Start with a Zanpakuto and build the strongest Mist Village.

"Wind Release: Divine Wind!"

The combined power of ninjutsu converged in mid-air and attacked Ayako and the others.

Kisame's expression changed drastically. He swung Samehada and forcefully broke out of the water, using his physical body to block the attack.

The scorching flames continued to burn his skin. Kisame endured the excruciating pain, rapidly forming hand seals and exhaling thick mist from his mouth.

Hearing the sounds of ninjutsu, Ayako Mizuchi and her companion turned around, only to see thick fog.

"You must be safe and sound, Mr. Kisame!"

Thick fog obscured the vision of everyone present, but Kisame, who was already surrounded by stone terracotta warriors, was unable to move freely. Moreover, in just a moment, the thick fog was blown away by a whirlwind containing chakra, revealing Kisame's figure.

"Sleeping behind the rear alone? This doesn't seem like the Hidden Mist Ninja I know."

Looking at Kisame holding Samehada in front of him, Yomi revealed a bloodthirsty smile: "It doesn't matter, let the Seven Ninja Swords become the first cornerstone for my domination of the ninja world!"

"go to hell!"

After he finished speaking, an ominous dark chakra suddenly erupted from his body, and a surgical dagger appeared in his hand.

The evil chakra originating from the demon enveloped every inch of his skin, causing his body's functions to surge, and also covering the surgical scalpel.

The next moment, Huang Quan stomped hard on the water.

Bang!

With a muffled thud, the water beneath their feet surged with massive waves as Yomi stepped on it. Swirling with blood-black chakra, Yomi, like an arrow released from its flight, unleashed unparalleled and terrifying speed as it hurtled towards Kisame.

Kisame gripped Samehada tightly with both hands and slashed at Yomi head-on. Samehada and the surgical dagger collided fiercely.

Amidst the clanging of metal, the two fought to a standstill!

"Ok?"

"this!"

A look of surprise appeared in both of their eyes at the same time.

'This power... so this is the strength of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist? Truly troublesome.'

'Even the vanguard ninjas possess such combat power?! What on earth are these monsters?!'

"Samehada: Breath-Eating Slash!"

Kisame's expression grew increasingly solemn, and he suddenly exerted force through Samehada, which he had been gripping tightly in both hands.

The sharp spikes on Samehada pierced through the bandages and were exposed, pressing tightly against Huang Quan's body and tearing repeatedly. Huang Quan was careless, and his entire left arm, which was holding the scalpel, was torn open with countless wounds by Samehada.

Huang Quan retreated in a disheveled state, his expression growing increasingly gloomy.

How can he be so strong! He's just one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, how can he be so powerful!

I should be invincible by now. With Lord Wangliang's power, I should be able to dominate the world. Why?

"My power has not yet recovered, so the power I bestow upon you is still very weak..."

The deep, eerie hiss of the demon echoed in Huang Quan's ears: "If you let me reclaim my soul and kill the witch, I will be the most powerful being in the world! At that time, I will grant you unparalleled power!"

"So that's what it is..."

Huang Quan murmured, his gaze fixed on Kisame, and waved his hand.

"Attack together! Let's keep him here forever!"

Amplified by the demon's power, the subordinates roared and charged towards Kisame. Some turned into stone figures and swung their giant fists, while others spewed flames. Combined with the raging wind, their momentum was overwhelming.

Faced with the overwhelming onslaught of cannon fodder demons, Kisame's expression turned solemn.

"They're already at the level of a Jonin within the village. If even cannon fodder has such strength, and then there are these immortal stone terracotta warriors... just what is the origin of these guys?"

"No, we must completely draw their attention here and give Ayako and the others time and space to escape."

"Squeak~!"

Samehada trembled, seemingly in response to Kisame.

"You mean, use that move... Okay! Let's give it a try!"

Kisame took a deep breath, and his body suddenly merged with Samehada in his hand, transforming into a terrifying monster that was half human and half shark in the astonished eyes of Yomi and the others.

The change in his physical form made Kisame very uncomfortable, but the surge of chakra and various powers within him brought a look of joy to his face.

"This level of chakra..."

"Very well, come on, even if there are stronger enemies, I will stop you all!"

The shark-like Kisame suddenly plunged into the lake formed by the bursting water, and abruptly clasped its hands together.

"Water Escape! Who will build the dam?"

The lake beneath their feet instantly transformed into a vast ocean, engulfing an area stretching for miles, including the Yellow Springs and the stone terracotta warriors, all of which were swept up in it.

After doing all this, Kisame the shark leaped into the water and formed hand seals again.

"Water Release! Thousand Food Sharks!"

Countless chakra sharks roared out and pounced on the stone terracotta warriors, while Kisame himself, his face full of killing intent, resolutely charged towards Yomi and the others.

Wherever the sharks passed, the stone terracotta warriors collapsed, and Huang Quan and the others, who were in the water, were as if they were on sticky boards, and were directly defeated by Kisame.

"An undead legion..."

A moment later, Kisame looked at Yomi and the others, whom he had completely defeated, as well as the stone terracotta warriors, and then looked in the direction where Ayako and the other two had left.

Seemingly having made up his mind, Kisame followed the chakra message transmitted by Samehada and rushed towards a volcano without looking back.

"I'll stop these monsters, Ayako, you two have to get out of here!"

Chapter 134 The Wraiths Stir, Mizukiyo's Multiple Gikai

The border of the Swamp Country.

A pair of eerie green eyes stared at the ninja in front of him, and he let out an angry shout.

"Earthly Grudge - Tentacle Fist!"

The next moment, hundreds of black threads extended from the masked man in black robes and flew out, instantly reaching the ninja and piercing him completely.

The black thread was used to puncture and remove the heart from inside.

"A fire-attribute heart would be very powerful, but I already have one."

Gazing at the bright red and vibrant heart before him, Kakuzu felt a pang of regret, but instead of discarding it, he placed it into his own body and nurtured it with the Earth Grudge.

"Why did you hit him so hard? He has the potential to become our partner."

Scorpion walked over and said in a deep voice, "You finally found a partner, but you turned around and killed him. And this is the second time."

"You can't blame me for this. Who told you that guy's head to be so tempting? You know, that guy's head is worth five million taels of silver at the exchange. Tell me, could you have resisted?"

"...That is indeed a bit unbearable."

Five million taels of silver could buy countless puppet materials; no wonder the Horned Ones made a move.

wrong!

"Don't pull this stunt. The organization is in dire need of manpower right now. If you kill this guy, when will we ever find you a new comrade?!"

"This guy is worth three million too..."

Kakuzu muttered to himself, silently took out a scroll, cut off the head of the man in his hand, and put it into the scroll.

'The leader is really something. He knows my temperament perfectly well. Whenever I see the heads of those so-called comrades, it's like seeing moving money; it's hard for me to resist.'

'And then there's Sasori of the Red Sand. Sunagakure has offered a bounty of 20 million ryo. If we could take him down…'

Seemingly sensing Kakuzu's suddenly burning gaze, Sasori's eyes turned cold, and he subconsciously placed his hand on the puppet scroll of the Third Kazekage at his waist before the fiery gaze reluctantly departed.

The two silently walked toward their next target, but after only a few minutes, a group of stone terracotta warriors suddenly appeared in front of them, wielding weapons and attacking them.

Kakuzu raised his hand and unleashed a black line burst spear thrust from the Earth Grudge Fear, instantly shattering all the stone soldiers. However, within a few breaths, these guys actually got up from the ground unharmed and attacked Kakuzu and Sasori again.

Kakuzu frowned slightly, his hands forming a hand seal, and his Fire Release technique was intensely hot.

No matter how powerful his ninjutsu was, these stone terracotta warriors seemed to feel nothing, and no matter what kind of injury they suffered, they would get up from the ground.

"This……"

Scorpion's expression turned slightly serious, and countless puppet threads burst forth from his hands, forcibly controlling the dozen or so puppets in front of him.

"If I'm not mistaken, these guys should be the undead army created by the legendary demon Wangliang!"

"In some ways, they are no different from your puppets, except that they are not afraid of death."

Kakuzu, the living history of the ninja world, the ultimate antique, and the encyclopedia, said in a deep voice, "When Takigakure was first established, the priestess of the Land of Demons had contact with the Takigakure ninja. If the demons Mōryō were to cause trouble in the future, Takigakure would have to send troops to help the Land of Demons. I always thought that was just something the First Takigakure said casually, but I never expected that the demons Mōryō actually existed in this world."

"So...the appearance of these guys is because of the so-called demonic wraiths causing trouble?"

"should be."

Looking at the stone terracotta warriors in front of him, Kakuzu's eyes showed a hint of disgust.

He preferred fresh human bodies, not only because he could exchange human heads for a good price at the exchange, but also because fresh hearts could serve as an energy source for the Earthly Wraiths.

These stone terracotta warriors were no different from Scorpion's puppets, just a dry pile of broken stones.

"Let's go. Take this head to the nearest exchange and exchange it for money. Then we'll head to our next destination. With the emergence of demons, this place will soon become a gathering place for all the major forces in the ninja world."

"Um……"

Scorpion's gaze lingered on the stone terracotta warriors as he absentmindedly followed Kakuzu.

The two arrived at the nearest money exchange, handed over the head, and after the money was counted, Kakuzu prepared to walk out.

But after taking only a few steps, their gazes suddenly turned toward the distant forest.

A shark-faced creature darted swiftly through the forest, hurtling towards their location.

"This guy is..."

"It's Kisame Hoshigaki, an elite Jonin from Kirigakure! His head is worth eight million ryo!" Kakuzu stared at Kisame with shining eyes, as if he had discovered a treasure, his gaze lingering on the ninja sword behind Kisame.

"That's Samehada, one of the Seven Ninja Swords? Good, good! A single Seven Ninja Sword is priced at five million on the exchange. Looks like even the heavens want me to make a fortune today!"

"Scorpion, let's move closer!"

Kisame, who was retreating, suddenly stopped. A black tentacle almost grazed his head, tearing his face. Then, hundreds of black threads shot out from the tentacle, as if trying to play some indescribable bondage play.

Kisame swung Samehada, severing the black lines of the Earth Grudge, and leaped high into the air, his gaze fixed intently on the two strange figures dressed in black robes with auspicious cloud patterns.

"These clothes...are you from the Akatsuki?"

"They even know about our organization. No wonder they're from Kirigakure."

Kakuzu revealed a greedy look, as if he were facing not Kisame Hoshigaki, but a walking human treasure vault!

It's worth mentioning that after Mizuki Yoru single-handedly led Kirigakure to defeat Konoha and became the Fourth Mizukage, his bounty on the black market has soared to a staggering 300 million!

Keep in mind that this was after the Third Shinobi World War, before the currency had fully inflated. A Six-Tails Jinchuriki worth 50 million ryo in the future would at most be worth Asuma at this moment. Even the Kage of the major ninja villages would only have a bounty of a little over 100 million.

With a bounty of 300 million ryo, it was already the highest in the ninja world. Countless nights, Kakuzu would sleep with a lovesick look on his face, clutching Mizuki Yoru's bounty poster.

Unfortunately, Minazuki Yoru was too powerful, and Kakuzu could only admire her from afar and fantasize about her.

But the Kisame Hoshigaki in front of me is different.

"Scorpion, help me hold the line and take him down. We'll have extra lubricant for tonight!"

"it is good!"

Sasori, who was initially somewhat impatient, suddenly brightened up and, without further ado, took out the Third Kazekage's puppet to form an alliance.

War is imminent!

Without saying a word, Jiao Du ripped off his black robe with red clouds, formed hand seals, and immediately unleashed a shot of the Earth Dragon Spear.

At the same time, thousands of black lines suddenly flew out from the two masks on the shoulders, transforming into two black line monsters, one spewing whirlwinds and the other spewing flames.

The fire is fueled by the wind, and the wind helps the fire grow!

"Fire Escape·Tou Ke Ku!"

"Wind Escape·Press!"

"Composite Ninja Technique: Flame Wind and Waves!"