I swung the Proof of Courage downwards, splitting another blast of Chakra in two.
Both halves continued to my sides, both slamming into the earth and detonating, bursts of heat and light and force obliterating anything unfortunate enough to be hit.
I retaliated by pointing my Keyblade downwards, unleashing a veritable storm of orbs of Darkness. Thousands rained down, all of them converging upon the Juubi.
Water exploded into existence, slamming into and around the Juubi, its habit of splitting apart not helping it this time. Electricity crackled along the water, electrocuting it, causing it to scream in pain. Ice appeared as the water snap-froze, trapping the many pieces in place temporarily. Fire burned, utterly ignoring the chilling ice, directing all of its heat onto the Juubi.
Assaulted with electricity, fire, and ice all at the same time, the Juubi released another inhuman roar.
Chakra bubbled in its being, lingering just under its skin, before exploding outwards in a wave of force, shattering the ice and sending chunks flying in every direction. The ground cratered underneath the Juubi, before heating to a dangerous red glow.
The ground around it caught on fire, blazing from the sudden heat. Bubbling red lava-
I looked at it closely.
That isn't lava.
For a moment, the bubbling ceased.
Then, a torrent of hellish-red Chakra surged upwards with a roaring shriek, gathering in the air.
What the fuck?
I blinked.
That's...
Shukaku's Chakra.
My view flickered as I looked at the ground.
It...
There was a... 'string' connecting this dimension to the Elemental Nations, serving as a conduit for Shukaku's Chakra.
And Shukaku's Heart and Soul, I noted.
The last of the Chakra came through with Shukaku's Heart and Soul, and the 'string' snapped, vanishing into non-existence.
The mass of Chakra began to take form, falling to the ground as it took on a solid shape-
Right before the Juubi leapt at it, spitting glowing purple chains out of its mouth.
It was going to absorb Shukaku.
No!
I vanished, reappearing in front of Shukaku, a hammering pulse of gravity batting the chains aside-
Only for them to curl around, dragon-shaped heads opening with a cacophonous scream. The chains touched Shukaku's Chakra, and began absorbing it at a very alarming rate, disrupting Shukaku's reformation.
Shit!
I hammered the chains away again, separating them from Shukaku's Chakra- but it accomplished nothing except to delay a precious few seconds, as the chains made their way back.
Shit shit shit!
I hammered the chains with a third pulse of gravity, but this one only stopped them in place for a few moments, before they swung forwards again.
Can't let it absorb Shukaku...
Fuck!
No choice-
I hurled my Keyblade forwards, channelling another pulse of gravity at the chains, halting their progress for just one more precious moment.
It was enough.
The Keyblade went into the remainder of Shukaku's Chakra, and vanished.
It took Shukaku's Heart, Soul, and Chakra with it, carrying all three into hammerspace, safe from the chains for the moment.
"What the fuck just happened?!" Shukaku's voice shouted, sounding horribly confused. "Where am I? The fuck is this? AND WHERE IS THAT FUCKING UCHIHA!?" He roared.
I looked at his Heart and Soul, making sure my act hadn't hurt him.
He didn't seem to be, and there was no Darkness flowing into him, so...
"Shukaku?" I tried.
"You? What- IS THAT THE JUUBI?!"
It was around about that moment that a Bijuudama slammed into my body.
"So I have good news and bad news." Jiraiya began. "Good news is that two of the Akatsuki, apparently Sasori and Deidara, have been tentatively located. Bad news is that they were found near the border of the Land of Lightning and the Land of Fire."
To linger around on the borders between countries was a dangerous proposition for most ninja, especially for the average missing-nin.
Every country monitored the borders, and though sheer size and a lack of manpower made it impossible to monitor everything, a significant amount was still monitored to make sure that no enterprising ninja decided to trespass where they weren't meant to.
Still, traversing the borders was not without benefits.
The borders were quite far away from any ninja village, and that distance provided a protection all of its own. Far away from reinforcement, most ninjas would be hesitant to engage, something which was made all the more pronounced with the fact that those who monitored the borders were usually teams of Chunins.
Furthermore; Because not all of the borders were simultaneously monitored, it was still quite possible to move past undetected.
Together, both afforded a considerably degree of freedom of movement.
For S-Class missing-nin like the Akatsuki, that was all they needed.
However-
"Why are they still there?" Hiruzen asked.
Missing-nin did not often linger in one place for long. Lingering attracted attention, and attention was the bane of any ninja.
"Not sure." Jiraiya shrugged. "However, rumour is that the Nibi Jinchuuriki was supposedly in the area not too long ago."
Tracking the Nibi Jinchuuriki.
And like that, the situation had become dangerous.
Allowing the Akatsuki any of the Bijuu was simply not an option. At the same time, this was an opportunity to strike at Akatsuki's members, decreasing their manpower and wiping out S-Class threats at the same time.
However, that would meant sending his Shinobi to the border.
Kumo and Konoha did not have a good relationship.
If Hiruzen sent his ninja after the Akatsuki, there was a not insignificant chance that Kumo would find out. If the ninja he sent actually caught up to them and engaged them in a fight, it would attract attention.
It could prove quite dangerous. If the Akatsuki were defeated, any patrols might decide to attack. The Akatsuki might manage to kill somebody, or perhaps they might escape and the entire endeavour would be for nothing. There were many things that could happen, but-
This was a golden opportunity to kill two of the Akatsuki.
"Neko." The ANBU immediately appeared. "Call Teams Kurenai and Gai."
He made his decision.