144. The New Demigod of the Ninja World!

As the name of Hoshigaki Kisame echoed across the ninja world, the shinobi of the Hidden Cloud, Hidden Stone, and Hidden Sand villages were all shaken.

Since Kisame could lay siege to the Hidden Leaf and force them to sign a treaty of defeat, he could naturally do the same to their own doorsteps, seizing whatever he desired from them.

Consequently, the three great hidden villages dispatched envoys to the Hidden Mist almost simultaneously, expressing their immediate desire to maintain peace with the Hidden Mist Village.

At the same time, however, the three villages secretly mobilized their respective intelligence agencies, sparing no effort to gather information on Kisame and devise every possible means to counter him.

In the Land of Grass, the Blood Prison of Hozuki Castle.

Hundreds of prisoners surged out of their cells and rushed to the central square to celebrate.

"As expected of the Prison King of Hozuki Castle! Lord Hoshigaki Kisame single-handedly forced the Hidden Leaf, the foremost of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, to bow its head. It feels so exhilarating!"

The prisoners cheered for Kisame with intense excitement, as if his glory were their own.

Although Kisame had already left Hozuki Castle, his legend would forever remain within these prison walls.

In his office, Mui looked out at the cheering prisoners in the square and, in a rare display, revealed a smile.

Throughout the successive ninja wars, the Hidden Grass Village had always been treated as a mere pawn—or even a chessboard—by major powers like the Hidden Leaf, suffering countless casualties among its shinobi and civilians alike.

This time, utilizing the power of the Box of Ultimate Bliss to transform into the form of Satori and thrash the Hidden Leaf, Kisame had indirectly vented a great deal of pent-up frustration for the Hidden Grass Village.

In the neighboring Land of Rain, however, a completely different scene was unfolding.

Alongside the news of Hoshigaki Kisame defeating the Hidden Leaf came the devastating tidings of the fall of Hanzo, the leader of the Hidden Rain Village.

This legendary demigod of the ninja world had not shown himself for some time, which had already sparked numerous suspicions. Now that his death at the hands of Kisame was confirmed, it instantly created a massive uproar within the Hidden Rain Village.

Following Hanzo's death, the village quickly fractured, plunging once more into endless flames of war.

The former Salamander Hanzo, acting as the leader of the Hidden Rain Village, had once declared war simultaneously on the three major nations of Fire, Wind, and Earth, ultimately protecting the Land of Rain as the undisputed protagonist of the Second Great Ninja War.

Now, the era of that demigod had drawn to a close, and the man who slew him, Hoshigaki Kisame, had become the most dazzling figure of the Third Great Ninja War.

Thus, Kisame replaced Hanzo's title of "Demigod," with many coming to refer to him as the new Demigod of the Ninja World!

By this point, Kisame, not yet fifteen years old, stood second only to the former God of Shinobi, Senju Hashirama, in both strength and status throughout the history of the shinobi.

***

In the Land of Water, the Hidden Mist Village.

A group of Hidden Mist shinobi and villagers stood jubilantly at the village entrance, their excitement and elation overflowing. They craned their necks in eager anticipation, waiting for their great Mizukage to return to the village.

Yet, after waiting for a long time, Kisame did not return; instead, they received a message from him.

"Lord Mizukage still has some matters to attend to and will return to the village after a short while."

After carefully reading the message sent by Kisame, Elder Yuanshi noticed the disappointed expressions among the crowd and spoke to them with a solemn expression, "Pull yourselves together! Until Lord Mizukage returns, we must protect this village and restore it to its former prosperity and bustle!"

"Understood!" the Hidden Mist shinobi responded in a resounding roar.

In the western region of the Land of Fire, deep within a virtually untrodden primeval forest.

Swish.

A twenty-meter-tall black monster plummeted from the clouds, landing slowly in a forest clearing and startling a massive flock of birds and beasts that scattered in all directions.

Kisame did not immediately return to the Hidden Mist; as he had stated in his message to the villagers, he still had business to attend to.

Upon descending into this desolate wasteland, Kisame finally loosened his claws and set Tsunade down upon the ground.

Thud.

Tsunade collapsed directly onto her knees, gasping heavily for breath. Caught in the crushing grip of Kisame's monstrous hands, every muscle and bone in her body ached, and restricted of oxygen, she had nearly suffocated and lost consciousness.

Only because of her exceptional constitution had Tsunade avoided being crushed to death by Kisame alive.

How could anyone expect a brute and ruthless fellow like him to understand the concept of cherishing women?

As Tsunade knelt on the ground gasping for air, Kisame opposite her slowly shrank back into his human form.

Recovering slightly, she raised her head only to realize that, due to the transformation, Kisame's clothes had long since been shredded and torn away.

If any outsider were present to witness Kisame completely naked alongside Tsunade kneeling before them, they would undoubtedly draw some unhealthy conclusions.

"You—"

Regaining her composure, Tsunade glared furiously at Kisame before quickly turning her head away.

Yet the scene she had just witnessed lingered stubbornly in her mind; no matter how hard she shook her head, she found it impossible to forget.

"Ah, my apologies. I didn't mean to do that; I've given you quite a fright."

Remaining remarkably polite, Kisame apologized to Tsunade while producing a fresh set of clothes, quickly donning them amidst a rustling sound.

During this process, Tsunade's body finally recovered enough for her to push herself up with both hands.

"Didn't you want me to go to the Hidden Mist and help establish your medical ninja system? Why did you stop here? What on earth are you planning?"

Vigilant and staring straight at him, she instinctively took two steps back and demanded coldly.

"That can be done slowly; there's no rush. Right now, I want to discuss something else with you."

Kisame looked at her with a half-smile as he spoke.

"What is it?" Tsunade frowned.

"Tsunade, do you remember when I asked you back at the coastal town whether I could cultivate Senjutsu? You rejected me at the time, leaving me quite reluctant to give up. After fighting the Hidden Leaf this time and witnessing Jiraiya's Sage Mode with my own eyes, I swore to myself that I must obtain this power."

Kisame leisurely recounted the past, fixing his burning gaze upon Tsunade without concealing his covetous desire for Senjutsu.

"So that's how it is."

Hearing this, Tsunade let out a dismissive laugh. She had long known that Kisame's pursuit of her was never about helping the Hidden Mist establish a medical ninja system; he had harbored alternative motives all along.

With that realization, she let out a cold snort and answered him without hesitation: "You might as well give up on that idea, mister. No matter how many times you ask me, my answer will always be the same. Senjutsu is a power meant for justice; I will never let it fall into the hands of someone like you to wreak havoc upon the ninja world."

"Is that so?"

Kisame acted as though he had anticipated Tsunade's response. He sighed, shook his head, and said, "It seems I have no choice but to bypass you as the middleman and negotiate directly with the Sage of Slugs herself."

Negotiate directly with Katsuyu?

Hearing this assertion from Kisame, Tsunade was stunned for a moment before her expression changed drastically.

She suddenly remembered that during Kisame's earlier battle against the summoning beasts of the three great sacred lands, he had employed a technique to seal the Katsuyu she had summoned—the latter being, in reality, a fractional extension of the true body of the Slug Sage.

It turned out that Kisame had already set his plan in motion as early as that very moment.