Malaise

Poked out of the ground, Zetsu studied the battle in silence.

The Sannin's footfalls were hard and heavy against the metal pipes. He leaped off the edge, his hair flaring outwards as his hands remained clasped in some kind of prayer, "Hair Needle Senbon!"

His fuzzy white hair became thin and rigid, firing out of his head with deadly speed. The flurry pierced through the wet earth with a hiss, sending small chunks of mud splattering as the attack ran and buried itself into the rhino's thick hide and eyes. The scent of damp soil mixed with blood filled the air as the creature let out a tortured bellow. The giant Rhino-summon was blinded instantly and its leap for Jiraiya became a doomed plummet as the Sannin's clone reappeared, lunging at it from below with a grinding blue spiral in its hand.

"Rasengan!" The jutsu of the Fourth Hokage grinded and bore through the Rhino until it disappeared in a poof of smoke. But the Sannin's enemies weren't done. A panicked glance over to where his own summon tussled with an ever replicating mongrel, Jiraiya and his clone quickly made a mad dash for it.

The sky squawked just as they began running and the Sannin cursed under his breath. It was another of the Six Paths summoning, a giant drill beaked bird soared above head, its Rinnegan eyes locked in on nothing else but the white haired head of the Sannin. It squawked and dove.

Seeing the incoming blast, the Sannin and his clone split up against the broad side of a building rather than climb it. The Bird dove regardless and bore through the building with an ear-splitting screech, the ground trembled beneath Jiraiya's feet as the structure collapsed in a plume of choking dust. Fragments of brick and metal rained down, some of the shards slicing through the air as they narrowly missed him.

He let out a sigh of relief and leaped over the first building in his path. In sync with his clone on the other end the Sannin rushed to help his ungraceful summon. The giant toad summon stood tall even amongst Amegakure's numerous skyscrapers and its tussle with the mongrels brought many of those to collapse.

It buckled behind its shield as the mongrel's many heads, rabid and salivating bit and barked for a pound of the toad's flesh. He shoved hard against the bearing weight of the mutt and gained enough distance to swing his sasumata against the mongrel's torso, chakra spiked and an explosion released on contact. The multi-headed dog was sent flying, rolling and thrashing until the momentum of the blast smashed it against another unfortunate building, burying it in crumbling rumble and loose piping.

A whipped tongue lashed out at the toad before it could catch its breath. The toad swiftly shielded the strike and lurched his sasumata at the water tower the tongue lashed out from. He struck nothing but metal and a wave of water poured out onto the streets and splashed around the buildings.

Just then the Sannin and his clone arrived, "Gamaken, there! Water Release: Water Whip!" The clone weaved seals in a flash and commanded the spilled water into multiple tendrils. They lashed out swiftly at the fleeing enemy, the hastened footsteps of the camouflaged chameleon and three whips successfully wrapped around a foot.

Gamaken dashed forward, his sasumata charged with chakra as he hammered the ground, releasing another explosive force that shattered the earth and blew apart the water. There was silence, if only for a moment as the dust and mist settled.

The Sannin's yell broke the silence, "What happened to those children I trained? To Konan? To Nagato and Yahiko!" Jiraiya's voice cracked through the fog like a whip, the echo of his words swallowed by the oppressive, rain-soaked air. 

Zetsu could make a guess at what he was thinking. Too little too late Toad Sannin. He revelled in the moment, the taste of all the answers to the Sannin's questions on his tongue. 

The debris settled, revealing nothing trapped underneath the toad summon's sasumata but the Sannin was already looking elsewhere for his opponent, his former student. His hands remained clasped together in prayer but his clone was crouched beside him, hair elongated and at the ready.

Sannin, clone and toad searched their surroundings, there were several highpoints and a myriad of pipes ran around the buildings. The destroyed water tank sat on one, its busted belly still spilling its contents like a waterfall. Heavy clouds lingered as each searched the tops and bottoms of algae growing buildings for a reaction.

Silence was his answer but it seemed he wasn't done speaking, "The Mizukage warned about a terrifying power within Amegakure, a power he feared enough to put aside decades of grudges to face against. You…how can you be that?"

Zetsu's eyes widened from his spot as this time the Sannin was answered. A cloaked figure poofed into existence above and behind the giant toad summon. All three reacted in time, turning to find a bull faced Rinnegan wielder split his arm apart. 

"What-?!"

Seven missiles burst out of the open arm before the Sannin could comprehend the sight. The toad raised its shield in defence but the Sannin's clone already leaped forward and over. Hair spiked forward as tendrils that snatched three of the missiles before the fourth landed squarely on the clone's chest. The thunderous explosion made the toad buckle and brace as three more missiles detonated against his shield with a deafening roar. Heat from the blasts seared the air, and the toad's legs trembled beneath the weight of it all, the acrid stench of burnt metal fell along the rain.

A voice spoke from above, the chameleon revealing itself and the Rinnegan wielder within it, "Sensei, you should be grateful. The Mizukage is right to fear us, right to fear…god. This is the power of Pein, the power to enforce peace onto the world through equal suffering. The Mizukage, Kirigakure will be dealt with for their meddling ways and then Konoha for their unrepentant manners. But first, you shall know pain."

Zetsu blinked, satisfied as the chameleon returned to hiding and the bull-faced man's grotesque transformation sent a ripple through the air, his extra arms unfolding with a sickening snap. The air around them grew heavy, thick with the stench of iron-rich blood. The sight sent a chill of equal parts fright and glee down Zetsu's spine.

The plant man slinked through the earth and travelled to the other end of the Rain village, where another battle was taking place. He watched from atop the lofty gates, hidden amongst the last stand of Amegakure, their Genin and retired shinobi. He shifted through the earth, travelling closer till the battle of paper and winds were upon him.

His eyes alone rose from the surface and were nearly rendered blind by cutting winds. He grunted and glimpsed the one called Danzo, a dark and wicked man that kept up against the pressures of paper bombs and razor thin projectiles.

Danzo's mask was broken, his leftside caught in an explosion that forced him to favour his right arm in deflecting the flurry of attacks from Amegakure's Angel. Zetsu sneered as Danzo dodged and deflected his way towards the Angel, his subordinates fought against hers yet two managed to find their way to his side. 

Insects of all manners flew about in the air, gliding on paper and redirecting their paths away from Danzo all while trying to swarm the Angel. Danzo, free of the flurry for once, weaved hand seals at speed and took a deep breath that inflated his chest.

"Wind Release: Vacuum Wave Barrage!" He whipped his head as he breathed the technique, the violent motion sent razor-thin wind blades slicing through the air, the pressure alone was enough to make Zetsu's skin prickle, as the gusts tore through paper and insects alike, leaving behind a thin trail of blood and shredded wings.

Konan, the winged Angel, was unfazed for a moment before her eyes widened and she brought her wings together to deflect a suicidal strike from one of Danzo's subordinates. The fool tossed himself into the wind, his back already sliced open and yet he swung out at the Angel with what would be his last moments. 

His blade crackled with lightning and against the cutting winds the Angel was run through, unprepared though her wings moved to shield her.

Zetsu sneered at the sight of the idiot's bloody body fall apart to the ground, his hand the only thing left hanging onto a blade while the rest of him fell like confetti. Before the sight could fans his appetite, Zetsu receded through the earth and appeared where he was needed the most.

A dimly lit room of weapons, a single bed and little else but dust and fist shaped cracks in the wall. The Uchiha symbol was strewn through the breakage and there, by a table with a cup in hand was the Ghost of the Uchiha.

"Madara, things are developing faster than we ever thought. What should we do?" Zetsu asked, his main body rising up through the floor. Black spoke, his voice a sinister low, "This is all happening because of that Fourth Mizukage, I hate to voice it but perhaps White was correct in trying to devour him before he got to be this much of a problem."

Madara lifted the cup but only its handle came free of the table. He flung it into an opposing wall, imbedding the fragile ceramic expertly as he breathed out a storm of rage behind the swirl of his mask. His neck craned over to Zetsu, the eerie glow of the sharingan locked onto him, "Where is this Mizukage now?"

Zetsu didn't need to be asked again. He reached out across the world to the clone body he kept at distance from the Mizukage. It was a bright, sunny day in the Land of Water, the bright rays even touched the Mist village at its gates.

He didn't need to move farther than that, "He is at the gates of Kirigakure." Zetsu spoke in response and continued looking through the eyes of his clone. The Fourth Mizukage was not alone, though he rarely ever was, the content of his company this time made for an interesting report.

Zetsu held back. He moved closer, watched more intently. The Mizukage was donned in his official regalia, a clean white scarf tied around his neck and a barely concealed ready mesh armour underneath the fat of his official clothing. There's something off about him, this aroma…did he become even stronger? Zetsu couldn't be sure that anything other than his chakra had changed drastically. It smelled of the sea even more than usual and even at this distance, even looking through the eyes of a clone, Zetsu could sense the weight of it.

"He has gotten stronger somehow." Black said. "He is leaving the village with few people in his entourage."

Indeed, from the clones' eyes and ears they heard the Mizukage speak with those gathered. The young Kage turned from one councillor to another, "Uncle, I am entrusting you to keep the council in line while I'm gone."

The older Karatachi snorted, "You won't be gone long and those two bags of bones won't give you or me trouble, you've got nothing to worry about." The Mizukage smiled, grateful for the words of confidence but the Karatachi wasn't finished, "It is you I worry for. We've hardly stepped out of the Daimyo's war or begun settling matters around it and you're off to meet with a Kage? The Hokage for that matter. Don't you put yourself at too much risk?"

Yagura looked over his shoulder at the three people he would be travelling with. The scoundrel that nearly caught Zetsu the last time. That blasted all seeing eye. A young Hoshigaki, the Mizukage's assistant Junichi, stood beside the Byakugan Killer in moderate shinobi attire, though the most interesting thing about him was the carry along bag of food, clothes and several scrolls. 

The last person was one Zetsu recognized as a Konoha shinobi that had visited Kirigakure in the past and more importantly, was an assigned bodyguard of the Fourth Hokage. Something dreadful truly is afoot. Black thought.

"I'm in good hands, Uncle, I would have loved to bring along one of the swordsmen but I fear I may leave the wrong first impression on the Hokage. Besides, we've been in talks for months, this was only a matter of time."

"Perhaps…perhaps. Just…be careful, alright?"

Zetsu slinked away, returning to his mind where Madara glared expectantly at him, "Yagura is headed to Konoha or at least to meet with Minato Namikaze, things are-"

"I know." Madara growled and stood. He paced in thought for a moment, murmuring names under his breath, Nagato and Danzo more than others until he finally snapped to and demanded, "Where is the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?"

Zetsu's faces split with a grin, he needed not to search for that one, her location was always known to him, "She awaits us. Her seal weakens with every second of her pregnancy which nears its end. It is weaker than ever now."

"Then it's time we clear the board of difficulties. Nagato and Konan will manage…but the Mizukage, he is fortunate the Akatsuki isn't prepared to seal the Tailed Beasts. Nevertheless, he will bow."

"And the Nine-Tails?" Zetsu asked, giddy for the coming chaos.

"We continue with our plans. Now, let's go." Zetsu rose completely and stood by Madara as his sharingan pinched reality into a swirl of colour, vanishing them across the world to their target.

Hehehe. It's time Mizukage. It is time.