"Konoha's barrier seems to have weakened. That Nine-Tails brat we're looking for is in there, right?"
On a secluded cliff several kilometers from Konoha's main gate, two eerie figures stood silently in the wind, wearing black cloaks embroidered with red clouds and bamboo hats hung with wind chimes.
The man who spoke was tall and burly, with strangely blue-green skin and markings on his face resembling shark gills. On his back, he carried an enormous broad-bladed sword wrapped in layers of bandages. He was Kisame Hoshigaki, a rogue ninja from Kirigakure known as the "Tailless Tailed Beast."
The man beside him was somewhat leaner. He slowly raised his head and removed his bamboo hat, revealing a handsome face steeped in endless world-weariness and indifference. Three scarlet tomoe slowly revolved in his pitch-black eyes, radiating a chilling ocular power.
Uchiha Itachi gazed at Konoha in the distance, where the smoke of battle had yet to clear. His eyes were so unfathomable that no one could tell what he was thinking.
"Although Orochimaru's Konoha Crush Plan failed, the village's defenses did suffer severe damage." Itachi's voice was utterly calm. "Let's go, Kisame. Our target is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Don't cause any unnecessary trouble."
"Heh heh, understood. But if we run into any Konoha ninja who get in our way, I can't promise my Samehada won't get excited." Kisame grinned, revealing a mouthful of sharp, sharklike teeth, a bloodthirsty gleam in his eyes.
Their figures flickered, becoming two black shadows as they slipped silently toward Konoha.
Meanwhile, in the underground command room beneath Konoha, the atmosphere had grown unbearably oppressive, as though even the air had frozen.
Shengu Xuan stood where he was and slowly lowered his raised right hand. Rather than use the Ox Talisman to pulp Danzo with a single punch,