Chapter XXII - Darkus Phantom
The sound of kunai clashing against each other was heard as Zuko and Itachi quickly passed each other. Both of the shinobi stopped running as their backs were turned to each other. Moments of dead silence passed.
Suddenly, Zuko fell to his knees as a large amount of blood ran out of his neck. His now bloodshot eyes widened as his hand smacked over the slash across his neck. Itachi turned around, smiling softly.
"Let's see how you solve that problem. Within a few minutes, you'll bleed out. As skilled as you were, you underestimated me and lowered your guard a single moment before the impact, resulting in what happened to you... You lose, Zuko Taisega."
Itachi's Mangekyou devolved into the normal Sharingan before deactivating. Zuko gritted his teeth as he coughed up blood before falling to the ground. More blood rushed out of his neck as his eyes slowly closed.
Suddenly, the cross on Zuko's neck pulsated before turning orange-red. Black markings quickly appeared all over Zuko's skin. Itachi gasped lightly before running over to Zuko's body, immediately taking note of the growing chakra he felt in the atmosphere.
Gyatsō mentioned a curse mark, but he never told me how powerful this chakra would be! I'll have to quickly finish him off now.
Itachi then took out another kunai as he approached Zuko's body faster.
Zuko smiled against the ground as an ominous purple aura engulfed his body. The force of the aura cracked the ground below them and sent Itachi sprawling back. Debris flew everywhere.
The Taisega clan member's Shaolin slowly donned four more lines, resulting in a six-lined cross in both of his Shaolin. Nine black triangles spread around the crosses. He then slowly stood up.
Itachi squinted as his hair blew back due to the aura, noticing the wound on Zuko's neck was now completely healed. His hands clenched onto his sides, laughter ringing louder and louder with each passing moment. The aura grew stronger, caving the walls in. He then extended his hand, looking at it.
Well, Mirage, you wanted me to use your power for so damn long... go ahead... release the full power of the Darkus Phantom!
Zuko's hair colour quickly changed white as the aura boomed before turning into purple mists. Two black wings formed out of his back as he winced, his Mūgetsu Shaolin's irises turning into a dark red-orange. Itachi gasped at his abrupt transformation, now taking a step back. Fangs formed from Zuko's teeth as the purple mists turned black.
"I... am the Darkus Phantom!"
He arched his back as he roared loudly, rushing forward with intense speed.
Itachi opened his mouth as he coughed up blood. Zuko was already behind him, sending a heavy punch to his spine. Itachi's body flew forward as Zuko moved his arm back before slicing at the air, sending currents of visible, dark coloured chakra his way.
Itachi turned his body around as he rebounded midair, wincing at the pain to do so. The dark chakra dashed directly under him, barely missing him. Zuko appeared right under Itachi, pressing his palm against his back. Itachi's eyes darted below him as Zuko gripped Itachi's shirt, throwing him to the ground with brute strength. He stood over Itachi's weakened body, smirking widely.
"There's no way for me to lose when my mind is under Mirage's control! I'll give you tremendous pain before I defeat you in the end, sealing your fate with Lord Gyatsō's plan!" He roared, which cracked the ground even more. Another boom like this and the ground would surely give way. The crosses on Zuko's blazing Mūgetsu Shaolin spun quickly. Itachi darted up just in time.
"You think your Amaterasu is impressive? Here's my Ultimate Shaolin Art... of Catastrophic Hell Flames!"
Scorching red and black fire engulfed the place Itachi had quickly moved from. The heat emitted from the fire melted part of the ground completely. It then spread over to Itachi.
The Uchiha clan member jumped back, evading them. The hellish flames kept rushing forward. Itachi sweated quickly as he kept jumping back before backing up into a wall. He gritted his teeth as it now reached him and engulfed his body. He yelled loudly as he fell before stopping. The fire soon dispersed. Zuko sighed with boredom afterwards. He wasn't satisfied yet.
"Get up, Uchiha scum! You can't be done y-"
Zuko was sent flying back as Itachi slammed his leg into his face with a frown. He then performed the hand signs for his Fireball jutsu repeatedly. He kept blowing out fireballs, each one bigger than the last, sending them straight at Zuko.
Itachi gritted his teeth as he panted quickly, knowing full well he just used up most of his chakra. Zuko completely stopped moving as the black mists coming from his body materialized into black chakra, appearing in front of his body. The fireballs smashed into the chakra before being absorbed. Zuko took several steps forward, laughing again.
Those masses of visible chakra, thought Itachi. They act similar to the Truth-Seeking Balls. Could it be possible that's the other Taisega kekkei genkai Gyatsō spoke of earlier?
"Better yet, forget it! You're no fun anymore! Terribly sorry, Itachi Uchiha, but you were fucked since the start! You lose!"
He appeared in front of Itachi and directed a devastating punch to the face. Itachi's eyes turned blank as he crashed onto the ground.
The younger male then gripped Itachi's now torn cloak and pulled him up. The triangles on Zuko's eyes spun quickly as Itachi's vision turned to crimson red. The last sound Itachi heard was a soft chuckle echoing from an already disappeared Zuko.
Itachi looked around before falling to the ground, gritting his teeth.
"Ultimate Shaolin Genjutsu... Ecliptic Nightmare," the echo said softly.
Massive explosion after explosion boomed around the area before engulfing Itachi. The explosions continued, Itachi's remains being destroyed in the blasts. They grew even larger, destroying countries before large areas of the planet. The ground grew weaker before succumbing, the planet giving way and exploding. The genjutsu then ended.
In the real world, Itachi was unconscious. His chakra flow had completely stopped. Zuko sighed as his wings disappeared, his eyes and hair returning to normal. The black mists also stopped flowing from his body. The marks on his skin slowly retreated back to the cross on his neck before disappearing. Zuko covered his mouth as he coughed up blood, wheezing.
It will surely take months before I can use this form again and not die from it, he thought. But now that Itachi's defeated, Lord Gyatsō, I shall bring you to you the key to ruling this world!
The black haired male put on another Osore cloak, pulling the hood on to cover most of his face. He then wiped the blood off his mouth before picking up Itachi's body, slowly walking out of the cave.