Fuguki Suikazan thought his words would move Tobi.
After all, he did indeed hold a large amount of Kirigakure's intelligence. Even if the Akatsuki organization wasn't interested in him personally, or even disliked him, they shouldn't be able to refuse information from one of the great hidden villages so isolated from the world.
To him, this kind of information was meant to be sold anyway. In fact, in order to increase the value of the intelligence, he had even sent people to kill his fellow villagers to keep the secrets from spreading. That way, every mission would become classified, and he could sell the intel for a higher price.
The only difference was who he sold it to.
However, Tobi looked at him with disdain and said, "You've got quite the clever little scheme going. It's true that the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist are all high-quality recruitment targets. Unfortunately for you, we Akatsuki value a person's character more than their strength."
"Someone like you might be popular in other organizations, but here? You're nothing but a parasite and a rat in the group, something that must be cleaned out immediately."
Suikazan never expected Tobi to be so stubborn. Fear rising in his heart, he still couldn't help but protest, "You people… are really not interested in knowing the secrets of an entire village?"
"You should know that if I hand over information to you, that's basically giving you proof of my betrayal of Kirigakure! I'd never dare to betray you after that! Even so, you still hesitate?"
Tobi slowly shook his head, "In the eyes of someone like you, maintaining a relationship only ever comes down to one thing, profit. And maybe that's the survival rule for most people in this ninja world."
"But we're different. So let me make this clear, you're dead. As for who's going to kill you… hehe! I'll let you see a familiar face."
As soon as he finished speaking, Tobi's right eye began to spin. The space around them distorted, and from the warped air appeared a figure that had been temporarily stored in the Kamui dimension, Kisame.
The moment Kisame emerged, he looked slightly dazed. After all, inside Kamui space, one couldn't perceive anything at all.
But once he stepped out and saw the battered, dirt-covered Fuguki Kisame lying on the ground, along with Samehada next to him, understanding dawned on his face.
He turned to Tobi, "You want me to kill him? So that means… Samehada will belong to me?"
Tobi laughed heartily, "Pretty sharp, Kisame. You're absolutely right. Your dear superior here, even on the brink of death, was still trying to sell out his own village's secrets just to buy himself a way out."
"So that brings us back to the original question. For someone like you, killing your own comrades again and again for a man like this, protecting so-called secrets, what was it all even for?"
Kisame turned his gaze to the injured man on the ground, disgust flickering in his eyes. He slowly walked forward, pulling the long sword off his back.
"So… this is what you really are."
Fuguki Suikazan froze in shock, "You're… the new subordinate I just recruited. And now you're working with Akatsuki? Since when did this happen?"
Kisame thought for a moment, then figured there was no harm in speaking to a dead man, "Right after I left your lair. At that time, I was suppressing a certain instinct, the instinct that told me, instead of killing our comrades for you, I should've killed you first."
Fuguki Suikazan could tell Kisame wasn't lying. His expression twisted, half with rage, half with disbelief, "Why? You, a little brat, get to join Akatsuki without a scratch, but me, I have to sell half of Kirigakure's secrets and still can't save my life?"
"I'm one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen! Who the hell do you think you are?"
Kisame could feel the raw emotions, resentment, jealousy, madness, pouring off the man before him. And in that moment, he understood a little more about the man who had personally recruited him into Akatsuki: Uchiha Obito.
Obito, no, Tobi, really was someone worthy of trust. In contrast, his so-called superior was nothing but a petty villain.
With that realization, Kisame lost all desire to speak further. He simply lifted his long blade and brought it down toward Fuguki Suikazan's neck.
"No!"
With that final scream, the wielder of Samehada, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, was decapitated, his body falling limp to the ground.
Kisame turned to Tobi and said, "Then Samehada belongs to me."
Tobi said, "Go ahead."
Kisame didn't bother with politeness. He slung Samehada over his back, and the instant he did, he felt a warmth, a welcoming sensation, as if the sword itself wanted to be his companion.
He muttered, half amused, "So even the sword hates him and likes me as its new master. No wonder he couldn't draw out most of its power."
Then Kisame looked back at Tobi, "Send me back. Suzuko will worry if she doesn't see me. And besides, I've got a new sword to show off to her."
Tobi hadn't expected the normally straightforward Kisame to know how to share his joy with a girl he liked. That was far more endearing than someone like Kakashi or Nagato.
Without hesitation, he placed his hand on Kisame's shoulder and sent him back into the Kamui dimension.
Just as Kisame's figure vanished, a huge explosion suddenly erupted near the Mizukage Building not far away.
A towering mushroom cloud rose into the sky, and the shockwave spreading outward reached even where they stood, making everyone turn to look in that direction.
Tobi reappeared beside the group, murmuring, "That's a Tailed Beast Bomb… So they've already resorted to that kind of move. Looks like the battle's entered its most intense phase."
The members of Akatsuki nodded, exchanged glances, and moved forward together toward the source of the explosion.
Among them were Momochi Zabuza, who had secretly joined in hopes of gathering intel on Akatsuki, as well as Kakashi and Mei Terumi, who had not yet joined the organization. They obediently followed along.
Zabuza, in particular, could tell from the blast that something catastrophic had happened near the Mizukage's side. But though he wanted to help, he was powerless to change anything.
He suddenly realized that both he and the Kubikiribocho in his hands felt incredibly small in this moment.
And so, the group charged forward at full speed and soon reached the scene.
The place was completely flattened by the earlier Tailed Beast Bomb. Everything around had been wiped from existence. Yet the surviving shinobi from both the Genji and Mizukage factions, after only a brief pause, began to clash again.
In an instant, chaos reigned.
Countless bodies littered the ground. Blood hung heavy in the mist, adding a thick, metallic stench to the air. The scene resembled a true vision of hell, Kirigakure had finally become, in the truest sense of the word, the Village Hidden in the Bloody Mist.
Standing among them, Mei Terumi looked around at the corpses of her many fallen comrades. She sighed softly and repeated the same words once more, "This is a necessary sacrifice."