Land of Lightning, Kumogakure.
"What's going on?"
The Yondaime Raikage, A, was lifting heavy dumbbells to exercise while frowning as he looked at Killer B.
"Yo, yo~"
"I waited there a whole day~"
"But never saw Takumi appear~"
"Bakayaro, konoyaro~"
B swung his arms as he spoke in his strange rhythm.
A had dark lines on his forehead. "Talk to me normally."
Seeing that his older brother was about to get angry, B immediately became a bit more serious.
"I waited in ambush for three full days, but the target never appeared. Staying any longer risked discovery, so I returned first."
B rapidly reported the mission situation.
"Is that so? It seems the intelligence is still insufficient."
A frowned, his arm movements with the dumbbell very regular. "Then rest for now. We'll act again after gathering more intelligence."
"Then I'm off."
B left without delay, going to find inspiration for his music.
...
Land of Rain.
Amegakure.
The Akatsuki's secret base.
"Kisame, you must understand, once the temperature of water exceeds one hundred degrees, it turns into steam."
Sasori, acting as Kisame's chemistry teacher, explained the very simple concept of water's boiling point. "So, as long as you can withstand temperatures above one hundred degrees, you can fight freely in the water."
"Oh, I see."
The good student Kisame had an epiphany.
"And there is information indicating that when Takumi is in water, he likely cannot use his unique Ninjutsu, such as explosions, instant movement, and other abilities."
Konan flipped through all the information collected on Takumi so far. "If you can control him in the water from the start, you have a high chance of defeating him, even killing him."
Konan's words made everyone's eyes light up.
Only Deidara looked displeased. "What are you all trying to do to Takumi-senpai? He is a respected predecessor in the art of explosion! I won't allow..."
Kakuzu supported the unconscious Deidara, his voice low. "Continue."
Everyone turned their attention back.
Sasori continued the explanation. "Kisame, your Chakra Reserve is enormous, even comparable to a Biju. I imagine creating a massive water prison to trap Takumi shouldn't be difficult."
"That's not a problem."
Kisame nodded, acknowledging he could manage that.
"So, you just need to catch him off guard and control him."
Hidan said, "Aside from me, who is deeply loved by Jashin-sama, no one can breathe underwater."
"I can."
Kisame said. "Otherwise, I wouldn't have suggested fighting in the water."
"Uh, you monster," Hidan said bluntly.
"You're the monster! The immortal monster," Kisame couldn't help but roll his eyes.
"What nonsense are you spouting? This is Jashin-sama's blessing!" Hidan immediately became displeased, pouncing forward to fight Kisame.
"Alright, enough fooling around. The important matter comes first," Kakuzu said in a low voice, kicking Hidan aside without holding back at all.
Boom!
No one paid attention to Hidan, who was deeply embedded in the wall in the distance.
After all, that guy couldn't die.
"If the method discussion is finished, let's start the training," Pain finally summarized.
"Although that Takumi possesses many incredible Ninjutsu, most of them cannot be used underwater."
"So, the plan we've conceived this time should have some effect."
"No matter what method we use, we must kill Takumi. Otherwise, he will inevitably become an obstacle to our plans."
Thus, Kisame's high-temperature resistance training began.
"Water Release: Water Prison Technique!"
Kisame first created a large water prison five meters in diameter. Since it was just training, it didn't need to be too big.
Otherwise, heating it would be troublesome for others.
As for the people responsible for heating, it was naturally Itachi, skilled in Fire Release, and Kakuzu, proficient in all five nature transformations.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
"Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame!"
The two stood on opposite sides, using Fire Release to heat the water prison.
Kisame fused with Samehada, becoming a shark-like humanoid form, swimming inside the water prison.
First attempt.
Heated to only fifty degrees, Kisame couldn't take it and rushed out of the water prison.
After transforming into a shark, all his skin became sensory. He seemed even more intolerant of high temperatures.
Fifty degrees was something even an ordinary person could endure by gritting their teeth.
But Kisame couldn't take it.
After three days and nights of training, Kisame gritted his teeth and endured, reaching sixty degrees.
Then seventy degrees... eighty degrees...
However, at eighty-five degrees, Kisame couldn't endure it anymore.
He trained for a full week but couldn't adapt.
Now the training had hit a bottleneck.
The group began to ponder deeply.
"Should we try a different approach?"
Sasori proposed an idea. "Since Kisame's skin cannot withstand high temperatures, what if we cover his skin with a protective layer?"
"A protective layer?"
Pain frowned slightly. "Explain your idea in detail."
"My idea is simple, based on that Chakra Cloak worn by Jinchuriki when they undergo Biju Transformation. Kisame's Chakra Reserve is huge anyway, so he might be able to simulate something similar."
Sasori explained his idea.
It quickly gained everyone's approval.
"I think it's worth a try," Kakuzu said. "If it doesn't work, I'm leaving. I don't have that much time to waste. There are many bounty targets waiting for me to capture. I still need to make money."
"Let's try it. If it doesn't work, we'll think of other methods," Konan looked at Kisame.
Kisame had no objections.
He controlled his Chakra to cover his body surface, then charged into the water prison.
Itachi and Kakuzu heated the water prison again.
The temperature steadily rose.
Ten degrees, twenty degrees, forty degrees...
Soon, the water temperature broke through eighty degrees.
As it approached eighty-five degrees, everyone tensed up.
"One second, two seconds..."
Itachi counted in his mind.
5 seconds passed. Kisame endured.
10 seconds passed. He still endured!
In that instant, all the Akatsuki members looked at each other, their eyes filled with an unprecedented emotion… joy!
It actually worked!
With the help of their collective training efforts, Kisame had successfully evolved!
He overcame 85-degree high temperature!
"Can you still hold on?" Pain inquired with concern.
"No problem. Please increase the temperature further," Kisame also nodded solemnly.
And Kakuzu and Itachi beside him no longer complained, continuing to increase the firepower!
This time, under the operation of the two fire masters, the temperature in the water sphere smoothly reached one hundred degrees.
The entire water prison directly started bubbling with white foam, becoming boiling!
3 seconds, 5 seconds, 10 seconds...
A full half-minute passed, and Kisame was still moving freely inside!
He had completely overcome the 100-degree high temperature!
"Success!?"
Hidan exclaimed in surprise.
The others were also shocked!
100 degrees!
Kisame withstood 100-degree high temperature!
He could move freely in boiling water!
Pain's gaze burned intensely. He had finally seen hope of being able to kill Takumi!
"Zetsu, where is Takumi now?"
At Pain's call, the conspicuous pitcher plant form of Zetsu emerged from the ground.
"Takumi is traveling from the Land of Rice Fields to Konoha. He will arrive in the afternoon," Black Zetsu's voice was dull.
"Good. Now that we have Takumi's whereabouts, Kisame, the rest is up to you," Pain looked at Kisame, who had returned to normal. "You must kill him."
"I understand. Leave it to me," Having found a way to resist high temperatures, Kisame patted his chest and readily agreed.
Meanwhile, Deidara beside them looked puzzled.
"Wait, is that a success?"
"It doesn't seem like a particularly amazing technique!"
Clearly, Deidara didn't understand the meaning of this technique.
'Just being able to move in 100-degree water, what's so great about that?'
'Can that really kill Takumi-senpai?'
"Deidara, you weren't listening properly earlier," Kakuzu gave him a sidelong glance.
"No matter how high that Takumi's body temperature is, he can only heat water up to 100 degrees at most."
"So as long as Kisame can withstand 100-degree high temperature, he has a high probability of winning!"
After being explained again, Deidara instantly understood.
He then became nervous again.
'Takumi-senpai's Ninjutsu...'
'If he's in water, it's easy to counter them!'
'Or he simply can't use them!'
'Takumi-senpai, be careful...'
'This time, the Akatsuki have come prepared...'