Kisame Hoshigaki

- Kisame in his Akatsuki attire. - Kisame's appearance after merging with Samehada. - Kisame before joining Akatsuki. 1/3 Kisame was a very tall, muscular shinobi, and was the tallest member in Akatsuki. He had a distinctive shark-like appearance, complete with pale, green skin in the manga, (depicted as blue-grey in the anime). He has small, round, white eyes, 3 sets of curved facial markings under his eyes, gills on his shoulders, and sharp triangular teeth, the latter of which is a shared trait amongst most of 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. During his time as a Kirigakure shinobi, he sported the standard outfit of the village, complete with a flak jacket and a forehead protector. Later, he 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 Kirigakure's forehead protector, which covered his ears as well. After defecting from the village, he donned the typical 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. His forehead protector was slashed across the symbol, signifying he was no longer affiliated with Kirigakure. He wore his Akatsuki ring on his left ring finger, bearing the kanji for "south" (南, nan) which was yellow in colour.

Originally, Kisame was to guard the Cypher Division under orders from his superior, Fuguki Suikazan of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. When the group was cornered by Konoha-nin under Ibiki Morino during a mission, Kisame chose to kill the Cypher Division members to keep their intel from being leaked out through Ibiki's interrogation, as instructed by Fuguki. Eventually, after learning that Fuguki was selling information to other ninja villages, Kisame killed him and took Samehada for himself. Though the Fourth Mizukage commended him for his loyalty to Kirigakure, killing his comrade caused Kisame to become disillusioned and came to realise that the world was filled with lies. It was soon after that Kisame was approached by a mysterious figure who was manipulating Yagura from the shadows, calling himself Madara Uchiha. After seeing the shinobi's Sharingan, Kisame insisted that he reveal himself, leading the masked stranger to show Kisame his face. After explaining his motives and the Eye of the Moon Plan to Kisame, he was initially sceptical of the mysterious ninja, but the notion of a "world of truth" enticed him. Now a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, Kisame was given the title of "Monster of the Hidden Mist", and formed a connection with Suigetsu and Mangetsu Hōzuki. Kisame eventually became a missing-nin when the Land of Water sought him for plotting to overthrow its government and being involved in numerous assassinations that included another country's daimyō. With his departure, he took Samehada with him, causing Kirigakure to lose one of its seven swords. Kisame eventually joined the Akatsuki and, due to his history of killing people close to him as well as traitors, he was partnered with Itachi to keep an eye on him. Though they initially greeted each other with hostility, they became good partners. The Akatsuki seeking members, approached Deidara to join their organisation. After getting caught in Itachi's genjutsu, Kisame laughed at how close the clueless shinobi came to dying. After the fight ended, Kisame, Itachi and Sasori succeeded in recruiting Deidara.