Are Kisame and Itachi friends?

Akatsuki pairings are not random. Masashi Kishimoto chose meticulously when it came to Akatsuki duos; their skills or characters are similar or intriguing to one another.

Both Deidara and Sasori were artists at their core. Their notions reflect in their crafts. Masashi Kishimoto cleverly weaponized pottery and puppetry through detonation clays and Human Puppets. Their final debate – if art is an explosion or eternal beauty is yet another testament to this theory.

On Itachi and Kisame, Naruto Shippuden has numerous episodes dedicated to uncovering Itachi’s backstory, his brilliance, his complexity, the reasons behind killing the entire clan, and his role as a double agent to keep an eye on Akatsuki in exchange for Sasuke’s safety under Hiruzen – the Third Hokage.

Kisame’s story unfolds in the 251^st episode – The man named Kisame. He was addressed as Hoshigaki by Cipher Corps who were protecting a code and Kisame was protecting them. However, this protection came at a terrible cost. His secret mission was not to let the code pass to the enemy -Ibiki from Konoha in this case. So Kisame killed them all – his comrades to stay true to his mission.

We see similarities in the characters of Itachi and Kisame. Both of them had unflinching loyalty towards their villages and stayed true to the duties demanded of them. They stayed aloof, mysterious, and cold to the point that they also killed their potential lovers.

Kisame and Itachi aren’t friends, but they do share a companionship. They are guarded and yet safe in each other’s company. During Naruto’s training, Itachi and Kisame fail to kidnap Naruto for the Gedo statue. Post their escape from Jiraiya, Itachi confesses that if he were to fight one of the legendary Sannin, the likely outcome is that both will die. This insight gave Kisame a sense of Itachi’s power which is atypical. We cannot fathom Itachi being this casual and open with any other Akatsuki member.

Kisame dies after Itachi. In his final hours, Kisame reminisces about his first conversation with Itachi as an Akatsuki member.  Kisame knew about Itachi’s actions back in Konoha and didn’t hide his take on killing comrades and how it feels. “I understand you well.” This is what he conveys to Itachi and further indicates that his pairing with Itachi was a sought action.

Before committing suicide, Kisame understood Itachi’s words exchanged on their first meeting – “one realizes their true nature at the moment of death”. He realized that he wasn’t worthless being a staunch loyal ninja who firmly held on to his mission, no matter what.

Kisame and Itachi start rough and warned each other to be wary. Kisame died after Itachi and though lies were the only truths in his worldview, he had found a comrade in Itachi whom he wouldn’t kill, to whom he stayed loyal, and whose words shaped him to die a worthy death.

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