Kisame Hoshigaki

, feared as the, was an S-rank missing-nin from Kirigakure's Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and was partnered with Itachi Uchiha when the latter joined Akatsuki.

Background
Originally, Kisame was to guard the Cypher Division under orders from his superior, Fuguki Suikazan of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. When the group was cornered by Konoha-nin under Ibiki Morino during a mission, Kisame chose to kill the Cypher Division members to keep their intel from being leaked out through Ibiki's interrogation, as instructed by Fuguki.

Eventually, learning that Fuguki was selling information to other ninja villages, Kisame killed him and took Samehada for himself. Though the Fourth Mizukage Yagura commended him for his loyalty to Kirigakure, killing his comrade caused Kisame to become disillusioned and came to realise that the world was filled with lies. It was soon after that Kisame was approached by a mysterious figure who was manipulating Yagura from the shadows, calling himself Madara Uchiha. After seeing the shinobi's Sharingan, Kisame insisted that he reveal himself, leading the masked stranger to show Kisame his face. After explaining his motives and the Eye of the Moon Plan to Kisame, he was initially sceptical of the mysterious ninja, but the notion of a "world of truth" enticed him.

Now a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, Kisame was given the title of "Monster of the Hidden Mist", and formed a connection with Suigetsu Hōzuki and Mangetsu Hōzuki. Kisame eventually became a missing-nin when the Land of Water sought him for plotting to overthrow its government and being involved in numerous assassinations that include another country's daimyō. With his departure he took Samehada with him, causing Kirigakure to lose one of its seven swords. Kisame eventually joined the Akatsuki and was partnered with Itachi Uchiha. Though they initially greeted each other with hostility, they became good partners. The Akatsuki seeking members, approached Deidara to join their organisation. After getting caught in Itachi's genjutsu, Kisame laughed at how close the clueless shinobi came to dying. After the fight ended, Kisame, Itachi and Sasori succeeded in recruiting Deidara.

Personality
Kisame loves to fight. He is quite sadistic and demonstrates no hesitation in mutilating his opponents, as seen when he suggested cutting off Naruto's legs to make him easier to carry and to prevent the latter from escaping on foot. Despite his aggressive nature, Kisame is very perceptive and keen mind in battle, able to deduce the basics behind an opponent's technique and react to any potential danger he is aware of. Also, being paired with Itachi, Kisame is usually unable to finish or even start his battles with Itachi around, because the latter doesn't enjoy fighting as much as Kisame does. He would often inform his opponents that they "don't know how lucky they are". Kisame also has a deep loathing for Might Guy since their first encounter, with Guy's inability to remember Kisame prior to his death agitating him.

Originally when first partnered, Kisame warned an equally hostile Itachi to be careful of him. Over time, however, Kisame became one of the few members of Akatsuki that got along well with his partner despite the fact they had opposite personalities. The only common ground between both ninja being that they betrayed those close to them. Kisame was perfectly aware of his weaknesses and shortcomings and is aware Itachi is perfectly capable of compensating for him. As such, he was perfectly loyal to Itachi as he would only take action after being ordered to or after being given permission by him. While he was excited about fighting Kakashi, he had no complaints about letting Itachi handle him when Itachi pointed out his capabilities and personality were not the best way to handle the situation. He immediately obeyed Itachi's order to capture Kakashi and kill Asuma and Kurenai without any questioning and despite his love for battle, retreated when Itachi ordered him to do so. Despite his pride, Kisame acknowledged Itachi as the stronger and more intelligent of the duo, evident by Kisame saying to Itachi that he himself was no match for Jiraiya, but stated that maybe Itachi could go one-on-one with the Sannin.

In the anime, Kisame appeared saddened upon hearing of Itachi's death. Kisame ultimately considered Itachi as a good friend, even thinking of him in his last moments. Kisame's loyalty to Itachi is so great even Zetsu thought he only stayed in Akatsuki because of Itachi and couldn't help but wonder if Kisame would stay with the organisation with Itachi dead. During his last moments and recalling what Itachi said about no one ever truly knows who they are until just before they died, Kisame hoped Itachi also realised who he really was before he died as well.

Kisame was motivated to help in completing the Eye of the Moon plan because of his own disillusionment with the world he lived in. He never felt as though he had a place or knew who he truly was as he was often ordered to undertake gruesome missions such as killing his own comrades because Fuguki ordered him to protect information above even the lives of his comrades. This experience caused him to develop a guilt that lasted until just before his death, causing him to believe he was a worthless and terrible person. This would cause him to warn anyone he works with to be wary of him as he may be forced to kill them one day. Later on, he discovered Fuguki, a man who he respected and trusted was actually intel to enemies. As such, he came to the conclusion that his entire life has been a lie. His partner Itachi has noted that he was a rogue that was unable to find a place for himself, something he himself may have understood because of his own treacherous past. Because of this, he was somewhat nihilistic, believing himself and Itachi to be destined to die meaninglessly due to their crime of comrade-killing. It was only with Itachi's advice to the otherwise that Kisame saw, at the end of his life, that he did not die as meaningless as he originally thought he would because he did not waiver from his ideology of protecting information at all costs, even at the cost of his own life.

Kisame had a playful and morbid sense of humour and would often make light of serious situations while sporting a sadistic grin. This trait would even show during his fights as he would often mock his opponents as seen in the cases of Killer B and Guy. Upon hearing of the death of Hidan and Kakuzu, he referred to them as the "Zombie Brothers" in reference to their longevity.

Kisame was also shown to be honest and humble to his comrades, especially Itachi, as shown when Itachi reprimanded him for taking so long to capture Rōshi. Although defending himself by saying Itachi had no idea how powerful Rōshi was, Kisame quickly admitted he asked to capture Rōshi alone. He was also a very appreciative person. When Obito had disguised himself as a useless, incompetent, and clumsy person and having no idea of who he really was at the time, he still enjoyed his upbeat nature as he thought he livened up the mood of Akatsuki's meetings. He also reprimanded Tobi for taking so long to come clean that he was in fact alive after most of the members believed he died from Deidara's C0 suicide attack.

Other than believing everything he knew was a lie and desiring to see Tobi's "world of truth", Kisame lived strictly to protect valuable information as reflected in killing the Cypher Division to keep their intel from Konoha and executing Fuguki for selling their village's secrets; on a related note, he refused to bond with his team-mates when they were on a mission together. This ideal became his philosophy, ultimately motivating his assisted suicide when left with no other choice. His actions made Yamato have difficulty believing he died so nobly, despite having witnessed his death with his own eyes.

Appearance
Kisame was a very tall, muscular shinobi, and was the tallest member in Akatsuki. He had a distinctive shark-like appearance, complete with pale, green skin in the manga, (depicted as blue-grey in the anime). He has small, round, white eyes, 3 sets of curved facial markings under his eyes, gills on his shoulders, and sharp triangular teeth, the latter of which is a shared trait amongst most of the other members of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. He also styled his blue hair in the form of a shark fin. As a member of Akatsuki, he also wore dark-purple nail polish. During his time as a Kirigakure shinobi, he sported the standard outfit of the village, complete with a flak jacket and a forehead protector. Later, he donned what appears to be the standard attire of the Seven Swordsmen which consists of: a dark sleeveless shirt paired with matching pants, provided with a waist guard, and striped arm and leg-warmers typical of his village. He also switched to a modified version of Kirigakure's forehead protector, which covered his ears as well. After defecting from the village, he donned the typical cloak members of Akatsuki wore, and underneath it he was bare-chested. He also wore a brown sash across the front and back of his cloak to hold Samehada in place. He wore his Akatsuki ring on his left ring finger, bearing the kanji for which was yellow in colour.

Abilities
Kisame was an extremely powerful shinobi who earned admittance into the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and later Akatsuki. He easily killed his former master, a member of the Seven Swordsmen's strongest generation who wielded Samehada. Kisame could also battle an entire team single-handedly, and claimed to be the best Akatsuki member at capturing targets alive, proven when he successfully captured the Four-Tails' jinchūriki Rōshi with effort. On separate occasions, Kisame proved to be more than a match for Might Guy (one of Konoha's top shinobi), forcing the latter to open six of the Eight Gates against only a 30% power clone, and seven gates against the real Kisame without his sword.

Chakra and Physical Prowess
Even by Akatsuki standards, Kisame possessed massive chakra reserves, 30% of which once being compared to that of Naruto. His superhuman chakra level and combination with Samehada has earned him the moniker. Kisame could also absorb chakra, as seen when grabbing Samehada and even reversing the effect of Aoba Yamashiro's paralysing technique.

Kisame had equally immense physical strength and speed, combining strong taijutsu strikes with powerful slashes from Samehada. He could overpower Asuma Sarutobi in melee weapon combat and even Guy, an extraordinary taijutsu master, in their second battle. Kisame was also durable enough to survive Killer B's "Version 2" Lightning Release: Lariat (albeit his ribcage was completely destroyed), as well as Guy's one-hit kill Daytime Tiger. After the latter, he retained enough strength to break free of Yamato's chakra-suppressing wood restraints, further showing his raw strength and endurance.

Kenjutsu
As his speciality, Kisame was a very powerful swordsman, and 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. 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.

Kisame could heal injuries and replenish his chakra by temporarily fusing with Samehada. He could also fuse fully to further increase his power, expanding upon his shark-like appearance. When fused with Samehada, he gains the ability to breathe underwater using gills which form on his neck. While using his Water Prison Shark Dance Technique, he could take full advantage of that ability by drowning his opponents while remaining unharmed. In this form he can sense other people's chakra, and absorb it just by touching the foe with any part of his body. He can also hide within Samehada, which he states is flawless due to the fact that he and Samehada have identical chakra, to the extent that not even sensors can detect him.

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, as demonstrated when Samehada protected Killer B from Kisame's attempt to slash off his legs. Despite its wavering loyalty, Kisame was capable of wielding Samehada against its will. Chōjūrō describes Samehada as the most terrifying sword of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen blades.

Nature Transformation
Kisame was a master of Water Release techniques, being able to alter an entire battlefield by create 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. He was able to make many sharks that overwhelmed Guy's Morning Peacock, producing more than all the blows Guy could unleash. He was also proficient with Earth Release, using it to travel under the earth, with the tip of his sword, Samehada, jutting out making him look like a shark swimming towards his prey. Kisame also had proficiency in Fire and Wind Release.

Summoning Technique
In keeping with his shark theme, Kisame had shown the ability to summon sharks for both battle and message sending purposes, and can combine the one summoned shark with the Water Release: A Thousand Feeding Sharks as a way to conceal the messenger shark location and allow it to escape. He also used them with the Water Prison Technique to commit suicide.

Search for Tsunade
Kisame accompanied Itachi to Konoha to help kidnap Naruto Uzumaki. After the two gained attention due to their unusual clothing, they were stopped by Asuma Sarutobi and Kurenai Yūhi. Asuma and Kurenai found themselves outmatched, but Kakashi arrived to help balance the odds. Asuma was able to distract Kisame while Itachi fought Kakashi. He waited patiently for Itachi's fight to finish, but before Itachi delivered the final blow, Kakashi remembered Jiraiya's warning and recognised the duo as members of Akatsuki from their black cloaks. Itachi changed his mind and ordered Kisame to kidnap Kakashi and kill Asuma and Kurenai. Before he could do so, however, Might Guy showed up and kicked an attacking Kisame in the face. Following Guy's arrival, Itachi ordered Kisame to retreat, not wanting to start a large-scale battle. Kisame seemed quite annoyed with Itachi's idea, as he desperately wanted to fight the Konoha 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.

Sasuke Recovery Mission
At the end of Part I, Kisame made a cameo appearance as a silhouette during an Akatsuki gathering where they discussed Orochimaru's taking of Sasuke Uchiha as well as the capturing of the Nine-Tails and the furthering of their plans.

Kazekage Rescue Mission
While Akatsuki extracted the One-Tailed Shukaku from Gaara's body, they learned that Team Guy was nearing their location. Remembering his last encounter with Guy, Kisame volunteered to keep them occupied while the sealing was completed. Nagato used the Shapeshifting Technique to make a duplicate of Kisame's body that would be remotely controlled by Kisame. The clone located and confronted Team Guy, but was disappointed that Guy didn't remember him. He converts the surrounding desert into a lake to give him a battlefield advantage and attacks Team Guy. After numerous attempts Team Guy made attacking Kisame, Guy managed to separate him from Samehada, leading to the rest of his team launching an assault. Kisame swiftly made water clones to block their attacks and immediately used the Water Prison Technique to imprison them.

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.

Akatsuki Suppression Mission
Kisame was present during the sealing of the Two-Tails.

Itachi Pursuit Mission
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.

Tale of Jiraiya the Gallant
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 sparing 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.

Fated Battle Between Brothers
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 is closest to Kisame.

Pain's Assault
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.

Six-Tails Unleashed
After Utakata was captured, Kisame was seen along with the other Akatsuki members sealing the Six-Tails from him.

Five Kage Summit
Because of 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.

Fourth Shinobi World War: Countdown
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.

Legacy
As a testament of their long-time bond, Samehada cried for Kisame when its former master killed himself. Upon seeing Samehada in Killer B's possession, a reincarnated Itachi instantly realised that his former partner had died.

Thanks to Kisame's summoned sharks, he was able to deliver the scroll that contained information on the entire force of the Allied Shinobi Forces and its organisation, along with Killer B and Naruto Uzumaki's location to Zetsu successfully allowing Kabuto Yakushi to chase after them. In addition, this information allowed Tobi to create a strategy to draw the jinchūriki out of hiding which included forcing the Allied Shinobi Forces to use Naruto's new ability to sense negative emotions to take out the transformed white Zetsu clones who were wreaking havoc during the night.

Trivia

 * The name "Kisame" literally means, while his family name "Hoshigaki" means ; like all members of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, his surname is derived from a type of produce.
 * Kisame's birth date, March 18, makes his Western astrological sign Pisces, or fish.
 * Kishimoto first intended to make Akatsuki's members monsters with almost no human traits. Zetsu, Kisame and Kakuzu (and, to a lesser extent, Deidara and Sasori) are prime examples of this. Kisame, in particular, resembles a, a Japanese mythological creature.
 * It is shown in an anime special that Kisame is insecure of his blue skin. This is portrayed when Deidara commented on how handsome his partner was, and how that must make him popular with women. Kisame sulked, and replied with, "After all, I'm strangely coloured".
 * Studio Pierrot has since he was introduced in Part 1, drawn Kisame at 198 cm as shown with his Part 1 and Shippūden Settei.
 * According to the databook(s):
 * Kisame's hobby was taking care of his sword, Samehada.
 * Kisame wished to fight anyone.
 * Kisame's favourite foods were shrimp and crab, while his least favourite, predictably, was shark fin soup.
 * Kisame had completed 332 official missions in total: 3 D-rank, 68 C-rank, 154 B-rank, 78 A-rank, 29 S-rank.
 * Kisame's favourite phrase was ; this is a Japanese idiom for survival of the fittest.

Quotes

 * (To Asuma) "My massive blade Samehada, doesn't slice… It shreds you to ribbons!"
 * (To Killer B) "I get stronger in direct proportion to how strong my opponent is. I do not tire, and cannot be defeated."
 * (To Yagura) "I knew that from the first time I had to kill my comrades… Kill a Kiri ninja as a Kiri ninja. What does that make me? Am I a friend or foe? What is my purpose and my position? Where do I go? Where can I go? I'm well aware that my entire life has been one giant lie."
 * (To Itachi) "Sharks start out as eggs, but incubate and hatch in the womb. Sometimes the number of pups is less than the number of eggs that were fertilised. Do you know why? Cannibalism. The pups start eating each other within the mother's womb the moment they hatch. They start killing their siblings the moment they enter the world, viewing everything they see as nothing more than prey. As of today you and I are fellow members of Akatsuki. So be careful… of me."
 * (Last words) "Itachi… It seems that in the end… I'm not so terrible after all."