137. Sealing the Living Slug, Devouring Ten Thousand Serpents Alive (5K)

Faced with the invasion of the monster Kisame Hoshigaki, Hiruzen Sarutobi swiftly devised a series of countermeasures.

Naturally, as Hokage, he would not hide behind the lines and watch the battle unfold. He would take the field himself and fight shoulder to shoulder with his disciples.

With that thought, Hiruzen tore off his Hokage robe, revealing the armor beneath.

He had been prepared for battle for quite some time.

But just then, Danzo suddenly thrust out his cane to block Hiruzen and demanded sharply, “Hiruzen, you have made a complete mess of things this time, costing Konoha five thousand ninja in a single stroke. This is the heaviest loss in the village’s history. How do you intend to atone?”

Suppressing his anger, Hiruzen replied with a displeased expression, “Danzo, I don’t have time for this right now.”

“Don’t even think about shirking responsibility,” Danzo barked in a deep voice, refusing to let the matter go. “Once Kisame Hoshigaki has been dealt with, I’ll settle accounts with you. Prepare yourself mentally. At the very least, you can forget about remaining in the Hokage’s seat.”

With that, he turned and swept away.

“Wait! Are your Root forces not going to join the battle? Are you simply going to stand by and watch?” Hiruzen demanded, frowning at Danzo’s retreating back.

“During this war, Root’s duty is to preserve Konoha’s final reserve of fighting strength. The trouble you caused as Hokage is naturally yours to resolve.”

Without looking back, Danzo spoke those words and departed grandly under the protection of two Root ninja.

“Hmph.”

Hiruzen snorted coldly. With a powerful enemy at their gates, Danzo was still busy fighting him for authority, which left him thoroughly displeased.

But as he himself had said, he had no time to concern himself with Danzo now. The most urgent matter was leaving the village to meet the enemy.

Thus, Hiruzen led a large contingent of Konoha’s Anbu out of the Hokage Tower and hurried toward the village entrance in imposing fashion.

Deep underground, in a hidden shelter somewhere in the northwestern reaches of the Land of Fire—

“Obito, something huge has happened outside! That fellow called Kisame Hoshigaki has gone completely berserk!”

The spiral White Zetsu, Tobi, shook Obito awake from his sleep.

From him, Obito learned of Kisame’s astonishing feats: tearing apart Susanoo, defeating the Eight Gates, overcoming Minato Namikaze, and annihilating Konoha’s five-thousand-strong army.

When he heard that Kisame had already set out alone for Konoha, his shock was impossible to conceal.

Obito could no longer sleep. He immediately leapt from the bed, pulled the spiral White Zetsu over his body once more, and ran out of the underground shelter.

He intended to go to Konoha personally and witness the battle that was about to unfold.

Several hundred meters above the ground, Kisame beat his wings and flew at tremendous speed.

He naturally knew how dangerous an assault on Konoha would be, but his counterattack was not born of arrogance or reckless overconfidence.

It was the result of careful deliberation.

On the battlefield in the Hidden Mist Village, Kisame had killed nearly five thousand Konoha ninja in one breath. Under the effects of his Power Surge, his body had expanded to thirty meters in height.

At that moment, Kisame had reached what could be called his strongest form in history.

But he also realized that this was the limit of the Flounder: Power Surge ability. Even if he killed more people, he would not grow any stronger.

Furthermore, as time passed and the effects of the Power Surge faded, his strength would return to normal.

Therefore, as far as he was concerned—

If he did not seize this opportunity to press forward in one breath and invade Konoha itself, allowing the village to experience true pain, then he would be in danger once his enemies recovered.

After all, during the previous battle, almost all information about Kisame himself had been exposed. Once Konoha learned of it, they would certainly conduct a comprehensive analysis and devise methods specifically designed to counter him.

By then, Kisame’s fate might well be the same as that of the Six Paths of Pain in the original story.

After flying through the sky for nearly half an hour, crossing oceans, mountains, and forests, Kisame finally saw, in the distance, a prosperous and peaceful village nestled within a vast forest. The entire village, ground and sky alike, was enveloped beneath a gigantic spherical barrier.

Konoha had arrived.

Whoosh!

Kisame immediately plunged downward from the sky. Before long, he reached the outskirts of Konoha, hovering more than ten meters above the ground.

On an open stretch of land not far away, the Three Legendary Sannin of Konoha stood ready for battle.

At that moment, Kisame’s arrival threw the entire village into a state of tension, from top to bottom and within and without.

So this is the Fifth Mizukage, Kisame Hoshigaki?

Jiraiya, Orochimaru, and Tsunade could not help drawing in a sharp breath when they saw the enormous black monster in the sky. Their expressions became grave.

The three of them still remembered the first time they had encountered Kisame. It had been at the venue of the Chunin Exams, when Kisame was merely an obscure genin of the Hidden Mist.

At the time, the three of them had even held a small wager, trying to guess which youngster would win the Chunin Exams. Orochimaru had ultimately emerged victorious—he had bet on Kisame, who defeated Obito in the finals and claimed first place.

Yet now, only a year later, Kisame had grown into Konoha’s greatest enemy. The transformation left all three of them feeling as though it were unreal.

The two sage elders, Fukasaku and Shima, also wore astonished expressions.

“Is that fellow Wu? He’s a little different from what I imagined.”

Shima frowned and urged her elderly husband beside her, “Dear, tell Little Jiraiya to get moving. Once that monster is dealt with, I still have to hurry home and make dinner.”

She was an impatient sort, wholly devoted to becoming the perfect housewife. Compared with fighting, she preferred staying home and experimenting with various insect dishes.

“Don’t underestimate him, dear,” Fukasaku warned. “Wu can see through the minds of others. He’s extremely difficult to deal with. Even the two of us may have to expend considerable effort.”

He stroked his white beard, then suddenly frowned as well.

“Come to think of it, where is the Box of Ultimate Bliss? In theory, Wu was born from that box, so he shouldn’t be able to operate too far from it.”

There were only two ways to deal with Wu.

Either force him back into the Box of Ultimate Bliss and seal him inside, or kill him outright.

The first method was obviously simpler, but the Box of Ultimate Bliss was nowhere to be seen. Had Kisame anticipated this and hidden it in advance?

Just as the two sages were puzzling over the matter, Jiraiya took a deep breath and appealed to them.

“Old Man, Big Sis, please lend me your strength. I’m afraid the only way to defeat that monster is for me to enter Sage Mode.”

“Little Jiraiya, don’t you hate your sage form? Didn’t you say that girls would never like you looking like that?”

Shima folded her arms and teased him.

Jiraiya gave a bitter smile and shook his head. “Who has time to worry about that now? Compared with the two of you, I’m just a child. I’ll have to trouble you to put in a little extra effort later.”

“Don’t worry.”

The two sages exchanged a glance and nodded, signaling that Jiraiya could begin.

At that moment, Kisame spoke from across the battlefield. His voice rang over Konoha like a great bell.

“Well, if it isn’t the Three Legendary Sannin of Konoha. Where’s the Hokage? Why did he send only the three of you out here to die while he hides in the village? So much for the Will of Fire, eh?”

He tossed out a few mocking words, but his attention immediately settled on Fukasaku and Shima perched upon Jiraiya’s shoulders. Though he pretended not to care, he had already become extremely vigilant.

In response to Kisame’s provocation—

“Kisame Hoshigaki, you’ve got it wrong! The one who will die here today isn’t us—it’s you!” Tsunade shouted back without the slightest hint of weakness.

“Really? I don’t believe you.”

Before the words had even left his mouth, Kisame charged toward the three of them. He intended to strike first and kill them before Jiraiya could enter Sage Mode.

“He’s coming,” Orochimaru said in a low voice, his pupils contracting.

“Move!”

The three Sannin exchanged glances, then bit into their fingers in unison and used blood contracts to perform Summoning Jutsu.

The next moment—

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Three enormous summoned beasts of wildly different forms appeared on the battlefield, blocking Kisame’s path.

One was a giant snake over fifty meters long, with two horns atop its head and purple-black stripes covering its entire body.

One was a gigantic blue-and-white slug with two pairs of antennae.

The last was a massive purple-red toad carrying a shield shaped like a pot lid and wielding a giant trident covered in diamond-shaped spikes.

They were Manda, Katsuyu, and Gamakichi, summoned from the three great sage regions.

The appearance of the three beasts seemed to make Kisame wary, and he stopped some distance away.

“Hiss, hiss, hiss.”

The moment Manda appeared, he flicked his tongue and glared at Orochimaru above him.

“Hey, Orochimaru! I was sleeping. You summoned me at a time like this? Are you tired of living? Do you want me to eat you, you bastard?”

Faced with Manda’s abuse, Orochimaru could only helplessly promise that he would pay double the summoning fee this time.

The so-called “summoning fee” consisted of one hundred living sacrifices.

Compared with the terrible relationship between Orochimaru and Manda, Tsunade and Jiraiya got along far more harmoniously with their respective summoned beasts.

“Katsuyu, that monster is our enemy this time. You don’t need to attack with all your strength. Just hold it back for a while.”

Tsunade gave Katsuyu her instructions.

“Yes, Lady Tsunade.”

Katsuyu obeyed Tsunade without question.

On the other side—

“Gamakichi, I’m counting on you.”

Jiraiya instructed the enormous purple-red toad. He was Bunta’s brother and one of Mount Myoboku’s great fighters.

“Though I am rather foolish, I shall do my best,” Gamakichi said in a deep, muffled voice.

“What happened to that foul-smelling toad who’s always smoking?”

Manda turned his head and only then realized that the toad beside him was not Bunta. He had always been at odds with Bunta and had threatened several times to swallow him whole.

When Manda learned that Bunta had been severely injured by the enemy before him—even losing one of his legs—he could not help taking malicious delight in it.

At the same time, the giant snake developed a keen interest in Kisame.

“He looks like a fine prey item. He should taste delicious.”

His serpentine eyes fixed upon Kisame. With a sharp whoosh, he lunged forward, opening his enormous jaws to bite down.

“Go!”

Katsuyu and Gamakichi followed closely behind Manda, launching a coordinated assault on Kisame.

Meanwhile, the Three Sannin leapt down from the heads of their respective summons and gathered together.

Clap!

Jiraiya pressed his palms together and closed his eyes, focusing on absorbing natural energy, while Tsunade and Orochimaru stood on either side of him as his guards.

This was the battle strategy of the Three Legendary Sannin.

As long as the three summoned beasts could hold Kisame back until Jiraiya successfully entered Sage Mode, he could then join forces with Tsunade and Orochimaru. The three of them would have a high chance of subduing Kisame and either sealing or killing him.

Of course, if the three summoned beasts could defeat Kisame outright through their combined efforts, that would be even better.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

From high above, four colossal creatures could be seen rampaging across the land outside Konoha, locked in ferocious combat.

Wherever they passed, trees toppled in great swathes and dust billowed into the heavens.

Anyone unaware of the truth might have thought that four tailed beasts were fighting.

Whoosh!

Katsuyu tensed her body and spat a huge mass of corrosive slime from her mouth, sending it straight toward Kisame. This was one of her few offensive techniques. If it struck its target, it could dissolve anything and was extraordinarily powerful.

Kisame merely twisted aside and avoided it with ease.

Hiss, hiss, hiss.

The slime landed in the forest, instantly corroding a vast swath of trees.

The moment Kisame dodged Katsuyu’s attack, Manda charged in from the side. Despite his enormous size, the snake was astonishingly agile and extremely fast, launching a relentless assault of biting and constriction.

Yet every one of Manda’s lunges was evaded by Kisame.

“Let me!”

With a great roar, Gamakichi leapt into the air, shield in one hand and trident in the other, then descended from above to launch a surprise attack from behind.

Unexpectedly, Kisame seemed to have eyes in the back of his head. He calmly dodged once more.

Gamakichi, unable to withdraw his trident in time, drove it straight into Manda and pinned him to the ground, earning a furious torrent of curses from the snake.

“I really am terribly foolish…”

Gamakichi immediately wore a remorseful expression.

“Hahaha! What a bunch of idiots!”

Kisame laughed wildly. He charged forward and swung his tail in a dragon-like arc, his shark-tail whip smashing viciously into Gamakichi’s shield and sending both toad and shield flying.

Kisame lowered his head, preparing to finish off Manda, only to discover that the snake had already burrowed underground and fled, vanishing without a trace.

He therefore turned his attention to Katsuyu. As he charged toward her, he fired a barrage of black feathers.

Thud, thud, thud, thud.

Katsuyu could not evade in time. Her enormous body was pierced by countless feathers. With a mournful cry, she exploded with a bang and split into countless smaller slugs.

Slugs were boneless invertebrates, allowing them to divide and recombine their entire bodies freely. In this state, all physical attacks were ineffective against them.

Not far away—

“As one would expect from a battle between monsters. Human ninja can hardly interfere at all.”

Orochimaru watched the four colossal creatures engaged in fierce combat and sighed sincerely.

“Damn it! Is Kisame Hoshigaki’s mind-reading ability really that powerful? Is there truly nothing we can do against him?”

Tsunade gritted her teeth, her face filled with frustration.

“Not necessarily.”

Fukasaku shook his head and explained to the two of them, “Strictly speaking, Wu’s ability is not true mind-reading. Rather, he can sense fear. Whenever an enemy attacks him, his body naturally reacts to that fear by dodging, almost like a conditioned reflex.”

“Then… how do we overcome it?” Tsunade hurriedly asked.

“You need only attack Wu without murderous intent. But while that sounds simple, it is extremely difficult to accomplish.”

Fukasaku sighed.

At that moment, the situation on the battlefield changed once again.

Manda had vanished underground, while Katsuyu had split into countless pieces and temporarily lost her fighting ability. Kisame therefore seized Gamakichi and began beating him mercilessly.

Under his savage assault, the toad quickly reached his limit. Even the shield in his hands was smashed to pieces.

“Lady Tsunade, I’m sorry. I really am too foolish.”

Gamakichi repeated the word “foolish” once more. Then, with a puff of smoke, he disappeared.

Next, Katsuyu, whose body had reconstituted itself, became Kisame’s next target.

This was bad.

Seeing this, Tsunade prepared to release the Summoning Jutsu. She knew Katsuyu had no chance against Kisame and did not want to leave her alone to face his brutal assault.

However, by the time Tsunade had completed her hand seal, it was already too late.

Kisame had foreseen her intention and reached Katsuyu first. He extended an enormous right claw and pressed it against her forehead.

Vmmm.

Black light glowed from Kisame’s claw. A strange energy surged from his palm, quickly forming a large black character resembling the word “Seat” upon Katsuyu’s forehead.

Kakuan Entering Society with Bliss-Bringing Hands.

As Kisame unleashed this Wood Release sealing technique inherited from the First Hokage, Katsuyu immediately fell into slumber. All chakra connections between her, Tsunade, and her true body in the Shikkotsu Forest were severed.

Then, under Tsunade’s horrified gaze, Kisame gently stroked Katsuyu’s soft body and gave her a triumphant smile.

In the next instant, a human face appeared on Kisame’s chest. It opened its mouth and unleashed a tremendous suction force, pulling Katsuyu directly into Kisame’s body.

“Dear, I understand now!”

Shima shouted when she saw this scene. “The Box of Ultimate Bliss—it was inside that fellow’s body all along!”

“Incredible,” Fukasaku said, his own expression filled with astonishment.

“Katsuyu!”

Tsunade watched helplessly as her summoned beast was sealed and stolen by Kisame. She immediately lost control and charged forward, ready to fight him to the death.

Fortunately, Orochimaru caught hold of her.

“Tsunade, don’t be rash. Manda hasn’t fled. He’s still waiting for an opportunity.”

The moment Orochimaru finished speaking, a tremendous boom came from the distance.

Manda burst from the ground beneath Kisame’s feet. His massive body coiled around Kisame in an instant, binding the overconfident monster tightly.

“Got you.”

Manda flicked his tongue, opened his enormous jaws, and lunged for Kisame’s neck, intending to kill him in a single bite.

“What a coincidence. That’s exactly what I wanted to say to you.”

Kisame smiled. Though his body was unable to move, he opened his mouth and sprayed a vast cloud of purple poison toward Manda.

It was the poison of the giant salamander.

Manda took the full blast head-on. Before long, the toxin paralyzed him and robbed him of his ability to move.

For Kisame, a single second was more than enough.

The instant Manda lost his strength, Kisame aimed his fangs at the snake’s heart and bit down with tremendous force.

Pfft!

Kisame’s pair of fangs, each several meters long, pierced straight through Manda’s heart. Blood gushed forth in torrents.

“Hiss, hiss, hiss!”

Manda writhed wildly in agony, flicking his tongue as his body thrashed.

“Hold still.”

Kisame pressed down on the snake’s head with one hand and seized his body with the other. He lifted Manda high into the air and tore with all his strength.

Riiip!

The giant snake’s head was ripped off by brute force.

Bang!

Kisame casually threw Manda’s severed head onto the ground, then stamped down on it, crushing it to pieces.

Then, right before the eyes of the Three Legendary Sannin, he tore open Manda’s scales, bit into the corpse, and ripped away a huge chunk of bloody flesh.

He stuffed it into his mouth and chewed ravenously.

He was savage and brutal—terrifying beyond words.