Kisame Hoshigaki

**Kisame Hoshigake**, feared as the "**Monster of the Hidden Mist**", was a S-rank rouge ninja from the Hidden Mist Village's Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and was a member of the Akatsuki, partnered with Itachi Uchiha.

## Physical Appearance

Kisame was a very tall and muscular shinobi, and was the tallest member in Akatsuki. He had a distinctive shark-like appearance, complete with pale, blue-grey skin. He also has small, round, white eyes, gill-like facial markings under his eyes, and actual gills on his shoulders, and sharp triangular teeth, much like 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. He also 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 the Hidden Mist Village's forehead protector, which covered his ears as well. After defecting from the village, he donned the typical black 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 "*south*" which was yellow in color.

## Personality

Kisame loves to fight. He is quite sadistic, brutal, violent 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. But in time, 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 loyal to Itachi as he would only take action after being ordered to or after being given permission by him. Despite his pride, Kisame acknowledged Itachi as the stronger of the duo, evident by Kisame saying to Itachi that he himself couldn't defeat Jiraiya, but stated his certainty that Itachi could go one-on-one with the Sannin. Although he wasn't above reprimanding Itachi for being reckless with his Mangekyo Sharingan. 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 organization with Itachi dead.

## Powers and Abilities

### Ninjutsu Prowess

* Ninjutsu Expert
	+ Kenjutsu Master - As his speciality, Kisame was a very powerful swordsman, and favored 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, and 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.
	+ Nature Transformation - Kisame was a master of Water Style 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. Kisame's shark-like attributes carried over into techniques, for he even shaped his Water Style 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.
	+ Summoning Jutsu

### Physical Prowess

* Immense Strength
* Immense Endurance
* Immense Durability
* Enhanced Speed
* Expert Hand-to-Hand Combatant - Unlike his partner Itachi, Kisame preferred direct physical combat, with which he has repeatedly been shown to be very proficient and dangerous. Generally while fighting, he combined strong taijutsu strikes with powerful slashes from Samehada.

### Chakra Prowess

* Immense Chakra Power - Kisame had a massive amount of chakra, even by Akatsuki standards. 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; at such an instance, Kisame was able to transform a dry wasteland into a small ocean. Chojuro claims that Kisame is a "*Tailless Tailed Beast*", due to his superhuman chakra level and combination with Samehada.