At first, Naruto found the battle intensely entertaining, but even the most thrilling scenes lose their charm when they repeat endlessly.
Right now, the fight between Wartortle and Kisame had devolved into just that.
Naruto had considered interrupting the match several times, but seeing Wartortle so eager and full of energy, he couldn't bring himself to do it.
Luckily, the drizzle was starting to let up, which meant Wartortle could no longer activate its Rain Dish ability. The stalemate was finally about to end.
'It's finally over!'
Naruto sighed in relief and waved, "Wartortle, come back and rest."
Hearing this, Wartortle turned around and began walking back toward Naruto.
However, Kisame, noticing Wartortle's unprotected back and having grown increasingly impatient during the drawn-out fight, wasn't about to let such an opportunity slip by.
Swinging Samehada, he struck fiercely at Wartortle.
Hearing the sound of the air being torn behind it, Wartortle tried to dodge but was too late. It could only manage to use [Retract into Shell] in desperation.
Bang!
The moment Samehada hit, the ground beneath cracked apart. Even the light drizzle couldn't suppress the massive cloud of dust that rose from the impact.
"Wartortle!"
Naruto shouted and rushed towards Wartortle anxiously.
When the dust settled, Wartortle's shell was embedded in the ground, with only a small portion visible above the surface.
[Warning: Wartortle's health is critically low. Please return it to its Poke Ball immediately.]
Hearing the system prompt, Naruto wasted no time and immediately recalled Wartortle to its Poke Ball.
The Poke Balls modified by the system had healing capabilities, which is capable of restoring even the gravest of injuries as long as the Pokemon was still alive. However, the more severe the injuries, the longer the recovery period.
The last time during the Chunin Exams, it took several days for Wartortle to recover. This time, Naruto guessed it might take at least ten days to two weeks before Wartortle could fight again.
"Kisame, you've successfully pissed me off!"
Naruto said coldly as he stored the Poke Ball in the system inventory.
He had clearly recalled Wartortle, signaling the end of the battle… something anyone could understand.
If that weren't the case, Wartortle wouldn't have let its guard down so much.
But Kisame had taken advantage of the situation to land a fatal blow on Wartortle.
Such underhanded tactics disgusted Naruto. And more than that, Naruto considered Wartortle to be like a son to him.
When someone hurts their child, how could any father tolerate it?
"Do you need me to step in?" Itachi asked.
"No need."
Naruto shook his head, then stood up and walked toward Kisame. He then said in a deep voice, "I know you're wary of Itachi. Don't worry… I won't stoop to your level. I'll take care of you myself!"
"Don't think I'm scared of you, kid. If you want to fight, bring it on. Without Itachi-san's help, you're nothing."
Kisame sneered. In front of him, Naruto, who was 1.5 meters tall, looked tiny.
Kisame was the type of Shinobi who thrived against strong opponents. Paired with Samehada, the more Chakra his opponent had, the more he could exploit them.
"Oh, really?" Naruto chuckled coldly, refraining from using Kyubi's Chakra.
He knew Kisame's abilities very well, and he even knew how Kisame would eventually die.
While Kisame's death in the original series was technically a suicide, it ultimately stemmed from his inability to defeat Guy.
And back then, Guy had only opened up to the seventh gate. A single Daytime Tiger was enough to take Kisame down.
Now, Naruto is going to imitate Guy!
"Gate of Opening, Gate of Healing, Gate of Life, Gate of Pain, Gate of Limit, Gate of View… Open!"
Without any foreplay, Naruto opened six gates in one go.
If he opened all the eight gates, Naruto could only maintain his power for five seconds, which was enough to kill Kisame instantly, but it was totally unnecessary.
After all, Naruto's goal wasn't to kill Kisame but to vent his anger on him. Nothing more.
In this situation, opening six gates was more than sufficient. Naruto could maintain it for an hour without suffering any side effects.
Boom!
The moment the sixth gate opened, Naruto's once fair skin turned crimson red, and deep green steam began to rise from his body.
To Kisame, apart from the green vapor, Naruto's appearance was no different than when using Biju Transformation. That's why he thought it was Naruto using the Biju Transformation again and couldn't help but sneered, "It's useless. The more Chakra you use, the stronger I become. You're doomed to fail!"
"If you don't try, how will you know?"
Naruto snorted coldly. With a single stomp, his figure vanished from the spot.
Bang!
Before Kisame could even react, a punch sent him flying.
The tremendous impact felt to Kisame as if a rampaging elephant had slammed into him. His internal organs churned, and he tasted the faint sweetness of blood in his throat.
Forcing the blood back down, Kisame stabbed Samehada into the ground to stabilize himself. Even so, he skidded nearly ten meters before coming to a halt.
"Interesting."
Though Kisame's small, beady eyes were filled with shock, everything was still within his expectations.
After all, Naruto was a Jinchuriki. Unleashing such force by using massive amount of Chakra wasn't unexpected for someone like him.
"Your performance is over. Now it's my turn. Samehada - Human Fusion!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Samehada detached from the ground, liquefying and flowing into Kisame's arm..
A cloud of white smoke rose, and Kisame's appearance underwent a drastic transformation.
His Akatsuki's cloak was gone, leaving him wearing only pants. A long, shark-like tail extended from his back. His exposed upper body no longer looked human, with gills forming on his sides and shark fins protruding from his arms and head, all razor-sharp.
This fusion wasn't just about having a shark-like appearance. More importantly, Kisame gained Samehada's abilities. While he couldn't use its underwater high-speed movement on land, he could still utilize its Chakra absorption and sensing capabilities.
From this point forward, any direct clash with Naruto, whether Kisame attacked or got hit, would allow him to continually absorb Naruto's Chakra.
It should be noted that Kisame could also use the Chakra stored in Samehada to rapidly heal his body. So simply put, every exchange would drain Naruto's Chakra while replenishing his own. Over time, Kisame was confident he could exhaust Naruto entirely.
"Who told you my performance was over?"
Naruto's voice echoed across the battlefield, though his figure was nowhere to be seen.
The moment the words finished, Kisame's face was struck with another heavy punch, sending him flying once more.
"Pffft!"
After crashing through several large trees, Kisame finally couldn't withstand the immense force. Blood sprayed from his mouth, dyeing the ground in front of him blood red.
However, the physical damage wasn't the worst of it.
In his shark-human form, any contact with his skin should have allowed him to absorb Naruto's Chakra. Yet despite taking such a powerful punch, he hadn't absorbed even a sliver.
'What's going on?'
This was something he had never encountered before.
Then, Kisame quickly activated his Chakra-sensing ability. However, as soon as he locked onto Naruto… he was utterly dumbfounded...