Kirigakure. Home. Kisame took a deep breath of his homeland's sea, the Kaizoku sea. Squalls rarely took the sea and so the bounty of fish and trawl kept them well fed as they journeyed back— Samehada made Kisame the best fisherman.
It was smooth sailing from Kurokami-jima, Lord Yakubi was eager to see them gone once his problems were resolved. Kisame knew the Daimyo's war wouldn't see Kurokami unmolested for too long but for now, as agents of Kirigakure he and Reina had bought the island some time and breathing room.
Lord Yakubi was immediately very entitled to their help once they'd done so once, begging Reina to speak the horror and atrocities of the war to the Mizukage. Whether their actions would bring Kirigakure fully into the war wasn't something Kisame cared about, he'd had his fun, or rather practise.
Samehada and he had bonded so dearly over the course of the mission and as brilliant as it was shredding men and devouring chakra, it was time to return home, to report his overwhelming success and perhaps, if he has treated Samehada as well as it's treated him, challenge Fuguki for the right to wield the Legendary Shark Blade, indefinitely.
Kisame pet the magnificent blade, ignoring how it sliced his palm as it purred affectionately. At this point, he was less than willing to part with Samehada even if he were offered another one of the legendary blades, and they surely would, how could they not?
He had wielded the semi-conscious blade that ate chakra and people when set loose, tamed it with his strength and brought it to bear against the enemies of the Daimyo. He had wielded the blade without causing Reina a single problem and now they returned from their mission, successful thanks to his contributions.
Kisame looked at the island farther away from the one enveloped in orange light, Kirigakure, they would port there soon and— What? What is that light? He'd almost missed it entirely in his fantasies of besting Fuguki, it was glaring too and Samehada's purrs quickly turned ravenous.
Chakra! An immense amount of it just spiralling into the open air. Reina was already sprinting out her cabin, her eyes searching for an enemy with her katana in reverse grip. She found none but locked eyes with Kisame who merely pointed at the island closest to Kirigakure— Turtle Island.
Their ship was closer to it than Kirigakure's mainland and it wasn't long before the effects of widespread chakra leakage was felt across the sea. Fish, prawn, octopus and even sharks as large as Kisame's pets were still and dead on the chakra polluted waters. Blood soaked and the dank of their corpses sent a shiver as the immense chakra sent scalding waves across the sea.
Samehada gnashed its teeth and nearly pulled Kisame overboard, he heldfast as Reina gaped at Turtle Island. Besides the oppressive chakra snapping out of it there were three translucent orange walls erected around it with the top unfortunately being wide open and the geyser for the chakra Kisame began to recognize.
"This is…" Reina began to say, fear strewn over her face as the implications of such chakra leaking out from Turtle Island quickly dawned on them.
"Aye, a Tailed Beast."
The commotion in the atmosphere, the smell of a deadened sea and the sudden intensity of the waves woke many of the Kaguya from their hammocks. Kisame sneered over his shoulder, "Go back to sleep! It's not time yet."
The bone people cowered at his bark and their eldest ones were wise enough not to test them at the moment. Kisame looked over at Reina and dared to ask, "Which one do you think it is?"
Her eyes became saucers but she quickly put out her fear with a bit lip, "It doesn't matter, it's bad new anyhow. Let's focus on getting back to home, it's on that island now and that must be Harusame-sama's barrier, it won't break so easily."
Kisame smirked for the sake of it, maintaining a vice grip on Samehada so it doesn't leap overboard and swim away. It's never behaved like this; he's seen it attempt defiance with Fuguki but he doubted it was ever to this extent. And he couldn't blame it, there was a fortune of chakra shooting out the top of Harusame's barrier and it was missing it.
For Kisame's own safety he gladly strengthened his grip.
***
Mist splintered sunlight soothed Kisame's skin as they docked into port. Reina enlisted the dockworkers— many of whom were Hoshigaki clansmen— to help offloading the ship, the Kaguya weren't the only thing they'd returned with. Lord Yakubi made a concerted effort to have them leave with bushels of produce and barrels of rum, he also gave Reina permission to strip the precious iron and steel weapons off of the fallen ronin and mercenaries; there was enough on the ship to be considered an import.
However, before any sort of egress could begin under the soft caress of the fine morning weather— ignoring the intimidating spout of Tailed Beast Chakra wafting over the sea— shinobi from Intel & Comms descended on the ship with Eiko and ANBU masked Raiga leading the charge.
"Can't I just get back home quickly and-"
"I'm sorry, Reina-taicho but you know how it is, nothing happens before protocol and the higher-ups are…sensitive right now." Raiga whispered the last part but Kisame's ears couldn't be subverted so easily.
Reina deflated, her plans to immediately end all to do with this mission the moment they docked shattered like glass in a few reasonable words. Kisame grinned at the two ANBU operatives as he approached with Samehada balanced on his shoulder.
"I understand but we could use some clarity, don't you think? We've been away for long, what exactly is happening?" Kisame not so subtly points in the direction of Turtle Island with Samehada and Reina pressed an urging look on Raiga.
For a moment it seemed Raiga wouldn't answer even to Reina's hard, somehow demanding and pleading gaze but he spoke, leaning closer to Reina as he said, "You won't like this but…we think the Yuki clan has been implicated in Sandaime's death."
Reina's eyes went wide, she looked around as if anyone but them could be listening in. Kisame too was taken aback, of all the things that was the last thing he expected news on and yet Raiga wasn't done.
"There's also suspicion that they're behind the Kaguya attacks. I don't have any orders to seize you, taicho, but with Mizukage-sama…out of office, you shouldn't be surprised if you're taken in as well."
At the mention of the Mizukage Reina and Kisame shared a look and then gazed over the seas strait to the sky burnt red around Turtle Island. Reina gulped, silent and slowly digesting the news.
Kisame inched closers, taking care to whisper as well, "Mizukage-sama lost it? Will the Three-Tails-"
"Shhh, you don't want to be talking about that right now." Raiga rebuked, his head shifting side to side. Kisame watched his gaze linger on the Kaguya who were being shephered ten at a time to kneel before demon masked Eiko and three others, "No one knows what happened to Mizukage-sama, but Harusame-sama was first on the scene so…maybe we won't need a Lord Fifth."
If there was anything that could put a sour end to a conversation it was that. Raiga excused himself from Reina to join in the ship inspection effort, ANBU perused through every crook and cranny, searching the ship and Kaguya like they were suspect of harbouring some secret Kinjutsu.
After hearing all that, Kisame knew the paranoia was worth it, even if he felt a bit insulted by the treatment at docks majorly run by his own clansmen who were shifted aside as ANBU and I&C operatives took over offloading.
Eiko and his helpers had the Kaguya lined up in the tens and by now the bone-tribe had been so cowed by their travel companions that the brief explanation of what the Bloodline Seals placed on their forehead would do was quickly accepted without the slightest hint of dissent. It helped of course that there were dozens of masked ANBU with oppressive aura's watching their every move.
Kisame and Reina ended up forced to watch tens after tens of Kaguya, man, woman and child branded with the Bloodline Seal Eiko continually states was crafted personally by the Mizukage. Kisame wondered what the point in repeating the same claim over and over, he knew Yagura was no Fuinjutsu specialist, not enough to fashion seals as complex as these anyway.
Moreover, hearing of the Mizukage was of little comfort to the Kaguya, the title, the man was the one responsible for their forced migration and more importantly the deaths of several sons, daughters, fathers and mothers of those still alive to be branded with the seal.
Kisame turned his attention to the orange of Turtle Island slightly being overshadowed by the rising sun's rays and his thoughts drifted to what in hells the Mizukage had planned for the Kaguya, for Kiri. The bone-tribe that had been branded had their names and pictures taken before being shepherd off where Kisame couldn't see, why they personally had to wait for the entire Kaguya to be branded and the ship contents emptied and catalogued was beyond him.
It was beginning to annoy Reina though. She paced four steps side to side and sometimes in a circle as she chewed on her fingernails and muttered under her breath, occasionally staring out at Turtle Island.
Kisame as usual had no words for her, it wasn't news that the Yuki were secretly loathed by the major clans for their Bloodline abilities, Kisame was aware enough to see that with Mizukage-sama being out of office for who knows how long and the council ruling, the accusations against the Yuki clan could be another attempt at bringing them down.
Still, he wondered what other manic thoughts were going through the usually composed kunoichi's mind as she paced. He wouldn't find out though as the last of the Kaguya lined up for Eiko, Lord Funato and Kisame's own clan head, Junko Hoshigaki came for them.
Junko had the largest smile he'd ever glimpsed on the woman, she stood eagerly a step behind Lord Funato as Kisame and Reina paid their greetings to the short, ancient man.
"Good work you two." He started, looking around the dock and nodding in approval, "Very good work. Unfortunately, Mizukage-sama is indisposed at the moment so your official mission report will have to wait. Reina Yuki, come with me."
Lord Funato gave a curt nod to Kisame and Junko as Reina followed him with a steeled visage. Left alone with Kisame, Junko smacked his arm as she grinned up at him, "Well done, Kisame." Her eyes landed on Samehada who was completely docile and sheathed against his back. "Mizukage-sama will…he will not overlook how quickly you've mastered this blade. I know what you're thinking but we should wait till all this hubbub has settled before issuing a challenge to Suikazan."
Kisame nodded, feeling extremely satisfied by her support, "As you say, Junko-sama."
She waved him off and started walking off, "That said, your cousin Junichi might be a lost cause, you need to sharpen him or Yagura will never see his worth."
"Of course." He restrained a sigh as more work came his way already and obediently followed, wondering if anything would go as planned with so much happening to Kirigakure, to his home.