Pushing Through the Limit Chapter 62: True Colours

Appearing as a blur to all but the fastest Shinobi, Itachi and Kisame sailed through the air. Catching sight of a small trail of smoke, they silently landed on a tree branch, coming to a stop. They’d just found their target.

Rōshi, the Yonbi Jinchuriki sat outside of a small log cabin with a cobblestone chimney that gave off small puffs of smoke. He held a Kunai in his hand, although, instead of using it as a weapon, he was currently using it to slowly whittle away at a small piece of wood he held in his other hand.

With how tight the security had become in Iwa, they wouldn’t get another chance at this. If they were going to capture the Yonbi Jinchuriki, they needed to do it both quickly and efficiently. An ambush would be perfect for that, but sadly it just wasn’t possible. He’d already noticed them.

“Are you two planning on staying up there all day?” Rōshi grunted, not even bothering to look up from his work. “If you don’t come down, I’ll lose my patience and none of us want that.”

Glancing at Kisame, Itachi turned his attention back to Rōshi and began to weigh his options. The area was far too open and the breeze too hard… If they used Sasori’s poison, it’d likely be blown away before it could affect Rōshi.

It was far more useful for ambushing Jinchuriki when they’d let their guard down, but out here, in the open?

No.

Jumping down onto the path in front of Rōshi’s home, barely a moment passed before Kisame landed beside him.

“Well, well, well. What do we have here? The monster of Kiri, Hoshigaki Kisame and the clan killer Uchiha Itachi,” Rōshi noted. “Tell me, why has the Akatsuki decided to visit me?”

“We’ve come to retrieve you,” Itachi answered calmly. “Please make this easier and...”

“Not happening,” Rōshi spat, carving into the wood harshly.

Lifting his massive sword over his shoulder, Kisame pointed it at Rōshi, hovering the sentient weapon in front of the Jinchuriki’s face. “Don’t you think you’re being a little disrespectful?” He asked. “We’re your guests here and you haven’t even bothered to look at us.”

Letting out a short, derisive laugh, Rōshi continued to whittle the block of wood. “I’ve been around for long enough to know that looking at an Uchiha is a bad idea. Nice try, brat.”

For a moment, all that could be heard was Rōshi carving away at the piece of wood, before he suddenly moved.

Bursting forward in a blur of motion, the aging Jinchuriki grabbed onto Samehada, not caring that it sliced his hand open. Aiming to cut Kisame’s throat, he rapidly brought his Kunai down.

Catching said hand, Kisame’s face twisted into a grin that was quickly washed away when Rōshi spat a torrent of lava.

Jumping back, he cut through the attack. Absorbing the Chakra, Samehada squirmed uncomfortably. The bandages that were wrapped around the sentient blade burned away.

“He’s really spry for someone his age,” Kisame said, treating the Jinchuriki with more caution. “Samehada doesn’t like his Chakra… It might actually be a little fun to toy with him.”

Unfortunately, they wouldn’t have the time to indulge Kisame’s wishes. The longer they took, the greater the risk of Iwa discovering their presence.

Stepping in front of Kisame, Itachi saw that Rōshi was purposely avoiding looking at his face. No matter. Raising his hand slowly, he pointed a single finger to the Yonbi Jinchuriki, ensnaring him in a Genjutsu, only for it to be shattered a moment later.

“It seems that Genjutsu of that level will not be useful here,” Itachi idly commented.

Cycling through several seals, Rōshi took a deep breath while clapping his hands together, for a brief moment, the temperature of the entire woods surrounding his home spiked.

Leaning forward, Rōshi exhaled a wall of fire and molten stone that quickly spread across the clearing, incinerating everything it came into contact with, withering the nearby trees while also setting anything that was remotely dry on fire.

Countering the attack with his own, Kisame unleashed a massive wave of water that collided with the approaching lava, letting out a hiss of steam. Forcefully pushing the hot rocks back, Kisame released his technique, allowing the water to drain into the surrounding forest.

“He’s certainly more than I expected,” Kisame gave a shark-like grin. “I almost want to see how long it will take for him to run out of Chakra.”

“We’re on a schedule,” Itachi reminded him.

“I remember,” Kisame said. “It is unfortunate… I really would have enjoyed taking my time with him.”

Watching the duo with narrowed eyes, a bubbling cloak of caustic Chakra began to engulf Rōshi’s body. Not stopping there, he continued to build up more Chakra. The temperature spiked once more, only this time, it continued to increase.

Within a few moments, the caustic Chakra cloak took on a new element, transforming into one made entirely out of lava.

Taking a step towards the Akatsuki duo, nearby puddles of water hissed and bubbled as they began to boil due to being in close proximity to him. Rearing back, he expelled a large amount of lava from his mouth that quickly solidified into several large boulders that rushed towards the duo.

Attempting to cancel it out with his water like he had earlier, Kisame’s technique had little effect as the boulders continued to rush towards them with the same intense heat.

Being forced to dodge, the duo separated.

Weaving his way through the molten boulders, Itachi caught a flicker of movement and dropped to the floor as Rōshi’s fiery form sailed through the spot he’d occupied only a moment before.

Grabbing a handful of Shuriken, Itachi flung them at Rōshi, only to watch as they harmlessly bounced off his Chakra armor. The ones that did manage to pierce it quickly melted.

With the intense heat his Chakra mode was giving off, Taijutsu was not a viable option. Unfortunately the only Ninjutsu that Itachi possessed that would be able to bypass his armor would likely end up killing the Jinchuriki if he wasn’t careful.

Turning around to face Itachi, Rōshi’s lava coated form intensified as another two tails sprouted from his lower back. Crouching down on all fours, Rōshi pulled back, before launching himself towards Itachi at an accelerated speed. Melting the ground under him.

Not one to stand and take an attack, Itachi’s form blurred, dodging the Jinchuriki’s incoming attack. Racing through the forest, he was forced to roll out of the way as one of Rōshi’s tails shot forward, aiming to impale him. Standing once more, Itachi patted out the flames on his scorched sleeve.

“It seems you understand now,” Rōshi said, his voice distorted by his armor. “My attacks don’t need to land in order for them to hurt you!”

“Then I will just have to make sure you aren’t close enough to burn me,” Itachi replied calmly.

“Cocky brat. I’ve faced far greater Shinobi than you and none of them were capable of beating me. You won’t be the one to take me down.”

“Perhaps.”

Before Rōshi had the chance to react, a transparent shark made from condensed water collided with his form, sending him reeling to the side as its mouth clamped down on his shoulder.

Ripping the shark off his shoulder, Rōshi tore it in half and turned back towards Itachi, only to be hit by a focused stream of water, forcing him back. The water did little to cool his armor as a layer of steam was trapped between him and the stream.

Forcing his way forward, through the technique, Rōshi was knocked off guard once more when several more sharks collided with his form. Tearing through them, several more formed and latched on to his body.

Struggling to fight off the never ending wave of sharks, a fourth tail formed, releasing a massive amount of pressure that blew the water back. Rōshi’s Lava Chakra cloak crumbled away, revealing the dark red version 2 cloak beneath.

Building up a massive amount of Chakra, he brought his palms down into the earth. For a single instant, it seemed as if nothing had happened, only for the ground to violently erupt underneath him, forming a volcano that almost looked like a blooming flower. Sending molten rock flying in all directions.

Spotting the retreating duo below, Rōshi launched himself towards them, shattering the top of the volcano, allowing more lava to flow in his direction. Aiming to take out Itachi first, he pulled his fist back, ready to kill the Uchiha in one blow, only to be caught by a skeletal hand attached to a glowing red ribcage.

Before he had any time to react, he was harshly smashed into the ground with enough force to cause the surrounding forest to shudder. Attempting to force his way out of the skeletal hand’s grip, it suddenly released him.

Deciding to gain some distance, Rōshi launched himself past the duo, only to be smashed back down into the ground by Kisame’s sword.

“And after all that talk… You really didn’t amount to much, did you?” Kisame muttered, stomping on Rōshi’s back. “I was hoping for something a little more than this… I suppose that it’s my own fault for getting my hopes up.”

“We’ve got what we came for,” Itachi announced. “The longer you decide to take, the more at risk we are of being discovered by Iwa. Their Sensors have likely already picked up on the spike in Biju Chakra.”

Hearing Rōshi laugh, Kisame kicked him onto his back, digging Samehada into his ribs. “Care to tell us what’s so funny?”

Wincing at his harsh treatment, Rōshi simply pointed towards the fast approaching wave of lava that oozed from the newly made volcano. “That!”

Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, Rōshi activated his Lava Chakra mode, causing Samehada to squirm uncomfortably and threw himself forward, diving head first into the wall of molten stone.

“Slippery little bastard,” Kisame muttered as he fought to keep a hold of Samehada which was trying to break free from his grasp in order to escape the heat.

Preparing to move before the lava reached them, something unexpected happened. The lava slowed to a stop, before flowing backwards.

“This…” Itachi began, only for the lava to suddenly erupt high into the air.

Ripping itself free from the liquid rock, the Yonbi’s full form towered over the duo. Lava dripping down its hulking frame.

Reacting to the Biju’s sudden appearance, Kisame suddenly released a monstrous amount of Chakra, creating a massive sphere of water that engulfed everything in the vicinity. The forest, the volcano and the Yonbi.

Swimming towards the Biju, Kisame’s form gradually began to change, taking on the appearance of a human shark hybrid.

Slipping through the Yonbi’s clumsy attempts at defending itself while underwater, Kisame landed a glancing blow against its eye, causing the Biju to let out a roar of pain as it nursed its wound.

The Yonbi thrashed around violently as it attempted to grab Kisame’s agile form, the massive water prison bulged as it fought to retain its shape, preventing its prisoner from breaking free. Smashing his fist into his chest, he let out a massive roar that threatened to pop the water prison.

Throwing itself towards Kisame, the Biju reached forward, attempting to grab him, waiting for the Akatsuki member to dodge… And sure enough, he did.

Faster than Kisame was capable of moving, the Yonbi’s tail smashed into him before wrapping around his form, leaving no room for escape.

Lifting the Akatsuki member towards his face, the Yonbi glared down at the human shark hybrid, before his tail suddenly tightened, crushing him as if he were a mosquito.

With Kisame dead, the massive water prison collapsed under its own weight, flooding the rest of the valley as it drained away.

With one dead, there was only a single opponent left. Turning towards the half drowned Uchiha who was in the process of catching his breath, the Yonbi released a titanic amount of Chakra. The ground cracked under him as a large black ball bega…

Rōshi’s eyes snapped open as he felt something digging harshly into his stomach. Grabbing a hold of whatever it was, he struggled against it, uncaring of how it tore his palms open. His strength drained away, leaving him lying limply on the floor.

Looking up, he found both Akatsuki members standing over him, as if… Rōshi’s eyes widened in realization. The Uchiha! Genjutsu… But… Right. He looked directly at the Uchiha before he attempted to make his escape. Letting out a groan at making such a rookie mistake, Rōshi’s world soon turned black.

…PTL…

Thunder boomed overhead as the weather rapidly changed thanks to the massive amount of heat let off by Rōshi’s techniques. Standing a short distance away from a slowly cooling river of lava, he finally had time to catch his breath.

Using the Susanoo, even its most basic form, was massively exhausting. Unlike his other Mangekyou techniques, it didn’t just damage his eyes, it also stressed his body. Added with his illness, it ended up making things worse. He was going to need to rest after this mission.

“If you keep that up, he’ll die before we’re able to extract the Biju,” Itachi commented, wiping the blood from under his eyes.

“Heh, I was just about done anyway,” Kisame replied, digging his blade into Rōshi’s gut one last time, before removing it. “In the end, he wasn’t that big of a threat,” He muttered, nudging the unconscious Jinchuriki with his foot. “Although he did manage to land a hit on you.”

Feeling the dull throb in his burnt arm, Itachi was inclined to agree. If Rōshi had decided to keep his Lava Chakra instead of going full in with his Biju’s Chakra, he would have been much more of a threat.

The brute force of his four tailed state was powerful, there was no doubt about that, but it didn’t pair well against Kisame… Not like his Lava armor had.

A slow clap sounded through the burning forest as Madara made his appearance, slowly walking towards the duo. “Well done on your capture of the Yonbi Jinchuriki. The battle was hard fought… Unfortunately, it’s far from over.”

Feeling Samehada pressed into his shoulder, Itachi took a slow breath. “So, it’s come to this?”

“I did warn you once before, Itachi,” Kisame grinned. “The young shark cannibalizes its siblings in its mother’s womb in a fratricidal fight for survival. Once we were allies and now we’re enemies… With me being your final opponent.”

“Those who raise a hand against their allies rarely die a decent death,” Itachi hummed, repeating what he had said to Kisame on the day he met him.

“Except, you were never our ally, were you, Itachi,” Madara said, stepping towards him. “After all, allies don’t sabotage each other, leaking information to Jiraiya of the Sannin… Did you think that I wouldn’t discover what you had done?”

Taking stock of his surroundings, the situation was looking pretty bleak. They’d planned this out. If it had been any other circumstance, Kisame would have fought the Jinchuriki on his own, but had opted for Itachi’s help today… In order to tire him out.

He was wounded, tired and had used the Susanoo while Kisame had just finished absorbing Chakra from Rōshi and Madara hadn’t expended himself whatsoever.

“Still trying to find a way out of this, Itachi?” Madara commented, stopping in front of the winded Uchiha. “It’s hopeless. While you are a threat, you’re not quite insurmountable. You’ve reached your limits. Anything you do now will only prolong your life for an insignificant amount of time.”

“It may be insignificant, but it is well worth it.”

Activating his Mangekyou Sharingan, Itachi stared directly into Madara’s own, amused eye. The world distorted around them, being replaced with a darker one that was dyed red by the full moon shining brightly above.

“The Tsukuyomi,” Madara hummed, taking in his surroundings. “I think you’ll find that this place won’t be that helpful against those that possess a Mangekyou Sharingan. Take it as a final lesson before you depart this world.”

He had suspected as much, but that didn’t matter anymore. Madara had foolishly allowed himself to be caught. Itachi wasn’t going to let this chance go to waste.

“Still, it is an impressive illusion,” Madara continued. “It is truly a pity that things have to end this way. If you had just worked with me from the start, we could have changed the world for the better.”

“Our original deal stated that, so long as I helped the Akatsuki with their goals, Konoha would be kept out of it,” Itachi said calmly. “You were the one that failed to uphold your end of the deal when you attempted to start a war between Konoha and Kumo.”

“Even then, huh,” Madara muttered. “Tell me, Itachi. Just how far back does your treachery go?”

“Sasori was fairly confident in his ability to take down a small nation and he did like to collect bodies for his human collection.” The scenery around them changed. A second Itachi appeared, only this one was talking with Sasori. “Depending on who went with him, those bodies might have been unsalvageable.”

Madara clenched his fist closed, growing visibly angry. “You…”

“Me.” Itachi smiled as the scenery shifted once more. “I put the idea in his head to attack the Land of Iron alone… Pain was the one that insisted he had to take Deidara. Hidan and Kakuzu were even easier… They like to work alone and Hidan would complain if others got in the way of his sacrifice. I barely had to do anything there.”

“Do you realize what you’ve cost us?” Madara spat with no small amount of hatred. “We could have collected all of the Biju by now… This world would have been a paradise by now! You would have had the chance of leaving your past behind you.”

“Nothing could ever wash my past away and nothing ever should,” Itachi replied. “The things that I’ve done… The lives that I’ve taken… I will carry them with me and make sure it wasn’t all for nothing. Although I may no longer be a Konoha Shinobi, that doesn’t mean I ever stopped acting like one.”

“Spare me the speech,” Madara muttered angrily. Taking a moment to calm himself, he continued. “Everything… I will make sure that everything you’ve worked towards is undone. Your eyes will go a long way to helping me accomplish my goals.”

So that’s what he was after, his Mangekyou. Unfortunately for him, Madara would not be getting his eyes today or any day for that matter.

It was about time they finished this. This little meeting of theirs had served its point and Madara had played his part just as Itachi had predicted he would.

“As much as I dislike you, I am still grateful, Madara,” Itachi said stoically. “If it wasn’t for your hubris, I would have had a much harder time.”

“You won’t get another chance to…”

“I’m referring to this moment,” Itachi interrupted. “You were right to say that I wouldn’t be able to beat you and Kisame at the same time… That’s why I was grateful that you let me drag you into my Tsukuyomi.”

“What are you planning?” Madara muttered cautiously.

Itachi simply smiled. “The better question is… What have I already done? In here, I control both time and space. I’m able to stretch a single moment outside into three days here. What you don’t realize is that I can do the opposite as well. A second in here could equal three days outside. Tell me, Madara… How much time have you spent here talking to me?”

Watching as Madara’s temper reached new peaks, Itachi chuckled. His body dissolved into a murder of crows as the world shattered around them.

…PTL…

Breaking free from Itachi’s Tsukuyomi, Obito found himself crouched down with his back pressed against a boulder. Attempting to move, he found himself immobilized. Forcing his body to comply, he turned to the side, only to rear back immediately, avoiding contact with the large wall of black flame that burned nearby.

“You’re back! Thank goodness you’re back!” Tobi cried out.

“What happened?”

“Itachi happened,” Tobi replied. “One moment the two of you are talking and the next he attacks, setting Kisame’s sword on fire with those black flames of his, it was really scary!”

Feeling his rage grow, Obito gritted his teeth. He was already angry enough at being caught off guard by Itachi… He didn’t want to have to deal with Tobi’s bumbling too. “And then what?”

“I don’t know,” Tobi said sheepishly. “You weren’t responding and I couldn’t wake you up, so I ran. I think Itachi tried to kill us, but Kisame got in the way and fought him… That was about fifteen minutes ago, so they might still be busy.”

Then he might still have a chance to kill him. Activating his Kamui, he stepped through the black flames. “Show me where you last saw him.”

“Okay… Just don’t disappear like that again.”

Making his way back to their original spot, Obito came across a devastated landscape that was filled with pools of water, black flames and a few hints of rapidly cooling lava. At the center of it all was Kisame, his body, his body severely burned, yet rapidly healing.

“Kisame,” Obito called out. “Where’s Itachi?”

“Gone,” Kisame replied. “What happened to you?”

“Genjutsu,” Obito all but growled. “He managed to catch me off guard with something I didn’t expect.” Not wanting to admit how it had been his fault that he had been caught to begin with.

“It must have been quite something if it was able to work on you,” Kisame whistled. “Unfortunately, that’s not where the bad news ends. After managing to do this to me,” He gestured to his still burnt body. “He took the Jinchuriki and fled. I would have gone after them, but I didn’t see which direction they went.”

“The Yonbi Jinchuriki, Rōshi?”

“That’s the one.”

Taking several deep breaths to calm himself, Obito brought his fist down, shattering the newly formed volcanic rock he’d been standing on. Feeling a stinging sensation in his regular eye, he undid his mask and reached up to remove the worthless thing, only to pause when he caught sight of his reflection in a puddle below.

His Mangekyou was spinning madly with his anger while his regenerated eye had taken on a blood red sheen. Leaning down, he inspected it closer, only to confirm that it indeed was a regular, fully matured Sharingan.

…PTL…

The battlefield was a chaotic mess, filled with loud battle cries and death. Throughout it all stood Kitsuchi, providing support as he watched the battle rage below. Kiri had decided to invade Iwa and they’d brought a few friends in the form of a few minor villages.

It was a declaration of war and yet… Kitsuchi just couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to it than that. Kiri had somehow managed to sneak their combined forces of several thousand troops this close to Iwa without detection.

More than that, he hadn’t seen a single Jutsu used on the enemy’s side. Doing a quick estimate, it seemed that Iwa had wiped out over half of the invading forces already, while only taking a tenth of the casualties.

Something was very wrong with this picture.

It was all too easy.

“Be sure to take a few bodies for identification,” Kitsuchi ordered. “I want at least three from each village that’s attacking us!”

“Yes sir!”

He’d heard that had happened a while back in Konoha where the invading army was formed out of abducted civilians. If that was the case here, then their enemy might not even be Kiri to begin with.

“Incoming Tsuchikage!”

Looking up, Kitsuchi allowed himself a moment to relax when he spotted the approaching Tsuchikage. It wouldn’t be long before the batt…

A massive blast of heat and pressure struck Kitsuchi, sending him flying back into the mountain side. Feeling a sharp pain in his chest, he didn’t need to look down in order to see the massive chunk of stone that currently occupied a good portion of his chest.

Something had detonated on the battlefield… Something reminiscent of the Explosion Corps. They would be lucky if there was anything left of the Shinobi that had been down there fighting. Kitsuchi was grateful that his daughter had been out on a mission, far away from what had happened here.

“Sir?! Oh god, how are you still alive?”

Opening his mouth to speak, all that came out of his mouth was blood. That didn’t matter. He needed to let others know of his suspicions.

Grabbing the Shinobi with his good arm, he dragged him closer, ripping his sleeve in the process. Dipping his finger in his blood, he passed out before he was able to finish his message.

‘Not K….’