Kisame Hoshigaki

, the or "The Tailed Beast without a Tail", was a missing-nin from Kirigakure, a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and was partnered with Itachi Uchiha within Akatsuki.

Background
Kisame was a former member of Kirigakure's Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, an ever-changing group of ninja that wield particularly large weapons in battle. While in Kiri, Kisame was given the title of "Monster of the Hidden Mist". He is also known to have formed a connection to Suigetsu Hozuki and his brother, as well as a close relationship with the former Mizukage, Madara Uchiha. His former country, the Land of Water, sought him out, for plotting to overthrow its government and being involved in numerous assassinations, including one of a feudal lord of an unknown country. Kisame later joined Akatsuki, and was partnered with Itachi Uchiha. Pain stated that his reason for joining Akatsuki was "spite".

Appearance
Kisame was a very tall and strong shinobi, with a distinctive shark-like appearance, complete with pale blue skin, small white eyes, gill-like facial structures, and sharp triangular teeth. When he removed his cloak he shown gills on his shoulders. Even his name,, means "Demon Shark". Kisame also wears a dark purple nail color, like Itachi. Underneath his Akatsuki cloak, Kisame wears an outfit similar to the one that his colleague, Zabuza Momochi, wore during his first appearance.

Personality
Kisame was rather battle-loving, enjoying to fight with others. However, Kisame was usually forced to leave a fight, being paired with Itachi (who only fights when necessary). When this happened, he had been known to inform his opponent(s) that they "don't know how lucky they are." Like other characters who have trained to be one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen, Kisame enjoyed 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 was deceptively perceptive in battle. He was seemingly aware of any potential danger to his person and can immediately react to it. He was also shown to be rather analytical, able to quickly deduce the basics behind an opponent's technique.

Kisame was one of the few members of Akatsuki that got along well with his partner. Kisame was very loyal to Itachi, willing to take any commands he was given without question, and constantly looked out for his well-being. Although Kisame does have his pride, he acknowledged Itachi as the stronger of the duo. Madara has noted that, out of all of Akatsuki, Kisame was the closest to Itachi, implying that they were indeed good friends. 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.

Return of Itachi arc
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 Yuhi, two Konoha Jonin ordered by Kakashi Hatake to follow them. However, Asuma and Kurenai stood little chance and were quickly defeated, but Kakashi Hatake arrived in time to save their lives. Asuma was able to distract Kisame while Itachi fought Kakashi. He waited patiently for Itachi's victory but before Itachi delivered the final blow, Kakashi remembered Jiraiya's warning and recognized 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. Fortunately, Might Guy showed up and kicked an attacking Kisame in the face (which Kisame resents to this day). 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 though 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 hypnotized 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 defended Naruto. Following the encounter, Kisame and Itachi were driven off by Jiraiya, failing in capturing Naruto.

Rescue Gaara arc
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. Pain used the Shapeshifting Technique to make a duplicate of Kisame's body that would be remotely controlled by Kisame, and engaged Team Guy, but was quickly disappointed to find that Guy didn't remember him. While Guy was barely able to withstand the clone Kisame's attacks, the rest of Team Guy were incapable of trading blows, and were eventually locked within Kisame's Water Prison Technique. Neji soon freed himself and the rest of his team, using his Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms. Upon being forced into a corner, Guy opened his sixth gate, and defeated Kisame's clone with the Morning Peacock technique.

Hunt for Itachi arc
After Orochimaru's defeat in the anime, Itachi sensed something. Kisame asked him what was wrong, to which he replied saying that it was nothing. Kisame successfully managed to capture the Four-Tailed Monkey, 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. Kisame was later told by Itachi to stand guard outside the former Uchiha clan headquarters and to let only Sasuke through. After Sasuke left the rest of Hebi, Suigetsu (who was a former candidate for The Seven Swordsman of the Mist) started a fight with Kisame, wanting to claim Samehada as his own. It was later revealed that Zetsu had interrupted the fight, thus leaving both Suigetsu and Kisame alive.

Hunt for the Eight-Tails arc
Kisame later encountered Tobi, who revealed his identity as Madara Uchiha (who was a former Mizukage). Kisame commented that he felt a lot better knowing it was Madara who was pulling the strings.

After Taka captured the Eight-Tails' host, Sasuke gave Killer Bee to Madara for the Akatsuki to seal. During the extraction process, the host vanished, revealing itself to be a tentacle of the tailed beast. Madara was shown to remain silent, as Kisame commented that Sasuke had been fooled in the latter's attempt to capture the jinchūriki.

Five Kage Summit arc
After Zetsu reported in about Pain's death, Madara ordered Kisame to capture the Eight-Tails alone. After locating Killer Bee with the Enka ninja leader Sabu, due to Samehada being attracted to Killer Bee's immense chakra, he prepares to fight Killer Bee, stating that he wouldn't kill him. As Killer Bee begins to taunt Kisame, he is interrupted by Sabu's pet, Ponta, who rushes forward to attack. He quickly dispatches it, and Sabu and Killer Bee prepare to attack together. In response, Kisame swiftly shows Samehada's ability to absorb Killer Bee's Lightning Style and even his Eight-Tails chakra, even reducing a four-tailed cloak to nothing in seconds. With Samehada having gotten a "taste" of Killer Bee's Eight-Tails chakra, Kisame allows it to rip off its bandages, revealing its true form.

However, Killer Bee goes into his version 2 form, initially overpowering Kisame and destroying his entire midsection. Samehada responds by using the absorbed chakra to heal Kisame, who then counters Killer Bee's new form by fusing with Samehada to become a monstrous shark-like creature. After trapping Killer Bee, Sabu and Ponta inside a giant, movable dome, he continued his assault on Killer Bee, forcing Killer Bee to forcibly throw Sabu and Ponta out of the dome and attack Kisame head on. Using his ability to produce ink, Killer Bee temporarily blinds Kisame, forcing him to destroy the dome. With Killer Bee almost out of chakra, Kisame moved in to cut off his legs, only to find that Samehada now preferred the Eight-Tail's chakra over his, attacking Kisame and defending Killer Bee. Kisame kicked away his sword and took one of Killer Bee's blades to finish the battle.

Before the final strike could be landed, Killer Bee manages to throw the pencil from earlier directly at Kisame while infused with raiton chakra. Kisame barely evades the attack for the most part, but receives a large cut on the side of his face. He then attempts to kill Bee again, however by this time the Raikage arrives to help his brother. He teams up with Killer Bee to finish off Kisame with their Double Lariat. Kisame states with a grin that their lightning-quick speed was simply too fast for him, after his head is decapitated.

Abilities
Kisame was said to be the strongest of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. 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 prevail. Kisame also proved powerful enough to successfully capture the Four-Tailed Monkey's jinchūriki, Rōshi, all by himself, despite noting of his target's exceptional powers. Though a difficult task, by his own admission, Kisame merely complained that he was "a bit tired". Madara gave confidence in sending Kisame to capture Killer Bee, the jinchūriki of the Eight-Tailed Giant Ox, all by himself once again. Chōjūrō notes that Kisame is a special case, whose unique abilities put him at the same level as a jinchuriki, and must not be taken lightly.

Samehada
Kisame is a sword-user, and savors the uses of brute strength over any technique. Kisame's signature weapon is called Samehada, a sentient, scale-covered sword, that shaves flesh instead of cutting it. Samehada is also capable of detecting and absorbing chakra, but requires Kisame's own chakra to perform the latter. When Samehada absorbs chakra it's scales grow and slowly it begins to unwrap itself.

Only Kisame is able to wield Samehada; or so it seems. Samehada likes Kisame's chakra, but if it finds a ninja with better chakra, it will turn to that ninja's side, demonstrated when Samehada protected Killer Bee from Kisame's cut. If anyone besides him tries to pick it up, spikes protrude from its handle, and it returns to Kisame's side, but again, it could turn on Kisame if it finds a better user. Kisame can also heal and replenish his chakra by taking some of Samehada's chakra by momentarily fusing with, or fusing all the way to further increasing his power along with shark like appearance.

It was stated by Suigetsu that, if he kills Kisame, he would be able to wield the Samehada. Chōjūrō describes the Samehada as the most terrifying sword of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist.

Physical Prowess and Chakra
Unlike his former partner Itachi, Kisame prefers direct physical combat, at which he has repeatedly been shown to be very proficient and dangerous. Generally while fighting, he combines strong taijutsu strikes with powerful slashing from Samehada. He has been seen displaying astonishing raw speed and immense physical strength, making it highly difficult for his opponents to directly overpower him, as shown from overpowering Might Guy, a powerful taijutsu master, during their battle. He also managed to overpower another skilled melee-weapon user, Asuma, by using only the tip of Samehada (wielded with one hand), against Asuma's two blades, which he held overhead using his body as extra support.

Kisame has the largest chakra reserve in all of Akatsuki (according to Pain). Karin, upon sensing Kisame, stated she had never seen so much chakra in one place. Even when he fought at 30% power in one instance, Neji compared his chakra supply to that of Naruto. Chōjūrō claims that Kisame is a "biju without a tail" due to his inhuman chakra level and combination with Samehada.

Water and Earth Release
Kisame's shark-like attributes carry over into his battles, for he even shapes his Water Release attacks into sharks. He is also able to alter the entire battlefield by using his Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave, to create a lake's worth of water to give him the field advantage, and to use for attacks. Using Earth element, Kisame can travel under the earth, with the tip of his Samehada jutting out, making him look like a shark swimming towards his opponent.

Trivia

 * It is shown in the anime's omake specials 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 the ladies, he sulked, and replied with, "After all, I'm strangely colored."
 * Kisame is the last Akatsuki member to learn of Tobi's identity as Madara Uchiha, though has apparently known him since his time as Mizukage.
 * Before Akatsuki's plans for the tailed beasts were revealed, and before the Three-Tailed Beast was seen, some fans believed Kisame to be the jinchuriki of the "Three-Tailed Isonade".
 * At 195 centimeters, Kisame is the tallest member of Akatsuki.
 * Kisame means demon shark, while Hoshigaki may mean dried persimmon.
 * According to the Third Databook:
 * Kisame graduated from the Academy when he was 10 years old.
 * Kisame's hobby is taking care of his sword, Samehada.
 * Kisame has completed 332 official missions in total: 3 D-rank, 68 C-rank, 154 B-rank, 78 A-rank, 29 S-rank.
 * Kisame's favorite foods are shrimp and crab, while his least favorite, predictably, is shark fin soup.

Quotes

 * (To Asuma) "My Shark Skin doesn't slice... It shaves you to ribbons!"
 * (Talking about Naruto)"Itachi, it will be a pain in the neck if this kid makes a run for it ... maybe we should chop off a leg just in case."
 * (To Might Guy) "Might Guy, huh? Mighty stupid-looking guy is more like it!"
 * "The ability to turn a gloomy organization cheerful, Tobi was a skilled man at that"
 * (To Killer Bee) "I get stronger in direct proportion to how strong my opponent is. I do not tire, and cannot be defeated".
 * (Chojuro talking about Kisame) "Put him and that blade together, and you have a human who is able to wield every bit as much power as a jinchuriki...effectively a bijuu without a tail"