Chapter 66: Kisame Breaks His Composure
"Who's there?"
Kisame Hoshigaki looked around warily, but saw no one.
He formed a seal with both hands.
A thin mist spread outward from his position, blanketing the ground. Samehada's little skull-shaped mouth opened, sucking in the water vapor.
It extended several hundred meters, yet no chakra presence was detected.
Was it a genjutsu?
Kisame glanced at Uchiha Itachi, only to see his teammate shake his head slightly, signaling that it wasn't an illusion.
"It's just a trace of a curse technique Sasuke left inside you. It'll dissipate soon."
The voice spoke again.
Suddenly, Itachi opened his mouth and coughed up a glob of dark blood.
It was the lingering essence of Sasuke's Cursed Black Flame—a trace that could mark an enemy's rough position. Even in defeat, Sasuke hadn't let go of his hatred for Itachi.
This technique, foreign and unknown in the ninja world, was something Itachi had never encountered before.
Using the lingering curse energy as a coordinate, a faint, translucent figure slowly transmitted into view.
Fang Yi gave a polite smile. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm a merchant who deals in the Reincarnation Game. Would you be interested in joining?"
[Kisame Hoshigaki (Silver)], [Uchiha Itachi (Gold)].
Both had extremely high soul potential.
Was this some form of projection technique, like the one used by their leader?
Kisame unconsciously touched the ring on his finger. A technique capable of transmitting thoughts over great distances like this was something he had only seen the Akatsuki leader perform.
But this man used no chakra, no ring, nothing—and still appeared so vividly.
That eerie method sent alarm bells ringing in both of their minds.
"Reincarnation Game?"
Itachi repeated the somewhat familiar term, his voice weak.
He vaguely recalled some lower-tier Akatsuki members mentioning it, but the S-class core members had mostly dismissed it.
Fang Yi smiled. "A game that can make your dreams come true. For instance, Sasuke's dream is to kill you. Judging by your body corroded by bloodline sickness, he may not need to wait much longer."
"That strange black flame—was it a technique you taught him?"
Itachi drew in a breath and coughed again, the mention of Sasuke pulling him back into focus. He studied the man carefully.
His attire was nothing more than a noble's casual robe, made of soft silk—comfortable, but unsuitable for travel or combat.
Ninjas, even with their high pay, rarely wore such impractical clothes unless in disguise.
Fang Yi shook his head. "I didn't teach Sasuke anything. If I must clarify, yes, he is one of the players I invited into the Reincarnation Game, but the black flame he uses is a core ability of the Cursed Swordmaster class. It has nothing to do with me."
"Cursed Swordmaster?"
Itachi showed a rare look of confusion.
It sounded like a sword-using warrior. But weren't samurai—a group discarded by ninja history—supposed to be long obsolete?
"They're not samurai," Fang Yi said, seeing his misunderstanding. "It's a game class from another world."
He didn't bother to explain further. With a gesture, he transmitted two full sets of Reincarnation Game data into the minds of both Itachi and Kisame.
In an instant,
Kisame's eyes widened, and his beloved Samehada almost slipped from his hands.
"This... this kind of thing..."
Hunting tainted monsters, earning reward points, trading them for powerful gear and skills—gaining overwhelming strength, rare treasures, even immortality...
It sounded like a fairy tale.
If Sasuke hadn't just displayed power that clearly defied all common sense, Kisame would've thought this man was insane.
But now, he didn't act rashly. Instead, he turned to Itachi for guidance.
"I never imagined such upheaval was taking place in the ninja world."
Itachi recalled Sasuke's eyes burning with killing intent, his vicious attacks. A bitter smile crept across his lips.
It all sounded absurd.
And yet, he believed it instantly. Perhaps he was just too tired.
Burdened with the sin of slaughtering the Uchiha Clan, clinging to life in his disease-ridden body, Itachi knew he was just like the Uchiha's legacy—doomed to turn to dust and vanish from the world.
Crack.
Without a word, Kisame suddenly swung Samehada at Fang Yi's projected image.
Samehada passed straight through the figure and slammed into the ground, leaving a deep crater.
Fang Yi's expression remained unchanged. His smile never faltered. He murmured to himself, "To strike without even knowing my strength... Are you worried about flaws in Uchiha Madara's plan? Quite the dutiful ninja."
Kisame's shark-like eyes widened. His heart pounded as he shot a subtle glance at Itachi.
This guy... he even knew about Lord Madara's Eye of the Moon Plan.
Kisame wanted nothing more than to shred the man's head open with Samehada, but that test strike had told him enough: this wasn't a projection he could disrupt.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Kisame replied, slinging Samehada back onto his back with a blank look.
He had no intention of admitting anything.
He was the type to abandon everything for a mission.
Back in Kirigakure, he had slaughtered his entire squad to protect intelligence. If the risk of a leak came from himself, he'd bite off his own tongue without hesitation.
That was the path he walked as a shinobi.
Only by treading one path with unwavering conviction could Kisame feel truly alive—truly himself.
Otherwise, everything would be drowned in illusion and pain.
"The Eye of the Moon Plan."
Fang Yi said it like one might bring up a random story during a lazy afternoon gathering with friends, casually naming the very secret Kisame had buried deep inside his heart.
"Kisame, don't do anything rash!"
Itachi grabbed Kisame's trembling arm, restraining his partner on the brink of an emotional outburst.
Just the knowledge Fang Yi had delivered directly into their minds about the Reincarnation Game was enough to shroud him in a veil of mystery.
A game merchant who could grant players extraordinary powers?
To lash out against such a being could only end poorly.
Itachi took a deep breath and asked, "Sir, have you appeared before us now to invite the two of us to become players as well?"
Fang Yi nodded with a smile. "Exactly. You're both lucky—possessing talents and potential that have drawn the attention of the world. That's why I've come."
Kisame, with his massive chakra reserves, unique physique, and natural compatibility with Samehada, was practically a genetic variant among civilian-born shinobi.
Itachi, who awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan at a young age and wielded legendary artifacts like the Totsuka Blade and the Yata Mirror...
Both had the makings of elite players.
But most importantly, Fang Yi saw in them the potential to be harvested—for the original energy that lay hidden within their souls.
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