Kisame was fleeing toward the Land of Grass, and with Yugito harassing him from behind, Naruto wasn't too concerned about him getting away.
If Yugito used Biju Transformation and fully transformed into Nibi, even Hoshigaki Kisame will have a hard time resisting her. Not to mention that Yugito wasn't even trying to fight seriously, and she was just stalling him.
It didn't take long for Naruto to catch up with Kisame, who was now trapped between him and Yugito.
"Heh, you two sure are persistent." Kisame stopped running and glanced at the pursuers in front and behind him, "A brat from Konoha… and one from Kumogakure…"
Although Yugito didn't wear a forehead protector, her striking features, tall, foreign-looking, and cat-like, were too distinct. Moreover, the method she used were clearly derived from Nibi, so it was not difficult for Kisame to identify her.
"Since when did Kumogakure and Konoha start working together? Now that's a rare sight!" Kisame still wore that same nonchalant expression, looking like he was ready to fight to the death.
Hearing this, Yugito's brow slowly furrowed. Something about the way Kisame said that stung.
'What did he mean by Kumogakure and Konoha working together? This guy needed to be silenced.'
'He couldn't be left alive… he needed to be burned. Burned to ashes, then mixed with water. But even that wasn't safe. The remains had to be blown up again with Explosive Tags until they completely evaporated.'
Naruto had no idea Kisame had just pissed Yugito off. He was simply focused on killing Kisame and reclaiming Samehada.
That sword was his. It might not be his now, but soon, it would be back in its rightful hands.
One of them was focused on the blade, eager to push the progress bar of his second mission line forward. The other was thinking about how to obliterate Kisame's body completely. They were, in a way… no, not partners in crime, just perfectly in sync.
"This has nothing to do with you. Is Uchiha Itachi dead?" Naruto asked again, staring at Kisame, "Not talking? Well, it doesn't matter. You can tell me in the afterlife."
"Then what are you waiting for?" Kisame took a stance, and quickly formed hand seals, "Water Style: Great…"
Unfortunately, he was just a little too slow. The towering bloody phantom of Kyubi Chakra Cloak fired off a Bijudama, slicing off both of Kisame's hands in one clean stroke. With a heavy thud, they dropped to the ground.
"Wha…" Kisame was stunned. The sheer gap in power had already sealed the outcome of this battle before it had even begun.
'How can someone perform Ninjutsu without forming a hand seal? This was Shinobi bullying? This was cheating! What the (******)!!!'
Countless thoughts flashed through Kisame's mind in an instant. But when he saw Yugito, who is already half-transformed, pouncing toward him, he had no choice but to abandon Samehada and leap away.
Losing both hands was undoubtedly a massive handicap for Kisame, who was always making hand seals. Gritting his teeth, he summoned a massive tidal wave in an attempt to turn the tide.
Naruto, however, simply picked up Samehada and leaped out of the battle, paying no further attention to what came next. Kisame's fate was sealed and he wouldn't be making any waves.
Yugito could handle Kisame on her own. All Naruto had to do was stay on the sidelines and snipe when necessary.
Stowing Samehada away, he examined it closely.
The thing wriggled slightly, looking a bit disgusting. It seemed to have a faint sense of self-awareness, but Naruto had no intention of using it. Instead, he pulled up his system panel and sacrificed it directly.
The next second, Samehada let out a miserable scream before vanishing into thin air. At the same time, the progress bar for his second mission line finally moved.
[Mission Line II: The Land of Water Arc, Ninja Sword Collection Mission Line has been Activated! Achievements completed: Executioner's Blade - Kubikibocho. Reward: Izanagi (granted upon completing all achievements.)]
[Achievements completed: Broken Blade - Decapitating Broadsword, Lightning Blades - Kiba, Shark Skin - Samehada.]
The green progress bar shifted forward by a seventh, reaching about halfway. Naruto's heart pounded as his eyes locked onto the reward.
He remembered when this mission was first triggered, Izanagi had been listed as a one-time-use item. But now, it had changed to a permanent skill.
Even though he was used to receiving rewards, he was still a little short of breath at this moment. The stronger he became, the fewer abilities he actually needed. After all, the era had changed, and battles now always started with ultimate moves.
If it were just small fry, that would be one thing, but against Uchiha Obito? Using Lava Release to probe would be laughable. Worse, it could lead to a humiliating defeat.
Right now, his main reliance was nothing other than the bloody phantom of Kyubi, which practically a Gundam-like ability. Even without Kyubi inside him, the system had generously left him with half the power of the useless dog.
The elusive Flying Thunder God Technique was another major asset, and there are also several Sealing Techniques and Forbidden Techniques. As for Death Demon Consuming Seal, it is not that effective against an equally powerful opponent.
The first step to the Impure World Reincarnation is to find strong experts to reanimate, and even then, their strength would be significantly weakened after being summoned. Adamantine Sealing Chains were good, but he was still missing the Sage Art: Gate of the Great God.
Now that the system had suddenly handed him a permanent Izanagi skill, saying he wasn't tempted would be a blatant lie.
After all, as long as he had Izanagi, he would be even more powerful.
A thought flickered through his mind as Naruto took a deep breath, carefully scanning the system panel again, 'It seemed like only the rewards for Mission Line II had changed, while everything else remained the same.'
'Could it be that the system realized I had no intention of doing the mission, so it upped the rewards?' Naruto muttered to himself, thinking, 'This damn system was up to its usual tricks.'
Closing the system panel, he smirked and turned to the battlefield, where the fight had grown increasingly intense.
Kisame was almost completely exhausted and was barely holding on. Yugito moved swiftly, staying at the edges of the fight, throwing out a few fireballs here and there, toying with him.
This left Kisame in agony, like punching a cotton. He couldn't run, nor could he properly engage in battle, as opponent was clearly dragging things out to exhaust him.
With a roar, Kisame took another direct hit from a fireball, and his mind almost completely collapsed.
With his hands crippled he could only rely on water to barely sustain himself.
The battle didn't last much longer. Naruto sneakily fired a Bijudama that struck Kisame dead-on. The latter couldn't hold on and immediately logged out… permanently.
It wasn't that Kisame was weak. It's just that he ran into an opponent who didn't play fair. Not only did Naruto use the bloody phantom Gundam, but he also didn't give Kisame time to form a hand seal and completely broke his momentum.
He pretended to be ready for a fair fight, but then resorting to absolute scumbag tactics. Kisame started half-crippled and was practically doomed from the start.
"Is he dead?" Naruto stood still, lazily looking at the corpse.
With Kisame's death, the surrounding waves vanished, leaving no trace of water behind. Thanks to the battle, the plain was left pockmarked with craters.
"He should be. Let's just burn him." Yugito said, already prepared. She spat out a ghostly blue fireball, and the corpse ignited instantly.
"Damn, that's brutal." Naruto turned his head away, unwilling to witness the grilled fish spectacle.
But even so, he still stood there and waited until Kisame was reduced to ashes. Then, Yugito slapped on an Explosive Tag and blew the remains to bits. Only then did he turn around.
Proper battle cleanup required caution, and it's better to be safe than sorry.
He assumed Yugito was just being careful, never noticing the slight smirk on her lips, which seemed to be the satisfaction of finally venting some long-held resentment.
In Yugito's eyes, she is now one of the villains. After all, what kind of upright person ever goes around calling themselves a 'good guy'? No decent person constantly talks about how kind and humble they are.
The two of them watched Kisame's remains scatter to the wind before leisurely turning to leave.
"Hey, do you think Kisame had any cash or valuables on him? Technically, that should be ours, right?"
"Want to go back and check?" Yugito asked.
"Forget it, it's too much hassle." Naruto waved his hand, "We made a huge scene in that town, so going back would be… Ugh, let's just find the next target."
"Oh." Yugito flicked her hair, savoring the thrill of falling deeper into villainy, unconsciously slipping into a cat-like strut.
In the fading light of the sunset, her silhouette trembled ever so slightly.