Malphegor
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Ch. 168: The Shark: Contact
🕑 Added 2024-12-03 16:22:52 +0000 UTCIn a forest, a young ninja with blue skin and a shark-like face was leading a group of ninjas swiftly across the treetops, heading toward a specific destination.
Since Kisame was assigned as the exclusive subordinate of Fuguki, this was the first time he had received a mission directly from the Fourth Mizukage.
The mission itself seemed simple: investigate a small, remote mountain village.
Although he wasn't sure what was in that village, the fact that the Fourth Mizukage bypassed Fuguki to assign the task to him was something worth pondering.
Suddenly, there was a disturbance in the canopy ahead. The subtle commotion immediately caught his attention.
"Stop!"
He and the three other ninjas accompanying him landed on the ground at once. At the same time, a shadowy figure leapt down from the treetops ahead, standing opposite Kisame.
Squinting, he saw a peculiar man dressed in a black robe with white bandages wrapped around his face.
Behind this man was something wrapped in white bandages, and from its outline, it appeared to be a large, broad-bladed sword.
"You are..."
He narrowed his eyes as he observed the strange figure blocking his path. A strange sense of familiarity washed over him, as if he had seen this attire somewhere before.
Before he could determine the source of this familiarity, the strange man reached for the hilt of the broad-bladed sword behind him.
This was an unmistakable act of aggression.
The ninjas behind him wasted no time. Drawing their katana, they charged toward the strange man.
In the next moment, the man gripped the sword's hilt firmly, causing the white bandages wrapping the blade to unravel rapidly.
Kisame and the three Kiri ninjas immediately saw the true form of the weapon.
"That's..."
"The Executioner's Blade!"
As Kiri ninjas, they were all familiar with the Seven Ninja Swords of the Mist.
Furthermore, it was their sworn duty to reclaim any of the Seven Swords found in the possession of outsiders, regardless of the cost.
"Who would've thought such a boring mission would deliver such a big fish?"
"Well, we won't hold back."
With that, the three Mist ninjas leapt toward the man with the Executioner's Blade from three different directions, intending to finish him in a coordinated strike they believed was inescapable.
However, just as their katana were about to strike the man's head, the Executioner's Blade moved.
In an instant, the blade—despite its apparent bulk—was effortlessly raised by the man with one hand, blocking all three katana simultaneously.
"So fast!"
One of the Mist ninjas exclaimed in shock. But before his words had fully left his mouth, the man's speed surged again.
With a quick upward push, the man deflected all three katana into the air. He then swung the Executioner's Blade horizontally in one smooth motion.
In an instant, the bodies of the three Kiri ninjas were cleaved in half. Three fountains of blood erupted from their torsos, filling the once-sweet scent of the grassy forest with a sharp, iron tang.
Their six severed pieces fell to the ground, and the man turned his gaze toward Kisame, who had yet to make a move.
Despite the brutal deaths of his companions, Kisame's expression remained unchanged, his demeanor cold and indifferent.
He had witnessed too many deaths of comrades, many of whom he had killed with his own hands. By now, he was emotionally numb.
But one question lingered in Kisame's mind—who exactly was this man?
The previous wielder of the Executioner's Blade was Jūzō. Could it be him?
"Jūzō?"
He tentatively asked, but the strange man did not respond. Instead, he swung the Executioner's Blade from side to side before charging directly at Kisame.
"Not speaking, huh? Then it seems I'll have to use force!"
Kisame drew the katana from his back and rushed forward to meet the attack.
The clash of their blades sparked violently, and the battle immediately became intense. The two moved with incredible speed, dodging and counterattacking. Neither could gain the upper hand for the time being.
However, Kisame soon began to feel the strain.
The Executioner's Blade was designed for overwhelming power, and while his natural strength allowed him to hold his ground with a regular katana, the blade's edge started to dull and chip under the relentless pressure.
At this point, he did not yet possess Samehada, and his current weapon was no match for the Executioner's Blade. Although the blade was said to be the weakest of the Seven Ninja Swords in terms of special abilities, it was still far superior to an ordinary weapon.
Damn it!
He glanced at his steel katana. If the battle continued like this, his sword would break.
If weapons and taijutsu couldn't decide the fight, it would have to be ninjutsu. Having made up his mind, he leapt onto the canopy of a towering tree and quickly formed hand signs for a jutsu.
"Water Style: Exploding Water Shock Wave!"
A massive torrent of water erupted from his mouth, rushing toward the strange man below like a raging flood. The overwhelming surge engulfed the man entirely.
"Is it over?"
The man was nowhere to be seen on the water's surface. Kisame waited several minutes, but no one emerged, leaving him somewhat disappointed.
The technique was not meant to be used alone; it was typically combined with summoning sharks to eliminate enemies in the water. He would use the wave to create a suitable environment for his summoned sharks to hunt and kill.
But this time, the flood seemed to have done the job before the sharks could appear.
Guess I'll have to spend some time retrieving the sword.
He looked down at the deep waters below, feeling slightly resigned. Even he didn't know where the Executioner's Blade or the man's body might have been swept.
Regardless, the blade had to be recovered.
Kisame jumped from the tree canopy onto the water's surface to begin his search. Just then, a hand emerged from the water behind him, grabbing his ankle.
What?!
"Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu!"
From the hand gripping his ankle, water surged upward, forming a spherical prison around Kisame, trapping him entirely.
This technique wouldn't harm him physically, but he was completely immobilized inside, unable to perform hand signs. Being familiar with the jutsu, he knew exactly how helpless the situation was.
Through the watery barrier, he watched as the strange man rose slowly from the depths.
If this man could use the Water Prison, there was no doubt he was a Kiri ninja.
But who was he? And what would he do next?
As he pondered the possibilities, the situation took an unexpected turn.
The man removed his hand from the water sphere, breaking the jutsu and freeing Kisame.
He dropped to his knees on the water's surface, confused, and looked up at the man. His bewildered gaze seemed to ask, "Why?"
The man slowly removed the bandages from his face as he spoke, "The child I once knew has grown into a man. Not bad."
"It's been a long time... Kisame."
Seeing the face beneath the bandages, Kisame's expression shifted from confusion to shock.
"Uncle..."
The Hoshigaki clan, one of the prestigious families of Kiri, was second only to the Hozuki clan, which once produced a Mizukage.
The Hoshigaki clan was divided into two sub-families, the shark faction and the whale faction, akin to the main and branch families of the Hyūga clan.
However, unlike the Hyūga clan's hierarchy, the shark and whale factions were completely equal, with their distinctions based solely on the secret techniques they practiced.
The shark faction trained in the Shark Secret Technique, which resulted in members developing shark-like facial features and sharp, shark-like teeth.
The whale faction, on the other hand, practiced the Whale Secret Technique, and their facial features remained nearly indistinguishable from those of ordinary people.
Neither the Shark nor the Whale Secret Techniques were inherently superior, but in terms of combat attributes, whale faction ninjas were slightly stronger.
However, the whale faction suffered from low fertility rates; members could produce at most two offspring in their lifetime, with most having only one or none.
Some speculated that this was due to the Whale Secret Technique, which reduced the overall fertility of the clan. This mirrors whales in nature, known for their low reproductive rates.
Combined with the toll taken by past Ninja World Wars, the whale faction's numbers had dwindled further.
After the death of the Third Mizukage, the entire Hoshigaki clan sought to preserve the whale faction by nominating Kojiro as the Fourth Mizukage to revitalize the declining faction.
This marked a historical first for the Hoshigaki clan, as it was composed of two equal sub-families, making it challenging to choose a leader suitable for the Mizukage position.
Ultimately, their plan to secure the Fourth Mizukage position was thwarted by another one.
Yagura emerged as a formidable contender, having successfully subdued the wild Three-Tails, becoming one of the rare perfect jinchūriki. He defeated Kojiro and became the Fourth Mizukage.
As the Fourth Mizukage, he began forming his own elite force, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.
When choosing the wielder of the Executioner's Blade, he initially intended for Kojiro to wield it, but Kojiro refused.
Later, Yagura transformed the Hidden Mist into the Bloody Mist. Among the many ninjas who defected from the village during this period was Kojiro, who has been in exile for seven years.
To this day, Kisame remembered the face of his uncle.
"Why is it you?"
He could never have imagined that the wielder of the Executioner's Blade was none other than Kojiro, who had vanished seven years ago after rejecting the blade.
Kojiro smiled faintly without answering. He swung the Executioner's Blade a couple of times, then glanced at it disdainfully and shook his head. "This thing limits me after all."
"Take it back!"
He threw the blade into the darkness, where another figure caught it effortlessly and strapped it to their back.
Someone else was nearby? And it seemed this person was the true wielder of the Executioner's Blade, with Kojiro merely borrowing it?
If borrowing it alone could yield such power, how formidable must the true wielder be?
After returning the blade to Zabuza, who had been hiding in the shadows, Kojiro said slowly, "The last time we met, you had just become a genin. I didn't expect you to grow so strong so quickly."
"Impressive."
He looked at Kisame with the gaze of a mentor appreciating his protégé, praising his nephew's progress and current abilities.
But Kisame knew that his uncle had held back significantly; otherwise, he would already be a corpse.
The fact that he was still alive meant that Kojiro still cared about their familial bond.
"By the way, how is Hoshigaki clan doing since I left?" Kojiro suddenly asked.
Why the sudden interest in the clan? Wasn't it you who abandoned everything to defect from Kiri?
Although Kisame was surprised by his sudden interest, he still recounted the state of the Hoshigaki clan after his uncle's defection.
"After you left, the Fourth Mizukage carried out a massive purge of the Hoshigaki clan."
"While the shark faction was affected somewhat, the main target of the purge was the whale faction. Now, there are none of them left in Kiri."
Kisame spoke the last sentence cautiously, probing for a reaction. After finishing, he fixed his gaze on Kojiro's back, not daring to look away.
The silence lingered for a long time until a low, mournful sound emanated from Kojiro's shadowed figure. The sound was like a lament, as though he was grieving the fate of the whale faction.
But for some reason, he couldn't shake the feeling that something about it was insincere.
Suddenly, Kojiro turned and gripped his shoulders, speaking passionately.
"Our kin of yesterday may be gone! But our kin of today will share eternal life with us! In the presence of our true ancestors!"
His sudden fervor left Kisame momentarily at a loss.
"What? What are you talking about?"
Kojiro didn't immediately explain. Instead, he leapt into the treetops and called back, "If you want to know the whole truth, follow me to a certain place."
With that, he vanished.
Though Kojiro left him to decide whether to follow or stay, Kisame caught a glimpse of the figure in the shadows behind him—the one carrying the Executioner's Blade, silently waiting for him to move. He realized he had no choice.
Guided by Kojiro, he arrived at a cliff by the sea.
At the edge of the cliff, a tall figure was already waiting.
This man, clad in a resplendent robe, stood imposing and solemn. His skin was dark, his gaze piercing. Just one glance from him made Kisame feel as though his soul had been laid bare.
Behind the man, the air twisted strangely, as if something immense and horrifying lurked unseen within the distortion.
"You've come."
"Allow me to introduce myself. I am your uncle's associate. You may call me the Black Pharaoh."
His polite introduction left Kisame nodding blankly.
This person seemed to know everything about him, while he knew absolutely nothing in return—a dynamic he deeply disliked.
Before he could process his unease, Kojiro draped an arm over his shoulders, pulling him close like a father embracing his child.
He pointed toward the vast sea beyond the cliff.
"Kisame..."
"In truth, we of the Hoshigaki clan are not descendants of humans. Our ancestors were far greater beings. Our forebears came from the depths of the ocean, a race devoted to an ancient, divine being."
"That divine being is the Great Father and Savior... The Lord of R'lyeh."
"Cthulhu."
CRACK!
A lightning bolt illuminated the dark sea, and for a moment, the water glowed eerily bright.
In that brief flash, thousands of dark green, fish-headed humanoid creatures were revealed, lurking just beneath the surface.
