Killer Bee's body underwent a drastic transformation. A dark red shroud of tailed-beast chakra erupted around him, bones forming like natural armor while he maintained a humanoid frame.
He had entered a half-transformation state.
His chakra… its quality and quantity both skyrocketed! Even Samehada is thrilled.
Kisame could feel the sword trembling eagerly in his grip, drunk on the scent of chakra.
"To remain conscious under this much tailed-beast chakra… truly worthy of being a perfect Jinchuriki." Kisame grinned, voice filled with excitement.
"I will finish this in one moment!" Bee raised his right hand and shouted, "Yo!"
The next second, he blurred forward with staggering speed.
"Lightning Lariat!"
"So fast!" Kisame barely managed to swing Samehada to block, but Bee's strike carved a massive gash across Kisame's abdomen. Flesh split open down to the ribs, organs spilling before Bee's tackle sent him flying.
Bee looked down at himself. The bubbling red chakra intensified.
"Forced you back to Stage One, huh?"
Kisame rose, holding Samehada like nothing happened. His smile was unsettling.
"Impressive. You nearly killed me."
Samehada drank greedily, flooding Kisame with tailed-beast chakra. Wounds knitted closed rapidly, flesh regenerating before Bee's eyes.
Bee inhaled deeply, expression sharpening.
"You think a shark blade scares me? Yo! Come on, let's go crazy! Fool! Ya fool!"
His rhythm flowed through his body like a dance, and with it the chakra inside him erupted like a volcano.
His form twisted, growing larger. Crimson chakra swelled, bones thickened, muscles expanded, horns formed. A massive ox-headed silhouette emerged.
The Eight-Tails, Gyūki, revealed itself in full form.
While Bee completed the transformation, Kisame finished healing and performed a rapid series of hand seals.
"Water Release: Great Shark Bomb!"
Water roared outward, forming an ocean centered around him.
Within the water, Gyūki's massive tentacles thrashed violently. His red eyes glowed like deep-sea beacons locked onto Kisame.
The water rippled under his roar, waves shattering in every direction.
"No wonder you're the Eight-Tails. Your strength is monstrous."
Samehada merged further into Kisame, scales spreading over his skin. His fingers sharpened into claws. His jaw reshaped into a shark's maw filled with serrated teeth. A fin-like blade crowned his head.
He had become the Tailed-Beast Without a Tail.
Fused with Samehada, he absorbed chakra even faster. His physical power and Water Release surged exponentially.
A tailless beast against an eight-tailed monster.
Gyūki lashed out with a tentacle, but underwater Kisame moved like his true element. Fluent, fast, predatory. He dodged cleanly and countered with a vicious strike.
One tentacle was severed cleanly by Kisame's head blade.
Bee felt the chakra drain immediately.
"Tch… even physical attacks drain chakra?"
He cursed within Gyūki's mind.
"It's not over yet!" Kisame weaved seals and fired a high-pressure water cannon directly at Gyūki's face.
Gyūki blocked with another tentacle.
"We cannot fight him up close. In water, he has the advantage. End this quickly."
Gyūki warned.
"Yeah, let's finish it!" Bee answered.
Gyūki opened his maw, condensing a massive black sphere of chakra. The Tailed-Beast Bomb fired toward Kisame with destructive force.
"Water Release: Great Shark Bomb Jutsu!"
Kisame formed an enormous shark of condensed, turbulent water. The high-density construct roared and surged forward to meet the bomb.
This was no ordinary jutsu. Inside the shark's mouth spun a chakra vortex core capable of devouring energy to strengthen itself.
The massive shark clamped down on the Tailed-Beast Bomb.
No explosion. Not at first.
The vortex consumed wildly, swallowing the dense chakra like a bottomless abyss. The shark swelled, glowing brighter by the second.
Then it detonated.
Water and shockwaves tore through the sea like a hurricane. Both titans vanished in a blinding flash.
When the spray cleared, Kisame still stood, faint scorch marks fading as his regenerative healing restored him completely. His grin widened.
"In this domain, you only grow weaker and I only grow stronger."
Across the water, Gyūki staggered back, one tentacle shredded, chakra fading with every clash.
His massive form wavered. The transformation collapsed, returning Bee to human shape, breath labored.
He knew he could not win.
Bee spat ink into the water, clouding the sea before sprinting toward the edge.
He needed to escape.
"Ink? Damn octopus," Kisame growled, excitement burning. "But fused with Samehada, I can sense chakra through water itself. Where do you think you're going?"
He shot after Bee like a torpedo.