Chapter 12 - Weather the Storm

When she first started to get back into training with Sasuke, Uchiha Izumi knew the boy went easy on her. Despite the difference in experience, she'd been out of active duty for over five years now, and the most exercise she'd managed to get was the walking involved in handing out the deliveries and working dough.

But what was she supposed to do, exactly? Running her business demanded long hours, and those hours only grew after she'd taken over for her late mother. Sasuke coming in to help lightened that load, but he was a genin now, and expected to be away on missions. Izumi was needed to be up early to get the day's baking done, and closed up late prepping the things needed for the following day.

It was certainly tiring work, and demanded a lot of energy from her. But it wasn't fighting, nor was it, in any way, a proper means of preparing her to do so. Not surprising, because while she could certainly throw a mean punch - it wasn't hard when she regularly carried batches of dough as heavy as sacks of rice - she wasn't as quick on her feet as she used to be, and you rarely ever needed to worry about dodging projectile attacks from your oven.

She knew she had to try now, though. Itachi was still out there, somewhere, and he'd come back one day. He'd said so himself. And while Izumi had no illusions about being able to beat him, she wanted to at least be able to get away, or get to safety.

Oh she could push herself even harder, of course. Izumi could train with the intensity that Sasuke did, but that wasn't for her. She couldn't afford to spend as much time on training without having to give up the bakery.

And she wouldn't do that. This was all she had left of her father. With her mother gone, this was all she had left of her, too. The old clan compound was destroyed, and she'd not spent much time there growing up, anyway, not like Sasuke had. Her memories of her family were here.

Besides, she loved baking. She loved the smile it brought her customers, saw how it could brighten the days of those that were down, and make an already happy day almost magical. Izumi enjoyed talking to her customers everyday, hearing their stories, sharing their joys, and comforting them in their pains. It wasn't something she got as a kunoichi, and she was unwilling to give that up.

Still, she promised Sasuke she'd start training again, and she understood why it was so important.

It's why she was here, half an hour after closing time and a long day at work, leaning against one of the trees of training ground six. Izumi was so happy she decided to do this in the evening when it was cool and the next thing she'd have to do was have a big dinner and go to bed. She could only imagine if she'd done this in the morning, and had to face a full day's work afterwards.

"I thought you were working out again."

"I am." Izumi answered between panting breaths, trying not to vomit after the run. "Just never went this hard."

"We used to do this every day." The answer sounded almost exasperated, even a bit worried. "If you told me you weren't ready for this, we could've done something easier."

Izumi huffed. "I wanted to see if I could handle it."

She could imagine her companion crossing her arms when she heard the response, "Clearly, that was a 'no.'"

The Uchiha laughed, immediately regretting doing so when her lungs protested.

After another minute of getting her breathing under control, Izumi got up and accepted the offered flask. The water tasted sweet, the relief it brough, even sweeter.

"Well, at least we know what to do now, right, Hana?"

Inuzuka Hana could only agree with her, both of them doing their warming down stretches before getting ready to head home.

Tomorrow, Izumi would be back. She and Hana would go for another run - a less intense one, this time. Her friend wanted to go over her taijutsu forms. The day after that would be shurikenjutsu, and the one after that would be ninjutsu.

She was reminded of the routine with the academy, where she'd do those things during the daytime and come home to help her parents out in the evenings. Now, she was doing it in reverse.

Izumi vowed she'd make it count.

~TtT~

Pakkun lept from branch to branch in a way that did not resemble a normal dog at all. Not that he was a normal dog by any means, anyway, but that was besides the point.

He'd been travelling for the better part of three hours now, moving at the best pace he could through the heavily-wooded hills that comprised the southern countryside of the Land of Fire. If he'd been human, Pakkun imagined he'd have been bothered by the fact that he was doing this in the early evening.

Wait, no. He was contracted to shinobi. They did things like this at all times of day. Especially Kakashi, and especially when he'd been ANBU captain.

Pakkun's task was to get in touch with the Konoha outpost that watched over this region and request for reinforcements. He suspected other plans were being made, but his job was so urgent he'd been sent out before anything else was really finalized. Kakashi told him that this bit was set in stone anyway. They needed those reinforcements. No way were they going to be able to hold back Raiga's Raiders, and whatever else was coming their way with two teams of genin, one team of chunin, and three jounin.

He was close to the outpost now, though. The ninken could already smell the various scents of chunin and jounin that manned the place, as well as the traces of the small ANBU team that had been there an hour or so ago, likely out on patrol. If he was lucky, he'd be able to get their help, too.

Pakkun jumped down from the branches and walked up to the pile of boulders and fallen trees that seemed to fuse into the hillside. Even knowing that the outpost was manned by allies, the mist rolling in from the sea and crawling through the woods gave the whole place an eeriness to it. Combined with the stakes of his task, Pakkun was on edge.

One of the jounin had been first to notice the chakra that the ninken had allowed to seep out. Pakkun knew that he was at an outpost, but had no idea where the entrance was. It was best to let them know he was there and to speak to them out in the open.

He smelled the man before he saw him. The jounin had come out of some point behind the large pile of wood and stone ahead, and had jumped up into the canopy, likely to spy on the him.

"I know you." The jounin was on the ground and in front of him a moment later. Dark hair tied into a flared tail behind him, and shadowed that eyes seemed to pierce the darkness eyed the dog. On his vest was stitched the name of the organization that trained him.

Root.

"You're one of Hatake-san's ninken, aren't you?"

Pakkun recognized that voice. Good, it meant he didn't need to prove who he was. "Hyou-kun! Good to see you. Are you the person in charge here? Even of the ANBU?"

The tone was clipped, urgent. Hyou clearly noticed it, too, because the laughter in his eyes died. He nodded. Pakkun told him everything he knew.

The jounin sighed. "We'll need to leave a team of chunin to keep the outpost manned, maybe one of the jounin, too, in case something happens." He turned towards the ninken before gesturing for Pakkun to follow him into the outpost. "The ANBU team's gonna be needed for this. I'll get them recalled and you can have yourself a bite to eat and something to drink. You've definitely earned it."

Pakkun knew that they weren't out of the water, yet, but he'd not begrudge the man his goodwill. He could barely stay up as it was.

It took him a little over three hours to get here moving at his top speed. With them, it'd probably take a little longer than that to get back. Kakashi and the rest were going to have to hold out till then.

They had to.

~TtT~

Karashi looked through the window of his boss's quarter's, past the bow, and into the sea ahead. What should have been a line of ships that made up Raiga's Raiders was instead relatively vague shapes thanks to the darkness and the rain. If not for the lanterns each of the ships hung and the blue light of Keiga, they wouldn't even be able to tell they were part of a fleet.

After the gambit of the Kirigakure shinobi involving a surprisingly large iceberg that had been thrown into the fleet by a water jutsu, they'd been thrown into disarray, any fighting that had been happening was forcefully disengaged. Karashi was sure that Raiga would have been able to take out the enemy jounin, otherwise.

The Kirigakure ninja might have even been able to capitalize on the chaos the iceberg attack caused if not for the arrival of the two Akatsuki members that Karashi had been tasked with picking up from Midorimiya. The fish-looking man, Kisame, seemed to have been a big enough deterrent that the enemy just sailed away while the Raiders regrouped.

Raiga informed him that Kisame was apparently one of his former colleagues from the Seven Swordsmen.

It made Karashi wonder what sort of powers the tall blue-skinned shinobi wielded. He suspected something water-related if only because of the way he looked. It seemed to be on-theme. Karashi would have figured his teeth almost made him look shark-like, but all of the Seven Swordsmen supposedly had sharp teeth, anyway.

All the same, getting their men out of the water, and the ships repaired took time. They hadn't even bothered to make sure all of the ships were in top shape. The three most-damaged ones were going to be crippled after the direct hit from the iceberg, even if they wouldn't sink. No way they'd be able to keep up with the fleet. He'd suggested to Raiga that the three ships be sent back to base, and that the other ships take on whatever fighters they could carry. Skeleton crews could make the trip back, and they'd need every fighter available.

So here they were, making their approach on the Land of Waves down three ships, and short almost a fifth of their initial forces. If they were going to be basing the defenders on the Kirigakure group, then they'd still have an overwhelming advantage in numbers, but Karashi knew better than to count on that. Their leader already proved that sheer quality can trump numbers if the disparity was big enough.

And like Kisame, Momochi Zabuza was another one of the Seven Swordsmen. One of the ones that stayed loyal to Kiri even when others like Raiga left. He'd not really gotten to see them fight, but the other captains had told him that the chunin weren't anything to scoff at either.

Then there was Kinami-ko, their actual target, along with the city it was attached to. Karashi wasn't sure if the locals were going to be defending it, but there'd definitely be ninja protecting the port. Namikaze weren't known for skimping on security on anything they directly owned. Karashi had been working with the Raiders for long enough to know that. Namikaze-owned fleets were usually some of the tougher ones to take down, and why they usually avoided attacking them.

But then there were the Akatsuki.

"So what did you find, Itachi-kun?"

Raiga, the two Akatsuki members, and Karashi were all in the captain's quarters of their flagship, the Inazuma. She rose almost three stories from the waterline, almost twice as tall as the other ships of the fleet, and able to support half as many people.

All of them were relaxing in various places around Raiga's desk. Karashi by seated on a chair by the window, Kisame on the couch, and the other one leaning against the farthest wall. Raiga sat on his favorite plush chair.

The shorter of the two Akatsuki members spoke, this one with long black hair that hung over the sides of his face. "I've managed to confirm that Konoha does, indeed, have people protecting Kinami-ko." When the boss looked like he was going to ask something, the younger shinobi continued, "I can't confirm their numbers. There were only two at the port, and one of them immediately noticed the raven I sent to scout for us. I suspect I know who that one is."

He paused after that, actually letting Raiga ask the most obvious question.

"And who is that?"

"She's a former Root-trained ANBU agent. Designated 'Ghost.'"

There was another pause. Karashi looked from his boss to Kisame, and then back to Itachi.

"I have no idea who that is," said Raiga. He turned to the other swordsman, who also shrugged.

"Never heard of her." Kisame replied. The boss looked back to Itachi.

"You wouldn't." Itachi answered, shrugging. He clearly had no intention of elaborating further, however. "Still, I managed to gather information on their defenses."

That, he told them. It had the boss scowling, Kisame laughing, and Karashi wondering what they could do about it. This… Wall of Denial meant that any of their attacks from the sea weren't going to work. Jutsu couldn't pass through, and, according to Itachi, even something as powerful as a Great Colliding Wave could be held back.

"Means the original plan isn't going to work, huh, Raiga?" Kisame asked. The leader of the Raiders brushed it off with a roll of his eyes. "Can't rain down hell on them if none of it's getting through."

But Karashi had an idea: "You said, the seals absorbed the chakra of the attacks they blocked. Can we overload it?"

"Partially, yes. The Wall of Denial normally uses part of the chakra it absorbs to maintain and strengthen the barrier, but against particularly powerful jutsu, it absorbs more than it uses. The seal can sort of… burn out from too much chakra if it doesn't have a way of disposing of it."

Then they had a possible solution. Either their men power through the barrier, or they have one of the three S-ranked shinobi deal with it. Karashi spotted a glint in Kisame's eyes that spoke of a working mind.

"We have another problem, though." Added Itachi. "We might not be able to just power through it."

"Yeah?" Karashi could hear the annoyance growing in Raiga's question.

"The seals were part of a larger array, one connected to several storage seals. From the short look I managed to give them, they'd probably be able to take everything the three of us can dish out and we'd be nowhere near overloading."

He then launched into a very technical-sounding explanation about how the setup would let the barriers adjust to whatever techniques were used on it. Karashi couldn't quite follow everything.

Raiga eventually shook his head. "Bottom line is, we can't attack through the barrier."

"Can we go through it?" All three turned to Karashi. Itachi nodded.

"Yes."

"Can we use jutsu inside it?" He followed. Again, Itachi nodded.

"It's one way. Definitely."

Karashi turned to the boss, who was now nodding, a feral grin bared.

"Then we have a plan."

Several hours later, Karashi was back on the ship he captained, being assisted onboard by his first mate, and informing the crew of their plans. He'd returned to his ship last after meeting with each of the other captains to make sure that they knew what was going to happen. It was the downside of answering only to their leader, but it was one that had him thankful for his ability to walk over water and the fleet's currently slow pace.

Unfortunately, it left him soggy as hell, and more than a little annoyed. Trekking through stormy waters was a pain.

It would be easier to write or signal, but plans as detailed as the ones they were going to do were best passed verbally, and hand signals were useless with such poor visibility.

He'd just walked through the door to his own quarters, when he heard the patter of feet coming towards him.

"So what's the plan, Karashi-nii?" He looked down to meet a pair of plum-colored eyes, reflecting the lantern light in a way that almost made them glow. It was softer, though, not like the way the boy's eyes actually glowed when he used them. That was always a little more eerie.

"Hey, Ranmaru." Without thinking, his hand reached down to ruffle the boy's hair. Ranmaru tried to get out of his hold, clearly not wanting to get wet, and Karashi couldn't stop himself from laughing at the kid's protests. "We'll need your help before the fight starts later, and maybe even when it does happen."

At this, his adopted brother paused. "Really?"

Karashi nodded. They still had no real idea of the actual numbers they were up against, or who else was on the other side that they had to watch out for. Ranmaru's ability to see through even the chakra-dense rain that clouded their approach could be invaluable in that regard. It'd also let them watch out for any funny business from their enemies. Besides, Karashi wasn't above suspecting that their enemies might just try and get the jump on them instead, numbers advantage or no, and water could be pretty good at hiding an approach.

It's the same reason why he and this ship would be staying further back. They'd be reserves, while signaling to Raiga any relevant information on enemy movements. Besides Raiga's ships, they also Karashi had direct command of some of their more experienced raiders.

Once he'd finished explaining things to the boy, Karashi took both of them below-deck to grab a bite. It was curry.

"Reminds me of home." Karashi thought he heard Ranmaru sniffle a bit before the boy took a bite of his food.

It did. "It's the rainy season down in the Land of Rivers right now. I figure kaa-san's rushing to get the laundry in." He could imagine it happening, too. Though right now, he and Ranmaru wouldn't be there to help out, and she was all alone running the shop. "Wanna head home after all of this is done? I think I can ask the boss for some time off after this. This job's a pretty big one."

Ranmaru's grin was all the answer he needed.

~TtT~

Namikaze Naruto awoke to a sound that might have almost been familiar to him.

The hours that followed their primary preparations were spent resting, with a small group keeping an eye out in case signs of their enemies somehow managed to make it past the lighthouse without triggering any of their early warning systems. For the most part, they spent it holed up in the administration building, which they'd converted into a makeshift bunker with help from the regular security detail of Kinami-ko.

While the shinobi rested, the guards had also started setting up barricades and defenses on the port grounds using the construction materials they'd taken from the delivery ships and whatever else was already on-site. Concrete slabs were lifted in impressive feats of strength to form walls that they could get behind for cover. They boarded up windows, and barred doors, and the iron rods were sharpened with a grinder and thrust into the port to create makeshift spike walls.

Sure they'd have to pay to have the port repaired, but they'd save more money if the port wasn't razed to the ground.

Naruto had been napping in the administrator's office - which they had converted into a makeshift room for his team - when the familiar hum woke him up.

The Wall of Denial was something that he'd seen used many times. How couldn't he? By all rights, it was arguably one of the most versatile and powerful seals that the Namikaze Clan could use in battle, and could be one hell of a game-changer when utilized correctly.

It was easily identifiable by the sky-blue barrier it created when the seal was breaking down jutsu and absorbing the resulting chakra.

The other thing that made it easy for him to tell when the seal was in use was the sound it made, a distinct hum that he could best describe as a cross between a powerful fan and a refrigerator.

What he heard when he awoke was that, but a hundred times more powerful. The resulting light was so bright he could see it from inside.

He was armed, armored, and out of the building soon after, making a quick count of his fellow defenders as he got to the closest and largest of the makeshift redoubts, the rain falling around him and immediately soaking into his hair and haori.

Sakura and Sasuke were there, the latter looking up at the barrier. When Naruto followed, it seemed the barrier was being triggered by the… Was that the rain? What the hell? Was that possible?

It was only then, when he saw how shadowed Sakura's face was with only the light of the Wall illuminating it, that he realized that all of the lights in the complex were already turned off. All the light in the port was from the Wall of Denial.

Naruto wondered if the raiders would notice that and somehow stop whatever this chakra-charged rain was.

"Na-kun," Sakura didn't move to get up.

"Sa-chan." He grinned at her before kneeling down beside her. "Where are the others?"

"Kagami-san's over by the southern redoubt with Chojuro-kun now, Haku-chan, Kimimaro-san, and Suigetsu-san are hiding in the storehouses to the west. The Demon Brothers should be nearby in case something happens to either side. I haven't seen them yet."

Good, that meant everyone was in position. That also meant he should be clear to do his own thing now. After giving Sakura his thanks, he put his hands together in a seal he'd gotten a lot of practice using.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Four clones burst forth from smoke around him.

"Two each with the other teams. Get ready to do your jobs." He told them. They nodded and rushed to meet up with Kagami and Kimimaro's groups.

"We're not late to the party, are we?"

Naruto turned to see Gozu and Meizu coming out of the administrative building and approaching them. The one on the left, Meizu, Naruto thought, was adjusting his gauntlet. They probably had a lot more gear to put on than Naruto did.

"Not yet. Looks like things are just about to go down, actually. Have you guys seen Zabuza-san, Murasaki-sama, and our sensei?" When they shook their heads, he turned to Sakura who also shrugged. "Huh, guess they're in their spots, then. What about Komamura-jii and the other guards?"

"They've already moved into the city. The lights are out there, too."

"Means anything we see from there is likely a fire, Sasuke-kun." Sakura answered, crouching back to take the space beside him. "Zabuza-san did say they were likely to try and cover their approach with the Kirigakure-no-jutsu."

"Don't think they can do that in this weather." The twin on Naruto's left chimed in, also joining them behind the redoubt. The one that spoke joining Sasuke and Sakura in looking towards the sky-blue light of the Wall as it stopped the mist from rolling into Kinami-ko. "Too much wind, and between the darkness and the rain, they're pretty much already covered. Mist would've been typical of Raiga, though. It's supposed to be something all of the Swordsmen are good at."

"It's practically a requirement for the position these days, alongside sharp teeth and a little bit of crazy." Added the other twin that joined Naruto in leaning against the wall. "Our team and Haku-chan's team have a bet going on that Chojuro's gonna go a bit bonkers when he gets inducted."

This got Sakura's attention. "Wait, the blue-haired kid that's always hanging around Kagami-san?" she asked, "He's going to join the Seven Swordsmen?"

"Only a matter of time," shrugged Right Twin, "Guy's almost as good as Suigetsu's older brother, and that guy's already in. We think Chojuro just needs more experience before Mizukage-sama brings it up."

Sakura turned towards them and her jade eyes narrowed. "But he seems so nice."

Left Twin shrugged. "So is Mangetsu. You can be nice and crazy, I guess."

"Guys?" It was Sasuke, "Life or death battle that might be happening in a bit? Guys?"

… Right.

"So what's the deal with the barrier?" Naruto finally heard the question asked. Funny that it actually came from the chunin and not his teammates. Maybe they got it? "Didn't you say it was only supposed to do that when it's exposed to chakra, Namikaze-san?"

Naruto looked to the water touching the barrier, seeing the blue light ripple above and around them.

"Yeah, yeah it does."

Naruto looked to the twin on the left, the one he'd been speaking to. Saw saw the way his eyes widened.

"Oh. Oh spirits."

Nothing else was said after that. Naruto got comfortable in between Sakura and Right Twin. While their group waited for the attack proper to begin, Naruto had another job to do. He was to track the ships for irregular movement using the sensor seals that had been hidden around the outer reaches of the port complex.

Five minutes passed and there was no movement.

Ten minutes after that and there was nothing. Fifteen, and then twenty and still nothing. Naruto couldn't even get any heavy disturbances that signaled to him a battle happening between his mom, his sensei, or the Kiri team captain. The sensor seals weren't sensitive enough to notice individuals crossing the water, but they'd be hard to miss with the barrier glowing as it was, and fights over this much water made enough waves to register.

It would be almost half an hour from his waking that the battle would be joined.

~TtT~

Itachi had never fought on a stormy sea before. Konoha shinobi were rarely ever out at sea in the first place, since most of their clientele were people from the mainland. ANBU agents were mostly concerned with work involving Konoha's security, too. And, since most of their historical enemies were part of the continent, their attention remained inland.

It was definitely a struggle. Water walking was something he'd already gotten a lot of practice in, but the constant adjustments and repositioning needed to keep the waves from suddenly tossing him up in the air or swallowing him whole was on a level of frequency he'd never had to deal with before. Some of the waves towered over both him and Kisame, and he'd seen a bit of the storm when they'd first regrouped with Raiga. And those same waves could grow higher still.

All the same, he'd managed. He had to focus on his footwork more than usual, and it was even more difficult to see without the light that the moon or stars would have normally been able to provide. Storm clouds had a tendency of blocking those out, after all.

Thankfully, he had his Sharingan and enough light from the seal he'd had printed onto one of his gloves to get by.

Kisame, meanwhile, was doing much better, seemingly able to navigate the choppy waves even with the rain and the wind. Itachi suspected that if they had to split up, or if Kisame was alone, the former Kiri shinobi would've just gone underwater. He certainly knew the man could do so from the times they'd fought together.

Unfortunately for him, Raiga was best left with his men so he could command them, and they didn't really have anyone powerful enough to contest three jounin-level fighters besides the three of them. And while Kisame could maybe take one or two of them at the same time, three may have been arrogant, especially since one of them knew how he fought.

Normally, that wouldn't have stopped Kisame from going in by himself anyway, but Itachi decided he'd come along. His partner just shook his head, grinning, but didn't question him.

Kisame was a surprisingly reliable guy, and Itachi could almost say he considered him good company. He was really fortunate to have been assigned this one as his partner in Akatsuki. The others that he'd met were far from that amiable.

So here they were, navigating their way through the storm towards the faint blue glow in the distance. The Wall of Denial blocking the raindrops from Raiga's new jutsu. It was faint, and sometimes Itachi felt he'd imagine it, but even with the rain cutting down how much and how far he could see, the flashes of sky-blue could stand out even without his Sharingan.

Despite it, all his Sharingan could register that weren't the waves that threatened to drown him were all the raindrops. He'd pursed his lips when he realized his. Poor visibility plus constant movement made his eyes notice the only source of movement. He'd still be able to fight with the Sharingan, but it was definitely going to be harder to read attacks this way.

They'd passed a lighthouse earlier. It had been turned off and unmanned, but a flash of lightning had illuminated it enough for Raiga to spot it. Kisame had, too, and that had been the main indicator they used to figure out they were almost there.

The waves shouldn't be a problem once he and Kisame manage to sneak onto port, right? Once there, it would be one large-scale jutsu to destroy the Wall of Denial's battery seals, and the barrier would be disabled, leaving Raiga and his men free to bombard the place from the sea, before landing and razing the city.

Nice and simple.

Itachi was very sure it wasn't going to be that easy. Still, having a plan was better than winging it completely. At least this time they had objectives.

Disable the Wall of Denial, and attack the port with jutsu. That left them a lot of room for improvisation.

Now if only they could make it to Kinami-ko without being spotted. Not that that was likely considering who they were up against. He'd made it a point to tell Riaga and Kisame that, too. There wasn't much to do but go for it, though. Waiting would just give their enemies more time to gather reinforcements. The lighthouse was probably rigged with sensor seals, anyway, maybe even rigged to explode if they got too close.

"Itachi!" He saw Kisame leap over a wave towards him, his voice ringing over the wind and waves while his hand reached for Samehada.

Then Itachi felt it.

Chakra.

Something big was right under them, something that had managed to get past their ability to notice, probably hidden by the inclement weather.

Itachi had thrown himself into the air a moment later, just as a set of jaws rose from the waves and engulfed his partner before he landed.

There, from the corner of his eye.

He had his kunai out and barely managed to deflect the strike from the katana, the force spinning and knocking him away from his partner. Just before the rain blocked his view, whatever it was that had tried to swallow Kisame was cut open. It looked like the man would be alright.

"Hello, Itachi-kun."

Rin's voice was muffled, almost drowned out by the sea and rain.

Itachi managed to get a foot on a cresting wave to slow his spin. The light from his hand flickered for just a moment as a shadow danced on the edge of his vision.

The block was a close thing. He'd been about to answer with a fireball when the cresting wave he'd ridden lurched. Below him, the glow of chakra.

He dove into the wave's movement just in time to avoid the jaws rising from the sea.

A dragon made of water.

Well, that was new.

Again Rin struck at him, again from the corner of his vision while his eyes were occupied with the falling rain and the crashing waves. And again, he barely blocked.

It became apparent to Itachi very quickly that while he didn't have any experience fighting at sea, Rin did. And between the storm, the rain, and the darkness he was at a very big disadvantage. He couldn't even make eye contact to threaten her with a visual genjutsu.

Another strike, this time Itachi leapt into the air and left a seal-less fireball behind him. Even through the noise, he managed to hear the curse. Good.

Then the water dragon rushed up at him again, its jaws open to crush him. He kicked into its snout, pushing as much chakra into his foot as he knew it could take. The strike flung him up and backwards while the dragon seemed to flinch.

Seven hand-seals in quick succession, a deep intake of breath, and a cry: "Katon: Gouka Messhitsu! (Fire Style: Majestic Demolisher)"

Superheated flame streamed out of his mouth, engulfing the chakra-construct. Water hissed as both the dragon and the rain that touched the fire evaporated. Even in the fires, though, he could see the shadows of the dragon move.

Itachi pumped more chakra into the jutsu, the blaze growing. The shadow's dancing slowed and slowed, before finally ceasing.

"Suiton: Shio no Hoshi, Keiga! (Water Style: Keiga the Tide Star)"

He'd just barely landed in the water when he'd heard Rin call out her jutsu.

The world lurched again before the water calmed. It was almost perfectly still now. The sound of the storm grew muffled.

"I think we're far enough."

Itachi was reminded of the Water Prison jutsu. Swirling water in the shape of a ball that trapped the victim inside to slowly drown.

Except this one was hollow.

The water of the dome reminded him of a coiled serpent. Surrounding them and keeping the storm away. A quick glance down showed him that the thing had even blocked off everything below the water line. It was an orb. That explained why the waves had stilled.

Itachi grimaced when he spotted the dragon's head. So the jutsu could even do this, huh? Definitely not a normal water dragon, but even just the name was enough of a clue. Was there a fire version of this?

He eyed the opponent that stood ahead. Rin was positively soaked, her robes weighed down by water and hanging off her shoulders. Her hair was much the same, and only kept out of her face by the now-familiar plain, white mask she wore. How that hair tie of hers kept it in the partial tail she favored, Itachi didn't know. The teen could feel his hair brushing his shoulders. His had clearly been cut or taken off at some point.

"Far enough, Rin-san?"

The older woman's shoulders shook in a chuckle. Itachi relaxed. "Far enough that no one should spot or overhear us." He could imagine her winking at him from behind her mask. "You understand, surely."

Ah, it was that, then.

"Now," Rin's stance became less aggressive, actually sheathing her sword this time. Itachi noticed that she still kept her hand on it, though. Itachi kept his kunai in his hand, and fire jutsu readied at the back of his mind. "What information do you have for me, Itachi-kun?"

~TtT~

Hoshigaki Kisame decided he should have done the Kinami-ko infiltration alone. It would have been quick. Go underwater, swim manually past the Wall of Denial or whatever the seal was called, get out, drop a tsunami on the port, and be done with it.

Storm or no, he'd have been able to do it in ten minutes tops.

Well, if Zabuza was there, maybe not that quick, but it really wouldn't have put him in this situation.

Kubikiriboucho swung in for his torso, and he parried with Samehada. He attempted to backstep, but barely managed to abort that in favor of sidestepping a kick to the knee from Zabuza. This was followed by a cheap hit to his shoulder from Kubikiriboucho's hilt and then a downward swing. Kisame resisted the urge to catch it with his hand, and instead pulled Samehada into a delayed block.

He knew it was in poor form before the attack even made contact. Kisame's knees buckled under the force of the swing, and he stopped chakra from keeping him over the water.

Only the briefest of moments allowed him time to see the knee blurring towards his face. Even then, his forearm hurt like hell afterwards. The force of the strike would have been useful in letting him get some distance, but Zabuza had other things in mind.

The punch to the face hurt. The sword hilt that followed would have hurt even more if Kisame didn't use chakra to step back unto the water and actually parry it with his arm.

Kisame hated fighting old colleagues. He hated the idea of having to fight Zabuza especially. Anyone from the Seven Swordsmen that were super focused on the bit about actually being swordsmen, really. They never let him fight the way he wanted.

Hoshigaki Kisame was an infamous figure, even before he'd betrayed Kirigakure. Chakra reserves and mastery of water like his would have made him one hell of a candidate for being the next Mizukage if not for monsters like Yagura and Terumi.

Unfortunately, the other swordsmen also knew that, and knew that while Kisame was good at kenjutsu by normal standards, he wasn't by theirs.

So what they did was keep him in a sword fight. Where he couldn't use any hand seals for any of his jutsu.

They'd keep him close, keep up the pressure, and give him no opportunity to disengage. He couldn't even just dive into the water without Zabuza being able to threaten him ten different ways with a giant metal blade through who knows what before he could get under the water, rough waves or no.

Really, the bad weather just made it harder for Kisame. He was better than Itachi was at fighting in rough waters, but Zabuza was also better at that than him. Kisame much preferred being underwater, but his old colleague knew that, too, and wouldn't let him dive.

Under better circumstances, Kisame would be having a blast. He didn't always get the chance to fight strong opponents these days. The jobs Akatsuki was taking on were aimed at maximum profitability, and unless it was bounty hunting, it usually involved busywork from very wealthy clients that didn't want to deal with the bigger villages, and had more money than sense.

Damn shame it had to be someone that actually knew how to fight him, and had a bone to pick with him, to boot. Kisame had no illusions about how the loyalist swordsmen saw the traitors that had been either party to or took advantage of the shit that went down with Yagura. This was a deathmatch, and one with baggage involved.

Two blade strikes, a kick, and a punch to the gut later had Kisame giving ground again, stumbling backwards a step before he was knocked to the side by a tall wave. He'd managed to give Zabuza a taste of the jounin's own medicine. Zabuza had some tear marks on his jacket now, courtesy of a scrape against Samehada.

All the same, he needed to get out of here, or at least get enough distance between the two of them to form hand seals, maybe even dive.

Because he wasn't going to win a sword fight against one of Kiri's actual kenjutsu masters.

~TtT~

It didn't really take them all that long to pass the information. Rin was in a hurry and so was Itachi. Besides that, there really wasn't all that much to say. If Itachi had been less experienced, he'd have been disappointed in the amount of information he managed to collect in three years, but he'd also been more than a little out of his depth.

He'd done infiltrations before, but those were against enemies of his clients, not organizations made up of and ran by S-ranked missing-nin.

There was, however, some very relevant information that he managed to acquire. Such as the identity of their mystery Uchiha.

"Uchiha Madara, you say." Rin's tone was flat in a way that had Itachi wondering if she doubted his sincerity, or suspected him of making fun of her. "That's the name he gave you."

"Yes."

They'd both relaxed over the minutes that he'd given her the quick rundown of what he'd been doing with the organization for the past few years, and those of the organization he'd met and where. He mentioned the nations where he'd managed to get entry into secret bases, but they didn't have enough time for him to give exact locations. Itachi would have to pass them to her later.

"And he's the same person that instigated the Kyuubi attack twelve years ago."

"He let it slip, yes. Madara even mentioned to me once how Minato-sama defeated him."

At this, Rin seemed to pause, looking at him through her featureless mask. Even without eyes the stare seemed to press into him. "How'd sensei manage that?"

Itachi smiled. There was a small amount of patriotic pride that welled up when he heard the story, and he had to make sure it wasn't noticeable when he'd first heard it. This time, he didn't need to hide.

"He said Minato-sama was just that much faster."

"Hah." Despite the flatness of the response, Itachi could hear the smile in her voice. "Of course he'd be."

There was a brief quiet after that, one where Itachi supposed Rin might have said a small prayer for her departed sensei. Itachi still had those moments, too, on quiet nights or when he could steal a moment to himself away from Kisame, and whatever obligations he had to the Akatsuki. He'd pray for his parents, for his clan, for Sasuke and Izumi.

He hoped they were well.

"What about the leader?"

"I don't know much about him. Like the other members, they rarely ever appear in person for meetings. The organization's been keeping itself very compartmentalized so far. Even the lower ranking grunts I've worked with haven't seen anyone besides Kisame and myself. Any orders they get are relayed remotely."

He wasn't entirely sure what to expect when he'd joined the Akatsuki. Missing-nin usually left because of conflicts within their village, be they professional or personal. If they were powerful enough to be feared, and independent enough to want to leave, Itachi couldn't imagine a lot of reason for them to want to work with another group afterwards.

But here they were. When he'd asked Kisame why the man had joined Akatsuki, the older man had laughed and waved him off, saying it was personal.

"But I've spoken with him several times, and he has at least one distinguishing feature: some type of dojutsu I haven't seen before. Purple eyes with concentric rings on them."

He saw her stiffen at that. The dragon surrounding them moved more erratically, responding to what looked to be her genuine agitation.

"Really."

"Yes."

She hummed, "Thank you, Itachi-kun. That's actually very relevant information. I imagine you never got a name?" Rin sighed in resignation when Itachi shook his head. "I figured. In any case, we'll want to make arrangements on when we can meet. I'd like to pick your brain for the info don't have time for right now."

It sounded like a dismissal.

"How are Sasuke and Izumi?"

"Well." She responded immediately, but she didn't stop her walk towards the dragon that surrounded them. Itachi hesitated, but chose to follow her, albeit at a slight distance. "Izumi-chan has started training again, and Sasuke-kun has made genin. Actually, Sasuke's here right now. He's part of Naruto's team, and they're defending the port."

Itachi felt his heart stop.

"What?"

"Yes. So as you might imagine, we can't really afford to lose here, Itachi-kun. Your brother and my son are at risk, among a few other things. So I'll have to leave you here for now while I go help Zabuza-san deal with your partner."

Wait what?

"R-rin-san?"

Itachi wanted to rush at her and demand an explanation, ask her how she could allow his brother to come to risk harm like this, but it was tempered by the fact that she probably didn't have enough time to learn that this was happening in the first place. The fact that she was here spoke either of their fortune, or of her ability to gather information.

"It was good to see you again, Itachi-kun. I'm glad you're well." And then she'd passed through the water and was gone.

He was left inside the water dragon with just its faint glow and the sound of the storm that raged outside.

~TtT~

Chojuro felt on edge.

As far as he was concerned, it was warranted. Unlike the Konoha group, he and their sister team had actually gone up against Raiga and his men before arriving at Kinami-ko. They'd managed to hold their own, but the sheer weight of numbers and the challenges of fighting in a storm had made a fighting retreat the best thing they could hope for. There was no way they'd have been able to turn them aside outside of, maybe taking down Raiga.

Obviously, that hadn't panned out. Even with captain Zabuza, Kagami, and himself, they'd barely managed to hold him back. Their captain, however, had pointed out that fighting in the storm made it easier for Raiga to take advantage of his sword's ability to call and shape lightning. That and they were outnumbered.

Heavily outnumbered.

Chojuro would have taken solace in that, if not for the fact that they were currently caught in a storm at this exact moment, just as the battle against Raiga's Raiders was starting.

That wasn't even counting the two Akatsuki members that had shown up just after Haku had done her iceberg thing with the Demon Brothers. The fight with Raiga might have turned out differently then, with the huge block of ice and the accompanying surge of water crashing through the choppy seas and into their group, forcing Raiga off balance and tossing two of his ships about.

He'd been about to dive in to buy their captain enough time to finish the missing-nin.

And then sharks. So many sharks.

If not for Kagami pulling him back and her mirrors covering their retreat, he wasn't entirely sure he'd have been able to get out of there without being overwhelmed.

Even with that, with the rain, the wind, and the splash of ice-cold water, he'd seen her eyes flash a familiar red-gold. She'd been angry, angrier than he'd ever seen her in the years they'd known each other.

Not surprising, though, considering it had been Hoshigaki Kisame that had come to break up their fight with Raiga, turning what might have been a crippling blow against the raiders into a full retreat for them. He still wasn't sure how they managed to get out of there without the Monster of Kiri killing all of them, but he couldn't say he'd minded.

When they heard that they'd be assisting with the defense of the port and the town on account of the ships they'd been charged with protecting refusing to leave until the raiders were no longer a threat, he'd been apprehensive. Even counting the Konoha group, he wasn't sure how well they'd manage against three S-ranked shinobi.

Not Kagami, though. While she might have kept calm in front of the others, there was a hardness in her eyes he didn't see very often.

But then again, it also wasn't often that one of the people responsible for the death of your father was right in front of you, wasn't it?

She hid it well enough. Even now, she was having small talk with one of the Namikaze boy's shadow clones while the other sat at the edge of the docks and let the waves crash over his legs.

All the same, the girl didn't take her eyes off of the bright-blue barrier that blocked whatever strange rain technique Raiga had used.

He'd do his best to keep an eye on her, though. It was part of why he always got assigned to their team whenever they were given missions. Chojuro knew that Kagami would tan his hide for it if she ever knew, but Terumi Mei was a woman that was terrified of losing her children. With one of the people responsible for the death of her husband here, he was certain she'd have been on edge, too. For both Kagami and Kimimaro.

Well, after she'd taken her anger out on Hoshigaki Kisame and thrashed him about for what he'd contributed to doing.

Now if only they'd make it through the night.

"You sure there's nothing yet?" He'd heard Kagami ask. Looks like things were back to business, then.

"Nah," The younger shinobi answered with a shrug. "We have sensor seals just outside the barrier. I'd feel it if something was coming."

Huh. That bit hadn't been explained to them. Chojuro didn't even know those were a thing. "The storm doesn't mess with that?" He'd had to speak louder. The storm drowned out his voice a bit, even though the three of them were next to each other.

"Muffles it a bit." Namikaze responded with a wave of his hand. "But I don't really need to watch out for small movements. They're on ships. Those are impossible to miss."

"What about if they get off the ships and try to walk through?" Kagami actually turned away from the barrier to look at the blond now.

"They'd get past the seals, yeah. Really hard to read movements that small right now. It's like everything's all fuzzy, but you know," He gestured to the choppy seas in front of them, a good part of the rain falling seemed to disappear with the large seal that he and Murasaki had created, one that Chojuro still found more than a little terrifying to comprehend.

It wasn't often you saw a barrier that could absorb chakra, after all. He wondered if the Mizukage knew of this technique's existence. He'd definitely be reporting it during their debriefing, assuming their captain didn't do so first.

"It's like daytime right now, and it'd be hard to miss people walking past the wall of light, right?" He looked like he'd been about to say something more when he seemed to stiffen, ultramarine eyes snapping to the barrier.

"Namikaze-san?" Chojuro asked.

"Ships are coming. Two, maybe three."

At this, Kagami's eyebrows rose. "Only three? They had ten ships when we ran into them."

Namikaze's eyes were narrowed now, and from the corner of his eye, Chojuro could see the other clone getting up, too. "There's still more out there, for sure. I think Riaga's just not sending all of his men in at once."

He wasn't committing all of his forces. "Well, that's a good thing, right?" Chojuro asked.

The blond nodded. "I think so. I'd rather not deal with ten ships worth of men, anyway."

Kagami had been about to hop over the barricade when the Namikaze clone beside them grabbed her arm. "Stay here, please."

"Why?" was all she asked.

"This is why the boss had us be here."

Before anything else could be said, a flash of lightning illuminated three ships through the stormy night. Chojuro could see them advancing, their oars splashing into the choppy seas as they crept towards the barrier.

Their bows pierced through, the hardwood tinted blue with the light of the Wall of Denial, their masts shadows that swayed from side to side.

Closer they came, and Chojuro had his hands on his swords, ready to draw them. Kagami had entered a stance. The barricade protected them from ranged attacks, but, outnumbered, they could be surrounded here.

He eyed the Namikaze clone nearest the water. They'd been told that there were defenses planned for this exact scenario, but it hadn't really been elaborated on what those defenses were supposed to be.

"Kai."

Even from here, Chojuro could hear the poof, then the flash of light from the explosion. The blue light of the barrier was replaced by the orange-gold of fire that had somehow managed to set the sea alight.

After that, the sound of falling rain, howling wind, and crashing waves had been replaced by screams.

And so begins the Battle of Kinami-ko.

This one had to go through several rewrites because it didn't feel right to me. I'm much happier with how this version turned out, and I hope you guys enjoy it!

I'd love to hear what you guys think. How were the fight scenes? How's the buildup? The payoff?

I've already finished next chapter's first draft. I'll be prepping to start the chapter after that while I go through edits and corrections.

A belated Happy Lunar New Year!