The pendant was heading towards Rokkan. The Shadow with the evil Ryuugan headed for the pendant.
"Shadow, join me" the shadow with the evil Ryuugan called.
"Yes, it is time for us to be one again" Shadow said as he turned into smoke and entered into the hands of the evil Ryuugan Shadow to form…the Death-Sabre!
"That sword! My premonitions were right!" Tornado exclaimed in shock.
"I WILL NOT LOSE!!!" Rokkan roared.
"DIE!!!" the evil Ryuugan Shadow roared as it swung the Death-Sabre. Rokkan reached for the pendant as the Death-Sabre came down and then…BOOM!!! A huge sudden release of energy knocked the others including the surrounding trees to the ground.
"ROKKAN!" Tanya screamed.
"Wh-What is going on?!" Atlanta exclaimed in shock and fear.
No one could see what was happening for a huge cloud of dust had enveloped the entire area.
Tornado took in a deep breath and blew the dust away. The pendant came into view first.
"Who got it?!" Nadia asked.
The dust cleared some more and the Death-Sabre could be seen, then the two combatants.
"Wh-What's this?!" Michael exclaimed in shock.
The pendant was around Rokkan's neck but that wasn't as shocking as the fact that Rokkan was clutching the blade of the Death-Sabre with one hand plus the hood of the evil Ryuugan Shadow had fallen off and under that hood was…RYU! But there was something very different about this Ryu. For one thing, his hair was flaming red and wild instead of the normal peaceful blue. Another difference was the expression on his face. The only expression that could describe the look on his face was the word 'BLOODTHIRSTY!' Finally, his Ryuugan had transformed every inch of his eyes into an intense evil red colour.
"Wh-What is happening? Is that…" Michael muttered in shock.
"Ryu" Atlanta said as tears of both joy and pain flowed down her face.
Rokkan's eyes were shut and he was holding the Death-Sabre with little difficulty. Not a single drop of blood flowed down his hand.
"The time has come, a little too soon but…I won't let you destroy the ryu…Shekan" Rokkan declared as he lifted his head to face the enemy. "RYUUGAN!" he called as he opened his eyes. The Golden Ryuugan appeared in his eyes.
"WHAT?! HOW CAN THIS BE?!" Michael drew back in shock.
Rokkan's hair turned silver and the edges of his hair took on a purple shade.
"Let go of Ryu…or I will force you to!" Rokkaden ordered. (Rokkaden=Rokkan+Gaiden Spirit fusion).
"You are so confident but do you really hope to defeat me?! I held back the last time" Ryukan said. (Ryukan=Ryu+Shekan Spirit fusion).
"Don't underestimate me Shekan" Rokkaden said.
"You have mastered the Chaos State Gaiden but…would you really sacrifice one of your precious Crystal ninja, more so, your descendant?!" Ryukan asked.
"To stop you, yes" Rokkaden replied. "This is not about him but all of humanity. He'd be more than ready to lay down his life for them" Rokkaden said.
"Wait a minute! Who do you think you are, deciding Ryu's fate?!" Atlanta yelled.
"If anything, I do not wish for Ryu to die but if destiny declares it…"Rokkaden was saying.
"Destiny this, destiny that. Destiny couldn't stop Shekan. Don't you get it already?! We are makers of our own destiny!" Atlanta declared.
"Quiet Atlanta! Either way, by the end of this day, one of us will die, either Shekan or I! This will decide the final outcome!" Rokkaden yelled as he gave Ryukan an uppercut so powerful, he had to somersault to land safely.
"No" Atlanta squeaked.
"Take a good look. This story has a new ANTAGONIST!" Ryukan roared as he charged towards Rokkaden.
He leapt towards Rokkaden and threw a punch. Rokkaden side stepped to the right thus dodging the punch with ease. Ryukan's punch hit the ground creating a huge crater. The others had to leap a distance away to avoid being caught in the force.
"What's going on?!" Tanya stared in shock.
"It's a duel…to the death!" Nadia informed Tanya.
Lightning illuminated the area. Rokkaden threw a middle punch but Ryukan deflected it with ease and threw a high punch but Rokkaden performed a quick outer and inner sidestep thus getting behind Ryukan and tripping him with a foot sweep! Ryukan somersaulted and leapt into the air. Then he formed seals.
"DARK-FIRE ELEMENT! HELLFIRE JUTSU!!!" he called as intense flames charged towards Rokkaden.
Rokkaden leapt out of the path of the flames and formed seals.
"WATER ELEMENT! HEAVEN'S GIFT!!!" Rokkaden called as he released a rainbow coloured stream of water.
Ryukan dodged the water and scowled.
"UNICORN! PHOENIX! LIGHT ELEMENT! SHADOW RELEASE!!!" Rokkan called as a bright light engulfed the area freeing the others completely from any remaining immobility caused by the terrain Shadow had captured.
"You are stronger than before" Ryukan said with a smirk.
"The last time, you had all six moons of Tristran. This time, you only have three. Your power has been halved" Rokkaden said.
"That's true…but don't underestimate me! FIRE ELEMENT! THE SECOND HELL!!!" Ryukan called as he released an intense discharge of blue flames.
The others had to run farther to avoid being caught in the blast.
"WATERWHIRL ELEMENT!(WATER+WIND ELEMENT!) COSMIC RELIEF!!!" Rokkaden called as he released a hurricane of water and wind that rivalled Ryukan's jutsu.
More surrounding trees were caught in the blast.
"DARK ELEMENT! ONE HUNDRED AND TWENTY SHADOWS OF JINN!!!" the two combatants roared as a hundred and twenty clones of each appeared on the field.
"That's twice Nemesis' technique!" Michael exclaimed in shock.
"What kind of duel is taking place?! What can we do?! These two are starting a two man war!" Nadia stared at the battle in fear.
"Ryu…Rokkan, will one of you really kill the other? I can't let that happen!" Atlanta thought as she bit her lip worriedly.
Suddenly, an echo of roars broke through the sky as Crystal and the other Dragon Saints descended from the sky like rays from the sun. Ken rode on Molten.
"Ken, what happened?! Why is Ryu here?!" Tornado asked.
"Some time after you left with Tanya, Ryu awakened. He was acting insane. He spoke of destroying the ryu and leapt from the edge of the village. I grabbed his ring in time and summoned Molten who in turn called to the other dragons" Ken explained. "But what is going on? Why is Ryu fighting Rokkan and how is Rokkan in the Jinn State?!" Ken stared in shock.
"That's not a simple Jinn State. It's the second level of the Jinn State, the Chaos State which involves merging two spirits. I can see that Tornado is also in the Dragon Jinn State. Gaiden must have shared his power with you" Crystal said.
"Wait a minute, I remember now. The Chaos State, Ryuten, when Ryu merged consciousness with Molten in the Temple of Destiny" Atlanta exclaimed as she drew back in fear.
"However, this fusion isn't as fundamental as Ryu's and Molten's. In the Temple of Destiny, they shared consciousnesses however; this is more like a complete takeover, a possession, if you may call it.
"I see, it's déjà vu, but it's good to see you…my old friends" Ryukan smiled maliciously.
"Go back to wherever it is you came from! You don't belong here Shekan!" Crystal roared menacingly.
"On the contrary, I very much belong here. You took this world from me. I'm here to take it back" Ryukan said.
"This world never belonged to you!" Molten roared.
"I'm glad you are all here. Soon, it will be said that the great Shekan ended everything with a single jutsu. Prepare yourselves…FOR THE GREAT BEYOND!" Ryukan said with a bloodthirsty expression.
"That's not Ryu…That's not Ryu" Atlanta wept in shock, fear and pain as she stared at the bloodthirsty creature the person she loved had become.
"What are you saying?" Rokkaden asked.
"I will show you my ultimate technique now. Not that you will live to speak of it" Ryukan smiled.
"That's not Ryu…That's not Ryu" Atlanta shivered uncontrollably.
She shook her head as though she were trying to deny the reality of the entire situation. She recalled the carefree person she knew as Ryu. The smiling, sarcastic idiot she knew. But the entity standing before her was something totally different. It had the same body but it could not be the person she fell in love with, she thought.
"FATE ELEMENT…!" Ryukan said as he made forbidden seals.