Hearing that Kai intended to keep his word, Mangetsu Hōzuki and Kisame Hoshigaki both breathed a sigh of relief.
The two of them had survived the brutal environment of the Bloody Mist and risen to their current positions.
They weren’t shinobi who feared death.
But that didn’t mean they were willing to throw their lives away so easily.
Kai picked up the Lightning Blade: Kiba from the ground and stored it away.
Then he walked over to Mangetsu, took out the Executioner’s Blade, and tossed it in front of him.
“One sword for another.”
“You don’t have a problem with that, do you?”
Mangetsu smiled bitterly.
“Even if you took all seven swords, what could I possibly say?”
Kai didn’t respond to that.
Instead, he asked,
“You have a younger brother, right?”
Mangetsu froze for a moment.
“Yes.”
“His name is Suigetsu.”
“He’s not even two years old yet…”
“When you come to join me in the future, bring him with you.”
Kai turned and walked toward Kisame.
Mangetsu stared at Kai’s back.
“You’re that certain I’ll eventually have nowhere to stay in the Hidden Mist?”
“The Seven Ninja Swordsmen are second only to the Mizukage within the Hidden Mist.”
“Even though the village is known as the Bloody Mist, it still can’t do without our strength.”
Kai didn’t answer.
He stopped in front of Kisame.
At this point, both of Kisame’s arms were torn open from the force of the explosion that had been reflected back at them.
His flesh was shredded.
Even his bones were visible.
It was enough to show just how much destructive power his final attack had contained.
Kai thought for a moment.
Then he made a decision.
He took out Samehada and placed it in front of Kisame.
Then he picked up Shibuki.
“Kisame Hoshigaki.”
“From today onward, you are the new wielder of Samehada.”
“I’ll keep Shibuki.”
Kisame looked surprised.
“Wait.”
“Although Shibuki’s destructive power is tremendous, in terms of its unique properties, Samehada is the strongest of the Seven Ninja Swords.”
“Surely you know that?”
After witnessing Kai’s overwhelming strength, Kisame had begun addressing him respectfully every time.
Of course Kai knew how powerful Samehada was.
Samehada could even devour the chakra of a Tailed Beast.
If fused with Samehada, its wielder could greatly enhance their sensory abilities and gain an almost immortal level of regenerative power.
But Kai would never fuse with Samehada just for those benefits.
Never.
Because the resulting appearance was simply too ugly.
The only thing he intended to fuse with was the Ten-Tails.
So after thinking it over, Kai decided that Samehada belonged in the hands of someone who was truly suited to wield it.
In the original story, Kisame Hoshigaki remained faithful to his beliefs until the very end.
Even after being captured, he refused to betray his comrades.
To prevent information from being extracted from him, he even bit off his own tongue to break free of the restraints and summoned sharks to devour him.
And to the very end, he faithfully completed the mission Obito had entrusted to him.
Whether it was Obito or Kai, Kisame was a shinobi worthy of respect and trust.
Kai spoke sincerely.
“A good sword belongs in the hands of a shinobi worthy of wielding it.”
“Kisame Hoshigaki…”
“Compared to the value of Samehada, I value you more.”
Kisame didn’t look flattered.
Instead, he said,
“I don’t know why you place so much value on me.”
“But I’ll thank you for it.”
“And there’s something else you should understand.”
“I have no intention of betraying the Hidden Mist Village.”
Kai nodded.
“The choice is yours.”
“I’m merely giving you an option.”
“If one day you discover that your comrades…”
“…and even your own existence…”
“…are nothing but lies, and you can no longer tell who you really are, there will be two paths before you.”
“If your heart still yearns for darkness, go to the Hidden Rain Village.”
“Find an organization called the Akatsuki.”
“But if your heart still yearns for the light…”
“Then come to the Hidden Shadow Village.”
Just moments ago, Kai had decided on the name of his future shinobi village.
Hidden Shadow Village.
And from this day onward, he would bear the name of the Shadow.
Kisame smiled.
“You call an organization ‘Akatsuki,’ yet it represents darkness.”
“And you call your village ‘Hidden Shadow,’ yet you say it represents light.”
“If I may be frank…”
“Your choice of names is rather strange.”
Kai smiled.
“Isn’t it fitting?”
“The appearance of things and their true nature are often completely opposite.”
“Isn’t that exactly like this absurd yet brutally real shinobi world?”
Kisame answered,
“I can’t see that far yet.”
“Perhaps, just as you said, there will come a day when I have to make that choice.”
“But right now, my heart still yearns for the light.”
“You said that if I wanted to join the Akatsuki, I should go to the Hidden Rain Village.”
“So how do I get to the Hidden Shadow Village?”
“It doesn’t exist yet.”
“But it will soon.”
“When the time comes, its name will spread throughout the entire shinobi world.”
“I’m only worried that by then…”
“Your heart may have already chosen darkness.”
“Hahahaha…”
“Then I hope your prophecy doesn’t come true.”
Kisame spoke with genuine respect.
With that, Kai turned and left.
As he passed Ringo Ameyuri’s corpse, he stopped and took another look.
He had been somewhat surprised when he first encountered her.
In Kai’s understanding of the original story, the Lightning Blade: Kiba should still have been in the hands of its first wielder, Raiga Kurosuki.
Raiga was also one of the three members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen who survived Might Duy’s Eight Gates assault.
He supposedly remained alive until the Naruto era.
But after thinking about it carefully…
That storyline had only existed in the anime-original material.
“So it seems…”
“Anime-original events aren’t recognized by this version of the Naruto world.”
“The evidence is right here.”
“The Lightning Blade isn’t in Raiga’s hands.”
“Instead, it was inherited by Ringo Ameyuri.”
Incidentally, Ringo Ameyuri was a rather distinctive kunoichi.
She was young and beautiful.
But Kai hadn’t shown her any mercy simply because of that.
The moment an opportunity presented itself, he had killed her without hesitation.
Clearly, he wasn’t the type of man to lose his head over a pretty face.
The reason he had spared Yūyū in the first place was because her name—and the meaning attached to it—had touched something within his increasingly cold heart.
“Yūyū.”
“Take this.”
Kai stopped in front of her and pulled out Kiba.
“You got this… for me?”
Yūyū looked genuinely surprised.
“Who else would it be for?”
Yūyū hesitated.
She didn’t reach for the sword immediately.
“You’ve always wanted to kill me, haven’t you?”
“So having a powerful Ninja Sword should increase your chances of succeeding, right?”
Kai spoke with a faint teasing tone.
“Don’t regret it when the time comes!”
Yūyū glared fiercely at him with her beautiful eyes before taking Kiba and strapping it to her back.
Kai smiled faintly.
He had already noticed that Yūyū possessed a Lightning Release affinity and was exceptionally skilled with the sword.
Kiba was practically the perfect weapon for her.
With it, her strength would undoubtedly increase tremendously.
After resting briefly, the three continued their journey.
“Oh, right.”
“The Lightning Release techniques you used during the battle…”
“I’ve seen someone use them before.”
Yūyū suddenly looked at Kai.
“What exactly is your relationship with the son of the White Fang…”
“Hatake Kakashi?”