__________ POV Narration __________

The legs of the 5-Tailed Beast cracked and buckled as it supported the enraged Raikage's landing.

His mind was filled with confusion as he glanced at the state of the Dark Brotherhood Compound, not understanding how Ken had allowed it to get so bad.

But at the end of the day, he couldn't truly judge the Red Dot. He knew how things could devolve unexpectedly, how one small mistake could lead to a domino effect... It wasn't uncommon.

He was also unaware of the full scope of the situation. All he knew was that he had received a message from a Bat, that his only real ally was facing a lot of trouble.

The bat presented itself to be an envoy of the Dark Brotherhood, but the Raikage found it odd, as Ken was not usually one to ask for help.

And the message itself didn't feel like something that Ken would write. But regardless of that, he didn't ignore it. He knew that Ken was contracted with the Bats after all.

In no time, he and Killer B had picked up the pace and started running towards the Dark Brotherhood at full speed. Though it was tiring, they had managed to make it in a mere day.

When they arrived, the situation was still very much under control, so they both stayed around, rested for a bit and observed. But everything seemed to go to shit in an instant, leading to them having to interfere.

Now, the situation had devolved to the point where Ken needed his help. And he wasn't going to hesitate.

At the end of the day, he still had hopes of forging an even closer relationship with Ken and the Dark Brotherhood.

Akira's eyes narrowed when seeing him there. He was glad that he didn't need to die anymore. But they weren't out of danger, not even close to it.

To the side the 4-Tailed Beast lashed out in rage as well, extending one of its hands and grabbing at the figure of the burly Raikage.

The Cloud Village leader spared the beast no glance, instead concentrating on the horse-like Tailed Beast at his feet.

'I'm not gonna make it in time!' The Third Blade panicked as he dashed towards the Third Raikage.

But as his worries started becoming more and more pronounced, he felt a gigantic whirlwind pass him, blowing him away to the side as the titanic figure of the 8 Tails bum rushed the Gorilla Tailed Beast.

"Wreeee!~" Killer B's now monstrous voice echoed throughout the battlefield as his gigantic horn punctured the Gorilla's abdomen as he continued rushing forward towards the army of Shinobi that had been mostly sitting on the sidelines up to that point.

The 4 Tails also retaliated, smashing its fists down on the Ox-Octopus's back while roaring in rage, spewing magma in its surroundings.

It seemed to burn the 8 Tails slightly, but there wasn't much reaction.

The screams that echoed through the battlefield were instead coming from the shinobi that the Tailed Beasts were crushing with their tails.

Friendly fire became a big issue as the 4 Tails started struggling for domination against its stronger brother.

In the first place, it wasn't a battle that the 4 Tail Jinchuriki could win under normal circumstances.

Killer B was a perfect Jinchuriki as well, and the 8 Tails had both more chakra and destructive capabilities.

Rōshi, the 4 Tails Jinchuriki, realized that he only really had a chance if he worked together with his partner, Han, the 5 Tails Jinchuriki.

But Han was stuck dealing with an even more dangerous foe. The Third Raikage was quite literally one of the strongest Shinobi of his time.

Even as Jinchuriki, the only thing they could hope to do against him was escape.

But they didn't truly have that option now, did they?

This was supposed to be an all-out assault, a way to finally take down the Red Dot and the Dark Brotherhood, erase any traces of his influence and prevent the rise of yet another 'True' God of Shinobi.

The army they had with them should've technically been enough to deal with the Brotherhood, but it seemed that their informant had run into some issues, as he was seemingly unable to deal with the Blades and the children.

Their few thousand shinobi would still prove to be sufficient if it was an open battle... But they were in enemy territory. And the enemy were assassins trained by the Red Dot.

In the end, Han and Roshi only really had one objective now that things had devolved to that point.

'Wait for reinforcements...'

They needed to stall out the Raikage and Killer B, the two factors that their leaders hadn't accounted for.

They needed to stall the cloud duo until the army that was supposed to be dealing with Ken arrived to assist.

With another tailed beast and two Great Kage, their chances would increase greatly.

And when fighting a battle of endurance, that was what Jinchuriki were best at.

The Third Raikage was eventually forced to jump away from the fallen 5-Tailed Beast.

Han released a strange roar and spread out a thick layer of flesh-melting steam around his body.

The Raikage wasn't affected by it outwardly thanks to his lightning armour, but that didn't mean he could breathe in that steam.

It was hot enough to melt someone's lungs, and although the Raikage's internal organs were strengthened as well to some degree, it was better not to risk things.

Han was also well aware of that. His only real shot at damaging the Raikage was by forcing him to breathe in his steam.

But that was easier said than done, with a massive advantage in speed, and trained lungs, the Raikage could still blitz into his cloud of steam, beat the shit out of him, and leave before needing to take a breath.

Still, Han's answer was obvious when remembering his goal.

'Stall him for as long as possible...'

In an instant, his form retracted into his body, becoming smaller, yet still covered in a white, mist-like chakra that formed 4 tails at the end of his tailbone.

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Unlike most other Jinchuriki, when using the chakra of his tailed beast and unleashing up to 4 tails, Han's body was still visible through the thick layer of 'steam-like' white chakra.

Even in human form, Han was a man larger than most, his body was mostly covered in red and black armour, and the lower part of his face was also covered in a red mask.

The Raikage scowled when seeing that, realizing that Han had made himself a smaller target on purpose, and immediately knowing his objective.

In an instant, the Raikage had already almost fully closed in the distance between them, startling the 5-Tails Jinchuriki.

But Han was an experienced shinobi, already well aware of the Raikage's overwhelming speed. And he had already prepared something.

"Boil Release! Impurity Cleansing Steam Lands!"

In an instant, the Raikage felt himself being pushed back by pressurized steam. It was like a bomb of Steam had just gone off in front of him, and he was sent flying backwards a few dozen meters before he dug his legs into the ground with a scowl on his face.

But the true aspect of that Jutsu had only just started.

The Raikage's eyes immediately felt strained from the heat, as he noticed that everything, for as long as his eyes could see, was covered in that same flesh-melting steam.

Han himself sweated a bit when he heard the pained screams of some of his allies. Many had started advancing towards the Brotherhood, in a bid to escape the mortal exchange between the other two tailed beasts.

This led to many now being trapped in an area with low vision where the air itself was trying to melt the skin off their bones.

But it couldn't be helped. Han realized it from the moment that the Cloud Duo had shown up.

'We'll have to go all out if we so much as want to survive.'

That was true for both him and Roshi.

"What an annoying brat..." The Third Raikage spoke through clenched teeth as he held his breath in to the best of his ability. His eyes narrowed in anger as the lightning armour around him intensified.

"This is just the beginning, Lord Raikage."

Han's stoic voice was also somewhat strained, his throat somewhat sore from spitting out that much steam in such quick succession. But he would get over it.

"Boil Release: Bone Blistering Box!" The Jinchuriki's arms moved quickly, his next Jutsu already prepared while the Raikage was still regaining his bearings.

In an instant, the Raikage felt the Mist around shifting rapidly, it was all condensing around him, forming what looked to be a rather sturdy barrier.

'Tsk, what a waste of effort.' The Raikage wasted no time. dashing towards one of the thick walls with his hand already extended.

4 of his fingers were extended forward, and a spear of Black Lightning chakra formed around his hand, sharper and thicker than anything Han had ever seen.

Just as he reached the Steam Wall, he brought three of the fingers, and in an instant, the spear of Black Lightning became even sharper, more pointed.

"One Finger Hell Stab!"

The Raikage's voice boomed as the steam around him was blown away, his hand passed through the solid wall of Steam without any issue.

It was almost a bit too easy. But then again, the Raikge was using his strongest form, aiming to end the fight quickly.

Still, he felt the steam hug around his arm tightly as it passed through. Without any hesitation, he turned his entire body into a spear and passed through the wall with ease.

He felt a slight burning sensation as he closed his eyes and reached the other side. The second he did so he was met with another trap.

The ground underneath his feet seemed to have turned into mud, he felt his legs sinking quickly as his eyes shot wide open.

"Earth Release: Swamp of the Underworld!"

The jutsu was clearly powered by the chakra of the tailed beast, making the mud extra sticky and annoying to deal with.

But in the eyes of true strength, it was all just petty tricks.

The Raikage stomped with force, and in an instant, the technique underneath him broke, all mud and steam was blown away from his vicinity as the earth itself cracked underneath his strength.

Still, that action seemed to be exactly what Han had wanted, as the Raikage's vision was now affected.

The Steam released from Han's body intensified, and the area around him immediately became harder and harder to see through.

Han's chakra tails moved upwards, all pointing towards his covered mouth.

In an instant, all of the steam he had released started twirling and condensing into a ball of swirling concentrated chakra right above his mouth.

It all took seconds, and just as the Raikage's vision improved, he realised that he was staring down the miniature version of one of the strongest attacks that Jinchuriki could use.

"Boiling Tailed Beast Bo-"

But just as Han was about to release that attack, his entire body froze up, and the beast inside of him screamed a warning.

"Whoops~ I've been spotted~"

A masked man with a gigantic blade, looking more akin to a butcher, was already behind him.

Han immediately recognized his mask...

The Third Blade, the one they were told to be more cautious against.

'Shit! I was focusing too much on the Raikage!'

Han cursed internally as the gigantic blade swiped towards him from behind, his eyes widened as he felt its chakra-enhanced edge cut slightly into his shoulder before he immediately rolled to the side.

The tailed beast bomb he had been preparing to release immediately detonated, creating a large explosion which sent the Third Blade flying backwards, his mask cracked and his skin melting, showing off the red muscle underneath.

Han panted a bit, recovering quickly from that near-death experience while internally berating himself.

'At least that monster is de-'

Just as he was thinking that the Third Blade immediately stood up, his exposed muscles quickly being covered in a layer of skin.

'... So the rumours were true...' Han could only narrow his eyes, while his tails immediately lashed out and pushed him to the side.

The ground where he had been standing was immediately cracked and splintered, as the Raikage landed there while trying to decapitate him with an axe kick.

A rhythmic whistle could be heard as the Third Blade walked and stood beside the glowing Third Raikage.

Parts of his mask were falling off, revealing a devilish smirk as he dragged his massive regenerating blade on the ground.

"... Glad to see you're still alive." The Raikage spoke briefly, greeting Akira while also not wanting to waste his breath.

"Heh~ How else would I be? I can hardly die..." He then slowly raised his massive blade and ran his fingers across its edge, scowling a bit as he scraped some dried blood off of the edge.

"That's good! Let's take this bastard down then!" The Raikage became more spirited, realising that Han's tricks weren't going to work that well on someone who could ignore his techniques fully.

'I'll take care of anything with my strength and speed, the two of us can easily look for an opening whil-'

"Take him down? He's already halfway dead~" Akira laughed a bit at the end, slowly licking the dried-up blood on his fingernails.

The Raikage scowled a bit when seeing that, finding the scene a bit disturbing... Then he remembered the strange cult that he had fought in the past and the rituals that Ken had described.

The immortal assassin seemed to draw a strange pentagram on the ground, which quickly glowed red.

In an instant, his entire body was covered in tattoos, most of his skin turning black, only the white outline of a skeleton showing on the parts of his body that were visible.

"Curse Technique: Death Controlling Possessed Blood!"

Akira clapped his hands together as the technique finalized. Han was confused for a second before he finally felt it.

His lungs were burning up, as Akira freely breathed in his steam.

He immediately spat out blood as he crouched, clutching at his chest.

"W-what..." His eyes trailed towards the immortal assassin, who was just giving him a calm smile.

Then he heard the Tailed Beast within him mention that a connection had been made between their bodies, and the situation finally clicked.

"Well then, mind if I do the honours?" The Raikage laughed, finding the scene amusing.

The enemy that had been giving him trouble earlier was now a writing mess.

"Of course not, just don't stain my clothes too much!" Akira shouted as the Raikage smiled and nodded.

"Haha, I'll try not to!"

In an instant, the Raikage's arm formed a spear, and that spear ran through the Third Blade's chest cleanly, burning a hole through it and exiting the other side in a second.

The scene made Han's eyes almost pop out of their sockets in shock.

And the damage was immediately transferred. From that point on, he couldn't even muster any last words as the light was snuffed from his eyes.

The Raikage looked at the scene with satisfaction, his arm still holding up the Third Blade's body.

"Hey big guy, mind taking your fingers outta my heart?" Akria tapped the burly man's forearm with an annoyed look, gaining another laugh from the Raikge, who immediately pulled his arm out and turned his Black Lightning Armour off.

"Good... That was much easier than I expected. I still need some rest though..." The Raikage slowly panted as the Steam around the battlefield seemed to die down.

"Hmm... I'll go check on the others then~

Go to the compound and rest, Leader isn't around right now, but we'll handle things from here... I'll just ask you to protect the kids, I'm sure that's what he'd want too. "

Akira wasn't one to give around orders. But the situation was serious enough, so he didn't feel like joking around constantly either.

The Raikage also didn't protest, he could see many shinobi now starting to approach them since the field of steam had died down.

So he gave the Third Blade one last smile before dashing off. letting him handle the situation from there.

Akira sighed as he watched him leave. He then turned around and slugged his gigantic sword on his shoulder.

His eyes scanned the army of shinobi that had gathered around him.

"Well then... Let's dance, shall we?!?"