Ninja World: I, Kisame Hoshigaki, am no longer human!

This sword granted him abilities similar to the Shikotsumyaku (Corpse Bone Pulse) of the Kaguya clan.

Kisame reached up to the back of his neck, pulled it upwards, and extracted his entire spine, using it as a weapon.

This bone sword is even harder than the bones of the Kaguya clan, making it virtually indestructible. Furthermore, it inherits two key characteristics of the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi—

Flying through the air can be long or short.

"go with!"

Kisame gave a soft shout, and the bone sword flew out like lightning, crisscrossing the forest under his remote control. Wherever it passed, the sword light flashed, and thick trees were sliced ​​open like tofu, falling one after another.

Then, the bone sword returned to Kisame's hand, and with a thought, the sword immediately extended forward, quickly becoming a long sword tens of meters long.

Wielding this forty-meter-long sword, one can sweep across the battlefield, slaying monsters and cutting vegetables to kill large numbers of enemy soldiers.

Finally, the bone sword shortened back to its original shape, merging into Kisame's arm along his palm, and then returned to his back, becoming a section of his spine.

As for the Flame Fan...

Kisame had another thought, and his right hand quickly grew larger, reaching a diameter of over a meter, covered with a thick layer of tree bark, becoming a shape that was neither a palm nor a fan.

He raised his hand and waved it forward, instantly creating a fierce gust of wind that whipped up sand and stones.

This giant hand also inherited the Flame Fan's most powerful ability—reflecting ninjutsu. With it protecting him, Kisame can basically be fearless against most ninjutsu attacks.

Furthermore, since the Flame Fan is essentially the trunk of the Divine Tree, Kisame discovered that when he used this giant hand to perform Wood Release, it produced an astonishing enhancement effect.

Kisame practiced repeatedly throughout the night, familiarizing himself with his new abilities, until sunrise before returning to the village.

As soon as he landed in the courtyard, Yekura, who had been waiting for a long time, came up to him and reported on Tsunade's situation.

Last night, as Kisame had predicted, Tsunade successfully completed the Hashirama cell transplantation surgery, but an unexpected incident occurred afterward.

Tsunade fell into a coma.

At this moment, Tsunade had been taken back to her room by Shizune and was still asleep.

Oh?

Upon hearing this, Kisame walked straight over and knocked on the door. Without waiting for a silent response from inside, he pushed the door open and entered.

"Kisame, what exactly did you do to Lady Tsunade? Why has she become like this?"

Upon seeing Kisame, Shizune mustered all her courage and angrily questioned him.

"Get out of the way."

Kisame shoved her aside and went to Tsunade's bedside, his gaze sweeping over her. He quickly noticed that although she was unconscious, her face was not pale, but rather had a rosy glow.

He frowned, reached out and pulled off Tsunade's right shoulder, and sure enough, he saw a face resembling Hashirama Senju's. However, the shape of that face was blurring and fading, seemingly about to completely merge into Tsunade's body.

Tsk tsk.

Kisame sighed, smiled, and then stood up.

"Don't worry, this is a good thing. If I'm not mistaken, after Tsunade absorbed Hashirama's cells, her bloodline underwent a reversion, making her even closer to the ancestors of the Senju clan. When she wakes up, she will definitely undergo incredible changes. It's something to look forward to."

He said this to Shizune, patted her shoulder, and indicated that she didn't need to worry about Tsunade.

Then, Kisame instructed Yekura, "You stay here. Remember to let me know immediately if there are any new developments. I'll be in the study for the next few days."

"Yes, Lord Mizukage." Yekura nodded.

As Shizune watched Kisame's figure disappear into the distance, her heart was unknowingly filled with contradictions and doubts.

Kisame Hoshigaki may seem like a wicked villain, but upon reflection, he didn't actually do anything too outrageous to Lady Tsunade.

On the contrary, he helped Tsunade treat her hemophobia, and he also exposed the truth about the Konoha high-ups using Hashirama cells for experiments, allowing Tsunade to see the hypocrisy of those people. He even gave Tsunade the precious Hashirama cells, which gave her great power.

Thinking about this, Shizune's opinion of Kisame subtly changed.

Kisame returned to the study.

He estimated that it would take Tsunade at least several days to wake up from her coma.

During this time, he took the opportunity to organize the ninjutsu he had looted from the Konoha Forbidden Techniques Library.

Of these ninjutsu, the most useful to Kisame were undoubtedly the Water Release ninjutsu of the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju, and the forbidden technique, Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu, which requires an extremely high amount of chakra.

Other techniques, such as Impure World Reincarnation, Spirit Transformation, and Flying Thunder God Technique, were too difficult for Kisame to learn. His brain couldn't handle them, and he had to give up after reading them a few times.

In addition, there is the powerful Corpse Demon Sealing Technique, but it is a forbidden technique that requires trading one enemy for another, which is not something Kisame likes.

However, after flipping through all the ninjutsu scrolls, his eyes lit up and he discovered a technique that greatly interested him.

The Eight-Headed Serpent Technique.

This technique is Orochimaru's most powerful ninjutsu, which allows him to transform into a giant white snake with eight heads and eight tails.

Back then, Orochimaru only selected the Impure World Reincarnation and the Eight-Headed Serpent Technique from the library full of forbidden techniques, which is enough to show how valuable these techniques are.

Kisame was so concerned about this technique because he noticed that the Yamata no Orochi was the embodiment of Orochimaru's long-standing obsession.

Orochimaru's obsession is eternal life, for which he is willing to abandon his human body and evolve into a more advanced being.

Kisame thought so too.

The difference is that, in Orochimaru's mind, the white snake is a symbol of immortality, so he infused his obsession into the Eight-Headed Serpent Technique, transforming himself into a giant white snake.

Then.

Kisame wondered if he could learn from the principles of this technique and merge his obsession with his chakra to transform himself into something similar to Orochi.

This idea thrilled Kisame.

156. Let's learn magic together!

The Yamata no Orochi is merely the surface of the Yamata no Jutsu; the underlying principles of this technique are what truly captivated Kisame.

Humans are ultimately weak creatures, especially with very fragile vitality.

This is especially true for the ninja community.

No matter how powerful a ninja is, even if he has the ability to destroy the world, he will still die if his throat is slit by a small kunai.

Even someone as powerful as Madara Uchiha (Six Paths Madara) couldn't withstand a simple and unadorned attack, Black Tiger Claws at the Heart, and was easily assassinated by Black Zetsu.

Therefore, some ninjas who realized this problem bravely embarked on a "non-human" path.

For example, Sasori of the Red Sand Village discarded all his fragile organs, leaving only his heart, and replaced his body with a mechanical puppet, thus becoming immortal.

For example, Kakuzu, through the secret technique of Grudge Fear, steals the hearts of others, turning himself into a Frankenstein's monster and gaining eternal life;

Then there's Hidan, who takes an unorthodox approach, gaining power by worshipping evil gods, thus achieving immortality.

Now, Kisame has also embarked on this path.

However, for him, neither putting himself in a tin can, nor taking someone else's heart, nor relying on the power bestowed by an evil god, is the immortality technique he desires.

These methods are not "free" enough.

In comparison, Orochimaru's philosophy and Kisame's philosophy were more aligned.

Thinking of this, Kisame took out a pen and a piece of white paper and began to conceive: If he were to stop being human and evolve into a new kind of creature using the principles of the Orochi Technique, what would be the ideal form?

The creatures Kisame is most familiar with, besides humans, are undoubtedly sharks. He himself has gills and a shark tail, so continuing to evolve in this direction would be the safest option.

Since Orochimaru can transform into the Yamata no Orochi, Kisame can also transform into a giant shark that is hundreds or even thousands of meters long, and roam freely in the vast ocean.

In addition, if Kisame wanted to choose a radical evolutionary path, he would turn himself into a giant ball of flesh, covered with hundreds or thousands of tentacles, each tentacle used to perform different abilities.

In his mind, this is the ultimate form of a perfect being.

rustling.

Kisame's pen moved across the paper, and he quickly sketched out the great white shark and the fleshy tentacle monster.

Regardless of which path he ultimately chooses, as long as he successfully completes his evolution, he will be able to forge his own path.

The next few days.

Kisame spent all his time in his study, diligently researching the Eight-Headed Serpent Technique, and gained a basic understanding of it. However, truly mastering it was a long process, taking anywhere from several years to more than a decade before he could hope to succeed.

So Kisame wasn't in a hurry, and occasionally he would relax and play some fun games with Yuki-onna.

Time flies like an arrow; time passes swiftly.

In the room, Tsunade slowly opened her eyes, waking up from a long sleep.

"Lady Tsunade, you're finally awake." Shizune rushed to the bedside, her face beaming with joy.

How long was I unconscious?

Tsunade asked the question while getting out of bed, rubbing her forehead.

"It's been exactly one week today. Lady Tsunade, how are you feeling?" Shizune asked curiously. She could sense that Tsunade was somewhat different from before.

"Has it been a week already? No wonder I feel stiff all over. I should go out and move around."

Tsunade twisted her neck and cracked her knuckles.

Just then.

"Shizune, did you hear anything strange?" Tsunade suddenly frowned and perked up her ears.

She seemed to hear the voices of Yuki-onna and Kisame coming from next door, but something about the voices was off.

"Cough cough..." Shizune just coughed with her head down, her face flushed. Clearly, this wasn't the first time she had heard such a sound while Tsunade was unconscious.

Tsunade quickly realized what was happening, gave a cold snort to the neighbor next door, and then pushed open the door and went out.

The two left the courtyard and headed out of the Hidden Mist Village.

Yecang appeared silently, glanced at the departing figures of Tsunade and the other person, and then quickly walked to Kisame's door.

She hesitated for a moment, and after the noise inside subsided, she was about to knock on the door when she heard a creak.

Kisame pushed open the door himself, walked out looking refreshed, and said to Yekura, "I already know Tsunade is awake, and I was just about to go find her to play."

As soon as he finished speaking, he vanished from the spot in a flash.

Outside the Hidden Mist Village, in a wide-open space.