A/N:
Okay…ummmm… wow. That first chapter went down a lot better than I thought it actually would. Like seriously, I am SO happy that you guys liked my choice to make Obito my main character. It was a huge risk, but it's one that (so far) seems to have paid off.
Let's just hope it keep working !
Before I get started with my usual pre-chapter drabble, just be aware that I have corrected a mistake in regards to the Kanikabi bridge (I said it was Op against Kiri instead of Iwa). Also, please note that Obito's EMS WILL be explained later on, just not in the immediate future (five or so chapters).
Okay, housekeeping done.
Now I know a lot of you are probably sat there, scratching your heads and thinking: 'Hang on, isn't this update supposed to be coming out on the 24th of June?'. Well you're kind of right, but seeing as I managed to write about half of this chapter on Tuesday afternoon (following an exam), and seeing as I had a free Friday and Thursday afternoon, I decided to just finish the chapter up seeing how it was like two thirds done, and therefore get you guys another chapter.
But before we begin, I would just like to quickly address one issue that was brought to my attention by one or two reviewers.
The harem.
Looking back on it, I think that perhaps six or seven is maybe too many girls for Obito, but I'm not sure if I want to change it. So I've put up a poll on my profile with a simple question : keep the harem as it is, mini Harem of four girls or a single relationship. I've done this because, like I said; most DxD stories are ruined by Harems of an unbelievably stupid scale, and as such I'm looking to stop that from happening (with a relatively large harem when we consider who our protagonist is). But I want to keep as many people happy as possible, but in a manageable manner.
Any ways, that's enough outta little ol' me for now.
LET'S GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD!
"I'll kill you!" – Normal speech (E.G Humans, Devils, Angels etc.)
'All for nothing.' – Human / Devil / Yokai etc. thoughts.
"Katon : Endan!" – Jutsu/ Technique/ Sacred Gear Ability.
[We need to be careful.] – Sacred Gear / Possessed weapon/ Bijju speech.
{Dam brat, what's he doing?} – Sacred Gear / Possessed weapon/ Bijju thoughts.
(Last time in: Despair of the Uchiha)
Steeling his soul, Obito brought his gaze back up to meet Ophis' endless violet ocean, praying to whatever deity that was watching over him to give him a little bit of help so that he could get started on ending Rizevim's mad scheme in earnest. He knew he didn't deserve such luck, but if he wanted to make good on his penance then this would certainly help. Eventually, after what seemed like an age, the young looking Dragon God finally decided to speak.
"I… believe you."
Obito let out a breath of air that he did not realize he had been holding. Now all he needed was for her to extend an offer to join the Khaos Brigade.
"Tell me, would you… like to join the Khaos Brigade, Obito-san?"
"Yes. I have little purpose; and as such your will shall become my purpose for living. I will become your perfect weapon, Ophis-samma; your knife in the dark or blazing flame of unholy retribution. Providing that you would have me join, that is." His reply had been almost instantaneous; soon enough to sound genuine but not so soon as to sound rehearsed. The Gothic – Lolita Dragon-God kept staring blankly at the young man for several moments before finally speaking.
"Welcome… to the Khaos Brigade, Obito-san."
Bowing his head slightly, Obito smirked ever so slightly before replying to his new 'leader'.
"Please, unless we're alone, call me…."
"Despair."
(Chapter one: A serious case of Deja-vu!)
(An Unknown location, Human world, Near the Khaos Brigades' Headquarters)
Ophis kept her cold violet orbs focused on Obito for several seconds after he had finished speaking. The former criminal kept his own eyes fixed on the young-looking Dragon god's eyes, but before long he felt a small sense of anxiety grow in his stomach as she continued to stare at him with a completely blank face. Usually, such a stare-off wouldn't worry Obito as he could still read his opponent, no-matter how stoic or deranged they tried to present themselves. Not even Itachi could hide his true thoughts and emotions from him when Obito held his gaze.
But Ophis was completely impossible to read.
It was like trying to read a book without any words being printed within its pages: all he had was a title, a name, and nothing more. He had no idea of her 'life', her emotions or the way she liked to do things: she was an anomaly to him… and if there was one thing that Obito hated more than the way his former world used to work and Rizevim, it was not knowing everything. It meant that he was no longer in control of his situation, and therefore no-longer able to get in-side of the other persons head. And he hated it; what with the decade and a half he spent manipulating the Elemental Nations. He was used to being in the position of power, and against such a dangerous foe it could spell…
"That's… stupid."
'I hate not… Wait, what?'
Obito's entire mind froze as he registered the words of Ophis, who's voice had not wavered as she delivered her dead-pan, sunk in. Turning his head with almost machine-like jerkiness, the 'Last Shinobi' cocked his head to the side in the universal gesture for 'what?'
Ophis, for her part, looked completely unperturbed by the young man's reaction, and instead decided to answer his unasked question.
"Your cover-name… it's silly, Obito-san." She explained slowly, almost as if she were explaining something to someone slow of mind (although she couldn't have, Obito reasoned, after all that was a human thing). Having regained enough of his wits, Obito shook his head lightly before he decided to reply to the strongest being on Earth at the time.
"Well, what would you have me call myself then, Ophis-sama?" He asked curiously, earning a small cock of the head by said Dragon-god. The Gothic Lolita 'girl' stood there for several moments before she nodded her head to herself, as if satisfied with the answer that she had reached for Obito. Turning her attention back to the slightly confused young man, she voiced her thoughts after an additional several moments of silence.
"If you insist on using a cover-name, I suggest… Rapture."
"Why?"
"To strike fear into my foes... 'Despair' was simply not going to work. And…you will be the force that raptures any of our foes plans." Was Ophis' immediate answer Obito's response, earning a small nod of acknowledgement from the young man as he cringed at the code-name Rizevim had given him. He'd actually pleaded with him for hours not to have to say it, but ultimately the first son of the original Lucifer had threatened his 'servant' with punishment. And seeing as he was supposed to be playing the part of the 'loyal servant', he'd been forced to let the issue drop.
'Bastard is probably laughing at me right now.' Obito thought to himself bitterly, before returning his attention to Ophis just as she began to speak again.
"Follow me, Obito-san. I will introduce…you to your temporary team-mates. I will eventually free you to head-up your own faction… but first I need to make certain of your skills."
Said Shinobi nodded his head lightly as he fell into step behind Ophis' diminutive figure. He had expected such a situation to arise; after all, the Khaos Brigade didn't get to be as strong as it was without actually vetting its members and making sure that they were powerful enough to take on some of the strongest beings in existence. In all likely hood, he'd only serve a handful of missions with this 'team' before he'd be given the chance to establish his own 'faction': a spy network that would provide Obito with not only information on the 'Three Great Factions', but also the rest of the supernatural world. It would be his chance to begin moving pieces into position so that the world would be far more ready to take down Rizevim when he finally crawled out of whatever shitty hole he had decided to hold-up in.
'But for now, you need to focus man. I need to execute this flawlessly, otherwise my plans will take a delay that they can't afford.'
Making sure to keep up with his new 'boss', Obito dutifully trudged through the heavy snow with very little difficulty. Eventually, the two of them reached what looked like a small supply cupboard that once belonged to another building. Waving her hand in-front of the shack's door, Obito watched unsurprised as an intricate seal appeared on the door, whilst the rest of the building was covered in an intricate layer of runes and various languages that Obito had yet to become familiar with. After several seconds, the runic array on the door pulsed several times before disappearing whilst the 'layer' remained in place. Ophis strode towards the door before gently pushing it open, and motioning for Obito to head in first.
Nodding slightly, the most wanted man from the Elemental Nations quickly made his to the door, noticing immediately that instead of a small, compacted room, the door only lead to a staircase. Shrugging slightly, the Shinobi slowly began his descent, but not before pumping a miniscule amount of Chakra into his right eye, activating his Sharingan. He was entering an cramped location of which he had no knowledge in terms of its structure or design; and as such, he resolved to fall into old habits, if only to ensure himself some semblance of a peaceful mind. He didn't really expect trouble…but like Madara had always told him during their training sessions…
'No-where is truly safe unless you can account for every variable within reason.'
It had been those words that had ensured his survival during the early days of working with that mental old corpse; along with several other life lessons that (although he loathed to admit it), Obito valued above all others.
'There's no such thing as a fair fight. Mercy on the battlefield will get you killed. Emotions are not to be displayed but rather used correctly. Every strike must be delivered with the intent to kill your enemy…
And your foe must be defeated, no matter the cost.'
It was those lessons that had brought Obito to the pinnacle of the Shinobi world.
'And now look at me; a man who was once a god, now once again the shadow-clad, un-heard of man who is biding his time so that he can re-shape the world once more. Hah, oh how the mighty have fallen.' He thought ruefully to himself as he continued to descend down the stairs, casually noting that he and Ophis had been walking for several minutes now and had yet to reach the bottom of the stairwell. Casting a look back at Ophis, the Dragon god seemed to read Obito's mind as she answered his un-asked question with her usual monotone.
"It's not… too far now."
Realizing that was all he was going to get out of the stoic 'young girl', Obito simply focused on ensuring that the path ahead of him was clear of any sort of traps. Eventually, the gradient of the steps became less and less steep, and within a minute the stairs had given way to stone flooring. Some five or six meters ahead of them lay a large pair of heavy wooden doors that were re-enforced by heavy iron struts and plating that made them look like something that belonged in a castle, not a secret corridor leading to a terrorist organization's hideout. Obito stopped several meters from the door, and allowed Ophis to walk past him: he figured that it would prevent him from being attacked by anyone who came to greet the two of them, as they would (hopefully) realize that he was there at the grace of their leader.
Falling into beside the teenage-like Dragon-god. Obito watched as she once again gently waved her hand at the door, causing the gigantic constructs of wood and iron to swing open at a decent speed, soon revealing the room on the opposite side.
Said room was circular in nature, and was easily some fifteen to twenty in diameter, with six large doorways spread evenly around the room. Each doorway lead to equally bland looking corridors that seemed to stretch on for as far as the eye could see, with no variation in color-scheme or design. The 'room' itself was also bland: over-head light fixtures provided the room with an even distribution of light whilst the walls themselves were painted in various shades of grey that did little to lighten the concept of being some undiscernible distance under the Earth.
Obito went to ask the diminutive Dragon – god that stood next to him a question, but before he could another voice broke through the peaceful silence that permeated the room.
"Ophis-sama we've just received word tha- Oh, who's the newbie, nya?"
Turning his direction to one of the doorways to his right, Obito was greeted by the sight of one of the most breath-takingly beautiful people he had ever seen in his entire life.
The woman in question was several inches shorter than Obito, standing at a fairly diminutive 5'5. Yet despite this, this member of the female gender literally screamed sexy: long, rave-black hair that looked smoother than the skin of a god, a perfectly shaped face with luscious lips and playful amber eyes, whilst her chest looked like it was actually bigger than Tsunade of the Sanin, something that he'd thought impossible. All in all, she looked more like a sex-goddess than she did a normal woman, and the way that her tails and ears were twitching…
Wait.
'Two tails and fluffy ears? Ahhhhhhhh! She must be one of the Nekoshou that Rizevim spoke of…. Huh, I thought he was joking when he said about the tails and ears. But then again, considering that I'm in another world, I shouldn't really have expected anything less.' Obito thought to himself with a small smile, before turning his attention back to Ophis and the unidentified buxom beauty that had greeted them.
"This… is Rapture… he is our newest member." Ophis replied to the Nekoshou's question, earning a raised, delicate eyebrow from the gorgeous woman before she smiled warmly at Obito.
"Nya, nice to meet you Rapture-san. My name is Kuroka." The now identified Kuroka supplied helpfully, extending a hand towards Obito. Said Shinobi gripped the woman's hand and gave it a firm shake as he spoke.
"A pleasure to meet you, Kuroka-san." He replied in a monotone that would have made Ophis proud (if she understood such concepts). The Nekoshou pouted lightly at his tone, whilst offering several teasing words to the veteran Shinobi.
"You need to lighten up, Nya. Honestly, if your this formal and dry then I can see you and Vali getting on like a house on fire if you like fighting enough." Kuroka teased lightly, earning a dead stare from Obito, who made to reply but was cut off by the ever-consistent voice of Ophis.
"Kuroka… this can wait. What did you have to say?"
Said woman immediately straightened at Ophis' words, whilst her face hardened and her eyes took on a professional, cold look that Obito was used to seeing on only the more successful Ninja back home.
"Of course, Ophis-sama. Like I was saying, we have just received word that one of the smaller Magician factions has refused to join our organization. Instead, they are going to hold a meeting with several representatives from each of the major factions in an effort to get them to recognize the danger we pose to them." Kuroka relayed her message without any dancing around the issue or unnecessary emotion; she did what was required and nothing more, like a consummate professional. It was odd to see someone flip between characters so easily, but given the way the world worked back in Obito's home dimension, it was only surprising to him as he did not peg the woman to be a Ninja of any sort.
Nether-the-less, Ophis took the information in-stride before nodding her head as she processed the information.
"How long till it is set to begin?"
"Three hours at the most."
" I see."
Ophis averted her gaze from the other two people present as she mulled over her options in her mind; the thoughts in her head seemingly travelling at a million miles a minute before Ophis finally reached what she considered to be the best course of action. Turning back around, Ophis focused her gaze on Obito and Kuroka intently for several seconds before she finally spoke.
"Rapture-san…you will go with Kuroka and kill these magicians. Kuroka-san, you will watch Rapture-san and assess whether or not he is fit to lead his own faction.
This mission… is important. You cannot fail; we are not ready… to reveal ourselves to the world yet.
Stop these foolish humans before they cause any long-lasting damage."
"Hai, Ophis-sama!" Both of the addressed individuals bowed their heads in respect to their leader before watching as the diminutive Dragon-God walked straight ahead and into the corridor that was opposite the man doors to the base. The two of them stood there, waiting for what felt like an age before finally letting out a breath that they had not realized they had been holding for the past minute or so. They stood in silence for several seconds before Kuroka's alluring voice broke through the tense silence that had begun to permeate the room as each waited for the other to speak.
"Follow me Rapture-san, we need to use the long-distance magic circle if we want to reach these guys in time, Nya."
Obito waited until Kuroka had a clear destination in mind before falling into step next to the buxom ravenette as they quickly disappeared down one of the corridors that lead further into the underground complex. They walked in silence for a while, neither of them sure as to how to open an dialogue with the other, given their lack of familiarity. After a while though, the silence simply became far too great for a certain Nekoshou to contend with.
"So, Rapture-san, if we're going to be working together, it'd be good to know your skills, Nya." Kuroka stated hesitantly, clearly trying her best to alleviate the tension surrounding them, whilst also keeping to a relevant topic that he'd be forced to answer to some degree, therefore making the whole thing less awkward. So, in keeping with her tactics, Obito decided to give her a brief overview of his skills, whilst leaving out things such as his Rinnegan and Sharingan.
"First of all, I am a master of infiltration, assassination, subterfuge and reconnaissance. I excel in using multiple forms of weapons, with my best being; Kunai, Shuriken, the Gunbai, Kusari-fundos and Tantos. I am also a master of unarmed combat and Chakra based techniques; specifically fire and illusions." Obito supplied simply, earning a slightly shocked look from the gorgeous woman as she listened to his words.
"You can use Chakra?"
"Indeed, that is what I said."
Rizevim had taken the time to explain to Obito that virtually every human alive on Earth who were involved in the supernatural used either magic or Sacred Gears to help them fight on the level of Angels, Devils and the Fallen. Very few humans were able to use Chakra, and those that were able to were normally descendants of some sort of Yokai or were specially trained by someone who could use Chakra. As a result, it was rare at best for a Nekoshou (or any other Chakra user) to meet a human capable of using the power of the spirit and body.
"Mou~ that was mean, Rapture-kun! How did you learn to use Chakra, Nya?" Kuroka's tone was playful but mixed with a certain level of curiosity that belied her initial comments. Obito allowed a small sigh to escape his lips before he replied to her question with his already well-rehearse response.
"My master taught it to me before he… passed on."
It was true to a certain extent; Obito's parents had barely passed on the basics of Chakra and Chakra control before they became dead to him, ignoring his pleas for help. He used the pain from that memory to fuel his half-lie, and thus make it more believable for the buxom woman who stood next to him. It was a basic principle when telling a lie; if you can get the balance between truth and fiction just right, then even the most skilled person at 'reading' another's character would be able to tell whether you were lying. And as sad as it was for him to admit, Obito had become an absolute master of the art as he slowly twisted the world of Shinobi to fit his plans.
'Ha! What does that say about me other than I'm a lying, deceitful bastard? How the fuck am I supposed to save the world from destruction when nobody surrounding me can even trust the words that come out from behind my mask – no. Don't think like that; you don't need people to trust you. You don't even need people to like you. All you have to do is make sure that you stop this world from becoming like your own, and stop Rizevim from spreading his madness to the two remaining 'Other worlds'. And besides, after all that I've done… I don't deserve anything but to be called a lying, evil bastard.' Obito thought to himself ruefully as the memories of his time as 'Tobi' and 'Madara Uchiha' flooded his mind; reminding him of every little dirty lie he had told and the irreparable damage they had caused the lives of others. However, before he could sink back into a pit of self-loathing as he had done many times in the past five years, Kuroka spoke.
"Gomen, I'm so sorry Rapture-san, I didn't mean to bring up any unpleasant memories." She supplied carefully, a genuine feeling to her words indicating to Obito that she did actually regret causing him any form of mental distress. Shaking his head lightly, the 'Last Shinobi' turned his masked face towards the slightly saddened woman and offered a small pat on the shoulder to her, whilst mentally refusing her sorry or pity (neither of which he felt he would ever deserve to hear).
"Do not worry about it, Kuroka-san. I have long put that old topic to rest, and I have made my peace with it. But non-the-less, we should turn our attention to more interesting and less depressing topics.
So tell me, what are your abilities? I'd like to know so that we can watch each-others backs whilst we're dealing with these idiots." Obito replied as gently as he could with his usual monotone, earning a slightly shocked yet thankful look from the buxom girl he stood next to. After a moment, the look vanished and was instead replaced by a sly smirk and drew a small cock of the head from Obito as the pair continued walking.
"Ara, ara Rapture-kun, if you wanted to see my ass, all you had to do was ask nicely, Nya." She spoke in sultry voice that caused Obito to smile slightly at her behavior. In many ways, the way that she behaved was kind of like many of the Kunoichi that he had encountered during his time back home; comfortable enough in her body to use it as a weapon to try and distract members of the opposite gender… and given her natural beauty and physical 'assets', it was natural that she'd use them as a weapon.
And if he did say so, they looked like they would be dam effective against most men.
But unfortunately for Kuroka, Obito was not most men.
"As much as I am sure I would enjoy the view, this is a business meeting."
"Nya, your no fun, you know that?"
"So I've been told."
Kuroka pouted playfully at his words, whilst Obito allowed a genuine smile to grace his masked face. It had been almost two decades since he had just a normal interaction with another person, be they a member of the supernatural or just human; so to be able to speak with Kuroka in such a manner was rather refreshing for the young man. Of course, large parts of his mind were arguing that he didn't deserve to deal with people in such a manner… that he didn't deserve to talk to anybody like a normal human, considering what he had done.
But the more rational part of Obtio's mind realized how foolish that would be. Sure, he would never allow himself to grow close to another person or even truly become friends with them, but he also knew that ensuring his own mental health was equally as important as maintaining his own physical health or the level of secrecy needed to carry out his plans. He would never enjoy these interactions again, nor would he grow close to anyone so that he couldn't maintain the level of detachment his plans required; he would just talk like a normal person so that his mind didn't shatter under the stress of his master plan.
Consider it a coping mechanism; not a very effective one mind you, but one all the same.
Obito was about to delve deeper into his new rules on social interaction with other humans, but before he could, Kuroka began to speak again.
"Well, aside from my most obvious traits; as a Nekoshou I am a master of hand to hand combat, as well as demon magic and Senjutsu."
Obito nodded his head in understanding, before arriving at a rather sudden and (potentially) worrying realization.
"Wait a minute. You're 'The Black Cat' Kuroka, aren't you? The reincarnated Nekoshou who's said to have killed her Devil master in a fit of Senjutsu induced anger before fleeing the Underworld." The initial words Obito spoke seemed to sadden Kuroka, before her eyes hardened and her voice took on a steely edge.
"Oh, I guess you were expecting a power-drunk bitch then?"
"No, because I didn't believe the rumors for one second."
"Well let me – wait. What?" Kuroka looked ready to launch into a rant to protest her innocence, but whatever words she had planned died in her mouth as she heard the monotone response of Obito. Said Shinobi did not stop walking as he explained his answer to her.
"I know that Senjutsu does not cause the user to go mad. It can kill them in a number of horrific ways, but it does not drive a person mad. That and your behavior is far too lucid for it to be considered that of a madwoman." He responded calmly, earning a slightly surprised look from the 'Black Cat', before she allowed a small yet genuine smile to cross her features as she rejoined 'Rapture' in his march towards the teleportation seal.
The two travelled in silence for a while before Kuroka merely offered two words to break the silence.
"Thank you."
Obito simply nodded in response, eager to step into the hell of battle once more…
For he was a Shinobi after all.
(Italy, City of Genoa, 10:15 PM, Outside the Lamia Scale Mages Guild)
Obito watched the building with his Sharingan active, hungrily devouring every single detail that the legendary eye could provide him with.
Some experimentation with Rizevim had allowed Obito to realize that the prized dōjutsu of the Uchiha clan could not only see Chakra, but also Magical energy of any description. The sight was different, naturally (a rather understated red than the 'ice-cold' blue of Chakra), but his eyes allowed him to analyze his opponents attacks and plans just the same; and even copy their spells by memorizing the magical seals and incantations. His own magical reserves were nothing to exactly shout about in this world (considering the existence of people such as the current four Mao's), as they were a product of the 'gift' that Rizevim had given him. But they were not exactly small either : they were just no-where near as monstrous as his Chakra reserves were.
And it was with this magical energy that Obito was currently using in conjunction with his Sharingan to dismantle the security wards that were currently in-place around the target building.
Fortunately for Obito, Warding and Sealing in this world functioned in a similar manner to Fuinjutsu in his home world. And although he was by no-means an absolute master of the art, like Minato and Kushina, he was still an expert in many types of seals; and defensive seals happened to be his specialty, with his skill potentially even surpassing the perverted member of the Sanin, Jiraiya's own ability in that area. As a result, when combined with his Sharingan, tasks such as dismantling alert and detection Wards was a fairly simple process; with the only downside being how long it took.
Even with his eyes and expert level of skill, dismantling a Ward was a lot harder than creating one, as you had to factor in what said ward was connected to and how the removal of said Ward will influence the rest of the system. As a result, even a master de-warder would take several minutes to disable the wards surrounding the building in-front of Obito. Fortunately his skills in this area were good enough to be called masterful, even if he was eclipsed by most of those who carried a similar tittle…
Unfortunately though, a certain cat didn't seem to understand how delicate and time-consuming this process was.
"Raz-kun, are you done yet?"
Obito felt his eyebrow twitch in slight annoyance at Kuroka's childish call from behind him for what seemed like the fifteenth time in the past two minutes alone. He knew that she was merely joking around in an effort to alleviate the pressure of the job they had been given; but considering that this was arguably the most dangerous part of the job, he could do without the distraction, even if it was meant with good intentions.
"If you kept quiet for ten seconds we would already be in, you noisy cat." He replied dryly, earning a small huff of indignation from Kuroka as she settled down beside him, muttering something about 'mask wearing bakas' or something along those lines; however he did not know the details, as Obito was more concerned with not being detected than he was Kuroka's childish rantings.
Eventually, after roughly thirty more seconds of intense concentration, Obito finally managed to identify the runic sequence that he needed to remove in order to dismantle the system without anybody noticing that the Warding of the building no-longer actually worked. It was kind of like cutting the power to an electric fence; you wouldn't know it no-longer worked unless you actually went and touched it. And seeing as most people were incredibly lazy when it came to actively checking their Wards, all Obito had to do was remove the correct runic sequence, and the poor bastards within wouldn't know anything was wrong until it was far too late.
Smiling to himself, Obito drew upon a small part of his magical reserves and concentrated it into a small seal that was no wider than a dinner-plate. The seal itself was also a lack-luster red color that reflected the magic of the building.
Unseen to Kuroka, but seen by Obito thanks to his Sharingan, several tendrils of magical energy began to snake their way through the air towards the building like a snake on the planes of Africa, weaving through the open space with a natural beauty that almost enchanted Obito. Eventually they reached the building on the opposite side of the street; a fairly non-descript, run-down looking house that suited the local neighborhood perfectly. However, what Obito could see with his Sharingan was that the building was 'wrapped' in chains of Runes and Latin script; each one focused on detection and alerting the occupants to any attempts to enter the building. Each of the windows and the front door was covered by a magical circle that also served the same purpose as the chains; with each drawing power from the miles of script that surrounded them.
Ever so slowly, the tendrils of magic from Obito's own magical circle reached the building, before the three of them separated and kept moving until they found three identical sequences within the system. Then, in a sudden turn of pace, the tendril wrapped themselves around the repeated scripts with the speed of a viper before gently 'wiggling' them out of position, breaking the systems detection and alerting abilities, and thus granting the two assassins the entry they needed.
"It's done."
Kuroka smiled happily from next to Obito before closing her own eyes and taking a calming breath as she used her skills in Senjutsu to identify whether or not anyone was within the building. Obito already knew that there were four guards thanks to his Sharingan picking up their magical signatures; two for either of the entrances into the base, but he decided to make sure by using Kuroka's abilities.
"Four guards inside…"
"Guarding two different doors."
"I'll take the back, you take the front. We'll meet up outside their meeting room and take out the leadership together."
Their exchange of information was brief yet efficient, professional yet cordial at the same time. Neither was surprised by the other's knowledge, and both knew that the plan that Kuroka had put forward was by far and away their best shot at killing the bastards before the representatives of the three great powers could show up and try to stop them. The clock was really against them on this operation, so it was time for the talking to stop and the action to begin.
Nodding at Kuroka's plan, Obito watched as she quickly ran back from her position at the edge of the building before pumping Chakra into her legs, running and then jumping from their rooftop and onto one of the buildings next to the Guild-hall, before disappearing from Obito's normal sight.
Letting out a small sigh of regret, Obito turned his eyes to the sky whilst thinking one simple thing…
'I guess it's time to start my repentance.'
Before dropping wordlessly to the street below.
(Inside the building)
Obito felt his breath hitch in his throat as he looked down at the two men that were currently guarding the entrance to the main part of the Lamia Scale Guild Halls. He was currently suspended some seven feet above the guards, at the top of the entrance hall, with a Kunai resting firmly in his left hand. All he had to do was drop down and impale the first poor bastard through the head with his knife before using the second Kunai that was currently hidden up his sleeve to nail the second poor man straight between the eyes. All of it was going to be so easy; he had done things like this a million times before to thousands and thousands of other people.
And yet he could not bring himself to drop down and execute his assault.
His knife hand was trembling whilst his pupils dilated as his entire body froze to the ceiling; in fact so still was Obito, that one could mistake him for a mere statue if they were willing to believe that the owner of the property would have a statue placed in such a precarious position. However, inside of Obito's tortured little mind, a whole new battle was raging within the confines of his skull.
'How can you do it? How could you kill anybody again? Look at what you did to your own fucking world; look at what you did before you turned it into a graveyard! Your hands are covered with enough blood to make even the original Lucifer turn green with disgust, god dam it.
So how can you do it? How can you do it again, knowing how many deaths are already on your conscious.
What right do you have to play god?
What right do you have to end their lives?'
The thoughts continued in such a manner for what seemed like an eternity, trapping Obito's already fragile mind within the confines of a never-ending tempest of negative thoughts and emotions. And slowly but surely, those emotions were drowning Obito's conscious with every single passing second… until the words of his most hated yet useful ancestor finally resurfaced.
'No true Shinobi enjoys killing anyone that is not their target: after all, not only does it plague your conscious like a disease, but it also marks you as a sloppy craftsman. A true master of the Shinobi art does not kill anybody unless it is physically impossible to do so, or it is his order.
If you ever find yourself doubting your will to kill, your resolve, then your best bet is to compartmentalize the mission and the world around you: paint your enemies not as humans but as wild animals that need to be put down for the good of the world. Treat everything like an asset and nothing more; for to do otherwise will leave your emotions unchecked and vulnerable.
Detach from the world around you...
And let your instincts take control.'
Those were the words that drove Obito to complete his first few missions. He merely compartmentalized the world around him so that his emotions would not run amok and cause havoc to his and Madara's plan. Eventually he had found it within his psyche to completely detach from his emotions for extended periods of time; which only grew and grew as the years dragged on and on, and he grew more and more efficient in the art, until finally he managed to seal himself off from any concept of pity or remorse. It was only towards the end of the Fourth Great War that brought back all of the emotions that he had been suppressing behind a sadistic and cruel front that he had created over the years.
'And now is the time to don that mask again.'
Taking several deep breaths, Obito released each one at an ever decreasing speed whilst his mind slowly cleared of any and all doubts that he had about his upcoming mission; the fear, pain worry and pity he felt for what he was about to do was merely replaced with the cold calm embrace of hollowness, of feeling nothing. It was as if the very spirit of Winter itself had wrapped an icy hand around Obito's grief and guilt-stricken mind, severing any and all connections with the emotions that it deemed worthless… and ultimately leaving him with nothing. It was a terrifying feeling when it started, but soon that fear gave way to awe that such a state could be reached, before that too was overcome by the wintery winds of nothing.
Allowing himself one final breath, 'Rapture' tightened his grip on his two Kunai again before cutting the Chakra flow to his feet.
For the first two or three feet, Rapture allowed himself to free-fall head first towards his foes, Kunai aimed straight at the poor bastards head. However, as he drew closer and closer to the guard below him, Rapture flipped his body so that his legs were drawn up into his body whilst his Kunai remained pointed at the poor man below.
The Kunai killed him instantly, sending a thick, rich spurt of blood flying into the air, a large part of it splashing onto Obito's mask. The moment the Shinobi's feet made contact with the guards shoulders, a sickening crack was heard as the mans' arms were completely ripped out of their sockets, before his spine gave way and his body collapsed like a sack of potatoes, with Rapture knelt comfortably on-top.
The second guard seemed to have caught sight of the movement out of the corner of his eye, but before he could even contemplate turning to face the threat that had arisen to his life, he found it extinguished as a Kunai buried itself into the side of the mans' head, sending another thick spray of crimson flying in one direction whilst the corpse was sent several foot in the opposite direction, only stopping when it hit a wall. There was a sickening crack, as the body 'stood' there for several more seconds before slowly collapsing downwards, leaving a thick trail of crimson liquid behind as it fell.
Thud.
Calmly withdrawing his first Kunai from the spinal-collapse victim, Obito swiftly walked over to the second corpse before ripping the small knife out of the side of the figure's head, releasing another spurt of still-warm blood onto the young mans' jacket.
Spinning on his heels with near military like precision, Obito turned his focus to the door in-front of him before looking to the Gunbai on his back.
"Too big."
Making a quick hand-seal, he watched as his favorite weapon was transported into a small seal on the back of his cloak with a small 'puff' of smoke, revealing the small Tanto blade that had been strapped horizontally to Obito's spine, therefore hiding the simple black sheath and handle from view. Gripping the handle firmly with his left hand, Obito quickly drew his favorite bladed weapon, revealing its cold steel to the cool Italian air. It was then with practiced ease that he flipped the Kunai in his right hand into a reversed grip before slowly strolling towards the doors that were directly in-front of him.
After all, like so long ago with Itachi….
He had business to attend to with the buildings occupants.
(Half an hour later, with Kuroka)
Kuroka watched dispassionately as her final opponent dropped to the floor with a barely audible 'thud'. The man had tried, like the rest of those that she had come across, to stop her rampage through their Guild-halls; but just like every single other Mage she came across, he too had been little more than an insect for the SS-class criminal to crush with little to no effort. Flicking her hand clean of blood, Kuroka made her way for the door that she had yet to open, all whilst allowing her thoughts to momentarily stray to her newest 'teammate'.
Rapture was powerful, there was no denying that. As a natural sensor, Kuroka had been able to tell that even though his control was nigh-on perfect, he was stupidly powerful in terms of raw energy and power. His movements, like Kuroka's and many of the members of the Khaos brigade, carried no wasted movement and spoke of a man who had dedicated years and years to understanding the finer points of combat. Combine that with a natural aura of mystery that did not seem to be keen on fading and a professional approach to everything, and you had one hell of a new member for the Brigade…
And one interesting little puzzle for Kuroka to solve.
'He may hide behind that mask, nya, but I'll get him to take it off. And then I'll figure out just who Raz-kun is once and for all….and who knows? Maybe he'll be more accommodating of my advances than Cao Cao or Vali were.'
Chuckling lightly to herself, Kuroka moved her hand over the center of the door, giving it a solid push to force the heavy Oak door to swing open at a somewhat sedated pace. Kuroka expected to be greeted by a small hallway that would Lead to the main ante-chamber where the Guild master spent most of his time (according to one rather helpful member of the Guild).
Instead, she was greeted by an absolute bloodbath.
'By all that's divine!'
The entire room was plastered with a thick layer of crimson liquid, from the floor to the ceiling; which was made all the more ominous by the dying light torchlight that was lighting the room. Well over a dozen corpses lay strewn across the floor alone, with each either covered in brutal lacerations and burns, or hacked into multiple pieces, making the room look more like something out a bad slasher movie than an entry hall. Several of the corpses were also speared by what appeared to be black/purple metal rods that glinted manically in the darkness, whilst countless more of the ominous rods had pinned roughly half a dozen corpses to the walls like hunting trophies.
Yet despite the perpetual carnage that lay before her, Kuroka's eyes were affixed to only one person in the room.
Rapture.
Said man was currently casually weaving in-between the wild swipes of a horrified mage who was trying to cut the masked man with what appeared to be a conjured sword, if the ethereal blue glow was anything to go by. A second mage was hauling himself off of the floor, also with a conjured sword in his hands, behind Rapture whilst a third was readying a magical spell to try and blow his target into a million little pieces. Kuroka watched on as the masked warrior continued to dance in and out of the first mage's wild swings… all whilst drawing closer and closer to the second mage and moving into the third mage's sights.
Kuroka went to yell out a warning to her team-mate, and was already in the process of summoning several condensed balls of magic and Chakra. But before the distressed Nekoshou could even finish charging her attack, Rapture finally struck.
His first move was so fast that Kuroka was barely able to even see it happen. Slipping under a wild side-ways slash by his first opponent, Rapture's right hand quickly snaked behind his back before grabbing ahold of the handle of a Tanto. Then with the speed of a viper, he drew the weapon in a reverse grip, revealing its already crimson-stained blade to the remaining occupants of the room. Flipping his grip to the conventional style, Kuroka watched with morbid fascination as he brought the blade up in a flash of steel as the blade cut through Rapture's target's arm like a knife through hot butter.
The man let out a scream of pure agony as his arm was sent clattering to the floor, but before the poor bastard's screams could become too loud, his head was removed from its shoulders in a flash of tainted steel and a spurt of royal crimson blood. Not even waiting for the corpse to hit the floor, Rapture turned at a speed Kuroka thought impossible for a human whilst changing his Tanto from his right hand to his left hand.
The moment he had finished his turn, Rapture launched a series of fast yet simple strikes against the second sword-wielding mage in an effort to keep him off balance. The third mage grinned savagely as his spell finally finished charging, and looked like he was about to unleash the potentially lethal attack. But before he could launch the attack, a small, black knife flew from the confines of Raptures cloak, nailing the smug mage right between the eyes, killing him instantly and cancelling his spell.
Turning his full attention back to his original target, Rapture ducked and weaved through several more sloppy strikes before he seemed to grow bored of the terrified man's attacks and lashed out with one of his own. The poor mage did make an effort to defend himself, but the poor man was completely out-classed by his opponent, and he soon found himself choking on his own blood as his neck was ripped open by the merciless, cold steel of Rapture's Tanto.
Kuroka watched with her mouth slightly agape as the final man made several gurgling noises before collapsing to his knees and then face-first into the lake of blood that was the floor, his neck acting like a tributary to add to the already disgusting amount of blood that was currently flooding the floor. Ripping her eyes away from the corpse, Kuroka had to forcibly stop herself from taking a step backwards at Rapture's appearance.
He had already seemed as menacing as any member of the brigade when he first joined, but now the human warrior seemed more like a Demon straight out of the very depths of Hell than a member of the Khaos Brigade. His once navy/black jacket was now a disgusting mix of congealed blood, darkened Navy and random bits of gore, whilst his mask was now splattered with several large bits of blood, with most of it plastered around his right eye-hole. The Tanto that sat in his right hand was virtually capped in blood, whilst his visible hands were literally dyed red from the amount of blood that currently stained them. But despite his hellish visage, none of it was quite as disturbing as the eyes that she could now see.
His right eye glowed an ominous crimson that fitted her description of a Demon perfectly; the three tomoe that were spinning lazily around the red iris generated a sense of fear and trepidation in Kuroka that she just couldn't rationally explain. His left eye perhaps generated even more trepidation and fear in Kuroka as she found herself both mesmerized and terrified by the metallic purple color of his eye, and the 'ripple' pattern that grew closer and closer until it reached an unnaturally small pupil. She knew not how long she stood there for, but what Kuroka did know was that it felt like she was stood there for an eternity, waiting for him to turn his blood-soaked and crazed form against her as well.
Eventually, the young Nekoshou was ripped from her thoughts by a familiar monotone voice slicing through the tense silence that had built up between the two of them.
"I apologize if you find this disturbing, but my style of combat does not exactly revolve around giving my foes a clean and easy death."
Shaking her head to clear he thoughts, Kuroka could barely manage to mutter 'I can see that' under her breath as her thoughts raced at a million miles an hour.
'Holy fucking shit! He ripped those guys to pieces, into actual pieces, and he's acting like there's nothing wrong with what he's just done. Vali and Cao Cao may be battle maniacs, but not even they're this blood-crazed and… Wait a second.' Normally, Kuroka's inner thoughts were hard for her to interrupt, but she managed to find the willpower to do so when she once again caught sight of Rapture's eyes.
Disgust.
Hatred.
Fear.
Revulsion.
Disgrace.
Each one of those emotions seemed to be flying through the mans' eyes as he placed several paper seals around the room, his eyes focused more on the carnage he had wrought rather than odd task he was carrying out. It was hidden behind a mask of disdain and absolute impassiveness, but when you had learnt to read people like Kuroka had, you quickly learnt to pick up on a person's emotion when they were forcibly suppressing them with willpower and other techniques. It was clear to Kuroka that the young man was disgusted by the carnage that he had wrought, but he also knew that he could not afford to display his disgust at what he had done to the poor occupants of the base. His eyes spoke of a hatred of killing, yet and understanding that this was something that had to be done. And as a result, he had generated this mask of impassiveness in order to protect himself; to shield his mind from what he was doing.
'But what could have made him like this? He seemed pretty well adjusted; a little quiet and cold, yeah sure. But to be this closed off; something dam serious must have happened.'
"We should finish what we initially came here to do, Kuroka-san. The Guild Master is just beyond these doors and we have a limited amount of time to deal with him before the representatives turn up and discover the bodies.
And I don't know about you, but I'd rather not have to kill my way through a hoard of Devils and throngs of Angels and Fallen." Rapture commented icily, earning a slight nod from Kuroka who quickly joined the Shinobi in-front of the large, ornate double doors that now stood between them and their target. Raising his leg, Rapture unleashed a Spartan-kick at the center of the two doors, sending both of the gargantuan monstrosities flying some six or seven meters into the room on the other side.
The room itself was roughly twenty meters by twenty meters, and was mostly empty on the ground floor, with only a raised platform with an ornate, velvet-backed throne placed upon it. The walls were covered with pictures of previous Guild-masters of Lamia Scale, whilst the ceiling was painted to represent the night-sky, giving the entire room a classy yet mystifying appeal.
At the end of the room stood three figures, two men and one woman. The first man was stood to the left of the throne-like chair, and appeared to be roughly of Rapture's height at 5'9. He wore a black wind-breaker and blue jeans and had short, spiky black hair whilst a small scar ran from the right corner of his mouth to the center of his chin. The woman who was stood on the other side of the throne appeared to be in her early twenties short blond hair that was pulled up into a high pony-tail. Her attire consisted of a plain white shirt that had several buttons undone to reveal some of her moderate cleavage, whilst her lower body was also clad in skinny-jeans and flats.
The final person in the room was currently sat down in the throne, although he appeared to be pushing the 6'0 mark when it came to height. He was a middle-aged man with a well-groomed beard and a strong-jawline that made him undeniably attractive. His powerfully built frame gave off the impression of someone who was not only skilled in magic but also in some form of close-combat. He was wearing a black Italian-cut suit without a tie, and currently the furious hatred of his dark brown eyes was currently fixed on the young duo that stood opposite him.
Kuroka watched as the man stood up from his chair and slowly stepped off of the raised platform, his eyes still focused entirely on 'The Black Cat' and Rapture. Eventually the man stopped walking and decided to speak.
"Why?"
"I think you know why, Algasuari-san."
Diego Algasuari was a A-Class mage who had been in control of Laimia scale for almost two decades now; having taken control at a young age when the previous Guild-master had died on a mission. There were often mutterings within the Supernatural world that Diego was hardly a just man, and that he hid a lot of dirty deeds behind his kind and caring exterior. And whilst it was true that he had his guild do a few unsavory things, he mostly seemed to keep to the straight and narrow. Ophis had thought the man could be swayed by promises of greater power, but it seemed like the vast majority of rumors surrounding the man were false, given the speed with which he had rejected the Infinite Dragon-God's offer.
Algasuari grit his teeth at Rapture's cold and emotionless response, seemingly to stop himself from lashing out, before he responded to the man.
"Those people out there had nothing to do with this; so why did you kill them?"
"We had to make sure that there was no chance of a leak. We don't know who you could have told about our generous offer; and as such we aren't taking any chances." Rapture again replied coldly, earning a furious look from the Guild-Master he was conversing with.
"I can't let your group hide in the shadows any longer. You are a threat to every single living thing on the face of the Earth! Can you not see the lunacy in your master's goals?" The man's words appeared to be a cross between furious and desperate, as if pleading with the two Khaos Brigade members to see 'reason' and stop trying to kill him. Rapture went to respond to the man, but was cut off by the woman that stood by the Guild-master's side.
"Don't bother master, those animals are already too far gone." She spat fiercely, the icy blue chips that she called eyes trying to burn a hole into the two people at the other end of the room. Taken aback and slightly insulted by the woman's comments, Kuroka flipped her long and luscious locks over her shoulder before rebutting the blonds words.
"We weren't talking to you, you flat chested whore, nya."
The moment the words left her mouth, Kuroka watched as the woman let out a snarl of anger before charging straight towards her and Rapture, with her black haired male friend close behind. Rapture merely sent Kuroka a look that asked one simple question.
'Can you handle this?'
Her reply was a simple one.
"Go."
(Obito's P.O.V)
The moment he heard that one word, Obito nodded to his raven-haired female companion before fixing his gaze on the hulking frame of the guild-master. The other subordinate that had so far stayed quiet attempted to intercept Obito as he began his run; but before the man could even contemplate attacking him, the 'Last Shinobi' had pumped Chakra into his legs and leapt well-clear of the raven-haired male before landing only four or five meters from the Guild-master. Rising back to his full height, Obito kept his eyes fixed on his opponent as Diego held his right hand out to the side, generating a medium-sized magical circle; from the center of which soon appeared the handle of a sword.
Gripping it firmly, Obito watched as the man withdrew an ornate looking blade that seemed to be a cross between a European Claymore/Zweihander and a Japanese katana. The blade's edges were both as sharp as any razor, whilst the actual weapon itself seemed to curve ever-so-slightly towards the end. The pommel was carved into the shape of a Lion's head, with two miniscule ruby's acting as its eyes. The man brought the blade to rest in-front of his body before leveling one final glare at the Shinobi that stood across from him.
"This, boy; is Foe-Hammer. I won her a long time ago, and she has slain many foes, many of them a dam site mightier that you are." Algasuari proclaimed grandly, earning a small cock of the head from 'Rapture'.
"Why bother telling me such useless information."
"Because it is only fair that you know the name of the weapon that is about to kill you!"
With that, the man raced forwards at speeds that far exceeded the realms of human biology, whilst red-hot flames sprang to life along the blade, licking the cold steel hungrily as they awaited the chance to bite into flesh once again. Obito narrowed his eyes as his opponent came charging at him; sword ready to strike.
'A reinforcement magic user, well shit. There goes 'not using too many of my skills' for now.'
Sharingan blazing, Obito watched lazily as his legendary dōjutsu easily tracked the man's movements as he sped forwards, before 'tracing' a rough outline as to where his opponents first strike would fall. That was the 'predictive' ability of a fully matured Sharingan; it used the muscle contraction and Chakra/ magic build up to estimate what the enemies next attack would be and where it would strike. Using said ability, Obito waited until the full path of the attack was plotted before diving off to the side gracefully, whilst unleashing a swift slash with his Tanto, smirking to himself in satisfaction when Diego let out a small grunt as his sword smashed into the ground and his right arm was cut fairly deeply, from elbow to wrist.
Landing on his feet, Obito felt his eyes widen slightly at the size of the crater created by the man's swing.
'Okay, note to self; don't meet him swing for swing unless body is reinforced by Chakra.'
Seeing that his opponent was having a brief bit of trouble with withdrawing his weapon from the ground, Obito shot forwards with the speed of a viper, Tanto poised to deliver a finishing strike. However, the moment an attack pathway sprung into the view of his Sharingan, Obito was forced to drop to the floor in a combat slide before elbowing underneath Algasuari's swing, before diving forwards in an effort to avoid impalement; but not before delivering another quick slash to the man's side, this time scoring a deep laceration on the man's ribs.
Quickly moving his hand from his grip, the Lamia Scale Guild-master placed it upon his side in order to check the extent of the damage, and seemed shocked to see quite as much blood on his hand as there was. Growling something to himself, the man heaved his sword back into position before swinging it at Obito.
"Hestia's wall."
Obito found himself forced to jump into the air as a mini wall of fire some six or seven feet high was unleashed at the most powerful living Shinobi, and soon found itself smashing into the wall behind him, blasting pieces of mortar and brick everywhere. The moment he cleared the wall of flames and said pyrotechnic wall of death had detonated, the 'Last Shinobi' was forced to block a powerful overhead strike that would have cleaved him in two with his Tanto. And whilst he may have been able to stop the overhead swing from killing him, Obito was not able to stop the attack from sending him rocketing back down to Earth.
Moments before impact, Obito fed power into his Rinnegan and cast his eyes downwards before muttering 'Shinra Tensei', using the power to prevent his connection with the floor and instead send him several meters away from Diego's attack, who was unable to change it due to his momentum.
Landing on his feet, Obito immediately fired through several hand-seals before unleashing one of his most basic yet favorite jutsus.
"Katon : Endan!"
Normally he wouldn't be able to use this technique thanks to his mask, but after experimenting with numerous seal arrays, Obito had managed to find a way to use techniques that used the mouth and lungs without having to move his mask. Needless to say, the Ninja couldn't help but feel a small amount of satisfaction as he sent several large bullets of fire towards his opponent; who's eyes widened at the incoming attack.
Immediately, the man brought his sword to bear and, much to Obito's surprise, began deflecting the attacks with his blade, causing the pyro-based bullets to smash into the surrounding area and explode in a shower of mortar and brick. Flashing through the hand-seals again, Obito poured an even greater number of bullets towards his target, looking to overwhelm the man as quickly as possible. Diego kept up for a few more moments, but was eventually sent rocketing back at untraceable speeds as a bullet connected with the centre of his chest.
Ripping his Tanto back into his grip, Obito raced forwards but before he could get close to the downed Guild-master, he was forced to dodge a terrifyingly sharp current of wind that almost managed to take his head off. Turning his gaze to the side, Obito was unsurprised to find the black haired man from earlier stood there, another blade of wind already heading for the Shinobi.
Obito merely 'tsked' in annoyance before weaving in-between the man's attacks with ease, quickly closing the distance between himself and his opponent. Said man's face paled slightly as he summoned forth a blade made entirely from 'wind' that was a dark grey and yellow in colour. The two immediately engaged in a dance of blades, with neither able to gain the advantage: with Obito negating his opponents reach with his speed, whilst his speed was negated by his opponents ability to time 'Raptures' attacks.
Eventually, after one particularly heated exchange, Obito found himself with his blade locked with the Wind Magic user's own. The two pushed against each-other, looking to break the stalemate in their favour, and even as he forced his opponent backwards, Obito had already resolved a far quicker way to break through the man's block. Calling upon his peerless control with the Rinnegan and his own natural talent, Obito watched from the corner of his vision as a bright blue light burst to life in his right hand, before thrusting the light into his opponents' mid-section.
Said man let out a gasp of surprise as a Katana made of pure blue lightning ripped through his chest-cavity and cauterising the wound, causing a sickly-sweet smell to invade Obito's senses as the man quickly collapsed to his knees, his eyes staring up to the ceiling in horror as the light finally left them, and darkness consumed his mind.
Obito watched dispassionately as the man's corpse thudded to the floor, before darting backwards as a spear thrusted to where his torso had once been. Tracing the shaft back to its wielder, Obito was unsurprised to find the blond woman's gorgeous face twisted into a look of absolute apoplectic rage as she attempted to kill the last Shinobi.
Said man used his Tanto to avoid her various strikes with a great amount of ease readying to take her down with just a few simple moves, but the faintest flicker of movement to the left of his peripheral vision forced the Shinobi to kick his opponent back to where he knew Kuroka was roughly, eagerly anticipating round two with her enemy.
The moment his movement was complete, Obito was forced, once again, to bring his Tanto up in order to block the downwards slash of one Diego Algasuari, who now looked somewhat worse for wear.
The front of his expensive silk shirt had been all but blasted away, revealing charred-black skin to the world, whilst the various nicks and cuts he had suffered as a result of Obito's Tanto or his collision with the wall bled heavily.
Grunting loudly, Obito was forced onto his knees in order to absorb his enemies attack, a mistake which his opponent was only too happy to inform him of by way of a knee to the face. Obito felt his brain smash around in his head and his mask creak slightly from the blow as he was forced onto his back thanks to the power of the blow; and it was only thanks to instincts honed by years of combat and training that the formidable Shinobi was able to block a second downwards swipe. Although this time, the heat from the blade began to make itself known, as the Chakra metal that made up Obito's blade slowly began to melt along the edges, sending small rivets of molten metal onto Obito's mask.
Realizing that it would not be too long before his blade gave-way, Obito once again summoned up a large amount of Chakra before converting it into raw lightning in his right hand.
"Raiton: Koudenishoku no Jutsu!"
Diego let out a roar of pain as electricity flooded his body and sent his muscles into spasm. Summoning upon even more Chakra, Obito fed it into his legs and feet before kicking the Guild-Master of Laimia scale away as a heap of muscles and bones. Jumping back to his feet, Obito was presently surprised to see that his target had yet to fully recover. Double checking to make sure that Kuroka was a fair distance away, he pleasantly noticed that said Nekoshou was currently in the middle of trashing her opponent with a flurry of strikes that were obviously enhanced by Chakra. Quickly flashing through the hand-seals he would require, Obito re-focused his aim on his opponent before unleashing his technique.
"Katon: Haisekishou."
The cloud of hot ash spewed forth from Obito and quickly covered his opponent in a thick blanket of searing cinders, causing him to let out a cry of pain that caused even Obito's skin to crawl slightly. Turning his attention back to Kuroka, he quickly called out to her as loudly as he dared, a plan to end this fight quickly entering his mind.
"Kuroka-san, get her in the ashes!"
The moment the words left his mouth, Kuroka's eyes darted over to Obito, who was already flashing through the necessary hand-seals required for his next technique. The 'Black Cat' of the Underworld quickly re-doubled her efforts against her blond foe, keeping her off-balance with a mixture of martial-arts and close-range Senjutsu techniques. Eventually, she caught the blond woman with a kick to the ribs that sent her careening towards the cloud of red-hot ashes. The moment the blond disappeared inside, Obito finished the final hand-seal he would require for this technique, and hopefully the final attack of this battle.
"Raiton: Chitenraisou!"
The moment the first syllable had left Obito mouth, a seemingly endless number of spears made of pure lightning formed around him before launching towards the now trapped mages.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
Every time a spear struck home, dust and hot ashes were sent flying in every possible direction and the ground shook with the force of a small earthquake, forcing Kuroka and Obito to shield their eyes from the dust and ash, lest they be temporarily blinded by the debris. After several more moments, the dust finally settled and allowed the two Khaos Brigade members to see the results of Obito's (severely underpowered) technique. What greeted them was a surprise to both the Brigade members.
The blond woman stood in-front of her guild master protectively, both hands extended as if they had once been used to maintain some form of shield or defense. Her entire body had been essentially burnt beyond recognition; gone was the pale, smooth skin and luscious blond locks, and in their place cracked and blackened skin. The charred woman let out a few strangled sounds before finally collapsing to the ground with a whet 'thud'. Behind her was a small wall of flames that slowly receded to reveal Diego Algasuari, his upper torso now completely revealed to the world whilst most of his skin was missing, along with his right arm. The man slowly forced himself to his feet, dragging his mighty blade with him as he began to trudge towards Obito, who couldn't help but admire how much of a fight the man had put up, and was still trying to put up.
'He certainly deserves his status as an A-class mage, I'll give him that.'
Letting out a small sigh, Obito kept his gaze fixated upon the man before a stray thought crossed his mind. He knew that his opponent must have been suffering greatly, and as a result, he felt it only fair to end the poor man's suffering… And he knew the quickest way possible.
'What right do we have to use that technique? It's his after all, so why should we sully its legacy with our own brutal actions?'
'He wanted to bring peace to the Elemental Nations, just like everyone else we fought against. And out of them all, this is the only technique that we can use with any degree of certainty… and besides, it's not like we are sullying his name by using this. It can be our own way of keeping him alive; of remembering his skill and ability as a Ninja.'
Mind eventually made up, Obito brought his hands together before flashing through three very familiar hand-seals.
Ox.
Rabbit.
Monkey.
The moment the hand-seals were finished, an all too familiar chirping noise began to resonate throughout the room; it was like the sound of a thousand birds singing in harmony with one-another as they took to the sky in the early-hours of a grey morning. An almost blinding light filled Obito's right-hand peripheral vision as his best friend's technique sprung into life once more; as a result of watching it being performed hundreds of times both in battle and when spying on his former team-mate.
Racing towards his target, Obito drew his right fist back and dodge underneath the wild swing of Diego before screaming out the name of the legendary Kakashi Hatake's signature technique.
"CHIDORI!"
The moment the attack made contact with Algasuari's body, the man stopped moving dead in his tracks whilst Obito's fist kept moving, all-the-way up to his elbow. A huge explosion of lightning burst forth from the man's back, blasting anything and everything behind it (including the blond woman's charred corpse) into oblivion. After several seconds, the lightning faded and the man that was now impaled on Obito's arm let out one small cough of blood before he slowly began to stumble backwards. The moment Obito's hand was unsheathed from his ruined body, the man fell backwards onto the cold stone floor with a faint thud, and drew breath on the mortal plane no-more. Obito stood there for several moments, flickering his gaze between the man's body and his own hand before letting out a small sigh as Kuroka walked over to join her team-mate.
"You okay, nya? She asked gently, earning a small nod of the head from Obito.
"Hai, you?"
"Hai."
The two stood there for a while, allowing the evenings events to catch up to them somewhat before Obito quickly broke from his trance and raced around the room, slapping several over-powered demolition tags onto the surrounding walls. Kuroka watched him as he finished his rounds before turning his attention back to the Nekoshou that had accompanied him this evening.
"Kuroka-san, we should get going now. I have a technique that can get us back to base, just grab ahold of me and I'll get us there." He stated calmly, earning a small nod of the head from Kuroka as she approached him, all whilst allowing his Sharingan to evolve into its EMS variant.
The moment Kuroka grabbed ahold of his arm, Obito activated Kamui and whisked the two of them away from the remains of the once mighty Laimia Scale guild-halls…
Just as they were vaporized by the unholy wrath of a hundred demolition tags.
A/N:
And that's it for this chapter ladies and gentlemen.
The end of this chapter is actually one of my longest combat scenes to date, and I am a little worried as to how it turned out. I had a bit of trouble writing it at times, but I suppose at the end of the day that it seemed okay, but I would really appreciate any criticism and what not in regards to that especially, so that when it comes to the more epic fights I have planned, I can do them justice. Oh, and before anyone moans; the reason the fight took so long was because Obito had to hold back, both out of paranoia of letting anyone know beyond the basics of his abilities, and also because most of his attacks are pretty large-scale; hardly useful indoors. And those that were meant for outdoors were toned down considerably.
Now I know that this may seem a little rushed, and it kind of is, but I (and I am sure you guys) want to get onto DxD canon events. At the moment, we are about two years off of canon so that Obito can settle in. The next chapter will basically bring us to the start of the DxD timeline, whilst briefly explaining what has happened in the two years in-between, so don't worry; Issei and Co will make an appearance soon enough.
Also, I would like to quickly nip any angry comments about Obito's use of Chidori in the bud. Like I said in the text, with the amount of times he's seen it used in battle and when he spied on Konoha and Kakashi, it'd be more surprising if he hadn't learnt the technique or figured it out by his age. Also, his use of Chidori will actually be of some vague importance later on; so for now you're gonna have to deal with it.
(*Lets out a small sigh*) Okay, that's pretty much all I've got to say for now. So make sure to leave a review to tell me what went well and not so well with this chapter, and make sure to drop a fave or a follow (or maybe even both) in order to keep up with the story.
Peace folks,
MetalGearMantis.
P.S: This chapter has been beta'd along with the prologue, thanks to the brilliant Kiss-Shot !
Oh, and the next update won't be until the 24th of June… for real this time. Exams and whatnot.