129. The Weak Hyuga Clan

Swish.

From a distance, Hiashi Hyuga struck out with one palm. A high-intensity, high-density chakra shockwave burst from his hand and shot straight toward Kisame’s back.

Eight Trigrams: Air Palm.

This was one of the Hyuga clan’s secret techniques. The chakra shockwave it released was not only devastatingly powerful, but invisible to the naked eye. Once an enemy was struck, it was as though they had been hit by the Gentle Fist from afar, losing all ability to fight on the spot.

Yet what Hiashi had never expected was—

Although Kisame had his back turned to him, he seemed to possess the Byakugan himself. With a sidelong step, he effortlessly dodged the Eight Trigrams: Air Palm.

Hiashi’s ambush not only failed to injure Kisame; after the attack missed, it struck a Hyuga clan member bound to a pillar instead, causing him to cough up blood and die on the spot.

Kisame turned around and smiled faintly. He rapidly formed a sequence of hand seals, then drew in a deep breath and spat it out.

Splash!

Wave after wave of water surged from beneath Kisame’s feet like a burst flood. In moments, it formed waves three stories high, lifting his entire body into the air.

Water Release: Exploding Water Shock Wave.

As soon as the raging current appeared, it forced more than a hundred Hyuga clan members back.

Standing atop the waves, Kisame looked down at Hiashi and the others. Under their horrified gazes, he took out a blue Water Shadow hat and placed it on his head.

“Allow me to introduce myself. I am Kisame Hoshigaki, the Fifth Water Shadow of the Hidden Mist Village. Today, this place shall become the Hyuga clan’s graveyard.”

After saying this, he swung Samehada forward. The water beneath his feet immediately surged ahead, sweeping toward the Hyuga forces with tremendous momentum.

Whoosh!

Hiashi Hyuga leaped backward repeatedly, retreating more than twenty meters and avoiding the full force of the waves.

“To release this much water in a single instant… This chakra… Could he be a tailed-beast jinchuriki?”

He muttered to himself as the veins beside his eyes bulged. Within the field of vision granted by his Byakugan, the chakra inside Kisame’s body shone like the sun, so dazzling that it was almost impossible to look at directly.

As the Exploding Water Shock Wave swept across the area, a lake formed at the entrance of the Hidden Mist Village. Countless Hyuga clan members were hurled away by the current, struggling even to keep their footing.

The Hyuga clan excelled at close-quarters combat, but now they could not even approach Kisame.

Kisame’s figure blurred, and he suddenly plunged beneath the water and vanished.

Where was he?

Hiashi hurriedly activated his Byakugan, searching through the surface of the water and tracking Kisame’s movements.

“Look out!”

He warned a clan member not far away, but he was too late.

Swish!

A huge hand emerged from beneath the water, seized the man by the ankle, and yanked him down with tremendous force. The man disappeared beneath the surface.

“Everyone, watch the water!” Hiashi shouted sternly.

In an instant, every Hyuga ninja activated the Byakugan and nervously scanned the lake.

There!

Hiashi spotted Kisame again and charged across the surface of the water.

Kisame had just emerged from beneath the lake and was about to ambush a Hyuga ninja when Hiashi arrived in time and struck him with the Gentle Fist. With a splash, Kisame’s body turned into a puddle of water.

A water clone?!

Hiashi froze. The next moment, a scream came from behind him.

A shark-shaped projectile of chakra-infused water leaped from the surface and lunged at a Hyuga clan member.

No—not one shark.

Hundreds.

Swish, swish, swish, swish!

At that moment, countless shark-shaped water projectiles burst from the surface like a school of fish, leaping and twisting through the air as they savagely attacked the Hyuga ninjas.

At the same time, one water clone after another appeared, taking advantage of the chaos to ambush the Hyuga forces and trap them in Water Prison Technique.

It had to be said: Kisame’s chakra was simply outrageous. Shark-shaped water projectiles and water clones filled the entire battlefield. In such an environment, even the Byakugan was overwhelmed, unable to locate Kisame’s true body.

Before long, under Kisame’s overwhelming assault, the Hyuga clan was nearly annihilated.

When the water finally receded, every one of the more than one hundred Hyuga clan members except Hiashi lay scattered across the ground. Some had been knocked unconscious by drowning, while others had been mauled by sharks.

The entire force had lost its ability to fight.

Hiashi Hyuga stared fixedly at Kisame, his heart sinking to the bottom. He had never anticipated such devastating losses. For the Hyuga clan, they were utterly unacceptable.

And Kisame’s next words completely shattered what remained of Hiashi’s composure.

“The Hyuga clan claims to be the strongest family in the Leaf Village. From what I can see, you’re only the strongest at boasting. I haven’t even exerted myself, and you’ve already all fallen. What a bunch of useless trash.”

Kisame glanced over the fallen Hyuga members before turning his gaze to Hiashi and mocking him without restraint.

Whoosh!

Hiashi said nothing. He dashed toward Kisame at incredible speed and unleashed a furious barrage of attacks.

Relying on Satoru’s Mind-Reading Technique to dodge with ease, Kisame continued taunting him.

“Are those three punches and two kicks all you have? Leaving everything else aside, compared to the Uchiha clan I once fought, the Hyuga are far inferior. You don’t deserve to stand alongside the Uchiha.”

Under his verbal assault, Hiashi was indeed consumed by rage. His movements soon became disordered.

In the distance, Hizashi Hyuga, still bound to a pillar, saw what was happening and hurriedly shouted a warning to his elder brother.

“Clan Head, be careful! This man possesses a strange ability that allows him to see through our attacks. And that greatsword of his is coated with deadly poison. You must be cautious!”

“Silence.”

Kisame’s expression darkened. With a flick of his right index finger, he shot out a chakra thread that sewed Hizashi’s mouth shut on the spot.

Just then—

“Ha!”

With an angry shout, Hiashi struck both palms toward Kisame at once, releasing two chakra shockwaves.

Eight Trigrams: Air Wall Palm.

This was an enhanced version of the Eight Trigrams: Air Palm. Its range was far greater, and even Kisame had no time to dodge from such a short distance.

Faced with the incoming chakra shockwaves, Kisame chose to raise Samehada and place its broad blade before him.

Bang!

The next moment, he and the sword were sent flying. He shot backward a considerable distance before crashing into a wall with a tremendous boom.

“Hmph.”

Hiashi snorted coldly and was about to rescue Hizashi when he saw Kisame climb out of the rubble of the collapsed wall as though nothing had happened.

Was this man’s body made of steel?

Hiashi was horrified. And whether it was merely his imagination or not, he had the distinct feeling that Kisame had grown taller and more muscular than before.

He had not been mistaken.

During the battle, Hiramekarei’s Heavy Strike ability had been activated, causing large quantities of power-enhancing hormones to flood Kisame’s body.

After defeating a hundred Hyuga ninjas, he now stood over two meters tall, with his strength, speed, and defensive power all greatly enhanced.

Even taking Hiashi’s Eight Trigrams: Air Wall Palm head-on was nothing more than a minor inconvenience to Kisame.

That was enough.

Kisame decided to end this game of cat and mouse. He immediately charged toward Hiashi with Samehada in hand, leaped high into the air, and brought the sword down.

Rotation!

Without hesitation, Hiashi used his ultimate technique. In an instant, he released a massive amount of chakra from the tenketsu throughout his body and spun at high speed like a top, forming a hemispherical chakra dome around himself.

This was Rotation, known as the “absolute defense.” It could repel all physical attacks.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!

Samehada struck the chakra dome, creating violent friction as it threatened to be deflected by the Rotation.

But once Kisame activated Samehada’s ability and devoured all of his opponent’s chakra, Hiashi quickly found himself unable to keep spinning. His body was overwhelmed by extreme weakness.

Swish!

His Rotation collapsed. Kisame’s blade slashed across his chest, and Hiashi fell backward onto the ground.

Kisame slung Samehada over his shoulder, walked over, raised his leather shoe, and planted it on Hiashi’s face.

“Being weak and ignorant is not your fault. Arrogance is. The Hyuga clan is clearly this weak, yet none of you possess even the slightest self-awareness. A mere hundred men dared to attack the Hidden Mist Village. You were practically begging to die.”

His voice was cold as he humiliated them without mercy.

Throughout the shinobi world, the Hyuga clan could indeed be considered a first-rate ninja clan—but that was all.

The Hyuga clan’s Byakugan was nowhere near the eyes of their ancestor, the Otsutsuki. Their ocular abilities were primarily auxiliary, while their taijutsu emphasized defense. They had even created the Caged Bird seal system, severely suppressing the growth of their own talented members and causing their ranks of capable individuals to dwindle.

The clan had never produced a Kage-level powerhouse. Even Neji Hyuga, hailed as the only genius the clan had produced in several centuries, ultimately met the fate of becoming cannon fodder.

Compared with the Uchiha, another clan possessing a dojutsu bloodline, the Hyuga were in an entirely different league.

Under Kisame’s humiliation, Hiashi lost every shred of dignity. The poison of the giant salamander had paralyzed his entire body, leaving him unable to speak. He could only roar inwardly.

Why had this happened?

He had led his clansmen here to make the Hyuga name known and establish their prestige. Instead, they had suffered total annihilation.

The proud and arrogant Hyuga clan had never endured such a crushing defeat.

Suddenly—

Wooooosh!

A fierce wind blew in from the distance, scattering the dense mist surrounding the Hidden Mist Village.

Someone had used a Wind Release technique.

Kisame looked ahead. Before long, the field of vision was filled with densely packed Leaf ninjas. They came rushing from every direction, one after another, surrounding the village entrance in overwhelming numbers.

The Leaf’s main force had finally arrived.

At that moment, thousands of eyes fell upon Kisame in unison. Many Leaf ninjas wore expressions of uncertainty and disbelief.

The Hyuga clan, which had served as the vanguard, had been completely wiped out. Even their clan head, Hiashi Hyuga, had been trampled beneath someone’s foot.

The sight left the Leaf forces stunned.

Among the crowd—

“That man is wearing a Water Shadow hat. Is he the new Water Shadow of the Hidden Mist Village? And the sword in his hand… It seems to be the greatsword Samehada…”

Mikoto Uchiha furrowed her brows slightly as she analyzed the situation.

Beside her, Fugaku Uchiha narrowed his eyes and studied Kisame.

At the rear of the crowd—

“Big Brother Kisame?!”

Might Guy spotted the familiar figure from afar and cried out in shock, his expression one of utter disbelief.

Over the past six months, the reason his strength had advanced by leaps and bounds was that Kisame had once fed him three monster cells.

Guy had always held Kisame in deep respect and gratitude.

He had never imagined that, at this very moment, he and Big Brother Kisame would become enemies on the battlefield.

Guy’s shout caused many of the Leaf ninjas around him to turn and stare at him suspiciously.

“He mistook someone else for him. He’s just shouting nonsense.”

Might Dai hurriedly stepped forward to make excuses for his son.

Although he had lost an arm, he had not chosen to retreat to the rear for treatment. Instead, he had gritted his teeth and persisted, swearing to fight shoulder to shoulder with his son.

Then—

Under the gaze of every Leaf ninja present, Kisame moved.

First, he used chakra threads to bind Hiashi to one of the pillars at the village entrance. Then he hoisted Samehada onto his shoulder and revealed a grim smile toward the thousands of Leaf troops.

“I am Kisame Hoshigaki, the Fifth Water Shadow of the Hidden Mist Village. Remember that name, because every one of you will die by my hand.”

His declaration immediately caused an uproar among the opposing forces.

“This man is completely full of himself! He actually thinks he can stand against an army of five thousand all by himself?”

“Kill him! This so-called Fifth Water Shadow is nothing more than a lone commander. Once we step over his corpse, we’ll be able to take the Hidden Mist Village with ease.”

As they discussed the matter, the Leaf ninjas advanced toward Kisame.

“Uchiha ninjas, step forward!”

At the front of the formation, Fugaku Uchiha spoke in a low voice. As soon as he finished, more than a dozen Uchiha elite ninjas stepped out.

“Kill the Water Shadow, rescue the Hyuga clan, and crush the Hidden Mist Village!”

At Fugaku’s command, the Uchiha elite ninjas charged toward Kisame together. As they advanced, they formed hand seals in unison and opened their mouths.

Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!

In an instant, more than a dozen scorching fireballs, each several meters in diameter, rolled toward Kisame, leaving him nowhere to dodge.

Kisame had no intention of evading.

Facing the incoming fireballs, he rapidly formed hand seals and slammed his palm against the ground. Amid a thunderous rumble, a massive wall of water rose into the air.

The wall was more than twenty meters long and ten meters wide. It resembled a genuine fortress wall and blocked every Great Fireball.

Whoosh!

Kisame leaped onto the top of the water wall. After forming another series of hand seals, he opened his mouth and exhaled.

Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!

As the technique took shape, a gigantic sphere of water more than thirty meters in diameter descended from the sky and crashed directly into the densely packed Leaf forces.

What terrifying chakra reserves!

The sight caused many Leaf ninjas’ pupils to contract sharply, their expressions changing drastically.

“Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!”

More than twenty Leaf ninjas rushed out of the formation and joined forces to perform a defensive technique, creating a towering earth wall several dozen meters long.

Boom!

The sphere of water collided with the earthen wall, producing a deafening explosion.

Amid the chaos, Kisame charged into the crowd with Samehada in hand. His towering body, more than two meters tall, plowed through the battlefield like a tank. Wherever he passed, men were thrown into the air and screams rang out without end.

The astonishing battle of one against five thousand had begun.

Inside the Hidden Mist Village, Hozuki Mangetsu and the others hid in the shadows, anxiously watching everything unfolding outside the village.

“Can Kisame really handle this alone? We should hurry out and help him!”

Seeing Kisame plunge into the enemy formation, Ringo Ameyuri spoke anxiously.

“Don’t act rashly. Trust the Water Shadow. If we rush out now, not only will we fail to help, we may even become a burden to him.”

Mei Terumi remained calm.

“Mei is right.”

Hozuki Mangetsu nodded in deep agreement. “Those Leaf fools actually dared to underestimate Big Brother Kisame. They’re going to pay a terrible price. Just wait and see.”

Hozuki Mangetsu understood Kisame better than the others.

In his heart, if there truly existed a heaven-sent warrior capable of turning the tide and saving the fate of the Hidden Mist, that person could only be Kisame Hoshigaki.