Chapter 27: One Duel, Many Revelations!
Gaara stopped walking 10 feet from Seiriyu, contemplating his strategy for the duel.
"There's no point of thinking about a strategy for the duel Gaara-san. I'll admit I'm unpredictable. And you can't really think of a strategy for unpredictable." said Seiriyu with a smog smirk as he looked at his sheathed sword.
Gaara just gave the dictator a blank stare.
"He's right." thought Gaara. "What kind of strategy is there for facing an unpredictable opponent?"
"Does Gaara really have a strategy that will work against Seiriyu?" asked Ryu as she looked at the two teens on the battlefield.
"I doubt it. The only person before Seiriyu that Gaara faced who's unpredictable was Naruto. But I don't think his unpredictability compares to the dictator's." said Temari nervously as she sat down next to Izuka's unconscious form.
"Somehow, I think you just offended Izuka's brother with that remark Temari." said Kankuro as he gave his sister a suspicious look.
Temari scowled at the puppeteer before returning her attention to the battlefield.
"Be prepared Gaara-san, because I'm going to show you the weapon that will be the main instrument in your defeat." said Seiriyu as he held his sheathed sword out to him.
Gaara's body slightly tensed at the sight of the sword. His eyes widened when Seiriyu took the sword out of its sheath.
"What's wrong Gaara-san? You look like you've seen a ghost." commented Seiriyu with a teasing smirk.
Gaara's face soon returned to its neutral expression, this time mixed with a little agitation.
"What kind of sword is that?" asked Daisuke as he looked at Seiriyu's weapon.
"The sword is pitch black, from the hilt to the blade." said Kankuro.
"What kind of metal is that?" asked Ryu.
"I don't know, but we'll soon find out." said Temari in nervous anticipation.
"Hm, like my sword Gaara-san? Ever since I took it out of its sheath, you haven't averted your gaze from it." commented Seiriyu as he twirled the sword between his fingers.
"What kind of sword is it? What's it made of?" asked Gaara. "Cause it's the same exact sword from my nightmare." he thought.
"My entire sword, the blade, the hilt, even the sheath, is a katana made from a mixture of iron ore and a dark chakra crystal that was found by some of my men in the mountain range east of here." answered Seiriyu.
"Dark chakra crystal?" asked Gaara a tad confused.
"Yes; it was a very rare find indeed. After the crystal was found, I sent a team to excavate the area where they found the first crystal which was used for this sword. The resulting find was worthwhile." said Seiriyu as he reminisced.
"Worthwhile?" Gaara questioned.
"To put it bluntly, the excavation team found a large cave filled with thousands of the same dark chakra crystals as the one within my sword. We've processed them since then, draining that cave until it was barren." said Seiriyu.
"Let me guess. You had the crystals processed and turned into weapons similar to the one you're holding?" asked Gaara as he crossed his arms.
"Indeed I did. Very good guess Kazekage-san. You see, the chakra crystals all have the ability to enhance the chakra of whoever is holding them. I soon discovered that once the crystal touches a shinobi's skin, it takes some of the chakra from that shinobi and combines it with the crystal wielder's own." said Seiriyu with a conniving smirk.
"Thus making the wielder more powerful with each touch." finished Gaara as he looked at Seiriyu in surprise.
"Indeed, so you better be careful that I don't cut you Gaara-san. My army is going to use the weapons to attack and invade Suna and no one will stop us. Not even you. So if you want to protect your village, YOU BETTER NOT LOSE!" screamed Seiriyu as he started to run towards Gaara while holding his katana menacingly.
Gaara commanded some sand to become a barrier between him and Seiriyu. The katana struck the barrier with a sharp clash. Gaara used the sand in the barrier to push Seiriyu away. Seiriyu moved out of the way before the sand could touch him. He soon reappeared sitting on the eastern wall of the stadium.
"This is going to be fun!" exclaimed Seiriyu as he let the lights in the stadium reflect on his sword.
More sand started to pour out of Gaara's sand gourd and started to surround him. Gaara outstretched his hand at Seiriyu.
"SAND BULLETS!" exclaimed the Kazekage.
The sand formed itself into little bullets and fired themselves at the dictator. Seiriyu only smirked and raised his hand at the bullets.
"You're going to have to try better than that. DARK NINJA ARTS: DARK GRAVITY!"
A strange invisible force appeared in front of Seiriyu's outstretched palm before launching itself at the incoming sand bullets. The sand bullets were pushed away into oblivion.
"What the hell!" exclaimed Kankuro as he looked at the scene.
"What was that force?" asked Ryu. "It appeared out of nowhere."
"I have no idea but it pushed Gaara's sand bullets away like they were nothing." said Temari.
Suddenly, Izuka began to stir, gaining the attention of the others.
"Is Izuka waking up?" asked Daisuke as he looked at the unconscious Lady Sage.
"I don't think so, but I guess she stirred because of the impact of this battle. Thanks to that sword of Seiriyu's, she must be sensing the dark chakra." said Temari as she looked back at the two on the battlefield. "Gaara be careful. If Izuka is able to sense this kind of chakra while unconscious, then this is one bad guy you need to keep your eye out for."
"What kind of jutsu was that?" asked Gaara as he looked at the dictator who was still casually sitting on top of the arena wall.
"I've trained for years in the dark arts of ninjutsu and genjutsu. I'm a whiz at some forbidden jutsus. What I just used was one of them." answered Seiriyu with a smirk.
"A forbidden jutsu?" asked Gaara in mild surprise.
"Indeed." whispered Seiriyu as he suddenly appeared right behind Gaara. He outstretched his palm.
"DARK NINJA ARTS: DARK GRAVITY!"
Gaara was pushed away by the same invisible force from before back first into the arena wall, crushing his gourd and cracking his sand armor in the process.
"GAARA!" yelled Kankuro as he witnessed his brother crash into the wall. Ryu and Temari let out sharp gasps while Daisuke looked on in stunned silence.
"Is that the best you got?" asked Seiriyu as he walked a few steps closer to the Kazekage.
"How was . . . possible?" asked Gaara as he tried to catch his breath, "How are you so fast?"
"I'm not giving you anymore answers Kazekage-san. You either fight or you DIE!" yelled Seiriyu as he launched some black lightning bolts at Gaara.
"GAARA DODGE IT!" yelled Kankuro frantically.
Gaara did what Kankuro said and moved to his right to dodge the attack. He dodged it successfully, but suddenly Seiriyu appeared right next to him. Seiriyu moved his right leg and kicked Gaara straight in the chest. Gaara flew and skidded on the ground like a rock would when you expertly threw it into a body of water and stopped a few feet from the main entrance.
"You haven't impressed me so far, Kazekage-san. I would understand if you wanted to quit the duel, but that would mean the sure invasion of your village and Izzy falling into my hands." said Seiriyu with his sadistic smirk.
Gaara sat up while looking at Seiriyu with hooded eyes of anger.
"How dare he say that? I'm not going to quit. I'm not going to let Suna get invaded. And I'm definitely not letting him take Izuka." thought Gaara as he shakily got up from the ground while clutching his chest.
"This isn't looking good." commented Ryu as she looked at the youngest Sand Sibling get up.
"From the looks of it, Gaara's sand armor has been holding up pretty well. But that kick from Seiriyu went straight to his chest. He must have got a few cracked ribs from that alone." commented Daisuke.
"What are you, a medical nin?" asked Kankuro as he looked at the advisor while raising an eyebrow.
"Actually I was a medical nin before I became one of the Wind Daimyo's advisors." said Daisuke with a sheepish smirk.
"Well isn't that convenient because I think Gaara's going to need one after this." said Temari as the four returned their attention to the battlefield just in time to see Seiriyu connect with a punch to Gaara's face.
The dictator soon jumped up and kicked Gaara right in his right temple.
"That's way too many head shots!" yelled Kankuro angrily as he pumped his fists in the air frantically.
Seiriyu shot him a look that made Kankuro shut up and sit back down in his seat. He then turned to Gaara, who was kneeling on the ground clutching his sore head and sore ribs.
"What's wrong Kazekage-san? Running out of chakra?" asked Seiriyu with blank expression on his face.
Gaara gave the dictator an angry look before widening his eyes in realization. He was running out of chakra. The thing is, he barely attacked Seiriyu throughout their match.
"What did you do?" asked Gaara coldly as he moved his gaze to Seiriyu's sword which was right in his hand.
"Remember when I said the dark chakra crystals absorb chakra to enhance the wielder's power?" asked Seiriyu as he started to circle Gaara.
Gaara reluctantly shook his head yes.
"You see Kazekage-san. Different shinobi have different and specific powers. There's you with your sand, the Lady Sage with her elements, your brother with his puppets, your sister with her wind. And then there is me with my absorption." said Seiriyu with a neutral expression, the plainest one he wore all day.
"Absorption?" questioned Gaara as he winced at the pain caused by his slightly cracked ribs.
"Indeed. I come from a clan whose kekkai genkai is the ability to absorb the chakra from their opponents, synthesize it, and use it as their own. Some of my family members were even able to use their own opponents' abilities against them." said Seiriyu as he kneeled down in front of Gaara so he could be at eye level with him.
"Were you say?" asked Gaara as he looked at Seiriyu with cold eyes.
"My family was assassinated when I was young boy because our enemies considered us and our kekkai genkai a serious threat. Mioka and I were the only survivors." said Seiriyu bluntly as he stood up and dusted off his black pants and jacket.
"Mioka?" called Daisuke from the stands. "You're related to your secretary?"
"She's my cousin actually." called Daisuke as an answer to the advisor. He then turned his attention to Gaara, who stood back up on his own two feet.
"I soon found out that the people that assassinated my family were ANBU from Sunagakure. The execution order was made by the Yondaime Kazekage, your father Gaara-san."
Gaara opened his eyes wide at this news.
"So it was our own father that sent Seiriyu on this downward spiral of his." said Temari as she looked at the ground.
"Dang it Dad! How many lives did you ruin? First Gaara's then Seiriyu's! Who's next?" asked Kankuro as he slammed his fist into the wall in anger.
"So, is this invasion of yours just to showcase the strength of Amegakure or is it for revenge for your clan because of what my father did to them?" panted Gaara as he questioned the dictator.
"Both." whispered Seiriyu as he disappeared and then reappeared behind Gaara. He raised his sword and slashed Gaara right across his chest. The wound was so severe that it cut straight through his sand armor and into his skin. Blood pooled from the wound as Gaara collapsed to his knees, blood now coming from his mouth as well.
"The reason your chakra is draining from you is because with each hit I was able to land on you, whether it was by using my sword, fist, or sandaled foot, I was able to drain and absorb your chakra throughout our fight. I was even able to absorb the chakra from your own sand. Your chakra is now a part of my chakra. Thanks for the donation, Gaara-san." said Seiriyu with his sadistic smirk appearing on his face again.
"You sadistic bastard." said Gaara before he started to cough up blood.
"Better not speak. But what's the point since I'm going to kill you anyway!" exclaimed Seiriyu as he raised his sword up for the final blow.
"DON'T DO IT COUSIN SEIRIYU!" exclaimed a feminine voice from within the arena.
Seiriyu, Gaara, and everyone else turned their head to the main entrance to see Mioka appear from behind the door.
"What the hell are you doing here Mioka? I told you to go back to the tower!" exclaimed Seiriyu in surprise as he looked at his cousin, who was running up to the two.
"Cousin please do not kill this one!" exclaimed Mioka as she stopped five feet from the two.
"Why should I not end his life?" asked Seiriyu in a curious voice as he looked at his cousin.
"You've drained most of the Kazekage-san's chakra. Combine that with the injuries you gave him, he should die in a few hours anyway. You don't need to do anymore, Seiriyu. You've already won." said Mioka as she came close to tears.
"Mioka?" asked Seiriyu in surprise as he looked at his tearful cousin. He then turned to Gaara, then to Kankuro and the others in the stands, and then finally back to Mioka. He closed his eyes, sighed, and sheathed his sword.
"Congratulations Gaara-san, you are the first to not die by my blade." said Seiriyu in a cold voice.
"What?" asked Gaara as he looked at the dictator in slight surprise.
"But my cousin is right." said Seiriyu, ignoring Gaara's earlier question. "Thanks to your loss of chakra and the wounds I've dealt you, you're bound to die in a few hours."
Seiriyu turned towards Gaara with a sadistic smile on his face. "You can no longer fight Kazekage-san. I won and you lost. The invasion of your village will go as planned. Plus, as part of my after winning duels tradition, I get to take one thing from you.. And we both know who that is."
Gaara gave Seiriyu a murderous look. Seiriyu ignored it and turned his attention over to Kankuro and the others.
"Uh oh! He's looking over here." exclaimed Ryu.
"He's going to take the Lady Sage from us." said Daisuke as he got into a fighting stance.
"Oh no he's not!" exclaimed Kankuro as he unsealed Black Ant.
"Oh yes I am."
Kankuro, Ryu, and Daisuke turned around to see Seiriyu standing in a few seats above them with Izuka in his arms, still unconscious in his grasp. Temari was knocked out cold at his feet.
"Temari!" exclaimed Kankuro. He moved a chakra string that opened one of Black Ant's compartments. Kunai flew from the compartment at Seiriyu, but he disappeared before the kunai could hit him.
"Where'd he go?" asked Kankuro in anger.
"Over there!" exclaimed Ryu as she pointed to the arena floor.
Daisuke and Kankuro turned to see Seiriyu walk with Izuka in his arms over to Gaara and Mioka.
"How is this guy so fast?" asked Kankuro in surprise.
"He's no guy Kankuro. He's a monster." replied Daisuke as he too looked on in surprise.
Seiriyu stopped walking right in front of Gaara while smiling at the unconscious girl in his arms.
"This is probably my best prize yet!" exclaimed Seiriyu with slight glee as he looked at the blonde girl in his arms.
"Let her go Seiriyu!" said Gaara murderously at the dictator.
"A deal's a deal, Gaara-san. You lost, which means you will lose your village and now?" asked Seiriyu. He looked at Izuka once again before looking at Gaara. "You lose your girlfriend."
Seiriyu maniacally laughed as he walked towards the main entrance with his prize in hand and his cousin in tow.
"No! Come back!" exclaimed Gaara. He stretched his arm trying in vain to reach them before fainting, finally succumbing to the darkness and falling in his own pool of blood.
End of chapter 27
A/N: Please review and vote on my poll.