The Great Battle Inside the Iwagakure (2)

Han's fighting style revolved around the usage of taijutsu or better said nintaijutsu. He covered his body in special armor with a furnace on his back that stored big amounts of steam, borrowed from Kokuo's, his Tailed Beast's Boil Release, the simultaneous mixture of fire and water-natured chakra, which boils Han's chakra to the highest temperature. By regulating the amount and pressure of the steam, Han can severely magnify his physical strength and the force behind his physical attacks. He was an early Kage-level shinobi, in his basic form, however, Roshi was even more powerful than him.

In his basic form, Roshi could spew multiple molten rocks from his mouth, firing them in different directions to make it difficult for an enemy to evade. He was similarly able of creating an armor of lava that will burn anyone or anything that comes into contact with him. The armor also increased the damage of his taijutsu attacks. Roshi was now in his version two jinchuriki transformation form, vaporizing Kisame's water around with his "Lava Release: Chakra Mode" like it was nothing. His "Lava Release: Scorching Stream Rock Technique" also destroyed Kisame's sharks there quite easily. While Han moved around very fast, Kisame barely catching him with his sword and blocking him, while also stealing his chakra here and there. However, both Roshi and Han needed to close their eyes a lot, because of Itachi, and as they were not sensors, their fighting capability suffered a lot.

However, they still had an overall upper hand thanks to the four different jonin that were with them. The only thing that kept Kisame and Itachi in the game now was Kisame sheer amount of chakra and his stealing a bit of their potent jinchuriki chakra a few times. However, both the jinchuriki were also getting more used to fighting with their eyes closed, so the fight was in a stalemate for a while.

However, all of a sudden, Roshi and Han secretly glanced at each other ready to try and win the battle in one swoop having already observed their opponents for quite a while and understanding their strengths and weakness. Therefore, Roshi suddenly moved a little away from the area and summoned his strongest move, "Flower–Fruit Mountain!", He created a giant volcano which then exploded violently, sending molten rock flying up in all directions the effects of which resembled a giant flower. The lava produced was said to be able to melt anything in its path. Kisame and Itachi were momentarily stunned. Roshi's overall strength already entered the middle Kage level. Kisame was forced to defend them both once again. Hence, once more he poured all of his chakra into a new giant surging and towering wave of swirling water to collide with the lava above and defend.

However, at this time, they didn't expect Han who was below to enter the second jinchuriki state himself, getting even faster than before. His speed now rivaled even that of the fastest shinobi in the world, him entering the middle Kage level of power. He appeared right in front of Itachi, ready to kill him. They previously deemed him to have some kind of problem with his body so they decided to strike him first, "Itachi!", Kisame yelled, preoccupied with controlling his water against the giant wave of lava that threatened to consume them. He was effectively fighting all alone before. Itachi looked at Han's monstrous tailed beats jinchuriki transformation appearance dejectedly. He never expected these two people to be that powerful. They had their tailed beast's nature transformation and even could enter the version two without being the perfect jinchurikis.

'He's too fast to catch on with my Amaterasu! I must use the Totsuka Blade!', Itachi thought in an instant, his Sharingan already changing its pattern into a Mangekyo Sharigan one. Then his eyes rapidly spun around as he analyzed his enemy's rushing pattern in order to catch him with his spiritual blade. He then promptly manifested his partial Susanoo with his Totsuka Blade. Han opened his eyes wide, stepping right onto the large blade's slashing path. He thought that Uchiha was quite sick and didn't expect that kind of unexpected move. Itachi coughed blood as he started sealing away's jinchuriki's powers. He felt like he was using the last parts of his body's lifeforce now. The Five-Tails jinchuriki was quite right on, however, it took Itachi's own energy as well in order to seal him away like that. Therefore, his coughing of blood started getting worse with every second. He felt like if he were to continue this, he would really die. But he would die if he let the person too.

Kisame looked at this and yelled again, however, he was still occupied with a duel of chakra against the other jinchuriki. They had a similar amount of chakra and his lava wasn't affected by his water as ordinary fire releases were. Meanwhile, he was on guard against the other Iwa's shinobi around too. However, he still had just enough energy for another destructive technique of his to finish the fight due to his Samehada sword stealing quite a lot of their two jinchuriki levels of chakra beforehand.

"Water Style: Super Shark Bomb Jutsu!", He suddenly performed the required hand seals and sent that giant shark right toward Roshi's position before catching him completely off guard and then absorbing his chakra slowly once it reached him after a large sonic boom for few seconds, "Master Roshi!", Other jonin of the Iwagakure moved there toward him to help next, while he rushed toward Itachi in an instant worried that he would overexert himself and really perish now. However, he didn't manage to see how the jinchuriki he just defeated suddenly disappeared in a spatial vortex.

Kisame immediately dealt with the other jinchuriki too, "Water Release: Water Bullet Technique!", Before rushing in front of Itachi who now knelt below while puking a large amount of blood too.

"Kisame... Thank you for everything in the past... If I can make one last request... Please take care of Sasuke...", Itachi's face was deathly pale and he was really dying at this time. Dying totally dejected while feeling worthless. He didn't even manage to see Sasuke for the last time nor to atone for his sins. He knew that he couldn't ask Kisame to not let Sasuke go against Konoha, in the future, as the man didn't really care for Konoha like him. He could only ask him to take care of and try and save Sasuke's life if necessary in the future. As for Sasuke's straying onto the dark path, he already had Shisui's eye and that crow programmed for that exact goal. Kisame's shark-like face twisted a bit, his eyes bulged in pain. He was now losing his only friend, "Don't worry Itachi, I'll look out for Sasuke!"

'Surprisingly, his illness has already progressed that far? How did it happen? Or was it always worse than I thought?', Obito pondered as he stepped out of his portal somewhere behind Kisame while also simultaneously placing the other jinchuriki, they captured today, inside of his Kamui dimension, 'Anyways, this isn't bad. One less person I don't control in the Akatsuki now. This could make it even easier for me to manipulate Sasuke in the future.', Obito contemplated some more while looking at Kisame's silent and shaky back, 'I didn't expect that guy could get attached to someone like that...',

"Kisame, let's leave for now until they all gather here. We have achieved our objective already!", He plainly spoke afterward. Kisame suddenly turned back with his eyes bloody red while looking at the approaching Iwagakure's shinobi and their Kage in the distance. However, he just said the following, "Let's go!", Obito nodded after hearing him and looking at the body in his arms, thinking of how to get it from him later in order to get those two eyes while they were still fresh for Sasuke. Maybe they could follow him and take it in secrecy after he buried him if he didn't give the body directly.

***

Kirigakure was a hidden village nestled within the Land of Water and was recognized as one of the Five Great Ninja Villages. It was led by the Mizukage, who was responsible for its administration. The village was aptly named, as it was encircled by a dense mist and surrounded by towering mountains, making it challenging for outsiders to locate. The village's distinctive architecture was composed of cylindrical buildings, many of which had lush vegetation growing on top of their roofs. They were nowadays known for their seafood exports and great agricultural potential in certain areas. However, it was not always like that, previously they were the most isolated village there was.

One of the most notable buildings in Kirigakure was the Mizukage's office, situated at the heart of the village. It was one of the most spacious and significant structures in the area and bore the kanji for "Water" on its facade. The inside of the office was impeccably decorated, featuring a blue rug and cabinets lining both sides of the room. The Mizukage's desk was located at the back of the room, offering a commanding view of the village below. The desk was adorned with the symbol of Kirigakure, reflecting the pride and identity of the village. In addition to the office, there was a small waiting area that displays a map of the world, providing visitors with a sense of the village's place in the broader world. Overall, the Mizukage's office was the most vital hub for the village's governance.

Inside the office, the current Mizukage, Mei Terumi, and her closest confidants and subordinates Ao and Chojiro discussed the information that she had just officially received from the Iwagakure. It seemed that the Iwagakure not only lost their two jinchurikis at the same time, but they were also calling for an official Five Kage Summit to commence and discuss how to deal with the Akatsuki, and protect the only two remaining jinchurikis in the Ninja World, the Nine-Tails and the Eight-Tails. By this point, everyone realized the nature and the danger that Akatsuki's goal seemed to indicate.

"It's truly a strange choice for it to be commencing a month away from now. However, Iwagakure probably isn't sure that everyone would trust them right away so they need some time in order to convince everyone...", Ao suddenly commented after Mei finished reiterating to them the contents of the official letter that arrived through a specialized ninja pigeon to her office a sometime earlier. It would be supposedly held inside the neutral Land of Iron in a month's time and all the great ninja villages were called alongside the head samurai of the Land of Iron as the mediator of the meeting.

Ao fought on the battlefield for the Kirigakure ever since he was a young boy. During the Third Shinobi World War, he defeated a Hyuga clan member and took one of their Byakugan, which he implanted into his right eye socket. He was now one of the strongest jonin left inside the village. He was dressed in a standard striped grey suit, with a green haori featuring white trimmings that stopped halfway down his torso, worn over the suit. A forehead protector adorned his forehead.