The technique Uchiha Itachi had unleashed was no ordinary Fire Release.
It was the ocular power born from awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan—
Amaterasu.
Wherever it landed, nothing survived.
All things were reduced to ash.
Even the one hailed as the most perfect jinchūriki could not withstand Uchiha Itachi's black flames.
Under the searing agony, the Eight-Tails, Gyūki, reflexively flung Kisame aside and tore himself free from the water prison of the Great Shark Bullet, plunging headlong into the lake beneath the Thundercloud Ravine. He sought to smother the flames in the depths of the water.
But even water could not extinguish Itachi's ocular fire.
Unless the target was utterly reduced to cinders, Amaterasu could not be snuffed out.
"You finally stepped in, Itachi-san."
Kisame descended from the sky and landed on the ground near Itachi. His appearance was a mess—his body battered, his gills bleeding. If Itachi hadn't acted at the last moment, that Tailed Beast Bomb would have decided the battle.
Yet Itachi did not press Amaterasu any further.
The jutsu carried tremendous power, but it also drained his chakra at an alarming rate. Worse, every use gnawed at his eyesight.
The Mangekyō's strength demanded a terrible price.
"Hm."
Itachi gave the faintest of nods, retracting the black flames.
As the Amaterasu faded, Gyūki's immense frame vanished. Floating on the surface of the lake was Kirabi's unconscious human body.
"Impressive as always, Itachi-san. To fell the most perfect jinchūriki in a single strike… remarkable," Kisame said with a grin. His body shifted back from his shark form, Samehada hefted over his shoulder as he looked down into the ravine from on high.
But Itachi's eyes narrowed.
Something about this was off.
The timing of his Amaterasu, the precision of his aim—both flawless. The Eight-Tails had no intel on his ocular powers either. And yet, to capture the jinchūriki this easily…
It felt wrong.
"In any case, before he wakes, let's finish the capture," Kisame suggested.
Without hesitation, he leapt down to the lake, chakra gathered beneath his feet so he could sprint across the water. He bent down beside the floating Kirabi, hefted him up with his sharklike grin, then began forming hand seals, preparing a Water Release technique to return to Itachi's side.
But in that instant—
A hand shot out from the lake, seizing his leg in an iron grip.
Before Kisame could react, Kirabi's body erupted from the water, spinning with crushing force as he slammed Kisame down into the lake's surface.
And in that brief clash earlier, Kirabi had noticed something important: the one who absorbed his chakra wasn't Kisame himself, but the blade in his hands—Samehada.
Now, taking his chance, Kirabi twisted his hips and drove a kick straight into the sword.
Boom!
Samehada went flying, tumbling end over end across the lake until it splashed down dozens of meters away.
"As long as you don't have that blade, you can't steal my chakra anymore."
With that, Kirabi clenched his fist, lightning crackling to life around him. He drove it hard into Kisame's abdomen.
The sequence was so fast that Kisame had no time to respond.
The Lightning Release chakra not only numbed his nervous system in an instant, but also ripped through his flesh with brutal force. Blood erupted from his mouth as he reeled.
Then—
From Kirabi's waist, a thick octopus tentacle sprouted, snaring Kisame tightly. With a violent pull, he lifted Kisame into the air like a helpless prey.
Kirabi stood on the lake's surface, eyes locked firmly on Uchiha Itachi atop the cliff.
"This… impossible…"
Kisame clenched his teeth against the pain surging through his body.
Amaterasu was a flame that devoured all.
He had seen with his own eyes Gyūki helpless against it, collapsing into the water, consumed.
So why now… why did Kirabi look utterly unharmed?
"That black flame sure was troublesome, I'll give you that," Kirabi said, his voice sing-song and mocking, "but for a jinchūriki like me? Nothing I can't handle. When little Hachi slammed into the lake, he shed one of his tentacles. Transferred the fire onto it, you see."
He smirked, bursting into one of his infamous raps even as he explained.
"It wasn't your attack that worked on me at all—
It was just little Hachi trickin' you, makin' you think I'd fall!
Fool, ya fool!"
Itachi's expression darkened. He leapt gracefully down, landing on the lake's surface to face Kirabi head-on.
Kisame now dangled helplessly, his arms bound tight by the octopus tentacle. Without Samehada, without his hands free for seals, he was trapped.
Itachi could see it clearly. Kisame's greatest flaw was how heavily he relied on hand seals for his jutsu.
"Your techniques are impressive. Strong, even," Kirabi continued, rapping under his breath, "but against me, they're useless. You two are destined to fall, fool, ya fool!"
Still, behind his bravado, Kirabi's gaze never left Itachi. His instincts screamed at him.
He didn't want to admit it—but the man before him was strong.
So strong that, in that moment when he feigned defeat with Amaterasu, Kirabi had almost considered fleeing.
But then he thought of Itachi's presence here, of the Akatsuki's hunt for jinchūriki.
And he knew running was no longer an option.
Because his elder brother, the Raikage A, was gone.
Though Iruka had stepped in as the new Raikage, his strength had yet to mature.
It was time.
Kirabi had to be the one to protect the Land of Lightning now.
In truth, ever since A's death, Kirabi could have left the Thundercloud Ravine.
But his guilt, his self-blame over his brother's fate, had kept him bound here.
"…Then let's continue," Itachi said at last, his gaze sharpening as he stared at Kirabi.
His genjutsu was useless against a jinchūriki.
Amaterasu strained his body too heavily to rely on.
He had hoped Kisame could stall Kirabi long enough.
But things hadn't gone according to plan.
"If I want to preserve my chakra, I'd rather not—but against your power, I'll have to go further."
He stepped forward on the lake's surface, body poised for battle.
Noticing the shift in Itachi's demeanor, Kirabi fell silent, his rapping cut short.
And just as the tension reached its breaking point—
Five dark figures leapt down from the cliffs of the Thundercloud Ravine, landing one by one on the lake's surface.
Kirabi, Itachi, and Kisame all turned toward the newcomers in unison.
"Reinforcements?" Kisame rasped, blood spilling from his lips. His throat worked as he tried to warn Itachi—leave me, retreat first.
But then his eyes widened.
The newcomers wore no forehead protectors of the Hidden Cloud.
Their hitai-ate matched Itachi's own.
They were shinobi of the Hidden Leaf.
Senju Haruto.
Hatake Kakashi.
Uchiha Izumi.
Haruno Sakura.
And—Uchiha Sasuke.
Itachi froze.
Of all the scenarios he had anticipated, he had never imagined this one.
Not only Sasuke, not only Haruto—
But even Izumi, here before him.