Itachi remained silent as Corazon and Aoto exchanged glances, directing their attention towards John. The others appeared bewildered by their cryptic talk of "taking him out of the battlefield," but those well-versed in the ways of magic, like Aoto and Corazon, could fully comprehend the hidden meaning behind their words. Meanwhile, the Jinchuriki slowly rose to his feet, ready to charge at them, eager to bring them down with his own malevolent intent.
John's apprehension grew as he observed the Jinchuriki's ominous actions, and at last, he came to a pivotal decision. He nodded resolutely at Aoto.
"Kakashi-san, Guy-san, Itachi, take a step back. We'll handle the Jinchuriki from here on," declared Aoto.
"What? No. We're in this together," protested Kakashi.
"Aoto, do you aspire to be the hero of youth? Only I have the rightful claim to that title," Itachi interjected tersely.
"It's not up for negotiation. If we don't act now, we risk our lives. Kakashi, go after that Waterfall shinobi. There are matters we can handle while you handle others. Please, trust us," urged John. As a man of few words, his statements carried immense weight.
Kakashi locked eyes with John, witnessing unwavering confidence and determination. Without another word, he jumped back, conceding to John's plan.
"I can't say I'm okay with this. I was meant to be the hero," Guy expressed his reservations.
"Guy, we must apprehend that man. My sharingan won't last much longer. Come with me," Kakashi instructed, asserting his leadership as the team captain. Itachi glanced at Aoto and the others one last time before following suit, leaping backward.
The Jinchuriki picked up speed, charging toward the trio. Fortunately, he seemed oblivious to Kakashi's presence, sparing them a potential two-front assault. John had already readied the Seraphim shield.
"Are you prepared?" John inquired, his gaze fixed on the approaching Jinchuriki.
"Let's do this," Aoto responded.
"This world is madness," Corazon murmured. Fear tinged his voice, echoing Aoto's feelings, yet they had no alternative but to confront this monstrous threat. As the Jinchuriki drew closer, John initiated the plan.
With a flick of his wrist, John whisked himself, Aoto, Corazon, and the Jinchuriki into the mirror dimension. The transition was so swift that the Jinchuriki had no time to react, and their surroundings morphed into a realm of infinite reflections and illusions. Mirrored surfaces extended infinitely in all directions, creating a perfect arena for John's sorcery.
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The Jinchuriki roared fiercely, unleashing surges of chakra that rippled across the mirrored landscape. Meanwhile, Kakashi and the others, who had retreated further, were astounded by the sudden disappearance of the three men. Even Itachi, leading the children away in another direction, sensed the shift. The eerie aura dissipated within seconds, taking the three men with it.
"Kakashi, can you identify the nature of their ninjutsu?" Guy inquired. Though known for his youthful exuberance, Guy wasn't naive, as Kirk Lazarus once explained in Tropic Thunder.
"No. Their ninjutsu is beyond even my sharingan's capabilities," Kakashi admitted.
"What?" Guy was taken aback.
"We can discuss this later. Right now, we must capture that guy. He's the reason we find ourselves in this predicament, and if something happens to Aoto, I dread facing the Hokage," Kakashi responded, a somber tone creeping into his voice.
"You're right," agreed Guy, a sense of gravity settling upon him. Both felt disheartened, realizing they had been bested by a Jinchuriki. Kakashi felt useless again. Not able to help his mentor, his friends and now it was happening the same again with someone who he had grown close to in the last year or so.
Aoto had come to his assistance countless times, yet now he couldn't reciprocate. Neither he nor Itachi brought their palicos, for summoning beasts within foreign territories only complicated bureaucratic matters. Now, they regretted not having their partners at their side.
The Mirror Dimension
The jinchuriki ran towards the three men again after seeing them in the mirror dimension. John swirled his hands while making a spell and then the mirror dimension moved on its own, the surroundings started to move and within no time the Jinhcuriki's direction changed.
But of course he was not unperturbed by this and continued running towards the three even though his direction of running was changing multiple times.
"We need to change the strategy." Aoto said as he also used the mirror dimension according to his needs.
His hands danced through intricate gestures, and green glyphs materialized in the air, forming a complex spell.
Suddenly, countless mirror images of Aoto appeared around the Jinchuriki, surrounding it from all angles. The Jinchuriki's eyes darted around, struggling to distinguish the real Aoto from the illusions. This was the iconic images of Ikkon like the Doctor Strange did against Thanos but a illusory one that had no real presence. Doctor Strange did multiple shadow clone jutsu. This was not even real as that magic was too difficult for someone like him.
Aoto's magic was also only possible in the Mirror dimension as the reflections and refractions were used as the help of the mirror dimension. Seizing the opportunity, John and Corazon conjured mystical bindings that shot out like ethereal tendrils from the mirrors. The tendrils snaked around the Jinchuriki, coiling around its tails, attempting to restrict its movements. The Jinchuriki bellowed, its immense strength shaking the mirror dimension.
However, the Jinchuriki was not to be underestimated. With a massive burst of chakra, it shattered the mystical bindings and sent the mirrors around it shattering into pieces. And this time, the Jinchuriki seemed to have become angry after the harassment. His firs attack was a failure and now he was somewhere he couldn't even make head or tail of.
His anger burst open. And then the partial transformation stopped and soon the real full transformation started to take over. It wasn't a slow process. The seven tails jinchuriki's body vanished and was replaced by a large beast. Beast wouldn't be the correct word here.
This was a very large insect, with seven translucent wings on its back.