131. Sweeping Away an Army Single-Handedly

The Kirigakure battlefield.

Facing the five-thousand-strong army of Konoha, Kisame showed no fear. Instead, he charged headlong into the vast sea of enemies, engaging the countless foes in brutal combat. Taijutsu was Kisame’s absolute forte. His physique was immensely powerful, surpassing even the Third Raikage—a man who could stand against ten thousand—and this was further bolstered by the devouring properties of the Seven Ninja Swords and the power of the Box of Ultimate Bliss.

It was as if a tiger had grown wings.

In particular, the "Force" of the twin blades Hiramekarei allowed Kisame to grow stronger with every battle; the more enemies he struck down, the more formidable he became. By now, his height had exceeded two point three meters. He swung his great sword Samehada, charging back and forth through the crowd, while a shark-tail lightning whip manifested behind him, lashing out continuously to unleash blinding bursts of electricity. Wherever Kisame passed, Konoha shinobi were sent flying amidst screams, not one of them able to withstand even a single blow from him.

Under his ferocious assault, the Uchiha clan members bore the brunt of the onslaught. Their signature Fire Style ninjutsu posed no threat to him, and the utility of their Sharingan was severely limited; faced with the overwhelming crushing force and speed of Kisame, they were left without any power to resist.

"Is that guy... really human?"

A sense of panic began to spread through the Konoha army. To many of the Konoha shinobi, they were not fighting a man, but facing a monster. Indeed, in their eyes, Kisame’s terrifying form had transcended the boundaries of humanity. No matter how strong a person might be, they could be defeated. But what about an inhuman monster?

Sensing the fear among the Konoha shinobi, Kisame let out a wild laugh. Supported by his massive reserves of chakra, he unleashed his various abilities at full power.

*Swish, swish, swish.*

From his right index finger, hundreds of chakra threads shot out, striking toward the surrounding Konoha ninja. Some of these threads buried themselves into the ground to form traps, severing the legs of numerous enemies the moment they were triggered, leaving them to collapse in agony. Other threads wove into spiderwebs, launching outward to pin enemies to trees or the ground, rendering them immobile. Some threads even took control of Konoha ninja, forcing them to attack their own comrades and sowing massive chaos within the enemy ranks.

Following this, Kisame slammed his left hand onto the ground, and a massive surge of explosive chakra split into hundreds of currents, spreading in all directions from his position.

*Boom, boom, boom.*

Explosions rang out in rapid succession, spreading from the center of the battlefield to the perimeter. Each chain reaction wounded at least dozens of people. Less than ten minutes into this battle, where the disparity in numbers was extreme, over a thousand Konoha ninja were already dead or wounded. The size of the Konoha army had plummeted by twenty percent in an instant. This result was something no one had foreseen.

It was not just the Konoha forces who found this unbelievable; the people of Kirigakure, hiding within the village, watched the battlefield with dropped jaws, stunned by Kisame’s performance. At this moment, every Kirigakure ninja felt wholeheartedly convinced of Kisame’s position as the Fifth Mizukage, harboring no further objections. The gazes of Mangetsu Hozuki and the others grew fervent, filled with pure adoration for Kisame.

On the battlefield, after felling a thousand Konoha ninja in one breath, Kisame’s height swelled to two point five meters. His own strength, speed, and defensive capabilities received another massive boost, reaching a truly terrifying level.

"We cannot let him continue this slaughter!"

A ninja of the Nara clan realized the situation. Dozens of them rushed out together, casting the Shadow Possession Jutsu upon Kisame.

*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.*

Dozens of pitch-black shadows crept toward Kisame’s feet, merging with his own shadow. His form suddenly stiffened, and he ground to a halt. Success! The dozens of Nara ninja had finally managed to restrain Kisame through their combined effort.

"Get out of the way!" shouted several Akimichi clan Jonin as they charged from the crowd. As they sprinted toward Kisame, their stomachs inflated rapidly as if filled with air, quickly turning them into giant human balloons.

*Yang Style: Multi-Size Technique.*

Then, as these Akimichi Jonin continued to weave hand seals, their hair grew long and stiff, coating their entire bodies and transforming them into spiked Human Bullet Tanks.

*Rumble.*

The Human Bullet Tanks rolled in at high speed from every direction, launching a pincer attack against Kisame, intending to crush him flat while he was unable to move.

"Heh."

Facing the combined jutsu of the Nara and Akimichi clans, Kisame gave a grim smile and opened his mouth. A blue orb of light began to brew within, emitting terrifying fluctuations of energy. This was the power of "Hiramekarei: Release."

*Shoo!*

As Kisame spat it out, the energy orb flew like lightning, landing directly in the midst of the Nara ninja before detonating with a roar. A blinding blue light swallowed everything, and a massive shockwave rippled outward in all directions. Kisame felt his body suddenly grow light.

He looked down to see that the dozens of shadows at his feet had been reduced to just a few, no longer enough to restrain him. Stepping down, he cracked the earth into a spiderweb of fissures and, using the recoil, launched his body forward like a cannonball. He crashed head-on into the Akimichi clan’s Human Bullet Tanks.

*Blunt Sword: Severing Force, activate.*

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

Kisame used his iron-head technique to collide with the Human Bullet Tanks, knocking the Akimichi Jonin back one by one, sending them flying into the crowd at even greater speeds and crushing a vast number of people in their path.

*Buzz, buzz, buzz.*

A strange sound suddenly came from behind Kisame. He turned to see a dark, dense swarm of insects flowing toward him like a river. It was the Aburame clan, launching an attack on Kisame using their parasitic insects.

Kisame took a deep breath and exhaled violently. A purple, toxic mist poured continuously from his mouth, quickly shrouding the area in front of him and poisoning the vast majority of the Aburame insects, leaving them belly-up. The poison of the salamander was far more potent than the bugs of the Aburame.

"Woof!"

Just as Kisame dealt with the parasitic insects, a barking sound came from the side. It was the Inuzuka clan, directing dozens of large ninja hounds to surround him. However, as these dogs neared Kisame, they began to disobey their masters’ commands, stopping in their tracks and trembling uncontrollably. It was their animal instinct that had filled them with dread at the sight of Kisame.

"Hahahaha!"

Kisame looked to the sky and laughed wildly, charging into the pack of hounds. With swings of his blade, kicks, and lashes of his tail, he beat the large dogs until they yelped, tails tucked, and fled in every direction.

By this point, the Konoha ninja had exhausted their bag of tricks. They had no means left to deal with Kisame and could only stand like lambs to the slaughter, left to his unrestrained massacre. At this moment, Kisame, by his own strength alone, swept through the army of thousands.

*Whoosh!*

Kisame charged deep into the heart of the Konoha army, his gaze sweeping rapidly across the crowd as if searching for something. He was looking for Might Duy. That man was the only existence among all the Konoha ninja who might pose a threat to him.