"Hey~ Sasuke, looking a little rough, huh?"
That person, that voice, Kisame felt like he knew them.
He took a closer look. Indeed.
It was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki!
Kisame grinned, showing a mouth full of sharp shark teeth, making his smile look a little ferocious.
"Itachi-san, the prey has delivered himself right to our doorstep."
"Hmm."
Upon seeing Naruto, Uchiha Itachi frowned slightly.
Hearing the all-too-familiar voice, Sasuke endured his splitting headache and bodily weakness, struggling to lift his head.
"Naruto?"
Seeing Naruto, Sasuke gave a bitter smile, but then remembering something, he said firmly, "Don't interfere in my fight!"
"Huh?"
The smile on Naruto's face froze.
Is that so?
Being told not to fight Itachi was unexpected, but after a moment of eye contact with Sasuke's determined gaze, Naruto understood.
"Okay, got it," he said with a gentle nod, making a promise.
Whoosh~~~Boom~!
Kisame drew the massive Samehada from his back and slammed it onto the ground, causing the earth to crack.
"Itachi-san, leave the Jinchuriki to me!"
Kisame's beady eyes stared at Naruto with interest. This guy, the rumored "God of Shinobi!?" He would personally test him out!
"Good. Just don't let him die!" Uchiha Itachi instructed him one last time.
"Of course!"
Kisame excitedly opened his gaping maw.
"A fishman?"
Naruto was quite surprised by his opponent.
This guy has never fought in the arena before. In that case, let me see what you've got!
Naruto felt he had all the time in the world, especially since today's show...
He glanced at Itachi and Sasuke and knew these two were the main characters. Today's show belonged to Sasuke.
And his mission today wasn't just to help Sasuke but to do something else even more important.
Kisame took two steps forward, moving under a tree and away from the other two, while looking up at Naruto.
"Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, my great sword, Samehada, absolutely loves powerful chakra!"
Kisame's eyes shone with excitement. The taste of this chakra was indeed delicious.
"My apologies, but please be a meal for my Samehada. Don't worry, I won't kill you."
This guy...
Naruto stared strangely at this overly polite person.
He looks so ugly and weird, but he's so polite?
And is that sword's name Samehada?
Naruto clearly remembered the scene when he fought Shigaraki. Combining that with Kisame's words, Naruto understood.
This seemed to be a weapon that eats chakra?
Chakra, huh?
Naruto chuckled. I've got plenty of that!
Also, since you have a weapon, I shouldn't be without one either.
He had just acquired a new one, a weapon in its experimental phase developed in his own lab.
Naruto reached behind his back, rummaging around, and finally made a show of pulling out... a weapon?
The item's surface looked like a handy cylindrical structure, with a bumpy surface and a circular protrusion on each end.
"What is that?"
Hearing the question from his opponent, Naruto got excited.
"On the surface, this thing looks like a Sparklence..."
Naruto held it high for his opponent to see clearly. "But it's actually a sword hilt."
"Oh? A sword hilt?"
"Of course," Naruto said, encouraged by the audience participation. He gripped the hilt firmly. "Look, I'll pour chakra into it."
Buzz~~~!!
As Naruto poured in his chakra, the cylinder suddenly shot out a one-meter-long chakra lightsaber.
But, awkwardly, Naruto had picked it up the wrong way.
"Ahem... Actually, I did that on purpose."
Naruto flipped the hilt around in his hand. "See? Just pour chakra into it, and it becomes a lightsaber."
"Is that so?"
Kisame managed not to laugh, keeping a very serious expression.
Naruto continued his introduction. "Watch closely. If your chakra nature is strong enough, you can do this!"
Buzz~~~!! Sizzle, sizzle~~
With the input of lightning chakra, the lightsaber's base chakra suddenly became wrapped in crackling lightning sparks. The flickering electricity made its destructive power seem to multiply.
Upon seeing this, Kisame instantly became more cautious.
Naruto continued, "Not only that, but if you have enough chakra, then..."
Naruto didn't finish his sentence. He just suddenly increased his chakra output.
As the chakra input grew, the lightsaber, which was originally one meter long, suddenly surged in length.
Two meters, three meters, five meters, ten meters, twenty meters...
Even forty meters!
With a little bit of chakra, the short hilt had transformed into a forty-meter-long sword!
"How's that? Fun, right?" Naruto asked, swinging the long sword lightly.
"An impressive weapon!"
Kisame praised honestly, his small eyes fixed on the brilliant light.
This terrifying amount of chakra made Kisame break out in a cold sweat.
"Of course," Naruto said with a bright smile. "So, how much does this portable, forty-meter long sword cost?"
Naruto's tone grew more passionate as he shouted, "Not 1998!"
"Not 998!"
"Just 98!"
"For just 98, you won't get ripped off, you won't get scammed, but you will take home this essential forty-meter cleaver for home, travel, and chopping people up!"
98?
Kisame was intrigued. "98 ryō?"
"?"
Naruto gave him a strange, speechless look and emphasized the price. "980,000 ryō!"
This was the Chakra Lightsaber Model One, developed by the Combat Lab specifically for the Fourth Great Ninja War. It was a high-tech piece of equipment.
With these functions and this quality, 98 ryō?
How was that possible?
With the war approaching, inflation was so bad. 98 ryō?
Heh, soon you won't even be able to afford a bowl of noodles with that!
Upon hearing the price, Kisame instantly lost all interest.
He! Hoshigaki Kisame! Was a poor man!
Seeing his expression, Naruto knew Kisame couldn't afford it.
"What a waste of my performance."
Naruto retracted the forty-meter sword, bringing it back to a one-meter length.
It's fine. This guy can't afford it, but there are plenty of people in the ninja world who can.
For example, the Root was planning to buy a batch. The internal price was only 3 million ryō per sword.
One for every member of the Root!
Naruto casually made a flourish with the sword.
Whoosh, whoosh~
As the lightsaber moved, its sharp chakra edge sliced through leaves and branches with no resistance.
Leaves and small branches rained down all around them.
"Come on!"
Naruto held his sword and motioned for his opponent to begin.
"In that case, I won't hold back."
Naruto sneered. We're so far apart, and your weapon is so short. I'd like to see how you won't hold back.
Whoosh~~~
Just as he finished speaking, Naruto saw the massive weapon fly straight toward him.
Hmm?
Naruto watched as the hilt of Kisame's weapon, like a rope, could extend freely?
"I see."
Naruto understood how this guy was going to attack him.
But that's perfect!
Buzz!!
The lightsaber in his hand suddenly surged, growing to a full two meters and becoming more than twice as thick!
Come on!
Naruto shouted inwardly.
My opponent is throwing his weapon directly at me. With my chakra's sharpness, I'll definitely chop that weapon in half!
I'll slice it into two pieces!
The opponent's weapon seems to be one of the Seven Ninja Blades of the Mist. This is a perfect chance to test my weapon's strength.
Whoosh~~~
The weapon got closer and closer. Naruto aimed and swung his sword with a powerful motion!
He had already planned it out: slash it, then take both pieces!
But...
To his dismay, the weapon completely absorbed all the chakra within his lightsaber!
In fact, due to Samehada's powerful suction, the laser in his hand was drawn into a curved arc and absorbed!
This...
Naruto was shocked!
He had been planning to promote this weapon throughout the ninja world to make a fortune, and then he runs into this guy?
The ninja world will absolutely not allow such an overpowered weapon to exist!