Poisoning is an art unto itself.

Poisoning itself is an essential component of the Unrestricted Taijutsu. Yet Kisame lacked expertise in this field and had never managed to thoroughly study the world’s toxicology systems. At most, he had dabbled with petty tricks like concocting laxatives.

Now, with someone as specialized as Shizune to assist him, he could finally fill this gap, perfecting his Unrestricted Taijutsu even further. Thus, Kisame was determined to acquire Shizune’s knowledge of poisons at any cost.

Shizune was clearly tempted by Kisame’s proposal. She understood that even without Kisame’s earlier attack, it would have been nearly impossible for her to traverse the final stretch and reach the central tower on her own.

“But… are we allowed to form teams according to the rules?” Shizune hesitated, voicing her concern.

“The rules?” Kisame replied with indifference. “If such a rule really exists, then it’s simply a coincidence that we happened to choose the exact same path, walking side by side. Nothing more than that. Don’t you agree?”

Shizune had no words in response. Gradually, she began to comprehend Kisame’s domineering logic and way of doing things.

“Deal,” she finally said softly, no longer hesitating. But then, almost immediately, she added, “All my poison formulas are at home. Once we pass the second exam, I’ll give them to you.”

She remained cautious, wary of Kisame taking advantage of her.

“No problem,” Kisame agreed readily. With a flick of his fingers, he released the chakra threads wrapped around Shizune, then extended his large hand to help her up from the ground.

“By the way, could you show me again the secret weapon you just fired from your mouth?” Kisame suddenly asked, revealing his keen interest.

“…Of course,” Shizune replied without refusal. She opened her mouth in front of Kisame, revealing her tongue. After all, she had already agreed to give him her secret weapon mechanism.

At first glance, her mouth seemed empty, but as her tongue moved with snake-like agility, a fine needle magically appeared at its tip. Shizune curled her tongue into an arch, then with a forceful flick, launched the needle.

With a sharp thud, the needle embedded itself in the trunk of a nearby tree.

“Remarkable. Such dexterity,” Kisame exclaimed, thoroughly impressed. His own tongue could never be so nimble; it was clear he would never master this technique.

The praise sounded odd to Shizune’s ears, making her blush for reasons she couldn’t quite explain. But the next instant, a wave of searing pain shot through her shoulder, drawing a sharp intake of breath. The wound left by Kisame’s fangs had torn deep, still oozing blood—a most difficult injury to treat.

“Let me handle it,” Kisame said, noticing her discomfort. A chakra thread shot from his index finger and danced deftly over the wound, suturing it cleanly and efficiently in just a few moments. As he finished, he remarked, “No need to thank me.”

Shizune was speechless. This wound was clearly his doing—how could he forget so quickly? Did he have the memory of a goldfish? Truly, this man was an utterly shameless, human-shaped shark.

Yet as a medical ninja, Shizune was secretly amazed by Kisame’s use of chakra threads. Even Lady Tsunade herself could not suture a wound so swiftly and perfectly. For a medical ninja, this was a dream skill.

Though curious, Shizune knew it was taboo to probe into another ninja’s abilities, so she forced herself not to ask.

“Let’s go,” Kisame said, seeing that everything was settled, and strode toward the central tower.

Shizune followed closely, silent. It didn’t take long for her to realize what a wise choice she’d made in accepting Kisame’s invitation to team up.

Along the way, several squads lurking in the forest spotted them. But upon recognizing Kisame, each group shrank back, not daring to make a move, and could only watch as the two passed unimpeded.

Thus, Kisame and Shizune swaggered up to the tower, handed over their scrolls, and smoothly passed the second stage of the selection exam.

Of the more than sixty participants, fewer than twenty managed to gather the required scrolls and reach the central tower within the allotted time.

Even so, Kushina Uzumaki found the number of survivors excessive.

“I just received instructions from above. Before the final exam begins, there will be a preliminary round. The eight genin who prevail will enter the arena for the final trial. For now, you may all take this time to rest,” Kushina announced, thus completing her duties as examiner, before quickly making her exit.

“Let’s go—your place,” Kisame said to Shizune, drawing curious glances from those nearby, who began to speculate about their relationship.

Shizune, never good with words, flushed bright red and hurried off at a run to escape the scene.

Returning to the Hidden Leaf Village, the two arrived in front of Shizune’s house.

“Please wait here for a moment,” Shizune said, barring Kisame from entering. After a while, she emerged with a notebook of toxicology, several finely crafted secret weapon devices, and a pile of medicine bottles—all of which she handed over.

Kisame flipped through the notebook, inspected the weapons and bottles, and found them all genuine—clear evidence that Shizune was not trying to deceive him. Satisfied, he put them away and, suddenly intrigued, extended an invitation to Shizune:

“Your combat style suits me perfectly. Would you be interested in learning Unrestricted Taijutsu from me?”

In Kisame’s view, Shizune’s expertise with poisons and secret weapons, her ability to feign weakness, and her tendency to lull opponents into underestimating her before striking with a sudden ambush—all of this meant she had, to some extent, intuitively grasped the essence of Unrestricted Taijutsu. She was an excellent prospect.

Regrettably, Shizune quietly shook her head, declining his offer without a word.

“Very well,” Kisame said, and did not press the matter, turning to leave.

That night, Kisame studied Shizune’s toxicology notes into the small hours, gaining much insight. Poisoning, he realized, was a profound art.

In the world of ninja, those most skilled with poisons could be divided into three main types.

The first were the puppet masters of the Hidden Sand Village—Sasori of the Red Sand, Chiyo, and Kankuro—who invented potent toxins and applied them to their puppets and weapons.

The second type used their own bodies as vessels of poison, such as Orochimaru, Torune Aburame, and most famously, Hanzo the Salamander, leader of the Rain Village. Harnessing the poison of the giant salamander within him, Hanzo had dominated the ninja battlefield for years and was nicknamed “the Demi-God”—his renown in ninja history second only to Hashirama, the God of Shinobi. Even the title of the Legendary Sannin was his to bestow, a testament to his terrifying prowess.

The third type were medical ninja, such as Tsunade and Shizune. For them, developing antidotes was a required course of study. And to master antidotes, one first had to master poisons and the art of poisoning.

After carefully reflecting on these three schools of poison, Kisame finally made a difficult decision—

He wanted them all.