Chereads / The return of the Dark Lord / Chapter 15 - Esdeath vs Bradley

Chapter 15 - Esdeath vs Bradley

In Uzugakure

[-Naruto OST: Thème Orochimaru]

Sauron was deep in thought… the reanimation jutsu. It was a perfect start, but he needed a complete resurrection for the Uzumaki clan, not a flawed sham. Therefore, he began to work to fix the process and make it complete, if he was full of power he would be able to bring them back himself, but he was still a shadow, it wouldn't be long though. But he knew exactly who he would return to the land of the living to perfect Jutsu. Three of the greatest masters of the seal in Konoha history.

Of his own accord, he imagined the signs in his mind.

Sauron spoke calmly in his dark voice: Edo Tense no Jutsu!

In an instant, two coffins appeared without hesitation, tearing from the ground like a man approaching to breathe after a long swim. However, the third was still bound by the Shinigami, so he had to let that wait. The first two opened up to reveal the dark forms of Kushina and Mito Uzumaki. He hasn't woken them up yet, he let them rest a little longer. However, the revival of the Uzumaki clan was now guaranteed.

Throne Room

The once majestic room, representing imperial prestige, was no more than a butcher's workshop. The Imperial Guards attempted to avenge their Emperor, but this only resulted in being chopped to pieces and scattered throughout the hall. Honest was covered in a cuts, Saeko had intentionally caused non-fatal attacks to let the fat pig die from lack of blood. Both members of the Night Raid were injured and exhausted, but still fit to fight. In front of them was the person responsible for this scene.

The young woman stood proudly in front of her opponents. The fight had inflicted only a few light wounds on him and seeing his enemies so miserable brought him sadistic pleasure. Yet it had to end.

Akame and Tatsumi were ready to resume the fight, yet the swordsman once again surprised them by turning away from them and walking towards the exit. Believing that she didn't take them seriously, Tatsumi got angry.

Tatsumi: What the hell! Come back and fight!

Saeko's gaze turned to the young boy, you could only see boredom in his gaze.

Saeko: My lord gave me the order to let you live, if it were not for his mercy you would already be six feet underground.

Seeing that the purple haired woman was not going to continue the fight, Tatsumi tried to charge her however her partner prevented him from doing so.

Tatsumi: What are you doing Aka ...

Knowing the fiery character of his friend, the assassin knocked him out to save his life and bring him back to base.

Northern districts of the capital

Another carnage also occurred in the capital. The rebel army had succeeded in breaking through the northern wall, however the majority of the soldiers did not survive more than a few minutes after the start of the assault. Esdeath had created thousands of ice spears that killed many soldiers and civilians in the area. The Ice Queen had no mercy on the civilians of the empire, in her belief she thought it was their faults for being too weak.

The ice quickly formed a circular wall around the imperial general and the leader of the revolution, the interior of the wall was nothing more than a desert plain. King Bradley did not seem surprised by the appearance of his opponent, he knew that at one point or another he would have to be faced, but he had prepared for it with the help of his master. For him the loss of his army was regrettable but acceptable if it allowed the final victory.

Bradley: Hum, so we finally face Esdeath.

Esdeath wearing an arrogant smile: We could have crossed paths much sooner but you kept running away from me like a weak coward.

Bradley: You can't blame me Ice queen considering your reputation, to face you directly would have been suicidal at the time.

Esdeath: Hmm! Has it changed?

Bradley: Indeed, my master gave me the power to defeat you.

The two adversaries did not exchange any more words and observed each other while drawing their swords.

After a few minutes, the two swordsman charged against each other testing only their opponent's martial skills. After many exchanges Esdeath tried to catch his opponent with his left hand. Bradley could feel the icy energy covering the woman's hand, causing him to take several steps back to avoid it.

As a result the Ice queen summoned dozens of ice needle and hurled them at the old soldier. Bradley pared or avoided most of the needles but still suffered a few minor injuries. This made the rebel general realize that he would soon have to use his Ace to fight the monster in front of him.

Wanting to quickly bring his opponent's head back to his lover to receive his praise. Esdeath used one of his most powerful abilities.

Esdeath: Ice cavalry!

Hundreds of knights made up of ice mounted on horses of the same element sprang from the circular wall and charged at the old soldier. Seeing this attack, Bradley felt great pressure because this attack had a great chance of ending his life. Losing all hesitation, Bradley tore off his eye patch. Normally the left side of his face should have revealed an empty socket, yet Esdeath could see an eye which, instead of having a pupil, displayed the glyph of a pale blue hammer with a crescent moon in the background.

Bradley felt his eye bring great energy to his whole body, he felt like he was 20 years old again. Taking off his already torn coat, Bradley charged the mace of horsemans. Thanks to his dexterity he easily destroyed the first ice creatures. The first 50 magic creations were destroyed without having provided much effort, the following 100 tired him but were quickly eliminated, after 250, wounds were made more and more present.

Realizing that this fight would end up killing him due to lack of stamina, Bradley sought out the summoner of these horsemen. He found her in the center of his army watching with amusement as her prey struggled. Having found his target, he rushed towards it, but his course was not without difficulty, as the ice creations blocked his way and constantly injured him.

The old soldier strengthened his resolve as he remembered his reasons for fighting. At the start of his career, he sincerely admired the Empire he served, but over time he realized that corruption had plagued the country's rulers and that the people were sorely neglected by them. He didn't clearly remember how it happened, but his master had given him the power and the opportunity to change the Empire into a government that everyone cared about. Today there was only Esdeath left to prevent his dream from coming true.

100 meters

70 meters

30 meters

10 meters

A few more steps and he can kill the Ice queen. His body was bloodied, he had even lost his left arm to block a fatal blow. As he was about to erase the smug face of the woman, he felt her body freeze. The next thing he felt was that his body grew lighter and the last image he saw was of his own headless body and the predatory smile of his killer. Esdeath had used Mahapdama which allows him to freeze time for a brief moment, the only downside to this attack is that it consumes almost all of his energy.

Bradley thought: I really hate that fucking smile.

Few weeks later

Oto no Kuni - Undisclosed location

Tobi watched the smiling hooded figure in the shadows currently working in the lab they were both in.

Tobi: I see you are looking for someone like you.

Kabuto: All things considered, I am an enemy of Konoha, and the former servant of the serpent Sannin. Not to mention a former spy for another of its members. Not that you really care about Sasori or anyone else in Akatsuki. As I remind you, your organization took in Orochimaru-sama and targeted him in the past for abandoning him. In view of the development of things since then, I will take your words as a compliment.

Tobi: Orochimaru has become greedy. He was warned to leave Itachi alone, but he got caught and paid the price for his actions. As you well know Kabuto.

Kabuto: That's what he did. And I have learned a lot from my old Master's mistake since that time. I also learned that you wouldn't be here unless you wanted something from me.

Tobi: I need you to infiltrate Uzu. I want you to learn the secrets that lie there and confirm the rumors that the Uzumaki clan is being reborn.

Kabuto paused in his work and turned to face the masked man with a frown on his face.

Kabuto: The Uzumaki clan? Everyone knows that the Uzumaki clan was all but wiped out by the onslaught of Kiri, Iwa, and Kumo at the start of the Second Shinobi World War. Although there are still a few survivors, they are scattered across the world and too few to reform their clan despite their incredible power.

Tobi: I received my own reports. Apparently, a new shinobi force has appeared in Nami no Kuni and many ships are sailing to Uzu on a regular basis.

Kabuto: I felt like Uzu was sealed. Orochimaru-sama wanted to go there for years to study the knowledge hidden there, but the skills of Fuinjutsu of the Uzumaki made such a dream quite impossible.

Tobi: It's true that their skills are impressive yet it seems that the seals no longer exist, since a bridge now connects the main island of Uzu to Nami no Kuni.

Kabuto: The seals have fallen? Are you sure?

Tobi: Indeed. There is some sort of activity going on there. I can feel it despite what the island looks like on the contrary. I can't figure out how this is possible, but there is some kind of illusion on Uzu that not even my Sharingan can break.

Tobi knew that such a thing would really catch Kabuto's interest.

Kabuto: A Genjutsu that can counter the effects of the Sharingan? Very interesting indeed.

The serpent meditated on this news since the Sharingan was deemed immune to Genjutsu.

Tobi: Still, I need you to go for me. Find out if the Uzumaki clan has regained possession of Uzu or if another shinobi force has emerged.

Tobi ordered before leaving via Kamui.

Kabuto thought: Oh, I will, but you should know better then offer something to a snake like me, and just obey without wanting to study something like that for myself. After all, I might need what Uzu has against you someday.