The mysterious masked man had no idea that his most useful ally, Itachi Uchiha, was an actor through and through.
A veteran, at that.
Actually, "actor" wasn't quite right. At this moment, Itachi was the director. He had to ensure the battlefield remained balanced, preventing a one-sided fight. The last thing he wanted was to leave any loose ends when he finally revealed his true colors and made his move.
After the masked man disappeared to deal with Konan and Nagato, Itachi spoke calmly. "Kisame, cover me. You draw the Gakido's attention. I'll take care of the Jigokudo."
"Understood!"
The shark-faced man gripped Samehada, surveyed the Pains, and charged toward the Jigokudo. According to the masked man's intelligence, the Jigokudo could revive the other Pains, making it the highest priority target.
The Tendo Pain wasn't about to let that happen. The Jigokudo was the key to the Six Paths' sustained combat ability, and the other Pains quickly formed a defensive formation around it.
Kisame Hoshigaki flew through hand seals, spewing a massive torrent of water to break their ranks. "Water Style: Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
"Gakido!"
The Gakido Pain moved forward, catching the torrent with one hand and rapidly absorbing the chakra into its body.
However, that single opening was all Itachi needed. He saw the Jigokudo's location, and his eyes instantly morphed into the Mangekyo Sharingan. "Amaterasu!"
Black flames materialized out of thin air, landing directly on the Jigokudo's body. Such was the terrifying power of Amaterasu; as long as Itachi could see his target, the black flames would appear.
"Itachi's dōjutsu..." Tendo Pain watched coldly, a flash of regret in his heart.
In a display of power, he had chosen to have the Gakido absorb Kisame's ninjutsu, but in doing so, he had given Itachi the very opening he needed. Even if the Gakido could rush back, it was too late. The Jigokudo had already been incinerated.
In the opening exchange, their most important asset was gone.
"As expected of Mr. Itachi!" Kisame praised, seeing the Jigokudo fall. "To take care of one so easily. Who's next?"
"Universal Pull!"
Tendo Pain suddenly stretched his palm toward Kisame. The shark-faced man's body flew uncontrollably toward him. The Shurado Pain moved to intercept Kisame, a thick, sharp blade extending from its back. It was clearly aiming for a killing blow.
Itachi frowned, glancing at Kisame, who was now right next to the Shurado. To save him, he had to get past the Gakido, which was the biggest obstacle.
"Water Style: Water Fang Bullet!"
Itachi formed hand seals, and several rapid streams of water shot toward the Shurado, but they were all absorbed by the Gakido.
But the small amount of time he bought was enough.
Just as Itachi was about to strike the Shurado with Amaterasu, the Chikushodo Pain appeared beside it and shouted softly, "Summoning Jutsu!"
A giant panda materialized, blocking Itachi's line of sight.
Tendo Pain looked coldly at Itachi. "Do you think I'll fall for that again?"
"Amaterasu!"
Pitch-black flames suddenly erupted on Tendo Pain's own body. Itachi had targeted him directly, forcing him to release his Universal Pull on Kisame.
Faced with Amaterasu, Tendo Pain had several options. With a slight shift of his gaze, a Shinra Tensei blasted the black flames off his body.
"The Mangekyo Sharingan is truly troublesome..." Tendo Pain frowned. His main body, Nagato, was still dealing with the masked man alongside Konan and couldn't afford to waste too much chakra here. Even if he could, Itachi's silent, instant dōjutsu was a major problem.
"Kisame, the Gakido," Itachi instructed his now-safe companion. "Against that one, you can only use taijutsu. I'll support you."
"That would be best!" The shark-faced man gripped Samehada and lunged toward the Gakido.
As he attacked, a wall of Amaterasu flames erupted between the Pains, separating the Gakido from the others and blocking their line of sight. Countless missiles flew through the black flames toward Kisame, forcing him to dodge the continuous explosions. Each Pain shared its vision, so the Shurado, using the Gakido's sight, could attack him perfectly.
The Gakido Pain quickly thrust its hand into the Amaterasu, absorbing the flames to clear a path for the others.
Tendo Pain slowly floated into the air, hands outstretched. "If we weren't dealing with Madara Uchiha, you two would be nothing but clowns."
"..."
Kisame didn't respond, focusing only on closing the distance to the Gakido.
Itachi, however, looked up at Tendo Pain. He understood he was about to use a large-scale Shinra Tensei and began considering how to counter it. At the very least, he couldn't reveal his own Rinnegan yet. But the greater the power of Shinra Tensei, the more chakra it consumed...
Itachi's expression flickered. Wait, he thought. Shouldn't I be trying to prevent Nagato from wasting his chakra? If the Pains used too much power here, Nagato would be left defenseless against the masked man. He had miscalculated. He was supposed to be balancing the scales, not tipping them. Wasting Nagato's chakra on this fight was the last thing he should be doing.
Tendo Pain's palms suddenly pushed down. "Itachi Uchiha, Kisame Hoshigaki, feel the pain! Shinra Tensei!"
An overwhelming repulsive force surged toward the ground.
A skeletal frame suddenly grew around Itachi. He shouted to the distant Kisame, "Kisame, protect yourself!"
"Don't worry, Mr. Itachi!" A smile flashed across Kisame's face. He had his own way to defend against this. "Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu!"
Although the water prison wasn't incredibly strong, it could at least save his life and prevent serious injury.
After a brilliant flash of white light, the entire ground caved in under the immense force.
The skeletal ribs of Itachi's Susanoo shattered instantly. He was thrown backward, landing hard. A trickle of blood appeared at the corner of his mouth, and his breathing grew shallow. Kisame's Water Prison was also broken, but his injuries were clearly much lighter than Itachi's.
But when Kisame saw Itachi, his expression froze. "Mr. Itachi... how is this possible?"
Based on their calculations, even a full-power Shinra Tensei should have been stopped by Susanoo. It shouldn't have injured him this badly, right?
Kisame swung Samehada, slicing through the Pains blocking his path as he rushed back to Itachi's side. Even so, he didn't forget his duty. Taking advantage of Tendo Pain's cooldown, he swung his greatsword and shattered the Gakido.
Finally reaching Itachi, he looked at the four remaining Pains gathering toward them and asked in a deep voice, "Mr. Itachi, how are you feeling?"
"Cough, cough..." Itachi wiped the blood from his mouth and, with Kisame's help, managed to stand. "I'm fine..." he said weakly.
Kisame looked at his face, a hint of worry in his eyes. "Mr. Itachi, is your illness... getting worse again?"
"Yes..." Itachi nodded. He glanced at the surrounding Pains, then toward the distant battlefield where explosions were still echoing. "For now," he said in a low voice, "all we can do is hold them off and wait for word from Madara's side."
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Bonus:
Kisame: Mr. Itachi, how bad are your injuries?
Itachi: Not good. I've used Amaterasu too many times...
Kisame: Then what should we do?
Itachi: It's fine. Don't panic.
Kisame: Still not panicking?
Itachi: Don't worry, I'll go reason with Pain.
Kisame: ???
Itachi: Aba aba!
Pain: Aba aba!
Kisame: ...
Itachi: What's wrong?
Kisame: Mr. Itachi… are you an actor?
Itachi: No. I'm the director.