[RP Location] Kyotoshiro Village

Oni Archives · Mar 5, 2022

=There in the village there was the hustle and bustle of . . . no - this was nothing like the rigorous combat that the Uchiha male had witnessed before. This did not have the feeling of rigorous combat, of a contest of might and wills between two human beings that sought need to test their mettle against the ceiling of one another's refusal to be another opponent's conquest. Somehow...this was more real then that. Sometimes even when in the midst of combat with an opponent that wanted to kill you there was still this kind of . . . humanity to it all. Something to be sensed and detected between two individuals that were facing each other in combat. There was thought, intention, emotion to be sensed - something to plot out and strategize for. With this? They seemed to come out of the wood work - more and more with every one that Ikki burned down or Misshaku carved apart - in a way...it seemed more like their numbers were growing rather than dwindling. In this case there was none of the typical aspects of combat - the more Ikki and Misshaku did the harder they came out and more feral they seemed to be - like poking a hornets nest more and more poured out and began to scour rooftops and run over one another to get to them. Yes...none of that strategy was here. This was simply survival and there was no matter if one would slip up, a wrong block here, a stray kick there - no. It was as simple as could their fatigue and might - last up against the onslaught of ravenous horrific shambles that piled wall to wall against them. Misshaku had enough - the moment that they started to amass numbers beyond what they had seen when this started - he roared, his own roar seeming to bellow out and stun them all in a very odd type of way - when even the ringing of the bell before had seemed to only make them angry until they were burnt to a crisp, even for Ikki he would sense something there in that roar - leaden with Senjutsu. His black mane started to come to life - fluttering in the wind like a leaf - no...like a flame. He ran around circling back to Ikki gaining momentum - and suddenly jumped in the air above him coiling into a ball where he would spin above Ikki's head and black flame would wash from his mane like a sprinkler over head - amaterasu casting around in a cone leaving a space of security for Ikki while burning everything else. The creatures acted just as they had when the Kiln Of Seiryu had graced them - not burning as quickly as to turn to terracotta stature and crumble apart, but screeching and hissing till they hit the ground and washed into ash. Misshaku landed with tension in his jaws - looking around at those that still stalk and circle looking for an opening through the reef of amaterasu that he had cast. Looking between flame - some of them had gathered and started to form lines, Misshaku growling over to Ikki: "Have anything up your sleeve?" and before long they started to run from the end of the line across crouching bodies - getting to the front only to be platformed and tossed in the air high - becoming black silhouettes against the high sky as they started to come down towards Ikki and Misshaku in growing number.

((Listen While Reading: Conspirator))

[sub]...Meanwhile...[/sub]

"heha! Magnificent - their power, its . . . exquisite. However - that can be a bit of a problem. I'am yet to fully secure my prize. It's the - son of the demon you know, one of them at least - I believe you are quite acquainted. the Fourth generation Seiryu. I thought you would be much more excited to see him finally. Would I be correct in assuming that you can handle him alone, no?"

-Standing there in the midst of the bamboo forest at a small shrine just before a lake was three beings. One was a man - adorned in a suit and top hat, only one had seen him at all in their entire time here in Naraka and that was the Sarutobi boy...though he may not recognize him without seeing the devil dancing in the pale moonlight. He turned and looked at the other one whom was kneeling there on the ground with book in hand - meditating, this was none other than Daikokyuten - self-proclaimed leader of the new burning dawn. The man simply knelt and refused to say anything - simply biding his time waiting, when suddenly from behind him in the shadows came a voice - followed by the glow of bright yellow eyes. A silver haired man from in the forest stepped out and took place in answering the question previously proposed:

"We have it sorted - you have my word on that. I may not have been able to cut our enemy off at the pass back at the casino - but I've a distinct feeling that there was a lot less confusing hallways and crumbling corridors out here in the forest then there was in the casino. Hm...that Genichiro is a piece of work - buildings, bigger on the inside then out, mass corridors spanning lengths impossible to the proportion of the architecture...he knew what he was doing when he built that place."

-The masked man turned back to the shrine, back turned to them all he removed the mask and from it came a sound that was dark and sickly, wet - a festering like a rotten melon being opened up. The two made expressions that both telegraphed that even these hardened spirits felt some manner of contention behind what they knew to be behind that mask. From his face came a bright light of some sort, shining out over the lake as an orb started to manifest over it and dark liquid started to bleed down into the lake from it like an infected wound. Then - from the origin point of the masked man, there came a disembodied distortion as he spoke: "I do hope that is the case my dear friend. Failure - makes for a rather bitter meal...and you know that I'am a connoisseur of fine cuisine." =Saying this the silver haired male nodded, fading back into the shadow - and Daikokyuten opened his eyes to glance at the back of the masked man for just a second with sharp piercing eyes - before he turned into a cloud of Miasma which washed away back into the forest-

Oni Archives · Mar 5, 2022

I alone am the honored one...

Like a war drum his heart pounded as the pair carved through the horde of corpses before them. A humble rhythm of the wild if you will as there was a certain harmony that came from the carnage that ensued. The streaks of blue and gold that came with each dispatched corpse another crawled from the depths and then it dawned on Ikki that this was no longer as simple as defeating a foe and continuing about one's way. This was something that triggered a far more primal instinct from within even as Misshaku graced him with a moment of respite amongst the seemingly endless horde. When the obsidian flames washed over the corpses present and they wasted away it would almost seem as if Ikki slipped into a state of shock. This would come across to any onlooker as a moment of stress or even unconsciousness almost as his body functioned on autopilot for even just a few moments. His mind had opened one door after the other as the beast that was a true companion to his father made an opening for the pair. It was as if his request for if Ikki had something up his sleeve was a request for the boy to dig deeper than he ever had. While he didn’t rely on the contents of his seiryu mask entirely, the mirror image that resided within was something beyond simple animosity. His mirror while still possessing his calm and collected demeanor held no remorse for the human aspect of these corpses. While the one who peered into this mirror still viewed them as people with families and friends, the one that looked back simply saw them as nothing more than another corpse on the trophaeum that rested before them. So just as those corpses rained from above things seemed to come to a pause for the young Seiryu although if Misshaku knew anything at all about the boy that Izanagi himself called a son he would know there was no reason for concern at all.

Meanwhile within the subconscious of Ikki

Chains rattled that candle filled dojo from days ago when he convened within himself had been expanded upon. His mirror no longer sat alone in a small room with just the two of them. It was expansive pillars spanning as far as the eye could see in either direction but still even amidst the darkness their positions were well lit. The pillars that resided within were covered in seals parchment seals, some tattered, others barely hanging on to the pillars they called home and the chains that resided dangling from each pillar in question were seemingly perfectly tempered. His mirror looked up from his bored position with a smile on his face and his eyes blindfolded all the same. However the smirk that rested there was almost akin to an ”I told you so”[/b]. His voice reached out and caressed his ears with little hesitation.

“You need me just the same way that I need you… We are two sides of the same coin after all.”

Ikki simply responded with a nod as he knew there was no time to argue with his mirror yet in the same motion that he nodded the mirror stood and walked past him uttering another phrase of comfort. His mirror’s form was followed by the very same light that lit their positions for only a moment before the entire room became illuminated with azure flames. It seemed that with this exchange of control came a perpetual burning. While Ikki himself was nowhere near a full blooded oni he understood the need for control of one’s self and their emotions just the same.

“Just this once I’ll take the reigns”

A snap back to reality came and just as these creatures were mere feet away from Ikki there came a reckoning. A deep exhale came from Ikki’s mouth as he pointed his head to the sky to face his aggressors and like staring into the belly of the azure dragon. His lips parted and what came forth from the billowing smoke was a blue flame so vibrant that it would illuminate even the darkest recesses of the village buildings. This embrace of azure devastation was rife with a sense of primal intensity as even the flame that embraced them was given shape as it depicted the maw of a dragon snapping shut on the first of hundreds. When this rough shape snapped shut it gave way to nothing but ash and brimstone. Ikki’s plan was to turn their battleground into nothing but a resting place for the horde to come as with each body that rained from above they would in turn cut through the ashes of the fallen. This meant that they would be left with nothing but being reduced to children of cinder. Where the amaterasu left them to burn away slowly the flames produced by Ikki would leave them to be reduced to ash effectively cooking each subsequent corpse that became laced with ash. A means of by them time as the cloud of ash would linger much like a storm cloud resulting in a subsequent torrent of hellfire. Misshaku would likely pick up on the fact that the ashes continued to rain down leaving only pieces of bodies behind for those that broke through. For those that found themselves scrambling amids the ground like roaches they would no sooner find themselves adding to the atmosphere above as heat always rises.

He knew even in this state that they could not fight forever no matter how bad he wanted too. While his sharingan even in its current state could provide him with unadulterated ability he still needed to let his eyes heal which meant sooner or later they would need to get to the root of this horde or at the very least make their next move that didn’t involve simply fighting until there was nothing left. In exchange Ikki’s mind raced for a solution as the creatures seemingly grew endlessly even at the wake of the lingering storm Ikki had created. This was going to be a baptism of flame and brimstone as the young mebu racked his brain for a more suitable solution. Albeit even as the storm of flames provided them with momentary solace they needed an out and quickly at that. His mind had already been made up the very moment he stepped into his subconscious as the exchange with his mirror led to him donning the mask almost unknowingly as if he had gone into a sort of autopilot. This meant that the passive cold hearted Ikki had taken a backseat. Their way out was merely on the horizon as bodies fell to nothing but ash. He knew that between the both of them could physically remove themselves from the situation, yet he also understood doing so would simply be a temporary fix. This meant that their options were finite and Ikki’s mind finding the source wasn’t exactly optimal but it would likely be their best bet in the long run. In passing more bodies fell from the heavens above and others crawled their way to the pair en masse only to be reduced to nothing but ash and brimstone time after time again. This was a part of Ikki’s way out; he was providing them with a smoke screen as the cloud of ash above grew denser as its area grew covering the pair in a thick cloud.

“we have two options. Die on this hill or find a way to put an end to this horde for the long haul. Either way we can’t stay at the workshop or nearby for that matter.” even as he spoke about the former people of the village there was a lack of remorse in his voice. He knew very well that they were no longer simply the people of naraka but tools of a being far removed from humanity. He was disgusted at the thought and thus he knew they needed to be laid to rest permanently.

Oni Archives · Mar 5, 2022

=Pinned down and quickly running out of options Misshaku looked to see what the young seiryu had up his sleeve. The moment that he took pause Misshaku's resolve did not waver - he knew that there was only two ways that this could go. Either one, he could be gathering himself and communicating with the spirit of the mask - or two, they could come up short on this end and wind up dead - either way panick would do nothing but ensure the latter. Misshaku dug deep - his black mane starting to flare and take up a life of its own as he bore down and soon the young Seiryu sprung into action. Misshaku's eyes darted up to observe the silo of flame that errupted from him and the moment that he did so he could think nothing more then to help bolster that. As it went up and started to char and burn the silhouettes of humanity that cast themselves at the two - Misshaku would begin to run in circles around Ikki, black mane turning into black flame as Izanagi's amaterasu sprung to life from his fur as if it was the very doorway to a pitch black hell itself. The lion ran circles around the man and projected the flame into the air with that of the azure flame that was already hitting a crescendo. Soon - the blue dragon of flame that ascended into the air was now a spiraling dark blue conflagration that formed a melting pot of synthetic material in the sky. The black lion took to the skies rolling into he practically was nothing but a black ball as he spiked himself down through the center of the dragon's mouth and burst the flames out all around them - unleashing turbulent waves of fire in every direction around them till he formed into a black wisp - spiraling safely down around Ikki and back into position at close guard on his right flank. The sage beast looked exhausted, or at least severely strained as it winced in pain and listened to what the young man had to say - he couldnt help but agree. Though as they stood there he would notice that the screams and wails of these creatures started to get louder, and louder - and ever more in sync as it started to vibrate the very buildings around them more and more until finally the burning creatures burst out into simultaneous wails of otherworldly discontent for the pain they were sending -somewhere-, unleashing this ghastly sound from each body all at the same time it sounded less like they were all screaming together, and more like every body around them had become a loudspeaker for something far and distant to express it's pain through. As this happened , evidently the pain that was inflicted all at one time was too much for them, or whatever had been controlling them - causing the rest of the bodies to go limp around the ashes that had been cast out at all directions. Misshaku looked about in disbelief, still on guard he turned and looked all around them to see if there were others standing or if this was an over all effect...the product of his observation was more then he could believe at the moment. Stepping forward, with fur now less vibrant then it had been when they started, the beast walked on labored paw forward inhaling a deep scent of the air as he growled in discontent: "It looks like this is only the beginning. Theres a particular scent up ahead, in the forest. Tinged in blood. It would seem that we've been putting on a show for someone."

Oni Archives · Mar 5, 2022

I alone am the honored one...

The ensuing battle was over or so it seemed as things fell into place one after another. Misshaku's grand gesture culminated in nothing more than a near perfect harmony as corpses were reduced to nothing but burning nhusk. A deafening harmony of grotesque screams tainted the open air. Ikki’s vision was strained even though it was just for a moment the subtle change caused even the golden vision he had created for himself to be altered. Ikki gripped his eyes for only a moment as a reflex even if they weren’t particularly in use at the moment. This was caused by the abrupt vibrations of his surroundings making it seem as if everything was in constant motion even though he knew they were at a relative standstill for Ikki it felt like his brain was trying to decipher tv static to paint a picture of the world around him. Once their surroundings came to a standstill once more, Ikki's hand descended from his mask-covered face removing it in the process causing it to burst into a milky cloud of smoke. The spirit of the mask was much like rousing a sleeping demon for Ikki when it came to combat. It was almost uncanny but once things calmed down for the pair and the bodies were reduced to nothing. Ikki looked at Misshaku as he spoke about the forest being tinged in blood and the peering eyes of someone else and looked onward. It was just as the saying goes ‘battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster, and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.’ as in these moments both Misshaku and Ikki had done just that. His nose gave way to an insight that Ikki’s eyes would soon accompany as he peered onward. He wouldn’t be met with the gaze of anyone or so he hoped but the golden hue of the land around him in those moments seemed almost lifeless. The two of them created a labor of bloodshed but whatever had done this was far worse. Ikki let out an exhale of momentary relief and with that the ash cloud that surrounded them would disperse at the young seiryu’s behest leaving the land leaden with his chakra for only a moment before subsiding into nothing.

“Whoever it is better have enjoyed it because this loss of life is unacceptable. Let’s get somewhere you can rest, you look worse for wear.”

There was a level of concern in Ikki’s voice even if he knew the beast would make it but even the two of them together were the furthest thing from immortal. He wanted to do more than just lay the souls that attacked them to rest yet it was likely the best thing he could do for them as he began to move ahead. It was likely that Misshaku would inevitably follow suite and with that this journey was going to continue with or without the war being waged behind the scene.

Oni Archives · Mar 5, 2022

((Listen While Reading: Black Hadou))

=He stood there watching them from the midst of the bamboo forest that spanned the side of the waters next to the fishing village. They couldnt make him out completely, his eyes were upon that lion that traveled with the young man, which followed suit no sooner then when the young man started moving. They could take their time all they wanted, thats exactly what they needed anyhow. The moment that they started to part from the village there was a mass spike in chakra some distance into the forest - and along with it something that the young man and lion were familiar with yet could not easily be identified by the laymen. Hadou. He could hear the lion call to the young man from behind as this happened: "Ikki - I'm not sure whats going on, but there is a mass collection of Hadou and Chakra deeper in the forest, its coming from that light spanning up into the skies. We have to get there, and I'am coming with you. Something's not right, that smell - its worse, theres...there's definitely more then one. They're all tainted by the blood of innocents."=His senses had become...impeccable since making the deal. He could hear him clear as if he was standing next to him. Watching the lion drag his back leg with the labor of a winged beast - he rolled his neck very slow and deliberately...he wanted to feel the pop in detail - focusing his mind on sensations...pop...snap...cracks...tearing flesh. He closed his eyes inhaling deep as he prepared himself to do the only thing that he's been able to do well for quite some time since that day...kill. Perhaps he was not always that kind of man...the kind of man that relishes in murder...the kind of man that would paralyze then bash a young child's head against a stone simply for a diversion or unleash hell upon a young woman carrying a wounded girl. But none of that mattered anymore. The only way that he could assure himself success was if he got himself in that mindset and became...that kind of person. He'd failed once already - the doorway had crumbled back in the casino when he was pursuing the pink haired woman. Her blood would have aided in their mission. Needless to say with one missed opportunity under his belt he was spite to acknowledge any other that would come forward. He sulked back into the shadows. He'd allow the pair to advance into the forest just enough to come to the monument out in front of the village gateway just a few yards - where Tengu once spoke with Team 3 when they first arrived. They would come out to be met with the visage of a five foot, ten man of long silver hair and golden eyes looking forward at them with eyes that may seem lazy to some, but to the trained eye it was a concerning thing indeed. This man was obviously new to Naraka...a gentile to the land and its ways...but there was all of the chilling, casual murderous intent there in his gaze of anyone who normally fought their way across the lands as a native. This man had seen hell, and when you looked at him you too could see into it. Had Ikki come with Misshaku or not - the man adorning a crimson red flak vest and typical shinobi pants would look up towards the Naraka sun, pushing his hand up towards it to shield his eyes as his lips upturned in a frown:

"Its a beautiful day, bright outside. Isn't it funny how so many people can die in a single place...and the sun shines down upon the horror all the same. Hm...even nature...doesnt care about the suffering of life doesnt it?"

=A casual question...asked casually despite its dark nature. Though it was apparent in asking the question what kind of man he was and mindset he had. He was a man that had been touched by tragedy. He was an example of the bad end of the quote that had come to Ikki's mind - and like a cosmic joke it was as if the universe had answered his thoughts to the quote with a bastardization of its less welcoming end with the appearance of this man...for he indeed was an example of what happens when a man stares into the abyss for far too long, and by consequence loses themselves in it. He'd lost something great to tragedy and: "Still the sun shines..." he thought a'loud as it had haunted him ever since that day. Something horrific, that flipped his life upside down and still....the sun shined. And now here he was...to kill who he would to get what it was he wanted. He would test that...he would see if it was possible to make it so that nature too - became empathetic to the suffering. He didnt speak it...but his gaze did all the talking....this was a man who had come to kill all that he could...to see how many deaths it would take - till the sun too...had to look away from him, and leave them in darkness...=

LucianRedgrave · Apr 8, 2022

Ikki nodded his head to Messhaku in those moments as his words spoke truth about their reality. His body was clearly leaden with the weight of the battle. Simply being heir to a name he had longed for the young Mebu starred onward almost as if looking through the figure that stood before him. The hum and drum of his heart beat bellowed in his chest as it was akin to staring into a mirror almost. Where Ikki's eyes were laced with crimson and the curse of his people however, this figure stared back with a scent of freshness about him with golden iris'. Ikki almost upturned his lip but there was always something more that came with a presence such as this young mans. The golden armor that shrouded Ikki faltered and crumbled away as if chiseling away at marble in hopes of creating a statue. He needed to live up to his namesake as a shinobi and endure even if it meant running himself into the ground. In the end his gaze while just as stoic as it was filled with anger. His lips furled inward as he bit his lower lip in contemplation only to let out a deep exhale. The breath that left his mouth was steamy despite the temperature of the air. The two of them managed to fight their battle into the morning and despite the sheer suspicious nature of the individual before them who was he to turn down a moment of reprieve.

The second this individual made comment about nature not caring about the suffering of life itself it made Ikki's thoughts pause. It was true, nature didn't genuinely care. It was instinctive for nature to weed out the weak and feeble or force them to adapt in order to develop strength. It was the brutal mindset of the world around them, Naraka even more so than the waking world. Ikki replied to his last words "Nature is unforgiving for those who aren't willing to fight, so it shines to provide those who will with growth. Like the pieces of a garden." He didn't hesitate much more after speaking and was simply ready to follow along. Ikki much like this young man had something he sought after, death, success, and all the things that paved the way too that were apart of his seemingly natural course.

CelestialBlack · Apr 16, 2022

Messhaku was standing there beside Ikki as the silver haired man spoke. The way that Messhaku stood and bore himself down was the demeanor of a lion on guard - prepared to pounce at any moment should the moment require such. There was something about the man that did not quite sit right with him and it showed very apparently, and the man himself showed no signs of having any worry or retractions from the nature of the feline companion that was with the Dragon Seiryu. In fact the way that the man looked over at Misshaku was almost as if daring the sage beast to act on his base instincts - a cold almost taunting gaze, but it was not that which struck Misshaku to his core. It was the stillness in his eyes. The unmovingness in his demeanor and very spirit. This man was teeming with a source of power that the young Seiryu was yet to become accustomed to sensing on such a refined level, and yet this man - a complete outsider had this level of control of it? Something was not right. He had the look of a sociopath, a clear and calculated murderer. As Misshaku bore down he started to contemplate that the only way they would be able to usher Ikki through to his destination was if he took matters into his own hand and bought him time. The Hatake male started to go about the route he was leading Ikki but there was a black furred, fanged elephant in the room that needed to be addressed and so he did: "Walk with me. Unless of course, there are any objections about that?" Spoken as he looked directly over at Misshaku - and it was no later then when that sentence was finished did Misshaku spring into action. With a loud roar he jumped off to the right side and slanted directly in towards the male spiraling through the air turning into a spinning ball of Amaterasu as he closed in. In doing so - the silver haired male stared motionless into the spiraling ball of flame that was closing towards him. He felt this feeling every time that he was staring down something that any sane person could perceive as a brush with death. He inhaled deep - taking it in for a second. The possibility....the possibility of release. He imagined what it would be like were the black flames to strike him - cleanse his existence clean of this world that birth so much pain. The temptation was intoxicating...though he would deny his flesh. Suddenly a flash of light would strike between the two - and periwinkle hues of chakra, light, and Hadou would spiral between them and keep Misshaku stationary in place in the air and disarmed from his black flame state while replaced with a state of shock. Misshaku looked down at his would be target and saw a malestrom of untamed Hadou cascading from the man's left eye...he was puzzled beyond belief - though unfortunately for him it would seem as if confusion...would be the last feeling to grace his conscious mind.
With lightning, that seemed to teem from the body of the silver haired male at such a magnitude that it would make near by mammals have their hairs stand on end.
There would begin a spiral of electricity that would surround the man for a moment there. It was not normal raiton - silver, the signature Hatake bloodline chakra as it surrounded his body and started to pool around the left forearm which was brunt down and fist upturned as if about to throw an uppercut. When such charged in that split second that it took to parry out the Ebony Lion's attack, with a sound of thunder that same fist would strike upwards and project a spire of silver lightning - looking more like a focused laser then a streak of lightning as a geyser of blood would splatter out into the air and the black feline would be sent flying up through the air. The lion would rainbow through the sky and eventually land with a loud splash in the nearby lake to which the fishing hamlet was connected. The silver haired males features were twisted up into a shamefully rich smile of satisfaction...it was apparent that even despite his stoic demeanor - there was something about the man or this power he wielded that conjured up an absolute elation to causing others pain. Perhaps it was just his philosophy. Once the lion was dispensed of and a'float in the water, the silver haired male would look back at Ikki (had he not intervened) and with the same still demeanor as before subside back into social grace as he nodded his head off towards the forest: "He is too weak for what is ahead. You didnt need him anyway. Lets walk before one of us has to die." He turned at the punctuation of that casually spoken sentence and started to walk off into the forest, hands in pockets. It was apparent that death and the typical nature of the life of a shinobi was no stranger to him and he was no longer moved by it. At this point he had a goal - and everything else in between was simply a stepping stone and footnote that needed to be filled out before he made it to that goal. Human life, life in general had depreciated in meaning in comparison to what he wanted, and what he was offered. What that was? Had still yet to be known to any other then himself and the devil by which he bargained.

LucianRedgrave · May 17, 2022

They walked along but the tension between his would be travel companions was almost palpable. They hadn't even truly gotten moving an exchange of philosophy and demeanor. In Ikki's mind this silver haired male reminded him of the jailer of Naraka more formerly known as Oshirama a man who in all his glory was the foundation for Ikki's own growth. The nonchalant demeanor he carried was worth the note purely based on the fact that he was the only sentient source of life in their immediate area. This made Ikki's mind hone in on his previous interaction with Eien it wasn't the same but the essence of the moment itself was similar. Where Eien was filled with hate and anger it was as if this man's intentions were as pure as they come, almost instinctual to a degree. When Messhaku lashed out with the intent to strike Ikki's body faltered for only a moment. The two of them had already been fighting for so long yet even now in the face adversity he was fighting. In reality Ikki was starting to get fed up with the idea that all they ever had to do was just that. The Uchiha blood that ran through his veins was a prime example of that living by the code of ethics that made so many clans both past and present cease to exist, blood in blood out. Just as Messhaku jumped into the air to relent against the man that stood before them Ikki's voice bellowed. "ENOUGH!" The Uchiha boy turned Mebu had finally had his fill.

The perilous aspect of fighting between strangers at a mere glance of their inner essence was almost silly to think about. When his voice echoed through the defiled village that many once called home even what little wild life if any would scatter. It was like hearing the roar of the very beast Messhaku fancied himself to be. Where many would tremble in the presence of any of these three it was clear the lines in the sand had been drawn. His heart thumped and those eyes hidden behind a silken cloth began to strain his golden sight was becoming tainted. The bestial eyes fetter by fabric and a need for preservation clawed for freedom as the events began to play out. He knew his bellowing words weren't going to be enough to stop Messhaku or the man that now joined them but what came was sudden and without remorse. Where in Messhaku would indeed find himself in a state of suspended animation but rather than be struck down he would be plucked from the functioning plane. Where this silver haired individual put the aforementioned figure in a state of suspended animation he would find his target had indeed been removed from the equation altogether with his body being sucked into a seemingly empty void. Had their newest guest been paying close enough attention it was more then likely they would've known exactly what this sudden disappearance was none other than the mangekyou's Kamui. However just the same as Messhaku was taken away he would in turn be spat back out into the very same river he was intended to be cast into on his feet should he so choose.

Ikki's attention snapped back to the silver-haired male and yet it seemed as if he was staring in the very depths of his being. Yet the tension in the air was still palpable between the three of them one could reach and grasp it. Time ran through his mind like grains of sand through an hour glass as if it were the last grain circling the bottom of its vessel. Ikki's chest pounded even harder during those moments alone and with that came a cough leaden with steam and blood. His body wasn't going to falter during a time like this but it was clear he was pushing some boundaries whether those be mental or physical. He reared his head back as if to looked down upon this individual with a level of intensity to match his collected demeanor. That said this look would provide a level of equal ground between them and with that Ikki would've spoke with a stern tone. "Are the two of you finished?" there was deep inhalation following Ikki's words as if to center himself before continuing. "You wreak of something indescribable. Whatever it is, keep it in check." Ikki's mind was certain of one thing, whatever ailed Eien back then this man seemed to have a complete different take on it almost as if he had taken the very bull by the horns in order to drive it into the ground. His golden vision was still reaching out looking for prying eyes nonetheless even if those prying eyes were the man standing before him.

CelestialBlack · May 26, 2022

The moment that the Lion had pounced to take action against the man before them he would find that mid air there was a boisterous noise that would permeate the forest around them. Suddenly before he knew it just as swiftly as the disturbed birds could take to the air and scatter so too had he been displaced in the river close by. Spattering to get his footing he started to paddle himself over to the shoreline - shaking his mane dry with a light plume of black flames to assist as the black lion stared at the ground for but a moment. He knew what it was that had displaced him, that was not the subject of contemplation at the moment but it was more so what he saw the moment before he was displaced as he met the man before them eye to eye ready to engage in combat. That man, his eyes were cold - remorseless, unmoved entirely. There was not even the symbolism of there being any response to the engagement of combat to him, it was like the man was just empty...and yet he felt this vast hatred and pain inside of him...not only was this man a broken creature of malice and spite....but it was clear that he was the type that wanted only to spread it further. In the moment that Ikki had inquired as to whether or not the two of them were done, Messhaku and the man before them both almost mirrored each other in response. Head tilted back and examining the other - clearly more to be said but neither of them would bother...they were both resolute in knowing what it was they had to do at this point. "I'm of no use to you like this I'm afraid. I would only be in the way. I need to recover, and I have a strong idea that our destination and this man's intention are intertwined. I will catch up shortly - but do not let your guard down with him. This outsider...he has a command of Hadou that I havent seen in quite some time. Seiryu - let not your pride get in the way. If need be, there is no shame in escaping with your life. I've a bad feeling about all of this. Something is not right." as Messhaku stated this to Ikki, referring to him by codename - or perhaps even referring directly to Seiryu in a ploy to advise the only other partner Ikki had in the moment to be alert and ready to dig deep to support him. As Messhaku finished Saitou watched as the man challenged the attempt at telling him what to do. He couldnt see it, but at this point it could definitely be felt. Beneath that half mask he wore the man couldnt help but retaliate against a smile beaming across his face. The way that his facial features contorted would show that even his conscious mind was fighting against what seemed to be a reflex that took him off guard even in himself...but it was evident that this man cared nothing for nuance otherwise. It didnt serve Ikki any purpose or justice to be crass in the current, certainly the young Seiryu had more in the tank but this man was running fresh, and on a fuel source he'd never encountered in such a way before. Saitou responded as he turned his back to the man and began to walk into the forest as he had been before: "Don't be a fool. Of course I'll keep it in check. You'll spoil over too soon if I didnt otherwise. But I wouldnt go throwing your weight around just yet." His words trailed behind him as he set one hand in the pocket of his cloak while the other sway at his side. The lasting glance that he gave Ikki before he had turned his back and proceeded to walk was one of a man that had to hold himself back. The state that Ikki was in, the brash heat of his demeanor and repugnance towards his adversary - and the excitement of knowing that this is just what was on the surface, not even yet digging deep into what was resting underneath the young Seiryu's countenance. His eyes show not that of a man but that of an animal, seeing features in his prey that would make it all the more succulent to him...but the silver haired man had someone higher to answer to. As singular minded as he was, all of his animosity was for one reason and one reason only; and if he wanted to see that come to fruition - he'd need play ball just like everyone else wrapped up in this complex little game of theirs.

LucianRedgrave · Jun 14, 2022

It was enough in Ikki's mind to hear the splash of Messhaku's form in the nearby water but more over hearing his voice reaffirm his initial thought. The guy that stood between them and their destination wasn't just an obstacle. He was effectively the next stepping stone in Ikki's path with each encounter another door open and another closed meaning this was going to be no different. He let out that same heavy sigh from before as if to center himself once again before peering back into the unyielding fervor between the two of them. In that moment alone as Messhaku spoke not only to him but the one that rattled around in the depths of his mind he kept his gaze locked on the figure before them but gave a reassuring nod. Had Messhaku been capable of lookign at the one he was referring to by name he would find him peering back. That abyss Ikki spoke of earlier was looking right back, smiling with his fangs barred. Whoever this individual was he had enough know how to set the tone without a single word meaning even Messhaku himself had every right to respect the outward display of strength. Ikki spoke with that same stern tone from before as he looked onward "Then lets not waste anymore time. Thank you for getting me this far Messhaku.." He in turn would begin about his way walking directly past the white haired man that stood before him. It wasn't goign to be long before he was leading the way so why waste the time talking. Had Messhaku been capable of peering within those aforementioned depths now he would find a sense of internal conflict between both manifestations of Ikki. The one many came to know and love now face to face with the very Uchiha blood that made him into the fine warrior he was today. This wasn't an unfamiliar interaction by any means yet it was a necessary one. Where many consider the actions of a sound mind, body and soul to be the foundation of a humans most stable self things were a bit different here. Ikki need to convene within himself as the development of his bond in regards to being seiryu was apart of this.

Meanwhile within the subconscious of Ikki

Those same chains from before rattled as they spider webbed from shinto gate to gate and pillar to pillar. The seals they held were worn and tattered revealing just how truly unstable things had become. In passing the younger image of Ikki that often resided here looked up at Ikki as he stood there grinning all the same as before not waiting long before he spoke. "Even he knows you need me..." The mirror image chuckled despite his fetters and Ikki in turn stared with a hint of disdain. There was a certain sense of remorse for the primal essence this image represented but all in all it was a reality that could not be avoided. The mirror image's eyes flitted from the chains that bound him and back to Ikki once again before he continued. "Understanding your limitations is just the beginning. Accepting your limits, is the beginning of strength. Even in the face of adversity you look to me when there is a challenge you can't face alone." A chuckle followed those words as he carried on "Submission to strength is no longer an option. Our time is approaching as those who came before us were just as eager as you were. They fought tooth and nail as well as hand in hand with beast that dwelled within them. Take everything and give them nothing so that you can live up to the very name bestowed upon you.." Ikki let out a heavy breath within his subconscious and as he did so the room in which they stood shook before filling with a thick smoke. The smoke was soon filled with flecks of light sprinkled throughout revealing those same seals that held the mirror image of the young Mebu being burned away. In those final moments the smoke settled revealing the mirror freed from his fetters standing face to face with Ikki as ashes rained down around them.
"Seiryu."

CelestialBlack · Jun 17, 2022

The moment that the young man had walked past him there would have been no sense of defiance or otherwise that would have prompted in his mind at all in doing so. His fixations were not so petty as to see opposition in such a gesture, despite how much he had sewn wanton murder throughout Naraka on his way up to this point. He only had one job and one job only...to see them again. Every other order, transgression, and bump along the way was simply a step on the path to achieve that final goal...he had been told to simply get the offspring of the dragon to a particular destination and it would be just that which he did...him moving that direction did nothing but help his job either way. As they started walking he could feel certain changes within the young boy though as a gentile to the ways of Naraka there was no way that he could put it into an eloquent enough thought to understand. All that he knew was that his past fatigue may very well no longer be a problem for him anymore. But that would not be his problem regardless as long as he did his job. He had begun walking behind him to guide him to the location, slowly creeping up to pass the man and lead out up ahead. As he did such he looked among the path itself and then the back of the young man's cranium - examining him and as he did with most things trying to understand the mindset of the target so that he may better understand what it was that he was reacting to. But...it was there again - slinking along behind him; fingertips on the inside of his mind, scratching - poking and prodding a murderous intent in his mind. As he started to catch up and eventually come slightly side by side, just a bit behind him it would be at its strongest. He felt it....hell he smelt it - the scent of fresh blood trickling down his knife from the back of the man's head - down onto the floor, the density of his body - pierced and stabbed several times...there was nothing tactical about it. Nothing shinobi like to what he was thinking at all..it was purely the mindset and intent of a murderer...but - as accustomed to it as he had become...it felt misplaced and even he himself knew it. He wore a mouth cover in his typical shinobi attire that for the most concealed his facial expressions - along with the angle he stood at. But there was a twisted smile of satisfaction that he was fighting from his facial countenance all along while he battled with the murderous thoughts and intentions.
Almost in parallel with Ikki - as he started to pass him he would close his eyes and take in a deep breath to recompose himself. The thoughts of murder now filled with the memories of The murder...the one that lead him along this path in the very first place. As he walked past Ikki and up ahead his body would be on autopilot as he drowned out the murderous thoughts with the memories of why he was here in the first place...the memories of what his motivation to do all of this was in the first place. Suddenly the satisfaction of the scent of blood, the feel of its warmth along his skin was now filled with dread, disdain, and rage at the very same sensations...the blood of his wife where he last found her now....the blood of his child, trickling down his fingertips a she held his son for the last time "No no no no, no please. Not my baby boy please. Not my baby boy! You promised me! You told me this wouldnt happen, you promised me ahhh my baby boy!" he remembered his screams...his pain, the anguish he felt and still feels in his chest as he thinks about it. The curing hot burn of the heartbreak that forged his resolve beyond the limitations of normal men. It was terrible...horrible....but it was the only thing helping him fight this "monkey's paw" of a gift that he had been granted in order to help him do his job...help him see that heinous night corrected properly. His expression had returned to as it was before...dead and emotionless - unfeeling....he had to be, remembering was the only way to snap him out of that overwhelming sense of murderous intent; but once he remembered the pain - forgetting his humanity and giving in to stoicism was the only way to keep the pain from driving him absolutely insane...though from what he's experienced even he would argue it may be too late for that. "We're not too far now. Its just a bit further out into the center of the forest." he reassured as they started to get closer. By this point they were passing skuffs, forced clearings in the forest and burn marks on the ground - wood misplaced in a way that was unnatural to the forest. It was the location that team 3 had arrived originally and where they fought off the Ogre that had pursued them. They were now heading in the opposite direction of where they had gone...venturing to a point they would have made it if their path - literally had diverged the opposite way. Among the forest there was stomping, extremely heavy and swift - striking past them through the forest snapping apart some bamboo and knocking it straight to the ground as the remaining ogre from that very same pack ran through and observed the new visitors in their lands. But they dare not try and make a meal of the two that walked through. Curious as to who they were more deterred by, the Son Of The Dragon - heir to the black throne - or the Silver haired Serial killer that had breached his way into and through a foreign land beyond his means of understanding. Either way the ogre moved on, and they encroached upon a growing fluctuation of chakra and...something else. There was a warbling sound echoing from the location they were heading in at this point - almost like hearing a submarine sonar going off underwater...searching for something through the deep; and the closer they got to it the stronger it felt and the strong too - could its pull be felt...almost as if it was sucking in life itself with each pulse of its radar that went out. This feeling was different, however it would be very familiar to Ikki. It was similar to something that he had felt ages ago, in a time past but certainly not forgotten by the young Seiryu.

An irresistible vacuum of power.
It felt like....him

LucianRedgrave · Sep 5, 2022

Whatever crosses the man that lead the way needed to bare were his and his alone, however when he would inevitably come up behind and no sooner pass Ikki he would find that tinge of internal conflict would resonate between the two of them. Wherein Ikki’s had come to pass this man’s felt as though it were a constant itch, a clawing urge or better put a growing necessity. Yet just as before when one peered into the abyss he could very much find it peering back. That urge seeping from this young man was met with the internal gaze of Ikki’s self; the mirror image peered back as if staring eye to eye with a bestial figure. Despite Ikki’s inherent lack of murderous intent unless the moment truly called for it they shared a common ground. The death of another whether that be friend or foe was something that brought an unprecedented sense of well being. In Ikki’s case it was commonplace as a stain on his bloodline as an Uchiha turned Mebu. There was a stench about the pair that put them at odds at first glance but it was likely something to come to pass upon their separation or perhaps even their symbiosis. Perhaps in the eyes of some unseen entity the two of them were meant for each other even as this figure battled his own demons both mentally and emotionally even if just for a moment Ikki almost thought to pause just to observe. However just as that thought crossed his mind he was composed once again and speaking without so much as an ounce of dismay in his voice.

Ikki gave a nod as those words were spoken allowing his new found means of observation painted a vivid scene. Beaten, battered and broken the decimation that was before them was ever present even for someone as “Blind” as the young mebu in those moments. His fingers twitched as if they were a snake's tongue tasting the air. This wasn’t a nervous tick but his body drinking it all in one moment after another. Ikki’s mind almost wandered in those moments as if to run through the very idea of what it must’ve been like for the uninitiated to fight such a thorough battle in what probably felt like hours in mere minutes. Ikki was no stranger to the plights of Naraka but where his blood boiled over to allow him unadulterated prowess they struggled to even cobble together teamwork in a moment's notice. He thought back to the small amount of time he spent with the trio before crossing into what seemed like a vacuum. Upon stepping into it however his heart thumped in line with the very ping that radiated from within this new location. His heart marched almost in line with that very pulse and no sooner did his fist clench shut with his teeth to follow. This sensation was the first of many that had sent him to see his mirrored self without the aid of the mask inherently upon his face.This mirrored image of himself dwelled deep within his subconscious yet since that very day the two have come to terms. It was as if the young Mebu had received the keys to his own kingdom so to speak. He looked onward from behind his blindfold and peered deep within the very location before him only to welcome it with open arms where he folded under the weight of this presence before.

The very essence of Ikki’s being clawed at the chance to redeem himself of a time long since passed. It was time that young Seiryu do more than bare the title and instead stake his claim to it all his own just like those before him had done.

CelestialBlack · Sep 19, 2022

-Sniff sniff-
. . .
"Yes..."
There was a sniffing in the forest - just ahead of where it was that the two were due bound in. There was a particular two figures that were there and upon the moment of their imminent arrival one of which had sniffed the air...and an aura of excitement overwhelmed his body. Perhaps too much so. This person....this thing had waited so long for this moment - and despite the fact that the young Seiryu would know not who this man was or have any semblance of his intention nor allegiance the man in question knew exactly who he were...what he represented - especially for him personally and his excitement was overwhelming. "So close...they're so close. This is it - the beginning.

Soon from inside the forest the Hatake man had come to the clearing - out in front of him was a shrine in the distance and a clearing that had been made for it; the area very obviously meant for worship at the shrine itself but anyone from Naraka would know that this shrine was particularly meant to house Sanzou Priestess' like Sakuya. However there was rumors that aside from the power of the Priestess herself there was another power that lay in wait at these shrines - and it was a power that was of insurmountable sacred power. That power was among all of them here today, and then some. This one moment may be the singular moment and beginning time that the young Seiryu had ever been in the presence of such an amalgamation of paracasual power - the ability to shift the tides and course of history and even reality all in a single location. Even his father included. When they came to the clearing, Saitou would fold his arms and wait silent...it was very apparent that the man had been conscripted to bring Ikki to this place for a reason and nothing more - he was the type of man that when he had something on his mind to accomplish he did that and only that, nothing or less and this was a clear indication of that. Which in itself was an indication of much much more. He may have had an extreme murderous intent towards Ikki but it was apparent now that it was not at him personally as much as it was towards his "enemy" and Ikki had been painted as that...anyone getting in the way of what he wanted to accomplish was his enemy. When he brought him here there was an obstruction besides the shrine and there next to it sat a pile of bodies, those of the ogre that they had seen through the forest before. They had been attracted here and subsequently - slaughtered...by the looks of it there was no effort or struggle exerted despite the fact that there was a ring of blood surrounding the area. "You can leave us. I'm to understand that you have much more ahead of you - thanks for being the...chaperone." a chuckle punctuated the rather sleezily stated clarification. With this being said Saitou turned, shoulder to shoulder with ikki he gave him one more direct look...it was the kind of look that you never forget - one that tells that the one initiating is trying to confirm something in their mind and heart. He sized up the man, knowing that if it came to it and they met again after this...he would need to be ready to eliminate him without hesitation and this look was one to compartmentalize that in his mind. There was nothing personal behind it and that may have been the most powerful part of the man's gaze...the coldness...there was nothing human there anymore - just cold calculus. And with that he walked off leaving Ikki to the location. There a'top of the pile of bodies sat a man that he had never seen before...and aside the pile yet another standing in front of the shrine.
Both were horrific manifestations of the secrets of Naraka played right there before his face - for both had something about them that was entirely new and brought life to the whispers, rumors, and myths that creeped through the dark corners of Naraka. The man in front of the shrine had his back turned, but from that angle regardless it could be seen that something unnatural was happening to his face. It was open - segmented at each corner of the face wide and from inside of it was a maw of teeth and a bright light coming from within. It was not chakra...it was something else entirely - Hadou. It resonated and made the area feel like it was entirely electrified, making hairs stand almost as reflex without needing to feel a thing besides. Was it...there was no mistaking it - mask after mask wrapped and adorned around the waist of the being, pure white robes. This was one of the mask salesman's proxies standing right before him. It seemed to be channeling this light into the shrine and all around the shrine was a distortion of the reality around it. Something was opening...and in doing so there was a mass leak of power spilling from it that would make even the most battle hardened guts wretch and flip over. The man on the pile of bodies was different...with the hadou there was something there...something that almost felt natural - powerful in the way that witnessing a miracle would bring precedence to the presence of a god. But this...this felt like the devil.

The man wasnt even speaking - he was doing nothing more then staring at Ikki with one hand framing his jawline and the other holding...a Priestess...there a'top of the pile of bodies he sat with a foot planted upon the head of a dead ogre. The Priestess' neck was obviously broken - held in a tight grasp and sling within the man's clawed palm. His smile was wide looking at the man as he held the body and seemed to be unable to control himself. "Yes...yes....I've waited for this for some time. I can't believe I'm looking at you in the flesh. Ikki Uchiha...no Ikki Mebu...of The Demon's Blood. Of The Azure Flame. Of The Subarashi. Of the . . . doomed Empire." The man slapped his face with his free hand, a hard impact as he released a laugh after - the woman's body fell from his hand - blood across her throat entirely but not her own...the man's hand was bleeding though it did not look like part of the struggle; he was absolutely untouched otherwise. You would think this was a stealth assassination save for the fact that there was far too much evidence of a grandiose conflict having taken place despite his condition. Her body tumbled and rolled down the hill of ogre he sat a'top as she lay lifeless on the ground before them. "Heh...I'm your biggest fan. Killing you happens to be in the top 4 of my bucket list." the man sat on the bodies next to the shrine - inside the circle of blood that had been drawn and watched Ikki. There was something unstable about the man and the markings on his face and hands seemed to resonate with a kind of energy as well though this too - was far from chakra nor was it Hadou. There was something particularly off putting about the scenario. With the amalgam of characters here in this location at the moment there was definitely a vacuum of power to be felt but that was the lesser of the concerns. For the first time in ages...it was likely that Ikki felt a stranger in his own home...because nothing of these two nor this situation felt anything like home...this - was a machination of something far beyond Naraka.

LucianRedgrave · Sep 23, 2022

For just a moment Ikki was rattled to his core not out of fear or even anguish for the sight that resided before him. Whatever these two were brought about something that was cataclysmic within the realm of Naraka it was as if Ikki could reach out and touch the very thing they represented. The slaughter of the many for the grandeur of the few to carve this world in the image of an entity far beyond the scope of a single man. These two were clearly here to carve a path of destruction throughout whether that be here or elsewhere in Naraka but when this figure bathed in white made mention of his many names his hairs stood on edge even further. His skin crawled with a tingle of anticipation of just what this interaction meant. Even when Ikki and the young man that escorted him here effectively locked eyes there was a level of silent communication that almost welcomed the challenge meaning this was going to be no different. His lips parted letting out a heavy breath akin to a sigh as he reached up to pull apart the bandages that covered his eyes. He soon after began speaking with a hint of arrogance behind his words albeit it was far from that moreover residing as pride in the very upbringing Izanagi himself provided him with. He knew very well that the hadou in its very essence was dangerous when untamed and powerful enough to reward cataclysmic results in the right hands. However the man who held the priestess in his grasp for just a moment longer was something of an intersection of the powers that be. Whether those powers were what Izanagi in essence drew his strength from or something beyond chakra or even hadou.

“My biggest fan? A doomed empire? If killing me is at the top of your list then let’s paint the world red with our blood. Because I refuse to let what my family has built fall to your evil.” His bandages fell to the ground which in turn would reveal his crimson hues and the untapped potential they exuded. If there was one thing Ikki wasn’t afraid to do it was face a challenge head on. In his years of roaming the land of Naraka guided by the hand of his father and molded by the trials and tribulations set before him. He always faced them head on even when he was faced with the raging hadou of Eien he stood his ground ready to face whatever was to come from the bout so if a battle was what this man sought it was exactly what he was going to get. Even if this figure had not excepted Ikki’s welcoming words he would continue to speak “If you plan on tearing down the empire my family has created than let whatever comes of this interaction be a history lesson for all those who come in search of the obsidian throne.” Ikki was looking for answers and it was as if the figure that was sitting before him had every intention of dulling out a lesson all his own. What resided at his feet was a trophy of death itself and what surrounded the pair next to the shrine was akin to that of a jashinist ritual. The young mebu would flick his own snow white hair back just enough to reveal a single one of his eyes.

Ikki would in turn spread his arms wide as if gesturing for the figure that sat before him to step down from his seat and meet him face to face. His chest bellowed with each passing breath he was tired but not broken which meant he was willing to stand to face this overwhelming presence head on. He let out another heavy breath and this one was coupled with a heavy fog from the confines of his being. Ikki was digging deep the marriage between his subconscious and his waking mind was only the start of greatness. Whatever came of this potential battle would either be the end of something immaculate or the start of something that even Izanagi himself would find as a prospective stepping stone for the boy he had come to raise. This was becoming of Ikki as he had every intention of one day standing side by side with the children he’d left behind to stop the mask salesman and all he had planned for the world as they knew it.

CelestialBlack · Sep 23, 2022

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-The moment that the young dragon removed his blindfold the man that sat a'top of the bodies could tell that there was a difference. He had been keeping much check on everything that had been going on - much like Izanagi...and them, the legions that he were aligned with had levels of spy-work and espionage that were unprecedented by anything known to the land of shinobi before. This power that was within the eyes of the young Seiryu - it was not documented by his utility before. However in the moment that he did this not only did an expression of shock not populate upon his face...but one of satisfaction. He sat there and continued to watch what it was that the young man had to say until he had finished. Then at that very moment the man started to clap his hands together and laugh: "Hahaaa yes - thats exactly what I would expect. Evil? If only you knew. You have so much more to learn young Seiryu in both the way this world has worked for years and in pain as well. What is evil? You and I know there is no such thing. But how could you ever propose such a thing where the lineage of the Mebu sits high and mighty - consuming so much and yet leaving for the others oh so little. Haha - its great." =As he said this something subtle...and yet all the more significant would happen, left to the young Seiryu to catch it as it transpire right before his face. The man would jump down from the pile, landing with little effort on his feet as he started to walk forward towards him, head low and smile wide. As he did such he would hear it...for the first time the voice of the salesman - sounding as if it came wide and from across a thousand different realities as the disembodied voice came from within the open face-maw of the white robed man that stood at the shrine behind the approacher: "You can not. Remember - you can not kill him. This is instrumental and in order for our plan to transpire properly....it is required that we -" The man looked over his shoulder at the salesman's proxy with the smile being washed off his face - frowning at him as he interrupted him with a scolding tone to his voice: "Do you take me for some form of idiot? Required that we allow them to succeed in this to set the stage for the proceedings. But all he needs to do is make it to Nirvana. Step through the door. So you focus on doing your fuckin' job - and I'll focus on allowing him to get in. Whether its stepping through willingly, or being tossed through within an inch of his life." As he said it the salesman's proxy went silent, acquiescing to the words of the man obediently as it turned back around and the light started to pour from its face into the shrine once more; vibrations and massive leaks of chakra and energy forming around the shrine more and more as it started to glow. Meanwhile the man continued to approach - stopping only a foot in front of Ikki, it was apparent that either the man was extremely confident, or just as arrogant in his abilities and accomplishments as Ikki was. He upturned his lip with a smile and leaned in: "Ya know - but one thing you said was right. We'll definitely paint the world red one way or another heh, I like that wording - very symbolic. Heh...right now? We're just here to open the door for you...thats all heh. But I guarantee you - Im no neglectful host. If you want to fight, we'll fight. If you want us to uproot this entire forest and toss it all in the air then we shall. If you want a feast of blood then I will deliver it to you on a silver platter - I am indentured beyond the restraints of calmer minds to bring to you whichever form of conflict you wish to indulge in my prey....my enemy - heh my friend~. " -He crossed his arm over his chest and bowed his head as a stage performer would- "You just say the word."

LucianRedgrave · Sep 27, 2022

Ikki’s bandages hit the ground coiling haphazardly into a pile as his gaze remained on the man who had been clenching the priestess in his hand. His gesture of combat was welcomed without hesitation and that was clear just by this man's approach. However the voice that followed upon his approach was unsettling in its own right not due to anxiety, fear of the unknown, or even disgust he had finally put two and two together. This was the voice of the very entity responsible for the mishaps of mere weeks ago. It was the voice of a menace to Naraka’s well being however Ikki was on a journey and it seemed even the salesman wanted to see just a glimpse of what the demon's heir had to offer. Ikki’s kaleidoscope eyes spiraled back and forth as if drinking in the world around him in droves. This was the first time he’d viewed the world in stained bloody red since Izanagi had given him. Ikki’s vision was still locked on the figure talking to the salesman proxy as he made mention of getting him through the gate one way or another and he stifled a chuckle and with it followed a tuft of flames. This man exuded a sense of power that even Ikki wanted to taste and deep down the kiln that dwelled within his very being was brewing a meal that could only be devoured by the thrill of combat. It was likely the figure speaking with the salesman’s proxy could feel this very sensation in the air. Ikki’s mouth curled into a toothy smile almost childish in nature to the point that it was filled with bliss before he spoke in response to the man’s last words.

“Then how about we give each other just a taste of a memorable brush stroke on the world that’s intended to be painted red.”

Ikki was chomping at the bit. The sensation that washed over his body moments after removing his bandages was akin to the first time one had activated their byakugan or even began to see the world through the crimson eyes of a two tomoe sharingan. He wasn’t exactly sure what to expect from himself much like Izanagi had way back then. His muscles flexed as he clenched his fist one last time before revealing a seemingly empty palm. It was clear that Ikki was no longer that 12 year old boy who had set foot in Naraka in order to prove his worth, now he was willing to show just how much he had learned. Had the figure speaking with the proxy agreed to this little one off Ikki would pull out the stops just this once. His body would begin to run hotter than it had ever before to the point that the air around his physique was no longer steam. It was the very incarnate of a flame in its purest form. Where the flames of seiryu burned blue this was an extension of just that. The precipice of a flame beyond that of the unaided eye. The only indicator of such an interaction was the fact that Ikki’s form seemed to be coated in a thin layer of azure as if he were a tailed beast of sorts. Many moons ago when he’d gone toe to toe with Eien it was something of a point of intrigue as even he had been using his subarashii in a way Ikki had never thought of. Yet what separated these two was the very machinations set out before them. Ikki relied on his subarashii in a way that was a kin to a black smiths forge fabricating weapons and even armor in some cases. However what if he had combined the two?

The natural chakra Ikki pulled in for his subarashii in Naraka was just as deadly as that of the waking world while the sheer richness of the chakra in the air was a completely different story. His form had become so accustomed to functioning within its confines that he had forgotten what it would be like to shed its weight. Ikki poised himself to the point that his feet would be digging into the ground far before the average seasoned shinobi could react. However he knew the figure that stood before him was from that as things began to unfold. When his feet pushed from the dirt and his form took off it would likely be a blur to anyone looking in on what their clash would likely become. Ikki’s form would become nothing but haze as he aimed to meet his opponent in the middle. The world around him would warp even if only just for a second it was as if Ikki would be left in a sense of almost frictionless movement. Had they met in the middle with whatever the figure had to respond with he would find that from the bodies of the ogres to the very blood that soaked the earth it would all become bathed in flame. It would likely leave nothing but the three of them and the shrine remaining. The figure in question could find Ikki wielding only his bare hands styled in that of a fist nothing lethal at a glance but with the power these individuals wielded anyone outside of their eschalon would most likely wither to nothingness.

CelestialBlack · Oct 2, 2022

"Tch."

Was the only response that would come from the moment that Ikki started to talk. In the moment that he had said '"then how about" it was apparent that the man before him had his fill of talking. It was very subtle in the way that it happened, but the moment that the man flicked his hand forward the forward end of the circle of blood would have warped in and then shot passed him like a serpent of sorts...if it was not evident that something about the blood was alive; then it certainly gave the impression of such by the way that the liquid seemed to aquiest to the whim of the man that had been conversing with Ikki. The moment that the blood would have done this before he started in Ikki would find himself feeling as if his entire being had been displaced entirely - like snatched from underwater and suddenly standing n a cloud. There would come a stench....a smell of blood and death would begin to blanket the air...no it would not begin to do anything, it had already been doing such from the very beginning - ikki by far was the visitor here brought by the self evident nature of the environment that he was in. Where once he was standing there within Naraka now he was...in a place different entirely. Up to his waist would be nothing but blood - part of the smell would be from the fact of his azure flame starting to manifest inside of the lake of blood that seemed to span endlessly around them both. He was burning it - yes this was true...but there was something else about the blood itself. It looked like a layer of thin ice on the surface of it but yet it moved like a thin jello. Ikki had been taken into a place of the man's creation and by the look of it controlled at the whim of his willpower. The man's hands clasped together and at first it would seem that nothing was happening but in truth he was expanding the boundaries by which the foundation of this window into another world would set its foothold. After the brief moment of clasping his hands together he would smile and set two more handseals there after, and in doing so the man would dissolve into blood himself - leaving Ikki with nothing to brandish as his target for the time being. His sharingan would avail him nothing but a blinding litany of color and light surrounding him, and an almost static border in a circle wide out around him almost seeming to be an endless expanse away in a circle around the blood sea that he was trapped in. "Dragon of Seiryu - I thought it would have forewarned you better. Does it not remember its time at the demon's side or is it just choked up in the moment? No matter! Scarlet Curse: Bleak Hope Purgatory." And as he said this the blood around Ikki would begin to spiral and expand out as if creating a whirlpoool around him where the blood would not touch. Had he remained inside of the whirlpool Ikki would find that it would begin firing several counts of crystalized blood shards towards him - comparable in hardness to one of the mythical crystal materials that its said the Tengu himself forged his blades of. Had he not gotten on the defensive he would find himself pierced and struck with a blender of projectiles that would lacerate all over his body and add his own blood - to that of the blood around him. The nan's voice was disembodied but a chuckle could be heard all around as if his own voice was bellowing from the heavens itself, the sky - a deep scarlet with clouds of black. Meanwhile the proxy of the salesman would seem to be not present at all...though even here - that odd reverberation of the salesman's energy could be felt on the hairs at the back of the neck.

LucianRedgrave · Oct 24, 2022

“Do we fight in order to gain more power or do we gain more power to fight…” These were the thoughts of the young seiryu in those moments while his eyes were free to drink in the world his mind raced. His thoughts combed over the very aspects of the figure that stood before him as his words were cut short not by death or even defeat but a baptism of blood. What would Izanagi do? What would Oshirama do? What would everyone who came before him fighting the same battle let alone a battle of their own do in a moment like this. Ikki’s breath was chilled even as he stood within a river of blood but rather than sink or swim he wanted to test his limits just the same as this man taunted him. Choked up? Did this disembodied voice of the man color the son of the demon a coward or perhaps a baby born into Naraka with a fear for adversity. Ikki’s lips still contorted into a toothy grin. This man had likely cast him into the blood of the fallen and in those moments Ikki’s own blood boiled, carving its way through his veins like wildfire. The lines that blurred the realm of reality as he stared at the open world of crimson through his sharingan was now like staring up at a borealis. ‘Go on then… Pierce the veil, just a taste right?’ the voice of his mirror called out to him as if whispering in his ear. Where the blood began to boil the figure responsible could find Ikki’s hand reaching outward as if to touch it but rather than grasp the air with close hand he could find his hand striking downward. He would’ve been like Moses parting the red sea in those moments alone as his hand struck outward and sliced the air. One of the few things that separated Ikki from those around him was the fact that he wasn’t afraid to test the waters regardless of the foe. When his hand struck forward he would almost instinctively swing it as if striking with a blade. In turn if everything had culminated accordingly the very place Ikki stood alongside the vortex of crystals that was starting to form would part as if being replaced by a vacuum. However rather than there being a lack of oxygen it would be as if there was an absence of space as a whole. The very air, the very fat in the blood that surrounded Ikki, and the air surrounding his form would continue to combust. It would be as if standing in a lake of napalm for the young Seiryu but if all had gone according to plan Ikki would’ve given himself an out falling into his own kamui while the world around him was set to burn.

Of course had this failed this would likely mean that Ikki would fall victim even if just in the slightest facet to his new found foes attack. Although it was likely that even the figure in question that had come to accept Ikki’s challenge was more than aware there was something brewing under the surface. There was something about Ikki in the coming events that was worth cultivating whether that was by his own hands or some outside force. Had Ikki been in exchange swept up in this vortex of crystals and his blood been added to the ocean that resided around him it too would burn but perhaps all this figure was shooting for was just a taste of the inevitable. Surely even his father wasn’t capable of stopping his own blood from being spilled. How would Ikki be any different? Yet it was clear that despite Ikki’s ingenuity and overall scientific nature he was willing to turn every facet of his being into a test subject at his own disposal. It was only a matter of time before it paid off in one way or another.

CelestialBlack · Nov 14, 2022

The moment that the young Seiryu struck his hand down he would find that he would advert a crisis in the moment...however the world that he was in was not in short supply of another couple dozen to supply to the young Seiryu's appetites. The maelstrom of blood was cease but the only thing that would happen in effect would be as if an elastic muscle was struck with lightning - going from loose and flimsy to tight and sturdy in an instant. The blood did not part, only hardened turning into a crystalized floor for just a moment as if to preserve itself in a sentience of its own. Now what was once as if a thin sheet of ice was a lake of diamond...dwindling back down as it were and along with it - something more was dwindling. The young Seiryu would notice that as he stood on the lake of blood his footing would have faltered in the same moment that he attempted to fall through his kamui and in doing so. It was subtle but very well alert - like the gasping breath taken when your heart skipped a beat - he could push forward with using his kamui but not only would he find that he was more exhausted from doing so and pushed into using solely seiryu's chakra, but his eyes would be significantly strained. Nothing was natural about it - he strain would feel worse then anything he felt prior to his newly adjusted ocular prowess, and that should simply not be the case. However almost on que regardless of the result would manifest a baleful specter - for the young demon would only land himself back within the confines of the lake regardless...not enough fuel in the tank to get somewhere meaningful without hurting himself knowingly, or his azure partner in crime. The blood would pool up, turning into a colored and solidified projection of the man before so now there was body to source to the voice: "Chakra!? That feeble impersonation of the genuine article? I know you should think more of me then that. Personally? I never touch the stuff if I dont have to. You're eatin' tofu boy...what you need is some meat on your bones otherwise real carnivores are gonna pick you and all the rest of you apart. But don't worry, I'm here to show you the truth - the power of Yomi. Kurochi Harae: Kuroi Omocha o kamu." As the man said this he would have placed one hand in an open gesting posture, ready to receive his opposite hand in ritual as it hovered above and formed a single handseal. In doing so the blood that was around Ikki would begin to vibrate slightly before suddenly parting back as if forming a bowl around the man. In doing so - a twister of crystaline teeth would shoot out of the inner walls of the blood bowl that had been formed and make way for Ikki being in the center of their intended course. A specific detail could be noted about each of these crystal teeth - they would jut inwards towards him and be mostly ruby like shards however at the upper tip of each of them the blood was radiant and glowing. The teeth would all shoot in moving towards him till they were almost two feet away before they would finally stop. Once stopped the tips would all glow and from each they would erupt in an explosion - massivechain reactions of explosions emerging from the tips of the blood chards with the intention of rending Ikki asunder with the explosions. Mixed within these explosions would fracture and turn the remaining ends of the shards into shrapnel - set on course to be projected in all directions by the explosions risking embeding themselves inside of Ikki with the apparent risk of major laceration as well. The projection of the man was far away - about fifty feet to the back of Ikki. It was evident that when within this space the spatial parameters of the outside world that the consecrated ground was set in was little to no factor to the space within itself judging by the distance he stood. There was something however brewing in the man - his cocky and rough demeanor peeled back slightly by a bitter and disgusted undertone as he frowned and began to think a'loud as he held his hand out as if to grasp something: "Is it really so rare here? What does he have planned exactly? Sending out steams that arent even capable of so much as perceiving the hadou - how would thy ever survive? There must be something more...something waiting under the seams. This...yeah, this is not his plan A. Lets see, what did the sweet little priestess have for me?" As he said this the blood would manifest from his hand, shaping and melding into a bow and arrow before him as he grasped it and gave it a brief examination. His brow turned up at first only to be followed by the light of inspiration as he smirked at what was bestowed upon him: "She didnt know much...he's good about that. But these little toys should be a good bit of fun. Never been much an archer."

-Meanwhile On the outside-

The Salesman was out in the field still funneling light of some sort into the gateway at the shrine, now undisturbed and entirely left to its own devices it continued at a quicker pace making much more progress on what it had been doing before, knowing that inside of the curse used by the man he had met with that there would be no use worrying of an interruption for the most part. The salesman knew more then anyone that this man's curse usage was third in the list of practitioners that he had known of...with one other problematic bounty hunter being just above him. Without the use of Hadou through either oneself or a sacred artifact or the use of Cursed Yomi of one's own origin there would be not much chance of escaping from inside the interior of the consecrated ground. He need only count on the discretion of the man inside to stick to the plan and not throw it all to chaff just to satiate his concerning bloodlust and hate for the Black Thone. While he continued on there was a sound of rustling behind him though the proxy did not bother to turn around...he knew full well who it was that had been there and it was only clarified by a cold female voice of familiarity. "How long are you going to leave him in there with him? Even your perception can't reach that far in and I would hope you not trust him enough to keep from childish temptation and ruin everything." The visage of the sapphire haired woman emerged from the woods and just like that it seemed as if everything had dropped several degrees in temperature. The proxy continued pouring, disembodied voice retorting: "Now now you should know me by n-"
"We. Are not friends. This allegiance is temporary. The Burning Dawn's goal is still and will always be to prove Naraka is strong enough to put you down in fair combat - so don't start getting too familiar." That being said there was a brief pause between the two of them. The salesman never bothering to turn around before chuckling and thinking a'loud: "Heh....such tasty temperaments - this particular dish that is Naraka." Meanwhile the icy woman stood behind him casting gaze upon the back of his head as she watched him go to work...her attention slowly moving from him casting slowly over to the blood circle that had been on the grass just a bit away from them.

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LucianRedgrave · Dec 8, 2022

“You hear that?” his mirror muttered into his ear. A stern tone nonetheless as he watched his physical body be ripped from the very machinations it had set out to do. The mirror didn’t need to follow the confines of the corporeal world just the same as the figure they were here to do battle with didn’t. In the eyes of a being that didn’t truly exist, space and time were merely a concept of the waking world. He looked at himself in juxtaposition and simply shook his head with a look of disgust similar to the man responsible for putting Ikki in such a situation. While they were one and the same being so to speak his mirror image still had concerns of its own as he watched Ikki slip back into the pool of blood even only for a moment as he spoke once again. “That’s the sound of failure, I thought we were going to be the one to bring them to their knees?” The only thing that followed these words was the humbling sound of Ikki’s heart beat as he slipped deeper into the lake of blood even if only for a moment as the new shaped was formed and just as it was a seemingly exasperated gasp could be heard coming from the young mebu even as this figure mocked his usage of chakra. Ikki’s mind was racing and what accompanied that was a burning sensation within that of the new eyes he was learning to hone. He had gotten ahead of himself and his mirror had made that very apparent but in these moments when he could very clearly be on the precipice of death something broke within him. It was as if he was faced with the might of the very figure that began his journey, Oshirama. His heart thumped louder with each passing second and his mind ran its course before effectively hitting a wall or more aptly put a door. Its stature immeasurable the only thing that resided behind was unknown to him Ikki was having a complete loss of self as he plummeted to something seemingly insurmountable in the waking world. Eien, Oshirama, Izanagi, the Salesman they were all out of reach for the young mebu in question but just the same as his heart thumbed with a need for life it also pumped with an overflowing lust for hatred. The curse of the Uchiha comes to haunt him even in the face of potential death. Ikki was facing defeat all over again and as far as he was concerned that was unacceptable even as his body was sent asunder with the fresh kiss of an explosion. If there was one thing this figure would notice it would be the absence of the ego driven young mebu from before.

Humbled at the drop of the dime and brought to his knees no sooner. When the figure found Ikki being thrown about he would likely find the essence of the boy forever altered far beyond that of the departure from being at odds with himself within the mask. His ego was subdued but his rage was unbridled in a way that meant even in the face of this beast of an individual he knew his bounds. When the figure launched his body he could find that its trajectory was far from sloppy or even ill conceived as the aforementioned shards began to explode outward in hopes of impaling the young mebu met with that of souzou subarashii albeit its form far from its former glory. It was tainted in a way that hadn’t plagued Ikki in quite some time. His confidence was replaced with a personal disappointment but not that one of inability as the shards would be met with even force giving them only the smallest margin of error for impact as they would meet with plate after plate as if a bull in a china shop. Ikki was scraping the bottom of the barrel for only a moment as he came to a stand amidst the lake of blood. He let out a heavy blood leaden breath before his eyes flitted to the crystalline figure who spoke in such a condescending manner.

“Rare?” Ikki questioned. Had the crystalline figure looked into his eyes he could find they were absent of those crimson hues from before and far from strained at this point. His lips parted to speak almost absent of disdain or any other emotion. “You’re speaking as if there aren’t machinations above your own. We’re all pawns on someone else's chessboard and you speak of rare. The hadou you speak of? The one and the same Eien was corrupted by? Be not mistaken its power is something I intend to take on all my own one day.” Ikki spat to his left as he threw his arms out wide. His sense of self was gone but what lay underneath were his true ambitions. Ikki had become tired of his fetters of typical ambition, his need to improve through loss alone was behind him and what remained was unadulterated rage. Ikki answered the figure's question with a stern tone despite his obvious defeat. “There’s always something more. It's the one thing I've learned since my departure from the waking world and it's simple really. Be hunted or do the hunting. However, let's make a deal? Tell me your name so when the time comes I know exactly who I'm going to kill when the day arrives and in exchange when that day comes, the hadou you speak so highly of? I intend to wield its power to end you myself.”

[RP Location] Kyotoshiro Village

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