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"Normal Dialogue"
'Inner thoughts'
[Year X788]
~ Earlier with Eldin, tavern owner of the town ~
In the mining town below, Eldin the tavern keeper was wiping down the last glass when the first major tremor hit. Unlike the minor shakes they'd grown accustomed to over recent weeks, this one felt different. More like an explosion than the earth shifting. Bottles rattled on shelves, and the few remaining patrons grabbed their tables for support.
"What in blazes was that?" muttered a patron, rising from his seat to peer out the window, the rest of the patrons following suit in the next few seconds.
Before anyone could answer, a sound reached them that froze the blood in their veins. A distant shriek, carrying with it an otherworldly malevolence that triggered the most primal human instincts.
Panic erupted almost instantly. People rushed from their homes into the streets, confusion and terror evident on their faces as they looked toward the eastern ridge where the cathedral stood. Families clutched each other, some paralyzed with fear, others already gathering what few possessions they could carry.
Eldin slammed his palm against the bar, the sharp sound cutting through the growing chaos in his tavern.
"Everyone!" he shouted, commanding attention. "To the basement, now! It's the deepest shelter in town!"
He moved quickly to unlock the heavy trapdoor behind the bar, revealing stone steps descending into darkness. As patrons scrambled toward the opening, Eldin grabbed a lantern and tossed it to his young assistant.
"Light the way below," he ordered. "I'm going to round up anyone still outside."
Without waiting for a response, Eldin burst through the tavern doors into the street. He spotted the old man who'd lost his son, now moving from house to house, pounding on doors and shouting for people to wake up.
"Come to the tavern!" Eldin called to a group of frightened townsmen. "Basement's open! Pass the word!"
Throughout the town, similar scenes played out as those with shelters opened their doors to neighbours. When another distant explosion shook the ground, even those too frightened to move found new urgency in their steps.
~ With Shisui, present time ~
Back at the ridge, Shisui stood his ground as the massive form of Khathros turned toward him once more. He needed to draw the creature further from the town before attempting to defeat it. The open stone plain near the abandoned mine entrance would provide the perfect battlefield. No settlements, no forests to destroy, nothing but barren rock.
Shisui body flickered to the side of the creature. The creature could easily re-locate Shisui, and after a moment, it's back was now facing the direction of small cliff off the ridge. Shisui flashed through a series of hand signs, gathering chakra in his lungs.
Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!
The jutsu erupted from his mouth as a concentrated blast of air that struck Khathros with the force of a battering ram. The creature, despite its increased size, was caught off-guard by the sudden attack. The wind pressure pushed it backward, toppling it over the ridge's edge and down toward the abandoned mine entrance below.
Not wasting a moment, Shisui followed, landing gracefully on the stone plain and positioning himself with his back to the open expanse beyond. Khathros was already recovering, rising to its full height and orienting toward Shisui once more.
Without hesitation, Shisui formed another series of hand signs.
Fire Style: Cranium Carver!
The jutsu unleashed a massive dome of fire that engulfed Khathros completely. Heat filled the air as the conflagration roared, consuming everything within its radius. For a moment, Shisui allowed himself to hope the creature might be vulnerable to extreme heat.
As the flames gradually died down, that hope evaporated. Khathros remained standing, its crystalline armor blackened in places but largely intact. The exposed flesh between plates seemed slightly burned, but the damage appeared superficial at best.
What was evident, however, was the creature's rage. Its body language shifted from predatory to furious, movements becoming more aggressive.
Shisui narrowed his eyes in disappointment. The fire technique, powerful enough to reduce ordinary enemies to ash, had barely singed this abomination. The creature would require more powerful methods to defeat.
As if sensing his thoughts, Khathros began to gather energy for another attack. The familiar purple light emanated from its abdomen, traveling upward through channels in its crystalline structure toward its mouth. Judging by the intensity of the light, brighter than previous attacks, this blast would be significantly stronger.
Shisui quickly assessed his surroundings, confirming nothing but empty land stretched behind him. The tactical choice was clear. Remain in position until the last possible moment, ensuring the creature's attack continued to target him rather than veering toward populated areas. When the beam fired, he would evade while keeping the devastating force directed away from the town.
The purple energy reached critical mass as Khathros opened its maw. Shisui bent his knees slightly, ready to move. The instant the creature released its attack, Shisui launched himself high into the air, clearing the path of the beam entirely.
From his aerial vantage point, Shisui witnessed the true scale of Khathros's power. The sonic beam tore through the landscape, carving a trench nearly five hundred meters long and vaporizing everything in its path. Rock turned to liquid, then to steam under the concentrated energy, leaving a glassy scar across the earth's surface.
As Shisui landed, the realization hit him with absolute clarity. 'I can't drag this fight! It seems to be growing stronger!'
Knowing he couldn't afford to prolong the battle, Shisui's demeanor changed. The casual confidence gave way to cold calculation as he channeled chakra to his eyes, evolving his ordinary Sharingan into something more powerful.
The three tomoe in each eye swirled and merged, forming a new pattern. The distinctive pinwheel shape of his Mangekyo Sharingan, which he had not used since using it to observe Nihilora a year ago.
Power radiated from his gaze as he fixed his attention on the massive creature before him, attempting to pull its consciousness into a genjutsu powerful enough to immobilize even a being of this magnitude.
The genjutsu, which would have trapped any normal opponent in an illusio, struck Khathros directly. For a brief moment, the creature seemed to pause, its crystalline head tilting slightly as if confused. Then it released another ear-splitting shriek, the sound waves visibly disrupting the air around it, shattering the genjutsu connection as if it were made of glass.
Shisui's eyes narrowed in surprise. Genjutsu was his specialty, second only to his mastery of the Body Flicker technique. Even among the Uchiha, few could match his skill with illusion techniques. Yet this creature had shrugged off one of his most powerful genjutsu with apparent ease, as if the very concept of mental manipulation was foreign to its nature.
A thought occurred to him. Perhaps the creature's partially crystalline structure somehow diffused the genjutsu's effect, preventing it from taking root in whatever served as Khathros's mind. Or perhaps the demonic entity simply operated on an entirely different mental framework than most living beings.
For a moment, Shisui considered using his right eye's Mangekyo ability, the Kotoamatsukami, which would allow him to completely re-wire Khathros. However, Shisui was not sure whether this would be viable since he already conclduded that Genjutsu may not work against the creature.
Moreover, the cost was significant. Each use of that technique drained massive amounts of chakra, and the next time he could use said ability would be after 10 years had passed. If his Kotoamatsukami did not work, then he would have wasted his ability for nothing.
'No.' He decided. The situation didn't yet warrant such a risk. There were other methods to try first.
Shisui allowed his Mangekyo to revert to the standard Sharingan, conserving chakra while he was also still unsure of the consequences of prolonged use of the Mangekyo. If subtlety did not work, then what he needed now was raw power.
Khathros didn't wait for Shisui to complete his assessment. It charged forward with surprising speed for something so massive, crystal spikes extended like battering rams. Shisui dodged easily, already forming hand signs for his next attack.
Fire Style: Great Fireball!
A massive fireball erupted from his mouth, engulfing the creature's flank. As the flames cleared, Shisui immediately followed with a wind technique that turned the lingering fire into a swirling vortex of superheated air.
Wind Style: Rising Wind!
The creature staggered but didn't fall. Where the combined attack had struck, portions of its crystalline armor had melted and some of the exposed flesh appeared charred. But it was far from defeated. Even as Shisui watched, the damaged areas began to regenerate, crystalline structures reforming with unsettling speed.
For nearly an hour, the battle continued in this fashion. Shisui unleashed technique after technique. Walls of flame, blades of wind, combinations of both while constantly moving to avoid the creature's devastating sonic attacks and physical strikes. Each time, he managed to inflict damage, but never enough to permanently disable his opponent.
Fatigue began to set in. Even with his considerable chakra reserves and efficient technique execution, maintaining such high-output ninjutsu for an extended period was taking its toll. Meanwhile, Khathros showed no signs of tiring. If anything, it seemed to be adapting to Shisui's patterns, anticipating his movements with increasing accuracy.
A change in tactics was clearly needed. Shisui jumped back to create distance. So far, fire had proven somewhat effective, and wind had enhanced that effect, but neither had been decisive.
There was one element he hadn't yet tried in significant measure.
~ End of Chapter 30 ~
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