It was a rainy day. Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki were going south of the Land of Fire, to the Land of Tea. Pain informed them that someone that matched the Four Tails' Jinchuriki, Roshi of the Lava Release, was sighted there by one of the Akatsuki spies. The Lava Release is a combination of Fire and Earth, so Kisame was considered the most suited for the job, as he was a Water specialist.
Both men were wearing their Akatsuki attire and their hats, so the rain didn't bother them too much. In fact, Itachi loved the rain. Underneath his displayed coldness, the Uchiha was a kind and caring individual, and a very sensitive soul.
"Kisame, can I ask you a question?"
"Of course you can, Itachi-san, though it is quite out of character of you to begin a conversation!" Kisame answered, grinning. The Kirigakure-nin was a lighthearted and blunt man, but he genuinely cared about his partner.
"I never asked you, but do you still have any family back in Kirigakure?"
Itachi's question surprised Kisame, as he never asked him anything this personal.
"Well, my family is long gone, Itachi-san. I still have clansmen, as the Hoshigaki clan is a prominent one in Kirigakure, but we were distant from each other, and now, with me leaving the village, all contact ceased. Why do you ask?"
"Nothing, I was just curious." It was weird. Itachi never did something for nothing. He had something on his mind.
"My family and I didn't get along too much. Let's call them ideological differences."
Itachi's curiosity reached new heights. Kisame was never a philosopher, though he was an intelligent individual. He felt the need to explore this further. "Tell me about it."
"I suppose I could do so, as there is nothing else to do that's funnier than walking through this rain. As you know, my clan has two distinct branches: the Clerics and the Protectors, but these are just fancy names for what it's really everything about. I just like to call them the Brains and the Brunt. The Clerics are raised learning about stuff like politics and sealing techniques and poisons and everything a good politician must know to be successful. However, the Protectors were raised just for one thing: pure shinobi power. Ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu, Kenjutsu, anything that could cause damage, they taught us."
"So you are a member of this Protector branch."
"What, do I look like a scholar to you, Itachi-san?" Kisame laughed. "Anyway, they did other things to us, not just breeding us for war. They used a secret technique to fuse our DNA with those of sharks to increase our stamina and prowess in battle, as well as our aptitude with the Water Release."
Itachi was shocked. Of course, he wondered why Kisame looked the way he looked, but he never asked him, out of politeness.
"That's… horrible!"
"Not as horrible as what the Hyuga does in your former village, Itachi-san. We were not branded like cattle with some kind of curse mark, we were just… enhanced. For as long as we didn't betray the village, we could use our powers as we see fit. My father, however, was a hardliner. He deeply believed in blood purity and discipline and stuff like that. He thought that the Protectors are nothing more than slaves, and his opinion was shared by quite a few Clerics. So, you can imagine that he didn't treat me too well."
Itachi understood very well what Kisame went through. His father was also an extremist that would've destroyed the peace of the village just to promote his crazy ideas about Uchiha superiority.
"Of course, I had other siblings. Three brothers and a sister, all of them joined the Clerics. So, I was kind of a black sheep of the family… Or a black shark."
"So, what happened?"
"My father was a member of the Kiri council, but he didn't share the Third Mizukage's peaceful views. The Third was a tolerant man, who accepted those with Kekkei Genkai, genetic mutations or other stuff like that. Dad proposed to the Mizukage that all of these shinobi should be at least isolated to a secured island north of the Land of Water. The Kage dismissed him and had him house arrested, for trying to disrupt the peace of the village."
"But why would a Hoshigaki hate these Protectors? They are members of the clan, as well."
"He was afraid we were going to rebel against the Clerics, but his fears were unfounded. So, controlled by this paranoia, he did something extreme, just as he was… He contacted a member of the Uzumaki clan who hid in Kiri posing as a salesman and asked that man to teach him a powerful sealing technique. He asked the Protectors to join him in the great hall of our clan quarters, lying to them that they were going to discuss about peace and reconciliation and then, he sealed them off."
"I didn't know there were Uzumaki in Kirigakure."
"They are everywhere, some posing as healers, other as beggars and other like salesmen. Since the doom of Uzushiogakure, they are spread all across the world."
"I understand. What happened with your father after that?"
Kisame looked to the sky, the rain falling on his face. "I killed him." He said that with a huge grin on his face.
Itachi was shocked. Of course, he didn't judge, as he had done the same, but his partner looked unfazed, completely remorseless. Even though the Uchiha needed to die to preserve the peace, Itachi felt a lot of remorse, even now, years after the massacre.
"Other people wouldn't sound so casual when talking about killing your own father, Kisame!"
Kisame coughed. "Well, I just guarded my back. He didn't seal me because I was already taken as an apprentice by Fuguki Suikazan, the former wielder of Samehada. But who could've guaranteed me that he wouldn't try that stuff again? So, I killed him… Along with my brothers and sister."
Itachi looked disturbed. He spared his younger brother out of love for him, as he couldn't bring himself to take his precious life. "Why would you do such a thing?"
"For the same reason. Kiri is not like Konoha, with that "protect the next generation" thing. Our Will of Water is simple: "Eat or be eaten". Quite Darwinian but that's it."
Itachi processed his thoughts, trying to understand. They were two men who raised their swords against their own flesh and blood but for two different reasons. He killed the Uchiha for the village and Kisame killed his family for self-preservation. Who was right? Whose reason was stronger? Is there any reason strong enough to warrant such an act?
"I don't judge you, Kisame. Thank you for sharing this with me. I hope I didn't make you feel uncomfortable."
"No problem, Itachi-san. You would have done the same. My father was a bastard. But I guess you really DID the same. I hope your father was not as lousy as mine… But then again, if your father were a good man, than he didn't deserve to die… Problems, problems, problems. Philosophy! Paradoxes! Questions without answers, without truths… This is why I love shaving the flesh of my opponents with my sword. A man whose flesh is ripped away from his bones won't hide himself in ideology."
Itachi smiled. "I guess you really are a philosopher too, Kisame. A… physical kind of philosophy you have, but a philosophy nonetheless."
"Yes, Itachi-san. I call it Think-about-what-I-have-done-to-you-when-your-brains-are-splattered-all-over-the-ground. It has a simple answer: You cannot.
"Well, I guess a negative answer is an answer too. See? Philosophy!"
The rain stopped, and the two men reached out a small town.
"Let's find this Jinchuriki. I will show him my philosophy firsthand!" Kisame said, with a huge grin on his face.