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In a hidden cliffside outpost, Kakuzu's projection flickered slightly.
Pain was noticed immediately, and I asked, "How did it go?"
Kakuzu spoke calmly, "My clone was defeated. Hidan's been restrained. Still, we bought enough time. That puppet body should have exhausted all its chakra and life force by now."
His gaze shifted toward Kisame's projection.
"Kisame's fight should be wrapping up soon as well."
Pain nodded, unsurprised. The clones they used only held a fraction of their true strength. Given how quickly Neji Hyūga had grown, it was expected that these partial bodies would fall short.
All that mattered was delaying the enemy—and they had succeeded.
"Tell me everything you learned. Sasori and Deidara might run into trouble if they're not careful."
Sasori let out a displeased grunt. Sacrificing his carefully trained pawns annoyed him. Meanwhile, Deidara's eyes gleamed with anticipation his art was about explosive beauty, and this chaos suited him just fine.
Kakuzu calmly relayed all the information: the opponent's uncanny reflexes, the precise sensing abilities, the overwhelming lightning-based palm strikes… everything.
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Meanwhile, far away in another nation, Kisame opened his eyes.
He'd lost. Cleanly, even.
A rare species of taijutsu specialist from Konoha had burned his presence into Kisame's mind on par with Hyūga Neji. Another monster relying purely on physical prowess to overpower chakra techniques.
Lee, though not as strong, had been relentlessly pushing Kisame to divide his attention constantly. And the other boy? While not a brawler, he used exotic ninja tools that kept Kisame on edge.
Some of the weapons were bizarre projectiles that spat fire (from a combo of Fire Shell and Wind Shell), others that blasted water (from Cloud Shell plus Wind Shell), and even sharp-edged weapons that launched wind blades (from Slash Shells).
One odd spherical tool exploded on impact no doubt laced with explosive tags.
The barrage was maddening. Kisame eventually had to use water clones to suppress the two brats.
But that's when the real threat awakened.
The Rare Beast the same one Neji had once used the Eight Inner Gates technique unleashed the Sixth Gate.
Kisame just chuckled to himself. Yeah. That clone went out with a bang.
And he was fine with that. If a clone had to go, doing so against someone who opened the Sixth Gate was worth it.
Next to him, Itachi opened his eyes.
Kisame grinned. "Looks like you're done too."
Itachi gave a soft nod. "I ran out of chakra. But yes… they've been stalled."
Kisame sighed. "It ended too fast. I wasn't even warmed up."
"We only gave the clones about thirty percent of our chakra," Itachi replied. "This technique's great for replication, but its power is limited. Our jutsu, our combat strength it's all reduced."
Their conversation drifted off. The mission had succeeded. They had bought enough time.
It had been nearly three full days since Gaara was captured. By the time Konoha got word, hours had already passed. Kakashi's squad took almost two full days to track them. Guy's team took another full day to arrive here. Factoring in travel, Akatsuki's preparations were nearly complete.
Inside the cave, the last trace of Gaara's chakra drained into the Gedo Statue.
Pain murmured, "It's done."
Outside, at the massive boulder sealing the cave entrance, four figures arrived in a flash.
"This is it!"
Pakkun, perched on Lee's shoulder, sniffed the air. "Gaara's scent is strongest here just behind that rock."
Neji nodded. His Byakugan had already detected the massive chakra signature inside enough for three full-tailed beasts: the Seven-Tails, Six-Tails, and now the freshly extracted One-Tail.
Tenten glanced at Neji. "What do you see?"
Neji didn't speak immediately. A flicker of unease crossed his face something unusual for him.
Lee frowned. "Neji? What's behind the boulder?"
What was behind it?
The Gedo Statue. The husk of the Ten-Tails. Not something they were ready to comprehend.
"Something… hard to describe," Neji finally replied.
Everyone looked at him in shock. If Neji couldn't describe it, it had to be beyond reason.
Guy stepped forward, standing before the stone barrier. A sealing tag marked with the kanji for "Forbidden" was plastered to the rock.
He took a deep breath, clenched his fists, and dashed forward across the water's surface.
Boom!
His punch stopped inches from the stone. Instead of striking it, his chakra rippled outward like a shockwave.
"There's a barrier," Guy muttered. He could feel it from the resistance alone.
Inside the cave, Pain narrowed his eyes. "We've got movement outside."
Sasori chuckled. "Another jinchūriki coming to play?"
He glanced at Itachi's projection. The Nine-Tails was originally Itachi's target.
"Don't blame me if I take your prize," Sasori teased.
Itachi gave him a look, then returned his gaze forward. Jiraiya's time with Naruto had delayed the plan for over two years. Now that the Sannin had stepped away, Akatsuki could resume operations.
Whether Sasori succeeded in capturing the Nine-Tails… remained to be seen.
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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