"Deidara-nii!"
Before Deidara could even dismount from his Clay Bird, a cheerful voice rang out from the direction of Iwagakure. Standing next to Onoki was Kurotsuchi, who had grown taller and whose legs had lengthened a bit more. She waved enthusiastically, her face lit up with joy.
Onoki, however, wore a stern expression and remained silent.
"Old man, why did you call me back?" Deidara asked, his tone dripping with arrogance and irritation. That was just how he and Onoki got along—mutual disdain.
"Hmph!"
Onoki snorted coldly. "I just wanted to see if you'd died out there already. You're always causing trouble outside, with no sense of restraint."
"One of these days, someone's going to kill you."
After all, who could claim they were immune to accidents? Even the likes of Hashirama Senju and Madara Uchiha weren't exceptions.
Tobirama Senju, the Second Hokage, was strong, wasn't he? He had the Flying Thunder God Technique, a godlike jutsu, and yet he still died.
The Third Raikage, with his so-called strongest spear and strongest shield, was strong too, and he also met his end.
And Hanzo, the famed "Demi-God," was no exception.
"Grandpa, how can you say that!"
"Sure, Deidara-nii might be a bit arrogant, but he's not so reckless that he'd die at any moment!" Kurotsuchi interjected from the side, her words successfully irritating both men.
"Kurotsuchi, how am I arrogant?"
"Do you believe I won't tie you up with snakes again?" Deidara shouted, feeling wronged. He thought he had been keeping a low profile, but his art was just so dazzling that it was impossible to go unnoticed. Fame was inevitable.
"Alright, Kurotsuchi, step back. Let me deal with this ungrateful disciple today!" Onoki said as he slowly floated into the air, clearly preparing to take action.
"Deidara, I'll give you one last chance. Leave that ridiculous Akatsuki organization and return to Iwagakure."
"Otherwise, I'll have no choice but to bring you back by force today."
Deidara scoffed, "Old man, I'm not coming back!"
"I want to pursue my art! And to help Akatsuki achieve its goals!"
"Then there's nothing more to say!"
"Kurotsuchi, Akatsuchi, let's go! Capture this ungrateful disciple!"
As expected, Onoki showed no respect for the dignity of a strong fighter and had no intention of engaging in a one-on-one duel.
Kisame tilted his head slightly, gripping Samehada in his right hand. His sharp teeth gleamed as he sneered, "Your opponent is me!"
"I know you, Kisame Hoshigaki, the rogue ninja from Kirigakure. You think you can take on all three of us? You're far too arrogant," Onoki said with a cold laugh, clearly underestimating Kisame.
After all, Kisame's true strength was rarely displayed. In the ninja world, most people simply regarded him as one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, and at best, a pseudo-Kage-level ninja.
"Oh my!"
"Underestimated, huh?"
"In that case, let's start with a little prelude!"
"Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
Whoosh!
An endless torrent of water began to pour out, rapidly flooding the area. The water level rose so quickly that it felt like something out of a myth—a god of creation using a flood to destroy the world.
Onoki quickly flew into the air, his expression growing more serious.
"This level of Water Release!"
"It's almost comparable to the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju!"
That was the first reaction most people had when witnessing Kisame's overwhelming water techniques for the first time. It was utterly absurd. Among the current ninja world and even the recorded history of the Warring States period, no one else could unleash such exaggerated Water Release jutsu.
But why did Onoki say "almost comparable" instead of "surpassing"?
Because mastery of a release technique wasn't just about size or scale. If two people used the same jutsu with the same chakra expenditure, and one's was significantly stronger, that was true mastery.
Still, while Onoki could fly, not everyone else could. And letting such a massive Water Release flow into the village would cause immense destruction and economic loss.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Rampart!"
Yellowish-brown earth began to rise as Kitsuchi, Akatsuchi, and a group of Iwagakure ninjas in the background simultaneously used Earth Release.
The flat ground transformed into a massive wall, growing higher and wider, effectively blocking Kisame's Water Release.
Of course, blocking the water also meant they wouldn't have to fight Kisame in an aquatic environment, avoiding the disadvantage of battling him in his element.
"Your Earth Release isn't bad!" Kisame commented, slightly disappointed that his Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave hadn't achieved the desired effect.
But it didn't matter. With such a massive lake now created, many of his Water Release jutsu could be unleashed.
"Water Release: Thousand Feeding Sharks!"
Kisame's signature technique sent countless sharks leaping out of the water, aiming for Onoki, Kitsuchi, and Akatsuchi.
"Earth Release: Stone Cannon!"
For most ninjas, the Thousand Feeding Sharks would be a devastating threat. But for these three, it was manageable.
Kitsuchi opened his mouth, spitting out countless small yellow stones. As they flew, the stones grew larger, resembling cannonballs that smashed into the water-bound sharks.
Meanwhile, Akatsuchi wasn't idle either. After forming a few hand seals, he spat out a massive stone golem. This golem was enormous—four or five stories tall. While it was still smaller than a Tailed Beast, it was colossal compared to a human.
"You spit things out of your mouth too?" Kisame quipped.
"But I bet yours can't explode!"
Kisame had no intention of using Samehada to cut down the stone golem. After all, Samehada wasn't known for its destructive power.
Instead, he began forming hand seals rapidly, muttering to himself, "It's been so long since I used standard Water Release jutsu. I'm a little rusty!"
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Barrage!"
Five massive water dragons surged forth, circling around Kisame before lunging at the stone golem.
Unfazed, Akatsuchi and the golem raised their fists simultaneously, each encased in thick layers of rock.
"Earth Release: Stone Fist Technique!"
Crash!
The five water dragons were smashed apart.
Onoki placed his hand on the stone golem, activating his secret technique.
"Earth Release: Light-Weight Rock Technique!"
"Go, Kitsuchi!"
"Understood!"
With the stone golem significantly lightened, Kitsuchi grew excited. After all, who wouldn't love piloting a giant?
Although the reduced weight weakened the golem's power somewhat, its sheer size meant that any hit would still be devastating.
Watching the once-clumsy stone golem now move with unnatural agility toward him, Kisame felt the pressure mounting.
"Seriously, if I had the Blunt Sword: Kabutowari, I could just smash it to pieces!"
Crack, crack, crack!
Samehada emitted a displeased sound.
Kisame quickly laughed and said, "Just kidding! After all, we're old partners. I'll never leave you, Samehada!"
From a distance, Deidara, who was observing the battle, couldn't help but feel that Kisame's head was starting to look a bit… green.
Kisame, if you knew that Samehada would one day fall for someone else, even feeding them your chakra, would you still say such things?
~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~
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