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[Sukaina's POV]

Kisame Hoshigaki was an interesting character, and today he is an interesting person.

To my chagrin, he is not made for the ninja world. I wouldn't call him stupid, far from that actually, he was by far my biggest hurdle in this infiltration, yet at the same time he was my masterpiece.

Humans live for the unexpected, and yearn for challenges to wake them from the perpetual bore of the mortal life.

And so, entering the mind of the simple minded Daimyo was not something I really revelled in. It was easy, and it was my mission, and at first, it didn't really bother me.

But once I faced Kisame… My god, it feels boring. To sum up my experience with the shark man, Kisame Hoshigaki is a complex person trying to make the world simple.

He didn't have any extremely strong convictions or altruistic goals like most characters from Naruto. He had dealt with lies for his whole life, and he was tired of it.

And that's why I'm not sure whether I should feel bad for messing with his head, or think of it as mercy.

He certainly did not realize it, but it's already over. I've basically won already. I already prepared everything in the past week, and now, all I need is to set my plan into action.

But before that, I must say, Kiri is a seriously messed up place, and although I'm sure I would have excelled there, I'm happy I didn't reincarnate in that shit hole.

People in Konoha were relatively messed up by their experiences as ninjas, but we had proper ways to deal with the problems of the mind, and I'm not just talking about the direct implication of the Yamanaka Clan in the mental health of our troops, our whole system was made it so that our men wouldn't make a burnout.

That's how our veteran Shinobis end up quite strong minded. It was inevitable in our line of work to encounter hardship and lose people, but we are taught very young to grow past those, to use them as our strength to move on.

Kiri though… be it the youngest Roka or the most elite Kisame, they were riddled with scars from the Bloody Mist. They were strong, that's for sure, not sure I could kill any of them in a frontal fight, but the scars in their psyche were so wide open that I had managed to get right in and inject my poison.

So the question remains, am I about to deliver them from their pain, or simply kill them now that they had no use to me alive?

Well, it doesn't really matter I guess. In the end, I have a mission, and so do they, and unfortunately for them, our interests crossed.

But fuck, I'm taking a vacation after this, and maybe cursing at Danzo for sending me on an S Rank mission as a 9 year old. And the worst is still yet to come.

FUCK!

"Something wrong in Princess land?"

Upon hearing the familiar voice, I immediately put on a cold mask and replied, "What do you want?"

The Swordsman of the Mist leaned at the entrance of my room and said, "Nothing in particular, I'm having a bad day, and I decided to come talk to you. Seems like I am not the only one."

What a fucking embarrassment, guess that's what I get for believing myself to be so smart.

Rubbing my temples to calm my temper, I asked, "Have you found how long I have been working to make the last week happen?"

Kisame didn't reply, so I said, "You wouldn't believe it if I told you anyway. So, are you finally telling me your name, or are you still going to talk to me as a stranger?"

Kisame grumbled, "What difference would it make knowing my name? Besides, I doubt you didn't find my name by yourself. Not many ft my description, and I'm not exactly nameless."

I shook my head and explained, "I don't care about that. What matters is what you, not others, tell me. You say you do not like lies, so you should understand the logic behind my words."

Kisame paused, and said, "Who do I identify as. Clever."

Straining a smile, I replied, "I try hard to be."

"Why?"

Shrugging, I replied, "Because who else?"

At that, we both remained silent in contemplation.

As we remained like that, we heard a cough, and saw Jiro standing behind the door. He bowed and said, "The finale is about to start. Princess…"

Kisame cut him off, "I'll be accompanying her. You can go."

Jiro looked hesitant, but seeing me nod, he walked away. Jiro was boring, too. He was fiercely loyal to the Daimyo because he had been more of a father to him than anyone else, but while some would see this as an impossible to sway man, in my eyes it only made him all the more manipulable.

Go in the Daimyo's way, and you got Jiro in your pocket. A strict, but not very bright man. Compared to the people I deal with at least.

As Jiro left, Kisame said while looking at me, "You dressed different from before. Not as provocative."

I nodded, I had indeed been wearing clothes similar to a Qipao that showed some amount of skin until now, but today I opted for a long sleeved jacket and long pants. Not very appropriate for a princess, but my past clothes weren't appropriate either.

However, today was the day my plans would unfold, and I wanted comfy clothes.

So I said, "This is the last day of the celebration, and possibly the most dangerous day for me. Hence, I would rather be in clothes I can run in. Also, I like them."

Kisame patted Samehada and said, "No harm is coming to you today."

I smiled, making Kisame's expression turn a little ugly. He knew what I meant, so I did not say anything and simply looked outside the window.

After a moment of silence, he suddenly said, "My name is Kisame Hoshigaki."

Finally. This, him giving me his name, was like a confirmation of all my efforts. I win.

My smile genuinely brightening, I asked, "Kisame, what if I could make a world with no lies for you? Would you abandon your village for me? For your dream?"

Kisame's eyes widened in surprised, before he coughed and said, "Come on, we should go to the banquet. I don't want your father bothering me more than he is."

I smiled at the lack of response, and walked out. But as I passed by him, I whispered in his ear, "This is my offer to you, and you are going to accept it."

Not leaving him the time to reply, I walked past him, on my way to the main room. Kisame followed after me silently, obviously shook by my words.