"Kid! What did you just say?"
Kisame barked out a laugh, as though he'd just heard the best joke of his life.
Shigure didn't even blink. His tone remained calm and formal as ever.
"I'm inviting you to return to Kirigakure — to reclaim your title as one of the Hidden Mist's shinobi."
Kisame grinned, amused. "You want me to return to the Hidden Mist? Hah! Kid, you really don't get it. I'm a Missing-nin."
He hefted Samehada onto his shoulder. "And you should already know how Kirigakure treats its Missing-nin."
"I do," Shigure nodded.
"I understand very well. No shinobi village ever forgives a Missing-nin… and the Mist least of all. They don't just exile them — they hunt them down."
Kisame tilted his head. "Then what's the meaning of this invitation?"
"I can erase your Missing-nin status," Shigure said evenly.
"And grant you a return to the Hidden Mist… as a shinobi."
Kisame gave a low, guttural chuckle. "And who exactly do you think you are? The Mizukage?"
"I've already reserved the title of Sixth Mizukage," Shigure replied, expression unchanging.
Kisame froze mid-laugh.
Sixth Mizukage?
That would mean the Fifth Mizukage was already chosen.
It had been a long time since Kisame had heard any reliable news from Kirigakure. He had no idea what shape the village was in now. Still, the boy's confidence was absurd.
Kisame shook his head and slowly raised Samehada again.
"You've got guts, kid. I'll give you that. But talk's cheap."
Just as the blade's scales scraped against the air, Shigure spoke again — voice sharp as a kunai.
"You already know why the Mist fell into chaos before, don't you?"
Kisame stopped mid-swing. "What are you—"
"It was because of that masked man behind you, wasn't it?"
The words struck harder than any blade. Samehada's tip hit the ground with a dull thud as Kisame froze in place.
"…How do you know about that?"
Almost no one in Kirigakure knew the truth. Even within the village's inner circles, the man's existence was a secret buried deep.
How could this boy possibly—
"Uchiha Obito," Shigure said coldly.
Kisame's pupils constricted. Cold sweat trickled down his temple.
Knowing of the masked man was one thing.
Knowing his true identity was something else entirely.
"You… how do you know that name?" Kisame muttered, gripping Samehada tightly.
That was a secret known only to members of Akatsuki.
(T.N: Was it? 🤔 I thought he was deceiving everyone by pretending to be Madara. Maybe in this AU-verse, it's actually that way? 🤷♂️)
Could Shigure really have come into contact with Obito himself?
His eyes narrowed. "You're telling me this… because you plan to kill me, aren't you?"
Shigure shook his head slowly. "Not necessarily. If you agree to return to the Hidden Mist with me, I'll spare you."
Kisame frowned deeply. "You think you can threaten me into obedience?"
"It's not a threat," Shigure said, stepping forward. "It's a statement of fact."
His gaze turned sharp, chakra stirring in the air. "Whether you return with me or not… killing you would still be easy."
Boom.
Nine tails of chakra suddenly flared behind Shigure, bursting forth with a roar. The aura of the Three-Tails and the Six-Tails mingled violently, their power shaking the air itself.
The Mist around them twisted as Shigure's combined Tailed Beast Chakra tore through the air. Kisame had to brace himself, the raw force nearly blowing him back.
Two distinct chakra signatures. Two Tailed Beasts.
"…So it's true," Kisame murmured, half in awe, half in disbelief.
"You've actually become the Jinchūriki of both the Three-Tails and the Six-Tails."
Shigure's words from earlier — claiming the position of Sixth Mizukage — no longer sounded like a joke.
"If someone can contain two Tailed Beasts," Kisame admitted, a grin spreading across his face, "then becoming Mizukage might not be so far-fetched."
"That's right," Shigure replied, his voice steady. "I am the world's first dual Jinchūriki."
Kisame let out a sharp laugh. "Even with two Tailed Beasts… if you think that's enough to kill—"
He stopped mid-sentence.
The tip of Zangetsu was already at his throat.
He hadn't even seen Shigure move.
"What do you think now?"
"Hey!" Kisame laughed, teeth flashing. "You've certainly got the strength to kill me."
"But why should I go back to Kirigakure with you?" he added with a scoff.
"That village's whole scene is boring."
Shigure smiled, unruffled.
Most Akatsuki members had joined for complicated reasons. Kisame had joined to work — and to see whether that so-called illusionary world Obito spoke of was worth his curiosity. Simple motives, simple loyalty. That practicality made Kisame, in his own way, Akatsuki's best employee.
"The Mist's different now," Shigure said.
"If it weren't, I wouldn't be offering to lift your Missing-nin status."
"Interested?" he asked.
"Instead of chasing some dreamlike illusion, why not return to the Hidden Mist and build a village that actually interests you?"
Kisame's face flickered through several expressions. He still couldn't tell how Shigure knew so much about him — the Akatsuki, even Obito's plans — as if the boy had seen everything.
Was the "illusionary world" Shigure mentioned the same as the Infinite Tsukuyomi Obito had spoken of? Did this kid actually know about those things?
A grin spread across Kisame's face. Suddenly Shigure was more interesting than Obito. Building a village of his own sounded more tempting than watching a false world.
"I could go back to Kirigakure," Kisame said slowly, testing Shigure.
"But Akatsuki won't let you walk away unopposed — and I know things. Dangerous things."
"We'll deal with Akatsuki when the time comes," Shigure replied. "But we should be careful. Subterfuge will help."
Kisame snorted. "Subterfuge? Fine. Like what? Cut me down and leave a corpse?"
Before the sentence finished, the air split — Kisame's blade flashed. His left arm came off cleanly, a spray of blood arcing through the air.
Shigure sheathed his sword without haste, then watched as Kisame's face went white with shock and fury. Kisame had expected a fight, not a casual dismemberment.
"Hey — who cuts off an arm without at least saying hello?" Kisame snarled.
Shigure's tone remained calm. "It can grow back, yes?" he asked.
Kisame hesitated. "It can… yes."
Without warning Shigure seized Samehada, poured a massive surge of Tailed-Beast chakra into the sword, and tossed it to Kisame.
"Is that enough? If not, I have more."
Kisame felt the enormous chakra stored within Samehada — a reservoir that could only come from a jinchūriki. For a moment he was speechless; the gesture had the air of someone who spent chakra like coin.
Regrowth here would not be trivial. The arm began to sprout, flesh knitting and bone reforming under the sword's chakra.
Shigure studied him. "Not bad. As expected of someone tied to the power of the Tailed Beasts."
"You said you'll be the Sixth Mizukage, right?" Kisame asked, once his arm had fully regrown.
Shigure inclined his head. "Yes. So?"
"All right," Kisame said, laughter returning.
"I'll see what kind of interesting village you, as Sixth Mizukage, would make."
He smiled like a man who'd accepted a new game.
Shigure moved and took Samehada back from Kisame as if reclaiming a tool. "Then we'll return to the village," he said.
"From this moment, Kisame Hoshigaki is dead. You'll need a new name — think of one for yourself."
...
TN:
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