Left eye Sharingan, right eye white eye.

After making up his mind, Kisame instructed Yukionna and Yekura to pack their belongings and prepare to leave.

An hour later.

Disguised as Uchiha Madara, Kisame stepped out of the small courtyard’s gate.

Inside the “Box of Ultimate Bliss” sealed within his body, Yukionna, Yekura, Shizune, Rin Nohara, and the one-year-old Bai lay lined up neatly, all in a deep slumber.

With a swift push off the ground, Kisame surged forward at tremendous speed, heading toward the frontline battlefield.

Not long after, about ten kilometers ahead near a town, a fierce chakra signal erupted. From a distance, flames and thick smoke billowed skyward, and faint sounds of battle cries and clashes could be heard.

A group of mist-hidden ninjas fled from that direction, each looking battered and disheveled, like a pack of defeated dogs.

It was hardly their fault.

The death of Mizukage Yekura, the demise of his aide Kisame, and the annihilation of the Anbu forces—this explosive intelligence had been uncovered by Konoha and spread widely, dealing a devastating blow to the morale of the Mist Village.

Facing the elite Konoha forces, the mist ninjas were neither willing nor able to resist.

“Someone’s ahead! Who is it?”

“Damn, it’s a ninja from the Uchiha clan. Those Konoha bastards want to wipe us out completely.”

The fleeing mist ninjas immediately noticed Kisame’s Sharingan and their faces shifted as they halted in place.

“He’s alone. Let’s take him down!”

Exchanging glances, the mist ninjas formed hand seals and simultaneously unleashed:

Water Release: Water Torrent Wave.

Whoosh! Several water pillars shot toward Kisame, merging midair to form a massive column several meters in diameter, its force overwhelming.

Facing the surging water column, a smirk curled on Kisame’s lips. He removed the flame-patterned fan from his back and swung it forward with great force.

Under the horrified gaze of the mist ninjas:

Swish!

The water column, formed by their combined attack, was fanned back by Kisame’s strange fan, now rushing toward them at even greater speed.

“Ahhh!”

Screams echoed as the mist ninjas were blasted away by the water column, all injured and collapsing helplessly.

Kisame sheathed his fan and approached a mist ninja lying nearby.

Mimicking Uchiha Madara’s cold expression, he looked down on the man and asked indifferently:

“How’s the battle in the town ahead? Tell me, and I might spare your miserable life.”

“I-I’ll tell you! A unit from Konoha’s Hyuga clan broke through the Mist’s fog jutsu around the town and massacred us. Our injuries are severe. Lord Ao ordered the wounded to retreat. He stayed behind with a few others to fight to the death against the enemy,” the man blurted out quickly, unwilling to hide anything.

Ao?

At the mention of the name, information flooded Kisame’s mind.

Ao was an elite Jonin from the Mist Village who, during the Third Great Ninja War, had seized a Byakugan from the Hyuga main family, earning a place on Konoha’s wanted list.

Later, Ao became a trusted retainer of the Fifth Mizukage, Mei Terumi, serving as her bodyguard during the Five Kage Summit and earning the title "Byakugan Killer."

“Scram,” Kisame said coldly, then vanished in a flash.

Ten minutes later.

Kisame arrived at the town.

Walking along the street, he saw ruins everywhere and numerous civilian corpses. The blood stained the entire road, and the air was thick with the acrid stench of blood.

He found numerous mist ninja bodies alongside some from the Hyuga branch family.

He identified the latter by the green “x” marks on their foreheads. Their veins bulged, eyes and brains destroyed, their deaths gruesome.

This mark was the Caged Bird Curse Seal placed on Hyuga branch family members, which automatically activates upon their death to prevent the Byakugan from falling into outsiders' hands.

Suddenly, noise came from behind the ruins ahead.

“Protect the elder’s retreat!”

Several Hyuga branch ninjas surrounded a Hyuga main family elder, fighting while retreating.

Kisame hid behind a wall, noticing the elder’s pained expression as he clutched his bloodied right eye—the elder’s Byakugan had been stolen.

The thief was a gray-blue-haired Mist Jonin with a flat-top haircut.

It was, indeed, Ao.

“Hmph, the Hyuga clan is nothing special,” Ao sneered, placing the stolen Byakugan into a test tube amid the Hyuga’s raging glares.

This was a main family Byakugan, purer than those of the branch family and free from the Caged Bird Curse Seal, making it indestructible.

Among all ninja, this eye was a coveted trophy.

“Hmm? More people arriving? Konoha reinforcements?” Ao frowned, sensing chakra nearby.

Kisame stepped from behind the wall.

“It’s someone from the Uchiha,” the Hyuga recognized Kisame, especially noting his three-tomoe Sharingan with delight.

The number of tomoe in a Sharingan reflects a ninja’s strength. Three tomoe often signify Jonin rank, marking an elite of the Uchiha clan.

Moreover, Kisame’s aura was extraordinary, exuding the presence of a high-ranking Uchiha.

With a swift leap, Kisame joined the Hyuga group and nodded respectfully to the elder.

“Excellent. Help me take down this man and retrieve our clan’s stolen Byakugan,” the elder said, pointing at Ao.

Though Uchiha and Hyuga clans often had tense relations, they were still comrades from the same village and shared enemies on the battlefield.

“Fine,” Kisame nodded, flashing a wild, demonic grin at Ao.

Ao’s face darkened. His keen perception sensed Kisame’s enormous chakra, knowing this opponent was not to be trifled with.

Without hesitation, Ao turned and fled.

“Pursue him!” the Hyuga elder shouted, ordering the branch family ninjas to chase at all costs to reclaim the stolen eye.

A chase ensued.

Suddenly, Ao heard coughing behind him.

What was that?

Looking back in suspicion, he was stunned.

The Uchiha ninja had suddenly attacked, releasing a thick purple poisonous mist from his mouth, enveloping the Hyuga ninjas.

Salamander’s poison.

“Cough, cough…”

The ninjas inhaled the toxic fog, coughing uncontrollably before succumbing to paralysis and collapsing.

“You bastard! Why…” The Hyuga elder lay on the ground, horrified, staring at Kisame, never expecting a comrade ninja to be attacked this way.

“For your Byakugan, of course,” Kisame said with a devilish smile, reaching for the elder’s remaining eye.

“Stop! Do you understand the consequences? The village won’t spare you or the Uchiha clan… ah!”

With a scream, the elder’s last Byakugan was also taken by Kisame.

“Uchiha clan truly breeds lunatics—attacking their own village comrades without remorse…” Ao muttered, gazing deeply at Kisame before seizing the chance to escape while Kisame was distracted.

Kisame glanced at Ao’s retreating figure but ignored him.

Minutes later, the poisoned Hyuga ninjas succumbed one after another, their bodies cold and lifeless.

Kisame left with the stolen Byakugan.

A few minutes after that, among the corpses, a Hyuga branch ninja suddenly stirred, panic written across his face.

His poison was shallow; feigning death had saved him from Kisame’s notice.

“Damn Uchiha. You’re finished…” he growled bitterly, glancing at his fallen comrades before scrambling to flee outside the town.

Kisame reappeared from behind the wall, watching the figure vanish.

He had deliberately left a survivor.

Once this Hyuga ninja joined Konoha’s main forces, he would surely report Kisame’s actions, sowing discord between the Hyuga and Uchiha clans.

That would be an intriguing spectacle.

Next, Kisame destroyed the Hyuga ninja corpses and found a quiet civilian house in town to perform a new eye transplantation.

“Pop.”

Inside the room, Kisame removed his right eye, carefully preserving his original pair of dead fish eyes, then inserted the stolen Byakugan into the empty socket.

As it turned out, the Hyuga Byakugan was indeed weaker in lineage compared to the Sharingan, especially when compared to the authentic Byakugan of the Ōtsutsuki clan—a world apart.

Thus, it didn’t take long for Kisame’s body to adapt to the new eye.

His right eye turned pale blue with veins bulging around it—the Byakugan’s power activated.

X-ray vision, telescopic sight, and a 360-degree field of view—these were the three fundamental abilities of the Hyuga’s Byakugan.

Left eye: Sharingan. Right eye: Byakugan.

Having both eyes simultaneously allowed Kisame to perceive the world in a way utterly different from ordinary people.

Only someone with Kisame’s unique, powerful physique could suppress the severe rejection reaction and harmonize these two eyes to function together.

No ordinary person could hope to achieve this.

With the Byakugan now in use, Kisame resumed moving toward the frontline.

Soon after, standing midway up a mountain, Kisame activated the Byakugan and spotted the Konoha ninja army camped on a plain below.

He estimated over five thousand troops.

Quite a massive mobilization.

But for a ninja of Kisame’s caliber, numbers meant nothing.

No matter how many ordinary ninjas came, they were merely fodder.

Carrying the power of “Flatfish Strike,” he thrived on fighting multiple opponents, growing stronger with each battle.

In other words, these five thousand Konoha ninjas would only serve to enhance his strength, pushing his power to even more terrifying heights.

What concerned Kisame was how many top-tier Konoha ninjas had been deployed this time.

He knew for sure that the upper echelons of the Uchiha and Hyuga clans were present, including clan heads Fugaku Uchiha and Hizashi Hyuga.

With his current strength, he was unafraid even if these two clans’ elites fought together.

However—

If the legendary Sannin, the Yellow Flash Minato Namikaze, Kushina Uzumaki the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and the Anbu’s sealing squad and Root operatives were also involved, Kisame would be in trouble.

When all these forces were unleashed, it might require a Sage-level ninja to handle them.

Such was the formidable foundation of Konoha.

Realizing this, Kisame leapt down the mountainside and stealthily approached the outskirts of Konoha’s main force, seeking to capture some prisoners.

From the mouths of a few captives, Kisame learned:

This Konoha army was spearheaded by the Uchiha and Hyuga clans, with many shinobi from Sarutobi, Shimura, Yamanaka, Akimichi, and Nara clans mixed in.

It was confirmed that the Legendary Sannin and Minato were not present; they remained in Konoha’s homeland.

After all, while attacking the Mist, Konoha also needed to guard against the Stone, Cloud, and Sand villages, so they couldn’t mobilize all their forces.

Besides, it wasn’t necessary.

The Mist Village was visibly weak, on the verge of collapse.

Currently, Konoha’s five thousand-strong army was conquering territory ahead, while the Third Hokage, the Legendary Sannin, and the famed Yellow Flash defended the home front.

Even if the other three great ninja villages united, they wouldn’t dare provoke conflict.

Thus, Konoha could smoothly absorb the Mist Village and then turn to deal with others.

Admittedly, Konoha’s battle plan was sound.

The only oversight was the wildcard named Kisame Hoshigaki.

He had already counted on those five thousand troops.

With that thought, Kisame prepared to return to the Mist homeland.

His plan was to lure the enemy deeper, waiting until Konoha’s five thousand troops penetrated the Water Country’s heartland or even reached the Mist Village gates before striking.

At that moment, Konoha’s reinforcements would be unable to arrive quickly—Kisame’s best chance to make those five thousand men a one-way trip.

Before then, he would endure in silence for a few days.

Just as Kisame was about to turn and leave, he sensed the strange chakra of the Abnormal Cell nearby in a forested area.

Intrigued, Kisame hurried there.

He soon arrived to find a Konoha patrol squad engaged in fierce combat with a Mist reconnaissance team.

It was Might Guy.

Bang, bang, bang.

In the woods, Guy, sporting a Saiyan-style explosive hairstyle, red skin, and a green jumpsuit, singlehandedly faced several Mist ninjas.

“What the hell? This kid is so fast,” one Mist ninja said.

“His strength is impressive, and his defense incredible. Our ninjutsu doesn’t even faze him. Damn, did he apply some kind of Earth Release hardening technique to his skin?” another remarked.

The Mist ninjas grew increasingly alarmed as their combined efforts failed to overcome a single opponent.

Instead, Guy seized opportunities to defeat them one by one.

“Yah!” Guy shouted, finishing the last Mist ninja with a clean roundhouse kick, ending the battle crisply.

“Guy, you’re amazing!” His teammates, Genma Shiranui and Ebisu, emerged from nearby bushes, giving thumbs-up and looks of admiration.