[Land Of Wind]
Kakashi had been following Sasuke's tracks for days, tracing his movements from the Land of Fire all the way to the Land of Wind. At first, the trail had been clear—footprints, minor disturbances in the environment, and even small clues left behind by the people Sasuke had encountered. And even when there is was no clear trail, Pakuns nose was enough to track down the last loyal Uchiha of the leaf.
Well that claim might be not that on point now, though he hoped that wasn't the case.
As soon as the desert began though, the tracks vanished completely and even Pakun's nose was helpless in this situation. The endless sand swallowed all traces, leaving Kakashi with nothing but his instincts.
Still, he was certain of one thing. If Sasuke was in the Land of Wind, then there was only one place he could have gone—the Hidden Sand Village.
After all where else the boy could have gone right, until and unless both Shika and Sasuke got their hidden base here in the land of wind and they are going full on secret organization level shit, technically he shouldn't have anything to do here, nothing besides one Kazekage who also happens to be a Jinchuriki.
Kakashi could only pray that his and the Hokage's assumptions were just that, assumptions and nothing more. But he had to see it by his own eyes, he needed proof before he bring Sasuke back to the village.
Kakashi knew entering the village as himself would attract too much attention. He had no ill intentions, but if word got out that he was searching for Sasuke, it could cause unnecessary trouble. The last thing he needed was for Sasuke to find out and slip away before he could even reach him.
So, he disguised himself. Wearing his go-to getup with marking on his face, he entered the village unnoticed. It was strange since no one knew his real face to the point if he were to go out there with his face fully reveal, he already achieve a level of disguise. If this disguise work for strangers then it work even better for those who already know him.
The Hidden Sand was a harsh yet beautiful place. The wind carried fine grains of sand through the air, and the buildings were built to withstand the desert storms.
'Nothing like Konoha though.' Kakashi unconsciously started to compare the two villages and muttered to himself, once has to say that a person is always biased towards their homeland.
Merchants called out to travelers, children ran through the alleys, and shinobi stood guard at key locations.
He observed carefully, listening for any mention of Sasuke or anyone who resembled him. He visited taverns, eavesdropping on conversations, and walked through the training grounds, watching for any sign of a lone Uchiha.
Unfortunately there was none, this didn't make him dejected though, in fact there was no reaction out of him, if he could infiltrate the village then Sasuke too can, hell there are many Ninja or civillians alike who infiltrate the other villages on regular basis.
The hidden villages too don't do anything since finding all the spies is not possible, rather than stopping the spies, villages have to learn how to guard their secrets just better.
Hours passed, but there was no sign of Sasuke. Kakashi had expected this somewhat, this rules out the fact that Sasuke and the sand village were in any alliance of sort, though the possibility of something like that was almost nill.
So the only possibility remains is that either Sasuke didn't come here at all and Kakashi was just wasting his time or he was hiding. Both possibilities are not looking very good for Kakashi. Especially the last, becuase if that was the case then Sasuke really was here for something illegal.
Then, Kakashi caught a break.
Near one of the back alleys, he overheard a few local shinobi whispering about a mysterious outsider gathering information. They didn't know his name, how he look or anything but just the fact that this person was from outside make Kakashi show interested.
"See underneath of the underneath..." Kakashi told to himself and march forward, ready to gather some info and continue his mission.
---
[Land Of Earth]
In the Land of Earth, Itachi and Kisame stood hidden in the shadows. Unlike other villages, the Hidden Rock had direct contact with the Akatsuki, making this mission far more dangerous if they were to got spotted but this also make it that much easier since inner manipulation was that much easier. If they were caught, it could spark a full-scale war. Not to mention the fingers will be pointed at them instantly since Rock knows them well.
They can't have that, not when they haven't captured even a single Biju till now.
That's why they had planned carefully.
For years, the Akatsuki had placed a spy within the Hidden Rock, someone who had slowly worked their way into a position of influence. Rock wasn't the only place they had spy but because of their contact with Hidden Rock, putting one in a important position wasn't that hard. Through this spy, they had manipulated missions and assignments, ensuring that Roshi would leave the village without knowing he was walking into a trap.
As for why they were targeting the Hidden Rock right now when three other Biju before four tails were left to capture. Well it's was just a convenience thing.
Both Itachi and Kisame were closer to the land of earth, going to the land of wind for One Tail and then coming back for both four and five tails would be extra labour on their part.
As for two tails and three tails. Zetsu and that new guy Tobi were already on move to get the former while there was no whereabouts of the latter.
Now, the moment had come.
Roshi, along with a squad of four Hidden Rock shinobi, was making his way through a canyon outside the village. They were heading toward what they believed was a mission involving rogue shinobi.
But instead, it was an ambush.
As soon as the group reached the narrowest part of the canyon, Kisame made his move.
"Water Style: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
A massive flood of water erupted from Kisame's mouth, crashing down on the Hidden Rock shinobi like a tidal wave. The sudden surge of water caught them off guard, sweeping them off their feet.
Roshi reacted instantly, leaping into the air and landing on a rock to avoid being pulled in. His eyes narrowed as he recognized Kisame and Itachi standing on the water's surface.
"Akatsuki," Roshi growled, fire beginning to form around his fists.
While they wanted to hide their identity, they too knew it was an lost cause seeing how distinct both their attacks are.
One look at Kisame's sword and he'll be busted so they didn't bother about stealth, they were betting at just solve the problem from the root cause, in this case, not letting anyone go back alive.
The remaining Hidden Rock shinobi quickly recovered and moved into formation. "Protect Lord Roshi!" one of them shouted.
"Itachi, I'll handle the Jinchuriki." Kisame said with a grin, his massive Samehada sword shifting in his hands.
Itachi nodded and vanished in a blur. Kisame was suited to handle both four tails and five tails becuase of his water nature. Both Biju have fire and heat affinity which make them a target for Kisame's water affinity.
Itachi didn't care who fight them, just make sure to capture them.
Kisame charged forward, swinging Samehada with incredible strength. The Hidden Rock shinobi tried to counter, but they were completely outmatched. Kisame cut through them effortlessly, absorbing their chakra and striking them down one by one.
Meanwhile, Roshi wasted no time.
"Lava Style: Lava Globs!"
He spit out burning orbs of molten lava, forcing Itachi to dodge. The heat was intense, melting the rocks beneath. But Itachi remained calm, activating his Sharingan and weaving hand signs.
"Tsukuyomi." However, just because Kisame suit for this battle doesn't mean that Itachi can't do anything. Never underestimate an Uchiha, it will be the last thing you'll do.
For a moment, Roshi's vision blurred. Suddenly, he found himself trapped in a world where everything was burning, his body being consumed by endless flames.
'Good to know that not everyone can just break out of this...' Itachi didn't had any facial expression on his face but internally he was glad. The experience from the last time when he use his Tsukiyomi on Shika wasn't pretty.
Roshi screamed, struggling against the illusion, but the pain felt real. He gritted his teeth, forcing his chakra to surge. A red aura flared around him as the Four-Tails' power broke him free from the Genjutsu.
More like Itachi let go, though he can keep Roshi inside but he didn't wanted to, it's taxes too much on him. He already had blury vision, he didn't wanted to make it worst. There was much which he had yet to do for him to lose his sight now.
Before Roshi could attack, Kisame reappeared, dripping with water and grinning. "All done here. Ready to take him down?"
Roshi roared as lava began covering his body. The Four-Tails' chakra was flowing freely now, making him stronger and faster. "I won't go down that easily!"
Kisame cracked his knuckles. "Good. I was hoping for a real fight."
---
And while this was happening, back in the Hidden Rock village, both Suigetsu and Haku were getting anxious. They were tasked to keep an eye on the Tsuchikage and both the Jinchuriki, however, they weren't able to do any of this much by now.
And recently they heard that one of the Jinchuriki has gone out.
"At least one of us should have followed them." Haku said.
"And get found out, don't be an idiot. Doing that will only land us to Hidden Rock interrogation department.
Just wait, focus on the target which inside the village. We should only follow when both are out at the same time." Suigetsu spat while eating a local delicacy from the rock...
xxx
[Word Count: 1700]
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