Kisame Hoshigaki

Kisame Hoshigaki is a male anime and manga character who features in Naruto.

Biography

Kisame Hoshigaki (Japanese: 干柿 鬼鮫, Hepburn: Hoshigaki Kisame) was a male human born in the hidden shinobi village of Kirigakure in the Ninja World. Much of his early life was unknown except that he grew up to be a skilled shinobi. In that time, he received orders from Fuguki Suikazan of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. One day, he received a mission to guard the village's Cypher Division during a field assignment. However, he was secretly ordered to eliminate his comrades if they faced the risk of capture as they could not allow the hidden mist's secrets to fall into their enemies. On the mission, they were confronted by ninja from Konohagakure where despite Kisame's skill he was unable to prevent the prospect of capture of his comrades. Thus, he began eliminating them leaving himself the only survivor to keep their intel from being leaked in an interrogation by the hidden leaf's Ibiki Morino. He then managed to successfully escape and returned to is village where he cam to learn that his superior Fuguiki had been selling information on the hidden mist to the other villages. This saw him killing Fuguki and claiming his sword Samehada for himself which was where was confronted by the Fourth Mizukage who commented on his loyalty but that this same trait had led to his disillusionment with the world over the lies perpetuated by it. It was then that Kisame came to find out that the Mizukage was under the control of a masked man who claimed to had been Madara Uchiha. He looked to recruit Kisame and revealed his Eye of the Moon Plan to him where at first Hoshigaki was sceptical about it but was intrigued over the notion of a 'world of truth'. This led to Kisame joining the ranks of the Akatsuki where they endeavoured to capture the Tailed-Beasts. In this time, he came to be partnered with Itachi Uchiha where Kisame commented how they both were known for being traitors to their kin.

He and Itachi later travelled to Konohagakure after the recent attack made against it by Orochimaru which killed its Hokage. The two had arrived in secret in the village with the intention of capturing the Nine-Tails jinchuriki with this being a young ninja named Naruto Uzumaki. Their clothing attracted the attention of others leading to the pair being confronted by Asuma Sarutobi and Kurenai Yūhi though the two quickly found themselves to be outmatched by their opponents. This was until the arrival of Kakashi Hatake who fought Itachi whilst Kisame battled Asuma Sarutobi. He had waited patiently for Itachi to finish off his opponent but instead he ordered Kisame to capture Kakashi whilst the other two leaf shinobi were to be eliminated. Before Kisame could attack though he was struck by Might Guy who joined his Konohagakure comrades with him kicking Hoshigaki in the face. The arrival of another opponent led to Itachi ordering a retreat as he did not want to engage in a large-scale battle. Though annoyed, Kisame agreed to depart despite the fact that he wanted to continue to fight Konoha's shinobi. Itachi and Kisame then continued to hunt Naruto, finding him under the protection of Jiraiya. After Itachi hypnotised a woman to distract Jiraiya and leave Naruto alone, Kisame and Itachi confronted Naruto in a hotel hallway. Kisame considered cutting off Naruto's legs so he could not run away, though Sasuke, Itachi's younger brother, showed up and drew their attention from Naruto. When Naruto attempted to fight, Kisame used Samehada to absorb all of Naruto's chakra. Kisame then attempted to cut off Naruto's arms so he wouldn't put up a fight. Before he could do this, however, Jiraiya arrived, and had the toad Gama defend Naruto. Following the encounter, Kisame and Itachi were driven off by Jiraiya's Summoning: Toad Mouth Bind, failing in capturing Naruto. Afterwards, he attended the Akatsuki gathering where they discussed Orochimaru's taking of Sasuke Uchiha and discussed their future plans in capturing the Nine-Tails to further their agenda.

Two and a half years later, the Akatsuki began their plans to acquire the Tailed-Beasts. This saw Sasori of the Red Sand and Deidara being sent to Sunagakure where they successfully captured the One-Tails host Gaara. The two then returned to their hide-out to begin the ritual to extract the Tailed-Beast into the Gedo Statue where Kisame and Itachi remotely participated in the act. They would also encounter Team Guy who were part of a hidden leaf rescue misson to recover Gaara where Kisame volunteered to keep them occupied until the ritual was complete. Pain would help create a duplicate of Kisame's body that would allow him to fight Team Guy where he expressed disappointment that Might Guy did not recognise him from their their fight years ago. The clone would turn the desert landscape into an ocean battlefield to turn the fight to his advantage. Team Guy would engage Kisame numerous times where Guy successfully managed to separate Kisame from Samehada. This would lead to the clone Hoshigaki making water clones to block their counterattack and imprisoned his foes in a Water Prison Technique. Guy then attempted to attack Kisame with his own sword but Samehada intervened and returned to its owner. Now that it was a one on one fight, Kisame directed all his attention towards Guy leading him to use his nunchaku. After exchanging blows with each other, Kisame overpowered Guy, launching him to the bottom of the newly formed lake. Seeing that he had the geographical advantage, Kisame repeatedly attacked Guy until he was forced to open the sixth gate. Doing so, Guy forced away the surrounding water and immediately attacked Kisame, sending him flying into the air, giving an opportunity for him to use his Morning Peacock technique to end the fight, resulting in Kisame's clone being killed. Afterwards Kisame voiced his regret to Itachi that their clones only had 30% of their chakra and thus were not as powerful as their actual selves. Ultimately, however, the two accomplished their task of delaying the two teams long enough for the rest of the Akatsuki to extract Shukaku from Gaara.

Kisame was present during the sealing of the Two-Tails. Later, Kisame successfully managed to capture the jinchūriki of the Four-Tails, his assigned tailed beast, without a scratch. During the following Akatsuki meeting to seal the Four-Tails, Kisame and Itachi were informed of Hebi's formation, with Sasuke as its leader. They are soon afterwards told that Sasuke has been killed, and Kisame tries to comfort Itachi for finally being the last Uchiha. Itachi replies that Sasuke is not dead. After a brief sparring session with Itachi, Kisame is instructed to stand guard outside the Uchiha Hideout and to let only Sasuke through. Kisame openly admitted he was somewhat saddened to be parting with his long time companion. After Sasuke left the rest of Hebi, Suigetsu, being an old acquaintance of Kisame, exchanged words with him, and then the two started fighting, with Suigetsu wanting to claim Samehada as his own. It was later revealed that Zetsu had stopped the fight. Following Itachi's death, Kisame is confronted by Tobi, who revealed his true identity. Recognising him and addressing him as the 'Mizukage' and Madara, Kisame commented that he felt a lot better knowing that he was the one who was pulling the strings. Tobi apologises for leaving Kisame the last member of Akatsuki to know his identity when in fact he was closest to Kisame. Kisame later assisted with the sealing of the Eight-Tails captured by Sasuke. When this turns out to be a fake, Kisame notes that the Eight-Tails' host, Killer B, fooled Sasuke. After Utakata was captured, Kisame was seen along with the other Akatsuki members sealing the Six-Tails from him.

Due to Sasuke's failure, Tobi ordered Kisame to capture the Eight-Tails by himself. Kisame used Samehada to find Killer B, being drawn to B's immense chakra. When he arrived at their location, Kisame was immediately attacked by Ponta, who he quickly defeated. B and Sabu then join forces, B even entering a four-tailed form. Kisame fended them both off and absorbed B's chakra cloak. He then removed the bandages from Samehada, noting that it liked the "taste" of B's chakra. Killer B entered a version 2 form and used his Lightning Release: Lariat to destroy Kisame's entire midsection. Kisame fused with Samehada to heal his injuries, becoming a monstrous shark-like creature. After trapping Killer B, Sabu, and Ponta inside a giant, movable dome of water, he continued his assault on Killer B. B was forced to throw Sabu and Ponta from the dome to save them from drowning, allowing Kisame to overpower him. He dissipated the dome and moved in to finish the job, but was stopped by Samehada, who protected B and gave him some chakra. He kicked Samehada away and prepared to try again with one of B's own swords. Using the chakra he got from Samehada, B attacked Kisame. Kisame barely evaded the attack and tried to cut off B's legs, but was stopped by the arrival of B's brother: the Fourth Raikage, and his two bodyguards. They thank Kisame for creating the water dome, as it can be seen from far away and allowed them to locate B. Samehada then gives some chakra to B and he and the Raikage join forces against Kisame. Kisame attempts to counter with Water Release: Great Shark Bullet Technique, but before he could finish the technique he was decapitated by their Lightning Release: Double Lariat. With his last breath, he stated with a grin that their lightning-quick speed was simply too fast for him. Zetsu later revealed that the decapitated body was one of his clones, which switched with Kisame when B obscured the water dome with his ink, and that the real Kisame was hiding inside Samehada in order to infiltrate Kumogakure. The sword itself was taken by Killer B, who planned to use it as his new weapon. While B attended but does not pay attention in a meeting of tactics for the approaching Fourth Shinobi World War, Kisame took notes on the village's plans and military strength.

He came to track down the Eight-Tails jinchuriki with this being Killer B of the hidden cloud village. Kisame used Samehada to find Killer B, being drawn to B's immense chakra. When he arrived at their location, Kisame was immediately attacked by Ponta, who he quickly defeated. B and Sabu then join forces, B even entering a four-tailed form. Kisame fended them both off and absorbed B's chakra cloak. He then removed the bandages from Samehada, noting that it liked the 'taste' of B's chakra. Killer B entered a version 2 form and used his Lightning Release: Lariat to destroy Kisame's entire midsection. Kisame fused with Samehada to heal his injuries, becoming a monstrous shark-like creature. After trapping Killer B, Sabu, and Ponta inside a giant, movable dome of water, he continued his assault on Killer B. B was forced to throw Sabu and Ponta from the dome to save them from drowning, allowing Kisame to overpower him. He dissipated the dome and moved in to finish the job, but was stopped by Samehada, who protected B and gave him some chakra. He kicked Samehada away and prepared to try again with one of B's own swords. Using the chakra he got from Samehada, B attacked Kisame. Kisame barely evaded the attack and tried to cut off B's legs, but was stopped by the arrival of B's brother: the Fourth Raikage, and his two bodyguards. They thank Kisame for creating the water dome, as it can be seen from far away and allowed them to locate B. Samehada then gives some chakra to B and he and the Raikage join forces against Kisame. Kisame attempts to counter with Water Release: Great Shark Bullet Technique, but before he could finish the technique he was decapitated by their Lightning Release: Double Lariat. With his last breath, he stated with a grin that their lightning-quick speed was simply too fast for him. Zetsu later revealed that the decapitated body was one of his clones, which switched with Kisame when B obscured the water dome with his ink, and that the real Kisame was hiding inside Samehada in order to infiltrate Kumogakure. The sword itself was taken by Killer B, who planned to use it as his new weapon. While B attended but does not pay attention in a meeting of tactics for the approaching Fourth Shinobi World War, Kisame took notes on the village's plans and military strength.

To protect them from Akatsuki, B and Naruto Uzumaki were sent to the island in the Land of Lightning. After B helped Naruto to tame the Nine-Tails, Naruto was able to sense Kisame's hatred within Samehada, despite his and Samehada's identical chakra. Discovered and outnumbered, Kisame took Samehada and tried to escape, but Naruto used the new speed granted to him by the Nine-Tails to stop him. Naruto was so fast, in fact, that his foot got stuck in a wall, allowing Kisame to continue his bid for freedom. As soon as he exited the Falls of Truth he ran into and was attacked by Might Guy, who believed Kisame was his inner self. Although Guy realised Kisame was not his inner self, he still didn't remember him, instead believing him to be a blowfish. Samehada abandoned Kisame and returned to Killer B. Kisame stole some chakra from the both of them to revitalise him after being within Samehada for so long. Aoba Yamashiro tried to neutralise him with Secret Technique: Stone Needles, but this only enabled Kisame to absorb his chakra as well. Kisame then swam away and tried to make it off the island, and when he reached the shoreline, Kisame summoned a shark and gave it a scroll filled with the information he had gathered. Guy tracked him down and, seeing what Kisame was doing, tried to stop the shark. Kisame then used Water Release: A Thousand Feeding Sharks to conceal it and overwhelm Guy. When Guy's Morning Peacock couldn't destroy all of the sharks, he opened the seventh chakra gate, blocking the sharks' route. To get rid of Guy, Kisame used Water Release: Great Shark Bullet Technique, and Guy countered with his Daytime Tiger. Although the Great Shark Bullet grows stronger when used against chakra-based attacks, Daytime Tiger was composed of 'youthful' air pressure. It overpowered and defeated Kisame, as well as destroyed all of the remaining sharks. Though defeated, Kisame was annoyed that Guy still could not remember him and tried to continue fighting, but was knocked unconscious by Guy.

After returning to the island, Yamato restrained Kisame to allow Aoba to read his mind in order to gather intelligence on Akatsuki. When Aoba came across memories of Tobi's face and his promises of ending the "world of lies", Kisame bit his own tongue to force himself awake and broke free of his restraints. The Kumo and Konoha-nin tried to subdue him, but Kisame trapped himself with the Water Prison Technique. Before he was completely immobilised, he summoned three sharks and allowed them to devour him. Within his final moments he remembered his first meeting with Itachi and realised that he was not as terrible as he once thought, as he was willing to give his life to protect the cause he believed in and died with a smile on his face. This act of conviction caused Guy to gain new respect for his adversary and vowed to always remember him. He and the others then attempted to read the scroll that Kisame tried so hard to send, but found that it was booby-trapped; they were each caught in a Water Prison with a shark. Another shark took the scroll and swam away with it, which eventually found its way to Zetsu.

Overview

Personality and attributes

In appearance, Kisame Hoshigaki was a male human with a distinct form marked by having pale blue skin, a gill-like facial structure, and sharp triangular teeth. His reputation led to him being known as the Monster of the Hidden Mist (霧隠れの怪人, Kirigakure no Kaijin, English TV: Scourge of the Hidden Mist). Due to his power, he was also referred to as the Tailed Beast without a Tail (尾を持たない尾獣, O o Motanai Bijū, English TV: Tailless Tailed Beast).

It was shown that in the past that he had been loyal to the hidden mist and obediently followed the orders of his superiors. Even when these orders commanded that he kill his comrades which led to him getting a reputation amongst ninja. This would cause him to warn anyone he worked with to be wary of him as he may be forced to kill them one day. The experience left him bitter and he came to be disillusioned with the ninja world as he no longer knew his place in it after his superior Fuguki betrayed him. In fact, the deaths he had been forced to commit against allies left him developing guilt over his past actions where he came to believe he was a worthless and terrible person. These events were the reason he came to be motivated to joining the Akatsuki and completing the Eye of the Moon plan. He had expressed a desire to see Tobi's world of truth.

Not much was known about Kisame's past other than his past affiliation with Momochi Zabuza in the Hidden Mist's Seven Legendary Swordsmen group. He has a brutal personality and an equally brutal shark-like appearance. He enjoyed engaging battles and at one point was eager to fight Asuma, Kurenai, and Might Guy at the same time. However, Kisame was usually forced to leave a fight, being paired with Itachi (who only fights when necessary). Like other characters who have trained to be one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Kisame enjoys mutilating his opponents, as seen when he suggests cutting off Naruto Uzumaki's legs to make him easier to carry and to prevent the latter from escaping on foot.

Kisame was one of the few members of Akatsuki that got along well with his partner. Kisame was shown as being very loyal to Itachi where he was willing to take any commands he was given without question. He constantly looked out for Itachi's well-being even to the point of warning Itachi of overusing his Sharingan. Kisame was noted to be proud of his strength but also acknowledged Itachi as the stronger of the duo. Madara had noted that out of all of Akatsuki, Kisame was the closest to Itachi implying that they were indeed good friends. Ultimately. he considered Itachi to be a good friend even thinking of him in his last moments. Kisame's loyalty to Itachi was so great even Zetsu thought he only stayed in Akatsuki because of Itachi.

Ever since their first encounter, he has had a deep loathing for Might Guy, since Guy seems to continue to agitate him by not remembering who Kisame is.

He came to be enticed to join the Akatsuki after hearing that Madara's plan would bring about a world of truth. This stemmed from his disillusionment over the constant lies he experienced in service to his village. Before he died, Kisame had said that he would have wanted to had seen such a world. Such was his dedication to the Akatsuki's mission that he willingly chose to have himself killed rather than be interrogated by the enemy.

Powers and abilities

As a human ninja, Kisame Hoshigaki had the ability to control chakra and could use it to achieve a variety of feats. He was came to be a skilled martial artist and was able to perform a number of jutsu It was shown that he possessed immense physical strength and speed, combining strong taijutsu strikes. His superhuman chakra level and combination with Samehada was the reason he earnt the moniker of 'Tailed Beast without a Tail'. Among the Akatsuki, he was said to had been the best member in capturing his targets alive. Though powerful, he would admit that he was no match for the likes of Jiraiya who was one of the Legendary Sannin though he suggested that Itachi was more capable of fighting such a foe.

A very powerful swordsman, he was a kenjutsu practitioner who favoured the use of brute strength and melee fighting in battle. Originally, Kisame wielded a normal katana, with which he was proficient enough to kill all of his comrades on one mission. As his speciality, Kisame was a very powerful swordsman, and favoured the use of brute strength and melee fighting in battle. Originally, After slaying his master with the said katana, Kisame's signature weapon became Samehada, a sentient, scale-covered sword, that shaves flesh instead of cutting it. Samehada is also capable of detecting and absorbing chakra. However, it seems to be unable to automatically absorb ambient chakra, judging by the fact that all instances in which it has used the ability have either been when the opponent had a visible aura around them or when direct physical contact had already been established. When Samehada absorbs chakra, its scales grow and it slowly begins to unwrap itself, revealing a mouth with several rows of shark-like teeth. Initially, only Kisame was able to wield Samehada; if anyone besides him tried to pick it up, spikes protruded from its handle, and it returned to Kisame's side. Samehada's loyalty seems to be due to its liking of Kisame's chakra. If it finds a ninja with better chakra, it may betray its owner in favour of the new ninja.

He came to have mastered the Water Release (水遁, Suiton, English TV: Water Style) techniques which he used in battle. This allowed him to alter an entire battlefield by creating a large volume of water to give him the field advantage, and to use for attacks. Kisame was a master of Water Release techniques, being able to alter an entire battlefield by creating a large volume of water to give him the field advantage, and to use for attacks. His shark-like attributes carried over into techniques, for he even shaped his Water Release attacks into sharks. He could also use this skill as a means for transportation, riding inside of a water shark. Against stronger opponents, he increased his field advantage even further by creating a giant dome of water around himself, forcing his opponents to battle him underwater.

These shark-like characteristics extend to his choice of attacks in battle, as he frequently shapes water into the forms of sharks to damage opponents. If there is no water nearby, Kisame can quickly produce his own lake to use at his leisure. Kisame himself has massive amounts of chakra, enough so that a clone created by the Akatsuki that held only 30% of his power contained an amount of chakra comparable to Naruto when using the Nine-Tails' chakra. Kisame was said to be the strongest of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. He has been seen displaying astonishing speed and incredible physical strength. At one point Guy battled a clone of Kisame's with 30% chakra-supply, and Guy was forced to open his Sixth chakra gate in order to survive. Kisame himself proved powerful enough to successfully capture the Four-Tailed Beast's Jinchūriki, despite noting his target's exceptional powers. Though a difficult task by his own admission, Kisame merely complains that he was a bit tired.

Among the techniques known to him included:

• Summoning Technique (寄せの術­, Kuchiyose no Jutsu) : a transportation technique whereby a contract allowed the user to summon an object or animal after forming a summoning circle and biting the hand to offer some blood. In Kisame's case, he was able to summon sharks onto the field.
• Water Clone Technique (水分身の術­, Mizu Bunshin no Jutsu) :
• Water Prison Technique (水牢の術­, Suirō no Jutsu) :
• Water Release: A Thousand Feeding Sharks (水遁・千食鮫­, Suiton: Senshokukō) :
• Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave (水遁・爆水衝波­, Suiton: Bakusui Shōha) :
• Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave (水遁・大爆水衝波­, Suiton: Dai Bakusui Shōha) :

As a ninja, he specialised in being a very powerful swordsman who favoured the use of brute strength and melee fighting in battle. His sword Samehada (鮫肌, lit. "shark skin") was covered in scales that could absorb untold amounts of an opponent's chakra. The sentient blade only allowed Kisame to wield it where it was capable of shaving skin instead of cutting it. Samehada was also capable of absorbing chakra but required Kisame's own chakra to perform such feat. Only Kisame was allowed to wield Samehada. If anyone besides him tries to pick it up, spikes protrude from its handle and it returns to Kisame's side. It is stated by Suigetsu that if he kills Kisame, he would be able to wield the Samehada, but it is unknown if it is true. Such was his strength that he easily killed his former master who was a member of the Seven Swordsmen's strongest generation while the man wielded Samehada against Kisame. In battle, he had equally immense physical strength and speed where he combined strong taijutsu strikes with powerful slashes from Samehada.

Kisame was able to heal injuries and replenish his chakra by temporarily fusing with Samehada. The fusion also had the benefit of increasing his power and resulted in him gaining a more shark-like appearance. When fused with Samehada, he could breathe underwater using gills which formed on his neck.

Notes

• Kisame Hoshigaki was created by Masashi Kishimoto where he featured in the setting of Naruto.

In other media

Television

• In Naruto, Kisame Hoshigaki appeared in the setting of the anime television series adaptation where he was voiced by Japanese actor Tomoyuki Dan and initially by English actor Michael McConnohie whereupon he was voiced by English actor Kirk Thornton in the dub.

Appearances

• Naruto:

External Links

• Naruto Wiki Entry
• Comicvine Entry

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