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

This is true.

"I want... half of the Nine-Tailed Fox." Kisame's words were astonishing, truly an outrageous demand.

These words caused an uproar among the crowd.

"No way! Don't agree to his request! It's outrageous!"

The first to stand up in opposition were Fugaku Uchiha and Hiashi Hyuga, both of whom had been defeated by Kisame and lost all face.

Especially Fugaku, whose Mangekyou Sharingan was taken away by Kisame, leaving him with only transplanted Sharingan. Otherwise, he could have displayed his power tonight, subduing the Nine-Tails again with his own eyes and establishing his authority in the village.

Fugaku and Hiashi are both members of Konoha's elder council, and their statements undoubtedly carry significant weight, directly influencing Jiraiya's decisions.

The other Konoha ninjas, incited by the two, also showed strong hostility towards Kisame and were very reluctant to cooperate with him.

Under these circumstances, Jiraiya did not immediately reply to Kisame, but chose to remain silent.

"Alright then. I'll just watch the show from the sidelines. Good luck to you guys."

Kisame wasn't in a hurry at all. He shrugged, then leaped to a distance, used his Wood Release to create a solid wood sofa, and lay down on it to watch the show.

Just then, the Nine-Tailed Fox regrouped and attacked again.

It overheard Kisame's conversation with Jiraiya and the others.

Although it suffered a setback at Kisame's hands, Kurama wasn't a fool; it knew to pick on the weak.

It decided to first eliminate the weaker members of Konoha to remove this threat, and then turn its attention to dealing with its greatest enemy, Kisame.

As a result, the Nine-Tails became even more enraged and rampaged, charging into the Konoha crowd and wreaking havoc. Its nine tails swept across, instantly sending many people flying and causing heavy casualties.

"You asked for this."

Kisame shook his head upon seeing this. He waited patiently until Jiraiya couldn't hold back any longer and would naturally ask him for help.

219. Shut up, I'm no longer a Konoha ninja.

Outside Konoha Village, the fierce battle between the Nine-Tails and the Konoha ninjas gradually reached a fever pitch.

"No, this can't go on."

Minato Namikaze saw that the casualties in Konoha were rapidly increasing, and many familiar faces were falling one by one under the claws of the Nine-Tails, while it remained vigorous and showed no signs of weakening.

Even if we wait until Jiraiya enters Sage Mode, it will probably be too late by then.

With that thought, Minato made up his mind. His eyes flashed, and he shouted sharply, "Everyone, stand back!"

"Minato, I'm here to help you."

A weak voice came from beside her, and Kushina walked forward, her face pale. She had just given birth and had been stripped of the Nine-Tails within her; it was already difficult enough for her to stand, yet she still thought of fighting alongside her husband.

"Kushina, you..."

Minato looked reluctant and was about to dissuade his wife when he saw Kushina begin to form hand seals with a resolute look in her eyes, seemingly preparing to unleash a certain ninjutsu.

Just then.

Whoosh.

Kisame, who had been watching from afar, knew his time had come and rushed over in a flash, grabbing Kushina's wrist before she could finish the last hand seal.

"What are you doing? Let her go!"

Minato Namikaze was startled and grabbed his trident-shaped kunai, ready to fight Kisame to the death.

However, Kisame's next words made Minato stop moving and freeze in place.

"Your wife just gave birth, and then the Nine-Tails was extracted from her. In such an extremely weak state, you still planned to use the Adamantine Sealing Technique to trap the Nine-Tails. You should know that that technique would deplete her chakra and kill her on the spot, right?"

As Kisame grabbed Kushina's wrist, he stared intently at Minato and questioned him.

“I…” Minato was speechless for a moment.

He did sense that Kushina would use the Adamantine Sealing Technique, but he did not stop her because, like Kushina, he was prepared to sacrifice himself.

In their hearts, the village was always more important than their own lives.

"This is the path I chose. Lord Mizukage, please let me go."

Kushina roused herself and, panting, spoke to Kisame. Before she could finish speaking, her body went limp and she collapsed to the ground.

"Kushina!"

Upon seeing this, Minato quickly dropped his kunai and helped his wife up.

"And you, Minato Namikaze. If I'm not mistaken, you plan to use the Reaper Death Seal after Kushina traps the Nine-Tails, and perish together with the Nine-Tails, right?"

Kisame exposed Minato's intentions again, and sighed, saying, "You two decided to die together, but did you think about your newborn child? He will grow up without parents and may be bullied until he grows up. How miserable will his life be?"

Upon hearing Kisame's words, both Minato and Kushina were shocked and speechless.

Kisame glanced at the Nine-Tails not far away. It had stopped moving after Kisame suddenly entered the battlefield and was baring its teeth at him from the spot.

Clearly, they are very wary of Kisame.

Kisame temporarily ignored Kurama and turned around, his gaze sweeping across the group of Konoha ninjas until he found Fugaku Uchiha and Hiashi Hyuga.

"You two are still as useless as ever. Since you're so vehemently opposed to asking me for help against the Nine-Tails, then go and do it yourselves! What are you doing hiding in the back? Aren't you elders of Konoha? What skills do you have besides inciting your Konoha ninja to their deaths?"

He made no attempt to hide his contempt and disdain, and mocked the two men.

Upon hearing this, the eyes of many Konoha ninja turned to Fugaku and Hiashi, and a murmur arose among the crowd.

The two men's expressions immediately turned very ugly.

They weren't deliberately hiding in the back; they simply didn't have the ability to fight the Nine-Tails. Being publicly mocked by Kisame like that, they had no confidence to refute him and could only endure it.

Weakness is the original sin.

"And you, Jiraiya."

Kisame then turned his gaze to Jiraiya, scoffing, "As Hokage, your indecisiveness is just like your teacher, Hiruzen Sarutobi. You'd rather see the Nine-Tails slaughter Konoha ninjas until Minato and his wife perish together with it. By then, the Nine-Tails will be gone, and so will Konoha's Yellow Flash and Red Hot Chili. Even so, you're unwilling to cooperate with me for a win-win situation. Should I call you incompetent, or should I call you cold-blooded and ruthless, completely disregarding the lives of your subordinates, huh?"

His words were like daggers, relentlessly accusing Jiraiya.

Swish.

Jiraiya's expression changed instantly. Under Kisame's interference, his mind was in turmoil, and he could no longer concentrate. His efforts to gather natural energy also failed.

"Jiraiya, accept his terms."

At that moment, a clear, cold voice rang out; it was Tsunade who had walked over and spoken.

She gazed at Jiraiya and earnestly advised her former best friend, "Don't forget, for Konoha, people are more important than tailed beasts. As Hokage, doing everything in your power to protect your subordinates and juniors is the true way to embody the Will of Fire. I hope you won't repeat the mistakes of Hiruzen Sarutobi."

These words were a wake-up call, and seemed to have made Jiraiya realize something.

"Tsk tsk, based on what you've said, you're more suited to be Hokage than Jiraiya."

Kisame couldn't help but give Tsunade a thumbs up and praise her.

Tsunade certainly possesses the potential to become a Kage.

She possessed extraordinary strength and a personality even more resolute than most men, yet she also had a woman's maternal instincts, deeply cherishing and caring for her subordinates. Such a woman naturally inspires genuine support and admiration.

This is Tsunade's personal charm.

“I’m not speaking up for you. I just don’t want to see the needless sacrifices of juniors like Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki. I watched them grow up.”

Tsunade glanced at Kisame and said coldly.

“I understand.” Kisame shrugged.

"Lady Tsunade..." Minato and Kushina looked up at Tsunade, deeply moved.

Lay her flat on the ground.

Tsunade crouched down, gave instructions to Minato, and then placed her hands on Kushina's lower abdomen, at the point where the seal had broken, and sent a warm stream of Yang Release chakra to her.

buzzing.

A blue fluorescence suddenly appeared on Kushina's lower abdomen, and her complexion quickly improved, no longer as pale as paper.

"Whoo~"

Seeing this, Jiraiya took a deep breath and finally made his decision. He stepped out of the crowd and said to Kisame, "Fifth Mizukage, as the Fourth Hokage, I formally request your help. Please assist Konoha in suppressing the Nine-Tails. I beg you!"

After he finished speaking, he glanced at Fugaku and Hiashi in the crowd. The two avoided his gaze and had no further objections.

"Fourth Hokage, I, Kisame Hoshigaki, as a friend of Konoha, am happy to accept your request."

Kisame readily agreed, but his phrase "a friend of Konoha" caused the faces of the Konoha ninjas to twitch, and they were unable to hold back their emotions.

Then, Kisame turned around, squinted his eyes, and looked at the Nine-Tails opposite him.

Under his gaze, the Nine-Tailed Fox arched its body, its fur standing on end, like an angry cat with its fur standing on end.

However, Kisame did not rush to attack Kurama, but instead extended an invitation to Tsunade who was standing nearby:

"How about it? Interested in practicing with the Nine-Tails and getting familiar with your Wood Release ninjutsu? This is a rare opportunity, and I'm kindly giving it to you."

"You want me to work for you, don't you?"

Tsunade said coldly, bluntly exposing Kisame's clumsy rhetoric.

But he's incredibly thick-skinned.

"No, no, no, I'm giving you a chance to prove yourself. Your grandfather, Hashirama Senju, could easily subdue the Nine-Tails and treat it like a toy. Since you're determined to catch up with him or even surpass him, you should be able to do the same, right?"

Kisame continued to deceive Tsunade, promising her, "I'll pay you once I get half of the Nine-Tails. I've never lied to you, have I?"

The main reason he so desperately wanted Tsunade to intervene was because he himself... wasn't quite up to the task.

Kisame's Sage Mode Shadow Clone has less than a third of the chakra of his original body, and it has been active outside for a long time, so there is not much Sage Mode chakra left in its body.

Given his current state, he certainly wasn't 100% confident he could defeat the Nine-Tails, since the Nine-Tails in front of him was at its peak, with the strength of just one being equivalent to the combined strength of the other eight tailed beasts.

However, as long as Tsunade is willing to help, the two of them working together will be able to subdue the Nine-Tails without any risk.

Tsunade was indeed persuaded by Kisame.

It wasn't for the so-called reward, but rather she wanted to verify just how much her strength had improved after her transformation over the past few years.

So she stood up, shoulder to shoulder with Kisame, and offered, "I'll take charge of the frontal attack, and you can help me hold them off from the side."