To treat Kisame Hoshigaki as quickly as possible, Obito absorbed Zetsu into his Kamui dimension and traveled at full speed.
In the cave, after regaining consciousness, Itachi glanced at the dying Kisame Hoshigaki and then closed his eyes to rest.
He had done everything he could; if Kisame Hoshigaki did not pull through, it would be his fate.
Suddenly, he opened his eyes and looked at Kisame Hoshigaki with a serious expression.
He saw the space around Kisame Hoshigaki constantly distorting, and before long, it sucked him in.
"So you are his man!" Itachi muttered to himself.
This technique was clearly the space Ninjutsu of that guy who called himself Uchiha Madara.
Afterward, he closed his eyes again. Whose man Kisame Hoshigaki was had nothing to do with him; he only wanted to hold on until Sasuke grew up to settle everything. He had no interest in anything else.
Kamui dimension.
Zetsu looked at Kisame Hoshigaki's wound and exclaimed, "To be able to leave a wound like this on Kisame Hoshigaki, that Aoki Yoru from Konoha really has some skill."
He sensed something disgusting in Kisame Hoshigaki's wound: Natural Energy. One had to know that even White Zetsu could not escape the detection of Natural Energy.
Of course, he did not find it troublesome. Having lived for thousands of years, he had seen all kinds of brilliant people. Being able to use Natural Energy was, at best, just another sage from one of the three great holy lands.
When his mother, Kaguya, descended upon the Ninja World, had she not killed countless creatures and gods who could use Natural Energy!
Subsequently, a White Zetsu separated from Zetsu's body and covered Kisame Hoshigaki directly.
An astonishing scene unfolded; that deep, bone-visible slash healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, disappearing completely in no time, leaving not even a trace of a scar.
Even the severed right arm grew back under the coverage of the White Zetsu, though the new limb possessed the unique, pale texture of White Zetsu, completely different from his original skin tone.
"Ugh—"
Kisame Hoshigaki, who had been in a coma, felt a cool energy coursing through his entire body, and the stinging Pain from his wounds vanished instantly.
He slowly opened his eyes and found himself in a gray-black space. Turning his head, he saw Madara and Zetsu standing to the side, staring blankly at him.
Kisame Hoshigaki immediately understood what had happened. He struggled a bit, stood up, and looked at his intact right hand and the vanished wound on his chest.
"Thank you, Lord Madara, for this time. Otherwise, I would have truly gone down to meet the previous Mizukage."
"Kisame Hoshigaki, with your strength, how could you be injured like this by a brat?" Obito simply did not believe that Kakashi's student possessed such strength.
Kisame Hoshigaki was uncharacteristically silent for a moment before saying with a solemn expression, "Mr. Madara, although I was indeed careless at the beginning, which caused me to lose an arm,"
"but later I gave it my all. Although losing Samehada and my right hand caused my strength to plummet, I have to admit that the brat is a true genius, perhaps even surpassing Shisui."
"Is that so!"
Obito smiled faintly, his tone revealing a sense of casual arrogance.
In his view, except for space Ninjas of Minato's caliber, everyone else's methods were useless and could not possibly truly threaten him.
As for that brat Aoki Yoru, he was at best just another Kakashi.
"Alright, since your injuries are healed, go back and continue monitoring Itachi and Pain."
"But, Itachi-san should have discovered it, right?" Kisame Hoshigaki looked puzzled. Returning to his side would not have much meaning, would it!
"It does not matter, as long as he does not disrupt our plan."
Kisame Hoshigaki nodded upon hearing this. Just as he was about to say something, the space in front of him suddenly distorted, and in an instant, he appeared in the cave.
Itachi, who was sitting quietly, opened his eyes. Seeing the perfectly intact Kisame Hoshigaki, his pupils constricted, and a look of shock appeared on his face.
'He is actually healed, how is that possible? Even with Tsunade's intervention, it would not be possible to heal this quickly, let alone regrow a severed arm.'
Seeing Itachi wake up, Kisame Hoshigaki did not explain but walked over and sat on the ground.
"Itachi-san, let's continue the mission. Find the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and see if we can lure that brat out."
Thinking of Aoki Yoru, Kisame Hoshigaki immediately gnashed his teeth. It was his first time suffering such a huge loss; he must find a chance to kill him and take back Samehada.
Upon hearing this, Itachi's fingers twitched. Although his expression remained unchanged, it reflected the turmoil in his heart.
'Is this Kisame Hoshigaki's own idea, or is it Madara's intention? Is he planning to act ahead of schedule?'
"Very well, rest for a while, and we will set off tomorrow." Saying this, he closed his eyes again.
On the other side, after leaving Konoha, Aoki Yoru slowly walked toward Tanzaku Town.
Although he did not know if Itachi would continue the mission given that Kisame Hoshigaki's life or death was unknown, he was like a headless fly and could only follow the original plot to see if he could bump into them.
Anyway, even if Sasuke got lucky and found them, he would not die; at most, he would just get taught a lesson by Itachi.
One day later, Aoki Yoru arrived at a small town. Habitually, he released his spiritual power to perceive everything in the town. Suddenly, an expression of surprise appeared on his face.
"I did not expect to actually find them." In his perception, in a small hotel in the distance, Itachi was pinning Sasuke down and beating him mercilessly.
'Is the corrective force of the plot really this strong? Even after heavily injuring Kisame Hoshigaki, the plot line still returned to the original story.'
Suddenly, he froze, an expression of shock appearing on his face.
He saw that Kisame Hoshigaki's severed right arm was perfectly restored, and the deep, bone-visible slash on his body had completely healed, leaving not even a trace of a scar.
And the Chakra fluctuations coming from Kisame Hoshigaki clearly indicated—it was the aura of White Zetsu.
"I did not expect Obito and Black Zetsu to value Kisame Hoshigaki so much!" Aoki Yoru could not help but exclaim.
He knew that in the Akatsuki Organization, Kisame Hoshigaki was the only one loyal to Obito and was their informant, but he did not expect that just after Kisame Hoshigaki was critically injured, Obito would immediately use White Zetsu to heal him.
"Huh? No, it is not just cells." Aoki Yoru used his spiritual power entwined with Natural Energy to perceive it again.
"Is it an entire White Zetsu! It seems Obito does not trust Kisame Hoshigaki that much either."
If it were just an arm and cells, then the arm would belong to Kisame Hoshigaki, but an entire White Zetsu was different; Kisame Hoshigaki could not control it, and it could even monitor Kisame Hoshigaki's every move.
Aoki Yoru was in no rush to enter; Jiraiya would arrive soon anyway, and Sasuke and Naruto would not be in danger.
Anyway, even if the two of them joined forces, they could not keep them there, so it was meaningless for him to go over.
What if White Zetsu sensed the aura of its companion on him? Although the possibility was small, it was better not to take the risk if it was not necessary.
Aoki Yoru stayed not far from the hotel, watching what was happening inside with great interest, as if watching a movie.
"Boom—"
A large hole suddenly broke open in the wall of the hotel.
Itachi and Kisame Hoshigaki leaped out of the hole and disappeared into the depths of the street in a few bounds, leaving behind a room in disarray and dust filling the sky.
Aoki Yoru leaped up, jumped into the hotel, and greeted Jiraiya and Naruto, who were in the middle of sealing Amaterasu.
"Lord Jiraiya, and Naruto, it seems you have encountered enemies. Was it Itachi and Kisame Hoshigaki?"