In the midst of the war, many of the Akatsuki members were causing mayhem.
Among them, Kisame stood out. He wielded Samehada purposefully, unlike anyone had ever seen. Even his growls were heard across the battlefield as he slashed through Arthur's forces.
The Light shinobi fought hard to defend their side, but they hadn't understood just how dangerous Kisame was. So more forces came. They decided to focus their efforts on him, thinking they could take him down.
"You're surrounded!" one of them shouted.
Kisame looked at them with a calm, almost amused expression. "Am I?" Without warning, he smacked his palms together and opened his mouth wide to unleash a devastating technique. "Water style: super exploding water shockwave!"
An immense amount of water quickly erupted from his mouth, swelling rapidly until it formed a massive tsunami. Then the water surged outward, threatening to engulf the entire group of shinobi.
Panic spread among the Light shinobi as they scrambled to block it with earth-style techniques. But the oncoming wave was simply too massive. Just as the tsunami reached its peak, and they saw the wall of water could wipe them out, a figure wearing a white cloak swooped in from the side.
"Ice style: dragon vs. tiger…"
A giant icicle tiger materialized, lunging directly at the tsunami. The tiger collided with the rushing water, and immediately, the water began to freeze. Speedily, the tsunami was halted, and the entire battlefield was transformed into a landscape of ice.
When the figure landed, he saw that the water solidified into a giant, frozen avalanche that stretched across the field. It was massive but harmless to those who touched it, as it was now just a mixture of snow and ice.
The shinobi on Arthur's side recovered from their shock. When they looked around and saw who had come to their rescue, they were amazed.
"It's lord John!" one of them exclaimed.
John's skills were far better than any of the clones when it came to ice techniques, so it was no surprise that he had stepped into this battle. And a quarter of the battlefield was transformed into an icy, snowy terrain—the perfect environment for him to work in.
Kisame landed onto this new terrain. He looked forward with a smirk forming on his face as he chuckled, "Oh ho. I was beginning to wonder if Arthur would let you out." Thanks to Zetsu's covert mission, all of the Akatsuki members knew of Arthur's top four forces. "To think he housed a former delegate of the Water Country."
Kisame knew exactly who he was fighting, but that hadn't deterred John whatsoever.
"Why don't you hand over Samehada instead?" he probed. "And maybe I'll let you go free."
"You want my sword that badly, huh?" Then, without hesitation, his feet moved across the snow. "Then come and take it!"
Both fighters charged at each other. Kisame swung his sword left and right, attacking aggressively. Yet John's eyes turned red, enhancing his perception to see Kisame's attacks coming before they happened.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, the wind sounded as the giant sword missed its target.
"So you've got some skill," he acknowledged, relishing the challenge.
He seemed to enjoy the fight. But John didn't respond with words. Instead, he backed away and placed his finger on the ground.
"Ice style: wolf fang avalanche…'
Instantly, ten ice wolves emerged from the ground before rushing toward Kisame. Kisame responded with a different technique of his own.
"Water style: ten hungry sharks!"
The snow and ice around him liquefied and transformed into sharks that lunged at John's ice wolves. Then, in a crystallized display, sharks and wolves collided in midair as each side pushed against the other, with neither gaining the upper hand.
"I can't look!" an Uchiha cried.
"You idiot! This is what happens in war."
John watched the clash with a calm expression. He was interested in seeing how Kisame used his water technique against ice. And from what he gathered, this Akatsuki member was no pushover.
When the techniques finally ended, both combatants paused. Kisame softly chuckled, accepting his opponent's icy nature.
On the dry side of the battlefield, the fighting was intense but different from the chaos near Kisame and John. Here, some of the Uchiha and Uzumaki members were engaged with the Rain shinobi. The landscape around them hadn't at all changed, yet these fighters were prepared for anything tough.
Mud and blood mingled beneath their feet, and the thunder of clashing steel echoed through the rain-soaked battlefield as Uchiha and Uzumaki fought side by side against their enemy.
"Keep moving!" shouted Shigeru Uzumaki. This was an impressive Uzumaki, whose forty years as a ninja trained him for this moment. His sword flashed as he deflected a barrage of kunai. "We can't let them flank us!"
Beside him, Kaiyo Uzumaki's black hair clung to her smiling face with excitement. She hurled fire-encased a shuriken, which embedded itself in a conjured up wall made of earth. "That's not fair! I ought to—"
"Stay close!" Shigeru cut her off. His voice was steady, unlike her cutesy nature. "We hold the line here. If we fall back, everyone's done for."
The Rain shinobi advanced with their various weapons. Their group leader, a tall non-Akatsuki member, had taken charge of this formation.
"Fools," he sneered. "You think your little tricks can stop us? The Akatsuki's power will drown your hopes."
Shigeru's eyes narrowed. "We fight for our clan, our village, our country, and for everyone who's counting on us. You won't drown that hope."
"You tell him, Shigeru!" yelled Kaiyo. With a sudden burst of wind, Shigeru released a wave of fire from his sword that scorched some of the advancing shinobi. "You're doing it all wrong, Shigeru!" Kaiyo quickly added a flame technique, amplifying the wind that forced the shinobi to stagger back.
Shigeru seized the moment. "Now's our chance—cover me!" He sprinted towards the enemy leader with his weapon. But the Rain leader quickly pulled out a sword of his own. "Too predictable," Shigeru muttered, sidestepping a deadly stab and striking back with a swift slash.
The rain mingled with sweat on his brow as the two continued to clash.
Meanwhile, Kaiyo kept the others at bay. Her fire-based ninjutsu helped knock the enemy back by quite a lot. "Now that's how ya do it!"
The enemy leader, sensing his advantage waning, growled. "You've got spirit, I'll admit." Then he summoned two water clones that lunged at Shigeru from behind. "But this is where it ends!"
Shigeru quickly spun around, unleashing a windy burst that evaporated the clones in a burst of water. "Not even close…" He then finally disarmed the enemy leader before pressing his blade close to his enemy's throat. "Surrender now…"
Yet the leader's eyes burned with defiance. "You think taking me down makes a difference?! Ha-ha-ha!"
Shigeru hesitated for a moment before lowering his sword. Then he understood what his defeated opponent meant: the enemy's numbers were gradually shifting in their favour as more Rain shinobi joined the fight.
'Chakra shockwave slash…'
From seemingly out of nowhere, just as the Rain shinobi was gaining ground, an invisible shockwave swept through the battlefield, knocking more than half of the Rain ninjas into the air!
Everyone looked in surprise. Because standing tall amidst the chaos was Arthur, wielding the Blade of Chaos. His expression was calm but overwhelmingly commanding, and his presence was a rallying point that quickly began boosting his force's morale.
"Now you're toast!" Kaiyo screamed, pumping her fist.
But Arthur's appearance also drew the attention of others watching from afar. Among them was none other than the Akatsuki's head, who had been waiting patiently for Arthur to reveal himself. And now that he has, it was time to attack.
"Almighty push…!"
An invisible, crushing force surged toward Arthur, aimed to crush or send him flying as it tore through the Light shinobi. But before it could reach Arthur, Shigeru was in front of his lord. He then quickly planted his feet and smacked his palm onto the ground.
"Barrier jutsu!"
Instantly, an orange barrier formed between them and the attack as it hit. And with a loud crack, his barrier was shattered, leaving both Arthur and Shigeru unharmed.
"I'll protect you, my lord," he firmly said, keeping his eyes in Pain's direction. The bond between them was clear—Shigeru was committed to safeguarding Arthur at all costs.
"Umm," Kaiyo softly wondered from behind him, "who are you talking to, Shigeru?"
Shigeru turned, and for a moment, he was stunned. Arthur had already vanished, turning the scene a tad comical. He had actually thought his moment to be recognized was meaningful.
"Don't worry, Shigeru! At least you defeated their other leader!"
The battlefield was, by all means, still filled with tension. And none saw its chaotic nature better than the figure observing from above: Konan. She was currently high in the sky with her paper wings spread wide, and she had been watching Arthur closely—seeing him try to move toward Pain's general direction.
Raising her hand, she performed the tiger hand seal and locked onto the seal she had placed on his chest. But after a moment, nothing happened, shocking her cold. A while ago, the Akatsuki had agreed that she could seal him temporarily for safety, but he had since broken that seal, making her efforts pointless now.
"Bastard," she muttered under her breath.
Suddenly, Arthur's movements stopped; he was never aiming for Pain in the first place. Instead, he made a massive leap into the air as his lower body dissolved into smoke, causing him to ascend quicker.
Konan soon understood he was coming toward her, but her eyes couldn't follow his speed. Before she could react, he swooped past her, cutting through one of her paper wings.
Konan was momentarily shocked. Her wing was severed clean, and she felt the sting of her loss. But she was far from defeated. Quickly, she turned around and raised her wings.
"Paper shower!"
From her wings, a barrage of paper projectiles shot out at Arthur. But before any of her paper could reach him, a new figure appeared directly in front of Arthur; he had one hand flat on the ground and the other facing his chest.
"Raigo: one thousand hand strike…"
Behind the newly arrived figure, an angelic spirit materialized before quickly unleashing a series of fists that destroyed Konan's paper projectiles. Konan was visibly stunned as her attack harmlessly scattered in the air.
"I don't believe we've met," Ryugetsu simply said as Arthur descended from the sky, having never once looked in Konan's direction.
She watched him go because she understood that this new arrival could be a serious threat.
"No, I don't believe we have," she responded, studying her opponent. "You're Ryugetsu, the head monk of his village."
"I do suppose you have Zetsu to thank for that information…"
Konan, ever focused, reformed her missing wing. Clearly she was not even close to surrendering. As such, she spread them forth and flew at a high rate of speed to re-engage with her new opponent.