Naruto: I'm in Konoha, my name is Uzumaki Menma

Chapter 102 The Tailed Beast Without a Tail, the True Man Kisame Hoshigaki [Please Subscribe]

Sunlight filtered through the treetops, dappling the female ninja with a soft glow, causing a subtle tremor in Kisame Hoshigaki's long-closed heart.

Because of his unusual appearance, Kisame Hoshigaki has always been isolated from people since childhood. No one is willing to talk to him, let alone be his friend.

'Her name seems to be Terumi Rin, a ninja from the Terumi clan who was promoted to Chunin at the age of eighteen.' Kisame Hoshigaki recalled the other person's information in his mind.

"No need." Kisame Hoshigaki didn't care about the concern and said coldly, "Please don't get too close to me."

Despite being rejected, Terumi Rin was not discouraged. Instead, she sat down next to Kisame Hoshigaki, took out her rice balls and other rations, and started eating by herself.

Kisame Hoshigaki paused slightly in the hand holding the water bottle.

The two of them were sitting side by side with just a little distance between them, but it was an experience that Kisame Hoshigaki had never had before.

The other ninjas glanced over curiously, and seeing that the two were just sitting together eating without exchanging much information, they couldn't help but look puzzled.

They both respected Kisame Hoshigaki, the captain of this mission, and were somewhat intimidated by his appearance, so no one was willing to say more than a few words to him.

After lunch, everyone rested for a while, and then Kisame Hoshigaki ordered them to continue their patrol mission.

Six Hidden Mist ninjas followed Kisame Hoshigaki, speeding through the treetops of the coastal forest, but deliberately maintaining a certain distance.

Kisame Hoshigaki had long been used to this kind of isolated daily life.

"Captain Hoshigaki!" Suddenly, Terumi Rin, with her bright and captivating eyes and long brown hair, sped up to run alongside Kisame Hoshigaki.

Kisame Hoshigaki, whose name was called, turned his head slightly and looked at Terumi Suzu, who had spoken to him twice, with his small shark eyes, remaining silent.

"What we were talking about earlier, we can do it after the mission is over, right?" Terumi looked at Kisame Hoshigaki with a hint of anticipation.

Kisame Hoshigaki, who is not good at communicating with people, is being asked out by a girl for the first time in his life, and he doesn't even know how to refuse.

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A coastal port in the southwest of the Land of Water.

On a merchant ship belonging to the Kado Group's shipping company, Menma, carrying the great sword Samehada and the Executioner's Blade, found Orochimaru, who was continuing to use persuasive tactics to lure the orphans he had just kidnapped.

"Resolved?" When Orochimaru saw Shura return, he told the children to go back to their cabins to rest and prepare to set sail for their new home. Then he looked at Shura, his snake-like eyes under his long hair scrutinizing the two ninja swords Shura was carrying with great interest.

"This must be one of the Seven Ninja Swords of Kirigakure."

"As expected, you're not injured at all. Those useless trash from Kirigakure are nothing special." Orochimaru wasn't surprised by Shura's safe return.

Even when he escaped from Konoha, he was severely injured.

The fact that Shura was able to wreak havoc in Konoha Village and then retreat unscathed demonstrates his immense strength.

During the last Shinobi World War, Orochimaru fought many battles with the Hidden Mist Ninja, and he has a deep understanding of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist's strength.

Seeing Shura return carrying two ninja swords, he became interested, licked his lips, and said to Shura, "I've heard that the seven ninja swords of Kirigakure each have their own characteristics, with Samehada and Kubikiribōchō being the most distinctive. If you don't mind, could I take a look at them?"

While ninja tool research wasn't Orochimaru's forte, he did possess some expertise in the field. For instance, he once used the Nine-Tails' chakra to create a mecha Naruto and a mecha Nine-Tails, both possessing combat capabilities comparable to elite Jonin.

"Let's talk about it when you can mass-produce three-tomoe Sharingan." Menma didn't agree to Orochimaru's request and walked straight into the depths of the room. "Don't bite off more than you can chew, Orochimaru." As he passed Orochimaru, Menma added this remark.

"Heh." Orochimaru didn't take it seriously.

He desperately wanted to understand everything unknown in the world, and this thirst for knowledge was the driving force behind Orochimaru's search for the path to immortality.

Menma took out a storage scroll and sealed the Samehada sword and the Executioner's Blade inside it.

That way, when he needs it, he can summon it through the storage scroll.

The seven ninja swords sealing scrolls possessed by the Hozuki clan are merely storage scrolls; they have neither signed a summoning contract with the seven ninja swords nor can they be summoned through other means.

During the Fourth Shinobi World War, the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist were resurrected using the Impure World Reincarnation technique, but they only possessed four swords. These swords were summoned by Hozuki Mangetsu using a sealing scroll. The other three swords were not included in the official record because they were used by their successors.

As the ship was about to depart, Orochimaru was quite satisfied with his trip to Kirigakure. He glanced at Shura, who was sitting quietly in the room, with his vertical snake eyes, but still couldn't see through the mystery behind the white three-eyed fox mask.

Afterwards, Orochimaru also left the cabin to check on the children he had abducted.

The commotion outside the cabin grew louder, and more and more passengers boarded the ship; it was about to set sail.

Kagura activated her Mind's Eye while mahjong, surveying her surroundings.

Although he defeated the last three remaining members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, it cannot be ruled out that Obito will send White Zetsu to track him down, or even send more Mist Ninja to their deaths.

Menma also knew that Obito had been weakening the Hidden Mist Village's strength, suppressing various ninja clans, and creating the Blood Mist Policy in order to avenge his Rin.

Therefore, after killing Juzo Biwa and Fuguki Suigetsu, he did not pursue the fleeing Mangetsu Hozuki. A living Mangetsu Hozuki returning might have accelerated the internal conflicts within Kirigakure.

"Hmm?" After activating Kagura's Mind's Eye, Menma quickly detected several chakra fluctuations dozens of kilometers away.

"Such a massive amount of chakra." The person at the very front of this ninja squad had the most intense chakra fluctuations, almost comparable to the chakra of a tailed beast.

However, this chakra was not the tailed beast chakra that Menma was familiar with; it was just ordinary ninja chakra, but it was extremely large, which reminded Menma of Kisame Hoshigaki, who was known as the 'tailless tailed beast'.

"Could it be someone Obito sent?" Menma remembered that Kisame Hoshigaki's rebellion should have occurred after Itachi Uchiha joined the Akatsuki.

Because Itachi Uchiha's first teammate after joining Akatsuki was Juzo Biwa, and Kisame Hoshigaki came after Juzo Biwa's death.

After thinking for a moment, Menma decided to go see Kisame Hoshigaki.

After all, in the original story, Kisame Hoshigaki is also a true man full of tragic elements.

Kisame has always walked in the shadows protecting the secrets of Kirigakure, even silencing Kirigakure ninjas when they were surrounded by enemy ninjas. However, he eventually discovers that his superior is a traitor who betrayed Kirigakure's information to a neighboring country, causing Kisame's belief in protecting the village to crumble.

At this moment, Obito, manipulating the Fourth Mizukage Yagura, appeared before him, claiming to be Madara Uchiha, and explained to him the "Eye of the Moon Plan" to create a peaceful world without war and killing, and invited Kisame to join.

Kisame was also the only member of Akatsuki who was loyal to Obito, or rather, to Madara Uchiha, and he worked hard to create a peaceful world through the "Eye of the Moon Project".

Even after being defeated and captured by Might Guy and others, Kisame Hoshigaki chose to summon a shark to tear him apart and leave no trace of his body in order to prevent the leakage of information about Madara Uchiha and the Akatsuki organization.

Menma really wanted to recruit such a true man into his ranks.

(End of this chapter)