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

"Mei Terumi, would you be so kind as to have the honor of joining your team with Ringo Ameyuri?"

A handsome, sunny young man with light blue, tousled hair stood out from a group of oddly-looking Kirigakure genin and made a sincere and expectant request to Mei Terumi.

Mei Terumi blushed instantly, and her heart raced.

The handsome young man in front of her was her favorite type.

But just then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kisame standing alone outside the crowd, with no one coming up to talk to him or team up with him.

Terumi recalled that rainy day.

"Getting caught in the rain is bad for your health."

At that moment, Kisame said this, handed her the umbrella, and then disappeared into the rain while getting soaked.

Thinking about this, Mei Terumi understood her own feelings.

So, she gave a polite smile and declined the handsome young man's offer. Then, to everyone's surprise, she made her way through the crowd to Kisame.

"Kisame, do you want to join us? Yuri and I are just missing a teammate."

Mei Terumi extended an olive branch to Kisame.

"Hey, why this guy? I don't want to be teammates with him." Yuri pouted, looking unhappy, clearly still angry about what had just happened.

Oh?

Upon hearing this, Kisame snapped out of his reverie.

He glanced at Mei Terumi and Yuri Amane, then at the group of "protectors" behind them, his eyes flashing as he was about to refuse.

Kisame prefers to act alone, and even when he does team up with others, he prefers teammates like Zabuza who are cold-blooded, ruthless, and have ill intentions towards their companions.

For Kisame, such a companion is the most ideal and convenient "disposable" teammate, who can be used and betrayed at any time, or killed without any psychological burden.

However, just as Kisame was about to refuse Mei Terumi...

"and many more!"

A white-haired boy suddenly came running from a distance, panting heavily. He immediately acted like a familiar face, putting a hand on Kisame's shoulder and helping the latter catch his breath.

"Phew, that was close! I almost got there first. Luckily, I didn't oversleep this morning and made it in time."

Ignoring the astonished looks of the crowd, the white-haired youth muttered a few words to himself. After catching his breath, he gave Kisame a bright smile and extended an invitation directly:

"Kisame Hoshigaki, I, Mangetsu Hozuki, admire your strength. Let's be teammates!"

These words immediately sparked whispers among the crowd.

"Hozuki Mangetsu? Is that the legendary genius of the Hozuki clan, the disciple of the Third Mizukage?"

"I heard that he was taken in by the Mizukage from a young age and received one-on-one, meticulous instruction. He never even went to the Ninja Academy. He was being groomed to be the Mizukage's successor."

"..."

The whispers of the crowd reached Kisame's ears, prompting him to retrieve information about the white-haired boy from the depths of his memory.

Hozuki Mangetsu, Hozuki Suigetsu's older brother, is a genius who can skillfully wield all seven ninja swords and also possesses a scroll capable of summoning them.

However, like Yuri, this guy also died young, and the cause of his death is unknown.

Kisame was certain that he and Hozuki Mangetsu had never met before, yet this person had suddenly come to him and enthusiastically wanted to team up with him.

He instinctively sensed a crisis.

Just then.

"Hey, don't you know anything about first come, first served? We invited him first."

Ringo Ameyuri put her hands on her hips and glared at Hozuki Mangetsu. She didn't care what kind of genius or Mizukage disciple he was.

Although she didn't particularly like Kisame, she disliked arrogant guys like Hozuki Mangetsu even more.

Mei Terumi frowned slightly, displeased with Hozuki Mangetsu's interference.

"Why not let Kisame choose for himself?"

Hozuki Mangetsu chuckled, his gaze fixed intently on Kisame, and said to the latter, "I'm definitely going to get first place in this Chunin Exams. If you team up with me, I guarantee I'll help you pass the exam and get a good ranking. How about it?"

Upon hearing this, many people cast envious glances at Kisame.

This lucky guy actually managed to gain Hozuki Mangetsu's favor, which is equivalent to him getting on the good side of the future Mizukage ahead of time.

"Kisame..."

Mei Terumi hesitated, her heart pounding with anxiety and nervousness.

She invited Kisame to be her teammate not entirely to thank him, but also because she wanted to learn more about him.

Kisame possessed a mysterious aura that subtly drew her in.

Kisame glanced at Hozuki Mangetsu.

Offering unsolicited favors is either a sign of malice or theft.

Although he couldn't be sure of the reason, he was definitely being targeted by this guy, and most likely... it was related to the three ninja swords inside his body.

This is Kisame's intuition.

Thinking of this, Kisame gave Hozuki Mangetsu a polite smile:

"I'm sorry, Mei Terumi and I were classmates at the Ninja Academy, and we've known each other for many years."

Then, he turned to Mei and said, "Let's leave here first and find a quiet place to work out together. We need to prepare for the Chunin Exams as soon as possible."

"Hmm... okay."

Mei Terumi was stunned for a moment, not expecting Kisame to give up the opportunity to team up with Hozuki Mangetsu and choose her instead.

After regaining her senses, she quickly agreed and walked out of the training ground with Kisame.

"A little bit~"

Yuri stuck out her tongue, made a mocking face at Hozuki Mangetsu, and then skipped and hopped after Kisame and the other two.

Hozuki Mangetsu shrugged indifferently and watched the three leave.

He became even more convinced that Kisame was hiding something, which was why he was deliberately avoiding him.

He'll find out sooner or later.

After leaving the training ground.

Kisame and his two companions walked along the streets of Kirigakure.

"Um... since there's still a month left before the Chunin Exams, should we take on some missions? We can get to know each other better while carrying out missions, which will speed up the process of getting to know each other."

Seeing that Kisame was only focused on walking and not talking, Mei Terumi took the initiative to make a suggestion.

"Oh."

Upon hearing this, Kisame stopped in his tracks. He had been trying hard to recall if he had given himself away after returning to the village, which was why Hozuki Mangetsu had been watching him.

As for teaming up with Mei Terumi, it was merely to keep Hozuki Mangetsu away from getting close.

So, Kisame put on an apologetic expression and said to Mei:

"Sorry, I suddenly remembered I have something urgent to attend to. Let's talk later."

"Oh, okay, you can go ahead and get busy," Mei Terumi replied considerately.

Kisame nodded, then turned and strode away.

He had no intention of going on a mission with Mei Terumi and Yuri Ringo, because he was worried that he might take the opportunity to kill them during the process.

As a lowly member of Kirigakure, living a precarious existence filled with deception and betrayal, Kisame's heart had long been twisted.

It's better to be alone.

That being said, Kisame wasn't lying when he said he had an urgent matter.

He hasn't finished his workout routine for today yet.

He feels uncomfortable all over if he doesn't practice for a day.

Unbeknownst to him, Kisame had arrived at the gym entrance.

20. It's sulfuric acid. I added sulfuric acid.

Squats, bench presses, deadlifts.

These three movements are known as the three major exercises in fitness, and they can most simply reflect a person's physical fitness.

Generally speaking, the results of the three major events are not based on the total number of kilograms, but rather on how many times the total weight of the individual is added together.

Beginners can typically reach three times their body weight, while experts can reach five times or more. Kisame, on the other hand, has exceeded ten times his body weight.

He currently weighs 100 kilograms, and his three weights combined weigh exactly one ton, and he is far from reaching his limit.

It's important to know that Kisame only used his pure physical strength during training, without using chakra. Otherwise, that number could easily have been two or three times higher.

In the gym, Kisame's veins bulged as he let out a low roar.

As it turns out, the simplest truths are the most profound.

During this period of fitness training, he tried various complex training methods, but recently returned to the three simplest exercises, and successfully broke through the bottleneck and made rapid progress.

Squat down, crushed to pieces!

Destroy shoulders and arms with a single push!

It'll break your back and cause serious injury!

After completing these simple daily training exercises, Kisame was covered in sweat and felt completely refreshed. Then, he went into the bathroom to take a shower and prepared to leave.

However, just as Kisame was about to leave, a figure as big as a mountain suddenly squeezed in through the gym entrance.

Kisame's pupils immediately contracted.

The man in front of him was burly and had long orange hair that reached his waist. His face was painted with green stripes, and he exuded a primitive and fierce aura.

Kisame is nearly 1.9 meters tall, but in front of this burly man, she looks as small as a child.

Because the other person was an astonishing 2.5 meters tall and weighed over 300 kilograms, it made people wonder if he had run over from the set of the One Piece anime next door.