The Mist Shinobi at the coast
The Mist Shinobi had just landed, and their excitement was palpable—until a cold voice cut through the air.
"Years have passed, and although Mist has reformed, those old hierarchical airs haven't changed."
With that, Kisame and Itachi appeared, followed by Kimimaro, Shiro, and Jūgo, all wearing calm expressions. Suddenly, Kisame attacked:
"Water Style – Great Exploding Wave!"
A massive surge of water crashed into Mist's soldiers, sweeping them back out to sea.
Kimimaro and Jūgo exchanged looks and plunged into the fray. The five great nations had each deployed only a few thousand shinobi—too few when isolated like this. But because each deployed their troops separately, Toh did not need to intervene personally.
"Water Style – Five‑Shark Strike!"
Kisame placed his hands on the water, summoning five sharks that attacked Mist's soldiers just as they struggled to stand.
Ao felt the danger immediately, particularly Itachi at Kisame's side. Having seen Sharingan—and especially the power of the Mangekyō firsthand—Ao understood how serious things were. The Mist soldiers, sensing Itachi, began to turn on each other.
"S—this is genjutsu?" Ao frowned and shouted, "Retreat!" Mist's shinobi hastily boarded their ships.
But it wasn't so simple.
Kimimaro growled and leapt onto the ships with Jūgo. Bitter screams rose as their combined assault devastated the vessels. A single one of Jūgo's strikes opened a huge hole in a ship's hull, with terrifying destructive power.
Soon, the Rain's water-nin reinforcement arrived, chasing after Mist's fleeing forces.
On Turtle Island, the Cloud Shinobi
On Cloud Turtle Island, Kuzuto sneered at Sasuke: "Kid—I'm finding that having you with us might be unsafe."
To Kuzuto, Sasuke was still just a thirteen-year-old with Sharingan far weaker than Itachi's—and his close ties to Leaf shinobi made him a liability.
Sasuke merely smirked, patted the eagle on his back, and said coolly, "Better mind your affairs. The jinchūriki of the Leaf are extremely powerful." He stepped into the stone forest with his eagle.
The scenery on Turtle Island was beautiful, but the annoying wildlife had upset Kuzuto and Sasuke. Suddenly, the Eight-Tails jinchūriki, Killer B, arrived—accompanied by Naruto, Ku, and Yakumo. Naruto froze, then shouted excitedly: "Sasuke! You came to find us?"
Ku hissed: "Idiot—haven't you noticed? He's wearing an Akatsuki cloak! He and they came for the jinchūriki." Yakumo and Killer B understood but didn't spell it out.
Sasuke sighed softly: "Naruto, Touh says you're too impulsive—it's both a strength and a flaw. But…I think it's more of a flaw."
Naruto blazed: "Sa…Sasuke—what do you mean? What are you doing now? Do you want to go to war against the five nations?"
Naruto's voice trembled with Nine-Tails chakra.
Sasuke sneered: "The five nations have already launched an offensive against Flower and Rain shinobi, and you're still here. I guess Tsunade never told you."
Naruto froze—and even Ku and Yakumo went still. Killer B, unable to hide his frustration, pointed at Sasuke: "Well, if that's how you see it—I'll take you down, then go help! Yo!"
Kuzuto mocked: "Nice style—but that guy's got no talent for rap." He teleported behind B and punched, but Ku's speed to counterattack surprised him. Ku, empowered with wind chakra on his beast claws, slashed at Kuzuto, who caught Ku's wrist but was suddenly kicked by B into a distant tree, felling it.
"Now it's just you, Uchiha kid." B pointed at Sasuke. But Sasuke knew Kusuto's strength. He responded with a "Wind Style – 압해 (Pressurize Wind)" towards B. Naruto, sensing danger, appeared behind B: "Wind Style – Gale Palm!" The blast forced B to yield, and Kuzuto slowly emerged, shadowy threads forming around him.
"I must admit, the Eight-Tails jinchūriki is truly strong," Kuzuto sneered. "Without your arrival, handling both of you would have been difficult."
B, exasperated, yelled "Ray Thunder Blade!" and charged—but at that moment, dark threads erupted from Kuzuto's body, binding B instantly as he was hurled away.
Meanwhile, the masked ninjas emerged, whispering:
"Fire Style – Sekkokku"
"Wind Style – 압해 (Pressurize Wind)
Boom!
Killer B lay hurt, and Naruto and others ran toward him. Then they froze. Sasuke spoke calmly:
"Why join Akatsuki? Look at the five nations now. Each sent only a few thousand shinobi, and they can't even coordinate. Flower and Rain could break the alliance in time. The five nations were only ever held together by conflict. Even now, they're divided. Tell me—what's the point of these nations?!"
Sasuke stared at Naruto with cold detachment—but his eyes still held some warmth for his old comrade.
At that moment, B pulled himself up in his beast cloak, rubbing the back of his head. The Cloud shinobi who had gathered around even cracked smiles.
"Eight-Tails Head Smash!" he roared, accelerating.
Kuzuto, fast as he was, was too fast. B struck, slamming him away. Kuzuto survived, protected by the dark chakra threads across his body. Even the damage was distributed by those threads.