Chapter 50: The Seeker's Objective

After an Akuma Akumu kidnapped Yumekui after the dream eater risked his life to save Yori from being kidnapped, they had encounterd the Nightmare Seeker, who resembled Kaito the Dreamkeeper.

Yori became speechless after seeing the face of the seeker.

"Kaito-san?" he implied, wondering if he's Kaito.

"Kaito? No, you've mistaken for someone else," the Seeker replied.

"So you're Kai the Nightmare Seeker then." Yoji stated.

The Seeker never knew that Yoji knew his name.

"So you knew about me? Here you are, protecting my important target that I was trying to capture."

"Your important target?"

"Even though I kidnapped the dream eater instead, I won't give up yet. After all, I already kidnapped the other five."

"What do you mean?" asked Yoji.

The Nightmare Seeker closed his eyes and showed his dream vision to the three shinobi as the chamber turned into a different background. A dark wasteland with a black sky appeared out of nowhere. Yori noticed as he saw himself laying on the ground unconscious. But it's not only just him, there were others who were laying unconscious on the ground as well. There was Tsukida, Kuta, Seiichi, Rika, and Pana. To his confusing shock, he never knew that they were unconscious somewhere that he never had seen before. After Kai the Nightmare Seeker finishing showing his dream vision, the background of the dark wasteland had disappeared.

"What's... going on?" Yori asked confusingly.

"The dream vision I have was supposed to become true, but the dream eater interfered and then got captured and taken instead." Kai the Nigthmare Seeker explained.

"You said you already kidnapped the other five. You don't exactly mean..." Yoji implied.

"Yes, I already kidnapped Tsukida Yukisaki, Kuta, Seiichi, Rika, and Pana after their nightmare selves failed to kill them and were accepted by themselves," he answered. "I have to kidnap Yori Yukisaki this instant no matter what."

"What about Yumekui then?! Where did you take him?!" Yoji asked with a protective look on his face as he's worried about Yumekui.

"I can't put the dream eater with the five Inyo shinobi after I kidnapped him. Instead, I took him somewhere else whether you could find him or not."

Yoji prepared himself to fight the Seeker in order to find out where Yumekui was after being taken by an Akuma Akumu.

"If you can't tell me where Yumekui is, I'll force you to tell!"

As Yoji was about to fight, Yori joined him by his side, much to his surprise.

"Yori!? What are you doing?"

"I can't sit back and do nothing. I'm going to help you." Yori exclaimed.

"You're his only target and he already kidnapped the others despite. I can't let you do that." Yoji protested.

The Nightmare Seeker summoned five Akuma Akumu and they transformed into five shinobi of Inyogakure. They had images of Tsukida, Seiichi, Kuta, Rika, and Pana.

"Don't get in my way. Attack the flame release user." he commanded.

Six of them began to start attacking Yoji in all-out attack and the latter began to use his chakrams and dodged their attack. Yori became shocked as he quickly noticed that Yoji was already fighting against six Akuma Akumu.

"Yoji!"

He tried to help Yoji, but the Seeker blocked Yori's way.

"With you as my target, you're also my opponent as well, Yori." The Seeker stated and turned his dark cane into a katana.

The Seeker attacked Yori with his katana and the latter quickly summoned his dark katana, blocking the first attack. As they fought each other, Yori kept blocking the attacks with his dark katana.

"What do you want with me? And why did you kidnapped them?" he asked.

"All I want is to make him to feel pain and suffer." the Seeker answered.

To Yori's confusion, he replied, "Him?"

"My original self..."

Yori became shocked as he began to realize that Kai the Nightmare Seeker was actually a nightmare self.

"You're... a nightmare self? But... I don't understand."

"I'm the only nightmare self and I used those Akuma Akumu and turned them into nightmare selves. Since you and the others have already accept your other selves, I have no choice, but to capture you."

The Nightmare Seeker swung his katana with a dark wind slash.

"Aki Kijin."

Yori dodged the dark wind slash and used kunai and shuriken as he threw at him. The Seeker blocked them with his katana swiftly.

"You should have give up your mission in the first place, Yori. Your life is in danger especially the others as well. You and your comrades are outsiders, interfering the Seven Stages of Nightmares," he exclaimed. "Why did you not leave at once? You do know if the challenger leaves without completing the game, you'll die."

"I can't leave after giving up this important mission. I have to complete this mission after she completes the game." Yori replied.

"Why? Why do you want her to complete the game?"

"Because I have to protect her at all costs, Yume is my twin sister! I'll wait for her to complete the game no matter what!"

As Yori claimed his reason, the Nightmare Seeker heard the name and suddenly repeated, "Yume?"

Suddenly, he began to feel pain as he clutched his head once again. Yori began to notice that his opponent was in pain, much to confusion.

"What's going on? Is he in pain?" he confused after seeing the Nightmare Seeker in pain.

As Kai the Nightmare Seeker felt in pain, he began to see visions of a young kunoichi as a genin once again. As he saw a young kunoichi in his vision, he began to notice that the girl looked familiar, but he can't think who she was.

"Who... are you?" he asked as the kunoichi smiled at him.

However, the kunoichi of Konohagakure disappeared as he felt the pain had gone away. Yori confusingly realized that the Nightmare Seeker's pain disappeared. As the Nightmare Seeker was recovered himself from the unknown pain, he began to realize that he must capture Yori as soon as possible.

"I can't stand here doing nothing. I have to capture you."

As he prepared to capture Yori, going towards him, however, white petals appeared surrounding him out of nowhere.

"Flower petals?" Yori noticed.

As the Inyo shinobi watched the Seeker surrounded by flower petals, a demon clad in a wind took him and disappeared, much to his surprise.

Yoji was outnumbered by six Akuma Akumu as he panted, knowing that they were strong. As he was about to be defeated, six wind demons appeared in front of him and quickly defeated them. After defeating the six of them, they began to become a whirlwind surrounding Yoji, much to his surprise. All the sudden, the whirlwind suddenly disappeared along with Yoji.

Kabuto confused that Yori and Yoji were disappeared all the sudden. Noticing something suspicious, he turned around and saw a hooded figure going near by the sleeping Yume. He threw scalpels at the intruder, only for him blocking them with his chakra no mesu.

"A medical-nin?"

As Kai the Nightmare Seeker broke free from the flower petal genjutsu, he noticed and knew the hooded figure.

"I've finally found you!"

He swung his katana, using Aki Kijin at the figure. However, the gray-hooded figure used his katana after transforming his dream cane into a weapon and summoning a wind slash, clashing with the Aki Kijin. However, both wind clash clashed each into a powerful wind. With a strong one appeared, it blew the hood of the intruder off from his head, revealing his face. As as the hood came off, Kabuto became shocked as he noticed the face he realized. It was none other than Kaito the Dream Keeper, also known as Kai Kurosaki.

After the wind slashes had clashed, the Nightmare Seeker went towards him and stabbed to the stomach with his katana. However, after killing his opponent, the Dream Keeper turned into a whirlwind of autumn leaves and engulfed the Seeker once again. The whirlwind became bigger, trying to blow the two shinobi away as they stood still. Just then, the whirlwind suddenly disappeared and Kaito was nowhere to be seen.

However, Kabuto noticed that Kaito wasn't the only one who was gone, but the sleeping Yume as well, much to his shock.

"So he already took her with him, huh?"

Meanwhile, somewhere in a dark wasteland, the five shinobi of Inyogakure were still unconscious just like the Nightmare Seeker's dream vision. All the sudden, Tsukida opened his eyes, regaining his consciousness. As he stood up, he noticed his comrades along with Rika and Pana were unconscious.

"Everyone!"

Just before he went towards them, he noticed that he and the others were in a strange and different place.

"Where... are we?" he asked with confusion as he saw nothing in the whole land and the sky was dark black without white clouds, stars, or even a sun or moon as well.