31. Ghost Lantern · Slime · Full Moon

"Oh? So it seems you’ve suspected your teacher for some time now." Kisame was somewhat surprised.

"Kisame, Boss Kisame, Big Brother… please, spare my life! I swear I’ll keep your secret—I won’t tell anyone about what happened. And I can also get you the remaining ninja blades! Flounder, Samehada, Helmet Splitter, I can get all of them for you!"

Suddenly, Full Moon Hozuki exploded with a powerful will to survive, begging Kisame desperately to let him live. His only wish now was for Kisame to join him in uncovering the truth about what had happened to his teacher, the Third Mizukage.

Kisame fell silent for a moment, as if seriously considering Full Moon’s words. He suddenly recalled that in the original story, Full Moon’s untimely death might have been precisely because he discovered something unusual about the Third Mizukage, only to be killed by Uchiha Madara during his investigation.

It was very possible.

With that thought, Kisame reached a decision.

"I agree. But before we become allies, you need to eat this."

With those words, he paused for a moment, then opened his mouth and disgorged a sticky mass of Monster Cells.

"Open wide."

Kisame brought the Monster Cells to Full Moon’s lips. If the other dared to play any tricks, he’d kill him on the spot.

Full Moon’s face changed as he stared at the writhing, grotesque cells. He didn’t know what they were, but he was sure they were nothing good. But he had no choice.

So, Full Moon didn’t even dare to ask a question; he simply opened his mouth and swallowed the Monster Cells.

Gulp.

No sooner had he swallowed the cells than a thunderous rumbling erupted from his stomach, and his expression contorted in extreme agony.

It looked much like what happened with Ye Cang.

"Boss Kisame, what’s happening? I feel like all my organs are melting…" Full Moon forced out the words through gritted teeth, enduring the pain, pleading for help.

"This is a good thing. If you make it through, you’ll evolve into a higher form of life." Kisame’s gaze was burning as he stared at Full Moon, carefully watching every detail of the mutation process. For him, this was a rare opportunity to study the principles behind Monster Cells and evolution.

"My hands, my feet, my face… no, please!" At that moment, Full Moon shrieked in terror as his body began to melt like a burning candle, turning into streams of viscous white liquid.

This melting wasn’t the result of him activating his Hydrification Technique, but an irreversible transformation.

Once it began, there was no returning to his original form.

"Help! Help!" Within a few minutes, Full Moon’s entire body had liquefied, leaving only his mouth, which was still babbling incoherently.

But soon, even his mouth was enveloped by the surrounding white liquid, dissolving with a sizzle.

After that, the mass of dozens of kilograms of white slime began to writhe on the ground, as though undergoing some sort of reorganization.

Interesting.

Kisame watched the pool of slime at his feet, waiting patiently—the night was still long.

One minute, five minutes, ten minutes…

After wriggling for a while, the white slime fell silent.

An hour, three hours, five hours…

Not until the dead of night did anything stir again.

The white slime moved, reshaping itself into an oval sphere, narrow at the top, broad at the base, about thirty centimeters tall.

Under Kisame’s watchful eye, a pair of black eyes appeared first on the sphere, then a wide mouth. Finally, two sticky little hands sprouted from either side.

It was, surprisingly, rather cute.

"My eyes seem a bit crooked—let me adjust them." At that moment, Full Moon’s familiar voice sounded; a tiny hand reached out to nudge one eye into alignment with the other.

After this, the little creature placed its hands on its hips and laughed loudly:

"Hahaha! I, Full Moon Hozuki, have been reborn!"

Indeed, Full Moon had successfully evolved—into a white slime.

Compared to Ye Cang, who merely lost his hair after consuming Monster Cells, Full Moon had transformed into a non-human creature altogether.

Then again, if an ordinary person turned into such a form, even if they didn’t break down in tears or lose all hope, they’d at least be confused, questioning the meaning of life.

But Full Moon, oddly enough, accepted it quite cheerfully—in fact, he seemed rather delighted.

As expected, ever since the Second Mizukage, the Hozuki clan—be it Hanzuki, Full Moon, or the Suigetsu brothers—had always been an optimistic lot.

"Boss Kisame, let me show you what I can do!" Full Moon was exuberant. He rubbed his little hands together, formed seals at lightning speed, and his entire body inflated as if filled with air, swelling rapidly.

During this process, his color gradually faded from milky white to nearly transparent.

At last, what stood before Kisame was a three-meter-tall Giant of Water.

With a wild scream, it charged into the nearby woods, smashing and kicking like a bulldozer, felling tree after tree.

Each of the Water Giant’s attacks carried the destructive power of the Super Water Arm Technique.

Then, the giant halted and formed seals once more. With a bang, it exploded, splitting into hundreds or thousands of miniature slimes.

These micro-slime clones scattered in all directions, disappearing into the forest.

Not long after, they reassembled, merging back into the original form.

"Hahaha! I, Full Moon Hozuki, am invincible from this day forth!"

Full Moon placed his little hands on his hips and laughed even more wildly, his mind already drifting ever further from rational thought.

Kisame watched him quietly, completely unruffled as Full Moon boasted.

Now it seemed that Full Moon’s evolution had taken the Hozuki clan’s Hydrification Technique to a whole new level, making him a permanent liquid entity.

And, after some further questioning, Kisame learned from him that this white slime contained no impurities—like pure water, it was non-conductive, and thus immune to Lightning Release.

No wonder Full Moon felt so inflated, loudly declaring himself invincible.

"Since you’re invincible, let me show you what I can do, too," Kisame said with a grin, sensing Full Moon’s swelling ego. In an instant, he raised his right hand and clenched his fist.

Bang!

Caught off guard, Full Moon was struck by an invisible force, his body instantly exploding into pieces scattered across the ground.

It took him quite some time to wriggle his way back to his original form.

"Boss Kisame…" Full Moon stretched out a tiny hand, clinging desperately to Kisame’s leg, a sycophantic grin plastered on his face—utterly subdued.

He no longer dared to entertain the slightest thought of rebellion.