Finding Itachi was effortless for one such as I, though to all others as far as they knew, it was an impossible task. Since I already knew where he was going to be, all I needed was to leave in time to intercept him before he could contract the terminal illness. Of course, it was a little more difficult to fool both Kakashi, Sasuke and the Fourth Hokage about my intentions, so I merely spoke nothing of the content of my private mission and simply informed the Hokage that I would be leaving for a time and would not be back for at least a fortnight.

He had tried to draw out an explanation from me but I gave him nothing, merely blinked, bowed then vanished. Of course, I knew that he would send Kakashi after me in order to track and follow, so I ensured to lose him quickly. I even masked my scent so that he could not use one of his ninja dogs to follow me. With the first part of my mission accomplished, I proceeded to where I would find Itachi. Since I knew that using a genjutsu on myself to hide my true identity would be futile against Itachi, I simply kept my hair covered and wore a low hood in order to hide myself from the eyes of others.

Crouching within a tree, I observed as two figures finally came into view down the road, heading directly towards the town which was currently riddled with diseases. It was here that Itachi would literally catch his death. Determined to prevent it, I surveyed the situation carefully, planning my best means in order to force Itachi to circumvent the town entirely. By engaging in a battle with them, I could push Itachi to circle around the village or simply flee. Either way, I will not allow him through those gates.

Flickering into existence before Itachi and his companion, who was not Kisame, I ensured that my face was perfectly hidden by an Oni mask painted green, I also wore a thick, long cloak which hid both my hair and frame so that I would not be recognisable. I even inhibited my chakra a little, doing my best to make myself as discreet as possible so that Itachi would not know who I was. It was better this way. Traditionally, the Oni masks were made in different colours in order to represent a different calamity in which the wearer wished to overcome. Green represented disease, so I hoped that Itachi would both heed the warning and understand it.

The moment I appeared both Itachi and his companion came to a halt, observing me carefully in order to assess my intentions. "Who are you?" The companion of Itachi questioned me, eyeing me darkly and with suspicion. My attention flickered to the scarred headband he wore, signifying that he was a rogue ninja from Kirigakure, and upon recognising the sword he carried, I knew exactly who he was. Juzo Biwa, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. I must not by any means underestimate him.

It appears the Akatsuki have placed Itachi both under close supervision and great protection. I cannot afford to make a mistake here, not by any account. Taking a slow and calming breath, I slowly raised my hand and pointed directly at Itachi, focusing upon him. "Little creepy, if you ask me, but seems this guy has a bone to pick with you kid." Juzo said as he drew his sword and held it aloft, ready to attack. "Want me to handle things here?"

"Just don't waste time." A little rude, but I did not make my point known. Within seconds the entire area was covered in a thick mist, making it difficult for any normal ninja to see. I of course had no such limitations. My Sharingan could easily see through the mist, so when Juzo came at me for a frontal attack, I effortlessly sidestepped and got myself clear of both him and his weapon. My nature type was fire release, which would have little effect against one of water, however, fire was not my only jutsu. I could use others, however if I fought too strongly I would be noticed not only by others, but by Itachi. I had to keep this as quiet a fight as possible, so I shall have to rely on another tactic. So long as I could draw them away from the diseased village, all would be well.

Itachi had told me before that, when he had contracted his illness, he had merely been passing through on the way to another mission, so there was no need for him to actually enter. Swiftly keeping track of both Itachi and Juzo, I dodged the consecutive attacks from his sword and noted that Itachi had woven a few signs with his hands, creating a doppelganger of himself. Unfazed, I continued on the defensive before I sprang back from a tree and led them away from the path, directly into the forest.

Juzo kept close to me and Itachi observed from a safe distance. No good, they both had to follow me if this was to work. I'll keep Juzo occupied with a shadow clone, that will work for now and keep him away from me. Using a moment when I was hidden from sight in order to create the clone, I allowed it to continue away from me, attacking Juzo and forcing him to answer in kind, going deeper and deeper into the trees which thus allowed me to go back for Itachi. He had not moved far, however when I dropped down behind him, he stopped walking and remained absolutely calm.

"So, you have outwitted my companion. I do not think you are any regular hunter ninja, as you do not follow their style, and you are alone." Clever as always, Itachi. "No matter. I cannot have you escaping us and revealing our location, it would be…inconvenient." Fully aware that I was now surrounded by Itachi's clones, I ignored them all and focused upon his original form which was standing away from the clearing, hidden from view. The clones all launched shuriken at me so I sprung directly upwards in order to dodge them.

With an expert hand, I flung my own kunai back in return, explosive tags attached to the ends so that when they struck the ground they immediately exploded, destroying a fair number of the clones which I then dispelled by slicing through them with my extendable wire, lassoing them all with elegant flicks of my wrist before drawing the wire taught. They all burst into puffs as smoke, allowing me to then come to a halt, breathing steadily before then lifting my hand once more and pointing directly to where Itachi was concealing himself.

A little curious, he came out, frowning at me slightly. His eyes were harsh and cold, his own Sharingan awakened. I could not allow him too much time to recognise me, or everything would be over. This must be swift and precise. It must be now. Wasting no time and sparing no effort, I charged directly for Itachi before then disappearing with the Body Flicker technique that Shisui had taught me himself all those years ago. Reappearing behind Itachi, I struck with my arms and attempted to push him a little harder, goading him to get serious with me.

His calmness never fluctuated throughout our scuffle, and it was only when I drew him into my wire trap did he have to act quickly in order to escape it. We clashed with the sharp burst of metallic sound, moving like flitting birds of simple shadows before we both turned upon one another and performed a jutsu. Deciding to deviate from my preferred style, I favoured an earth style jutsu instead, creating a rock wall to protect me against Itachi's fireball technique. We were evenly matched and neither of us had activated our Mangekyo Sharingan yet, but I wanted to avoid that outcome if possible.

My use of the Mangekyo had to be limited if I was to continue preserving my eyesight for as long as possible. Juzo was by this point miles away from us and I had drawn Itachi away from the village and around its border, pulling him past it and out into safer paths. The more I eluded him, however, the more seriously he took our battle. He was frowning slightly, analysing each and every move I made with increasing curiosity. Suddenly I became aware that my doppelganger had burst itself, meaning that it had lost Juzo and now he was returning here, to Itachi. Spinning like a whirlwind I landed in a crouch out in the open with Itachi following suit, standing before me at a slight angle with his gaze narrowed.

"You are toying with us." He noted blankly, sounding a little unhappy with the fact that I had not given this fight my all, but I had served my purpose, and now that Itachi was on the other side of the village and standing upon the correct path, there was no more need for me to remain. I tarried a few moments longer, simply to take my time to look at him. He had grown again, at least four inches since I had last seen him and his hair had grown too. Soon he would grow to full maturity and be a man who would stand among the greatest of them all in shinobi history, though most of his deeds would remain in shadow.

At that moment Juzo returned, panting a little and sporting a few injuries that my doppelganger had inflicted upon him, and he looked more than a little angry as he pointed his weapon at me. "Enough of your games, I'm going to cut you to ribbons and leave you for the crows as a feast!" Well, I shall take that as my indication I should leave, for Juzo truly looked as if he wanted nothing more than to cut off my head. Turning my head one last time to Itachi, I smiled behind the mask, glad that I could see him again.

As I disappeared from sight with the Body Flicker technique, I saw Itachi's eyes widen slightly, as if he sensed my smile but I vanished before he could speak, going a short distance away out of his line of sight then disappeared altogether, praying with every ounce of faith I possessed, however illogical, that I had at least altered just a little of Itachi's fate.