Cyclone stared up at Ferrol as it raised its head and outstretched its arms like it was roaring, but it didn't make a sound.
Only loud cracks as the old tree hadn't moved in some time. The bell it wore at its side still ringing loudly, so loud, Cyclone was starting to get a headache.
Cyclone looked back at Collector knocked out in the snow. The blizzard had become so bad Cyclone could barely make out Ferrol's shape in the fog.
"Collector get up! Now!" Cyclone yelled, it was useless, "He's out cold! We need to retr-"
Cyclone suddenly snapped his head back in front of him and blocked.
WOOOOOOOSHHH BAM!
Before Cyclone could finish a massive hand swung down through the fog and slammed into his guard! The force was incredible!
Cyclone could feel his own consciousness slipping from the pressure! Cyclone was slapped away by the giant fir and further into the fog.
All Cyclone could see was Collector slowly fading from view.
Cyclone's mouth began to bleed slightly as he flew through the air.
"What tremendous power!" Cyclone said to himself as he began to descend.
Cyclone plowed into the snow below and looked up. Cyclone could hear the bell faintly behind him! Cyclone turned around.
"BYAKU-"
DOOM DOOM DOOM DOOM DOOM!
Ferrol's footsteps interrupted Cyclone as it emerged from the fog! Everything went black-and-white when Cyclone was kicked in the back by the great fir.
Cyclone's eyes rolled into the back of his head and blood came out of his mouth as he went flying further into the fog!
BOOOOOOMMM! Crack!
Cyclone coughed up more blood as he slammed into a rock wall. The wall cracked around him.
"HUAGH!" Cyclone coughed up blood, breathing heavily in and out. Cyclone was more confused than hurt.
"The-The bell sounded from behind me... but he kicked me from another direction?..! And wh-what spe- UGH!" Cyclone could barely finish his sentence as a giant round shadow came towards him.
DONGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!
Ferrol's giant fist seemingly slammed into Cyclone's body with a mighty ring from its bell.
ZERRRRROP TIK TIK TIK TIK!
Everything went silent. Ferrol ceased all movement.
It was revealed Cyclone had stopped time just before the giant fist landed.
Cyclone stared at the massive fist with a neutral expression as he caught his breath.
Cyclone let his body fall into the snow below. Cyclone's time stop had halted the blizzard, but the fog was still strong.
He could only see up Ferrol's legs since the fog was too thick to see the rest of his upper body. Cyclone stared at the beast for a moment.
"Is...Is this really your power that's responsible for this? BURUSUUUUUU?!"Cyclone yelled, "Just how much did you have left!?... I'M ASKING YOU! HOW MUCH POWER DID YOU STILL HAVE BEFORE YOU DIED YOU BASTARD?!" Cyclone yelled louder, slamming his arms into the ground.
"THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE EASY!" Cyclone yelled again.
Cyclone huffed and puffed as he thought back to that night.
Burusu arriving with his men and immediately ordering to kill Cyclone, a punch that created a tornado, Burusu stepping off of the shadow possession, Burusu's transformation and that final attack that appeared to be a beam blasted from the moon itself, that not only ended the fight, it split the volcano completely in half.
NARA HIDEOUT (923 years ago)
After Burusu discovered baby Tore wasn't there he breathed in and out heavily as he looked at his wounds and limped over to a wall and sat down. Burusu puthis head back against the wall and tears ran down his face, but... Burusu was smiling.
"I guess... I guess I wasn't meant to be apart of your story for long son!" Burusu said, laughing as the split volcano erupted again, but because of the split in the mountain, the volcano blew a massive chunk of the mountainaway and towards nearby villages in an apocalyptic "meteor shower" with waves of flowing lava following behind.
Burusu had already died before the volcano erupted. The King's body was blasted out behind the volcano and landed in a plain miles away from the volcano.
The resulting lava flow destroyed villages for miles. Thousands lost their lives, even more were injured or sick from inhaling the smoke, and some even went missing, presumably buried under ash and soot.
The entire area is forever scarred from the night a man was forced to do whatever he could to save his son.
Ferrol's Tundra (903 years ago)
Cyclone sat indiant style and collected himself, closing his eyes. Cyclone took a very deep breath.
"Calm yourself. You're still in the drivers seat. You will use this year to find Burusu's body and if all else fails, you are the one who has the real power...Tore. He thinks you're his long lost brother and will do anything you say. Even if he does come to this island, he'll make sure he finds you before anything else. I guarantee it. You. Have. Time. You've simply underestimated these powerful abilities granted to the unworthy." Cyclone let out a massive breath and became calm.
Cyclone opened his eyes.
"You're all just prey... blessed with abilities to defend yourself from the predator." Cyclone said out loud, smirking, looking up at Ferrol, his byakugan activated, now he could see Ferrol's entire body.
This gigantic fir moved and punched like it was the same size as Cyclone.
Cyclone turned around and couldn't believe his eyes.
A man about Cyclone's height in a snow gillie suit, black paint over his eyes, and a bow and arrow was looking right at him.
Cyclone breathed in and out heavily as he looked around to see even more of them!
"H-How long... have these people been here?" Cyclone asked out loud, then thought, "Are these... The Watchers?"
Cyclone continued staring with shock.
"Wh-What the hell are they doing down here?!" Cyclone yelled, Cyclone's clock eye ceased time stop on its own, resuming the blizzard and Ferrol's fist crashing against the mountain, shaking the ground below.
Cyclone held his eyes after feeling a sharp pain in both, his byakugan and tokeigan deactivated themselves as well.
"They shut themselves off?!" Cyclone yelled.
SPLAT SPLAT!
Cyclone was hit in the chest and upper shoulder with two arrows. Cyclone groaned and immediately activated byakugan again, looking around.
Cyclone's eye widened when he saw cosmic energy running through a man as he dived into the snow!
"B-Burusu's energy! But why couldn't I see it in the tree beast?" Cyclone said, then he thought about Burusu using the moon as his final attack.
"That's right... Burusu's power affects the comsos themselves... he even used the moon as an attack! Not only the people of this island have been effected by this power... the environment has too!" Cyclone said as he felt something.
Cyclone looked down at his body and hands as they trembled lightly. Cyclone could feel something running through his body.
"Wh-What's this?! What is this feeling?!" Cyclone exclaimed.
A Watcher emerged from the snow from behind Cyclone while he was distracted and attempted to stab Cyclone in the back of the head with an arrow, but Cyclone suddenly felt the need to dodge and ducked down, causing the Watcher to fall over Cyclone's back and land on his own.
The Watcher looked up with fright to see Cyclone staring down at him with a surprised face as it slowly turned into an insane smile.
Cyclone looked up to see 3 Watchers shoot arrows at him.
Cyclone smiled as he dodged the 3 arrows with ease and raised his boot, slamming it down on the Watcher's head below him, completely smashing it.
Blood soaked the snowy ground.
Ferrol looked down at the dead Watcher on the ground and became enraged, appearing to roar but not making a sound.
Cyclone's smile turned to slight shock as the Watchers turned invisible. Cyclone looked back at Ferrol.
"You're kidding?" Cyclone said as Ferrol prepared another attack. Cyclone got ready.
Ferrol dug its hands into the ground forcing dark blue roots, with a light blue energy over them, out of the ground.
Cyclone looked down and jumped into the air and held his hand out, summoning his demonic vulture.
"Don't want that stuff touching me... there's no telling what it would do." Cyclone looked up to barely see Ferrol take a swing at him, the vulture dodged but had a hard time flying due to the blizzard.
Cyclone activated byakugan and could see ferrol clearly, it was winding up another attack, but this time Cyclone could strike first, but Cyclone noticed something in the corner of his eye, the Watchers were running along the roots, chasing him.
Cyclone could see the invisible Watchers using the byakugan to follow the cosmic energy that ran through their veins.
The Watchers loaded up arrows and got ready to fire! Cyclone yanked the vulture's reigns to get the giant foul to dodge but the vulture was hit by multiple invisible arrows.
Cyclone sucked his teeth.
"I can't see the arrows with byakugan and I've got this blizzard to deal with! This is all going too well for them... did they already know?... That we would show up here?!" Cyclone asked as he thought about the explosion from Collector's chained lantern.
"Of course! That explosion from earlier surely warned this island somebody was attempting to fly in from above... I imagine this entire island is on defense now!" Cyclone said, looking back down at the Watchers as they continued to jump, slide, and swing off the cosmic roots Ferrol conjured from the ground.
Cyclone looked back at his hands and thought back to the trembling he felt and how his body seemed to dodge the attack from the Watcher on its own.
"I don't know exactly what's going on with me... but there's no doubt about one thing..." Cyclone said, thinking about Burusu, "His power is beginning to affect me too!" Cyclone said becoming excited.
FWIP!
Cyclone dodged his head back just in time and caught an arrow as the vulture continued flying. Cyclone looked at the tip of the arrow and was confused at the look of it.
"Wh-What is this black coating on these arrows? Poison?" Cyclone looked at the arrow tip with byakugan and couldn't believe what he saw!
Cosmic energy was focused at the tip of the arrow! Cyclone quickly looked down at the Watchers and saw cosmic energy had been focused to their hands, causing them to be covered in the same black coating.
Cyclone was lost in excitement now, standing on the back of the Vulture, looking down at the Watchers as they continued the chase.
"ASTONISHING! YOU CAN FOCUS THE COSMIC ENERGY INTO BODY PARTS AND INCREASE THEIR POWER, EXTENDING TO WEAPONS AS WELL!" Cyclone yelled.
The Watchers continued the chase, some looked at each other.
"HE COULD DO THE SAME THING! THE MAN TRASH LIKE YOU CAN THANK FOR THIS POWER!" Cyclone yelled. The Vulture continued flying as Ferrol missed another punch.
"AND... I'M THE ONE WHO KILLED HIM! DO YOU THINK YOU ARE AS GREAT AS HE IS?! THIS FIGHT IS A MOCKERY, A CHARADE OF THAT NIGHT OVER 20 YEARS AGO! IF I HAD FOUND BURUSU'S BODY THAT NIGHT NONE OF YOU WOULD HAVE THE POWER YOU HAVE TODAY!" Cyclone yelled maniacally.
Cyclone looked at his hands and could feel the cosmic energy focusing itself to his hands and arms.
Cyclone smiled and began to laugh as his arms heated up and his veins became filled with red cosmic energy causing his arms to became black instantly! Steam rose from his arms.
"H-HERE IT IS!" Cyclone yelled.
The Watchers silently panicked, realizing the danger of the situation, and quickly loaded bows, then infusing them with the same black coating.
Ferrol threw another punch, Cyclone turned his head with a smile, this punch landed.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM! CRACK!
Everything stopped inside the raging blizzard. The Watchers lowered their bows and couldn't believe what they were seeing.
Cyclone had not only stopped Ferrol's gigantic fist with his forearm... Cyclone shattered Ferrol's entire hand.
Ferrol fell back in pain, back pedaling out if sight as it disappeared into the fog.
Cyclone smiled insanely as he looked back at the Watchers, the vulture flapping in place.
"YOU'VE HAD YOUR FUN WATCHERS!" Cyclone yelled, jumping down towards the snowy ground outside the roots.
Cyclone looked at his hands once more and back up at the Watchers.
"BUT NOW IT'S MY TURN!" Cyclone screamed with an insane smile.
The Watchers blinked and Cyclone was gone. A Watcher let out a confused grunt.
CRACK! BOOOOOOOOM!
Cyclone instantaneously slammed a heavy, black coated punch into the ribs of A Watcher and sent him crashing through the cosmic roots.
Cyclone landed on the roots and was satisfied to know they were safe.
"These roots are just a cosmetic effect from being powered by that monster fir's life force. The initial attack was supposed to skewer me or probably even cause me to get lost among the roots." Cyclone said as he smiled and looked up at The Watchers as they retreated and hid in the roots.
Cyclone looked through the massive roots with byakugan and smiled insanely.
"BUT YOU FAILED! NOW LET ME SHOW YOU... WHAT I CAN DO!" Cyclone yelled as he covered his body in a red nen aura.
Everything became black and white lights flashed as Cyclone burst into black and purple flames! Cyclone was surprised!
"J-Just like the Watchers coated their arms and weapons... the flames have been coated! The strength of the flames and their temperature has been increased TEN FOLD!" Cyclone yelled.
"NO MORE HIDING!" Cyclone yelled as he blasted through the roots.
Everything Cyclone touched burned instantly and with great intensity.
These flames can burn anything and they cannot be extinguished, on the condition Cyclone can't use any abilities outside of hand of hand combat while in this flaming form.
The group of Watcher archers burned and screamed, some fell over coughing from the smoke.
Cyclone continued dashing through the roots laughing maniacally.
A Watcher was trying to dig underground when Cyclone deactivated his fire form and turned him over, the Watcher's hood blocking his face. Black and purple fire burned all around them.
"What's wrong? You all seemed pretty confident only moments ago! You should have killed me sooner if you knew this power was going to affect me!" Cyclone yelled, snatching the man's hood off.
Cyclone's eyes snapped open with fear and nervousness as the man clenched his teeth and stared at Cyclone with intense eyes.
Cyclone threw the man down and backed away, breathing in and out heavily. The man continued staring at Cyclone with the same saw bladed sharingan Tore's mother Minaki Usakami had.
PEWW! SPLAT!
A nen bullet was shot through the man's head, killing him instantly. Cyclone looked down at his hand as he sweat profusely and then back at the man who now lay dead.
Cyclone ran back over to his body and opened his eyes... but they were regular. Cyclone fell back on his butt.
"TH-THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE... WH-WHAT AM I SEEING?!" Cyclone yelled as a figure slowly crept through the roots.
Cyclone continued staring at the deceased Watcher until Ferrol's bell broke him from his trance.
DONG...
Ferrol's bell sounded as Minaki finally emerged from the firey roots. Minaki wore a long, black kimono with a sakura tree pattern all over it.
The kimono stretched down to her feet and covered her arms entirely.
Minaki stared with a completely neutral face. It was impossible to tell what Minaki was thinking or feeling.
Cyclone was completely terrified.
"WH-WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?! YOU DIED THAT NIGHT TOO!" Cyclone yelled.
Minaki's face remained unchanged.
Before Cyclone could say anything else, Minaki activated her sharingan and dashed towards Cyclone.