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Chapter 209: The End of Kisame Hoshigaki
"Who?!!"
The sudden voice made Kisame freeze mid-dig. Before he could fully look up, his vision blurred, and a familiar figure landed in front of him, staring at him icily.
"White Tiger!!" Kisame shouted in shock, his shark eyes constricting to pinpoints.
Why would she appear here?!!
From the battle alongside Sasuke Uchiha earlier, he knew her strength was no longer what it used to be. Even combining his power with Sasuke and Lord Madara hadn't been enough to take her down; they had been forced to flee in defeat. Alone, he was absolutely no match for White Tiger!
But... he would never sit and wait for death!
As a quintessential ninja, Kisame knew that with his speed and methods, escaping from White Tiger was impossible. So he wouldn't run; he would fight with everything he had! Even if the gap in strength was immense, he never lacked the courage to strike.
"White Tiger!!!" Kisame rapidly formed hand seals. "This world is incredibly fake; you cannot stop Lord Madara's Eye of the Moon Plan!"
He was completely entranced and subdued by the world Obito had depicted. The cold ninja world was full of slaughter and betrayal; it was not an ideal home. Only the world of the Infinite Tsukuyomi could realize his vision of a perfect ninja world. This was his nindo, his will! Even if he had to pay with his life, he would not hesitate!
"Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave!!!"
Honest Kisame finished his seals, and a massive volume of water spewed into the air, surging like a flood. He opened with his strongest move. Even though it had been quickly countered last time... it was the only move that could even marginally affect White Tiger!
His momentum was high, his fighting spirit soaring, his will tenacious...
However... the ending was determined the moment Konan appeared. Kisame couldn't make a single wave; he couldn't pose even a sliver of a threat—no, not even a disturbance.
The surging water froze visibly before it could even force Konan to move. The "Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave" came to an abrupt halt. Before a larger Water Prison could even form, it was violently interrupted. Kisame was frozen solid, leaving only his shark head exposed. He couldn't attack, nor could he flee. Unable to resist, he could only wait for death.
"White Tiger... your strength has increased again..." Facing death, he actually became completely calm and relieved. "This time, I couldn't even release a jutsu..."
He had no fear of death. From the day he became a ninja, from the moment he killed his first comrade in the Bloody Mist, he knew he would sooner or later be killed by someone else.
Kisame smiled at Konan. "I didn't expect that the strongest person in Akatsuki wasn't Pain, nor Lord Madara, but you." He sighed desolately. "It's a pity. I won't get to see the ideal world Lord Madara described. Somewhat regrettable..."
Alex looked at him with a sigh. Kisame Hoshigaki was indeed the most qualified ninja in Naruto, possessing a pursuit for a beautiful world. Meticulously executing missions, giving his all, even his life, to realize the world depicted by Obito. It was just that, in the end, like Obito and Madara, he was deceived by the so-called Eye of the Moon Plan. That world was the truly fake and hopeless one.
"Kisame," Konan looked at him and said calmly, "I will use my power to build a truly peaceful world. There will be no more war and strife, no betrayal and slaughter. Everyone will live safely and happily in this ninja world."
Kisame was stunned, then laughed loudly, "Hahaha!"
He laughed with extreme joy and relief. "I didn't expect your goal to be this! With your power surpassing Lord Madara and the entire ninja world, you can indeed achieve it."
"Hahaha! Sure enough... whether it is you or Lord Madara, whoever realizes the ideal world is fine by me..."
"I... only wanted the world to become peaceful. Whoever does it is acceptable; truly, whoever does it..."
Kisame suddenly realized the ice layer was melting; he could move. He glanced at Konan before him, understood, and smiled with satisfaction. "White Tiger... You really are the gentlest person in the Akatsuki."
He released the Water Prison Technique to envelope himself. "Working with you hasn't been a waste of a life. With your power, a peaceful and beautiful world will surely arrive."
"When that time comes..." He summoned sharks that began to swim within the water prison. "That world shouldn't have remnants of the old era like me, whose hands are covered in blood and who have killed countless comrades."
"I wish you success!! A Thousand Feeding Sharks!!"
The sharks abruptly turned their heads, biting toward Kisame in the center. In an instant, the water prison was dyed crimson red. His body was devoured completely by the sharks he summoned, resulting in total death...
He self-terminated a life filled with distortion and slaughter. But before he died, he carried good wishes for the future. Hearing White Tiger's goal with his own ears, he knew he could die without regrets. Just as he said, what mattered was the realization of a peaceful world, not who created it. What he had hoped and strived for all his life was simply for the ninja world to be peaceful and happy... Although he wouldn't see it, he knew this dream would inevitably be realized...
With White Tiger wielding such mighty power, peace was but a thought away for her... Allowing him to end his own life without regret was indeed a form of kindness...
Konan witnessed Kisame's death with her own eyes. There was no need to use Sharingan genjutsu to interrogate him for intel. He had surely come here on Obito Uchiha's orders to dig up Hidan, who was buried deep underground.
Deep beneath the small pit at her feet, she could sense a faint chakra and life force. Hidan was still alive! Though dying, like a candle in the wind, he was tenaciously holding on. Surviving months without food or water... his immortal body truly lived up to its name.
She felt a flicker of interest in this so-called Jashin.
Konan waved her hand lightly. A stream of visible white frost instantly froze the disintegrating bloody water prison. The blood-red ice sphere rose slowly into the air. The moment it cleared the forest, it shattered in the sunlight mid-air, turning into countless ice particles reflecting seven-colored light, drifting away with the wind.
Kisame Hoshigaki... had met his end.
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