To a neutral observing party it would not have appeared that Jiou was at all worried about this towering man emanating mysterious dark shroud and staring straight into the petrified eyes of Regalia. The young woman gently slipped off the chair she was sitting on and prepared to bolt. Right before her mad dash towards the door began her hand was gently caught and stopped, Jiou softly turned her face at his own and pressed his forehead against hers.
"Is this any way to live a life? Running? Leaving everyone around you to die? I shall free you of this life and then you must promise to be my wife" the Uchiha prodigy whispered to her. Regalia's face, petrified with fear, nodded in agreement.
The giant demonic man took a step forward before a scythe bounced off of his body leaving a shallow gash. A long-haired man stepped in front of him and pulled the scythe back as it was held on a long steel wire. No blood dripped out from the man's wound, it appeared like the scythe barely even cut through his skin.
"Protect the Kazekage!" Akasuna Mugao, the man who would become the next Kazekage after the one being inaugurated that day died of lung sickness years later ordered the other Jounin gathered at the ball. A couple of dozens of Sharingan activated in a crowd of Jounin as the ninja gathered at the party surrounded the infernal giant who just waltzed into the ball and committed a casual yet most foul murder.
"Your chakra is too bland to satisfy me, step aside" a strong toned voice came off of the three-meter tall giant who had to hunch slightly to fit into the room. The cut on his chest closed almost instantly as the skin tied together with other strands of skin. The voice of Regalia's demonic pursuer seemed to be quite convincing as Chuunin and even Jounin took steps back in intimidation despite most of Sunagakure's elite ninja being inside the ballroom.
"If my chakra infused scythe cannot hurt you, let's see how you like the toughest armor and the sharpest blade in the Universe – the Neutron Shogun!" Mugao's fingers twitched as his tuxedo got torn apart, steel parts shot from under his formal attire and covered the young Jounin up building bulk and size to match that of the mysterious giant who was his opponent.
"A man dressing in tin foil to avoid being crushed by forces he does not understand, step aside before I am forced to strip you apart limb by limb..." the giant exclaimed calmly placing his fist up in front as if threatening to punch the hulking armor of Mugao's. And an impressive structure it was – a dark red glowing steel alloy shaped and modeled after the typical armor a shogun of Iron Country wore, bits and pieces of the armor glowed as if miniature fusion reactions transpired on the armor firing off jets of pure unrestrained energy.
The armor shot forward with a cocked back fist as it emitted a cybernetic roar. It moved so fast that windows exploded in bits and pieces of glass and the floor below it set on fire, walls cracked and the roof started dropping rubble. The civilians had started to flee long before the first punch was thrown however and the ninja inside were fully able to take care of themselves.
A blinding all covering flash was emitted from the armor's blow, a shockwave fired out digging deep into the ground below but before it created an abyss reaching the planet's core it was soon absorbed by the man it was aimed at in its entirety and barely managed to decimate the marble floor the two stood on. The other ninja leaped back to avoid the all-destroying aftermath of the armor's crushing blow. Mugao was one of the most powerful ninja in the village and the assailant was a fool to pick a fight with him and not even bother dodging his blow.
After the blinding flash of light cleared up and all the smoke settled down the giant just stood there with his chest placed still, the armored fist collided with the man leaving not even a single dent on him. Mugao's armor could not even move, the man inside was shaking in shock and disbelief.
"I...Impossible... I modeled this armor after the neutron star, I imitated its molecular structure by creating and studying it inside a chakra barrier! I created an entirely new steel alloy based on its molecular structure - Neutronium! Neutron Shogun should be indestructible, it takes all of my chakra just to move this heavy thing!" the cybernetic voice freaked out from inside the armor. The massive arm of his opponent slowly reached out and grabbed the neutronium arm.
"A feeble attempt, lifeless and artificial trash, simple iron infused with chakra, something of life and substance is harder than this chunk of rubbish..." the man yanked the arm clean off leaving Mugao's fleshly arm exposed. The Neutron Shogun fired off jets of flame trying to escape the man's grip but the giant yanked the armor right back and peeled all the neutronium plates and parts right off crushing them right in front of the man in his crushing grip and tossing them aside.
Jiou's eye winked right at his sister, once an Uchiha opened their Sharingan they observed the entire surrounding missing not a single detail, the Uchiha prodigy had not to worry that his sister may have missed his signal.
Two red blurs flashing at the man at a blinding speed could've been picked up by anyone possessing the top level of perception as the image of the two siblings froze right up and close to the man's neck and etched itself into everyone's minds. Jiou and Aisha coordinated their assaults aiming their chakra-infused blades at the man's neck, they could've sliced through virtually any substance with such an attack, even if the man was able to tear away the toughest known substance in the Universe, the presence of chakra infusion in their attack instantly made their attack more lethal.
A loud clang deafened the ears of everyone observing the battle forcing every ninja still hoping to overcome their crippling fear of this giant man so that they could have their turn at fighting this man to cover their ears. Small bits and strips of the giant's neck skin tore leaving shallow cuts but not even a single drop of blood fell, Jiou's and Aisha's swords seemingly exploded from the pressure falling onto the floor in pieces.
"Your chakras feel... Different... Yes, I may keep you around for a while, you'll be a worthy nourishment..." the demonic man smiled, his white teeth could've been seen through the black mysterious shroud that covered him when he was fighting, combined with his ever-present glowing red eyes it made for a terrifying combination of features.
Aisha collapsed on her knees, she could not believe that hers and brother's combination attack was completely ineffective against this man. Suddenly she felt her father's arms forcefully pulling her out of the harm's way, a soft peck on the top of her head informed the young girl that her father was proud of her bravery and strength.
"All Uchiha, let us show this fool real Hell!" Aziz ordered them, "All those who can use Fire Style jutsu join in!" he yelled out as more ninja than it was possible to count went through their hand seals and breathed out a Fire Style jutsu of some sort combining all of them into a vortex of flames as hot as a thousand dying stars. Possibly hot enough to destroy vast regions of all that existed had it not been for the highly coordinated and controlled flow of the chakra that purely fired off from the user and was absorbed by the opponent in its entirety.
Even with the highly coordinated flow of chakra and unparalleled mastery, a beam of whirling flames fired off into the sky, passing through the Moon and leaving into unspecified regions of space causing unknown and cataclysmic amounts of damage. The searing hot inferno of all Sunagakure ninja who possessed the ability to use Fire Release surrounded the man in a technique that would've annihilated anything that could've ever existed even before it was cast by the searing heat of air surrounding it alone. And yet...
As the hotter than destruction of a thousand stars flame ceased the man remained standing without as much as his clothes searing off or losing a single eyebrow, his body was almost glowing in fiery light, he was twitching and writhing around, struggling to contain the amount of chakra, his eyes took in the fiery blinding glow blinding several fools idiotic enough to have not closed their eyes gazing at the spectacle of untold power and destruction unfolding in front of them but then... He calmed down and the fiery glow turned back at the black shroud of darkness that he always wore and flame-colored eyes changed back to their usual blood red glow.
"Men of a bland taste, all of you..." the giant's fear-inspiring tone whispered yet there was not a single man or woman who had not heard it. The man clapped effortlessly sending a powerful shockwave through the ranks of the ninja splattering all of their bodies on what remained of the walls around them. "Unworthy of me feasting on your essences..." he concluded as the giant stood there hunched over the room filled with blood and guts.
Regalia was afraid to open her eyes but the fact that she felt fear informed her that she must've been still alive. The woman blinked and opened her ears. A tall woman in a divine white dress with pitch black flowing hair and an active Sharingan held the Sabaku kunoichi in her arms.
"My son claims he loves you, you shall not die tonight" the woman smiled and placed the girl down, "Go, pick up Jiou and Aisha and protect them with your life, you said this man is after you, you've evaded him for so long, evade him this time, I shall do my best to buy you time..." she said as the woman moved forward so far that Regalia was completely unable to see her eyes. And those were the single set of eyes she wanted to see – the eyes of a mother willing to sacrifice herself for her family. The eyes with the willpower to inspire to overcome even the greatest of challenges.
Aziz was kneeling in front of the giant in disbelief, everyone he ever knew, every member of the Uchiha clan in Sunagakure destroyed and disintegrated or splattered on the wall without this man having to throw a single punch. He had seen those very men fight for days and weeks in wars where explosions as strong as dying planets were casual occurrence and hundreds of chakra infused swords danced over their flesh every couple of seconds. Yet a single clap eliminated them all faster than he could perceive what had happened.
"You wonder why you're still alive? Your chakra is relatively mild yet not bland, you shall suffice as an appetizer for now which was why I allowed you to live" the giant thundered out in his regal voice as he towered over the kneeling old man. A deafening explosion tossed Aziz aside, his body instantly forced chakra to augment his body so that he was not torn apart and disassembled on a subatomic level from the exploding shockwave.
"Megaton Punch!" his wife roared out as the shockwave cleared up with her fist being placed on the giant's face yet not even being able to twitch a single muscle on it.
"So you've copied Chestnut Hanasaku's Ton Punch taijutsu style with your Sharingan? But the name was all wrong, it was at least fifty times stronger than a megaton..." the giant spoke indifferently, the woman described as the most powerful female member of Sunagakure branch of the Uchiha leaped back and prepared for another attack.
"Yes, I've fought her during the war and took a long while to record her techniques, I record every jutsu that defeats me so that I cannot be beaten by it again..." the woman nodded as she shook her palm around as the aftershock from the punch she just threw broke the bones in her entire arm and even a couple of ribs. She couldn't believe that Chestnut Hanasaku had punches stronger than this, namely one incredibly powerful jutsu that the woman swore she'd never use for she did not possess the healing ability of Hanasaku. Copying the woman's abilities was a mistake... No one but the madwoman herself could fight like that.
"My husband is no appetizer for any monster such as you, at the very worst case he is the main course!" the woman angrily yelled out as she focused the chakra augmentation to keep her right arm useable, she needed to throw an immeasurable number of times stronger punch and it may as well kill her but she had no other choice. It would hurt more than anything, even tossing a simple Megaton Punch jutsu broke her own arm and her entire right side and she was about to unleash Hanasaku's ace technique... This would hurt more than anything else...
"No, your husband is not the main course, your son and your daughter will be..." the giant smiled once again letting his pearl white smile be clearly visible from the dark shroud surrounding him. It appeared like the man could control that shroud at will as when he entered the ball before this cataclysm of untold levels unfolded he was not covered by it.
"I will send you beyond the reaches of known Universe where you will never find your way back!" the Uchiha woman whined out through the crippling pain in the right side of her body as with a couple of leaps back she covered multiple miles and winded up for another punch. She wasn't even one-thousandth of Chestnut Hanasaku's level but she saw the woman sending an entire battlefield into farthest reaches of space with this final punch technique when Konoha's forces were being overwhelmed by Iwagakure's forces.
Gently the woman's steps sent her forward, faster than she or any other Uchiha could keep up with, maybe she was approaching even the speed of Iron Country samurai? Perhaps she was moving just as fast as those light speed swordsmen able to freeze time itself as they moved? The woman smiled as she hoped so certainly... The first lady of the Uchiha appeared right up in the man's face and tossed her punch, knowing fully well that her enemy would not bother to try and dodge, after all, why would he? When he took the fiery chakra as strong as thousands of exploding stars what did he have to fear in this world?
"Yottaton Punch!" the woman's lips whispered the name of the infernal jutsu that sent an entire island beyond the reaches of any telescope any country had. Silence took over the world around the two, almost instantly the woman went blind from the flash of erupting chakra that was quickly transferred to her opponent and him alone. She had to be careful when dealing with such powerful attacks just like her clansmen were, if she didn't control the flow of the immeasurable amount of chakra flowing through her she could've caused untold destruction but she had to do this to protect her village, to protect her husband, to protect her children.
Jiou's mother screamed so loud in pain that she deafened herself and took away her own voice falling lifeless on the ground in front of her unfazed enemy. Her entire body tore up and simply dissolved into dust so small that only the Sharingan could've picked up their existence.
"That wasn't very pleasant..." the Leech fixed his bowtie and proceeded to walk forward heading for the escaped prey. They may have escaped that night but they would not outrun him for long, he'll find them, eventually, he always did. He sensed all the chakra in the Universe but once he tasted a specific chakra he could always tell it from any chakra anywhere in the Universe. It was like a man seeing millions of people but once he was slapped by one he could see and identify the man anywhere due to their unique features. Except instead of identifying the person by their scars and tattoos he identified them by how their chakra felt.
Everything had a specific taste. Any living natural substance was tied by a chakra bond. What these fools, these ninja prey did not know was that all in nature was filled with chakra, the chakra was a universal force that was there long before ninja and even people came to be and that would exist long after them. They thought chakra was unique to them and to a point they were right. The chakra of a rock in a desert was different to theirs, to a chakra gourmet like him that natural and primitive chakra of a rock would feel like a rotten egg. Eating such transgression against nature would've been worse than the death of starvation. However, these ninja thought that their chakra was unique when in fact it was chakra that made them a part of this Universe. It was the source and the feedback that connected it all.
People crafted artificial lifeless materials trying to copy strongest structures they found in nature but they didn't realize that created lifeless matter is not worth nearly as much as a simple lump of iron filled with chakra. It was not the fancy name or the emulated molecular structure that made power, that made importance. It was that warm natural bond, that feedback of chakra that made everything special. A simple iron sword of chakra could've pierced through even the toughest artificial neutron star shield. Perhaps one day these naïve fools would realize that... The man slowly made his way through the desert without looking back at the bodies and the destruction he left in his wake.
"Kazekage-sama..." a Jounin spoke to his leader on top of a desert hill.
"This is a nightmare... Our entire military force, all of our decades of militaristic breakthroughs, our elite Uchiha branch decimated..." the man mumbled to himself. He pulled out a white hanky and coughed up blood, placing it back into his pocket.
"Shall we message the other villages, ask for help? Perhaps combined military effort could beat this man, this monster?" the Jounin whispered to the Kazekage.
"Do not be foolish, we cannot tell them that a single man decimated most of our military elites. Think of what it would do to our image, Iwagakure and the other countries are just waiting for a signal to pounce on us and eat us up. They're waiting for just a moment like this. This event must remain a secret... I and my predecessors are trying to return Sunagakure to its once Great Ninja Village roots, if we let this news loose now all of that work would go down to nothing" Kazekage grunted out loud wiping the blood off of his lip with his sleeve.
The lone giant disappeared into a sandstorm, wandering the desert and looking for prey. Far away a lone crippled old man followed by his two children and a woman followed him.
"You shouldn't have gotten involved..." Regalia mumbled out to herself. "Now you've also placed yourself in his sight"
Aisha let go of her father and pounced on the woman to slap the life out of her before a strand of golden sand wrapped around her neck and lifted her into the air to wail around uselessly.
"You bitch, you brought this onto us, you brought him to us, you ruined all of our lives!" she yelled out, for a girl her age she perhaps realized the best just how much all of their lives had changed from this moment. From now on they'll keep living but they'll live as prey running from their hunter, they'll be chased until the end of their days. They'll need to be ready to defend their lives and run at any moment and a second of serenity will be a luxury they cannot have.
"Language, Aisha..." the old man tried to calm his daughter but could not find the right words, was he to blame for it really? Everything he knew for certain was crushed and ruined. There were no more Uchiha in Sunagakure beside them, there was nothing left, even his wife gave up her life in vain...
"The fuck do you care about language? Our lives can end at any point now, mom's dead, everyone's dead... May as well not bother holding ourselves by fucking chains if we're to die at any point..." the girl cried out jumping on Regalia's neck for comfort after the sand let her go. The young woman's arm wrapped around the neck of her "husband's" sister.
"Yeah..." Jiou said. Regalia turned to him curiously.
"Yeah, I'll take you as my wife, invincible monster chasing us and all that included..."
Old man Aziz tried to smile but that night brought too many tragedies for his smile to resemble anything a human smile should look like.
Ten years later:
Jiou roared out in pain and fear as his only functional eye opened up, the first sight that greeted his awakened eye was his father lifted into the air and shaking as the giant man's, the Leech's as the four used to call him, embrace sucked the very life out of him. Blood was pouring onto the floor from some wound that the monster left on the old man. Carelessly the Leech tossed the barely living body of the old man for Jiou and coughed.
"He tasted a little mild, I suppose a little bit of you shall be just the right aftertaste..." he thundered out as Jiou held his dying father in his arms still refusing to believe what he had just seen.
"The pain of loss..." Aziz's dried out lips whispered, Jiou leaned up to his old man to hear his final words as the monster approached him, he had but moments before the monster's grip would lock onto his own body sucking his life essence out of him as well.
"The final element to Mangekyou is... The pain of losing that which you truly love..." his father's last words ignited some hope to Jiou's heart, as the Leech's reach extended the young man was no longer there, just his father's dead body. The Leech surrounded himself in the black shroud and gave chase to the young man... Much has changed over these ten years but one thing remained and would always remain a constant...
The chase continued.
