It was a rainy night. Inside a cave in the Land of Flowers, Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki stood by a fire. They were tasked by their leader to kill a powerful warlord of clan Kurare and to do it very flashy, to send a message to the members of this clan. This sort of mission was proved to be perfect for Kisame, as he deeply enjoyed loud and destructive combat. They accomplished their mission and waited inside that cave for an agent of Kurare's rival clan, Karuda, to pay them.

Kisame decided to break the silence.

"Itachi-san, have you seen how that guy charged at me with his oversized sword? He thought I don't know anything about oversized swords, huh?"

Itachi cared about Kisame, but the Kiri-nin's bloodlust was disturbing.

"Yes, I've seen what you can do. I must say it was pretty impressive!" Itachi thought that if he praised Kisame, the former Swordsman of the Mist's ego will be satisfied.

"You think so? I can't wait for the next mission. I hope it will be something bloody!"

The fact that Kisame took immense pleasure from killing disgusted Itachi, but he had to play along.

"Let's hope…"

Suddenly, a man dressed in a black cloak entered the cave. He had a mask and carried a briefcase.

"Are you the Akatsuki?"

Kisame smirked. "Yes, you must be Karuda clan's errand boy!"

"Yes, my name is Koto Karuda, a Chunin from…"

The man was cut short by Kisame's grunt. "I don't care what your name is or what your rank is. Do you have the money?"

"Yes, sir!"

The briefcase was thrown at Kisame's feet. Itachi stood there, watching the things unfold in silence.

"Let's see!" Kisame began to count the banknotes. After a while, he closed the briefcase. "It's perfect, it's all here. Pleasure doing business with you!"

"Ok, sir! Congratulations for the mission!" The Chunin said while leaving.

"Itachi-san, I think we should stay inside this cave until morning. This way the rain won't soak us!"

"That's a good idea!"

An hour later, a rainbow colored hologram popped in front of the two Akatsuki members. Kisame smiled. "Leader-sama, we have accomplished our mission. The warlord is dead and we have collected the reward. I must say I enjoyed the slaughter even though I am not Kakuzu to do such a thing for money. Tell us, what you will have us do?"

Pain's Rinnegan glowed in the dimmed light in the cave. "I am aware that your mission was a success and I congratulate you. However, the next mission is much more important, even though there is no monetary reward. And that mission is for you, Itachi!"

The Uchiha opened his eyes and activated his Sharingan. "Of course, Leader-sama!"

"You are well aware about our plan and you know we need Tailed Beasts for accomplishing it. As such, I have tracked down a Jinchuriki, a container of such power." Itachi looked shocked, while Kisame shuddered with bliss. "Oh, a Jinchuriki! Such power! It will be amazing to fight such a being. Leader-sama, please, let me fight him!"

"No! This mission is for Itachi only. You are free to accompany him but you must not get involved into the fight unless Itachi is severely wounded. But I don't think that would be the case!" Itachi knew what this was all about. Even though Kisame was the better man for fighting beasts, he received the orders as a test. I think our leader doesn't trust me completely. He wants me to capture that Jinchuriki in order to prove my loyalty to the Akatsuki. "I accept, Leader-sama. Please tell me more about my target!"

"Your target is Iwagakure's Han, the Five-Tails."

Kisame's eyes bulged. Pain noticed "It seems you are acquainted with this man, Kisame?"

The former Kirigakure operative answered quickly. "Han is the nephew of the Third Tsuchikage, Onoki. During the last Great War, Iwagakure gained an advantage because of this man. He slaughtered five hundred Kiri men, all ranked Chunin or higher! Itachi-san, this shinobi should not be taken lightly!"

Itachi was not bothered at all. "Don't worry, Kisame. I will avenge your fallen former comrades, if you care about it!"

"Oh, I can't wait to see you battle him!"

Pain coughed. "So, you are to depart to the Land of Earth. Three days from now, Han will be in a small village called Ishigake with three members of the Explosion Corps. They are to create a new mining tunnel in the mountain near that village. So, whether you attack the Five-Tails inside the village or inside the mine is entirely your choice!"

"Yes, Leader-sama!"

"Also, you will have a secondary objective. You are to capture and interrogate one of the Explosion Corps shinobi in order to find intel about the other Jinchuriki of the Stone, Roshi of the Lava Release. After the interrogation, you can kill or leave the shinobi alive, the choice is yours."

"I understand!"

"Good. Now depart for the Land of Earth!"

Pain's hologram disappeared. Kisame stood up, cleaning the dust from his cloak. "Looks like we have our orders, Itachi-san."

"Yes. Tomorrow, we will depart!"