111. Mind Reading, Alternate Dimensions, and the Forms of Enlightenment

In the prison square, Kisame and Ye Cang stood several meters apart.

With a puzzled look, Ye Cang watched as Kisame pulled out a cloth strip to use as a blindfold, covering his eyes and temporarily rendering himself blind.

Then he said to Ye Cang, “Attack me as you wish.”

“Alright.”

Without asking further, Ye Cang immediately charged straight at Kisame. Just as she was about to reach him, her figure suddenly flickered and vanished.

She reappeared behind Kisame and launched a sneaky groin kick.

One becomes like those they spend time with.

Having followed Kisame for over half a year, Ye Cang had unconsciously absorbed his limitless taijutsu techniques. Every move she made perfectly mirrored Kisame’s style.

This groin kick, under normal circumstances, was hard to dodge—let alone when Kisame’s eyes were covered.

A faint smile curled at Ye Cang’s lips.

Finally catching a chance to make Kisame suffer a bit was truly delightful.

Yet, to Ye Cang’s surprise—

Kisame’s head seemed to have eyes at the back, as if forewarned, he swiftly dodged to the side, narrowly escaping the crippling strike.

Was it luck?

Frowning in disbelief, Ye Cang launched a relentless flurry of attacks at Kisame.

Swish, swish, swish.

Kisame did not counterattack but kept dodging, evading every strike. As he gradually familiarized himself with Ye Cang’s rhythm, his evasion became increasingly graceful and effortless.

Ye Cang even created two shadow clones to join the assault, but not even the edge of his clothes was touched.

“Hah!”

Suddenly, she shouted sharply and quickly formed hand seals. Over a hundred blazing fireballs appeared behind her, and under her control, they shot one after another toward Kisame.

At this moment, Ye Cang’s desire to win was fully ignited; she unleashed her full strength.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

The fiery barrage rained down like a storm, engulfing half the square and exploding violently upon landing.

Yet, what left Ye Cang dumbfounded was—

Kisame weaved through the inferno of fireballs, perceiving each attack from every direction in a manner beyond ordinary comprehension.

Several times, Ye Cang thought she had succeeded, but Kisame always managed to dodge at the last possible moment.

Whoosh.

After evading the fiery rain, Kisame’s figure darted forward at lightning speed. Before Ye Cang could react—

A punch landed.

Bang.

Kisame’s punch struck Ye Cang solidly in the abdomen, causing her to curl up and spit out a mouthful of bitter liquid, collapsing to her knees with a thud.

“Sorry, I accidentally didn’t hold back my strength. Are you alright?”

Kisame said as he removed the blindfold and extended a hand to help Ye Cang up.

She looked at him with a face full of grievance.

That punch hurt far too much—Kisame was definitely doing it on purpose.

“Is this the power you gained from the Box of Ultimate Bliss?” she asked faintly.

“Yes,” Kisame nodded.

In the original story, Goku could see through a person’s heart and use mind-reading to counter any attack. Even when Naruto, Gamabunta, Killer Bee, and others launched a righteous assault, they couldn’t harm Goku.

In the end, it was only through words and empathy that Goku showed a weakness.

After swallowing the Box of Ultimate Bliss, the first ability Kisame obtained was the mind-reading technique in battle.

During the recent fight, Kisame had anticipated every attack from Ye Cang. Even without his sight, he could flawlessly dodge all her moves.

This formidable mind-reading, combined with Kisame’s limitless taijutsu, was like adding wings to a tiger, elevating his martial prowess to the highest echelon in the ninja world.

From now on, he would never have to worry about surprise attacks because he could always sense danger in advance and neutralize it.

Unless his opponent’s speed was so extreme that even his perception couldn’t keep up—a rarity in the entire ninja world.

Next came Kisame’s second acquired ability.

He tore off his shirt, revealing a human face on the right side of his chest. As he activated this power, the face suddenly opened its mouth, emitting a powerful suction toward Ye Cang.

Caught off guard, Ye Cang’s expression turned grave.

At such close range, she had no time to resist. Her body twisted under the suction’s force and was pulled into the face on Kisame’s chest.

Inside the Box of Ultimate Bliss lay an alternate dimension.

Those swallowed by the box would be drawn here, where their minds and chakra were consumed by Goku, becoming nourishment for the box.

Though Kisame considered himself a villain, he couldn’t bring himself to devour others like that.

He also realized that if he recklessly absorbed countless souls and chakra, he risked losing himself and turning into a second “Goku.”

Therefore, after consideration, Kisame decided to use the alternate dimension inside the Box of Ultimate Bliss as a massive storage space.

This box could hold not only a vast amount of supplies but also people.

Kisame estimated he could absorb over a thousand individuals within himself—meaning he could easily capture all the prisoners in the prison city in one go.

Whoosh.

The face opened its mouth once more, spitting Ye Cang back out.

She held her forehead, feeling dizzy as though she had been to an unknown place in a daze but couldn’t recall anything.

Kisame explained that when absorbed into the Box of Ultimate Bliss, one’s consciousness and body enter a dormant state.

In this state, Ye Cang could survive without food or water, hibernating inside Kisame for a year without issue.

“Stand a bit farther,” Kisame instructed Ye Cang, preparing to test the last and strongest ability gained from the Box.

Once Ye Cang moved to the edge of the square, Kisame took a deep breath and slowly raised his hands, clapping them together with a sharp sound.

An immense chakra burst forth from within him, forming a fierce gale that swept across the entire square.

“Ha!”

Kisame shouted with a pained expression, muscles bulging as if something was about to break free from his body.

The next moment,

His body rapidly stretched, his hands and feet elongating as black fur sprouted all over him.

His size quickly grew from three meters to five, then ten, climbing to nearly twenty meters, until he transformed into a colossal black humanoid monster.

This creature was entirely black, with slender limbs, sharp claws, and fangs. Behind it, a pair of broad black wings slowly unfurled.

This monstrous form Kisame assumed was called the “Goku Form,” the most powerful ability he gained from the Box of Ultimate Bliss.

His appearance bore many similarities to Goku from the original tale but was not identical.

That was because Kisame’s previous assimilation of various ninja blades had also manifested on this monster.

The creature’s head was wrapped in a black knight’s helmet, formed from the Blunt Blade’s guard; its mouth extended two several-meter-long fangs, shaped from the Decapitating Great Sword; its tail was a more than ten-meter-long shark’s tail that shimmered with silver lightning, illuminating nearly half the square.

Additionally, the powers of the Sewing Needle, Flying Spray, Flounder, and Thunder God Sword tools were all prominently displayed on the creature.

In the Goku Form, all the abilities Kisame had acquired by devouring ninja blades were greatly enhanced, elevating his strength to an unimaginably terrifying level.

“…”

Ye Cang stared at the monster in the square from afar, stunned beyond words. In her perception, even the Tailed Beasts were not as terrifying as the transformed Kisame.

At that moment,

The Goku Form Kisame suddenly flapped his wings, riding a strong gust and soaring straight up into the sky.

Whooosh.

Accompanied by the rushing wind by her ears, he ascended hundreds of meters, piercing through dark clouds to reach the cloud tops.

At this moment, Kisame resembled a god, gazing down upon the vast sea of clouds beneath him. Bathed in sunlight, countless clouds shimmered golden, undulating magnificently.

At this moment, he felt unprecedentedly powerful.

In the current ninja world, the once peak warriors Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara were dead or aged; Nagato and Obito had not yet fallen into darkness or attained corrupted power; the prophesied future child Uzumaki Naruto had not yet been born.

The era’s protagonist was someone like Namikaze Minato.

The Third Great Ninja War was nearly a one-man show for this Fourth Hokage, who single-handedly reversed Konoha’s misfortunes and led them to victory.

But now, Kisame decided it was time for this villain to step onto the ninja world’s stage and steal some of the spotlight.

Previously, his wings were not fully grown, and out of caution, he acted with many reservations.

But now, with the power of the Box of Ultimate Bliss—

He no longer feared Minato, the Three Legendary Sannin, or the Kage of the various villages; he could overpower them all.

From the day he first devoured the Lightning Blade, Fang, until today, Kisame finally had the right to say:

He held his destiny firmly in his own hands.

Of course,

Despite having nearly invincible strength, Kisame still remembered his original intent. His despicable, underhanded style of fighting—ambushes and sneak attacks—would remain steadfast.

He would never compromise his style for the sake of so-called honorable conduct among experts.

Ten minutes later.

Whoosh.

Kisame flapped his wings and dived from the sea of clouds, slowly descending back to the prison square.

The only awkward thing about the Goku Form was that when Kisame reverted to his original form, he always needed a new set of clothes.

Fortunately, he was well prepared.

Kisame patted his chest, and the face on the Box of Ultimate Bliss opened its mouth, spitting out a black suit.

Ever since starring in “Beach Rampage Sharks” as a sharply dressed villain, Kisame had grown fond of this style.

Wearing the suit, he appeared mature and capable, his figure more upright, even exuding a touch of elegance.

Truly a stylish man.

Kisame realized that as a villain with ideals and ambitions, having a decent outfit was important—it distinguished him from the minor characters.

Wearing a suit, leather shoes, and a tie onto the battlefield—

This was the style Kisame chose.