"King Ryujin and Urashima Taro… What do they have to do with you and those other fish people up there, Torasame?" Suigetsu asked.

"To start with, King Ryujin was the king of our race once upon a time."

Suigetsu raised an eyebrow. "Wait... you're saying you're not human?! Then what the hell are you?!"

"We don't really know. We're not entirely human, but not entirely shark either. Millions of years of evolution simply brought about something in between. If you humans came up with a name for our species I don't know it; our people haven't been in extensive contact for over a century now. King Ryujin saw to that."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Before King Ryujin's time, our species were always at war. We don't even remember what started it. Maybe you got jealous and afraid of our longer life spans and superior strength and tried to wipe us out… or maybe our innate gits made us believe we deserved more territory and tried to take that away from you… I don't know. The point is, our kind was always at war with the humans of your country, but King Ryujin wanted to put that conflict to an end. He still hated you all, don't get me wrong, but he saw that the constant battles were dwindling our numbers dangerously close to extinction and opted to seclude our kind from the world than futilely try to take it over. He did two things to accomplish this."

"Two things?"

"The first is that he made a non-aggression treaty with the Water Daimyo at the time; humans don't attack us, and in turn we don't attack humans. All we wanted was for our kind to avoid extinction - and you humans already had your hands full fighting amongst yourselves - so the agreement worked to both parties' advantage. The second thing King Ryujin did was turn our home lake into an ocean. That made it harder for your kind to attack us just in case one of you betrayed our trust. It had the side-effect of isolating your country from the rest of the continent, but the process occurred over decades of increased rainfall so your kind wouldn't notice King Ryujin's actions. And it didn't violate the rules of the treaty so your kind couldn't justify retaliation even if they found out… King Ryujin was certainly a devious man when he wanted to be."

"Not half as devious as some of our kind." Suigetsu remarked with a pained grin. "But something must have changed about that agreement, what with you, Kisame, and the others showing up."

"That's where Urashima Taro comes in, and with him, King Ryujin's daughter, Princess Otohime. She, unlike her father, believed that our kind could co-exist peacefully with humans and wanted to interact with them. But she wouldn't dare betray her father's treaty, so she opted to watch humans from a distance disguised as an ordinary shark."

"But then Taro saved Otohime from poachers and she took him to her home as thanks for saving her life! I know that much from the legends, and they totally contradict the story you've been telling so far! Otohime bringing Taro to your place would have violated the treaty!"

"And Princess Otohime considered Taro evidence that the treaty was wrong in the first place. She argued with King Ryujin over it in a very heated debate when she introduced Taro to him, but the point was that if Taro was nice enough to save her and listen to her request even after she outed herself as one of us, then some humans could be trusted and were worth consorting with, and the treaty denied both of our kind that potential. King Ryujin didn't believe her at the outset, but he was willing to give her a chance, and came up with a way to prove her case. Taro would return to the surface world with a gift, and Taro would leave something behind in order for Princess Otohime to monitor his movements."

Suigetsu stroked his chin. "That gift… what was it?"

"You've already seen it." Torasame chuckled. "King Ryujin removed a piece of his skin and crafted a tool with it - a means for a human to utilize King Ryujin's own powers - intent on seeing whether or not Taro could use them responsibly."

"A piece of a shark's skin… you don't mean Samehada do you?!"

Torasame silently nodded in response.

"Did you just say Samehada?"

Jugo promptly ran out of the waiting room. He sat down next to Suigetsu and Torasame in curiosity. "Tenten, Killer B, and I were looking for its place of creation." he said.

"You came to the right place, buddy." Suigetsu remarked, pointing at Torasame. "This guy just told me how it was made."

"You… you did?" Jugo asked Torasame in disbelief.

Torasame looked down in shame. "Yes… not that I'm allowed to take you there. Ryugu Castle is currently not accepting any visitors."

"Why not?"

"That'll be explained later. Right now Suigetsu and I were in the middle of something else."

"Yeah. Taro left something behind." Suigetsu recalled. "What was it?"

"The very same thing King Ryujin parted with: a piece of himself. Taro imbued a jewel with some of his chakra, which allowed Princess Otohime to watch his movements at any time, as if one were to use a crystal ball. After the exchange was made Princess Otohime sent Taro back home, where he would help build this very stadium in King Ryujin's honour. He would also become the first leader of what you call the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist in his attempt to prove himself to King Ryujin. Things… got worse from there."

"They obviously did if you're here now." said Jugo. "Could you go into a little more detail?"

"I was planning to. … At any rate, thanks to Samehada's creation, it left King Ryujin with an area without skin. That area got infected and in due time he died of illness. At that point, Princess Otohime succeeded him and became Queen Otohime. As expected of her, she ruled benevolently and efficiently while still making time to check on Taro occasionally. Over time, they both grew older and Queen Otohime began to sire heirs. While Queen Otohime's children were still in the womb, the worst possible tragedy occurred… Urashima Taro was murdered by his own subordinate while Queen Otohime was watching, cutting off contact with him permanently."

"That really sucks…" Suigetsu solemnly remarked.

"Queen Otohime suspects that Taro's untimely death weakened her spiritually, and as a result, instead of giving birth to possibly dozens of children, she only carried two to term…"

Suddenly, Torasame formed a faint grin:

"… Ironically, that might also be the reason her children developed such monstrous amounts of chakra, even for our species."

Jugo's jaw dropped. "You don't mean…"

"I do. Kisame and myself; we are, or were, Queen Otohime's only children. I'm the son of Queen Otohime, and the grandson of King Ryujin."

"So that story about being only distantly related was a bunch of bullshit!" Suigetsu accused with a point. "You and Kisame really were twin brothers!"

"That was an old cover story from back when our species were at war with each other. Any time one of our kind had to come to the surface to do reconnaissance work behind enemy lines, they'd adopt the surname Hoshigaki as a means of claiming they were from a human clan that unfortunately looked like us."

"Anyway, I don't get what you mean when you say that Taro's death resulted in your chakra supply getting so big." said Jugo.

Torasame stroked his chin. "How do I put it? … I know… Did you know that most species of shark are ovoviviparous? That means the eggs hatch inside the mother's body before they're born. But sometimes the number of eggs hatched is different than the number of children that leave the womb. Why is that, you might be wondering? … Cannibalism; the siblings start eating each other the moment they hatch. That goes double for a mother too weak to provide sustenance for her children, forcing the pups to fend for themselves, resulting in even less offspring that survive the fratricidal warfare… That happened to us. Kisame and I devoured all one hundred of our siblings and their chakra, giving us fifty times the usual amount each at birth, and our reserves grew proportionally with our bodies."

"How can you be so sure of what happened during your own birth?" Suigetsu asked, shivering in morbid fascination.

"Mother… Queen Otohime sensed it happening inside herself. She is what you would call the Great Shark Sage, after all. The current one, anyway."

"So why did Kisame join the Hidden Mist?" Jugo wondered.

"Yeah… that violates the non-aggression treaty!" Suigetsu added.

"That was Mother's idea. After Taro's passing, Queen Otohime was stricken with grief and despair… She came to believe that Taro was the exception of the human race rather than the rule, and she conspired to take Samehada back, unable to trust humanity with King Ryujin's remains anymore. So she sent my brother – Kisame - to the surface to ultimately retrieve Samehada and return it to Ryugu Castle where it rightfully belonged, and even had him tracked the same way Taro once was. But in order to keep up appearances and better integrate into human society, Queen Otohime erased Kisame's memories of his mission in such a way that he would only regain them once he touched Samehada. The plan was to have Kisame acquire Samehada and return home immediately… but he never came back. He refused to complete his mission, dying after taking Samehada but before coming home. And to make matters worse, we lost track of Samehada's whereabouts after that since his connection to Mother's jewel was severed."

At that moment, Torasame's voice softened and he looked away in sorrow:

"Do you… Do you know why my brother betrayed us? Mother came to believe that he was being brainwashed just like the Fourth Mizukage. First by Obito, then by Itachi, and then by Obito again after Itachi's death… but that's not true, is it?"

Suigetsu shook his head. "No, it's not. Almost his entire career involved killing fellow Mist ninja to protect village secrets, including Samehada's previous wielder, Fuguki Suikazan. Why Kisame took so many missions of that nature was a mystery even to himself. Learning the truth would have only made things worse: it made his entire existence as a Mist ninja one big, fat, lie. Regaining one set of memories doesn't mean the other ones go away; the soul is more complicated than that. And then he learns that the man he thought he was serving was being brainwashed only minutes later? All that disillusionment at once would be enough for anyone to wish to be placed in an eternal genjutsu, if only to avoid being lied to ever again. Kisame probably thought Infinite Tsukiyomi was the deception to end all deceptions… Obito might have manipulated Kisame onto that path by assigning him his missions, but the choice to follow him on the Moon Eye Plan was Kisame's alone."

"That explains why Obito wiped the village's records…" Jugo said. "He must have used them to predict Kisame's purpose for being a Mist ninja and destroyed all the evidence used in his discovery. He wouldn't want the Fifth Mizukage recognizing that Kisame was from Ryugu Castle and that Queen Otohime wanted Samehada back. If they did, then they could alert Queen Otohime about Kisame's betrayal, and then Akatsuki would have to deal with a whole army of Shark Sages, starting a war when one wouldn't be profitable. He would have rather left Ryugu Castle scratching their heads over Kisame's failure than give them definite answers and prompt a response."

"Enough talking about the past…" Torasame looked to Suigetsu and Jugo again, "It's time we talked about the present."

"It is true you haven't even started talking about why you and the others came here." Suigetsu remarked.

"That's what I was getting to. … We learned about the Fourth Ninja World War from our observations of Kisame. We decided to lay low and avoid confronting anyone until after the war ended, and once it did, Mother sent me up to the surface to act as the Water Daimyo's bodyguard. We knew the Hidden Mist's information network was compromised, so we took a different approach to finding Samehada's whereabouts. It was while I was working under Lord Daimyo that I discovered that the wielder of Samehada was a Cloud ninja by the name of Killer B. I also learned that the Mizukage was planning a tournament where the winner could be granted any wish, and that Lord Daimyo wanted me to enter. I planned on using Lady Mizukage's wish to ask for Killer B's whereabouts so that I could locate him and challenge him for Samehada's ownership. Little did I know Killer B would end up watching the very tournament I was going to participate in! Mother knew of this at the same moment I did - thanks to watching me through her jewel - when I saw Samehada at Bamboo Blade Battlefield yesterday, and our plans… changed."

"You were able to change your wish to challenging Killer B directly, since he was already attending and didn't need to be found." Jugo inferred.

Torasame looked up to the mouth of King Ryujin's statue. "That wasn't the only change. Mother wasn't going to let this chance at Samehada slip away. In case I lost - and I did - she needed some way to infiltrate the tournament and take Samehada by force. Hence she had five subjects come to the surface, abduct Lord Daimyo and his other guards and transform into them, taking their place at the tournament. And even if, somehow, someone saw through that plan, we still have Lord Daimyo held hostage. I was not informed of this myself until the hour break before the grand finals just now… and I suspect that my compatriots are using Lord Daimyo as ransom for Samehada as we speak."

Once Torasame was finished, Suigetsu laughed hysterically.

Torasame's eyes narrowed. "I fail to see the humor in this situation."

"I already told you this before, but…" Jugo said, "… Tenten, Killer B, and I were heading to Ryugu Castle anyway. All you had to do was ask; Queen Otohime didn't need to resort to kidnapping the Daimyo to get her hands on Samehada."

"Jugo said it, yeah!" Suigetsu added through his laughter.

"I see your point, but I'm not sure if Mother could ever trust a human with Samehada again…" Torasame said as he stood up. "She'd confiscate it the second she sees you with it."

"Then Jugo and Killer B have just got to restore the queen's faith in humanity, that's all!" Suigetsu replied, standing up himself. "If anyone can do it, they can! You guys became friends with Gyuki and all the animals on Turtle Island, didn't you, Jugo?!"

Jugo stood up in turn. "Yes, we did. Torasame, or should I say Prince Torasame… it would be my honour if you took Tenten, Killer B, and me to Ryugu Castle. We'll do everything we can to save Queen Otohime and help her trust humanity again."

"I would appreciate it; I'll even help you." Torasame smiled. "From my time on the surface I've been convinced that our species can co-exist peacefully so long as we put in the effort to understand each other, just like Mother was long ago."

At that moment, Suigetsu crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow:

"Hey… not to delve too off-topic, but there's something I've been wondering. I won't be coming with Jugo and the others, so I have to know… is your mom really as beautiful as the legend says she is? One account even claims that Otohime was so drop-dead gorgeous that any human man who laid eyes on her would be doomed to never be aroused by human women again. I find that tidbit rather hard to believe…"

"Mother was certainly that beautiful by our standards." Torasame pointed to his own face with a confident smile. "Still is, too. She was only a teenager when she met Urashima Taro. It's been nearly a century since then, and Mother looks around the same age as Lady Mizukage. Maybe a little younger... If anything, she has only become even more beautiful with time. And once her heart's been saved and she begins to smile again, her beauty may improve even further…"

"Is that… normal for you people?" Suigetsu asked. "Ageing the equivalent of only fifteen human years or so in the span of a century once you've hit puberty?"

"Oh, yes. I believe I told you that we have rather long lives."

"But that's…!" Suigetsu's eye twitched. "That makes the Uzumaki clan seem downright ordinary by comparison!"

"Regardless, I find it odd that your kind would also see Mother as an example of ideal beauty." Torasame stroked his chin, lost in thought. "Our tastes are fundamentally varied; what you consider beautiful and what I consider beautiful are two very different understandings of the word…"

"I think it may be because of Urashima Taro." Jugo interjected, catching Torasame's and Suigetsu's attention. "The opinion on Queen Otohime's beauty could only come from someone who's seen her, and the only human who saw Queen Otohime in her true form - aside from the Water Daimyo and his other guards as of last night - was Urashima Taro himself. Despite all cultural differences Queen Otohime must have appeared beautiful to Taro, at least."

"There's only one way to find out for sure, man!" Suigetsu said with a grin. "It's a good thing Tenten's going to be right there with you! That way she can screw that arousal resistance out of you before it takes too strong a hold!"

Jugo meekly looked aside and blushed. "Uh… I have no comment…"

At that moment, Mei suddenly appeared before the three of them, having used the Body Flicker technique to reach the ring from her altitude. She cheerfully waved them all hello:

"That was certainly a thrilling Grand Final Match, wasn't it, men?"

All three turned their heads her way and nodded in response, and Chojuro also faced her from where he was standing in the ring.

"What brings you down here, Mizukage?" Suigetsu asked.

"I've recently been informed that Lord Daimyo and his guard have been kidnapped by the people of Ryugu Castle. We agreed upon an exchange: Jugo, Tenten, and Killer B would be taken to Ryugu Castle along with Samehada, and in return Lord Daimyo is sent back up to our country along with his guard. Torasame, you will be present for both transactions, since Queen Otohime can track your movements and make sure everything runs smoothly. In the meantime, until the ceremony is over our shark friends have agreed to don their disguises once more and participate as originally planned; no need to cause a panic by revealing Lord Daimyo's status to the masses. With the sole exception of Tenten, no one outside the stadium is to be informed of this mission until after Lord Daimyo has been returned safely home. Is that understood?"

Suigetsu, Jugo, Torasame, and Chojuro saluted in unison. "Yes, mam!"

Mei looked behind her shoulder to meet her assistant's eyes. "Chojuro!"

"Yes, Lady Mizukage?!"

"Leave the stadium and inform the audience and security that the Grand Final Match is over and that they should return to their seats. And could you try to find Tia while you're at it? I haven't seen her since she told me about Yuri's condition, and I wouldn't want for two winners to miss opening their prizes."

With a quick nod, Chojuro swiftly left the stadium through the waiting room.

The Strongest Under the Mist tournament might have been over, but Suigetsu's prize still eluded his grasp. It was only a matter of time before he received it in its full glory.