"Keep your eyes on the ground, don't meet his gaze!" commanded Kakashi, ensuring Sakura, Sasuke, and Lady Chiyo obeyed his orders, himself included. The only one who didn't heed his warning was Naruto.
"Let's get this over with, shall we?" Naruto moved forward, his steps confident and unwavering towards Itachi.
"Oh, not scared of my eyes, are you? Interesting," Itachi attempted to ensnare Naruto in his Genjutsu, but to his surprise, Naruto resisted not once, not twice, but three consecutive times, advancing relentlessly.
"Your Genjutsu... it doesn't work on me!" Naruto declared, "No time to waste... time for a... Clone." Naruto raised his hand, "Reverse curse technique: red!" A glowing red orb materialised at his fingertip, "This will be quick," Naruto tossed the orb towards Itachi, his tone casual yet determined.
The red orb darted towards Itachi, who managed to evade it just in time. It zoomed past him, leaving a path of destruction in its wake, obliterating the surrounding trees before finally coming to a halt.
Itachi, mid-jump, glanced back at the spectacle, but before he could fully process the situation, Naruto was already soaring behind him.
"Giant Rasengan..." Naruto launched his attack and before Itachi could react, he was propelled to the ground, a deep crater forming on impact.
Meanwhile, in the desert, Team Guy was confronting Kisame.
"So, he's an Akatsuki member!" Neji observed
Kisame chuckled, tossing his Sword into the air, "Water Style: Exploding water shock wave!" Kisame declared.
"He's on the move..." Guy alerted, "Brace yourselves..."
"Understood!" Rock Lee replied with fervour.
Kisame swiftly flooded the terrain, the water gushing from his Jutsu. His sword returned to his hand, and he towered above the highest wave.
"Here I come!" Kisame chuckled, surfing through the waves towards Team Guy, who had taken their positions atop rocks, above the rising water level.
As Kisame closed in on Team Guy, they swiftly leaped out of harm's way, narrowly evading his path.
They landed on smaller rocks, seeking refuge above the rising water. But Kisame, with the support of the water wave, emerged again, causing it to crash onto the rock where Guy and Tenten stood. Reacting quickly, they leaped to safety.
"Watch out!" Tenten warned Neji and Rock Lee, who stood a little behind them.
"So, how's the fight going? Enjoying it?" Kisame taunted with a smirk.
Kisame descended once more, riding the wave towards Team Guy. In a synchronized motion, they jumped aside, avoiding the onslaught.
"Do you even remember me?" Kisame questioned Guy.
"Where is all this water coming from? How can he control such an immense amount?" Tenten voiced her confusion.
"This technique requires an extraordinary amount of chakra," Neji explained.
As they discussed, Kisame suddenly vanished from their sight...
"Where did he go?" Rock Lee wondered, unable to locate Kisame.
Then, a colossal wave surged upwards, crashing down upon them. Once again, they swiftly evaded the danger, leaping away as the wave thundered onto the ground below.
Just when they thought they were safe, Kisame reappeared out of nowhere, wielding his massive sword. Guy swiftly dodged his attack, realizing it was merely a water clone.
"A water clone, huh?" Guy exclaimed.
"You didn't even have time to remember me!" Kisame laughed boisterously, continuing his onslaught with the sword. Guy agilely evaded each strike.
Suddenly, Guy vanished from Kisame's sight, only to reappear behind him. "Rock Lee, now!" Guy commanded. Rock Lee emerged from the shadows, delivering a powerful kick to Kisame's hand, causing him to drop his sword.
"8 Trigram air palm..." Neji activated his technique, pushing Kisame backward. Kisame, undeterred, swiftly caught his sword, regaining his balance in the water. Without giving him a moment to breathe, Tenten unleashed a barrage of explosive paper bombs, causing a dense cloud of smoke to envelop Kisame.
"Damn! He escaped!" Tenten exclaimed in frustration.
Kisame plunged into the depths, disappearing from Guy and the team's view once more...
"Where's he skulking now?" Guy muttered.
"Neji, got a bead on the guy?" Tenten asked, her tone tense.
"He's straight ahead...and he's closing in." Neji reported, his Byakugan activated.
"Got him." Rock Lee announced, just as Kisame re-emerged from the water's surface.
"Man, you kids are a real pain in the neck...more than I bargained for." Kisame grumbled.
"Hold on...that jumbo sword and water jutsu...you're…" Guy trailed off, realization dawning on him.
"About time your brain jogged the memory." Kisame sneered.
"I've got this gut feeling we've crossed paths before." Guy mused, earning an exasperated sigh from Tenten due to his continued forgetfulness.
"You'd think a guy like him would stick in your mind." Tenten remarked dryly.
"You've got quite a knack for ruffling feathers, even your buddies are starting to doubt your memory." Kisame taunted.
"Let's see how this unfolds..." Kisame trailed off, "A little pain might jog your memory..."
"Alright, time for a little payback. I'll catch him off guard, and when I do, don't hold back." Guy strategized.
"Roger, Sensei!" Neji, Rock Lee, and Tenten responded in unison.
"Think you can catch me off guard that easily?" Kisame scoffed, "I'm about to give you a reality check." The fight resumed with renewed vigor.
Elsewhere, Naruto swiftly took down the Itachi clone and stood by the fallen body...
"Sure, it was a clone, but not Itachi's...who's this?" Naruto wondered aloud, as Sasuke and the rest of the crew approached.
"What's happening here?" Sasuke asked, confusion clear in his voice.
"His looks... they've changed!" Sakura exclaimed, eyes wide.
"I knew something was off from the get-go, something didn't feel right. But even I didn't see this coming..." Naruto commented, a more mature tone to his voice.
"Must be some sort of Jutsu..." Sakura mumbled.
"That guy…" Chiyo began.
"Lady Chiyo, have you met this man before?" Kakashi inquired.
"His name's Yuura… A Jounin from our village..." Chiyo revealed, prompting a shift in everyone's expressions.
Elsewhere, Guy and his team took on Kisame. As Neji, Tenten, and Rock Lee found themselves trapped in Kisame's Water Prison Jutsu, Guy soloed him, freeing his team in the process.
Finally, Guy overpowered Kisame, unlocking the Seventh Gate and deploying the Daytime Tiger technique. Just like with Itachi, the face of the defeated foe morphed into something unrecognizable...
"It's odd, I feel like I've faced him somewhere before, but…" Guy trailed off.
"So, you don't recall ever encountering this guy?" Rock Lee queried.
"That's peculiar because he seemed to know quite a bit about you, Guy-sensei." Tenten remarked.
"What's happening...?" Neji mused to himself, eyeing the corpse before them.
"His face..." Guy muttered.
"Who is he? What does all this imply, Sensei?" Rock Lee questioned.
"I can't say for sure...but one thing I'm certain of, I've never met him before." Guy concluded.
__
_
__
"A Sand Village ninja? What's the significance of this?" Sasuke demanded.
"I wish I had the answers... But…he disappeared right when Gaara was taken." Chiyo replied.
"Could it be possible that…he was an Akatsuki spy?" Sakura speculated.
"No way, he sat on the council for a full four years..." Chiyo expressed.
___
_
___
"What, was he using some kind of disguise Jutsu?" Rock Lee inquired.
"Nah Lee, this Jutsu's in a league of its own." Neji clarified.
___
_
___
"Looks like we're both down for the count, huh?" Kisame smirked.
"Seems like it... that Naruto kid's tougher than I gave him credit for!" Itachi admitted.
"Well, we only used about thirty percent of our chakra for those clones. Makes sense they were defeated so easily, even though my clone managed to hang in there a bit longer than yours." Kisame shrugged.
"Still, it bought us the time we needed." Itachi pointed out.
___
_
___
Meanwhile, back at the Akatsuki hideout, the tail beast extraction process was far from finished when Itachi and Kisame returned...
"So, the Jutsu's finally worn off, huh?"
"But we did manage to gain some valuable time, that should be enough." Itachi stated.
"Good job, Itachi, Kisame."
___
_
___
Lady Chiyo used a bird to send a message to the Sand Village.
"If they're sending a clone now, it means they're stalling us to continue with the tailed beast extraction. We need to hurry..." Naruto proposed.
"Absolutely, we can't afford to waste any more time!" Kakashi affirmed, and the team pressed on towards their destination.
"This kid, he defeated the enemy in just some mere seconds, is this because he is the Nine-tails Jhinchuriki ?" Chiyo Questioned in her mind.
[A. N: Thanks for reading, drop Powerstones that will help a lot and drop reviews if you like the story and add to your library
Character Power Level :-
Naruto Uzumaki - Beyond Kage Level
Sasuke Uchiha - High Jounin Level
Sakura Haruno - High Chunin Level / Low Jounin Level
Other characters remain the same power level as they were in canon
Do you want me to write these power levels at end of the fanfiction chapters ,let me know]