He stood at the edge of the crater. He could sense that a lot of Chakra had been unleashed here. There was still a lot of residual chakra from whatever horrific event had taken place here. "What kind of divine powers clashed here? For this kind of devastation cannot be brought about by anything less than a god." He shuddered. He knew of another power that can cause pure destruction like this, but even that cannot cause what he saw before him.
It was a crater, stretching for miles across laid completely barren and lifeless. The residual chakra that he saw in the area was a deep red. It made the sky look like it had been bloodied. His Mangekyou Sharingan could see chakra as colours and even the most powerful chakra he had seen had been the lightest shade of red. And that chakra belonged to the nine tailed beast that had resided in his brother's rival – Naruto Uzumaki.
He looked over to the center of the crater and saw a figure which he had not noticed earlier. He knew that this figure also saw him. All he could make out of the figure was a black robe and what looked like a sheathed blade at his hip. He had the look of a samurai but without the armour. No, this was something else. This was something far more dangerous than a samurai or a shinobi...
The man at the center of the crater looked towards the robed figure standing at the edge. He was still absorbing the gravity of the event that might have occurred here to produce this level of spiritual pressure. At first he thought that the pressure was caused by the figure at the edge of the cliff, but he instantly realised that this was residual spiritual pressure. This was either caused by a mindless beast that didn't know how to control its power or it was caused by a clash of two powers so massive that they bordered on the divine. He knew that the latter was the more likely explanation. That was not a very comforting notion.
Wind must have been blowing over the crater because he saw the figure's robe fluttering. He could make out that if this was a foe, it would be a formidable one. He made this conclusion not from the spiritual pressure but from a gleam in the figure's eyes that he could make out even at this distance. His hand moved to Senbonzakura and gripped it tight. Ready, for he sensed that this will be a display of strength "Might as well get this over with..."
He blinked and stepped forward, drawing his blade in one swift motion, he was right behind the robed figure on the edge of the cliff as his eyes opened again. "That's and interesting mark on his robe... a red cloud..." he thought as he drove the blade through the man's heart from behind him. He could feel Senbonzakura passing between his ribs and through his heart. A clean kill. "Hmm, I was expecting more from this guy for some reason. Oh well..."
"Maybe it would have been a wiser move to wait for me to make the first move." Came a voice as calm as still water. He realised that the voice came from the man who stood in front of him, impaled on his blade. "That confused expression on your face tells me that this is the first time you have seen this technique..." said the voice. He hadn't even registered the surprise of how this man had managed to survive when he realised that the voice was coming from behind him. He didn't move from his position, one hand gripping the hilt of his blade and the other pushing it into a phantom target. This man wasn't a shinigami. He was very much human and very dangerous. This man had been wrong about one thing: He had seen a technique very similar to the one that this man had just shown. And it terrified him.
Fear wasn't a feeling that Byakuya Kuchiki was very familiar with. But this technique was one that would induce fear into each and every one of the shinigami back in soul society. For the only person who possessed a technique such as this one was locked up in soul society under maximum security without his evil, illusion inducing blade.
Fear was a reaction that Itachi Uchiha was used to getting when he displayed his visual prowess. But he was surprised that this man only showed a hint of fear. He still seemed to have his wits about him. This man was not to be underestimated. "That is quite a technique" Said the man, standing up straight but still not relaxing his grip on his blade. His voice was calm. It didn't give away any emotion. He didn't turn around. "Thank you" said Itachi, quietly drawing some kunai from his sleeve. He jumped high off the ground and flung them all at the man. As expected, he wasn't there anymore and the kunai buried into the ground. Itachi turned in mid air and pulled out another kunai to block an anticipated strike from the stranger's blade. The stranger wasn't there.
He landed and looked around, confused. His stance was defensive. He knew that his foe was still here. Usually when a person moves, one can tell in which direction he went just by listening. But this time he couldn't make out where this man had gone. "Confused?" asked a voice from behind him. He swung around slicing at his adversary but the kunai only met with his blade. "I wouldn't be surprised if you were. Not too many people can understand the Shun Po technique the first time around" he said and Itachi could see even that hint of fear melting away from this man's face. No sooner had Itachi realised that this was a technique similar to that of the fourth hokage that the man had disappeared again. The next thing he registered was the pain of a blade opening a gash on his right thigh. He cried out in pain and dropped to a knee. He had noticed something in that moment when the blade was in contact with his skin. That blade was not any ordinary blade, it seemed like it had a mind of its own. I seemed that the blade was... alive.