Naruto: From Shikotsumyaku to Otsutsuki

"Kisame-sensei, eat meat."

At the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Waterfalls, Kaguya Kazama diligently served Kisame Hoshigaki a piece of cooked meat with a smile.

The ninjas squeezed cells to extract chakra, which consumed a great deal of energy, and Kisame Hoshigaki was already starving.

But instead of taking the food, he looked at Kaguya Kazama warily. "Unsolicited kindness is always suspicious. What mischief are you plotting now?"

"Um... is it that obvious?"

Kaguya Kazama frowned, rubbed her cheeks, and said, "I'm sorry, Kisame-sensei, my body has a lot more collagen in my face now, unlike before when I was as thin as a rake, so it's a little hard to control. I'll definitely pay attention next time."

"..."

Kisame Hoshigaki rolled his eyes, his forehead throbbing, and said, "Stop with the nonsense, just spit it out."

"Okay."

Kaguya Kazama, seizing the opportunity, immediately asked, "What are Kisame-sensei's plans next?"

"Arrangements? No arrangements. I just plan to guard you for three months, then take your dog's head and return to Kirigakure." Kisame Hoshigaki hadn't forgotten his purpose.

"I see..."

Kaguya Kazama nodded, showing no annoyance, and then asked, "So, when are you going to pay the price you paid for obtaining the Sharingan information?"

Upon hearing this, Kisame Hoshigaki knew that the boy in front of him was up to no good.

His body stiffened for a moment, and he said defensively, "Don't try to trick me. I told you before that I could choose one of the three."

"Choosing one of the three is no problem, of course."

Kaguya Kazama readily nodded, then quickly took out a scroll from her ninja tool pouch and handed it over. "My requests are all written here, Kisame-sensei. You can consider them as appropriate."

"You've planned this all along?"

Kisame Hoshigaki reluctantly took the scroll, opened it, and looked at each page one by one. His expression grew increasingly grim.

"The defensive layout of the Hidden Mist Village's barrier? A list of high-ranking officials and their weaknesses? The summoning formula for the Seven Ninja Swords?"

He read the contents of the scroll word by word. After he finished, his face was as black as the bottom of a pot, and he was filled with uncontrollable anger and murderous intent.

"Kaguya Kazama! How dare you?"

He gritted his teeth and couldn't help but teleport over to teach the arrogant brat in front of him a lesson, but he was forced back by the sharp bone spikes that emanated from Kaguya Kazama's body.

Now, Kaguya Kazama is no longer the sickly person she was at the beginning; she has plenty of strength and means.

Kisame Hoshigaki still wanted to grab him by the neck like before?

Impossible, absolutely impossible.

Kisame Hoshigaki also belatedly discovered this problem.

He took a few deep breaths, trying to suppress his anger, and said, "You want to get information about Kirigakure from me? I advise you to give up on that idea. I'm a member of the intelligence protection unit; there's no way I'll give you any information."

"Huh? Information from Kirigakure? What's with this?"

Kaguya Kazama was taken aback and quickly took the scroll back, apologizing, "Sorry, I took the wrong one. I know Kisame-sensei's professional ethics, how could I joke like this? This is just a request I'm preparing to use for trading with Suigetsu Hozuki in the future, you don't have to worry about it, just pretend you didn't see it."

Don't worry about it? Just pretend you didn't see it?

Kisame Hoshigaki almost thought he had misheard.

Let's see what he discovered today.

A rogue ninja from Kirigakure actually told him, a member of the intelligence protection unit, that he was planning to make an intelligence deal with his superior, Suigetsu Fuguki, to betray the village.

What's the difference between this move and using a close-range ultimate attack?

"Kaguya Kazama! You're asking for death!" Kisame Hoshigaki was furious, his sharp shark teeth sparking as he bit down.

He pulled out a kunai and attacked in an instant.

ding ding ding ......

After a series of crisp sounds, Kaguya Kazama managed to keep up with the rhythm thanks to the defense of the Shikotsumyaku (Corpse Bone Pulse).

He now has bone spurs that are 20 to 30 centimeters long growing all over his body, making him look like a hedgehog, forcing Kisame Hoshigaki to abandon close-range attacks.

Seeing that Kisame was about to form hand seals, Kaguya Kazama quickly took out another scroll and said, "Kisame-sensei, I really picked up the wrong one. This is the right one. Please take a good look at it again."

"..."

Kisame Hoshigaki silently took the scroll, quickly opened it, and read it.

This time, he wasn't angry; instead, he showed an expression of utter despair.

His brows were deeply furrowed, deep lines etched with worry, as if they could trap a fly.

After a long pause, he said slowly, "Would you pay me any forbidden technique from the Book of Seals of Konoha? Or information about the Uzumaki clan's core sealing technique, the Eight Trigrams Seal? Or would you dedicate three months to teaching me your unique Water Release ninjutsu and taijutsu training?"

Kisame Hoshigaki finished reading the contents of the scroll in a low voice, then exhaled a breath of stale air and said regretfully, "Really! I shouldn't have had any ideas about your information."

"You're a rotten bastard. You've been scheming against me all along, and now you want to drain me dry."

Look at those three options, what are they?

Forbidden techniques from the Scroll of Seals? The Eight Trigrams Seal of the Uzumaki clan? This is a top secret of Konoha, how could a Hidden Mist ninja possibly know about it?

The given options are clearly designed to force him to choose the last one.

"I'm tired. Let's destroy it."

Kisame Hoshigaki leaned against the tree like a slump, the light in his eyes dimming.

He couldn't understand how he had ended up in this situation.

He looked up at the sky, gazing at the ever-changing clouds, and said weakly, "I just wanted to protect the village, what did I do wrong?"

Kaguya Kazama remained silent, simply waiting quietly, giving Kisame Hoshigaki ample time to process what was happening.

When the time was right, he looked at the still listless Kisame and tentatively said, "Kisame-sensei, the information from the Mangekyou Sharingan is just as valuable as these things. How about I give you that scroll from earlier? Anyway, you can pay for that information right now."

"Get out!"

Kisame Hoshigaki grabbed a rock and threw it, yelling, "Get out, get out, get out! Don't let me see you today!"

Kaguya Kazama raised an eyebrow, knowing the matter was settled, and turned to leave.

"Then Kisame-sensei, you should rest well today. I'll come see you again when the first rays of sunlight appear tomorrow morning."

Kisame Hoshigaki remained silent.

His eyes were vacant as he stared at the clouds in the sky.

The white clouds, under the influence of rising air currents, sometimes turned into a dog, sometimes into an eagle, and sometimes into wave-like cloud patterns.

No one knows what it will become next.

He felt that his experience after emerging from the mist was very similar to the clouds in the sky.

He never had control over what to do next.

"Acquiring intelligence never comes without a price! Is this the price I have to pay?"

Kisame Hoshigaki reflected on the principles he had upheld throughout his life, and the dim light in his eyes gradually sharpened.

That cold-blooded, elusive freak has returned.

He turned to look at the boy's retreating figure in the distance, grinning to reveal sharp shark teeth, a cold glint in them:

"Heh, Kaguya Kazama, you really are my good student. Since I didn't train you properly back then, I'll take this opportunity to make up for it."

"You've been sabotaging me all along, and now you want to learn my unique water escape technique? Let's see if you have the ability to endure it."

"Do your best? Don't worry, it's all taken care of!"