shut his mouth.
*****
Upto 20 chapters ahead on patreon :-
patreon.com/ReduxMagister