Kisame Hoshigaki has two key advantages. First, he can transform into a shark in water, granting him unparalleled mobility.
Second is his sword, Samehada.
Kisame hails from the Hidden Mist Village and initially debuted as part of the "Seven Ninja Swordsmen" idol group... uh.
Speaking of which, a quick tangent.
In Naruto, the Five Kage and their respective villages are actually based on real-world counterparts.
Some online experts have analyzed this.
Among the five major ninja villages, the Land of Fire clearly represents Japan. It's a Japanese story, after all, so no surprises there.
The Land of Wind, with its arid, sandy environment and Gaara's teacher Baki's attire, resembles the Arab nations.
The Land of Lightning is a multicultural nation. The Eight-Tails Jinchuriki, Killer B, is a stereotypical Black rapper. The Gold and Silver Brothers have Native American-inspired designs, while Samui is a blonde with a striking figure, making the connection to America quite evident.
The Land of Earth features vast areas of pointed European-style castles, which clearly point to the European Union...
Lastly, the Land of Water, which is said to be more subtly portrayed. It was once a powerful nation but implemented isolationist policies for several generations. Internally, it was oppressive, and later, a woman came to power...
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen rebelling against tyranny feels oddly reminiscent of the "Six Gentlemen" of the late Qing Dynasty...
Well, that's just hearsay and speculation—it could all be a coincidence.
Lastly, the Land of Water is said to be subtly portrayed. It was once a powerful nation but implemented isolationist policies for several generations, maintaining internal oppression. Eventually, a woman rose to power…
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen, rebelling against tyranny, somewhat resemble the "Six Gentlemen" from late Qing history, don't they?
Well, this is all hearsay and speculation—it might just be a coincidence.
In reality, the battles between these villages are just turf wars between local gang leaders defending their domains.
Back to the Seven Ninja Swordsmen—each of them wields a rather sinister blade.
Kisame Hoshigaki's sword, Samehada, is a living blade capable of absorbing chakra. It can drain an opponent's chakra mid-battle and has an insatiable appetite.
It's said that even the chakra of a tailed beast might not satisfy its hunger.
The sword can even absorb and neutralize chakra-based attacks, making it an incredibly powerful weapon.
However, Samehada can only absorb chakra. Against physical fighters, it has no significant advantage. In the original story, this is why Kisame was overwhelmed by Might Guy, who doesn't rely on chakra, and eventually had to resort to suicide.
Abomination is similar to Might Guy. He has no chakra but possesses immense physical strength, incredible stamina, and is highly adept in water combat.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that Abomination perfectly counters Kisame's weaknesses. Su Ye didn't even bother paying attention to their fight.
After noticing Kisame's attack, Su Ye immediately leapt onto the rooftop of the Dolby Theatre. This theatre is located next to the Chinese Theatre—the spot where Happy almost got blown up in Iron Man 3—and is also where the Oscars are held.
As Su Ye landed on the Dolby Theatre's rooftop, four figures swiftly appeared before him.
The four figures closely resembled their anime counterparts, except for Sasori, who had reverted from his Hiruko puppet form to his original appearance.
Seeing the four, Su Ye's brows furrowed slightly.
"From New York to Los Angeles—you guys really don't know when to quit, do you?"
At the front, Itachi spoke in a deep, emotionless tone: "It's our duty. Even if you flee to the ends of the earth, we will find you."
"Heh," Su Ye chuckled. "What if I return to China?"
Itachi paused, then sighed. "But you haven't gone back, have you?"
"Exactly," Su Ye snorted, pulling a Guan Yu mask from his pocket and putting it on before continuing.
"So, do you know why I haven't gone back to China?"
Itachi remained silent, but Hidan, standing behind him with a massive scythe, quickly chimed in.
"Why you're not going back is your problem. The real issue now is that you can't go back. Today's your death day, and this place will be your grave!"
With that, he brandished his massive scythe, the Blood March Scythe, and charged at Su Ye.
Hidan's ability relies on the power of the Jashin deity. Once he tastes his opponent's blood, he can draw a ritual symbol on the ground using it.
While standing within the symbol, any injury he inflicts on himself is also inflicted on his opponent, making him a deadly adversary.
On top of that, Hidan is immortal. Although he feels pain, he cannot die, which means that as long as he stands within the ritual circle, his enemies are essentially doomed, whether they attack him or not.
Countering this ability, however, is fairly simple—anyone with common sense could figure it out.
Since the ritual requires the opponent's blood, the solution is straightforward: don't let him get your blood, and the technique becomes useless.
Because of this, some people consider Hidan the weakest member of the Akatsuki due to the glaring weaknesses in his technique.
As for Su Ye, he didn't bother with such precautions—he preferred attacking to dodging.
So, when faced with Hidan's charge, Su Ye, though unarmed, launched a counter-charge.
As he charged, he quickly rubbed his hands together, forming a rapidly spinning chakra energy ball in his palm.
"Rasengan!"
The Rasengan is a spinning energy sphere, but it's not a simple unidirectional spin. It causes chakra within the sphere to rotate irregularly, disrupting the opponent's internal chakra upon impact.
Disrupted chakra flow is similar to internal energy chaos, akin to going berserk—it immobilizes the opponent instantly.
The Rasengan in Su Ye's hand wasn't an ordinary one; it was the upgraded Giant Rasengan, with far greater power and destructive capability—said to rival the impact of a small meteor hitting Earth.
However, Su Ye didn't aim his Giant Rasengan at Hidan but instead at Itachi.
If he was going to act, he'd do it thoroughly. Itachi, with his leader-like demeanor and aura, and as a supposed traitor from the prestigious Uchiha clan, made him the perfect target to strike first.
Itachi, already prepared, swiftly formed hand seals and exhaled a blast of flames, while simultaneously throwing a handful of shuriken with his other hand.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Nail Crimson!"
Dozens of shuriken transformed into rapidly spinning fiery projectiles, flying toward Su Ye and covering a wide area. If he continued his charge, he'd undoubtedly be hit by the barrage of flaming shuriken.
Left with no choice, Su Ye detonated his Giant Rasengan mid-charge, disrupting the chakra and airflow to deflect the flaming shuriken, avoiding direct hits.
At that moment, Hidan had closed in, swinging his massive scythe directly at Su Ye.
Meanwhile, Kakuzu and Sasori, standing beside Itachi, were readying themselves to join the battle at any moment.
A few kilometers away, on the rooftop of a high-rise building, stood a woman with purple hair adorned with a paper flower.
She wore the same black cloak with red clouds as Itachi and the others. This was Konan, the sole female member of the Akatsuki and the wealthy owner of six billion explosive tags.
In the distance, Su Ye unleashed his ultimate move, Energy Fountain, sending a massive energy pillar skyward, blasting Hidan away. At that moment, Kakuzu and Sasori decided to join the fray.
But Konan stood there watching from afar, her face expressionless, showing no intention of stepping in to help.
Beside her, a paper butterfly fluttered gently and landed on a decayed piece of wood.
"I didn't expect that the one they couldn't handle, even with so many of them, turned out to be just one of your clones."
Konan turned her head, looking at the piece of wood, and spoke without any change in expression.
"And yet, your true body appears here at this moment."
Suddenly, with a loud bang, the decayed wood transformed into a human figure—it was Su Ye himself, the real one, not a clone.
"I didn't expect one of the Akatsuki's top leaders to be you," Su Ye raised an eyebrow slightly. "So, should I be calling you 'Master Aunt'?"
In the original story, Jiraiya taught Minato Namikaze, as well as Konan and her group, and later Naruto Uzumaki. By that logic, Naruto would call Konan "Senior Sister."
That would mean Minato, Naruto's father, should be "Senior Brother."
However, in Su Ye's case, he had never met Jiraiya or learned from him. Thus, Jiraiya was merely his father's master, making him Su Ye's grandmaster.
So for Su Ye, Konan wasn't "Sister Konan" but rather "Master Aunt Konan."
Alternatively, just "Aunt."
Hearing Su Ye call her "Master Aunt," a fleeting, inexplicable expression crossed Konan's perpetually stoic face, as if she recalled something. But she quickly shook her head.
"Master Jiraiya probably no longer acknowledges us as his students."
No, that's not a typo. Su Ye's father's master was indeed named "I Am Here."
The name "I Am Here" originates from a clever thief character in the Song Dynasty's Xié Shǐ (Comic Tales).
The Naruto character Jiraiya was based on this story, which traveled from China to Japan and became localized.
Thus, translating Jiraiya's name as "I Am Here" in Chinese could be seen as a way of tracing his roots.
Hearing Konan's words, Su Ye shook his head. "Whether Master Jiraiya acknowledges you, I don't know. But as far as I'm concerned, I recognize you as my aunt."
"And honestly, Auntie, you're so young and beautiful that calling you 'Aunt' feels like I'm aging you. Would it be okay if I called you 'Sister Konan' instead?"
Su Ye smiled, trying to get on her good side. Women always appreciated compliments about their looks and youth—it was a surefire way to quickly build rapport.
Especially for someone like Konan, who was in her thirties. No matter how much she tried to deny it, she couldn't compete with the youthful glow of women in their early twenties.
Sure enough, Konan's expression softened slightly, losing her initial poker face.
"Better stick to calling me 'Master Aunt.' Whether Jiraiya acknowledges us or not, we are still his students."
Since Konan insisted, Su Ye naturally complied without hesitation.
"Alright, Auntie," Su Ye quickly followed her lead. "So, when did you guys arrive in the U.S.? You should've told me beforehand so I could show you some hospitality. I've been here for a few years now, after all."
Upon hearing Su Ye's words, Konan's face returned to its cold and stoic demeanor. She shook her head and said, "We haven't been here long. Forget about hospitality—we're here to capture you."
As she spoke, countless sheets of paper suddenly materialized behind her, forming the shape of wings. They gently flapped, lifting her into the air.
"Enough with the small talk. Since you're already here, it saves me the trouble of hunting you down. Will you come quietly, or should I force you?"
Seeing her stance, Su Ye couldn't help but sigh.
Women, truly. They turn on you faster than flipping a page. Just a moment ago, she let him call her "Aunt," and now she was ready to fight and possibly kill him.
Did I accidentally offend your honor or something?
Although Konan was a woman, Su Ye's personal code had no clause against fighting women.
When someone tries to trample over him, not fighting back wasn't Su Ye's style.
In Su Ye's view, there was no such thing as a woman you couldn't fight—only those too weak to fight back.
Konan's ability is often referred to as "Paper Release," though its original name is "Dance of the Shikigami." It essentially allows her to manipulate paper for flight, attacks, clones, and other standard ninja techniques.
Her most famous battle was when she used six billion explosive tags to disguise a sea, attempting to ambush Uchiha Obito.
Unfortunately, the Uchiha clan is full of cheats. Obito used his Sharingan technique Izanagi, nullifying all the explosive tags and even stabbing Konan from behind.
Inexperienced and caught off guard, that stab ultimately cost Konan her life.
Su Ye didn't have the Sharingan's Izanagi technique, but similarly, Konan, having just arrived in Los Angeles, hadn't had the chance to set up a trap with billions of explosive tags.
Thus, Su Ye had no qualms about this battle.
Unless Nagato, controlling the Six Paths of Pain, decided to step in, which was almost a given.
Su Ye's current goal was to defeat Konan as quickly as possible before Pain arrived, saving himself a lot of trouble.
Opposite him, Konan gave a cold snort. "It seems you have no intention of surrendering. Don't blame me for being ruthless, then."
Su Ye looked up, grinning wide enough to show eight sparkling teeth. "Auntie, care to guess how long I can last against you?"
Konan frowned slightly but remained silent, as if pondering the question—or perhaps deeming it beneath her to answer.
How long he could last? That would be clear only after a fight.
Su Ye hadn't expected Konan to answer, so he quickly provided his own response.
"What I'm saying is, the shorter, the better. So if I wrap this up in, say, three seconds, you wouldn't hold it against me, would you?"
Konan snorted softly. "Who exactly do you think you're underestimating?"
With her Paper Release, Konan was virtually immune to most forms of physical attacks. Defeating her quickly was no easy feat.
Su Ye shrugged. "I'm not underestimating anyone. I'm just saying—today, I'm not the same as before."
With that, Su Ye's eyes flashed as he unleashed his psychic abilities in a sudden burst.
In an instant, Konan's eyes glazed over, and her body went limp like a puppet with its strings cut, dropping from the air.
Su Ye moved swiftly, stepping forward to catch her falling body.
"Forgive me, Auntie—I only needed one second!"