The Wanderers
Chapter 43 – Itachi – Cloudy Battlefield
A/N: I'm trying a new kind of writing style in this chapter. It's difficult to describe (ironic, I know), but it should be noticeably different. Any feedback whether positive or negative would be greatly appreciated about it, and whether you'd like to see the rest written like this, or how I have been so far.
Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. If I did, the other Tailed Beasts would get more screen time. It ain't all about the Hachibi and Kyuubi.
***Previously-On***
After escaping the Hidden Village of Sound, the group was accosted by a warrior covered in white armour, bearing a frightening resemblance to the warrior from Kakashi's memories. After a short monologue, in which he confessed to compliance in the destruction of Konoha, the warrior dispersed the Konoha shinobi under orders from a mysterious leader, causing all of them to be sent to different parts of the world. Now, separated from their friends and comrades, each of the surviving Konoha shinobi are struggling to find each other again before they are found again by the group that had caused them so much grief.
After a year and a half, Shizune was still working in the hospital she had set up with her former master, with both Ino and Sakura working at her side for their own reasons. After their exodus from Yukigakure, Kiba and Nagisa Inuzuka found themselves in the Land of Rivers, pursued by an army of Quiraji that had pursued them since the Land of Fire, and after a devastating fight both Akamaru and Kiba fell. Kiba woke up in Shizune's hospital, having been rescued by patrolling Suna shinobi, while Akamaru was transferred to Suna. Deciding to evacuate the hospital for fear of the Quiraji having tracked them down. Once the hospital had been fully evacuated to Suna, Shizune resolved to remain behind and delay the army so that they couldn't catch up with the heavily-injured Kiba's group, which contained Sakura, Ino and the blonde's daughter. She was subsequently confronted by her summons' boss, Byakko, who offered to take her from the world to his more peaceful realm once they had secured her students' freedom. Apprehensive at first, Shizune agreed to join him and leave the shinobi world behind, but only after the battle. Byakko summoned his ten oldest sons to the battle and they slaughtered the Quiraji army, with the Tiger Lord personally sending Sensou fleeing with her tail between her legs. True to her word, Shizune took his hand and left to the White Palace, where she didn't have to worry about the troubles of the shinobi world anymore.
***End Summary***
***Two Months after Separation***
Having travelled much of the world during his tenure with Akatsuki, Itachi always thought that the Land of Lightning would be a nightmare to attack in a war, and nothing had really changed his opinion of that fact.
The terrain was laced in rivers and mountains that had no rhythm or purpose to them, and there were no large staging areas besides a single area that Itachi recognised as the battlefield that Konoha and the Fourth Hokage had fought Kumogakure during the Third Shinobi War. When he'd visited that area it clearly still felt the impact of that fight.
The Uchiha exile sat at the top of an extremely tall tree, looking down at the shinobi village of Kumogakure with fascination. There had been no shinobi from that village in the Akatsuki, though he knew that they had their own share of missing shinobi, it was just that none of them shared the Akatsuki leader's goals.
The village was shrouded by mountains and clouds, through which it was difficult to make out the various buildings, training grounds and living areas. It was only with his excellent vision that he could see anything, which he gave them decent credit for. Out of all the shinobi villages he had visited, Kumogakure had the tightest security and the most impressive set up, far better than anything Konoha had before its destruction. Konoha's defence lay in its intimidating shinobi force and its name alone.
Itachi had intended to inform the village about what was about to happen, but seeing the force of two thousand shinobi standing outside the mountain range in perfect rank and file, it was clear that was no longer necessary.
Scanning the battlefield with his Sharingan, Itachi focused on a group at the forefront of the Kumogakure army. A large man stood with his head held high, wearing the robes of the Kage office, meaning he was likely the Raikage. Itachi initially didn't recognise him, until he saw the grim serious expression on his face and the same short hair he'd seen before.
It was the same man that had been Raikage at the end of the Third Shinobi War. He appeared to be ignoring the questions from the shinobi around him, staring across the battlefield like a cold statue.
Itachi recognised the Eight Tails container, Killer Bee, standing next to his brother, having not changed at all since the Third Shinobi War. It was strange recalling the two of them from his shared memory with Kakashi, but to him it felt like he had experienced everything Kakashi had during that time.
He seemed to be writing in a small notebook and waving his hands in bizarre manners, telling Itachi that he was still writing the awful rap that he had from the War. The Eight Tails had been a high priority target for the Akatsuki, but due to the age and experience of the container they had intended to take him almost last, as they calculated it would likely take at least two teams of them to take him down.
At the other side of the Raikage was a serious-looking woman with long blonde hair and dark eyes, who Itachi didn't recognise. He had a hunch that she was the Two Tails container, but he wasn't sure since Akatsuki hadn't found its identity before its destruction, though they knew that Kumogakure had two Tailed Beasts, unlike Konoha.
She held herself with a confidence that could only be achieved through understanding her own self-worth, something that Tailed Beast containers rarely achieved due to being widely despised.
The others he didn't recognise, but that didn't matter to Itachi. He'd identified the major players, and Kumogakure was giving him an impressive display of military strength.
Turning in his position to look at the other side of the oddly shaped mountain range, Itachi's eyes focused as he looked over the massive army that stood out of range of the Kumogakure shinobi.
An army of several thousand soldiers stood in staggered formation, with nothing to indicate any kind of allegiance or disposition towards a particular shinobi village. It was strange at first, since he'd struggled to actually see them through his Sharingan and he'd initially thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.
It wasn't until he turned off his Sharingan and looked at the soldiers through his own eyes that he worked out that they were a kind of soldier he had never seen before, except in borrowed memories. None of the people in the army standing opposite to Kumogakure had even a trace of chakra within them, and as such were more or less invisible to the Sharingan's many abilities.
Such a force was clearly not native to shinobi lands, particularly in such a size and scope. Without chakra the soldiers were immune to many types of shinobi attacks, including genjutsu and a variety of taijutsu styles such as the nearly extinct Hyuuga style of the Gentle Fist.
From his far off position, Itachi had to strain his eyes to see if there were any other types of information he could gather about the opposing army, but there was only one thing that stood out from amongst the rank and file.
Standing in a resplendent array of shining gold armour and white shoulder plates was a tall warrior, wielding a familiar-looking bow made of shimmering energy that couldn't have been made out of chakra since Itachi could barely see it.
Itachi recognised him as the man who had called himself Shouri.
The same man that had separated him from his brother and friends, and admitted to being a leader of the same group that had contributed to the destruction of the home he had sacrificed so much for.
Ever the patient man, it took every fibre of his being not to leap down onto the battlefield and attack the man on general principle. Itachi knew that would be a foolhardy action, but nevertheless the urge remained.
The way he saw it, Itachi had two options. He could present himself to the Kumogakure shinobi and participate in the battle, offering his not-so-inconsiderable abilities in an attempt to sway the battle towards the shinobi's favour.
As it currently stood, the enemy army outnumbered the shinobi by nearly two to one, but with two Tailed Beast containers and a host of some of the strongest shinobi in Kumogakure it looked to be an even fight. However Itachi could not shake the feeling that they were underestimating their opponents, since he knew that Kumogakure had at least twice the amount of shinobi that was present on the battlefield, though security was so tight around the village that he had no means of accounting for the other shinobi's whereabouts.
His other option, and the one he had ultimately decided was more prudent, was to observe the battle and each army for strengths and weaknesses. Kumogakure had never had a reasonable relationship with Konoha even before its destruction, as the Cloud shinobi were quick to betray and slow to forgive.
Itachi doubted he would find allies there.
Sensing that this battle was only a prelude to a far larger conflict, Itachi had figured it would make more sense to get as much information on the shinobi's enemy as possible, so that he could share it with his allies and hopefully use it to their downfall.
The warrior called Shouri was the focus of his attentions, since he had so easily defeated and dispersed their group with a sweep of his hands.
When he'd been separated from the others, Itachi had initially intended to find his brother and the others as quickly as possible, but after the first group of strange warriors had been sent to kill him, his priorities had changed.
One prisoner had spat out the name Quiraji before dying under Itachi's torture, and their strange abilities and strengths despite their lack of chakra was of particular interest to him.
Taking a long breath to gather his strength, Itachi silently leapt down off the tree and transformed into a murder of crows, each able to instantly communicate with one another.
This was going to be a battle to mark the conflict that had begun with the destruction of Konoha. It was only right that a representative of that village be there to observe, even if Itachi had technically been an exile at the time of its destruction.
He was still a shinobi of Konoha, even if it was no longer there.
The Raikage turned to his advisors with a heavy frown across his face, "Has there been any communication from the enemy force? Have they made any demands?"
A dark skinned woman with grey hair shook her head while the others concentrated on keeping their force in line, "None, sir. We haven't been able to identify their allegiance either."
"It doesn't matter. If they got this far into our land without our notice, they aren't here for a negotiation." His white hair flared up as his body suddenly was covered in crackling lightning.
Beside him, his right hand man sighed and rubbed at his neck, "We going, boss?"
"Of course, Darui! Don't think I will let this slide!"
Killer Bee shut his notepad and put it into his pocket, "I just found this killer rhyme, and…"
"Sir, it would appear the enemy is charging," observed a blonde man behind the rapping Tailed Beast container.
"Your eye gonna take the dime…"
The Raikage's assistance turned to their female Tailed Beast container, "Yugito-san, perhaps it would be prudent for you and Killer Bee-san to retreat, since we can't be sure you aren't their target."
"It ain't a crime to be searching for a rhyme…"
She stared at Mabui with her regular serious expression, with Killer Bee still attempting to finish his rap in the background, "Regardless of your opinion about the two of us, Mabui, this is our home. We won't abandon it in its time of need."
"I wasn't suggesting that…"
"Enough!" The Raikage's lightning energy flared up, as he saw the enemy army moving towards them. They were still out of range, but whoever made the first move would determine the outcome of the battle.
He turned to the Two Tails container, "Yugito, take the Claw regiment and move around the flank. Wait for the signal then attack from the rear."
Ever the respectful shinobi, she nodded her acknowledgement and leapt away with a burst of chakra, moving to the side of the Kumogakure army to manoeuvre around the enemy army with her personal regiment. Since her Tailed Beast was the Fiery Cat Demon, the people that had accepted her leadership had called themselves Claw regiment, and they were particularly known for their speed and ferocity.
"What would you have us do, sir?" asked C beside him.
The Raikage turned to Darui, "Tell the shinobi to give them a volley, and then we charge."
"Hai, boss."
Above the Kumogakure army, several crows watched as the Kumogakure army moved in tandem, with a special group of shinobi moving to the front while the others gave them room. The man called Darui stood at the front with his hands clasped together while the others ran through their individual handseals and clapping their hands together.
The enemy army had just passed the first marker that was barely visible to the naked eye, though every Kumogakure shinobi could recognise it from their training. They had no long range weaponry to speak of, since the mountain ranges of the Land of Lightning didn't lend itself particularly well towards seigecraft.
With the dull-looking Cloud shinobi starting it off, a large group of one hundred Kumogakure shinobi fired off a variety of ninjutsu at the enemy army. Dozens of bolts of lightning shot towards the army enhanced by a strange type of black lightning that one of Itachi's crows had little trouble copying with its Sharingan.
After a few seconds the relatively slow lightning strikes slammed into the enemy army, causing dozens of soldiers to be thrown back with screams of pain. The Kumogakure army let out a loud cheer while Darui turned to his subordinates with his regular disinterested look.
"Spread out your damage vectors, and check to make sure you don't hit any friendlies."
The shinobi nodded around him and continued firing while their commander pulled out a large cleaver, lighting it up with lightning chakra. He frowned when he saw a large line of enemy soldiers putting arrows into their bows.
"Bows and arrows?" observed a shinobi besides Darui. "A bit primitive aren't they?"
Holding his lightning charged cleaver in front of him, Darui shrugged, "Perhaps. But don't underestimate them."
He frowned when he felt a strange sensation through the air as the first volley of arrows was fired on the Kumogakure shinobi. They were out of shuriken and kunai range, but there was something about the confident looks on the enemy soldier faces that caused Darui to hold up his sword to cover himself.
To their surprise the arrows screamed towards the shinobi faster than any arrows they had ever seen before, spiralling through the air before slamming into their targets at top speed. Any attempts to dodge the arrows were futile, as were some of the armour that the Jounin of the shinobi village wore, with nearly every arrow taking down a shinobi with unparalleled precision.
An arrow had been sent to Darui, he only survived due to his cleaver taking the hit for him, though the force was enough to send him back several feet and send a massive shock up his arm.
"Damnit…that hurt like hell…"
Recovering quickly, the Kumogakure Jounin looked over at his regiment, noticing with a grim expression that a large portion of his men had taken the brunt of the volley, and had paid for it with their lives.
"I…I'm sorry men…I couldn't protect you…"
He looked up as he felt a hand on his shoulder, seeing the Raikage standing beside him. Killer Bee pulled up Darui by his coat and patted him with a grin, "It be okay, boy. You ain't no toy, we gonna fight to stop their joy."
Behind Killer Bee, C planted a hand into his face with a groan, "I swear it gets worse every time…"
Recovering from the blow and the loss of his men, Darui picked up his cleaver and held it tightly, looking over at his leader, "Boss, I'm good to go."
Not looking at him and staring at the enemy force pulling back their bows for a second volley, A put up one of his large lightning charged arms, "Send these bastards back to the holes they came out of!"
With a simultaneous battle roar, the Kumogakure army charged forward to meet the enemy soldiers, with the Raikage leading the charge at his highest speed, with his brother Killer Bee by his side with his arms outstretched and a wide smile on his face.
Observing with fascination, Itachi took mental notes on the dispositions of the Kumogakure leadership. He figured that if they survive the battle, it would be useful to know how they acted in such a situation, so that when they attempt a counterattack they would work in tandem with his other allies.
Providing they survived the battle though.
Crows are not known for their hearing, but there was nothing that Itachi would ever forget about the sound echoing from the battlefield the moment the shinobi from Kumogakure and the enemy soldiers clashed together.
The archers never got the chance to let off their second volley as the shinobi slammed into them at top speed, with the Raikage and his brother at the forefront.
A's lightning covered form hurled back dozens of soldiers at a time as he swept his arms left and right, with each attack bouncing off his lightning armour. With unparalleled speed that Itachi hadn't seen since the Fourth Hokage, A was a force of reckoning that was invincible amongst the enemy ranks.
Unlike his adopted brother, Killer Bee did not attack at random when he fought the enemy soldiers. Using a pair of lightning charged blades out of the seven on his back, he spun and flipped through their ranks, dodging and blocking every strike while simultaneously cutting his opponents to pieces. With each attack it seemed like he was trying to work something out, and there was nothing predictable about his movements whatsoever.
The enemy soldiers struggled against the devastating pair and fell back against the certainty of being killed by the two of them, but on the other sides of the battlefield the battle was not going as well for the Kumogakure shinobi as Itachi clearly observed from his vantage point above.
Against the regular shinobi the enemy soldiers fought with ferocious determination, unrelenting against the ninjutsu attacks thrown at them. For every soldier brought low by repeated blows and ninjutsu, three more took its place, overwhelming the shinobi with blade and tenacity combined with an intense hatred that fuelled their attacks further.
Down the middle of the enemy army, the soldiers began to split apart to reveal a single line that made a path directly to the Raikage and Eight Tails container. The two of them hesitated when they saw the strange opening, though while A found it a strategic misplacement, Killer Bee found it the perfect ending to a rhyme that had been bothering him since they had charged not so long ago.
Having little sense of the battlefield around him, Bee sheathed both his swords on his back and pulled out his notepad, writing dozens of characters with his pen frantically as he felt the words come to him.
At the opposite end of the opening the leader of the enemy army pulled back on his large energy bow and aimed it down the line. Despite himself, the white and gold armoured warrior allowed himself a grin; there were few moments like the perfect shot to turn a battle in one's favour.
He released his attack with a loud crack.
Sensing the impending danger, A shoved his brother out of the way and jumped away to avoid the attack.
The massive energy burst that shot from Shouri to the Raikage's position was almost instantaneous, made of purely spiritual energy and a blinding white in colour that burned away everything in its path.
While A and Killer Bee were barely able to get out of the way, nearly a hundred Kumogakure shinobi simply disappeared in the flash of light, with barely a slight burn mark along the attack vector.
Lowering his bow, Shouri decided that he was reasonably satisfied with the result and ordered the soldiers to close the gap created by his order and began walking closer to the front lines.
A picked himself up from the ground with a frustrated groan, while taking a moment to glance back at the damage the enemy commander had wrought. He could tell immediately that it wasn't a chakra-attack, since C hadn't warned him before the attack had come, only his lightning-enhanced reflexes had saved his and his brother's lives.
Still lying on his side on the ground after A shoved him away, Bee continued to write in his notepad without a moment's break, even from when he was flying through the air. When he found a rhyme that couldn't escape him, there was little that could stop him from finishing it.
Observing the strange pair from high above the battlefield, Itachi turned a large portion of his crows to monitor the enemy commander, the same one that had separated him from the others. Luckily for him, his crows drew no attention from the soldiers and shinobi on the ground, though Itachi was careful to stay beyond most attack ranges, using his superior vision to observe the battle.
From where he could see, Shouri's attack had indeed turned the tide, and the Kumogakure shinobi were slowly being pushed back, though the Raikage seemed intent on tracking down the leader and taking him out for the damage he caused.
The way Itachi saw it, if the Kumogakure shinobi didn't come up with a significant counterattack and fast, they would be pushed back to within the village. That was not a position he figured they wanted to be in.
oOoOoOo
Having quickly learnt what happened when they got in the Raikage's way, the enemy soldiers moved out of A's way as he shot towards their commander's position. While the Raikage sped past them, they counterattacked the Kumogakure shinobi with sheer numbers, trying to push them back by tenacity alone.
Shouri grinned and commanded the soldiers around him to move out of the way around him as A reached him in little time at all; leaving a trail of light that lingered for a few seconds before dissipating.
Standing with a furious look on his face, the Raikage's hair flared up and his shirt flailed behind him, barely clinging to his shoulders and arms.
"You'll pay for the blood you've spilt this day!" he spat.
Shouri let his bow disappear into thin air before placing a hand onto his armoured hip, "Don't flatter yourself, boy. The balance still weighs heavily against you."
The Raikage gritted his teeth, knowing that talking to the armoured commander was a pointless exercise. Not one to beat around the bush, A took a slight step back from shooting forward with his arm outstretched to slam into Shouri's neck.
"Lariat!"
As he came within short range of the enemy commander his lightning armour seemed to vanish and he felt extremely drained, but the force of his attack still allowed him to drive his arm into the commander's neck.
Or it would have, had he not put up a hand to catch it.
The Raikage's eyes widened when his attack was so easily blocked, something that had never been done before. The enemy's grip was iron-tight, and when he tried to activate his lightning armour again to tear his hand off him, his chakra refused to respond to his commands. It was like it didn't even exist within him.
Shouri looked at the Raikage's face with content amusement, "That's impressive speed. But as always, you shinobi flail against the inevitable."
He pulled back his left fist, and with a speed that A should have been able to dodge, but was unable to without chakra he was forced to take the blow.
The punch to his chest sent him flying back into the shinobi army, holding his side with a roar of pain as a line of blood fell onto the battlefield beneath him.
Within a nearby crow, Itachi felt the urge to shake his head in amazement. Someone as absurdly powerful as the Raikage had been thrown like a ragdoll, with seemingly little effort by the enemy commander. His eyes had caught the deactivation of the Raikage's lightning armour, which Itachi figured was not an intentional thing on A's part.
The only conclusion he was able to draw, is that the enemy seemed to have some kind of ability to deactivate chakra, or at least make it inert within the body, within a certain range. If he was right, than someone who fought extensively with chakra like the Raikage was akin to a lamb going to the slaughter in front of someone with such an ability.
But all abilities have weaknesses, and Itachi was determined to find Shouri's, if nothing else so that he could exploit it and kill the armoured warrior himself.
Yelling at his soldiers to get out of the way, Shouri charged through the armies towards where the Raikage fell, drawing a short sword from his back and using it to slice his way through any shinobi foolish enough to come near him as he tried to reach the fallen shinobi.
Spitting blood onto the ground beneath him, A struggled to pick himself up while holding his side with one of his hands. When Shouri had punched him, he'd been holding a long dagger between his fingers, driving the blade deep into his stomach while also using a strength unseen in A's vast experience to send him so far back.
Blinking through the pain, A looked up to see a glimmer of white and gold sending shinobi flying away in droves charging towards him. He swore and concentrated, trying to see if he still had the ability to activate his lightning as he usually did.
To his relief the taijutsu form activated instantly, surrounding him with crackling lightning. He tried to remove his hand from his side, but blood kept pouring out of it, telling A that if he didn't get it treated he would likely be dead in a short amount of time.
But he didn't care, so long as he took out that bastard that was coming for him.
Standing up on his feet, A clenched his free hand and activated his lightning armour to the maximum, an action he'd only ever done once before, to calm down the Eight Tails when it last rampaged through the mountains.
The final shinobi fell under Shouri's methodical slaughter and the armoured warrior stood a short distance away, letting blood drip from his sword down onto the dirt beneath him.
A glared at him angrily for a few seconds before disappearing in a flash of light. Almost as if predicting his attack vector, Shouri spun around and stabbed his short sword upwards, driving it straight through the Raikage's side as he attempted to attack him from behind, his lightning armour and speed once again failing him.
"Such a shame," said Shouri with a grin as the Raikage fell to the ground once again. "You shinobi once had such potential, but now you can only grovel at our feet."
He wrenched out his sword and moved to cleave the Raikage's head from his shoulders, but just as he went to take the blow his sword was blocked by a short sword coming from the side.
Shouri snarled and looked over at the wielding, quickly moving his head as another sword threatened to stab him in the face. He jumped back and gripped his sword with a single hand, watching as the Eight Tails container moved to stand over his adopted brother's fallen body, quickly flicking out all the swords from their sheaths to hold them in his Seven Swords pose.
Shouri rolled his eyes and sheathed his sword, seemingly exhausted by the situation. "Fine. My work here is done for the most part. You won't win this battle, you know that, shinobi. Enjoy your lives while you can."
A group of enemy soldiers attempted to swarm Killer Bee as Shouri walked back to his army's side, like he was taking a leisurely walk through a peaceful park. With A having fallen, and Bee occupied by keeping the enemy soldiers away from him, the battle was swaying into the enemy's favour, and the morale of the Kumogakure troops had bottomed out.
Moving out of the way of a stray shuriken, Itachi's crow watched carefully as Shouri took up his original position at the back of his army and continued to command his troops like the seasoned general he appeared to be.
For every opening that he saw, there were soldiers there to exploit it. With every weakening position, Shouri was able to manipulate the shinobi to move into positions that favoured his army over theirs. Yet Itachi was not overly concerned about the battle itself, there was a greater problem that troubled his mind.
The Raikage had been down for the count, with nothing to show for it, and Killer Bee, while strong, was not as strong as his brother. Yet the gold armoured commander had retreated, choosing to forgo single combat for an overall stance, despite his apparent immunity to chakra and his intimidating presence on the battlefield.
It made no sense to him, particularly with how adept he appeared to be with a blade, so Itachi decided to pursue his investigation further.
Or he would have, had Killer Bee not decided to forgo any pretence of patience and completely transform into the full form of the Eight Tails. The ox-octopus-like beast was gigantic compared to the shinobi below, and every tentacle caused shockwaves across the battlefield whilst simultaneously crushing dozens of enemies at once.
Directly beneath one of Itachi's crows, Shouri looked over at the beast with a look on his face that seemed a mix of frustration and annoyance. It was difficult to see from such an angle, but Itachi could have sworn there was a hint of recognition before the enemy commander sighed and put out his hands.
As the Eight Tails threatened to rampage through his army, Shouri saw the Kumogakure shinobi using his presence as a reinvigorating figure. He sighed and summoned his spiritual energy bow, aiming it at the giant beast's body.
Itachi could only watch as a large blast slammed into the Eight Tails, piercing through its shoulder and sending it crashing backwards into the shinobi army, killing dozens of Kumogakure men as Killer Bee was forced to transform back to his regular form and fall to the ground.
"Pain in the ass," muttered the enemy commander as his bow disappeared from his hands.
Initially Itachi couldn't understand why he was so frustrated by such a successful attack, but it wasn't until one of his crows saw a small force of Kumogakure shinobi slam into the side of the enemy army that he saw how the battle was going to play out.
Leading her men from the front, Yugito quickly transformed into her Two Tails form and let out a torrent of fire that was accompanied by a deafening roar. Unlike her fellow beast container, Yugito's full released form wasn't much taller than the others on the battlefield, and having seen Killer Bee fall she knew to avoid a similar strike.
Using chakra-enhanced claw and blade, Yugito's Claw regiment tore deep into the enemy army, skilfully avoiding Shouri's position while giving their comrades a reason to counterattack and try to push back the enemy force.
Itachi watched the battle with fascination; it was like a strange pendulum constantly swaying back and forth. While the enemy still outnumbered the Kumogakure force by a significant margin, the abilities and tenacity of the shinobi were slowly forcing them back, particularly with Yugito's flank attack.
Itachi turned his gaze back to the enemy commander, trying to get close to hear the orders that he was giving out.
With two waves of his hands, Shouri sent out a general retreat order. "Let the shinobi stew on their accolades. We will return and finish them in the night."
Every soldier in his army seemed to get the message at once as they fell back away from Kumogakure to an opposite staging point. The shinobi seemed content to let them flee, though Yugito and her regiment exacted a terrible toll before falling back to friendly lines.
For now, the battle was over.
The medical ward within Kumogakure was loud with screams of pain as the medical shinobi struggled with the overwhelming number of patients from the battle. At the centre of the ward was the Raikage, who had the best of his village trying to heal the large whole in his side.
"Hurry the hell up!" he yelled, clenching his hands to ignore the pain as he turned to his leadership group beside him. "What are our numbers?"
C and Mabui stared at each other for a few seconds, but both of them knew what would happen if they hesitated. Mabui flipped through her chart, "We lost a lot…sir."
"I asked for a number, Mabui!" He grimaced and turned to the doctor at his side, "Are you done yet?"
The doctor ignored the Raikage and continued to try and heal the normally fatal wound with her medical technique.
C shook his head as he saw the number written on the Raikage's assistance's chart, "We lost nearly half our people, and nearly half that number again are injured. If they attack again, we'll be forced to use our reserve force."
Their leader swore and slammed a fist into the table beside him, destroying it instantly. "We can't let this kind of enemy break us! We have to reform and attack!"
Walking through the crowd with a casual look on his face, Killer Bee stopped at his adopted brother's side. "Eh? You looking worse for wear, nii-san. That fool done stabbed you good."
"Shut your trap, Bee," snapped the Raikage. "You aren't injured?"
The Eight Tails container chuckled, pointing to himself like he usually did. "I ain't alone, so that fool got nothing on me. The Eight Tails took the blow since he's so cool…"
"Someone hit Bee, since I can't," said A dryly before turning to the man in the bed beside him.
Lying with his arms in slings and a disinterested look on his face was Darui, who looked extremely pale. From the way A could see it, their military strength was severely reduced, and with both him and Darui out of the picture, the only person he trusted to lead them was out commanding the defence right now.
"Tell Yugito to form a strike force. I want that army harassed for as long as possible before we launch our counterattack."
"I have something to say on that subject."
The Kumogakure shinobi all jumped and searched for the source of the voice. Slowly a figure immerged from the shadows, forming into an Akatsuki robe as Itachi showed himself to the medical ward.
Immediately there were a dozen blades at his neck, though the Uchiha exile didn't move an inch.
From his bed, the Raikage sat up so that he could see him, glared at him through angry and tired eyes, "Who are you?! What are you doing here?!"
Undeterred by the weapons pointed at him, Itachi stared at the Raikage through his Sharingan. "I observed your battle. In your current position, you will not be able to defeat an opponent such as them."
As one of the ones that hadn't bothered to threaten Itachi, Bee stared at him with an odd fascination, "This guy got killer eyes, bro. He ain't the type that would come in here by his lonesome."
"What is your purpose here?" demanded C, aiming a kunai at Itachi's throat.
He moved his head slightly to stare at the blonde shinobi, "It is none of your concern. I have advice for the Raikage, and you would be fools to ignore it."
C frowned and tightened his grip on his kunai, but there was something about the Konoha shinobi's eyes that scared the hell out of him.
"Say your piece, Uchiha, before we cut your throat!" The Raikage was in no mood for games, and now that his wound was mostly healed he had even less patience.
Itachi brought up a single hand into a basic handseal, as non-threatening as he could. "In one hour I will be attacking the enemy army, with the intent on assassinating their commander. My reasons are my own. If you want to break them and save your village, you would be wise to attack as well."
Having said his peace, Itachi cancelled his clone into a puff of smoke, leaving the Kumogakure shinobi's fate in their hands. Regardless of what they did or how they acted, he would fulfil his part.
Assuming that his observations were correct, and his plan worked.
Like every army that was in the field, the enemy army was resting and reenergizing themselves with food and drink, attempting to recover before their next assault.
Unlike other armies Itachi had observed however, there was no discussion among soldiers, no laughter or jokes being told.
The Quiraji army was silent.
Remaining in a small crow form, Itachi flew across the night sky, using the pitch black roof of the world to mask his approach. He wasn't sure whether the Kumogakure army was following him or not, but his plan didn't require their assistance, though it would make it easier.
It wasn't difficult for him to pinpoint the commander's position, since it was the only area that had a large triple tent with dozens of guards standing around it.
Swooping towards his target, Itachi noted that the terrain where Shouri's tent had been set up was surprisingly flat for the Land of Lightning, meaning it would make a good fighting group.
While his clone had been informed the Raikage of the situation, he'd used genjutsu to create an illusion around himself to gather the equipment he figured necessary for the battle. Itachi was working off a group of assumptions and observations, but the Uchiha heir was rather sure of himself when it came to this kind of thing.
Once he was flying directly above the commander's tent, Itachi activated his Sharingan within his crow form, gazing down at the area to analyse and gather information. By his calculation there were around thirty five enemy soldiers down there, but by the pain shooting through his eyes he could tell that the enemy commander was at the centre of the command tent.
With that in mind, Itachi cancelled his crow form and ran through a rapid set of handseals as he hung in the air. He clapped his hands together before spreading out his hands to cover the whole area underneath him.
"Katon: Gouenka!" (Fire Element: Great Flame Flower)
A giant meteor of pure flame shot down from his hands to cover the entire area beneath him, slamming into the ground with a loud crash. As he fell down to the ground, he could hear the screams as the normal enemy soldiers died covered in flames. The tent was immediately burnt away to nothing, but as Itachi fell to a patch of dry earth that hadn't been ignited, he saw that there was a single sphere that hadn't been affected by his fire technique.
As he suspected, inside stood the white and gold armoured commander, glaring at him with a hateful look while his soldiers burned around him. Itachi figured that he had a sphere of influence that nullified any chakra within a certain distance, but he didn't want to try and infiltrate the enemy army since he didn't know how many people had that kind of ability within the army of nearly a thousand.
The fire died down for the most part, though Itachi had manipulated the meteor so that there was a large sphere around his area. He didn't want the other soldiers to interfere with his battle, though he had a short timeframe before they would be able to bypass his fire wall.
Brushing off several pieces of scorched cloth, all that remained from his command tent, Shouri breathed through his teeth angrily. Not only had he just lost some of his best war strategists, but the maps of the area that they'd only just finished were of particular personal value to him.
"Who did this? What is your purpose?"
Itachi glared at him through his normal eyes, knowing that his Sharingan would only waste chakra and hinder his eyesight in the battle.
Shouri snarled as he recognised Itachi's distinct facial features and rather unique robe, "I knew you lot would come back at some point. First those two pricks, and now you. Clearly I didn't try to kill you enough."
He glanced around the burned ground, seeing his soldiers struggling to put out the fires around them to reach him. "You appear to have some skill though."
Itachi ran through a makeshift set of seals, not summoning any chakra for any technique, but rather just making it look like he was before placing both of his arms outstretched to his sides.
"That was only a taste of what I can do. If you don't do what I want, you won't have an army to wage your war with."
Shouri scoffed initially, but after staring at Itachi's serious expression for a few seconds his face darkened when he realised the kind of person he was dealing with. Cracking his head dramatically, the Quiraji leader reached back to pull out a sword from his back.
"And what is it you want? Retribution? Our retreat? Don't think you can threaten us and get away with it."
Itachi didn't flinch at all, even when he heard a loud explosion a long distance away behind Shouri's back. The fire around them had dissipated enough for a single soldier to push through to stand at his commander's side, though he seemed to ignore Itachi in order to deliver his message.
"Sir, we are under attack! The shinobi are attacking in force!"
Shouri sighed and turned to Itachi with a tired gaze, "Friends of yours?"
The Uchiha elder said nothing in response, still holding out his arms with the threat to set the Quiraji commander's army on fire. The bluff was clearly having an effect on him though, as he turned to his soldier and commanded him to counterattack.
"I will deal with this one myself," he said as the soldier fled back to the army to spread the word.
Itachi figured the Raikage must have taken his advice, and had likely seen his meteor strike as a sign to attack. Judging from the previous battle, Itachi figured they would likely use the two Tailed Beast containers to lead their assault, though from his observations it wouldn't surprise him if the Raikage himself was on the battlefield.
Those things didn't matter to Itachi though, his concentration was entirely focused on the warrior in front of him, since even someone like him could be cut down as easily as the Raikage had been.
As the army moved towards the front in a scramble to arm and defend themselves, Shouri stopped himself from drawing a sword and instead summoned his bow and aimed him at Itachi's chest.
"Will you throw yourself onto my blades the same way as those others did?"
He didn't wait for a response, unleashing a single arrow shot straight into Itachi's body, faster than the Uchiha could react. The bright white arrow stuck out of his chest, with Itachi's face barely registering a response to the attack.
Shouri grinned and lowered his bow, watching as his opponent fell to the ground, apparently dead.
"Well that was disappointing," he observed with a hint of annoyance that such prey had fallen with such ease.
After a few seconds Itachi's body collapsed into a small puddle of water, to the shock and subsequent disgust of the Quiraji leader.
Behind Shouri, Itachi emerged from a group of flickering flames, forming into his regular form as an advanced version of the clone technique. "So you only have a small sphere in which chakra doesn't work."
Shouri spun around and instantly shot another arrow, but before it could hit Itachi he dispersed into a murder of crows, reforming to the armoured warrior's side outside of his estimation of the sphere's influence.
"And you clearly have a short temper."
Itachi's speed didn't utilise chakra in the same way that the Raikage did, and as such he could see the frustration growing on his enemies face as he was able to easily avoid his fast attacks with his bow. He knew that if he was hit by the bow he was gone, but it had to hit him first, and Itachi was nothing if not cautious.
Seeing that he was merely wasting his time, Shouri dissipated his bow and clenched his fists angrily. It had been a long time since a shinobi had angered him, he wasn't like his sibling, but when he did it rarely ended well for his opponents. "So you worked out the trick? Good for you. That doesn't mean you can attack me though. And once I get in range, you are finished."
Itachi put up a single hand into a handseal, rapidly forming a dozen clones from the flames around them still standing outside Shouri's range. In perfect synchronisation, the Itachi clones drew kunai and got ready to throw them at his opponent.
Shouri frowned and looked around at the clones, wondering what his plan was, since the clones' weaponry was made out of chakra and wouldn't be able to hit him.
Each Itachi threw their kunai at him from every direction, Shouri trusting in his inherent immunity to chakra for his defence. Eleven of the kunai burst into puffs of smoke as they came within ten metres of him, but from one of his blind spots shot a kunai that dragged across his face and slammed into the ground in front of him.
Shouri swore as he felt at the long wound on his cheek, noting that it had also taken a chunk out of his nose. He grimaced under the pain and faltered slightly.
Using his opponent's defencelessness to his advantage, the original Itachi charged forward as fast as he could without using chakra and slammed a balled fist into the commander's face, sending him spiralling backwards onto the fist.
The clones dissipated around him as Shouri tried to pick himself up from the ground, using a hand to hold his newly broken nose. He glared at Itachi with a look of pure hatred in his burnished gold eyes, while struggling to keep his blood from pouring down his arm onto the ground.
"Who the hell are you? How can you do this to me?!"
Itachi held up a kunai, one of the dozens he had hidden throughout his person. "I am the shinobi that will kill you. Just because you are immune to chakra, that doesn't mean that you are immune to all our weapons."
Shouri swore and cracked at his nose, setting it back into place before standing up slowly, feeling the weight of his armour for the first time since his battle with the other two shinobi from Konoha that had come to a draw.
"Don't get cocky, shinobi. I haven't shown my true strength yet."
He reached back and pulled out the same sword he had stabbed the Raikage with, Itachi noticing without comment that there were likely some special properties that he hadn't been shown yet.
Brandishing the sword with impressive skill, Shouri grinned confidently, "Don't think you can cross swords with a Quiraji Lord and live, shinobi-scum."
Itachi didn't frown though he felt that would have been appropriate, resolving to put away his kunai back into his robe before pulling out a small scroll and activating the seal within.
A small puff of smoke appeared above the scroll, and with a slow gesture he reached out and grasped the sword that had appeared, gripping it tightly. The sword was a long double-sided blade, with a serpent-like hilt and a long grip, and it felt good in Itachi's hand, he hadn't wielded a sword in a long time.
"A chakra blade won't help you here, boy," said Shouri with a smirk, holding his sword in an aggressive stance.
Running a single finger along the blade before pointing it to Shouri, Itachi shook his head very slightly, "This Sword of Kusanagi isn't made from chakra. It was difficult to repair, but since its original wielder had no need of it, this is an appropriate sword to fight you with."
His opponent frowned; he wasn't sure why the shinobi had such confidence in front of him. It was almost like he wasn't intimidated by him or something, and that was something he wasn't used.
"I've had enough of your…"
"You fled from Killer Bee earlier because of his unique sword style." Itachi took a step forward and brandished his sword threateningly, "You are afraid of true taijutsu and kenjutsu masters, because they can break through your defences. That's why you attack at range."
His armoured opponent roared in anger and charged at him, swinging his sword faster than Itachi's normal eyes could follow. He leapt at Itachi with a wide strike in an attempt to cleave his head from his shoulders.
So dedicated he was to the strike that he didn't even notice until it was too late that Itachi had already been forced to disappear as he had come within ten metres. He didn't get time to react as the real Itachi came up behind him and slashed at the gaps between his leg plates and his boots, forcing him to the ground with a groan of pain.
Shouri spun around on the ground in an attempt to slash at him, but Itachi simply jumped away. He tried to get up from the ground, but Itachi's strikes had cut the tendons in his ankles and there was little he could do except squirm on the ground.
Dropping his sword to the ground, Itachi folded his arms across his chest as he saw the pathetic looking form of the enemy commander, who was still trying to get up with his sword in the ground.
"You can't do this to me! I'm Shouri the First! Rider of the Quiraji!"
Itachi reached into his robe and produced two items, holding them in his hands. The Quiraji commander continued to yell at him, but Itachi ignored him as he held up a small bottle in his hand.
"It seems sad that something this simple can kill someone like you." With a casual flick, he threw the bottle at Shouri.
The glass shattered over his head, dowsing the warrior with a sticky orange substance. The flames around them had disappeared, but Itachi toyed with a lighter in his other hand to compensate. The oil he'd taken from Kumogakure was extremely flammable, and he wasn't sure whether it would burn through Shouri's armour.
But that didn't matter as he flicked the working lighter onto Shouri's fallen form, igniting him immediately. The Quiraji warrior roared out in agony and flailed around in the ground in a vain attempt to put out the flames.
Not one to let his opponents wallow in their misery, Itachi took up the Sword of Kusanagi he'd taken from Orochimaru's body and leapt at his enemy.
A moment later he appeared at the other side of the Quiraji leader, flicking off the line of blood before putting it back into its scroll.
Behind him Shouri's head fell to the ground with a dull thud, while his body continued to burn from Itachi's attack.
The Uchiha heir turned around to watch the Quiraji leader's body burn. He hadn't thought he'd feel much satisfaction from the kill, but having found the trick to killing him, Itachi couldn't help himself but feel happy that he was at least somewhat closer to avenging Konoha's destruction.
"An impressive display, to be sure."
Itachi frowned and drew a kunai quickly, turning to see a familiar looking woman sitting on a metal stood with her exposed legs crossed. She wore a blood red dress that barely hit her knees, and had the same seductive mannerisms that Itachi recognised from his borrowed memories.
"You are the one he called his sibling," he observed, hiding the unsettling feeling in his gut he felt upon seeing her.
Staring at him through her icy eyes, the female leader found herself admiring the fact that he'd been able to take out her younger brother. "You have a lot of intelligence on us, for a shinobi with no intelligence network or allies to speak of. Very resourceful."
Unlike his fight with Shouri, Itachi had almost no information on her, so he wasn't willing to engage in combat with her lightly. With their commander dead, he'd hoped that the army that was currently engaged with Kumogakure forces would fall apart, but her presence created a shift in the balance of the fight.
He carefully put away his kunai, though he was still wary of any attacks she could throw at him. "What do you want?"
Standing up deliberately from the metal stool that he could have sworn wasn't there before, the red haired woman gestured to him with her bare arms. "You intrigue me, shinobi. It's been decades since a Shouri has fallen in combat, and certainly a long time since one has fallen against a shinobi."
Itachi frowned in confusion, "A Shouri? There has been more than one?"
She grinned, her eyes flaring up with a life of their own as she swayed her hips slightly, "Even now, trying to get information. Oh but you are interesting."
Figuring she was just toying with him, Itachi decided it was time for him to take his leave. He went to dissipate into a murder of crows to fly away, but without him noticing a single change in her posture at all two long metal spikes shot up from the air beneath him and pierced straight through his hands.
Itachi grimaced in pain and tried to move his hands, but he was unable to form the necessary seal to turn into his crows, one that he can normally form quicker than most people can follow with their eyes.
Waving a finger in front of him, Sensou chastised him with a seductive smile, "Now, now, let's not be rude. We were having such a nice conversation, why ruin it with such an action?"
Itachi tried to wrench the metal spikes out of his hands, but they wouldn't budge, cutting off any strength he could muster to his hands.
Not biting to her taunt, Itachi saw a path for him to escape on foot, turning quickly to run away from her and heal himself.
Unfortunately Sensou was a step ahead of him and created another two metal spikes and slammed them into his feet. Despite Itachi trying to dodge them, the spikes had a mind of their own and followed their path and immobilising him completely.
Itachi bit at his lip to try and ignore the pain, his mind racing as he tried to think of a battle plan. He'd been worried that something like this might happen, but every contingence he had relied on his mobility and his hands, both of which were no longer available to him.
Sensou walked towards him slowly, tutting as she ignoring the smouldering body of her dead ally and walked around to look at Itachi from the front.
As she came within short distance, Itachi felt the same queasy feeling in his gut that he'd felt when he'd attacked Shouri within his nullifying sphere.
"So…you all have that ability…" he said through clenched teeth.
The Quiraji female reached out and lightly touched his chin with her hand, "So we do. Though not all of us underestimate you like my little brother did. He was a fool, and there is little for you to be proud of for killing him."
She stared into his dark eyes, seemingly drawn to his stoic yet angry gaze. "Such eyes…I do believe I have a place for you. My current converter is getting on a bit in age, and from what I saw you would be much more suitable."
Itachi felt like he should have tried to bite at her hand, but he could sense that she had no real intent on killing him. His expectation was for her to torture him for information, and he would look for an avenue of escape from there.
He wasn't, however, expecting her next action.
With no warning the red haired seductress pulled her head down and kissed him full on the lips, driving her tongue into his mouth. Itachi nearly bit off her tongue in surprise, but before he could do anything she was already pulling back and licking her lips with a sly grin.
"Curious. You have a kind of exotic taste, a mixture of bitterness and flare."
Spitting on the ground disgusted by her action, Itachi glared up at her with his Sharingan active, not caring that it stung to look at her. "You're insane."
"Ah, don't be like that. We're about to be become so close. And with that…Sharingan I think you people call it? Such grand things you shall perform for us. The slaughter will be glorious."
She waved her hands across his front, forming a large metal shell that clamped down around him and sealing him inside. Like a child she playfully tapped on it with a gleeful smile before nodding to herself, satisfied in her prize.
Her gaze turned to the burnt remains of the man she'd called brother, which seemed to have burned out quickly while leaving his expensive white and gold armour mostly intact.
She walked over to it and kicked at it with one of her feet, sending a shoulder plate several feet away. "I never liked you anyway. I'll tell him to make the next one female."
A soldier ran up to her from the side, holding his chest as he struggled to breathe after running so hard.
"What is it?" she asked with an exasperated tone.
"They are overrunning us! What are we…" His sentence ran off when he recognised the armour at her feet, "What happened to Lord Shouri?"
Sensou sighed and rubbed at the back of her neck, "I got what I came for. Sound the retreat, move back to the Land of Fire. The shinobi have their victory, for what it's worth."
Knowing what would happen if he hesitated; the soldier quickly gave her a salute and ran off to obey her orders as the red haired woman turned to her metal shell.
She placed a caring hand on the shell, feeling a slight tingle up her arm at its cold surface. "Shall we go home now? We have so many things to do, and such little time to do them in."
Author's Note:
And one of the four Quiraji leaders falls, but at a severe cost to Itachi. It was never my intent to make them invincible; they just need a specific kind of touch to deal with. Like Gaara or Neji, except really specific. It's all about the strategies.
Writing power-hungry insane people is quite fun honestly. You can have them say basically anything, and then put into context and it becomes entertaining.
Now the next chapter will be the final NaruHina chapter in this section of the story. After that, we move onto the final third of the story, which in itself may take a while in relation to chapters. I've got the story worked out, so I'm not just making it up on the spot. Just small details.
Please review and tell me what you think. I try to reply to each review, and believe me I read them all. Tell me what can be improved, what you liked, what you didn't, everything. I'm a writer so I'm always open to criticism.