In the Hidden Mist Village, strict hierarchies reigned like pyramids.
First-class families were those whose ancestors had long resided in the village (such as the famed "Hozuki" clan).
Second-class families were those allied with Kirigakure through generations of warfare (like the families of Terumi Mei and Ringo Yuli).
The lowest, third-class families, were those defeated and absorbed by Kirigakure during past wars.
Hoshigaki Kisame and Taodi Zaibuzhu were born into third-class families.
Inferior in the eyes of many, to become ninjas, they were forced to undergo the brutal "companion cannibalism" graduation test—a trial that the children of noble families never faced.
Moreover, in Kirigakure, missions were assigned not by a ninja's individual strength but by their lineage.
The dirtiest, most dangerous tasks were left to the lowest-ranking ninjas.
Under such a system, it was no wonder the Hidden Mist Village teetered on the brink of decline. Coups, riots, and rebellions would soon become commonplace.
Kisame's ancestors were once a clan of murlocs living on a small island. After their homeland was annexed by the Land of Water, they were forced into Kirigakure and became mere expendable soldiers in the Kirigakure Ninja Corps.
After years of attrition, only a few remnants of the clan survived into Kisame's generation.
He had lived a solitary life since childhood, orphaned at birth—his mother (an outsider) died in childbirth, and his father, despite reaching the rank of Chūnin, succumbed on a dangerous mission.
Since then, Kisame had grown up alone, slowly developing a taciturn, hardened nature.
His modest home lay by a river on the outskirts of the Hidden Mist Village—a wooden structure his father built, now dilapidated but a cherished shelter from wind and rain.
In the drizzle, Kisame limped home, closed the door, and sank onto a worn sofa.
For the next few days, he secluded himself to focus on recuperation, rarely venturing out.
Legend said it took "one hundred days of injury" to recover fully, yet Kisame's remarkable resilience meant that all his bandages were removed in less than a week. His chakra potential and regenerative abilities were astonishing—reminding him of his own unique physiology.
What surprised him even more was that while sorting through his late father's belongings, he discovered a blood-stained forehead guard.
At its center, black lines formed a vortex—a design that struck a chord deep within Kisame's memory:
It was the family emblem of the Uzumaki Clan.
If his past were any clearer, he might not overthink it. His father had drunkenly boasted about participating in a war that decimated the Uzumaki Kingdom many years ago, and that guard might have been seized from a formidable foe.
Now, as a wanderer, Kisame pieced together clues from his fragmented past.
He recalled that all chakra in the Naruto world originated from Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, who gave birth to the brothers Hagoromo and Hamura. As chakra spread throughout the ninja world, the bloodline theory became paramount.
Uchiha, Uzumaki, Hyūga, and others were celebrated as descendants of the Six Paths—symbols of noble heritage.
Yet, with his unique power and nearly tailed-beast level chakra, Kisame was an anomaly among commoners.
Where had such immense chakra come from in someone of his lowly birth?
Twelve years ago—in the 32nd year of Konoha, during the Second Ninja World War—the Uzumaki Kingdom had been destroyed by a coalition of forces, with the Hidden Wind Village playing a crucial role.
Coincidentally, Kisame was born that very year and was brought to the village by his father. His mother, however, remained shrouded in mystery—his father only whispered that she had died in childbirth.
"Could it be," Kisame wondered aloud as he rubbed the blood-stained forehead guard, "that my mother… was a female ninja of the Uzumaki clan?"
The coagulated bloodstains, like withered plum blossoms, seemed to pulse with a secret legacy—perhaps even his mother's.
The past is past.
Kisame knew little of his parents' history. It wasn't a tragic love story; it was a grim tale of a ruthless aggressor kidnapping a woman, forcing her to bear a child, and then killing her.
Had she survived, she would have never recognized him as her son—instead, she might have wished to kill him herself.
Kisame laughed bitterly at the thought.
Unexpectedly, his lineage might carry the direct blood of the Six Paths Immortals.
His father might have hoped that Kisame would transcend his lowly origins, shattering the cycle of expendability.
Though Kisame's genes were far from noble in appearance—his shark-like features masked any trace of red-haired elegance—the power within him was undeniable.
With a heavy heart, he set the forehead guard ablaze in a nearby stove, watching it melt slowly into nothingness.
Since both his parents had died young, the truth of his bloodline would remain an eternal mystery.
But one thing was clear:
A vast power lay hidden within him—a treasure trove of untapped chakra potential that rivaled even Naruto Uzumaki and Nagato!