The Hidden Mist Blacksmith, forging the glory of the Ninja Sword Style!

"It was Zhanlong who saved me."

"I have dragged the Sword of Wisdom down."

This made Kisame Hoshigaki realize that while a strong ninja sword could indeed greatly enhance his strength and make him very powerful overall, he also had to keep up with it.

Otherwise, you would become the ninja sword's weakness.

"Kisame, you don't need to blame yourself too much. At your age, reaching this level of strength is already quite impressive. Jiraiya and Orochimaru are both top-tier ninjas who have been famous for a long time."

"Their strength ranks among the top in the entire ninja world."

"Kisame, you've already done a great job to this extent."

"You still have time, you can continue to grow, and you will definitely be worse than them in the future."

"Among the younger generation, Kakashi Hatake of Konoha, Koto of Iwagakure, Darui of Kumogakure, and Maki of Sunagakure are all far inferior to your performance."

"If they faced Orochimaru or Jiraiya, they would have been defeated long ago."

"Even holding on for a moment is difficult."

Kisame Hoshigaki was defeated, but he held on for quite some time.

Other ninjas of the same age would never have been able to do that.

Of course, this applies to normal ninjas.

This excludes overpowered ninjas like Itachi Uchiha, Shisui Uchiha, Sasuke Uchiha, and Naruto Uzumaki.

Itachi Uchiha, who had just joined the Akatsuki organization, defeated Orochimaru with a single genjutsu.

At sixteen years old, Naruto Uzumaki had already developed a ninjutsu such as the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken.

There's also Gaara from Sunagakure, who became Kazekage at the age of sixteen.

However, Gaara when he succeeded as Kazekage might not necessarily be a match for Kisame Hoshigaki now.

Gaara's attack methods are almost all ninjutsu.

Whether it's Gaara's own ninjutsu or the chakra from Shukaku.

The Sword of Wisdom can absorb all of these.

In Uehara Osamu's opinion, Kisame Hoshigaki was too demanding of himself.

After this battle, Kisame Hoshigaki suffered two more defeats.

They were at a disadvantage in both games.

He was almost killed in a battle against Jiraiya.

However, the people of the ninja world's opinion of Kisame Hoshigaki did not decline; on the contrary, it improved.

"Kisame Hoshigaki's strength has probably reached the edge of Kage level."

"Orochimaru and Jiraiya are both veteran, top-tier ninjas."

"To be able to hold out for so long against them, considering Kisame's age, is actually a victory."

"You should know that the current Mizukage of Kirigakure, Yagura, is no match for Orochimaru in a one-on-one fight."

"How far will Kisame Hoshigaki grow in the future?"

"The strongest Mizukage of all time?"

Kisame Hoshigaki sighed.

"But this time, the village suffered too many casualties. I watched them sacrifice one after another, one after another, but I couldn't do anything. That feeling of powerlessness made me very sad."

"Xiu, what do you think I should do to make up for this deficiency?"

"Physical ninjas and summoning beasts are a great counter to me."

Uehara Shu pondered for a while.

"There is no good way to learn quickly. You can only accumulate experience slowly, just like my forging technique. You need to improve step by step, relying on time and training to accumulate knowledge."

In fact, it is not taijutsu ninjas and summoning beasts that counter Kisame Hoshigaki.

Instead, Kisame Hoshigaki is the one who counters ninjutsu ninjas.

Therefore, when facing taijutsu ninjas or summoning beasts, Kisame Hoshigaki can only rely on his own strength to fight.

Kisame Hoshigaki's current strength is definitely inferior to that of Jiraiya and Orochimaru.

Even if, during the battle, Jiraiya and Orochimaru's ninjutsu had been "removed".

"However, there is a way to help Kisame get through this stage."

Kisame Hoshigaki's eyes lit up.

"any solution?"

Trust your partners.

Uehara Osamu asked, "Kisame, are you familiar with Yoshiki?"

"Hoshinogi Yoshikame? My cousin?"

"good."

"We were more familiar with each other when we were young, but as we grew up, we gradually had less contact with each other."

"Ryoki is currently developing a swordsmanship style called Rock Style, which is very effective against swordsmanship ninjas and taijutsu ninjas. It's a perfect match for Kisame's situation."

"Rock Flow?"

"Using the broadsword as its primary means of combat, it is adept at both offense and defense, and excels at defensive counterattacks."

Kisame Hoshigaki's brow twitched slightly.

"Can I learn this Rock Stream style?"

"Kisame, you want to be able to both attack and defend? You can, but it will require a lot of time and effort, just like improving your basic attributes and abilities."

Uehara Osamu said, "Instead of learning the Rock Style, you should spend your time on Chakra Absorption Technique, Water Release, and Taijutsu."

"That kind of efficiency might be even higher."

Kisame Hoshigaki thought for a while.

“Xiu, what you said makes sense, but can they withstand taijutsu attacks from Jiraiya and Orochimaru? Especially that giant summoning beast, its strength is astonishing.”

Uehara Osamu smiled.

"If one person can't hold them off, then two will. If two people can't hold them off, then three will."

"Furthermore, it's true that they are Rock Style ninjas, but that doesn't mean they can't use ninjutsu."

Kisame Hoshigaki nodded.

After confirming that there were no problems with slaying the dragon, Kisame Hoshigaki was relieved and recounted the details of the war to Uehara Osamu, mainly focusing on Orochimaru and Jiraiya's abilities, experience, strategies, and techniques.

"As expected of the Legendary Sannin, they are indeed very strong."

“Each of them has the potential to become a Kage.”

Konoha.

"Sarutobi-sensei, Minato, I'm sorry, I've let you down."

Jiraiya did not return to Konoha; what did return was a handwritten letter from him.

Operation Fog Concealment has failed.

However, life in Konoha still needs to go on.

Jiraiya led a group of Konoha ninja to the northeastern border of the Land of Fire.

Fighting against ninjas from Kumogakure (Hidden Cloud Village).

Orochimaru led a group of Konoha ninja to the northwestern border of the Land of Fire.

Fighting against ninjas from Iwagakure (Hidden Stone Village).

The remaining Shimura Danzo continued to fight against Kirigakure.

Just like before.

However, the situation in Konoha is much worse than before.

A big battle.

Kirigakure suffered heavy losses, but Konoha also suffered significant losses.

In this situation, fighting on three fronts simultaneously is extremely difficult. It puts immense pressure on the manpower, physical strength, and mental state, leaving no option but to retreat continuously.

Jiraiya stared at the Cloud Village ninja opposite him, recalling the scene of the previous battle with the Mist Village army.

He had achieved absolute dominance over the pufferfish demon.

However, just as he was about to kill the pufferfish demon, Ao appeared.

After exchanging opponents, just as he was about to kill Kisame Hoshigaki, the Sword of Wisdom unleashed its hidden power.

As a result, the entire operation failed at the last minute.

That power shocked Jiraiya.

For a moment, I didn't react, and by the time I realized it, it was too late to deal with it.

Its powerful burst of force forcefully pushed back his attack and sent him flying over a hundred meters.

The Iron-Armed Toad, which was closer, suffered a devastating blow.

This made Jiraiya feel extremely guilty.

The operation against Konoha failed.

Kisame Hoshigaki, Ao, and Suigetsu Fuguki could all kill him by themselves.

Iron-Armed Toad was also sacrificed.

Now, not only does Jiraiya lack the courage to face the village, but Hiruzen Sarutobi and Minato Namikaze are also unable to face Mount Myōboku.

Jiraiya hadn't experienced such a complete and utter defeat in a long time.

"The raid on Kirigakure failed, and I am largely to blame. Therefore, I must stop you this time to atone for my sins."