Naruto: Naruto's Uchiha girlfriend is too arrogant

Chapter 554 Sharks from Another World

At the edge of the forest, a tall figure emerged carrying the corpse of a wandering ninja.

He wore a black robe with red clouds, and carried a ninja sword covered in spikes on his back. His shark-like face was devoid of any extraneous expression.

Kisame Hoshigaki.

He and Itachi had just completed their mission to infiltrate Konoha to investigate the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, and on their way out they encountered Jiraiya, one of the Legendary Sannin.

Itachi felt unwell after using Amaterasu, so Kisame told Itachi to rest first, while he took the opportunity to complete a bounty mission in the vicinity to raise funds for the organization's future plan to capture tailed beasts.

"Alright, that's all. Let's go back to find Mr. Itachi. Hopefully he's rested well."

He carried the body and walked towards the agreed meeting point.

"Excuse me, could you please stay here for a moment?"

A voice suddenly came from ahead. "We can't let anyone disturb us over there right now."

Kisame stopped abruptly, his small, round eyes narrowed sharply, and he looked like a shark that had suddenly sensed danger, all his senses instantly switched to the highest frequency.

"Who?!"

He looked in the direction of the sound.

Beside that sturdy ancient tree, a person was standing there—golden hair, azure eyes, and wearing an orange coat.

Kisame recognized the face; it was the face of Naruto Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. However, the person in front of him was clearly not the right age. His face lacked the immaturity of a young boy; instead, it possessed the calm and composed demeanor of an adult man.

"This is truly..." Kisame's hand unconsciously gripped the hilt of Samehada, and he spoke in a strange tone, "What an unusual face. Could you explain why you have such a similar face to that Nine-Tails Jinchuriki brat?"

"Well, I can explain that slowly."

"No, it's better not to."

Kisame interrupted him, a cruel smile spreading across his face. "I'll cut off your legs, take you with me, and explain everything after we meet up with Itachi. I'll also explain why you're here."

He realized—this person stopping him meant that something was already happening on Itachi's side.

He had to get back as soon as possible, and the fastest way was to take down the person in front of him.

"I can explain all your questions," the blond young man said, his voice filled with restraint, as if he didn't want to fight. "I don't want to fight you."

Kisame didn't answer, but slowly, step by step, assumed a fighting stance.

Samehada was held in front of him, while the bounty target rolled to the ground. The massive blade covered in spikes gleamed coldly in the sunlight. His feet were slightly apart, and his center of gravity was lowered.

Naruto looked at him, his expression turning somewhat helpless.

"Stay here obediently, understand?"

The next moment, Kisame's pupils suddenly contracted to their maximum size.

Behind the blond young man, a huge red phantom was slowly emerging.

The phantom was so enormous that it blotted out the sky, so enormous that the surrounding trees looked like toys, so enormous that the entire forest was shrouded in its shadow—it was a giant fox with nine tails, like something out of a myth.

Even a mere phantom was enough to send Kisame's instincts into overdrive.

Cold sweat instantly seeped from his forehead and slowly slid down his skin.

Samehada trembled violently in his hand. All the spikes covering the blade retracted and clung tightly to the blade, like a frightened fish desperately trying to curl up. Samehada, which had been with him for so many years and absorbed countless amounts of chakra, had never trembled like this before.

We can't win.

Kisame came to this conclusion with absolute clarity in his mind.

It's not a question of whether we can win or not, nor is it a question that tactics or strategies can make up for; it's that we're not even on the same level, we don't even have the right to fight.

If the other party had just a single thought, I could probably disappear from this world completely.

The sentence I just said—"Stay here obediently"—was not a threat, not a warning, but simply a fact that the power gap between the two sides was so great that even fighting was not an option.

A mere warning has achieved this much.

Having understood the situation, Kisame slowly lowered his hand, completely withdrawing from his fighting state.

"Don't be so nervous, I won't lay a hand on you."

Naruto immediately spoke up in a gentle tone to comfort him.

"Feel free to ask me any questions, and I also have some questions for you."

He definitely wouldn't lay a hand on Kisame. In his own world, Kisame was a member of the "Jin" organization.

Although the Kisame in front of him came from another world, and although they had no connection whatsoever, Naruto knew he couldn't bring himself to kill that familiar face.

Kisame was still processing what he had just seen; the overwhelming red phantom was still haunting his mind.

If this person in front of me really wants to do something to me, I have absolutely no chance of resisting.

Since the other party said they wouldn't take action, the only thing I can do now is to stay here obediently and try my best to figure out what's going on.

"What exactly happened to Itachi-san?"

He spoke first; this was the question that concerned him most at that moment.

"What is your purpose?"

He added, his gaze fixed on Naruto's face.

"Don't worry," Naruto replied decisively. "Although I can't guarantee what will happen, Itachi won't die."

He didn't say much or explain anything, but this simple answer was more convincing than any lengthy assurance.

Kisame didn't press the matter further, but simply nodded slightly, temporarily setting the issue aside.

"...And what happened to your face?" he continued, "And that chakra...it's the Nine-Tails' chakra...who exactly are you?"

According to intelligence reports, Naruto Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, was an orphan who grew up alone in Konoha without parents, and was treated like a monster by the villagers.

If he had a father—if he had a father who looked so much like him and possessed such terrifying power—then why didn't this person appear when he first tried to take the brat away?

None of this makes sense.

"Because I am Naruto Uzumaki," Naruto said calmly, "the Naruto Uzumaki of the future, and of another world."

Kisame's face froze.

On that shark-like face, which was already difficult to make expressive, a look that clearly said, "Are you kidding me?" was now clearly visible.

Although it is the truth, the truth is so bizarre that it sounds more like a lie than a lie when spoken.

But he didn't press the matter further, because Naruto spoke up.

"I've answered so many of your questions, now it's your turn to answer one of mine."

"Why did you join Obito's... or rather, Madara's side?"

This question came so suddenly that Kisame didn't react for a moment. His eyes narrowed slightly, an instinctive defensive stance.

Naruto didn't give him much time to think and continued speaking.

"I know very well that you hate Kirigakure's Blood Mist policy. That examination system that forces ninjas of the same year to kill each other to graduate, that massacre and purge of bloodline clans, that ruthless rule that treats ninjas as disposable tools and allows them to kill their comrades to protect information."

"These are all things you hate."

"But all of this—the Blood Mist Policy that caused you so much pain and ultimately led you down the path of defection—was the result of the mastermind behind the Fourth Mizukage. That person is Obito, the man you are now loyal to."

Why did you choose to join the side that is the source of your suffering?