Sitting atop the giant shark, wind brushing across his face, Naruto found himself enjoying the growing swarm of sharks swimming beside him.
He wasn't interested in becoming Hokage anymore. But Pirate King? That might be fun for a few days.
Lost in his wandering thoughts, he suddenly noticed that the lead sharks up ahead had been stopped—by two men standing calmly atop the ocean's surface.
They both wore the same black cloaks adorned with red clouds.
One of them appeared fairly young, no more than twenty, with black hair, black eyes, and two deep tear grooves on his face.
The other had an unusual appearance, with three gill-like slits on each cheek.
When Naruto got a good look at them, his eyes narrowed in recognition.
'Why are they here?' Naruto's thoughts raced.
He vaguely remembered that in the original story, the two of them had shown up around this time to visit Konoha.
He couldn't remember their exact goal—just that Itachi had clashed with Kurenai in a genjutsu duel, hit Kakashi with Tsukuyomi, and even exchanged blows with Jiraiya using Amaterasu.
'Could it be that with all the noise I've made lately, Pain sent them to investigate the Nine-Tails?' Naruto guessed, while simultaneously preparing for a serious fight.
The two were none other than Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame, now members of the Akatsuki.
They looked Naruto over carefully, their eyes filled with judgment.
Kisame, with a massive bandaged weapon slung over his shoulder, glanced at Itachi and chuckled.
"So that kid's the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki? Looks strong. You sure he's only twelve, like your little brother?"
Itachi's hands remained hidden inside his wide sleeves, and his pitch-black eyes stayed calm as he nodded slightly.
He had seen Naruto once, on the road when escorting Sasuke to school.
But the boy before him now was nothing like the one he remembered.
Still, with Itachi's sharp insight, he was certain: this blond youth was the Nine-Tails' vessel—Uzumaki Naruto.
Seeing even Itachi treating him like a serious threat, Kisame wiped the smirk off his face.
Then he looked down at the massive shark Naruto was riding and bared his razor-like teeth.
"Nice shark you've got there, kid. What's with all these sharks? You planning something?"
Given Kisame's shark-like appearance and signature aquatic jutsu, he was understandably curious.
Naruto didn't reply. He simply signaled the shark beneath him to move forward.
The others sharks parted to make way as Naruto approached the two men, stopping a dozen meters away.
At the same time, he was calculating the odds of taking them both on alone.
Itachi's genjutsu was a problem, and fighting Kisame on water wasn't exactly ideal.
Should I fight? Or just bail with Flying Thunder God?
He hesitated.
But in the end, Naruto chose to fight. He needed to test his strength.
'If I can't take on these two,' he thought, 'then I've got no chance against Nagato or Obito later.'
'The Eye of the Moon Plan Night'is coming, and I'm the Nine-Tails' Jinchuriki. They'll come for me eventually. There's no running from it.'
Besides, both Itachi and Kisame had things Naruto wanted.
"You two—who are you? You came here looking for me, didn't you?" Naruto called out.
Kisame grinned. "What a rude little punk."
He looked at Itachi. "Leave him to me, Itachi-san. This is my home turf, after all."
Without answering Naruto, Kisame tossed his bandaged weapon—Samehada—into the air, freeing up his hands to weave signs.
The so-called 'honest man' Kisame began forming hand seals.
But the very next moment, Naruto vanished from his sight.
When he reappeared, he was already airborne.
With a swift reach, he snatched the still-spinning Samehada right out of the air.
"Nani?!"
"So fast!"
Kisame's hands froze mid-seal, nearly disrupting the technique. This kid wasn't playing fair!
"Water Release: Water Shark Bullet Technique!"
A chakra shark shot toward Naruto like a missile.
Naruto simply swung Samehada down.
BOOM!
The resulting blast stopped the chakra shark cold.
The bandages wrapped around Samehada were torn away, revealing the massive sword's true form—complete with a giant maw filled with jagged teeth.
Landing back on the shark beneath him, Naruto examined the weapon in his hands.
Samehada—one of the Seven Ninja Swords of the Hidden Mist—was arguably the most unique of them all.
To call it a sword was a bit misleading; it was practically alive.
It had a mouth. It had sentience.
It could devour an opponent's chakra and feed it to its wielder.
In the original story, Kisame had even used chakra absorbed by Samehada to instantly heal his own slashed-open gut.
Compared to something like Zabuza's Executioner's Blade, Samehada was in a league of its own.
Even now, the living blade writhed and twisted in Naruto's hands, tongue flicking out, hungrily licking the air.
It was clearly dying to sink its teeth into him, as if Naruto were some tasty little snack.
"You underestimated him, Kisame. He's not someone you can take lightly. Get serious," Itachi said flatly, watching the ridiculous scene unfold.
Kisame nodded. He respected Itachi's judgment.
Without Samehada, he was definitely weaker.
Still, he showed no signs of panic. After all, they were surrounded by ocean.
In this kind of terrain, he could cast Water Release techniques with minimal chakra and maximum power.
Raising both hands, Kisame began weaving seals in earnest.
"Water Release: Thousand Hungry Sharks!"
A towering wave erupted beneath him, lifting both Kisame and Itachi high into the air.
Within the wave, hundreds—no, thousands—of chakra sharks swam.
The wall of water surged toward Naruto, fanged maws opening wide.
This move's destructive power was nearly S-rank.
Its scale and force were overwhelming—an average ninja wouldn't stand a chance.
Itachi remained standing atop the wave, not interfering. His eyes stayed calm, observing how Naruto would handle it.
Faced with the towering wave and the monstrous swarm of chakra sharks, Naruto first closed his eyes—then snapped them open.
A series of glowing teal diamond-shaped marks bloomed around his eyes like constellations.
Sage Mode—activated instantly.
Kisame's brows rose. From Naruto's body, he sensed a chakra far denser and more terrifying than his own.
"Itachi-san, what is this technique? That chakra's insane!"
Kisame was clearly shaken. He was known as the "Tailless Tailed Beast"—chakra reserve was his pride.
But Naruto… Naruto made him feel small.
Even Itachi showed a rare flicker of surprise.
"…Sage Mode," he said softly.
"Sage Mode?" Kisame echoed, now even more eager for the fight ahead.
To have mastered such a powerful ability at this age…
Even someone as composed as Itachi couldn't shake the growing sense of unease in his heart.