Kisame tilted his head back. Even from a great distance, he could see Kaito's Rinnegan glowing with a faint purple light in the night.
He couldn't believe it. Another pair of Rinnegan appearing in Konoha—how could such eyes even exist twice in the world?!
He didn't even notice that Itachi was already standing right beside him.
Itachi helplessly patted him on the shoulder and said,
"Kisame, didn't I tell you not to act rashly? Why did you force your way in?"
Kisame finally came back to his senses. Seeing that Itachi was unharmed, his face lit up with relief, but it quickly turned serious as he said,
"Itachi-san! That Uchiha Kaito actually has the same eyes as the Leader. Our situation is dire!"
"I already know that. Actually..."
Before Itachi could finish, Kaito, who was floating in midair, suddenly lowered his head and looked directly at Kisame.
Locked by the Rinnegan's gaze, Kisame felt an icy chill rise from his heart. He wanted to run, but his body couldn't even move.
But Kisame wasn't the kind of man to sit and wait for death. He yanked Itachi to his side and formed hand seals.
"Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu!"
Streams of water surged upward around him, condensing into a prison of water that enclosed both himself and Itachi.
Kaito raised an eyebrow. Was Kisame trying to kill himself? That seemed a bit too fast. And why drag Itachi in with him?
In a flash, Kaito appeared before the prison. Kisame stared into the Rinnegan at close range and couldn't help but swallow nervously.
Forcing down his unease, he turned his head toward Itachi and said,
"Itachi-san, this jutsu can protect us for now. If things go bad, I'll hold him off. You must take the intel back to the organization!"
Itachi froze, then a complicated expression gradually surfaced on his face.
He had to admit, both of his partners in Akatsuki had been decent men. Whether it was Jūzō Biwa or Kisame, both were cold-faced but warm-hearted.
Kaito also admired Kisame. This so-called "honest man" of the shinobi world still maintained his upright ways even in the later stages, seriously forming hand seals and walking the traditional path of a ninja without faltering.
What's more, Kisame was truly an outstanding shinobi—loyal in carrying out orders, always prepared to die for the mission.
In the anime, he had bitten off his own tongue to break free of a genjutsu, then summoned sharks to devour himself just to keep intel from leaking out. That was the act of a real man.
So Kaito didn't want Kisame to end up like in the anime. He placed a hand on the water prison, and in an instant, all of it was absorbed into his palm.
Kisame's face changed drastically. He shoved Itachi aside and shouted,
"Not good! Itachi-san, run!"
He began forming seals again.
"Water Style: Giant Shark Bomb Jutsu!"
A massive shark rose from the waters behind Kisame, surging toward Kaito.
But against the Rinnegan's Preta Path, ninjutsu like this was utterly powerless.
The chakra-made shark vanished into Kaito's palm before it could touch him. Kisame had expected this. The moment the shark dissolved, he already had Samehada raised and appeared in front of Kaito.
Kaito only tilted his head slightly, letting Samehada crash down against his shoulder.
Clang!
It was like striking solid steel. Samehada, being a sentient blade, gave a pained groan.
Kisame was stunned. He had never seen anyone withstand a blow purely with their body. Was this guy even human?!
He fell into deep self-doubt.
While Kisame was frozen in shock, Itachi came to his side and placed a hand on his shoulder.
Kisame turned, dazed, to see Itachi gently shake his head.
"Kisame, stop. You can't defeat the Hokage-sama."
"Hokage... sama?"
Kisame was completely thrown off. What kind of title was that supposed to be?
Itachi explained his situation in brief. The more Kisame heard, the more shaken he became. Only now did he understand what Itachi meant before when he said, 'I'm not like you.'
He lowered his head, speaking in an unusually deep voice,
"So... all of this was just me being sentimental?"
He felt like a clown. Itachi hadn't needed saving at all—he and Konoha had been on the same side from the start.
Itachi understood Kisame's feelings. It was essentially the sting of betrayal. But even he hadn't expected things to turn out this absurd.
His most respected senior, Kaito, had returned to Konoha, become Hokage, and even awakened the Rinnegan.
Kaito even knew all of Itachi's secrets. So what reason was left for him not to return to Konoha?
But this revelation had deeply hurt Kisame. Itachi was, at heart, an extremely gentle person—he had only hidden that gentleness under the weight of his burdens.
Now, finally able to be himself again, he didn't want to hurt anyone else, especially those close to him.
Looking at Kisame with honest eyes, Itachi said,
"Kisame, I know this is a heavy blow, but please believe me—I've always considered you my comrade."
Kisame faltered, muttering,
"Comrade...?"
At that moment, Konoha's shinobi arrived on the scene. They all dropped to one knee behind Kaito and shouted,
"Hokage-sama!"
Kisame glanced at them and let out a bitter laugh.
"Looks like this is as far as I go."
He turned to Itachi again and said softly,
"Itachi-san, you've finally found where you belong. I'm truly happy for you. Goodbye."
With that, Kisame suddenly raised Samehada across his own neck, preparing to end his life.
But just then, a powerful suction ripped Samehada from his hands.
Snap!
Kaito caught the hilt of the sword. Samehada squirmed uneasily, feeling the abyssal chakra within Kaito's body—but it couldn't muster even the will to absorb it.
Because it had seen a pitch-black monster lurking within him. Even a faint trace of that monster's aura made it shiver in terror.
All Samehada wanted now was to flee back into Kisame's hands.
Kaito gave it a couple of casual swings. In his opinion, Samehada was easily the strongest of the Seven Ninja Blades. The ability to absorb chakra and even fuse with its wielder was far beyond the others.
But it felt awkward in his grip. With a shrug, he tossed it back to Kisame.
Catching the sword in disbelief, Kisame asked,
"Why would you save me?"
Kaito smiled and replied,
"It'd be a shame for a ninja like you to die. I'll give you a chance to live. If you still want to throw your life away, that's up to you."