Uehara Naraku's body emerged from the smoke, wrapped in a golden barrier that blocked the attack of the Shark Skin, courtesy of the ultimate skill, The Moment of Holy Judgment.
Golden Chakra light sabers floated around him, faintly reflecting the invincible posture of the young ninja.
Uehara suddenly extended his palm, grabbed onto the barbs on the Shark Skin to flip his body, delivered a kick to Kisame's neck, knocking him to the ground, and the golden Chakra light sabers followed, pinning Hoshigaki Kisame to the ground!
"How is this possible..."
Hoshigaki Kisame lay on the ground, unable to move, looking up at the young man unharmed by the Shark Skin, unable to conceal the shock on his face.
"Nothing is impossible."
Uehara Naraku kicked the Shark Skin blocking his path, looked down at the shark-faced man on the ground, and drew a line on his Hidden Mist forehead protector with a card: "From now on, you are Hoshigaki Kisame of the Akatsuki. Any objections?"
Just at this moment, the system determined that Hoshigaki Kisame had no further ability to resist and issued a skill reward.
Side Quest: Defeat the Seven-swords Ninja of the Hidden Mist (2/7), reward unknown.
Side Quest: Defeat Hoshigaki Kisame (1/1), task completed, reward skill: Giant Shark Assault.
Giant Shark Assault: Summon a Void Giant Shark from the ground to attack the target area from long-range. After 2 seconds, the shark will leap from the ground, devouring the souls of all enemies in the area. Chakra consumption: 100 points, cooldown: 80 seconds.
Uehara Naraku received the system reward, continuing to pressure Hoshigaki Kisame to surrender, as the mysterious masked man observing the battle couldn't remain still any longer.
How did Hoshigaki Kisame inexplicably lose to Uehara Naraku?
Karin stood beside the mysterious masked man, watching the battle between Hoshigaki Kisame and Uehara Naraku with a face full of shock. She had never thought that there could be such powerful ninjas!
Karin slightly opened her mouth and asked softly: "That boy seems to have won... What do we do now?"
"..."
The mysterious masked man fell into silence. Since Uehara Naraku had won, his plan was naturally thwarted. The most urgent thing now was to save Hoshigaki Kisame from Uehara!
If Hoshigaki Kisame stubbornly refused to surrender, Uehara Naraku would not hesitate to kill a Hidden Mist ninja.
That would mean the loss of a subordinate he had carefully chosen!
Thinking this, the mysterious masked man didn't hesitate any longer, his body turning into a time-space vortex, appearing next to Uehara Naraku and Hoshigaki Kisame. He suddenly appeared, grabbing Uehara's arm, jokingly saying, "Ah, it seems your battle is over!"
The sudden appearance of the mysterious masked man sent a shock through Uehara Naraku!
So, this guy was indeed secretly tracking him?
"Senior Afei."
Uehara Naraku hurriedly shook off his arm, speaking in a deep voice: "If I remember correctly, your task was to find Senior Sasori's partner; you shouldn't be here, right?"
"Well..."
The mysterious masked man scratched his head awkwardly, shamelessly explaining: "I was actually worried about your safety, so I planned to come early to persuade Hoshigaki Kisame to surrender, but it seems I was still too late. Oh, it's lucky you're safe..."
"..."
The expression on Uehara Naraku's face suddenly turned subtle.
Faced with an opponent, this guy's face was pretty thick behind the mask!
If the fierce battle with Hoshigaki Kisame wasn't ordered by the mysterious masked man, Uehara Naraku would have made this Shark Skin into sashimi to feed Hoshigaki Kisame!
The mysterious masked man, unaware of Uehara Naraku's thoughts, quickly explained to Uehara Naraku, then crouched to check Hoshigaki Kisame's injuries.
Once confirmed that there were no major problems with Hoshigaki Kisame's body, the mysterious masked man jovially said, "Hehe, Mr. Kisame, Uehara and I are both members of the Akatsuki. You're willing to join our organization now, right?"
"Humph, do I have any other choice?"
After hearing the name Akatsuki, Hoshigaki Kisame was surprised for a second, then suddenly coldly laughed and nodded slightly, officially agreeing to join the Akatsuki.
"No, you could also choose to die, you know!"
Uehara Naraku smiled, lowered his head, shook it at Hoshigaki Kisame, leaving the shark-faced man speechless, and even the masked man was somewhat confused.
The mysterious masked man saying a few words was more effective than him fighting?
This was too disrespectful to him!
Uehara turned to look at the mysterious masked man and continued: "Senior, this is my task... I believe I should kill Hoshigaki Kisame here, invite another person to join the organization, and then report back to Teacher Konan. It's also my own business!"
"Hey, hey, hey, that won't do, kid!"
The mysterious masked man naturally objected: "Inviting Hoshigaki Kisame to join the organization was a decision we made after secretly observing him for a long time! There's no one more suitable than Kisame in the entire Hidden Mist Village!"
"Just because there is no suitable person in the Hidden Mist Village doesn't mean there isn't one in the current Land of Water!"
Uehara Naraku looked dissatisfiedly at the mysterious masked man, pointed into the depths of the forest, and loudly said: "The Copy Ninja Hatake Kakashi of Konoha snuck into the Land of Water. He is now surrounded by a group of Hidden Mist ninjas; we can save Kakashi and recruit him into the organization..."
This statement was purely in jest.
In fact, Hatake Kakashi's reputation far exceeded that of Hoshigaki Kisame. If Uehara Naraku really tried to invite Kakashi into the organization by rescuing him, the Akatsuki would likely only gain a spy from Konoha.
The mysterious masked man didn't take Uehara's words as a joke, his attitude exceptionally firm, loudly opposing: "Hatake Kakashi, that guy, is less than useless. Our organization can't accommodate someone who kills his own comrades!"
"We absolutely can!"
Uehara Naraku spread his hands innocently and said, "Senior Afei, you forgot about Senior Kakuzu in our organization. Every time he leaves the base on a mission in pairs and returns alone with a box of money..."
"I think Kakashi is different from Kakuzu."
The mysterious masked man found Uehara Naraku annoying and somewhat regretting his rashly executed plan. If this continued, maybe this kid really would give up on Hoshigaki Kisame and recruit that bastard Kakashi into the Akatsuki!
"There's no difference, right?"
Uehara Naraku tilted his head, explaining lightly: "I heard that Hatake Kakashi has the Sharingan, so he can pair up with Itachi!"
This reasoning seemed sound, Uehara Naraku couldn't help but entertain this devilish idea; at that moment, he really considered recruiting Kakashi to team up with Itachi!
Unfortunately, if they really recruited Hatake Kakashi, who now knew the identity of the mysterious masked man, the Akatsuki would likely implode and split apart immediately.
"Obito!"
Just at this moment, an incredulous voice entered everyone's ears, precisely from Hatake Kakashi, who they had been discussing.
The Copy Ninja of Konoha was covered in wounds, but he paid no heed to his injuries, instead excitedly rushing toward Uehara Naraku and the masked man's direction!
Hatake Kakashi stumbled a few steps, falling besides the mysterious masked man, murmuring in his dazed state: "Obito... I've finally... found you."
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Even though it's Tuesday, I'm still asking for recommendation votes!