The battlefield was a disturbing mix of a fireworks show and a charnel house, thankfully, Shun didn't think it would last long, considering the sheer speed at which people were dying.
Large-scale Shinobi battles were a frantic thing, he had realized, as he had watched his opponent be replaced for the 4th time after he had killed them.
Although this body was close to reaching its limits, too many wounds that weakened him.
So he gathered his flames, before rushing towards the nearest group of Kiri Shinobi, they immediately responded by bombarding him with various Jutsu and weapons.
He let everything not aimed at his beak hit, feeling the dull ache that signalled pain, but ignoring it in favor of analyzing the best spot to use his attack.
A beam of fire rushed out of his mouth, he swept it across the enemies' formation, it melted rock and burned flesh alike.
The explosions that followed merely made sure the ones caught in the inferno wouldn't suffer for long.
But his attack was interrupted by a sword piercing through his skull, forcing his beak shut and cutting off the beam.
That body vanished into nonexistence, and high above, Shun flew right slightly, and at the same time, left slightly, he split himself yet again.
One dove down to continue fighting, while the other remained untouchable among the clouds.
***
"Send another 2 Squads to the East Flank." Yatagarasu ordered firmly. "Make another probing attack against their rear guard."
He had given up on trying to come up with complicated tactics, but his current strategy seemed to be working well enough.
The strategy was being purely reactionary to enemy attacks, focus on inflicting as much damage as possible while minimizing casualties.
And it was working out surprisingly well, which he attributed to the higher quality and unusual fighting style of The Order members, especially the Templars.
Like how Asura just managed to singlehandedly kill about 70 Kiri Shinobi without a scratch.
Yatagarasu knew Asura was the most dedicated to becoming a perfect front-line fighter, but he hadn't expected him to be this efficient.
Although maybe that was expected, Asura had fought only twice against large groups, once against Otogakure, and the other at the battle at the Bridge.
How could he know how powerful Asura had become if he only ever saw him fight against Orochimaru's neglected forces?
Or when he was part of a force that outnumbered the enemies two to one?
He should pay more attention to the Templars strength, he had blindly trusted his Creator's choices, which was fine if he was merely acting as an overseer for Wave, but if the people looked to him in times of war...
He had some ideas of how to improve, and he felt like his Creator would indulge him, those war games from his Creator's memories were a good place to start.
***
Uchiha Itachi stared into the distance, watching the various explosions coming from the battlefield with mild interest.
Akatsuki was a dying organization, he knew that, as did everyone else, Pain was the linchpin holding everything together, and without him, everyone was slowly losing focus on what they were supposed to be doing.
Madara had taken over, but it was clear the man had little interest in taking up the mantle of leader.
The loss of Konan, Hidan and Pain had shaken Akatsuki, and now there was even less cohesion than before.
But he would stay until the end, it was the closest connection to Madara he had, so he had no other choice.
The good part was that he had a lot more free rein, greater freedom to chose missions and travel around.
So he had picked a mission that would take him close to Wave, he knew about Sasuke's decision to defect to Orochimaru, and after he heard of Otogakure's destruction, he struggled to hold himself back from immediately investigating.
But a favor from Sasori had given him the lead that Sasuke was working at a restaurant in Wave, which relieved his worries and confused him greatly.
It was... not within his expectations.
The ongoing invasion made this situation more complicated, for the first time in a long time, he was uncertain of what he should do.
"Wow, those birds just don't stop coming, huh?" Kisame said casually as he watched the distant battles alongside Itachi.
"It is the same ones, there are 3 distinct individuals." He replied without glancing at Kisame. "Every time one 'dies', an exact copy drops down from above."
Kisame didn't seem too bothered by that fact.
"Wave sure has some freaks on their side, I wonder how they did it?" He wondered aloud, not really expecting a response.
There was a beat of silence between them.
"Do you not wish to help Kiri?" Itachi asked casually.
Kisame chuckled.
"Kiri deserves whatever happens to them, I'd rather help the new guys than my old village." Kisame replied bluntly.
Good, he didn't want to risk Kiri getting their hands on Sasuke, it would damage his cover as a loyal Akatsuki member if he had to stop Kisame. But it seems like this invasion would not be an issue, it was clear that Kiri was on the back foot, and without Yagura here, he did not see that changing any time soon.
Still, he would make sure to keep an eye on the situation until they left, just to be sure.
"Wow, just go talk to your brother, you lunatic." A voice said from behind him.
He instantly spun around, seeing a burned man sitting on a rock behind him, Samehada already at his neck.
He was about to cast a simple Genjutsu to immobilize the stranger, but it didn't find a target.
The man, to all his senses but sight, was not there.
"Hello." The man greeted simply, unconcerned with Kisame's weapon threatening to tear out his throat.
"Now, who might you be?" Kisame asked conversationally. "Pretty dangerous to sneak up on us, you know?"
Itachi stayed silent, analyzing everything he could about the burned man.
Black hair, around 5'10", dressed in simple robes, no visible weapons, gold ringed eyes, extensive scarring covering most of his body.
But the demeanor was casual, and his lack of Chakra was suspicious, a Genjutsu? But if there was anything Itachi was proud of, it was his prowess in Illusions, he subtly pulsed his Chakra, but nothing changed.
"Name's Ayumu, and I'm pretty annoyed at your boss, so I figured I would see if you two would give me an excuse to kill you." The man, Ayumu, said casually. "But it seems like you two are not going to help Kiri, which is a shame."
Itachi could feel Kisame's desire to cut the stranger down rising, which, considering Ayumu's arrogant words, was expected.
"What is your relationship with Sasuke?" He asked quickly before Kisame could act. "And our 'boss'?"
Ayumu raised an eyebrow at that.
"Wow, you really are a brocon." He commented amusedly, Itachi hasn't heard that term before, but it made his eye twitch, the meaning was not hard to figure out.
Kisame's hostility lessened slightly, clearly also amused by Ayumu's comment.
"Anyway, your brother is cool, less of a dick than I expected." Ayumu continued without any hesitation. "I feel sorry for him, who needs enemies when he has a brother like you?"
That hit close to home, but Itachi kept his face neutral.
"And our 'boss', that would be Madara?" Kisame asked with fake casualness, a hint of threat in his voice.
"Mhm, you know, I was going to just point Itachi in Sasuke's direction so they could have a chat, but that would be unfair to you, Kisame."
Ayumu casually stood up, Kisame, of course, did not move his sword, but even as it was pressing into Ayumu's throat, there was no reaction.
Kisame pressed the Samehada harder, Itachi saw his muscles flex, but still nothing changed, Ayumu wasn't cut, nor did he move back.
"Let's have a long chat, shall we, all three of us." Ayumu said lightly.
And with a snap of his fingers, their surroundings changed.
They were surrounded by a starry sky, it did not match his memories of the actual sky, far more stars, all pulsing slightly.
The ground beneath them was smooth stone, circular, and stretching far into the distance.
They were all still standing in the same positions, but the moment that both Kisame and Itachi realized what had happened, they both jumped away from Ayumu and each other.
But Ayumu simple snapped his fingers again, and once more, everything shifted.
This time, they were seated on a comfortable chair, surrounding a table, which was covered by plates of food.
Ayumu himself was sitting comfortably, on the opposite side of the table, there was no tension in his body.
"No need for that, as I said, we are going to have a chat, so please, relax."