| abstract | - Kumogakure and Iwagakure had fallen to the relentless wrath of a seemingly unstoppable Jashin Army, whose brutality failed to be expressed by words. The serenity enjoyed by the Great Nations had been shattered by the recent violence, the spilling of innocent blood, the mindless bloodshed brought forth by the Jashinists, who worshipped murder and gore with all their black hearts. The Nations had mistaken the Army to be the only enemy, or the most dangerous enemy. It had taken the sacrifices of the brave intelligence agencies if these Nations, the losses of many good men and women, to make them realise that they had been barking up the wrong tree all along. The Army was only a portion of a great threat that aimed to annihilate the Great Nations, to bring them to their knees before slaughtering them like meek lambs. An alliance to annihilate the Five Great Shinobi Nations. At this organisation's heart lay a master puppeteer, a genuine mastermind when it came to pulling strings; a ruler within the shadows. Of course, to combat the Shadow, one needed Light. The remaining Great Nations sent their representative in the form of a reputed warrior, already a legend of the previous generation. Shinzui Uchiha had acted on behalf of his fellow Kage and sent forth Densetsu, on a mission of the highest importance; to hunt down and locate this true Demon and swing the odds back in the favour of the Nations after mortifying, shocking losses. Densetsu's involvement had already yielded massive results, he had hunted down the Shadow doggedly, his vast search confirming many important new facts—that the target was a man and most importantly one who was not associated with any of the major organisations in the Alliance, he was a lone wolf, with motives impossible to discern. Which made it all the more disturbing as he had proven himself to be a fearsome leader, apparently planning the fall of Iwa and Kumo to flawless perfection. The Great Nations had sent a lone wolf, to hunt down another lone wolf. A celebrated genius taking on a masterful, cunning manipulator of the shadows. Densetsu marched out into the desert now as a cloaked figure exiting the city. His mask snapped back on with a hiss, as his tall, slender frame strode with stoic, albeit malignant grace through the empty streets. The citizens cowered indoors, admiring the man with a respectful hint of fear, though his recent actions convinced them thoroughly that he was on their side. All the way up the street, two headless bodies lay in huge pool of blood, with vibrant shades of red splashed on the nearby buildings. The severed heads of these two bodies lay metres away, shockingly they were alive, but the words that escaped their mouths were incomprehensible. Understandable as their tongues had been melted. The flames of Densetsu had neutralised the foul tongues of the Jashinists. He marched into the vast desert calmly, until the city disappeared from view. That was when he sensed it. A chakra signature that wasn't supposed to exist. "Impossible..." He muttered, his voice escaping from the mask in a mechanical tone. His cloak danced erratically in the wind, as his grey ponytail danced along to the tune of the warm winds; poking out of his fully masked face. His hand slipped downwards to his belt, stroking the kunai that was strapped to it, as his Sharingan burned into existence behind his polarised eyepieces. It was always a bad omen when the dead came knocking. "Yes, his entire existence must be eliminated from this world. Let us punish him for he is a nuisance." the demonic being responded. Not interested in Shenron's true intentions but a meal to fill his belly. The Maju would disappear, not interested in participating in such a vulgar act. Upon seeing the weapon materialise and rocket towards him, Densetsu crouched, his two palms smacking into the ground. In an instant he seemed to fade away and reappear further behind, before the blade landed, still in a crouch. As Shenron materialised into existence, Densetsu knew his eyes weren't playing tricks. His brows tensed downwards, highlighting a staunch determination in his eyes, which the other man wouldn't detect by sight. But maybe he would feel it in the air. "Shenron Uzumaki," Densetsu stated, one hand pressing against his knee as he stood up slowly, "fancy seeing you here, intercepting my path without any forewarning." Densetsu's somewhat casual words betrayed the grave nature of the thoughts that flowed through his mind. "Shenron has always been a detached individual, he never cared for anything except for the safety of Uzushiogakure." Densetsu's mind spoke, as he eyed Shenron, "Supposedly dead for years, it wouldn't be mere coincidence run into him in a place like this, at a time like this; with an edgy tone such as that." His eyes narrowed, as the only rational explanation was that Shenron was standing in his way. Helping the opposing Alliance. Yes, it made sense now, the Alliance would have finally caught onto Densetsu's sniffing and had probably sent the Red Haired Mage to stop him in his tracks. "But how would someone like Shenron bow submissively in such a docile manner to an ambitious group like that? How would his ego allow it? Could he be the one behind this? But no, he'd never been the sort to engage in something this actively, he did afterall forge the strong relations between Uzushio and Konoha all those years back. So what, what is his role in this?" His thoughts however did not matter and he knew it. Each question opened up bigger holes in the picture, each thought clashed with the other, he'd have to sidetrack them to focus on the task at hand. There were simply too many disrespectancies that could affect his concentration. "I'm on official military business Shenron, and I'll assume that you're on official business as well." He stated firmly, hinting strongly that he was thoroughly convinced of the Uzumaki's involvement with the Alliance. "So no, I did not come here just to talk, but I'll ask you one simple question," Densetsu's voice turned serious, lowering by one octave. "What the hell are you doing, working with them?" He asked, somewhat snarling as the words escaped through gnashed teeth. His hand curled around the hilt of the custom made kunai, still hooked to his belt as the winds howled behind the two men. His Sharingan spun and rotated, magnifying Shenron's chakra, which was rapidly darkening. His Killing Intent revealed even more to Densetsu, informing the Uchiha that something had gone terribly awry inside the Uzumaki, a sight which would surely make an average ninja stand paralysed in fear of impending death, but a sight that reflected off beings like Densetsu, who had cheated death hundreds of times. Chakra began to leak through the pores of Densetsu's skin, sticking onto him like an extra layer of clothing; clearly visible to those with perception of chakra. "So thats how its gonna be eh, for a moment there I actually thought we could go back to how it used to be but it seem you are gonna go back to neglecting me. If only you accepted me and my presence, and take me as a partner you would achieve the almighty position you seek. You are truly worst than shinobi, a true mongrel." Death spoke, disgusted by Shenron's ungodly acts. "You will go through eternal suffering until you simply understand, I am your purpose, you need me to succeed.". Turning, The Shinigami began to walk back towards where they came from, dramatically vanishing. Densetsu's scowl deepened with every passing movement Shenron made, anticipating that inevitable moment where the first move would be made. A split second would be all it would take for a misstep, or an opportunity. Such was the magnitude of his opponent's power. Upon hearing Shenron's response, Densetsu chuckled. "My, my, ever the nonchalant one." He whispered. "You work alone, you bring out the possibility that I'm suspecting your involvement to be at the pinnacle..." Densetsu trailed off before raising his head again, his right index finger pointing forward, locking onto Shenron. "That was an absolutely lovely revelation, leader of the Alliance." Densetsu said, without a doubt, without any hesitation. He was shocked, but he didn't show it; the revelation was absolutely spot on. Densetsu had tried to approach Shenron's involvement from different angles, suspecting he could be the leader, but trying to find a more viable alternative—a hired gun, for example. But upon Shenron openly stating his discomfort with his name popping up often and that he believed Densetsu to be hunting him him as a leader of this organisation, put Shenron's spot in this whole labyrinth into a clear perspective. The only thing left was to deduce the desire and reason behind this motive filled to the brim with destruction. That was the part that didn't fit now, as Densetsu had solved the case; but not recovered its' spine. But the spine was the most important element in this twisted web; Densetsu would have to fight this one. The projectiles manifested upon Shenron's summoning, fitting into his palms, but combined with his peak reaction time, Densetsu's Sharingan perceived these moments in slow motion. As the muscles in Shenron's fingers tensed and his brow curved the slightest bit downwards, the thoughts were already streaming through Densetsu's mind at immense speed, unnatural to human beings—a gift etched into his innate intelligence as well, preparing his body to react adequately. "That teleportation technique he used earlier, it involved his sword first. Definitely the Flying Thunder God. If he's got shuriken aimed in my direction, it would be fair to assume they're all marked as well, so if I simply dodge or parry, he'd cut me down like a lawnmower in Spring, instantaneously." Densetsu saw the next move before the Shuriken had even reached the midpoint between the duo, Shenron's legs tensing, indicating he was going to make a shockingly direct assault. "Pincer move, eh?" In what seemed to be a microsecond everything transpired, Shenron appeared behind him, unleashing a torrent of massive flames—which attacked nothing but air. With a well timed burst of speed, the Uchiha had taken care to time this move to perfection, his limbs not even rustling as they fired a projectile from his pouch simultaneously as he moved, generating intense momentum due to the speed injected behind it. While unleashing his flames, Shenron would notice three explosive tags lying on the ground where Densetsu had stood, before the kunai whizzed at high speed towards him, exploding in a shower of light around Shenron as the explosive tags detonated simultaneously at the command of Densetsu's hand sign. But now, the time for games was over. Immediately upon stopping, the Uchiha's feet skidded across the desert floor, sending sand flying in the air. The chakra on his body switched form, turning his body into a ferocious embodiment of flame, as Densetsu released a surge of chakra around him, a lethal burner to those who got too close. "That pincer move was direct as hell. He moved as though he knew what I would do next. Would that even be possible?" Densetsu thought, this being the reason why he had made the uncharacteristic vertical sideways dash; while he usually would have evaded the projectiles manually and stayed directly in front of Shenron; instead of evading sideways. "This guy...let's just say I'll have to take the impossible into consideration then..." His thoughts trailed off. As he created a wall of flames between the two shinobi, Shenron never lost sight of of the Human Torch. His quick reflexes were not a surprise, for his speed was tested the moment the two were in striking distance. Watching as the man dashed to the side, the Gorosei stop spitting his magnificent flames. The little present left in Densetsu place, would have been a threat, but the massive fire barrier would protect the Missing-nin from such an attack, so he simply ignored it. "Explosive tags, in such a high caliber battle, meanin-" at that moment, Shenron's third eye would pick up on Densetsu's movements, as he launched a kunai towards him. "No chakra remnants on the kunai, why would he send such an attack." in the brink of time, thanks to his low latent inhibition, Shenron picked up on the little ball that was attached to the kunai, "Flash-Bomb" he mummbled, sealing his eyes from the blinding light. A series of explosions would take place at that exact moment, leaving a deafening sound, hindering both his sight and hearing. Forced to react without either eyes or his ears, Shenron relied on his other senses to monitor his opponent and dodge the kunai. Based on the information he had gathered earlier; the trajectory of the kunai, and the direction the wind was blowing, he was able to deduce where the kunai was aimed at. Initially facing directly towards the kunai, Shenron began to rotate his body towards the left, while leaning backwards. Raising his right hand with his palm open, the Red-haired Demon reached out for the kunai. With precise estimates and a little bit of luck, the kunai passed by his palm, slicing the outer layer of his palm, telling him it was time grab. The entire counter took about a second, only leaving him such a small gap to counter it. The cut would heal before even a drop of blood would be spilt, now it was his turn. Densetsu being visually impaired due to his own attack, and unable to use his sharingan eyes to sense Shenron's chakra because of the chakra influenced smoke covering the area due to the collision between the two shinobi attacks, Shenron took advantage of this moment. With momentum on his side, Shenron never stopped spinning. Rotating a great speeds, the sand of the desert began elevate, being caught by the Uzumaki's wind manipulation. Within the timeframe of a second, sand would cover Shenron's entire body. "Let's try this again" he thought, holding breath. With the bright light fading and the smoke clearing, sand would ally with the air, creating a sand mist. Punishing the eyes of those who dared to see, the sand served a great defense. Suddenly current's of sand encoated wind would be launched towards Densetsu. "Heee.." Came a rather creepy giggle from Densetsu as the flash bomb detonated and the clear silhouette of Shenron's reacted to the kunai. Despite the blinding light, his mask had been specifically designed to counter the weaknesses of Sharingan; heavily polarised on the outside to prevent flashes of blinding light, or any great exposure of light, shielding his eyes from damage and giving his eyes the edge in a pinch. But nevertheless, Densetsu had the spirit of a teenage broadway actress, raising his arms upwards to supposedly shield himself from the light; a ruse the blinded Shenron wouldn't and logically couldn't see through, leaving a tiny gap between his arms to observe proceedings. Then he noticed it...his eyes peered through the smoke to latch onto Shenron's specific chakra, his body, as he summoned the sand to do his bidding. The status of Shukaku was sill such that it didn't possess a Jinchūriki at the moment, so Densetsu theorised instantly that this was his Wind Release in action. "The question is, how would Densetsu normally respond to an attack like this? That course of action I'd usually undertake would be the outcome he could expect, if he has somehow gained understanding over my move set like I hypothesise," Densetsu thought, but another chuckle popped out, coupled with a grin behind the mask as the sand approached. "A further question, how would a Densetsu blinded just seconds ago, react to a 'shock' attack of this magnitude? No matter," he thought, as two concentrated superheated balls of fiery chakra shaped in his palms, which he pointed at the oncoming sandstorm. The grin widened, "The perks of being randomised are such that even understanding cannot defend against it!". Through the chakra infused Sand, his eyes detected a faint glint as the sun reflected off it. "You cheeky bastard!" He exclaimed in excited admiration, noticing Shenron had actually slipped in kunai into the mix; possibly to corner him and overload him with the Flying Thunder God. But a grin spread behind that mask as the two spheres of fire blasted out of his palms, intercepting the oncoming attack halfway between Shenron's last position and Densetsu's position, as the flames spread fuelled by the winds, spanning Shenron's entire attack in what seemed to be a second—or less. The intense heat of the flames also spread together with the firestorm, completely engulfing the sand attack and subjugating it to Densetsu's pyrokinesis, shockingly melting every possible projectile in this cunning concoction of Shenron's. Raising his hands to the heavens, this intense firestorm followed his wishes, rising up to the skies as it swirled viciously in a wide radius away from, but around him: just as a massive explosion apparently initiated by Shenron occurred simultaneously in the inferno. However despite the magnitude of the blast, it was just out of potentially dangerous reach as the Uchiha had propelled the attack away from him just in time. "Now the counterattack," he whispered, the grin fading away as his muscles tensed, bidding the swirling, floating sea of flames to move again—effectively now an extension of his Fire Release manipulation. With a clenched fist, the flames spread in every surrounding direction like a searing, visible heatwave; designed to draw Shenron (who had craftily sped away in the ensuing chaos) out of hiding. The intense heat would inflict nasty burns to anyone caught too close, even if they weren't in direct contact with the flames, as the Uchiha increased the heat output of his own cloak, ensuring a bubble of intense heat stayed around him to discourage a shock counterattack. "That explosion Shenron had generated earlier would have ended me if I had truly been blinded, but for my own safety, I'm gonna have to assume he's got something even worse up his sleeve than that, and fight accordingly. Maybe it's a matter of time before he finds out how advantageous the mask actually is, but based on his previous movements, he must have overlooked it." His head whispered. The Human Torch, the title is well deserved. Densetsu's fire manipulation is a force that cannot be ignored, it is truly catastrophic. Not only encoating his own body is mighty flame armor, but creating a storm of pyro that can severely burn anyone. By using the environment and Shenron's own attack to his advantage, he created an offensive and defensive technique, truly outstanding. But criminal is crafty as well, which is what makes this battle truly legendary. The storm of flames protected Densetsu from Shenron's initial attack but aided the follow-up. The wind currents that were supposed to mask the kunai, would only be a great conductor of heat causing the metal to melt. The pyro would continue to chip at it, completely burning the metal until there was literally nothing was left, yet this was no problem. As Densetsu may have specified earlier, these blades were marked unique script. Just because its first medium would fade, doesn't mean the seal will fail to exist as well. The moment the metal would touch the sand, the seals would find a new medium in the sand. Once again Shenron would recognize the sand as an ally. "Play time is over, time to step it up" Using his memories of the Shukaku as a guide, the next combo will resemble the abilities of the jinchuuriki of the Shukaku. By manipulating the earth and wind natures, Shenron gained the ability to manipulate the sand. Using this ability, he would create a pyramid of chakra enhanced sand. This pyramid was massive large enough to not only cover the storm but the entire section of the desert. Unlike previous users of this technique, it was not wielded by a true master of seals. By using the seals that remained unawakened on the sand, Shenron would enhance the techniques capabilities. The two more notable seals aiding the jutsu were the Chakra Draining Seal and the Fūinjutsu Trap. The flames would prove useless against the sand, for they were chakra generated. While the other seal would hopefully keep Densetsu at bay for enough time to prepare his next attack. "Well then," Densetsu snarled as he felt Shenron's chakra seep into the surrounding sands, seemingly covering the whole desert, shockingly, as though he was preparing the lift all the hand and hurl it at Densetsu. Hurl it. Densetsu's eyes widened as his mind froze, "Oh shit, here we go again!" The voice in his mind screamed out, as the sands rose up to the heavens around him, threatening to entomb him in some lunatic device of torture; but while the ordinary mind would panic and find some way to stop this threat, bucket loads of experience and the cunning of a weathered warrior whispered softly to Densetsu's mind, telling him that the best ways to survive were sometimes just to run. With a grin, Densetsu gathered his flames underneath his feet at the very instant the sands stared to rise, blasting upwards with the thrust of his Cloak at vicious speeds the sand could not match even at lesser amounts, let alone for this huge forming pyramid. Rocketing into freedom, the Uchiha spread his arms out as he shot like a bullet into the open skies, completing the manoeuvre with a graceful backflip as the pyramid finally formed, below him. Of course, the Uchiha propelled himself further away from this huge creation, seeking to distance himself from whatever monstrous plaything Shenron had crafted to bring woe unto him, but he caught sight of a figure all the way at the bottom, burrowing out of the sand. Shenron himself. Behind the flame coated mask, Densetsu's Sharingan spun, its insight providing Densetsu an extra window into the thoughts of the Red Haired Genius soul, as even from this distance, the Blessed Eyes enabled him to catch every detail, every minor movement as if it were so much closer up. Yes, the Sharingan enabled him to read Shenron's lips, and to realise that this individual was ironically moulding his body's energies through language. Densetsu caught each word, eventhough his ears would hear nothing, the Eyes of Insight making these seemingly bullet train laden gibberish clear as day. Shenron's sensory would have picked up Densetsu long by then, evident by his he pulled himself out, blade in hand. But Densetsu had already deduced a great deal of other possibilities. "My turn." He sniggered. With a simple two fingered salute, Densetsu blasted towards the north west, away from this gigantic desert turned pyramid at insane speeds granted to him by the Cloak's pyrokinesis as he rocketed into the horizon. Fighting in the desert would be useless, he knew it. Densetsu had sensed remnants of Shenron's chakra before the pyramid had started forming, in his firestorm. Of course, it stated the fairly obvious. Somehow, Shenron's seals had withstood the thermal assault; and the only other place they could have gone was the sand. Though he had nothing to base this thought on, it was terrifying enough if the entire sand were to be littered with the Flying Thunder God markings of an enemy, Densetsu of all people ironically knew this all too well. The pyramid had been another cause for concern. Given Shenron's proclivity for explosive encounters (as Densetsu decided to christen it), Densetsu was willing to bet that the pyramid held some place in his plans, and a pyramid the size of the desert was not something Densetsu was comfortable with taking on, especially with an enemy with such dangerous cunning. The last piece of deductive reasoning Densetsu had employed also suggested that, contrary to his initial belief, it now seemed that Shenron was actually truly manipulating sand itself. That amount of sand being conjured up so quickly could not have been achieved by simply swirling Wind Currents alone. Somehow, by means unknown, Shenron could now manipulate sand. But that would have to wait, as Densetsu guided the battle to a more comfortable area—the outskirts if a nearby city, much further from the pyramid desert, and now, Densetsu would go on the offensive, blasting ahead at high speed through the heated air. Another exertion of Shenron's chakra alerted Densetsu again, this time sensing it further behind in the clouds, approaching him from behind, as the weather began to change. Deactivating the cloak briefly, he landed on the caked surface ahead, as he released his protective layer of sticky liquid which always lay beneath the layer of chakra that formed his Cloak, a precaution most necessary at the moment, his skin emitting a new layer as he transformed his chakra into the sticky substance. As the clouds began to form above him again, he blasted off in the opposite direction, utilising his chakra to aid with this devilish gain in pure momentum, as he sped through the fading desert's floors, the skies behind him ever darkening and pouring continuously. A barely traceable blur as he propelled himself through the ever greening lands, Densetsu had seen this coming; an attempt to neutralise the Cloak with Water, he just hadn't seen it coming this way. "Not coming are you? I'll just run until you have no choice," Densetsu mused, a grin appearing behind my mask. It was a rather well known fact that heat was a deciding factor behind the formation of cumulonimbus clouds, which automatically led to potential thunderstorms and other impediments hazardous to the Uchiha's fiery armour. Moisture, enemy number one of Densetsu's Fire Release. Coupled with the Wind manipulation and Fūinjutsu capability of his enemy, getting caught up in that rainy mess was not in Densetsu's priority list. "But hey, let's let the sun shine where I tread!" Densetsu popped out cheerily, creating two shadow clones that dashed off towards the east and west, as both activated their Cloaks instantly. "By all means, if my heat brings all the clouds to the yard, I'll share 'em with my neighbours!" Densetsu cheerily stated in his mind. The concept was simple, and as usual it involved minimal chakra loss—as shadow clones always lovingly returned to their masters. Stretching out Shenron's technique with not one, but two false tracks, drawing more clouds where the two Fiery Clones would be, encouraging cloud formation and forcing the artificially created rain to fall there as well. The real Densetsu would utilise his own incredible natural speed to continue the journey away, hitting a new area as soon as he could, to successfully disable Shenron's home advantage. If running was a game, the Uchiha would be glad to play it any day. When out of range of Shenron's chakra infused clouds, he could easily deactivate his a Cloak at any time. Running from cumulonimbus clouds which were rather slow as well would prove to be no problem for the well reputed speed demon. Upon leaving the clouds far behind him, he twirled around, dissipating his clones and seating himself on the grassy surface of his own chosen environment, as the silhouettes of buildings signalling a city looked behind him. As he waited on the ground, a sly smile emerged behind the snarling monkey print, etched on his mask. In a way, he had been able to save immense amounts of chakra, having maintained a staunch defence centred around evasion and environmental utilisation. This alone gave him a titanic boost when he decided that the time would be right to launch the offensive. Of course, the previous salvos of attack and evade had given Densetsu a very wide understanding of Shenron's abilities so far, the a Uchiha having analysed his opponent carefully while surviving their vicious exchanges. Cracking his knuckles, he calmly cleared his mind while sitting on the grass, allowing his sensory perception to track any other move his opponent would attempt to make, letting the silence take over. Placing his palm onto the ground, he waited. Closing his eyes, different possible scenarios began to play out in his head. The rain gave him the relief he needed to carefully enter his Mind Palace, which was quite necessary at this point. As Densetsu made his first stop; summoning two clones to try and distract him from the prize. Shenron simply dismissed them, theorizing Densetsu only wanted them to "distract" nothing more. As the real Uchiha continued towards a new terrain, Shenron sat down, in a Sanskrit position. "If he wants to keep his distance, fine by me. I've been dying to test this out." At that moment, a new energy would surround Shenron's body. Suddenly markings would flow all over the God of Fūinjutsu's body, and much of the sand near him. This technique was suppose to be a seal designed for his son, Kenpachi, a shinobi who specializes in long-distance combat. With some slight modifications, Shenron made a seal that compliments his own abilities. "This is Death's Playground, my playground." he smirked. Both men required silence, monitoring one another. Yet, Shenron believed he had the upper hand when it came to sensory and sneak attacks, due to the facts Densetsu only has one method of sensing and it is also limited. Densetsu sense of chakra could not match Shenron's. Creating distance may have been appropriate at that moment but now it'll aid Shenron. It was very unlikely that Densetsu's sensory capabilities were able to target one farther than a mile. "You know what do." a voice uttered, in the back of Shenron's head. Calm filled Densetsu as he felt the very energy of the world around him seep into his body, just at the simple touch of the ground. The grass spoke to him, as did the earth and the beings that dwelt within it, the wind and even the Sun; the glorious giver of life. Spiritually the Uchiha and nature had been linked, as his already fearsome abilities were pushed up to unimaginable extremes. But while he was focusing on this deed, he had bitten his thumbs, drawing symbols of blood around his arms, neck and legs; the initiation of the Sage, clapping his hands together as his eyes opened. Orange markings surrounded his Yellow eyes gleaming behind that mask, the pattern of three tomoe in them—forming a version of Sharingan enhanced by Senjutsu. The perfect Sage Mode. His calmness had yielded him the ultimate augmentation to his physical and spiritual abilities, enhancing them beyond levels to be described as wild; and now he could feel the tiny fluctuations of chakra in the air, as Shenron's distant chakra got closer and closer and closer...and then the attack came, a sharpened spear forged from the earth itself. It pierced him straight in the stomach, with him barely moving, palms still joined together like a young child in a shrine. But as Shenron arrived, bellowing, he would bear witness to the trick, as 'Densetsu' exploded in a puff of smoke, revealing itself to be a a simple log with a lone explosive tag attached; blasting immediately and sending the structure splitting into thousands of pieces of little debris. Shenron wouldn't have time to curse this basic Academy grade trick as a vicious, bright orange blur emerged next to him around his periphery vision, cutting into his path as a massive flamethrower erupted from behind him, setting the ground ahead of him ablaze in vicious fury covering a shocking surface area; the heat would only be described as incredible. Densetsu was already behind him, his sensory having been enhanced tenfold thanks to Senjutsu, hands still joined together; forming flames from a small opening in the mask which was as retractable as his visors were. The flames cut the Red Haired Uzumaki's linear line of movement; and if he didn't slow himself down, he'd be roasted to a delicious crisp the moment the Senjutsu enhanced flames licked his skin. The briefest look at the Red Haired man told Densetsu that just like him, Shenron had undergone some sort of power up. Had Densetsu not resorted to absorbing nature energy, he wouldn't have sensed Shenron's incoming at time; and evading the diversionary attack would have set him up easily for the incoming Shenron's attack—which could have potentially ended him immediately. But Sage Mode was a terrifying ally which Densetsu had grown to love even more than the much exalted visual prowess he'd inherited from the Uchiha clan, and it granted many more advantages where versatility was concerned. He'd need the upgrades to keep up with Shenron's new form; which already obviously granted him incredible speed, possibly strength as well. Maybe even more, considering how flashy it looked. These possibilities ran through Densetsu's mind, so he approached the situation from his typical cunning perspective as a copy of himself poofed into existence while the fire attack was launched. "I actually thought you weren't going to come!" Densetsu's clone sarcastically remarked, "You really shouldn't keep your elders waiting forever, it's distasteful," it snorted behind its mask audibly, addressing the God of Fūinjutsu as the situation transpired. Seeing Densetsu pierced by his technique so easily, Shenron instantly knew something was up. Stopping, Densetsu would be switched for a log with tags attached. "This is it" he thought. Using the wings to form a ball-like construct to protect himself, he found himself inside a sphere of flames. Protecting himself from the explosive tags, Shenron was more focused on locating the real Densetsu. After managing to sense Densetsu behind him, it was time to initiate his counter attack. The real Shenron seated, about a mile away smirked. "Check". What was sent towards Densetsu was nothing more than a clone. The markings on his body, was a transcription seal with a massive orb was sealed inside. The purpose of the clone was to simply get close enough to Densetsu to release such a massive explosion. The clone was nothing more than a suicide bomber, this was a kamikaze attack. The moment Densetsu summoned his clone, the clone would detonate, creating a massive sphere of devastating chakra that would cover a radius about the radius of a village. With no knowledge of the attack, and with little preparation, the odds Densetsu dodging such a large scale attack, at such close-range was very low. Despite it looking as though they'd been had, Densetsu's clones smile never wavered. It held its palms forward as the suicide bombing clone revealed its true form—a larger variant of the attack Shenron had thrown at him earlier; a special type of kunai was floating in the space between the clones palms. "It's just as we thought," the clone muttered as a giant sealing formula appeared, encapsulating the now detonating decoy and shielding the duo from the blast. Densetsu nodded at his counterpart's statement, as the entire attack disappeared, momentarily sealed into the kunai while awaiting redirection. It was now his turn to smirk, as he finally un-clasped his palms, his right hand fluttering through his belt as he whipped around, launching a Fūinjutsu marked kunai like a javelin—which coupled with his massively enhanced strength, flew like a rocket as it whipped through the skies at eye popping speed; just before a huge puff of smoke emerged, clouding Densetsu. Literally two seconds later, the vicious blast reappeared in the air, scattering the nearby clouds in a truly deafening explosion. Shenron's habitual trait of transcription seal usage had not gone unnoticed by the Uchiha, especially considering that he had used them so early on in the fight. Densetsu had long since taken the obvious hint—any seal Shenron brought forth could probably be the holster to a weapon, so it was only fair to take such markings into strict consideration as a threat. As this clone had been marked so heavily it was on the border of being tattooed, Densetsu had estimated a forty five percent chance of it being a trap, the other fifty five percent leaning towards the possibility of a direct legitimate attack. But forty five had warranted cause for concern nevertheless. What Shenron had seriously overlooked was Densetsu's sensory range, and as long as he didn't know the full range of the Uchiha's sensing—he was at a disadvantage. And Densetsu knew this. After all, Naruto Uzumaki a shinobi with no sensory abilities, gained the ability to sense the signatures of the entire village of Konohagakure with Sage Mode. For a natural sensor type like Densetsu, sage mode enhancements ensured that Shenron was very well within his large detection range. With his sensory having boosted, Densetsu had realised that one copy had stayed behind; either a clone or the real deal. A genuine fifty fifty. However this had been enough for the Uchiha to deduce all in all, that Shenron was attempting a dupe—some dangerous trick on the level of the previous explosion and pyramid. Hence he had played along as well. The fact that Shenron cockily stayed far away and allowed Densetsu time to catch distance proved the point that his sensory abilities were far superior naturally to Densetsu's, and he probably had different types of sensory as well. In the advanced form he had demonstrated against Densetsu, the Uchiha brought forward the possibility that the original had undergone augmentation as well. Hence, Densetsu had elaborately taken pains to attack as though he would attack the original, demonstrating key speed and even a Senjutsu attack to maintain the illusion of reality; an attempt to goad his enemy forth, while also testing a certain...hypothesis. After attacking his opponent twice already, Densetsu had confirmed this hypothesis, and it's execution would be no problem. Analysing Shenron's movement, Densetsu had concocted a suitable response for that. He was also pleased to observe that Shenron hadn't caught wind of this. He wouldn't see it coming, then. "Exactly as we thought." Densetsu finished, as the smoke dissipated, revealing two toads on his shoulders. Shima and Fukasaku, the revered Toad Sages of Mount Myoboku, and old friends of the Uchiha since his childhood, had now arrived. But before a word could be uttered by them, Densetsu's clone donned its armor of flame and blasted off into the opposite direction, where Shenron's signature resonated, screeching through the skies at high speeds. Densetsu moved away from this scene, wary of any transcriptions to transcriptions that that fiendish, cunning Uzumaki would try to conjure up, while creating yet another clone, which sprang off in a different direction. As the two toads bickered while he himself moved in an arc around the greenery, he informed them of the situation, and his next plan of action, his fingers forming hand signs for a Summoning Technique. The clone in the meantime streaked straight for Shenron, covering the one mile between them with such speed that it seemed as though it were a mere dozen meters, blasting through the skies over him as it rained rounds of fire upon the Uzumaki from its palms, repetitively pummelling the ground around him with superheated blasts from its palms. Even if Shenron could evade the blasts, the heat would be a problem; it wouldn't stick to his skin and make him sweat— it'd melt his skin and make him wax. "What did I miss, there had to be something. He could not have had a flawless battle." he thought going through their battle to uncover any mistakes, weaknesses, ideas even. "The key to success, the key to success." he mumbled, believing that there had to something to uncover, going through his memories in his mind palace. "Densetsu......Uchiha...." Now going deeper than just the battle, Shenron would call upon the memories of the countless souls suspended in his belly once more to find his answer. Veins began to appeared on his temporal lobes as well on his forehead. The pain he was enduring could be compared to being stabbed over and over again slowly. A migraine could not even be compared to what he was feeling at this moment. Despite all of this, he maintained a straight face, not moving an inch. He was determined to uncover the true mysteries of Densetsu. "....The Boy With Deadly Eyes...." he whispered, as he continued on his inner voyage. Densetsu had already made his next move, bring about two clones in their signature armor, blasting away. One of them headed in the obvious direction while the other was...uncertain. The six clones the Red-Haired Reaper summoned earlier bickered, trying to decide what to do. Unaware of the boost provided by the senjutsu chakra. The clones would be caught off guard by the series of attack heading their. Each clone took a different position, only concerned about the real Shenron and themself, failure was almost certain. Right as the attacks were close enough to deal damage, a barrier would be activated on each and every clone as well as the real one. Each clone slowly shifted their attention towards their creator, "Are you just gonna stand there like imbusles." he spoke, slowly standing up with his eyes yet to be opened. One the Shogūn's mark, they all commenced the counter attack. They split into two groups of three. The strategy was simple, two would head toward the target as one stayed behind. Protected by their barriers they were not concerned about the heat. The one that stayed behind began to use a more advance version of the rain he used earlier. Taking the soul of a hunter-nin Shenron acquired the technique known as Secret Technique: Mist Rain. Not only cooling his armor but absorbing it. The clones would strike the false Densetsu down. The fate would most likely occur in the other group. High up in the sky, covered by the clouds cover was a blade: one of the two which the clone was holding. Each of the two blades possesses a unique ability, one was the blade of the phoenix while the other...(pause). Protected by the barrier of chakra absorption, the blade was able withstand and now complete its task. Designed to recover Densetsu post-mortem, would have another task. Activating another transcription seal, but this one was little bit more deadly. A barrier based on the secret Izanagi technique, would take effect. Slowly undoing catastrophic explosion, within a matter of seconds the clone wield two blades yet to be detonated along with a kunai. Appearing next to the clone, Shenron dispersed it to gain some chakra. Not suppose to use the seal with hi sown reserves, Shenron was completely drained, exhausted even, even with his extraordinary reserves. Reaching to his pocket, he pulled out a pill, replenishing his chakra once he swallowed it. Grabbing Densetsu's unique kunai, he smirked. "Gotcha" he said, activating two seals while awakening his complete sage state.
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