Several kilometers away, atop a high cliff, Kisame Hoshigaki sat alone with Samehada laid beside him, watching the battle from afar.
Every Akatsuki member had a quota—one Tailed Beast per person. Kisame Hoshigaki had previously captured the Six-Tails Jinchuriki and completed his quota. This time, they had sought out the reclusive Four-Tails Jinchuriki, naturally leaving him to his partner, Itachi Uchiha.
The organization had never assigned anyone a particular Tailed Beast. Everyone chose freely. They were a group of rogue ninja to begin with and could not stand being bound by overly strict rules. Still, they tacitly followed one principle: each person went after the Jinchuriki from their own former village. After all, having a village's Jinchuriki captured by one of its own missing-nin was less embarrassing than having them taken by an outsider. Thus, Kakuzu, who came from Takigakure, captured Takigakure's Seven-Tails Jinchuriki. The One-Tail Shukaku Jinchuriki had originally been Sasori of the Red Sands' assignment, but Deidara, always eager to steal the spotlight, got there first. Sasori had merely served as a guide.
Itachi Uchiha had originally followed the same pattern and gone after Konoha's Nine-Tails. But after striking once and withdrawing, he gave up immediately when he failed. No one in the organization could fault him for that. If one target could not be handled, then switch targets. What was the problem?
This time, facing the Four-Tails Jinchuriki Roshi, Itachi Uchiha was no longer holding back as he had when he went after the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki in Konoha. The quota had to be completed eventually. Itachi Uchiha brought out his real skills.
Back in Kirigakure, Kisame Hoshigaki's job had been to kill his own comrades. If anyone in his squad was captured by the enemy and risked leaking information, Kisame would raise his blade and silence them