How Kurama Leads Naruto Astray

"Hidan, get up here." Kisame grabbed Samehada, and his chakra started merging with it.

As their chakra connected, Samehada slowly melted and wrapped around Kisame's body like armor. With a twist, Kisame tore off his Akatsuki cloak. Underneath, his body had changed completely.

Before, he just looked like a guy with a shark face. Now, other than having two arms and legs, there was nothing human left—he was basically a full-on shark.

He still wasn't fully healed.

Kisame wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. Merging with Samehada let him heal much faster and gave him a power boost, but honestly, he didn't think it would be enough to beat Naruto. At best… maybe he wouldn't get one-shotted.

Hopefully.

Hidan held his bloody scythe tighter, looking even more twisted. "Go get him. As long as we get a single drop of that kid's blood, we win."

"You're right," Kisame agreed. But agreeing was one thing—he still didn't believe the two of them could actually hurt Naruto.

After that, Kisame dived into the giant water sphere in front of him, swimming toward Naruto like a fish. "Water Style: Five Shark Frenzy!"

Five sharks made from water suddenly formed and shot toward Naruto with open jaws. Hidan jumped onto the back of one and started swinging his scythe.

"They're coming," Naruto said as he formed hand signs. Sage of Six Paths mode activated again, and in his right hand, a black Rasengan took shape. "Rasenringu!"

The force exploded again. The giant water sphere almost burst from the power of the Rasenringu. The five sharks didn't even make it close—just got blown apart by the shockwave. Hidan was sent flying even faster in the opposite direction.

Kisame couldn't help but roll his eyes.

Pushed back by the blast, he quickly formed hand signs. "Water Style: Water Shark Bomb!"

A larger shark formed and wrapped around Kisame, forcefully absorbing the impact from Rinnegan's attack.

The next second, he quickly changed the hand signs: "Water Style: Rain of Four Sharks!"

Countless sharks began to appear. Each one was only the size of a person's arm, but there were so many they completely filled the water sphere.

Steadying himself, Kisame floated near the edge of the massive sphere, pouring out nearly all his chakra: "Water Style: Super Shark Bomb!"

A giant water shark, as big as a Tailed Beast's head, surged out from Kisame's hands.

Even Naruto was a bit surprised by the huge amount of chakra—it was far beyond what normal ninja could do. No wonder he was an S-rank rogue ninja.

If it had been any regular ninja, they would've had no way to deal with this.

The massive shark charged toward Naruto, with countless smaller sharks swarming around it. Kisame grinned as he watched, saying, "The Super Shark Bomb absorbs chakra from Ninjutsu. Even that move you used before won't help."

"And even if your chakra is strong enough to break the Super Shark Bomb, the Rain of Four Sharks will keep attacking you non-stop. No matter how fast or strong you are, inside this water sphere, those advantages won't mean much."

Kisame grinned wider. "These two jutsu may not kill you, but as long as I get one drop of your blood, or keep you stuck here, it's a win."

The giant shark and its swarm of little sharks rushed in, a scene that would be hard for most people to escape.

"But too bad," Naruto's eyes turned serious as he put his hands together, "you're facing me."

Just as the giant shark lunged at him, golden chakra burst out. Right in front of Kisame's frozen expression, the golden form of Kurama rose from the water sphere, reached out, and tore the shark's mouth open.

The Super Shark Bomb shattered in an instant.

The small sharks from the Rain of Four Sharks couldn't even scratch golden Kurama. They weren't even enough to make him itch.

Kisame stood frozen in place, staring blankly at the massive Kurama in front of him. His voice was full of disbelief: "This guy… is still the perfect Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails…"

He had totally forgotten.

Naruto didn't notice Kisame's shock. His eyes, with that cross-shaped pupil, were filled with a strange pressure. "This water bubble is really in the way!"

Golden Kurama raised his head, and a black Tailed Beast Ball started forming. In the blink of an eye, it had grown as big as Kurama's head.

Golden Kurama lowered his head, aiming the Tailed Beast Ball straight at Kisame below. Naruto, standing on Kurama's head, looked down with a cold stare. "When it comes to Water Style, you're the best I've ever seen. I'll give you that! I, Uzumaki Naruto, name you—"

"Oh shut up," Senju Tobirama suddenly cut in from the side. "You sound completely off. Even if Sasuke said it, it would've sounded better."

Naruto:

"..."

Damn it, Kurama! Can't you let me finish a cool line for once?

Fuming, Naruto didn't get the chance to say the final line. He just raised both hands and fired the massive Tailed Beast Ball straight at Kisame. "Anyway… feel the pain!"

Time seemed to freeze.

The Tailed Beast Ball had already been launched—it was right in front of him—but to Kisame, that moment felt endlessly long. He could clearly see the frustration on Naruto's face.

"So this is it… to you, I probably don't even count as a real opponent."

No matter how hard the weak try to fight, in the eyes of the strong, it's just a struggle—like a mantis trying to block a cart. Maybe to Naruto Uzumaki, I'm not even a real opponent, just something in the way, something to laugh at as it gets crushed.

"But to me, you're someone I have to take seriously—as a real 'enemy.'"

An enemy so strong that I was defeated in an instant. So strong that I have to give my all just to block a regular hit. So strong that I can't even find the will to fight back.

"So powerful… Maybe you really can bring the peace that Pain talked about."

It was just a foolish kind of admiration from an enemy. The other person probably didn't care what I thought, and Kisame knew that.

"That's right, Itachi-san. People who betray their comrades never end well. No matter who it is, you won't know what kind of person you are until the very end… Only in that final moment do you see your true self."

That moment is death.

Kisame smiled. "Looks like I'm one of the bad guys, Itachi-san."

As he spoke, he turned to look at his right arm. His smile grew even brighter. "At the very least, maybe in the end I can do something a 'comrade' is supposed to do."

Right after he finished speaking, his body changed from shark form back into human. As the water bubble burst, he used all his strength to throw Samehada out. Watching the sword fall, he spread his arms wide, ready to meet his final moment like fireworks in the sky.

"The world is beautiful, Itachi-san."

"If there's a next life, I'd like to be a true comrade. I want to know what it feels like… to give my life for my friends."

The light from the Tailed Beast Bomb shone like the sun—blinding, warm, and full of power.

"It's really something, right… Itachi-san."

In the south of the Akatsuki, Hoshigaki Kisame is dead.

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