"What... what the hell is that!?"
Staring at Ren Uchiha's raised right hand, Fuguki Suikazan instinctively realized something was catastrophically wrong. His eyelids twitched, and he threw himself flat against the deck in a desperate, undignified sprawl.
In the next instant, Ren's five fingers spread wide. The brilliant yellow orb in his palm transformed into a massive beam of light that shot forward with a deafening roar!
—SHOO!!
The beam instantly punched through the Lightning Boat's cabin and swept in a horizontal arc! It was so fast it felt as if time had skipped forward; the blast of air from the shockwave was enough to temporarily deafen anyone nearby. Around the ship, the light beams plunging into the sea churned up titanic columns of water that rose like a wall of geysers.
Droplets of liquid began to fall like a heavy rain. It was only then that Fuguki Suikazan dared to lift his head and wipe his face. His body shuddered. What he wiped away wasn't just seawater—it was a thick, viscous mixture of blood and brine.
He looked up a bit further and saw the nightmare.
The nine Hunter-nin who had been surrounding Ren now consisted of only half-bodies, lined up in two gruesome rows, collapsing one by one onto the deck. In a single breath, ten elite Mist Jonin had been annihilated before they could even weave the signs for a Water Clone.
Fuguki's scalp went numb. A chill raced from his heels to the crown of his head. Even if you stood ten pigs in a row for someone to butcher, it would take a while. These weren't pigs—they were ten Mist Jonin!
He gasped, realizing he was utterly incapable of such a feat. He began to scramble backward, using his legs to push himself away, abandoning even his sword. He tried to crawl toward the edge of the ship to leap overboard before Ren noticed him.
However, right then—
Puchi!
The "second blade" Fuguki had arranged finally made its move. But this blade didn't swing toward Ren as Fuguki had planned. It didn't strike that indestructible heart.
Instead, the blade burst through Fuguki's own chest, pinning him to the deck.
Fuguki turned his head in slow-motion disbelief. "You... Kisame..."
Standing behind him, the man removed his mask to reveal a shark-like face. He wrenched the blade out of Fuguki's back. Watching his superior collapse, unable to resist, a look of numb, hollow sadness flickered in his eyes.
"I'm sorry, Captain. These are the Mizukage's orders!"
Ren's heart tightened as he watched the sudden mutation in the battle. Seeing the man's appearance, he recognized him instantly: the "Tail-less Tailed Beast" of the future Akatsuki and Itachi Uchiha's partner—Kisame Hoshigaki.
At this point in time, Fuguki Suikazan hadn't yet leaked secrets to neighboring nations; he was still one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and the leader of the Hunter-nin. And Kisame hadn't yet claimed Samehada to reach his "complete form."
Why is Kisame killing his boss now? Why did these guys attack me in the first place? And what "Mizukage's orders" is he talking about? Does the Third Mizukage want me dead? Why? I don't even know the guy...
Ren's mind raced through the possibilities. Was this a targeted plot against him, or had he just unluckily stumbled into a Mist bloody internal purge?
He thought of the worst-case scenario: Did my contact with the original Akatsuki trio in Unming City draw Madara's eye? Is the old man trying to eliminate a variable outside his plan?
On the deck, corpses lay strewn everywhere, and the wood was stained deep crimson. The remaining 4/5ths of the Eight-Tails' horn and the Great Sword Samehada lay silent on the planks.
The two men still standing on the boat locked eyes on these two items simultaneously.
Kisame crouched by Fuguki's body and immediately wove the 'Tiger' sign.
"Water Style: Water Shark Bullet Technique!"
From the ocean beside the ship, a blue shark made of chakra lunged upward. Kisame leaped into the air like a pro diver, entering the body of the shark mid-flight. He accelerated to a blurring speed, charging straight toward Samehada, which lay not far from Ren.
Ren's eyes narrowed. He didn't know if Kisame wanted the sword or the Eight-Tails' horn, but he couldn't take any chances. The horn was vital for his "Sage Heart" and his upcoming mission.
While Samehada was useful, its priority was lower—but a Kisame with Samehada was a completely different beast than one without it. If this guy managed to fuse with the sword right here, Ren would have a much harder time.
Ren shut his right eye and clamped his left hand over his left eye, which was bulging with frantic, surging red veins.
Occult Art: Blood Dragon Nine Seals!
—ROAR!!
Nine ferocious blood-dragons erupted from his Sharingan. The first one slammed into Samehada, knocking the sword high into the air. The others fixed their draconic eyes on Kisame, lunging to tear into him.
Is this the genjutsu-based occult art from the intel? Kisame's pupils contracted. Am I in a genjutsu? No... regardless, I can't let those things hit me!
Unsure if the dragons were physical or illusory, Kisame wove the 'Bird' sign.
"Water Style: Great Shark Bullet Technique!"
He tilted his head back, his throat bulging like a frog's as he gathered a massive amount of chakra. He roared it out. A colossal shark bullet lunged from his mouth, meeting the blood dragons head-on!
This instinctual choice saved his life. The Blood Dragon Nine Seals was a technique based on chakra and ocular power. The Great Shark Bullet, which absorbed chakra to grow larger, was its natural predator.
As the dragons and the shark collided, Ren seized the moment. He pulled a sealing scroll from his pouch and slapped it onto the Eight-Tails' horn.
Poof!
The horn vanished into the scroll, which Ren tucked away safely.
In the air, the giant shark was gradually devouring the blood dragons, turning into a massive, crimson-tinted predator that lunged toward Ren. But Ren had achieved his goal. He had also confirmed that even without Samehada, Kisame was a troublesome opponent capable of draining chakra.
Facing the incoming giant shark, Ren calmly raised his right hand. The Black Sun mark on his palm gathered a brilliant Sage Art beam once more.
He aimed it at the Great Shark Bullet, but also at the spinning Samehada hanging in mid-air behind it—and at Kisame, who was reaching out to grab the sword.
The flying Samehada had become the bait Ren was using to fish for the shark!
The Great Shark Bullet absorbs chakra, right? Ren's eyes filled with lethal intent.
Then how about Sage Chakra?
He spread his fingers and fired. The thick yellow beam of Sage Light annihilated everything in its path. The very air trembled, and the falling rain was distorted into a sonic-boom-like cloud!
Swish!
Note: Support me and get early access to chapters on Pat reon.com/XareonMTL