It was almost night time when Naruto left Ichiraku's. He had been suspended from the academy, though the reason being "not training monsters" had made him as angry as he was confused.
To occupy his time while he had to deal with getting Naruto's suspension lifted, Naruto had been given a copy of a book called "Tanto Hosen-the way of the short sword" by the Old Man, and he was studying it. Of course there WAS that bandage-head guy who offered to train Naruto himself, but Old Man Third wouldn't have it for some reason.
But as for that book he'd been given, while Naruto admittedly wasn't normally one for books, that Tanto Hosen was an exception.
It was about how to do a form of kenjutsu perfected in some place called "China" with the tachi. In the ancient days from the 13th to the 16th century pirates roamed the sea of Japan eventually crossing it and appearing on the shores of china the Ming called them wako (Japanese for invaders) and fought back. However the Ming army was hard pressed by the massive power of the Japanese sword in close combat. Tei Soyu a general who was a shaolin monk focused on researching these swords and their kenjutsu. He collected the knowledge into a book called Tanto Hosen- the way of the short sword, (the same one Naruto was studying) and circulated it through the Chinese army. Another general, Seki Keiko, was the first to equip his units with Japanese swords in the later years of Ming Japanese swords became the official equipment of the army leading not only to the importing but also production of the swords on their own. Released from the confines of Japan, china produced a new Japanese sword called the Wato and a new Chinese kenjutsu to command it, Watojutsu. A creation of kenjutsu that fused the speed and power of the katana and the power and grace of Chinese martial arts.
The only problem with the style was that it was entirely based around offense and power, heedless of defense; never attempting to block, but rather counterattacking opponents to utilize offense.
Of course Naruto hadn't actually practiced the moves in the book, he lacked a sword to do so. Sure he could've used a broom handle or something, but if they broke, he'd never get a new one since the shops never allowed him in. He needed something sturdier than that if he wanted to actually practice.
After enjoying his ramen, Naruto decided to go for a walk... despite the meal, Naruto was feeling... edgy. He had a need, an URGE, to do something.
Suddenly, Naruto stopped as he came to a realization. Since it was a few days since his suspension, he had not stepped foot into the Academy. No Academy meant no cold stares or teachers who wouldn't teach him. That meant...no pranks! He hadn't pranked anyone in two whole days!
To the young boy, the pranking situation needed to be remedied. All he needed was a victim...
Fate...Destiny...one could call the chance meeting any of these, but as Naruto turned a corner, he noticed an excited looking Uchiha boy running by. He didn't know the boy at all, but he DID recognize the telltale features that most male Uchihas shared... the dark hair, pale complexion and the pansy effeminate look that made it easy to underestimate them at times. The same features as the policemen who would give him a hard time. The same features that was shared by the killer and his victim that he saw a few days ago.
Had anyone been paying attention to Naruto, they might have noticed a rather manic looking grin on his face as he found his victim of the day. "Perfect."
Locked on target, Naruto trailed after his victim-to-be.
Naruto followed after the Uchiha boy closely, making sure not to be seen by anyone. It would be difficult to explain what he was doing following after an Uchiha... that, and if caught he might lose sight of his target. From the way he was running, Naruto could only guess that the boy was running home. Perhaps a bit of simple vandalism on the boy's house? Get the police station on his way out for laughs?
...Maybe itching powder on their uniforms...THAT was always good for grins. Sure it was small time...but then, not many people could get away with pranking the police.
Noticing kid stop at the entrance of the Uchiha sector, Naruto carefully made his way closer to the boy. Oddly enough, the area around the entrance was empty, even for this time of night... No lights shone from nearby buildings, despite the fact that it was around this time most people enjoyed dinner. There weren't even any of the police making patrols along the streets or near the rooftops for some reason. Perhaps someone was dumb enough to steal something? Snickering, Naruto though the place was 'as quiet as a graveyard'. And as the kid ran further into the sector, Naruto made to follow...the light bit of humor failing to keep the hairs on the back of his neck from rising.
After the boy turned a corner, he stopped again, apparently in shock. From where he hid, Naruto could see a manic look of fear in his eyes that worried Naruto further. What the hell was going on? Seeing the boy take off faster, Naruto moved to follow...only to notice the large amount of damage that was done to the surrounding area. Street signs and lanterns were sliced in half, while shuriken and other throwing weapons embedded themselves into various surfaces. Despite the lack of bodies, Naruto easily picked up a familiar metallic scent...one that he had became all too familiar with whenever some of the villagers got drunk and went after him to "purge Konoha of it's demonic taint".
Blood.
There were no signs of any bodies, or any telltale signs that he could see at first...but he could make out the scent easily. Shaking his head, Naruto made his way past the battle zone on his quest to keep the Uchiha boy in sight. This wasn't funny anymore.
Another length of street and another corner brought an even more gruesome scene than the battlefield before. Naruto noticed the boy pause briefly before bolting, but Naruto himself stopped at the scene to take in what the battlefield behind him lacked.
Bodies.
There were only two...most likely the only two in the area who were not in their homes at the time aside from the Police... or at least... the only two left outside. A dark part of Naruto's mind noticed that both were killed professionally... the areas cut on the dead bodies were cut with precision... no more than necessary and sliced in just the right areas for a quick, if bloody, death, one of the anatomy books he read instantly coming to mind.
Of course... the scene brought something else to mind... that day he witnessed the man called Shisui die by the river that day he decided to pull out of the Academy. Shaking his head to purge the thought before it came fully, Naruto glanced around... barely missing the boy run into one of the bigger houses. Suddenly, Naruto's earlier thought came back to him as he made to follow...
The place really was as quiet as a graveyard... as silent as only death itself could be.
Morbid thoughts aside, Naruto decided the best course of action would be to sneak around the house instead of blindly following inside. If whoever did this was outside, he wanted a chance to escape out in the open, where he could possibly use anything in the surrounding area to get away. If it worked for escaping the police and the occasional ninja, he had high hopes for being able to escape whatever did this. If the killer was inside... well... that's why there were windows. Worse comes to worse, he could run off to the Hokage and describe what the killer looked like.
Naruto did his best to keep out of sight... glancing around before peeking through what windows he could find, hoping to keep the boy in sight. It was when he passed by one of the last rooms, what appeared to be a master bedroom, that he spotted the man that he knew killed the couple outside... as well as everyone else in the area. The man, dressed like an ANBU but lacking the usual mask, sliced through another couple, spraying their blood along the floor... just as the door to the room opened. Letting out a light gasp, Naruto noticed the ninja turn his way and pulled away from the window... instantly remembering the face of the man whose screams haunted his thoughts even now.
It was the face of the man who killed Shisui by the riverside a few days ago. The face of the man whose eyes cried blood as he screamed in horrible pain for an eternity. Naruto listened as the man talked with the boy... his own little brother. He spoke about his reasons... to measure his capacity. He listened as the little boy, whom the man called 'Sasuke', scream as well, before running out, wailing for his life. He heard the doors fly open and the boy's screaming reach the outside of the house, then swallowed and hesitantly checked inside the room.
Both Sasuke and his brother... Itachi... were gone, leaving only the two bodies on the ground.
"... Sa...su...ke..." wheezed a soft, female voice.
Surprised, Naruto leaped into the room, making his way next to the woman on the ground. The man was dead, his lifeless eyes looking up away towards the wall, his face set in a permanent scowl. The woman, however, was stabbed in the chest... a deadly wound, to be sure, but bleeding heavily. Grabbing the woman's hand, Naruto whimpered, shaking her lightly. "H...Hold on! I'll get help lady!" Naruto cried. Maybe after that guy finished off his little brother, he'll be long gone, right?
"...can't...die...yet... " the woman coughed up blood and her grip on Naruto's hand tightened. Her eyes turned to focus on the boy as tears welled up in her eyes, seeking salvation in the blonde haired boy before her. "... please...I...can't...die yet...curse...hate...have to...warn...Sa...su...ke..."
"I...I'll get help! You won't die lady! I promise! Soon as we get ya to the old man, he'll make you better!" Whimpering, Naruto began to look around frantically before doing his best to lift the woman up by the shoulders. Placing one of her arms around his neck, he leaned her against him as best as he could before dragging her out. "Uzumaki Naruto never breaks his word! Just don't die yet lady!"
"...Uzu...maki...Na...ru...to..." Naruto felt the woman clench his hand firmly once more as she gave him a relieved smile...before closing her eyes for the last time, her grip on his hand going slack.
Panic suddenly filled Naruto as he quickly dragged the woman with him outside. "C'mon lady...you're just sleeping right? I told ya, Uzumaki Naruto doesn't lie! Don't die, lady! Just wait, Old Man will fix you up!" Looking around, Naruto started to cry out. If this lady was alive, maybe someone else was, right? One guy couldn't kill EVERYONE! "HELP! SOMEONE! ANYONE! HEEEELP!"
"What are you doing with my mother's corpse?" asked a cold voice that froze Naruto where he stood. Whimpering, the blonde haired boy turned around... and looked right at a young man with blood-colored eyes, and jet-black hair that was pulled back in a low ponytail which extended to his shoulder blades. He was dressed like those masked ninjas that were around the village sometimes.
"G...gotta save her..." he whimpered, his legs shaking so much it took everything he could to keep standing.
"You cannot save the dead...but if you wish, you can see just how I made her that way... perhaps this will teach you not to meddle in affairs that do not concern you... Uzumaki Naruto-kun." With that spoken, those blood-red eyes changed, and Naruto felt himself falling into darkness. The clouds in the sky seemed to fly in reverse as the sky and moon changed colors... becoming a black moon set in a red sky, dark stars twinkling menacingly for a brief moment before he found himself standing in the same room he had just left. The woman he was saving was no longer in his arms, but kneeling on the ground next to the dead man, who still seemed to scowl. Uchiha Itachi could be seen standing behind the two, katana drawn and a sinister smile seen on his face.
"For the next twenty-four hours...you will watch as I kill my parents... Uchiha Fugaku, my father and Uchiha Mikoto, my mother... over and over again, while being helpless to do anything about it." Naruto whimpered as he watched Itachi raise his blade... only to stop as Naruto let out a loud cry, his body moving as he rushed towards the killer. Smirking, Itachi brought his blade down, slicing through his father's chest, before stabbing his mother sharply. As the blood sprayed and their bodies fell, Naruto watched helplessly as he found himself standing by the door again, the bodies no long on the ground, but once again kneeling before Itachi. Five more times he watched it happen, each time never making it in time to save the woman or her husband. After the last time, Naruto shuddered in anger when Itachi's voice rang out through the polarized world. " Twenty-three hours fifty-nine minutes and fifty-nine seconds..."
After two more seconds of this, something in Naruto broke. He couldn't stand to see his promise broken by this murderer! Cold, dark and primal anger filled Naruto as he began to see red...
Naruto soon found himself back in the real world, a look of shock and fear on Itachi's face confusing him, but he didn't care. He was angry, so angry everything he saw was tinted red and he felt like he was on fire from the inside out.
"I'LL RIP YOU APART!"
The enraged scream echoed through the night around the corpse-littered compound. Accompanying the voice a surge of chakra could be felt by all in the village of Konohagakure no Sato, along with so much killing intent that the weaker individuals had fallen to their knees shaking and quivering in fear.
Itachi watched as steam seemed to pour out and encircle the blond. Following this, chakra as red as blood and hot as flames burst out from the boy blowing the steam away and taking its place surrounding him before shooting into the air forming a spiral. Itachi recoiled as the chakra seemed to form the head of a grinning kitsune. One that's eyes widened and then narrowed maliciously at the sight of him. Then the kitsune's head seemed to pour itself over Naruto like liquid and formed into a somewhat solidified, bubbling red fox form as two tails emerged. He now sported what looked like claws on both his hands and feet. His canine's had also lengthened and turned into fangs while his whisker-marks grew more pronounced, widening and darkening until they resembled abysmal scars. His eyes had been the greatest change as his once soulful blue eyes had changed becoming blood red with an animalistic black slit for the pupil.
Itachi winced at the situation.
"How ironic...the one most entitled to wishing doom upon the Uchiha is trying to save one of them." Itachi muttered. This wasn't good. Of all people to deal with, it just HAD to be Minato and Kushina's child. Now the one being who loathed the Uchiha more than any other was going to use the young boy as a medium to rip him to pieces just for being alive. Damn his depraved ancestor! Cursed Madara! If the man had been so powerful, Itachi wanted to know WHY he had to brainwash the Kyuubi and have it fight his battles for him like some damned attack dog! Now HE was going to die before he planned on...and all because of that old madman! Sasuke was the one who was supposed to kill him!
"An Uchiha...Heh, I'm gonna enjoy this!" a different, rough, gravelly, deep voice said from the child's mouth as he shrugged off Mikoto's cadaver as though simply tossing out a sack of garbage.
Itachi paled. The Nine-Tails...ho, this was just perfect!
The possessed boy suddenly winced for a second and then started muttered to himself.
"Fine brat...You steer, I'll shoot...this works out for me since you only want to hurt this guy. Getting to rip apart someone of Ōtsutsuki Indra's side of the bloodline. Always liked his younger brother Ashura better anyways!"
With that, Itachi made one mistake: he blinked. by the time he had done so than the jinchūriki was on top of him, arm swinging in at overhead strike that would shatter his collar bone if it handed.
Itachi dodged, but a blast of sheer kinetic energy tossed him backwards and through a wall, bringing it down on top of him. Itachi pulled himself out of the rubble and leaned against the wall that had
'The pressure with just the shockwave...! And all from simply moving his hand...! So...this is only HALF the power of the ninth bijū!'
"I'm surprised you could dodge that. Not bad...but not good, either. Almost got you." the fox said with a cackle.
That caused Itachi to look down and his eyes widened, there were claw marks on his flak jacket. He looked up and gulped. Even near-misses were dangerous. With that kind of power, Itachi couldn't block OR dodge...and he needed to conserve as much of what was left of his chakra as possible. He wasn't fully used to the techniques of the Mangekyō Sharingan, and he'd already used Tsukuyomi twice. But he HAD to get Naruto away from here.
Using the power of the Kyuubi and being found in a place littered with the dead...there was no way he wouldn't be blamed for the massacre of the Uchiha Clan.
Itachi had no choice.
'Kamui!' the Uchiha thought desperately.
"Wha..?! NO! DAMN YOU, NO! I WILL NOT BE DENIED KILLING YOU, UCHIHA! DAMN YOU AND YOUR BLOOD! DAMN THAT CURSED SHARINGAN!" the fox howled, realizing what was going on as soon as it saw the air around his host ripple and swirl inwards towards him.
"My bloodline and I are already damned, you more than anyone already know that," Itachi said, "now be gone forever, and may Madara's demented goals of the restoration of the Jūbi no Shinju vanish along with you!"
"WHAT?! JUST WHOSE SIDE ARE YO..."
The question was left unfinished as the stunned bijū was swallowed by the Jikūkan Ninjutsu, taking Naruto along with it.
Itachi sighed, ho...explaining this to the Sandaime Hokage was going to be an absolute pain in the ass. If only Danzo hadn't ruined the plan of having Shisui use his Kotoamatsukami on Fugaku to subtly end the Uchiha's coup d'état plan because the warmonger, believing that simply manipulating the Uchiha's leader wouldn't end the conflict, chose to take Shisui's eyes for himself and had succeeded in getting the right one!
...Ah well, at least now the Hokage could finally DO something about the de facto leader of "Negakure no Sato", or the "Village Hidden in the Roots"... it was a joke made to mock Danzo and his faction by calling them that before the group was deemed illegal and disbanded (although, Itachi knew they were still unofficially active and operating illegally), and it actually made more sense to call them that since they always acted as though they were a separate village from Konoha anyway, with the way this had turned out.
But, damnit, Itachi wished more than anything that things had gone differently! 'Please forgive me fourth Hokage...'
"Alana!"
A winged-Yoma swooped down from the sky, and in a gout of blood tackled one of the guards, snarling as it rode him to the ground smashing him face first into the ground.
"No. No. No…!"Another guard's screams were cut short as the shoulders of the heavily muscled Yoma surged, tearing him in half.
"Alana, it's okay!"
A fleeing guard gasped and gurgled as the spear- like fingers of the largest Yoma dragged him slowly back.
"Alana," her dad whispered, cradling her against his chest in an attempt to shield her from the monstrosity. "Are you —are you all right?"
"Yes," Alana murmured weakly, stomach churning, unable to look away from the guards face turned toward her, with its dulled eyes and lipless mouth giving her a death grin. Failing to hold the sightless gaze of the dead man she closed her eyes, swallowing thickly trying to force the bile to stay down. In a way closing her eyes only made what was happening worse was that over the noise of her racing heart and her father's heavy breathing, she could hear the Yoma feeding.
The noises were strange, taunting her to look yet again to see what exactly those monsters were doing to the formerly living men. It had all gone so horribly, horribly wrong and she didn't want to see or know, but still she found her eyes opening once more. At first all she could see were those horribly dead eyes, but against her will, her attention shifted up; towards the largest Yoma hovering over the guard licking the blood on its long and horrible fingers like it was gravy.
Her throat burned as she lost her fight against the bile in her throat, but her father didn't seem to notice. The soft murmuring told her wasn't even paying attention to the world; he was focused on something else. Shakily, she awkwardly turned her gaze up toward him, unsurprised to find his eyes closed and mouth moving faintly in the rote litany of a prayer.
"Why do they always pray?" The shortest and most muscular of the three Yoma asked as it suddenly came into view grabbing her father's hair, while seizing her own arm and yanking them apart. Dropping her without looking, it tossed her father to the ground a few feet away. "It never helps and it's annoying."
The impact had temporarily knocked the air out of her father, but he refused to stop. Clutching his hands tighter together he continued to pray, "...Through the mighty strength of the Trinity, we ask for a mighty downpour from Heaven, may you hear the voices of your sons and daughters. Look down from heaven and see, from your holy and beautiful habitation and deliver us from this evil-"
"Maybe it does help?" The Winged Yoma taunted, turning its attention away from the still-warm intestines of the gutted torso it had been feeding on.
"Does it really work?" The Short Yoma questioned, lacings its fingers together in a mockery of a prayer before laughing and grabbing her father's face "Save your breath for the screams, your god doesn't exist, or they just don't give a damn about you! And just for annoying me I'm going to eat your guts while you're still alive."
"W-why are you doing this?!" Alana shouted, staring at the Yoma who was stalking around her father who refused to stop praying despite its taunts. "WHY!?"
"Because it makes you afraid." The largest Yoma answered, letting the leftovers of the husk he had been feeding on fall to the ground as he moved toward her in a strange loping gait. Crouching before them, the Yoma smiled, revealing its blood-soaked teeth as it cupped her chin with a large, meaty hand "Human guts taste good fresh, but they taste so much better when you're terrified."
Alana gagged at the sick, foul breath that washed over her face as it spoke, trying to flinch away from it. Oh god, please, someone...ANYONE...help them!
"Hey! Why are you two talking like you'll get to eat their guts?" The winged Yoma protested, drawing the other Yoma's attention. "We never agreed on who would get to eat who. It was first-come, first-serve!"
"It was my idea to wait here and ambush a caravan before we went north!" the large Yoma snarled, releasing her chin roughly to glower down at the winged Yoma.
"It was my idea!" the short yoma shouted, stalking away from her still-praying father to confront its companions "I should get to eat whoever I damn well please!"
Alana watched the three-arguing Yoma in a daze of confusion and disbelief, they were arguing on who should be eating them and she was sitting here in her stained clothes watching. A white hot fury welled up within, and when she saw a discarded sword gleaming within reach, she instinctively reached for it-
Alana froze solid, eyes widening in terror as she looked at the small Yoma that had shouted. But its attention was fixed on something else and turning her attention in that direction, she found what had caught its attention. The yoma looked up and froze.
"Huh, what the hell is THAT!?" The winged yoma asked, stunned.
Seeming to fall from the heavens itself was a figure of a young boy, yet he had what seemed to be wings of fire. It looked like six of them, as a matter of fact. The topmost ones were high enough to where they seemed to come from behind his head, the middle ones were extended as far as his arms, and the last set was a little below his waist.
The burning figure landed heavily on the ground, kicking up dirt and dust as their landing shook the ground and caused a crater to form.
"Wha-what the...?!" the three Yoma stampered.
It happened all at once, in both blind speed and seemingly slow motion, all with perfect crystal clarity: the being seemed to disappear with a flicker of red that danced like flames, only to immediately reappear behind the attacking Yoma. The small yoma exploded with a sudden spurt of purple blood from the chest, before toppling to the ground in two halves while the seemingly burning being casually shook his hands to get some of the Yoma's blood off his hands before he directed his attention to the two remaining monsters.
"What the... Who–what are you?" The large yoma shouted, stumbling back from the scene "You're not a Claymore!"
Rather than answer, the person disappearing with another flicker of red. Suddenly the yoma doubled over as the one on fire appeared in front of him, fist buried in its stomach, and then a second later the burning one was somehow in the air over the momentarily helpless Yoma. Impossibly, the boy seemed to hang in mid-air before he extended a single leg over head and dropped to the ground slamming the heel of it into the back of the Yoma's head, driving the Yoma face first into the ground with a ridiculously loud 'crack', creating a crater from the impact.
"Impossible!" The winged Yoma exclaimed before realizing the danger it now faced and launched itself into the air.
The blond craned his neck, eyes tracking the flying Yoma before he vanished in a silent blur. He reappeared high in the air, tearing away the wing of the Yoma. Its remaining wing flapped helplessly against the air before it started to plummet in a spiral descent, aided by the flaming blond kicking it away as they separated.
Twisting around in midair, aura bellowing out to create what looked like wings of red flames, the stranger sent the wing he'd ripped off flying and impaling the Yoma through the throat and it gaged as the bone of it's own wing destroyed it's throat, killing it instantly. An instant later the young man crashed back to the earth and rolled across the ground, before regaining his feet, empty handed but victorious.
Alana stared at him in hushed awe, as if coming face to face with God or the Twin Goddesses. She was unable to completely absorb the significance: he was young, his hair sun-bright yellow, sun-kissed skin. His style of dress was odd, but that wasn't important next to what he had done.
How he seemed to be on fire yet wasn't hurt by it...the six wing-like appendages he'd had...the way he'd dropped from the heavens when her father had been praying for a savior...and the ease, power, and speed he'd gotten rid of the Yoma...
He just couldn't be merely human.
He had to be a 'Burning One'; one of the fiery angles that were the caretakers of God's throne and the beings closest to it in the Celestial Hierarchy, second only to God himself and one of the ones that were said to have six wings: "with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew" and before whom, none could stand for fear of their righteous flames consuming them.
As unconsciousness claimed her, Alana managed one word "Seraph."
Naruto panted as the redness vanished from his sight, taking the strength he'd had with it and leaving him exhausted. Then noticed it was daytime and that his surroundings. Where was this? It wasn't anywhere in the Uchiha compound...or Konoha at all! Where was this place!? How far was he from home?!
After a few seconds, he noticed he was covered in some kind of dark purple liquid that the monster's bodies gave off, he guessed it was their blood.
He'd done that?
While normally, it would have been awesome, he remembered what had happened at the Uchiha compound. He had to get back and help that Mikoto woman! But WHERE was he?! What direction did he go to find his way back to Konoha?! He had always wanted to in order to get away from how much people hated him, but he'd never left Konoha before...Old Man Sandaime had never let him, saying it was dangerous outside the village for people who weren't ninja.
Judging from the ripped-up monsters, Naruto could see what the old Kage had meant.
Seeing the torn up caravan and that there didn't seem to be anyone alive, the seven-year-old panicked and ran away in a random direction.
"I don't appreciate emergency calls for sessions this early in the morning," Rimuto announced entering the roughly hewn meeting hall. The others present noticeably stiffened at his voice, but he ignored it as he approached his seat and settled into it. After a moment of silence, he glanced around at the fellow elders and Handlers before noting the disfigured countenance of Dae standing alone before them. "This better be good."
"It is." Dae confirmed his tone in an odd mixture of anticipation and annoyance. "My sources have reported a sudden and dramatic shift in Yoma activity."
"Oh?" Rimuto said, glancing at the others who were looking at each other in mixtures of confusion, and uneasiness.
"There was a massive flare of Yoki detected in the western regions of Mucha," Dae explained "and it was felt all the way from the tip of Alphonse. The Abyssal Ones have all begun to stir once more, Yoma are fleeing the south in record numbers, and according to several Handlers several of the warriors we have situated in Mucha were on the verge of awakening."
"That's impossible." Rado, one of the currently unassigned Handlers said, moving away from the wall to confront Dae "There is no being capable of producing that much Yoki, not even the Abyssal Ones possess Yoki into driving the Yoma to flee an entire region. Not to mention the fact that it would be impossible for a single being to induce a near awakening, let alone so many at the same time."
"It was a synchronicity event." Rimuto said to himself, hand covering his mouth as he considered the information thoughtfully "It was similar in effect to our previous experiments with Rafaela and Luciela."
"Only on a much wider scale." Dae offered eagerly, before glancing at Rado "It is not unheard of for such strange beings to spontaneously come into existence."
"This thing is an aberration," one of the other Elders said "Why and for what purpose we are still unable to grasp, but this being you claim, surely cannot be capable of unleashing such potent Yoki."
"I claim nothing. It is fact that this being exists-" Dae said moving closer to the row of Elders "we must harness this resource. If we act now, using our top warriors, I am confident we can capture this Yoma. Deploying the current Number One Teresa, the most advanced manifestation to date, we can surely-"
"You overestimate our strength." Rubel interrupted, emerging from his customary spot within the back, drawing everyone's attention "At the moment we are able to create a balance between ourselves and The Abyssal Ones, but the balance is a precarious one which would turn against us if we should attempt to capture the creature which possesses such massive and potent Yoki. Even if we could call in Teresa, nothing would change."
"But we must at least know what the source of this phenomenon is, at the very least!" Dae insisted.
At that, the others in the chamber all nodded.
"Agreed. Which Warrior is assigned to the region this surge of Yoki appeared in?" Rimuto said.