"Sorry…"
Looking at the woman in front of him, Kisame's shark-like face showed a rare hint of complexity.
Although she was his comrade, to prevent her from falling into enemy hands, he could only protect the information in this way.
Knowing he was still in danger, Kisame wasted no more time, slowly raising the long blade in his hand, then suddenly slashing down!
The blade flashed, blood splattered, and the woman slowly knelt to the ground. Kisame held the blood-stained long blade, looking at her expressionlessly, but his eyes were already bloodshot.
"Why…?"
The woman struggled to support herself, preventing herself from falling, and looking at him, she said tremblingly.
"Slaughtering comrades, that is my exclusive mission."
Facing the woman's question, Kisame's eyes showed no emotional fluctuation. He just watched her slowly fall with indifference.
"Your life… must have been very difficult…"
After saying this, the woman closed her eyes as if resigned to fate, listening to his footsteps slowly approaching, quietly waiting for death to arrive.
Upon reaching her, Kisame raised his long blade again, aimed it at the woman's vital point, and then stabbed down without hesitation!
"Whoosh!"
Just then, a whooshing sound instantly rang out. Kisame's expression froze, and he immediately changed his attack trajectory, deflecting it.
Only after the object hit the ground did its true form appear: a Shuriken, pure white and made of ice.
Seeing this, Kisame did not hesitate. He quickly raised his blade and slashed at the woman on the ground again, to prevent any other unforeseen circumstances.
"Ice Release: Ice Wall!"
The long blade came down, but it did not pierce flesh. Instead, it landed on an ice wall that had suddenly risen, emitting a harsh clanging sound.
"Who is it?!"
Kisame quickly retreated two steps, his face grim as he scanned his surroundings. Soon, he locked his gaze on a tree trunk, where a figure, maintaining a hand seal, leaped down from the tree.
Looking at the person's appearance, Kisame frowned and pondered for a moment, then seemed to realize something. His pupils constricted, and he said in a deep voice.
"Hoshimi Ren?"
For him, as a Hidden Mist Anbu, remembering famous individuals from various countries was necessary.
And as for Ren, who had caused so much chaos in Hidden Mist Village, he had made all Kirigakure Ninja deeply remember that young yet detestable face.
"Nice to meet you for the first time, sir."
Ren lowered his hands, looked at him, and smiled.
"Kisame."
"Hmm?"
Kisame's gaze shifted slightly, and a hint of surprise appeared on his face.
It was normal for him to know Ren. As for himself, he had joined the Hidden Mist Anbu after becoming a Jonin and usually didn't interact much with other people in the Village. How did the other party know him?
"No need to be surprised, Kisame."
Ren took two steps forward. Seeing him raise his blade in caution, he wisely stopped advancing and stood not far from the woman, nodding with a smile.
"You, who are called the 'Hidden Mist Eccentric,' are not some unknown individual."
Because of his unique appearance and reclusive personality, he always acted alone, whether among civilians or Ninja, so Kirigakure had given him this somewhat derogatory title.
"Eccentric, huh…"
Kisame narrowed his eyes, then glanced at the woman on the ground who still had breath, before turning his gaze to Ren, saying in a deep voice.
"I didn't expect that besides that interrogation expert, Morino Ibiki, Konoha would send you to retrieve information."
As he spoke, Kisame's expression also became solemn.
Although the information this time was quite important, what Kisame didn't expect was that Konoha attached such importance to it, even sending Hoshimi Ren, a Jinchuriki, on top of an elite squad.
Although he hadn't fought him, Kisame knew that he was definitely not his opponent, and there were also Morino Ibiki and others who would soon catch up.
For Kisame now, the leakage of information was secondary; whether he could escape was the most crucial issue at hand.
"Don't worry."
Seeing him constantly wary of his surroundings, Ren knew his concerns, so he raised his hand and waved, explaining.
"I've already sent them back. Now, there are just the three of us here."
"Hmm?"
Hearing this, Kisame was momentarily stunned. He scanned the surroundings and indeed found nothing unusual.
Furthermore, given the other party's strength and the current situation, there was no need for him to lie.
Although he already somewhat believed the other party's words, Kisame did not lower his guard because of it. His shark-like eyes stared intently at Ren, and he spoke.
"So, you think you can get the information alone?"
In Kisame's opinion, it was no exaggeration to say that Ren's individual presence exerted more pressure on him than an entire team led by Morino Ibiki.
If it were only Morino Ibiki and the others, he could completely kill all the intelligence personnel and retreat calmly. But if the enemy were Ren, let alone the information, he himself might not be able to protect himself.
Thinking of this, Kisame subconsciously looked down at the ground, a hint of killing intent in his eyes.
Just now, due to his distraction, the blade had only severely wounded the other party, not completely killed her, and the finishing blow was interrupted.
Now, he wanted to first kill the other party to protect the information, and then find an opportunity to escape himself.
"I'm not interested in that."
Noticing Kisame's gaze, Ren glanced beside him, then raised his hands. Under the other party's vigilant gaze, a block of ice emerged from behind him. As soon as it landed and opened its eyes, it used the Instantaneous Body Technique to arrive beside the woman, then squatted down.
"Hmm?"
Kisame's gaze sharpened. The Shuriken in his other hand was just about to fly out when he saw a surprising scene.
He saw the other party turn the woman over, then green light glowed from his hands, placing them on the wound he had previously inflicted, beginning to heal her.
"No need to be surprised, I said I have no ill intentions."
Looking at the still wary Kisame, Ren didn't mind. He just looked at him with a smile, saying softly.
"Would you like to talk, Kisame?"
After speaking, as if afraid the other party wouldn't agree, Ren quickly added.
"Let me reiterate, I don't want to fight you. This is your comrade, right? After we finish talking, you can take her with you."
Feeling that the other party indeed had no intention of fighting, Kisame also relaxed slightly. He lowered the raised long blade, looked at him, and said in a deep voice.
"You seem very familiar with me?"
From the moment Ren appeared until now, the other party had always been very polite to him, and consistently used honorifics, which he found strange.
After all, according to the Village's evaluation and perception, the other party was a powerful individual with a mischievous personality.
According to the information sent back by their spies in Konoha, the other party was even jovial in front of the Hokage, yet he was like this towards him now, which truly puzzled him.