Kisame looked at the hand Uchiha Obito was offering, looked at his sincere gaze, and suddenly felt something called "trust."
That thing was extremely rare; in Kirigakure, between people, it basically didn't exist.
He murmured, "Is this what a comrade is?"
Obito nodded, "That's right. Only someone you can hand your back over to is a comrade. Once you choose that, don't be afraid that a comrade will stab you in the back."
Kisame couldn't help but lift his own hands, this was the second time that day he'd examined his hands like this.
Those hands had been stained with blood long after graduating from the ninja academy; he'd washed them countless times and could never get them completely clean.
Still, he didn't want to keep living like that forever. Besides… if he joined Akatsuki, maybe Suzuko's safety would be greatly protected.
Finally he slowly said, "In Kirigakure, besides Suzuko, I have no one I care about."
"My parents abandoned me when I was little because of my appearance. I looked for them for a long time and couldn't find them; I don't even know if they're alive or dead."
"Now I've let go of that obsession. Since you're willing to show your true face and honestly tell me everything, then… I'm willing to join Akatsuki."
"But I have one condition: I want to bring Suzuko with me. If your Akatsuki can't even allow that, then forget about me joining."
When Suzuko heard Kisame say that, she felt warm inside and couldn't help saying, "Kisame, you don't need to sacrifice so much for me."
But before Kisame could answer, Obito said, "Of course. In our Akatsuki there's no rule against bringing family. For now, come with me. I'll take you to see a real show."
Kisame exhaled in relief, and at the same time he was curious about what Obito meant by "a show."
"So, you came to Kirigakure for other reasons too?", Kisame asked.
Obito said, "That's right. Besides recruiting you, I plan to recruit Hozuki Mangetsu. As for Terumi Mei, let's forget that. After all, we should leave Kirigakure with at least one competent Kage, right?"
Kisame showed a trace of embarrassment, "Your Akatsuki just struts into Kirigakure to recruit people, some of them kids not even of age. Is that really okay?"
Obito laughed, "Kids? I'm a kid too! Besides, which one of you is a normal kid?"
Kisame thought for a moment, "True. Then I'll follow you. But if you're only recruiting talents, that's not exactly a show, is it?"
Obito said, "Of course not. I'll let you in on a secret: I've already persuaded the Genji to launch a coup. They'll act soon. At that time, they'll overthrow the Third Mizukage's tyranny and return Kirigakure to a bright future."
Kisame was shocked, "You're doing that? Although it's a good thing, can you really pull it off?"
Obito said calmly, "Of course we can. If you don't believe me, wait and see."
After that, Obito glanced at Kisame and Suzuko, then turned and said, "Follow me."
He started walking on his own.
Kisame and Suzuko exchanged a look. With nothing left to rely on, they seemed to have nothing more to cling to, so they both followed.
Along the way, Kisame finally understood how Obito had hidden the noise from his earlier jutsu.
No matter how many passersby there were, they actively ignored them.
It was an extremely high-level illusion, so advanced that Kisame had trouble understanding it.
Kisame guessed something and murmured, "The Sharingan? The Uchiha's reputation is well deserved."
At that, Obito put his mask back on and returned to being Tobi.
"Although, in theory, I don't really need to hide like this," Tobi said, "I'm used to operating as the masked man when I'm out and about."
"But if I put the mask on, then you can just call me Tobi."
As if he'd thought of something amusing, Tobi turned to Kisame, barely containing his excitement, "Great! In Akatsuki, besides me, there's finally another trainee! I won't be the lowest-ranking member anymore!"
Kisame and Suzuko watched the suddenly over-enthusiastic Tobi and couldn't help showing blank expressions.
Kisame asked, "Tra-trainee? What do you mean?"
Tobi said, "Kisame, your current strength is still weak. You don't qualify yet to be a full Akatsuki member. Back when Akatsuki recruited before, standards were low and some slipped in. But for formal recruits, I think they should at least be at the level of a village's Kage."
Kisame was stunned and then raised his voice, "What are you kidding? Your organization's standards are that high? Tell me, how many full members do you have?"
Tobi counted carefully on his fingers, "Looks like eight, and the remaining three are actually close to that level too."
Kisame was horrified, "You said what? Eight people at the level of the Mizukage? Akatsuki has eight like that?"
Tobi said, "Is that surprising? You don't think Akatsuki is weak, do you? Even if you ignore me and Madara, we should still be considered one of the strongest forces in the ninja world right now."
Kisame sharply caught a detail, "Madara's strength is obvious, you don't need to tell me."
"'Ignore you', what do you mean by that? Aren't you just a trainee? If you and Madara are in the same organization, then your clashes with Madara can't be used as a reference. So you haven't reached that level yet…"
He trailed off and then rejected his own thought.
"No, even by your genjutsu mastery alone you're terrifying. So do you really have the strength to match Madara?"
Tobi suddenly stopped walking, "Not just match."
"Actually, I can tell you the end of that fight, I won."
After saying that, Tobi resumed walking.
Kisame stood dumbfounded, staring at Tobi's retreating figure, suddenly feeling that silhouette had been stretched to immeasurable height.
Since Tobi was willing to show his true face, he shouldn't be deceiving Kisame in this matter.
If even half of what he said was true… then Akatsuki might have members even stronger than Uchiha Madara.
Kisame's mouth suddenly lifted. Such mighty comrades might really be able to change Kirigakure for the better, and perhaps change the ninja world, letting him see a beautiful world.
He took the hand of Suzuko, who had stopped beside him, "Suzuko, don't fall behind."
"I don't want to be an Akatsuki trainee anyway."