.Japan,
September, 2005....
The beautiful moonlight cascaded onto the beautiful curt of Tokyo, illuminating the beautiful scenery down below.
Near a small hill, the slithering sounds of ropes being dragged along the rocky ground, and the rustling of leaves harmonized into a cacophony of sounds that scared birds and the small rodents alike within the forest.
Three figures, wrapped in black cloaks walked within said forest, dragging onto a wrapped object, without a hint of fear nor dread.
"Oi, this is the place.."
One of the wrapped figures, took off the hoodie covering his face, revealing a solemn old aged face and chapped lips from which a deep voice resounded.
The two cloaked men on either side of him, dragging the tied up object nodded upon receiving the command and halted, dropping the ropes, onto the floor, and began unwrapping the object.
After about a minute or two, the object was quickly unwrapped, revealing a naked, bloodied and badly mutilated corpse of a rather young boy.
Without wasting time, the men got to work, with shovels that were unwrapped along with the body and began digging into the soil for a few minutes.
About six feet deep, they halted, wiped the foreheads of sweat and climbed out of the ditch.
"Sigh. It's really pitiful what happened to the young master isn't it, old man?"
"From losing his status, his glory, a father's love, a mother, and finally his own life, at the hands of people he could call family, all within a year. Sigh. It's really pitiful.."
The two men who were digging conversed, their tone of voice relaying the pity and sympathy they truly felt within their hearts for the once brightest star of their clan, the fallen young master.
"The world is a cruel place lads. Had the young master really lived up to the expectations of the elders, he would never had succumbed to such a fate.
Sigh.
The strong live, and the weak die. That's how it's always been. Let this be a lesson to you youngsters, now finish this up and let's get out of here already.."
The other man standing in the back sighed deeply and shook his head.
Power. It was just a single word, however, in the cruel world that they lived in, it meant everything.
The ability to manipulate, to control, and to shape reality according to one's will. It did not merely translate as the capacity to defeat one's enemies but to make them irrelevant.
Real power lied in the ability to control your own fate and that of others. The ability to protect what belongs to you and the people you love, the ability to achieve one's goals even in the face of opposition.
Nodding after receiving another order, the two men got to work once more and picked up the body carefully, before gently placing it into the small ditch.
The very least they could do to honour the fallen young master was not to desecrate his already mutilated corpse.
However, unbeknownst to them, within the corpse of the young boy, two opposing energies, like chaos and order, life and death, battled within the sea of consciousness, one of energies filled with an undying resolve to protect and fight, while the other seemed aloof and prideful, not allowing the other to take control of what belonged to it. A battle that determined which one of them was fit to possess the body.
After several seconds of clashing, the two energies fused together, unleashing an intangible ripple of energy that shook the world around them.
And while the two young men focused on filling the ditch were oblivious to the sudden phenomenon, the old man in the distance couldn't help but frown, as he took a step back, a bead of sweat rolling down his cheek in fear.
'That energy, Special Grade.. He uttered to himself and continuously surveyed around, ready to flee at a moments notice should his worst fear come true.
Meanwhile an unusual sight occured on the body of the naked corpse. All the injuries, blood, broken bones and tears slowly began to heal and reform, as a milky white energy perfused the body.
"Shit!"
"What the hell!!"
The two men quickly rushed backwards in fear, and fell to their butts, as they witnessed a miracle.
After about several minutes, the scene returned to its calm serene state once more, leaving behind the three terrified men who had still not recovered from the earlier shock.
"O-old man..what the hell was that?"
One of the men stammered and looked towards his partner only to see him in the same condition.
The three of them finally gathered courage after a while and walked to the ditch only to find the mutilated corpse fully healed yet unalive, as it calmly slept within the grave.
"Huff, huff, I thought a powerful cursed spirit had descended.."
"I thought the young master was coming to li-"
The two men were the first to speak,. however their conversation had not even ended when another sight made them stagger in fear.
Within the grave, a pair of onyx irises snapped open, and blinked rapidly, surveying the area around.
The next moment, the body of the young master slowly began to move eerily, until he was up on his feet and climbed out of the ditch, looking around, wondering where he was.
"What is this?..
Where am I?..
What happened?..."
A deep voice resonated, depicting the audible confusion and fear hidden within the tone of the youth, as he tried to make sense of his current predicament.
"Aarghhh!"
After a moment, he dropped the ground in pain, screaming, hugging his head in his arms. Veins popped out on his forehead, and blood dripped down his nose.
Two separate memories and souls battled for dominance within his sea of consciousness, each trying to take over the current body, leaving him with unimaginable pain, like no other.
"Old man?? What the hell is happening?!"
One of the cloaked men cried out in fear and looked towards their leader, whose dark brown eyes observed the situation they were currently in grimly.
"I can't make sense of this. However cursed spirits possessing human bodies after death is not uncommon. We need to free the young master from this misery and allow his soul to rest in peace. Kill!!"
With a command, he unsheathed a long katana strapped to his waist and advanced towards the youth with immense speed.
Without hesitation the two others unsheathed their blades and advanced as well, aiming for the kill.
"Virgil..
Sasuke..
I remember everything now.."
The clashing memories slowly fused after battling within the sea of consciousness and clarity returned to his thinking, as he rummaged through both memories.
He was Virgil, an undercover CIA who had worked for the Mafia, and had lost his life when his identity was finally revealed, and at the same time, he was Zen'in Sasuke, the hailed prodigy of the Zen'in clan who had been dragged into disgrace and killed after failing to meet the expectations of his clan.
Sighing, he couldn't help but shed tears as he struggled to his feet. The intense amount of guilt, hatred and despair that he harboured within him was extreme, to the point of being overwhelming.
"Cursed Technique Maximum: Soaring Dragon Destruction..."
Waving multiple hand signs, an impressive amount of energy burst out of the body of the old man, and behind him, the image of a large ocean seemed to spring to life, from which a huge sea dragon arose from and blasted towards the youth with immense speeds.
*BANG!*
A shockwave rocked the earth, and a body was hurled several meters away as if catapulted, crashing into several trees until finally coming to a stop several meters away while puking blood.
"What an impressive physique.."
The old man's eyes widened in shock. The youth was still standing after getting hit with a maximum technique from his repertoire. Despite his status as a third grade sorcerer, he was stronger than most in his category, and could even do battle with second grades.
"Kill!!"
He commanded and the two other cloaked men got into a stance.
"Shadow Style: Simple Domain!"
They roared out in tandem, and rushed out, executing a pincer attack, that alone, depicted their impressive teamwork and strategic approach to battle.
Staggering to his feet, the youth wiped the blood off his lips, his eyes blinking with fear as he looked for a means of escape.
He knew who those two were from the memories of Sasuke. They were mercenaries of the Zen'in clan..the very same ones who had killed him about several hours ago.
And for someone who had experienced death twice through his memories, he greatly feared and harbored no intentions to succumb to the embrace of Hades once more.
However before his weakened body could even make a move, two blades were merely a few meters from his neck.
Ducking with every iota of strength within his body, he dodged the first blade, only to be caught up with the second.
His vision turned crimson, and his pupils dilated in pain, as blood sprayed all over. His guts nearly spilled out of the clean incised wound on his abdomen and he fell to the ground.
The two mercenaries walked up to him slowly, dragging their blades along the ground, as he crawled away, trying to escape in fear, only to be rocked with pain once more, as a blade ripped through his chest.
"Am I going to die again?"
There he lay, pinned under the sword of one mercenary, while the other lifted his blade up ready to decapitate him, thinking about his imminent demise, as tears once more dripped down his cheek.
"##£££*#*....System Initializing...#&£+£+£
Host has finally fulfilled necessary conditions to activate system. £&£&#&# "
About an inch from his neck, a deafening ringing sound exploded from his body, causing the two mercenaries to step back in shock, as they surveyed the area cautiously.
"....Picking appropriate template system for host...""
The ringing sound exploded once more, as the mercenaries took steps back, meanwhile, only the youth could properly understand what was happening.
His gaze was suddenly filled with letters, and a robotic voice resounded in his mind.
"....Appropriate template found...
Initializing Uchiha Sasuke Template System!"
#&##&#&#&#-#....
"Host in immediate danger!! Activate one time use life saving ticket?...
Yes or No.."
"Activate!!!"
While struggling to understand what was happening, the youth wasted no time and screamed internally.
"System will now take over Hosts body for 3 minutes!"
The next moment, he felt a strange feeling of drowsiness and loss of function. He could see whatever was happening around him, however he felt powerless to affect anything. His own limbs were not obeying his commands, his eyelids refused to blink and his lips refused to budge.
It was a sort of pseudo death state, however he calmed himself and relinquished control to the system. At that point, he could've accepted a deal from the devil just to ensure his own survival.
A moment later, he felt something strange. A strange yet potent energy was crashing into his brain with full force. Something was awakening within him, something overwhelming yet indescribable.
"You fools! Kills that thing before it recovers!!"
The voice of the old mercenary snapped the two men out of their reverie and their attention turned towards the youth, however when their eyes gazed upon him, they were dumbstruck.
His eyes.
Like the eyes of the devil himself, his irises were a bloody red colour, his pupil, now merely a small black dot around which a black magatama shaped symbol revolved.
"Demon!!"
The two men fell backwards in fear, as the youth slowly arose from the ground, his expression unmoving, and his gaze soulless.
Without hesitation, he pulled out the blade from within his body, unaffected by the pain and watched as the wound healed instantly.
His mechanically controlled body took several steps forward and flickered, leaving several after images behind and instantly materialized before the two men with a bloodied blade in hand.
*Slash!*
The mercenary who had a sword slashed out multiple times, executing quick combos that aimed at cutting down the opponent in one fell swoop.
However, the youth, as if he could predict all the movements and techniques utilized by the mercenary dodged every single slash with ease.
"How is he doing that?"
The mercenary thought, however before he could recover his bearings, a kick rapidly closed in on his temple, causing him to stagger for a bit, followed by another to his neck, groin and several other weak points.
"What sort of fighting style is this?!"
Being forced to defend from the unending barrage of attacks, he clenched his teeth in anger.
"Brother!"
The other mercenary roared out, seeing as how, his partner was forced to the edge by the youth, rushed towards them.
Glancing towards the other incoming assailant, from the corner of his eye, the youth executed a side kick to the ribs of the mercenary and used the momentum to hurl himself into the skies, before performing multiple hand signs.
Spectacularly, an identical clone materialized and rushed towards the incoming assailant, surprising everyone in that moment.
Taking advantage of the brief moment of distraction, the youth soundlessly landed behind the first mercenary who quickly recovered his bearing, grasping his blade tight and about to attack, when his eyes bulged and his vision darkened for a moment, before his headless corpse slumped to the ground in a pool of his own blood.
His eyes refused to close and his gaze rested on the youth who was now advancing towards his brother, wondering how and why he had been dispatched so easily.
"Brother!!"
Angered by the death of his brother, the second mercenary punched out with all of his strength towards the clone, causing it to explode into smoke, however, before he could advance, he turned around only to notice a pair of demonic ruby red eyes gazing into his own from within the smoke and his body froze.
Meanwhile the old man who had about recovered his stamina rushed into the battle only to be blinded by the smoke screen.
"What's going on? I can't see anything through the smoke!!"
"Help! Help me!!"
Suddenly he turned around to a scream only to see the bloodied second mercenary rushing towards him in great fear, while a shadow loomed behind him.
"Die!!"
Roaring out in anger, he waved his hand, summoning a majestic column of pressurised water that blasted towards the incoming shadow.
While the smoke cleared, the old man couldn't help but believe his eyes, noticing two decapitated figures lying in a pool of their own blood, and the youth nowhere to be found, and that was when realization dawned on him -- he had been fooled.
His eyes widened in shock after he realised he had been tricked and quickly mobilised his cursed energy to attack, when a figure descended from the sky, with a blade cocked back and piercing towards him with immense speed.
*BANG!*
The dust settled, revealing the old man lying in a crater with a figure pinning him into the ground with a sword through the neck, as blood spurted onto both figures.
The old man on his death bed however did not feel regret, however with a smile on his face, he lifted up a finger to conjure a suicidal attack that would take both of them to Hell.
Summoning all the cursed energy within his body, and focusing it onto his finger he released the attack, causing a massive explosion of energy that destroyed everything within a 10 meter radius.
However contrary to his expectations, rather than the torn apart body of the youth, the only thing that lay in the center of the massive crater was a wooden log bathed in blood and gore.
A/N: The longest chapter I've ever written. Took me a whole day to finish it😔. Anyway, keep those power stones coming in people!!! Don't forget to comment and review! Peace!!