The colossal water dome swallowed the forest in an instant. Trapped within, the Eight-Tails Jinchūriki found himself in a desperate struggle. To save his floating mentor, Killer B was forced to endure constant chakra drainage from Samehada, his combat effectiveness plummeting as the oxygen vanished from his lungs.
"Dammit... I have to get him out of here..."
His stamina failing, B used his last reserves to thrust his companion out of the water prison. Transforming into his Version 2 Tailed Beast state, he attempted to swim for the boundary, but the dome moved with him. In this aquatic domain, no one could outrun Kisame Hoshigaki, who had fully merged with his blade to become a literal shark in the water.
"It's over, octopus," Kisame sneered, his voice gurgling through the medium. "This dome is your coffin. You have nowhere left to run. Let me consume you."
Kisame's mastery was absolute. In all his years paired with Itachi, his capture missions had never failed. He lunged once more, Samehada tearing away the last of B's red chakra cloak. But just as he prepared to deliver the final blow, a streak of crystalline blue light tore through the surface of the water dome.
CRACK—!
The arrow was too fast to track. Upon impact, the massive sphere of water didn't just ripple—it froze solid in a fraction of a second, turning into a mountain of jagged ice.
"Ice Style? Who's there?!" Kisame roared, looking through the translucent frost. On the distant tip of a cedar tree stood a woman with curved horns and a glowing bow.
[The Celestial Archer]
Kisame narrowed his eyes. He didn't recognize the outfit or the energy, but the threat was real. Abandoning the now-frozen Killer B, he erupted with chakra, shattering the ice around him to break free.
However, before he could clear the debris, a silver arrow whistled through the air with the speed of a falling star. Kisame didn't dodge; he grinned, thrusting out the hilt of Samehada. Whether it was Ninjutsu or elemental chakra, his blade would simply eat it.
PLOW—!
A scream of agony ripped through the forest. Samehada didn't absorb the energy—it was pierced. The arrow went straight through the shark-skin hilt and through Kisame's palm, pinning his hand to his shoulder. Dark red blood splattered against the white frost, unable to be absorbed by the weapon.
"Impossible..." Kisame gasped.
There were only two explanations: either this wasn't Ninjutsu at all, or it wasn't Ice Style. Whatever it was, the "Shark of the Mist" realized his shark-fusion form was useless against this woman. He tore himself away from the ice, Samehada reverting to its normal, bandaged state.
He tried to reposition, but three more flashes of light cut off his retreat. He used a Substitution Jutsu just in time, watching the spot where he had stood erupt in a blast of frost that rivaled an A-Rank jutsu.
"Persistent woman... Water Style: Five Hungry Sharks!"
Five sharks made of pressurized water surged toward Ganyu. She didn't even flinch. Moving with the grace of a qilin, she loosed a single arrow that bloomed into a Frostflake, vaporizing the water sharks instantly.
Kisame was sweating now. His clothes were shredded, his skin was blue from the cold, and every time he tried to counter, his moves were neutralized before they could even form.
"Who is she?! How can she be this strong?!"
[The Predatory Qilin]
Ganyu watched from the treetops, her expression serene. To the world, she was a secretary; to the Abyss and the Akatsuki, she was a predator.
She wasn't using the Sovereign's full cultivation techniques—she didn't need to. Her natural Celestial Beast heritage, combined with the "Haki-infused Archery" Su Han had taught, made her Kisame's absolute counter. She chose to toy with him for a moment longer, allowing the livestream in the Chat Group to see how a Water-master fought, so the others could learn.
"If this is the extent of your strength," Ganyu said, her voice carrying through the wind, "then it's time for you to fall."
She loosed an arrow shaped like a falling comet. The shockwave leveled the surrounding woods. Below, the half-conscious Killer B saw the carnage and scrambled to drag his partner away. "Yo... what kind of monster is that?! Fool, ya fool... let's get out of here before she freezes the whole continent!"
Kisame, at the center of the storm, unleashed his final reserve. "Water Style: A Thousand Hungry Sharks!"
Thousands of water sharks rose like a tidal wave to meet the arrow. They were frozen and shattered by the hundreds, but the sheer numbers allowed Kisame to dive and circle behind Ganyu.
"Girl! Archers are useless at close range! Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu!"
He manifested right behind her, a sphere of water closing around her head as he swung Samehada with both hands. He expected to shave her chakra and end the fight.
Instead, the water prison turned to solid ice before it even touched her skin. Ganyu performed a graceful mid-air twist, her foot connecting squarely with Kisame's chest in a Haki-enhanced kick.
BOOM!
The "light" kick sent Kisame flying through the forest like a cannonball, snapping trees for hundreds of meters until he slammed into a massive oak.
"Cough... that strength... it's worse than a Tailed Beast..." Kisame slumped, his ribs shattered. Samehada frantically pumped stolen chakra into him to keep him from dying, but as he struggled to stand, Ganyu was already there.
She stood over him, her palm mere inches from his face. "Ice Roar."
A blast of absolute zero energy threw him back again. His body was turning numb, his blood sluggish. Suddenly, several white, plant-like humanoids—White Zetsu—erupted from the ground to shield him.
Ganyu didn't miss a beat. She stomped the ground, a ripple of frost freezing the Zetsus solid in mid-stride. By the time she looked up, the shark-man was fleeing toward the horizon, leaving a trail of blood.
Ganyu vanished into a blur of speed, weaving through the trees. When the distance closed to two thousand meters, she leaped into the air, drawing three arrows.
THOOM. THOOM. THOOM.
Three massive pillars of ice erupted around Kisame, boxing him in.
"Cough... tell me," Kisame wheezed, looking at the arrow now pointed directly between his eyes. "Who are you? You don't use Ninjutsu... you aren't from any village. Who...?"
Ganyu didn't answer. She knew Zetsu clones were watching. She simply loosed the arrow, a silent judgment for the Shark of the Mist.
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