Samehada

Samehada (鮫肌, Shark Skin ) is a sentient mystical sword utilized by the Great Khan of Kirigakure and is regarded as the most terrifying of the Seven Ninja Swords of the Mist.

## History

It is not known how the blade came to be, nor who forged it, or if it had been forged at all.  The only thing that is known about the Samehada is that it has been passed down from generation to generation since a time before the First Mizukage’s Era in Kirigakure.  Its first master had been in the modern Shinobi World is Fuguki Suikazan, who then passed it on to Mangetsu Hozuki who then mastered all of the Seven Swords.  For whatever reason, Fuguki eventually regained the sword but then lost it after being killed by his student, Kisame Hoshigaki, who then took it and his title as a member of the Seven Swordsmen.

Even after defecting from the Hidden Mist Village, Kisame took Samehada with him and eventually used it to fight with Killer B, where Samehada grew fond of the taste of B’s chakra and betrayed Kisame.  Or at least, this is the way it seemed as it turned out to have been a White Zetsu clone, and the real Kisame was hiding inside the Samehada.  Eventually, however, Kisame would die and Samehada would begin to mourne him, being the first bit of proof that the blade itself had more of a personality and life than being a ravaging beast.  Killer B took on the Samehada where it aided the Shinobi in the Fourth Shinobi World War, and later found its way back into Kirigakure, through unknown means.

Once it returned to its homeland, the Samehada was stolen from a rebellious group known as the “New Seven Ninja Mist Swordsmen”, who stole the other blades and started a revolution against the “Modernization” and Peaceful era of Kirigakure.  Shizuma Hoshigaki took the blade for himself, and despite being skilled in Kenjutsu, ultimately failed to utilize the blade and entered into a feral rampage that devastated small portions of Kirigakure.  It is only due to Kagura Karatachi that Samehada and Shizuma had been separated, making the blade content by feeding it chakra, and from then on it continued to be passed down through the Seven Ninja Mist Swordsmen, with its most powerful users being recorded to be Kisame Hoshigaki, Sam’e Narukagami, and Muteki Khan.

## Apperance

Samehada is a massive sword that is roughly six feet in height and is regarded as the only blade in Kirigakure to rival the Executioner’s Blade in terms of size, and potentially weight.  When revealed to the outside world, Samehada is seen wrapped in bandages, during the reign of Kisame these bandages were white, but after getting into the hands of the Khan they have turned black.  Upon exposure, the sword is revealed to be comprised of a series of blue, downward-facing scales running along the entirety of its length until the hilt, which is flaxen in color.  A unique aspect about the Samehada, however, is that as it consumed chakra its size and scales grow, it even grows an actual mouth located at the tip of the blade with incredibly sharp teeth.

## Sentience

Samehada is unlike any other sword for it is one of the few sentient weapons in existence.  Thus it requires nourishment, and it specifically gets it from chakra, but it will not be satiated with just any chakra.  No, the Samehada is picky when it comes to its food as they each have a  distinctive flavour, with the famous Killer B being said to have a chakra that taste like an octopus.  The only types of chakra that the sword is said to dislike is fire-nature chakra, which is stated to be “spicy” to Samehada, and anyone with a chakra similar to Saiken is said to taste too “slimy”.  As hilarious as this might seem to some, it proves that the Samehada is capable of sentient thought, with the blade even choosing its own user.  If the Samehada, for whatever reason, does not find a user worthy or decides to reject the one wielding it even after some time, it will force spikes to protrude from its handle to make them let go.

In recent years, however, the Samehada has went a bit insane.  Not only due to the death of Kisame still weighing on its soul after so many years, but for the fact that it was left by Sam’e Narukagami, who is said to have had a bond even tighter than its former weilder.  For the Khan to even wield the weapon, he had to completely dominate its mind, and essentially subgugate it to slavery.  As such, the Samehada bends to the will of the Khan like a common household pet, but will still retain some of its picky qualities when it comes to chakra.

## Abilities

Being made up of scales the blade does not inflict injuries through traditional cuts, instead, it shreds apart whatever it comes into contact with, an effect said to be similar to Shark’s Skin, where the weapon god its name from.  While it does ordinarily remain rigid when outside of the body, the Samehada’s hilt is able to stretch and bend to a great extent, allowing it to be used as a flail.  To supplement the blade's offensive capabilities, it is also able to extend its scales to spikes and protrude spikes from its handle.  Samehada can also be used in conjunction with Water Release, leading to the sword glowing with chakra.

Samehada, similar to the Kikaichu, shares a symbiotic relationship with its wielder.  Although it continually consumes chakra from its owner, its largest meals come from fights, where it absorbs the chakra of the opponent by slicing through it, preventing them from performing the technique in question.  Against jinchuriki, Samehada quickly depletes their large chakra reserves, and can even remove their cloaks.  Unfortunately, the Samehada is unable to automatically absorb ambient chakra, as in all instances where it had been absorbed chakra is when either the opponent had a visible aura around them, or when it came into direct contact with it.  Due to its voracious appetite toward chakra, it has found a way to sense others with chakra, allowing it to be a quasi-sensor.  In order to eat in abundance, the Samehada can produce a mist veil through the wielder's blood, enabling it to absorb the chakra of anyone near through their open wounds.

While the ability to absorb chakra is useful in defeating opponents, it is also beneficial to the user as well.  Samehada has the ability to transfer the chakra it has absorbed to the wielder by partially fusing with them, so it can be used to either revitalize the wielder's chakra and stamina or instantly heal even fatal injuries.  This makes the user of this sword extremely difficult to defeat conventionally.  A weilder such as Kisame can take this fusion one step further by completely merging with the Samehada.  Doing so causes him to become much more shark-like in appearance, growing fins and webbed hands that allow him to move through water with considerable ease.  Kisame also receives some of Samehada’s abilities while in this form, such as being able to extend spikes from his body for offence, and absorbing chakra when others come into direct contact with others, as well as the ability to track chakra and avoid sensors.  It will fuse with a weakened or inexperienced wielder on its own accord, taking them over and causing them to go on a rampage until they are separated.

As for his unique merger with the Khan, the Samehada is constantly within’ him, though it does so in a dormant state.  This allows the Khan to utilize its sensory capability, chakra absorbing capability as well as use its excess chakra to heal, but it isn’t until Samehada is awakened that he enters the monstrous from and gains access to spikes.