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

Yes, it's the real deal.

Upon hearing this, Tsunade patted Karin's head, showing her great affection for this innocent and adorable little girl.

"Lady Tsunade, can I learn ninjutsu from you? I want to become a strong ninja like you too," Karin said eagerly, tugging at Tsunade's clothes with her little hands, her face full of anticipation.

"Karin!" Upon hearing this, Haruna Uzumaki immediately stopped her daughter's rude behavior and sternly reprimanded her.

"It's ok."

Tsunade smiled, signaling Haruna not to be nervous, then squatted down in front of Karin, placed her hand on the latter's shoulder, and asked, "Can you tell me why you want to become a ninja?"

"Because... I want to protect my mother, so that she won't be bitten all over with wounds anymore, and so that no one will bully us anymore."

Karin glanced at her mother and said softly.

Upon hearing this, Haruna Uzumaki was startled.

Tsunade was deeply moved and immediately said to Karin, "I am satisfied with your answer. So... from today onwards, you are my disciple."

"You said yes? That's wonderful!"

Upon hearing this, Karin became excited and danced with joy, her little face flushed.

"However, you should be prepared, because I am very strict with my disciples," Tsunade added.

"I will definitely try my best, teacher!" Karin said loudly, clenching her little fist.

Under Tsunade's arrangement, the mother and daughter were first taken away to rest, and then specific arrangements were made for them.

Only Kisame and Tsunade remained in the office.

"Well, shouldn't you apologize to me? I went to great lengths to find Karin and her daughter and bring them back to Kirigakure. I was planning to train Karin myself, but you just snatched her away right away."

Kisame sat back down on the sofa and complained to Tsunade for a couple of minutes.

"Speak, what do you want?" Tsunade said coldly, signaling him to stop beating around the bush and state his terms directly.

"I don't have any requests, I just hope you can let me and the live slug spend some more time alone. That shouldn't be too much to ask, right? And also..."

Kisame stared at Tsunade, paused for a moment, and then continued, "Karin has remarkable talent; even within the Uzumaki clan, she possesses an exceptionally strong physique. I believe she has the potential to become the Eight-Tails' Jinchuriki. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Tsunade frowned. After a moment of silence, she did not refute Kisame's suggestion, but emphasized, "I will perform Karin's tailed beast transplant surgery."

"That's natural."

Kisame was just waiting for her to say that, because it meant he could slack off again.

After considering for a moment, Tsunade spoke again: "I'm thinking of having Haruna and Karin move in with Yuki-onna and the others. Do you agree?"

"What a coincidence, that's exactly what I was thinking too. It seems we're on the same page."

Kisame smiled and nodded. This was the fifth time he'd brought back widows and children from outside. Fortunately, the small courtyard had been expanded, so even if Karin and her daughter moved in, it wouldn't be crowded. He believed that with the enthusiastic help of Yuki-onna and the others, they would quickly integrate into life in Kirigakure.

"Hmph." Tsunade snorted coldly, too lazy to pay any attention to Kisame.

"Oh, by the way, I also brought back a kid this time. He's a candidate for the Four-Tails Jinchuriki. You can meet him while you're at it."

Kisame then remembered Deidara, gave Tsunade a few brief instructions, and then released the pent-up Deidara from the Paradise Box.

"Is this guy Onoki's disciple?"

Tsunade sized up the blond boy before her, her brow furrowing slightly. She had personally killed Onoki, so his disciple must hate her to the core. Yet Kisame had brought Deidara before her—what did that mean?

To Tsunade's surprise, Deidara did not show any anger or hatred when he saw her. Instead, he looked curious and a little nervous.

In Tsunade's first impression, Deidara was a fairly well-behaved boy.

In less than a day, that impression vanished.

Boom!

With a loud bang, an explosion suddenly occurred in the alley near the Water Shadow Building, sending flames and thick smoke soaring into the sky, startling the nearby villagers who had no idea what had happened.

It turns out that Deidara had a conflict with Kimimaro, Temari, and others. He wanted to teach those kids a lesson and show them who was in charge.

During their fight, Deidara once again displayed his artistry, using a clay bomb to blow up a house next to an alley, also injuring Haku and Kankuro.

Whoosh.

Kimimaro charged toward Deidara with a cold and ruthless gaze, intent on avenging his comrade.

"You ignorant brat, you still want to resist?" Deidara smiled contemptuously, his hands quickly forming hand seals, and a clay centipede taller than a person emerged from the ground, tightly binding Kimimaro.

"drink!"

With a sharp shout, the clay centipede exploded with a deafening roar, its power enough to severely injure a person.

Fortunately, Kimimaro possessed the Shikotsumyaku bloodline limit and immediately unleashed the Tangsong Dance, causing countless bones to protrude from his body, forming a hedgehog-like defense that withstood the explosion.

Oh?

Seeing this, Deidara was about to take out a more powerful clay bomb when a terrifying killing intent suddenly came from behind him, making him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

Kimimaro, Temari, Gaara, and the others opposite him also changed their expressions, bowing their heads and standing at attention, cold sweat pouring down their faces.

who is it?

Deidara swallowed hard, turned around with difficulty, and saw Tsunade standing with her arms crossed, looking down at him. Her gaze was more terrifying than a tigress's, making Deidara tremble and unable to utter a single word.

"What have you done?" Tsunade asked coldly, her expressionless face conveying a sense of murderous intent.

"Lady Tsunade, I... I accidentally..." Deidara tried to defend himself, but before he could finish speaking, Tsunade raised a fist.

Then, it smashed into the wall next to it.

A snap.

Instantly, countless spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the surface of the wall. The next second, the wall, more than three meters high and more than ten meters long, collapsed in front of the group of kids, and countless pieces of rubble rolled around in the alley.

"If you set off another bombing in the village, this wall will be your fate."

Tsunade glanced at Deidara, uttered those words, and then turned and left like the wind.

After she left, the suffocating oppressive feeling finally disappeared. Deidara, who had escaped a terrible ordeal, was pale-faced and collapsed to the ground, looking terrified.

"This is... art, the art of violence."

He stared at the ruins after the wall collapsed, recalling the power of Tsunade's punch, and muttered to himself.

Compared to his explosive art, Tsunade's fists have nothing fancy about them. They are a pure and extreme form of violent aesthetics. Although they look simple and brutal, they are a more advanced art.

Deidara finally witnessed how terrifying this woman was; she was at least ten times more terrifying than his previous teacher, Onoki.

So he vowed that from now on he would be a law-abiding villager and would never again throw bombs around recklessly.

a few days later.

Karin Uzumaki and Deidara both underwent tailed beast transplant surgery, and the process went very smoothly, adding two more Jinchuriki to Kirigakure.

With this, Kisame's "Nine Pillars Plan" was finally completed.

In the Mizukage's office, the nine Jinchuriki of the Tailed Beasts gathered together, having received orders from the Sixth Mizukage, Tsunade.

Tsunade sat in her office chair, looking ahead. From left to right, the Jinchūriki of the One to the Nine-Tails were: Gaara, Pakura, Haku, Deidara, Yamato, Mei Terumi, Temari, Karin Uzumaki, and Kimimaro.

Of these people, only Yekura and Terumi Mei are adults; the others are children or teenagers.

"I have high hopes for you. As the Jinchuriki of Kirigakure, your mission is not only to protect this village and the millions of civilians in the Land of Water, but also to face unimaginably powerful enemies in the future. Only by defeating them can you protect the peace of the entire ninja world, and even this planet..."

Tsunade delivered a speech, informing the nine of their mission and expressing her hope that they would all become top-tier powerhouses. As for who would emerge from among the nine to become the leader of all the Jinchuriki, it was too early to say.

It all depends on how much potential they can unleash and how high they can ultimately reach.

"Haha, I will definitely become the strongest Jinchūriki, because my art is unparalleled, hmm!"

Deidara put his hands on his hips and announced confidently, but everyone else looked at him like he was an idiot.

"Gaara, let's work hard together and become the strongest Jinchuriki duo," Temari said, patting her brother's shoulder and encouraging him with her burning gaze.

"Hmm!" Gaara opened his eyes wide and nodded seriously.

Ye Cang remained calm and didn't say a word, seemingly deep in thought.

Given her status, position, and strength in Kirigakure, she naturally didn't need to compete with these little guys. Her only thought was how to combine the Two-Tailed Cat Demon's abilities with her own power to reach a stronger level as soon as possible.

"I can't hold them back either," Yamato murmured, silently encouraging himself.

"Karin, you can ask me anything you don't understand in the future. I may not be a genius, but I will do my best to help you."

Mei Terumi walked over to Karin and extended a hand of friendship to the somewhat insecure girl. While striving to improve herself, she also took care of those who were temporarily lagging behind in the team, playing the role of a caring older sister.

"Thank you, Mei Terumi-senpai." Karin's eyes sparkled with joy.

Kimimaro stood alone in the corner, silent, looking cool.

His goal has always been singular and has never changed: to become the strongest ninja. In order to become the leader of the nine Jinchuriki, he secretly vowed to train even harder and to defeat Konoha's Nine-Tails Jinchuriki as soon as possible and reclaim the other half of the Nine-Tails.

Recently, he learned the other party's name: Naruto Uzumaki—the son of the Fifth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and also the legendary Child of Prophecy and the savior of the ninja world.

"They all seem very motivated."

Tsunade observed everyone's expressions and couldn't help but feel a great deal of anticipation for the future of the nine Jinchuriki.

After the meeting ended, the nine people left one after another.

Kisame popped up again, plopped down on the sofa, and leaned back: "Finally finished with everything, can take a break for a while. By the way, can you at least let me see Katsuyu now? It's been so long."

"Don't think about it."

Tsunade coldly uttered those two words, and as soon as she finished speaking, she got up and left the office, leaving Kisame alone there.

"Sigh." Kisame sighed, there was nothing he could do about her.

at this time.

While Kisame was busy breaking through to the Six Paths level and training Jinchuriki, his former rivals were not idle either. Obito, Nagato, and others were all plotting new actions and plans.

In a grand hall deep within a tower in Amegakure, two coffins were opened, and the resurrected dead emerged, returning to the world.

"How humiliating! I never imagined that my brother and I would fall victim to the Second Hokage's ninjutsu, a technique we had defeated. I think it's called something like Impure World Reincarnation?"

"But brother, the person who resurrected us doesn't seem to be the Second Hokage or a Konoha ninja. But whoever it is, trying to manipulate us in this way is tantamount to playing with fire and getting burned; they are ignorant of their own limitations."

Two deep, muffled voices echoed in the main hall.

The two men looked very similar, both with two black, upright horns on their heads and six whisker-like markings on their cheeks. They wore the white vests of Jonin from Kumogakure. The difference was that one had long yellow hair, while the other had long gray hair, and their shoulder markings were also different, one being the character for "gold" and the other for "silver."

They are the Golden Horn and Silver Horn brothers.