So, you've discovered my little secret.

"You... you are..."
A thunderbolt seemed to split Ye Cang’s mind, and at last, she remembered who the man standing before her was.
Though Kisame’s appearance had changed greatly in the past months, that signature "honest" smile of his had left an indelible impression on her soul.

Three months ago, under the moonlit sky, at the edge of a cliff by a hundred-meter waterfall—
Then, too, it was a Mist youth with a shark’s visage, backing toward the precipice, arms open in a smile.
"If you survive, Blaze Style Ye Cang, let’s meet again."
With those words, the youth had leapt into the abyss.

Ye Cang had always believed that this lunatic Kisame had been dashed to pieces at the bottom of the cliff. Never did she imagine they would cross paths again—especially in such a familiar scene.

The difference was that this time, Kisame did not need to flee from her.
"I underestimated you, Hoshigaki Kisame," Ye Cang said gravely, her gaze sweeping over the thick shark’s tail behind him, and the strange right index finger he now possessed. Her mind raced, analyzing, deducing.

It was now clear that Kisame’s intervention wasn’t to save her, but rather for the two ninja blades.
Last time, he’d done the same—taking down Black Hoe Raiga and stealing the Thunder Blade: Fang.
This man seemed able to absorb the power of these blades, making them part of his own body.
Was it some kind of special bloodline limit?

"So, you’ve seen through my little secret," Kisame remarked, catching her gaze as he advanced at a steady, unhurried pace.

With Kisame drawing closer, Ye Cang’s eyes turned icy. With a sweeping motion of her arm, every Blaze Style fireball by her side roared towards him in a barrage.
She knew she could not defeat this monster.
So, after using the fireballs to hold him back, Ye Cang did not hesitate—she chose to retreat at once.

But Kisame would not let her go.
As the fireballs hurtled toward him, he raised his hands. In the space of just two or three seconds, his fingers flashed through dozens of seals with dizzying speed.
"Roar!"
With a deafening bellow, the lake behind Kisame surged up, shaping itself into a lifelike water dragon, tens of meters long.
Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique.

With a leap, Kisame landed on the dragon’s head, commanding it as it crashed through trees and boulders, relentlessly chasing Ye Cang.

Yes, Blaze Style could evaporate the water in the human body.
But Kisame had plenty of water—he wasn’t afraid.
As a prodigy of Water Release with abundant chakra, the water dragon he summoned far surpassed the power of other B-rank jutsu of its kind.
Unless Ye Cang fought with every ounce of strength, her Blaze Style would not harm him.
Yet she had already exhausted most of her chakra after battling the Mist ninja led by the merciless duo; even if she wanted to give her all, she couldn’t.
Kisame, on the other hand, had conserved his energy, and had even absorbed the long blade: Needle, further increasing his strength.

Thus, the water dragon beneath him surged forward, devouring every fireball with ease, and the distance between him and Ye Cang shrank rapidly.

Not good.
Ye Cang glanced back, her heart sinking. She hastily formed seals, wringing out the last remnants of chakra to produce a final fireball a meter in diameter.
With a clear shout, the searing orb—radiating intense heat like a miniature sun—howled toward Kisame as he rode the water dragon in pursuit.
Kisame’s eyes narrowed; he leaped high into the air.
Boom!
Below him, water dragon and fireball collided, devastating a swath of forest and sending up vast plumes of steam, shrouding the land in thick fog.

At the edge of the mist, a figure darted by in a flash—
Ye Cang, seeking to use the fog as cover for her escape.
But she had still underestimated Kisame’s skill as a hunter.

Thud!
Just as Ye Cang thought she had made it out alive, a bolt of pain shot through her left shoulder, halting her in her tracks.
She staggered and fell.
Like Munashi Jinpachi before her, she had been pierced through the shoulder by Kisame’s projectile blade-finger, then tightly bound by his chakra threads.

So, in humiliation, Ye Cang was trussed up, her limbs cinched tight by chakra, unable to move.
Kisame emerged from the mist, one hand gripping Ye Cang, the other holding the Explosive Blade: Spray, and swiftly left the scene.

Deep into the night—
The world was silent.
Carrying Ye Cang, Kisame raced for dozens of kilometers through the moonlit forest until he reached a remote mountainside, where he found a secluded natural cave.
Inside, after a careful check for danger, he tossed Ye Cang to the ground without ceremony.
"Ugh."
Ye Cang landed face-first, a stifled groan of pain escaping her lips. Then she fell silent, her gaze vacant as she awaited Kisame’s verdict.

No cries for mercy, no cursing—
She understood all too well that the man before her was a true cold-blooded beast.
Faced with such ruthless men, only by abandoning resistance could one hope for a quick, painless end.

Kisame did not immediately deal with Ye Cang.
He lit a candle to illuminate the cavern, then sat cross-legged, placing the Explosive Blade: Spray across his knees.

Come.
He whispered inwardly, activating his cheat once more.
"You’re about to be reunited with your two brothers. I’m truly happy for you. Hurry up—if you’re late, someone else might take your spot and you won’t find a good home inside me."
He murmured to the Explosive Blade: Spray.

As if it understood, the blade was unexpectedly docile, offering no resistance as it dissolved into a crimson light and entered his body.
It coursed through him, finally settling in his left arm.
Kisame pulled up his sleeve. Black markings, like explosive tags, now spread along the skin of his left arm, converging in his palm to form the character for "explosion."

His left arm was now a powder keg, ready to unleash massive blasts at any moment.
And indeed, it was so.
With a thought, Kisame pressed his left palm to the ground. The "explosion" mark shimmered, and a surge of strange chakra raced along the earth.
Boom.
A few meters ahead, the ground erupted violently, causing part of the cave to collapse and block the exit.
This was the power the Explosive Blade: Spray had granted him.

He could now create invisible explosive tags with his chakra, capable of remote detonation, timed blasts, or unleashing a wave of explosions all at once.
Whether for frontal assaults or sudden ambushes, the uses were endless.

This time, Kisame had truly profited—his strength had leapt to a new level in just a few days.
Now with three ninja blades within him, and thus three unique bloodline limits, all he needed was to elevate his chakra reserves and master these powers—then he would be a true Kage-level force.

In the world of shinobi, only at Kage level could one be considered to have entered the inner circle, even to be qualified for a one-sided thrashing by Madara Uchiha on the battlefield.
The road ahead was still long.

After imagining the future for a moment, Kisame drew his thoughts back.
This time, his gains were not limited to the two blades—he also had a female captive.
At this, Kisame turned his gaze to Ye Cang.