| abstract | - Akurei Ohaka stood alone, for he didn't need allies. Before him, was a land known as Small King's Canyon close to the village of Gingagakure. He was close to the village, a dangerous place to be while preforming this dangerous task. The Grave Eater was covered in a cloak, every part of his pale body hidden from sight. He couldn't be seen here, and he couldn't risk the wrath of a Kage, even if he was on par with the strongest. He couldn't risk a war, not when he was still working on his magnum opus. Below him the earth was alive with Corpse Worms, burrowing through the miles of canyon, searching for the tomb of the deceased Uchiha. He was so close... The power of the Uchiha would soon be his, but there was the threat of the Kage who ruled this land. Finally, the ground next to him opened, and from the depths appeared a worm, opening its mouth wide. From the depths of its mouth released a coffin, prestine and well crafted. This was the corpse he had been searching for... The corpse of Yorinori Uchiha. "I found it..." Akurei said, a coffin falling from his robes, ready to hold the body in a much safer case. "I have found it..." Akurei said, placing the body into his own coffin for transportation. Now all that remained was the task of escaping before the Kage arrived. Yoshitsune Uchiha was deep in the heart of the Small King's Canyon, doing his daily routine. Like the day before, and the day before that and so on, he was visiting the grave of his brother. On a knee he knelt to the grave. "I am sorry, I am so sorry that this had to happen. I wish... I wish we could have been closer. Wait for me in heaven, it is there that we will become brothers." Yoshitsune cried. Getting up as he knew he ha work to do he began to walk away by the ground beneath him collapsed. "What is this!?" yelled the Uchiha as he shifted through the dirt, revealing the missing coffin. Yoshitsune's face became a scowl. "Of all the grave robbers, an idiot decides to rob of my family!" yelled Yoshitsune into the air. Rembering the guests he had recently, he quickly figured out the culprit. Summoning twenty crows, he sent them all in different directions before one finally showed came back and gave Yoshitsune the location of the target. Using the Body Flicker Technique, Yoshitsune appeared before Akurei in a mere few seconds. "What have you done! I greeted you, even allowed you to stay here despite knowing the things you have done. This is how you show thanks? By stealing my brother's body!?" Yoshitsine yelled at the man who stood taller, but showed absolutely no fear as his scowl grew worse as he yelled. Yoshitsune saw the open coffin and the one held by the man, Yoshitsune's anger made the atmosphere grow dense, if a chūnin or even a jōnin stood by they would be knocked out by the sheer Killing Intent filled the air. Slinging the coffin of Yorinori over his shoulder, Akurei turned to Yoshitsune. He didn't falter beneath the Kage's killing aura, for he had been bathed in death from a young age. He had incurred much wrath in his life, and Yoshitsune's was nothing new. "Uchiha, I thank you for your kindness but I already decided over a lifetime ago that I would deal with whatever hate I drew in my pursuit. I apologize that I must do this to your brother, but think of it this way. Have you ever wanted to bring him back, and apologize for what you did? I can make that happen." Akurei said, shrugging beneath his large cloak. He seemed to shrink as he spoke, his face hidden from sight. His voice shifted as he spoke, taking on a much different tone. It was obvious that he was shifting into the form of one of his more combat suitable forms. "So... Do you want to talk this out? Or shall we be fighting for the right to claim the dead?" "My brother is dead. We have notify to try to reclaim which now belongs to the divine. Put my brother back in his coffin and this can all end now." Yoshitsune said as his Sharingan activated. "I would love to aplogize to my brother for what happened, but that must happen when we are on equal terms. When we are on equal terms is when I am dead as well." said Yoshitsune, waiting for Akurei's response. "Why do so many see dying as a noble thing? Death is a great equalizer, but equality was never in the grand scheme of things to begin with." Akurei muttered, more to himself than to Yoshitsune. It was clear now that he couldn't get what he wanted without some bloodshed, and to give up Yorinori's corpse would probably result in making the task all the harder later on. No... He had no choice but to fight and if Yoshitsune was 'equalized' in the process then it was nothing off Akurei's shoulder. His hands slid deeper into his cloak, and unseen beneath the heavy fabric, he formed a handseal. The earth cracked and split, and from the depths erupted a small forest of trees. Trees from in front, trees from behind, and trees from below. All of which shot upwards like someone had hit the fast forwards button on time itself. And from the impact of the trees breaking the ground, Akurei's hood fell away... Revealing the cold, emotionless face of the first Hokage. Hashirama Senju "Wood Release? I assume you took this from the great Hashirama rather than Yamato, a Zetsu, or one of the Shima clan members." Yoshitsune said, unable to see the face of his opposer. Yoshitsune was able to jump from tree to tree, easily avoiding being harmed. "Death is not noble per say, rather a conclusion. Life must end, and life is not a thing were an epilouge is needed." Yoshitsune said as his eyes changed to the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. "Though I don't want to use it yet, this forest is of his design. I must take precautions." Yoshitsune mumbled as he made a small ball of black fire that separated into ten flames. Yoshitsune then scattered the flames, all of them easily burning through the wood to reach a location. "I can now move to where ever I need in a moment." said Yoshitsune as he climbed to the top of one tree. "So tell me, why do you want the dead body? To take powers from him? I have his eyes, and if you can somehow replicate his powers from before then tell me. How would you avoid the blindness?" "Oh, but I enjoy a story that doesn't end, where the climax isn't the end. Where the story builds until it becomes a complex web. There are few stories that can pull off a satisfying conclusion." Akurei retorted. "But that is probably a difference in perspective." Akurei replied, forming another handseal as the wave of trees surged towards Yoshitsune again, this time more tightly wound together to keep him from casually jumping away like he had before. Before the trees could form the mighter mass, Yoshitsune detected the move in chakra and teleported to one of the ten flames that had settled outside the forest. "Life isn't one of those stories. Immortality is a pathetic dream that the weak cling to in hopes of gaining respect and fear. The Sage of the Six Paths, Madara Uchiha, and Hashirama Senju are all examples of this, death comes to even the most powerful of beings. Many supposed "immortals" have died time and time again. As shinobi we fight, and we die to finally rest. In that rest we watch our friends and family perservere and continue in life until they, like us, die and join us in rest. We continue watching their children, their children's children, and so on until a time finally comes were all this senseless violence stops on its own." Yoshitsune shouted to the grave robber. "But those are the living... What if you are already dead?" Akurei teased, difficult to spot thanks to the walls of trees separating him from Yoshitsune's line of sight. Then... There was a sound behind Yoshitsune, and the ground shattered open to reveal one of Akurei's corpse worms, mouth wide open to devour Yoshitsune. Yoshitsune responded by quickly forming a Rasengan in one hand. He slammed to famous technique into the worm with enough power to shatter its armor, easily killing the worm. "Worms? How boring. This armor is pitiful when it comes to powerful attacks from my village." Yoshitsune said as he used the Summoning Technique to bring forth his crow Kurohane. "What's up boss?" squawked the bird as Yoshitsne looked into the sky to see a small black flame. Again using his Dōsojin technique, Yoshitsune teleported to the black flare and in the air used his Fire Release: Great Fire Destruction. Kurohane knew what to do and flew around the flame and used the Wind Release: Winged Wind Storm on a large scale drastically increasing the flame's size. The large collaborated technique set the whole forest ablaze and burnt it to the ground. As the fires spread to the forest, they were suddenly extinguished. Steam erupted into the air as a wave of water washed over the trees. The forest still stood in the end, though badly damaged. Yet the wood was now soaked with water, easily stifling the fire that would have spread to it. The reason was easy to tell though, as through the forest a lone figure could be seen. The face of the once idolized of Hokages stood tall. Tobirama Senju stood, ready for battle as water soaked the ground at his feet. "Impressive collaborative technique. You truly are worthy of being a Kage, but... If you keep waiting for reinforcements then you'll end up losing the war for the battle." Akurei said, forming a singular handseal. From the air around him formed a dragon of water, moving through the forest as it surged towards Yoshitsune. Yoshitsune was able to pull water from the air to send the same technique back and also used the Lightning Release: Electromagnetic Murder to strengthen it. "I'll take my bird anyway over what you do. Don't rely on the powers of the deceased." Yoshitsune said as he landed, his crow quickly mounting on his shoulder. "Boss, I don't understand. What's with the second Hokage being here? Wasn't he sealed away by Hiruzen Sarutobi?" Kurohane asked while staring at "Tobirama" on the field. "No, he is someone using his power. I may not be anywhere near Tobirama's mastery of water, but since we are on an island the air has plentiful moisture. Pulling water out of the air is common practice of my village." Yoshitsune said to both the crow and Akurei. "Really? So you claim I only possess his power?" Akurei replied, more than capable of leaping away from the attack, and landing on a dry tree that had not been coated in water. Already Akurei could tell his opponent was crafty... But Akurei just had to keep buying time at this point... Because the war would be his victory. "What if I told you the specifics on how I trained the third Hokage? Or maybe specifics on how I chose Hiruzen over the others? I don't just take their power, I take their identity. What is a human after all but a collection of memories that define our actions and experiences?" Akurei explained, smiling down upon Yoshitsune. "What is a man but the sum of HIS memories. Stealing memories from other does not make you that person in the end." Yoshitsune said to the Hokage copy. If I used Izanami, this would be over now. I will not sacrifice an eye though... yet. thought Yoshitsune, contemplating using a kinjutsu of the Uchiha. Yoshitsune did a few seals and finally used the Lightning Release: Great Lightning Annihilation, sending a giant wall of lightning towards the water master. Forming a handseal in defiance, Akurei began to use another water jutsu. Drawing all the water from the surrounding area, and combining it with moisture in the air, Akurei created another dragon of water, many times larger than previous incarnations. The scale of the dragon crashed into the wall of lightning, channeling the electrical charge and using it to empower itself as it flew towards Yoshitsune. Akurei's counter attack had turned the power of Yoshitsune's attack against him, now it was time to see the real power Akurei would be facing. Simply, Yoshitsune activate Dōsojin again and teleported out of the attacks way. "I can do that seven more times before having to set it up again. Kurohane thank you for the help, you may leave." Yoshitsune said as the crow nodded and disappeared into a puff of smoke. Yoshitsune formed lightning into his hand, and sent an electric wolf running at high speeds towards Akurei, easily hitting him before he could respond. "A teleporter... I will have to claim a power like that later." Akurei muttered watching Yoshitsune carefully as the other had begun to dispell his summon. It was clear that the 2nd Hokage wasn't good enough for this fight... It seemed a more destructive form was required. Of course Akurei already knew the man he would become. He began to change once more, the flesh of Tobirama Senju falling away, replaced all to easily by a new face... The lightning wolf was less successful than Yoshitsune would like, because the man Akurei transformed into was capable of flight. Now, hovering over the battlefield, his hands clasped together... Was Mū, the 2nd Tsuchikage. "I thank you for entertaining me for so long, but I have something I must tell you. I have already won this battle, Yoshitsune." "The history book has yet to be written. Underestimating your foe is the largest mistake you can make." Yoshitsune said as he teleported again. Akurai felt weight lift of him as the coffin holding Yorinori was taken. Yoshitsune quickly teleported again to a more secluded area. "Good thing these flames stretch out far." Yoshitsune said, opening the coffin to reveal his brother. "It seems I have what I want, and you have nothing but the powers you have already stolen." Yoshitsune shouted loud enough for "Mū" to hear. "I am sorry brother, but I can not allow something like this to happen to you." Yoshitsune said, shedding a tear as he set his brother's corpse ablaze with Amaterasu. The great fires quickly burnt the remains to ash. Yoshitsune extinguished the flames once they were done before teleporting the coffin to the grave site and back to Akurei. "Your plans are done, my brother's body is in ashes now and I know it was the real corpse, he had the same magatama necklace as me." Yoshitsune said as he moved his scarf to show the necklace. "You can't retrieve DNA from ash. Leave my country now and never return." Yoshitsune said, knowing he had destroyed Akurei's purpose for being here. Landing on a tree, Akurei sneered at Yoshitsune. "Really? You really think that? I congragulate you on your work, but I guess you really did fail." Akurei said, walking towards Yoshitsune. His body once more shifted to his regular human form, growing in height and size. "But, I got a good look at the body and the magatama necklace when I took the body from the original coffin. And... You weren't always keeping an eye on me." Akurei explained, his features growing rough as his skin turned brown. "Have you realized it yet Yoshitsune? I am not here at all, and nor is the real body. At the beginning of the fight, the forest and all those attacks hid me as I created a clone. The coffin, and the body inside, clones as well. The real coffin I carry is sentient, and cannot be opened from the outside unless I so will it." the false Akurei explained. "As I said so many times, I won the war. I'm long gone, and you did nothing but fall for my distraction. So again, I thank you for entertaining me for so long." "Then you'll have to die and I'll melt the coffin open. Amaterasu burns with the heat of the sun, even the Tailed Beasts are harmed by it." Yoshitsune said as chakra danced around him as his Susanoo formed. In the send his Susanoo, the spear Shinsō formed. "The spear can't miss it's mark. It hits what I will it to hit." Yoshitsune said as spear pierced Akurei before his thoughts could catch up. "Seal!" shouted the Uchha as black lines danced around Akurei sealing him in his normal appearance and blocking off his chakra. Never before had this happened, but Shinsō shrunk after sealing the man. "Inhave made it sure that your chakra is sealed off for the next 8 hours. Their is not fighting back now, you are no longer capable of using chakra. Don't even try to break the seal, even the greatest expert would kill himself in confusion of Shinsō divine seal. Unleash my brother now, and I'll spare you. If you don't, Shinsō also functions as a normal spear, killing you would be easy as stepping in an ant. If you can't see, fate has decided against you, so release my brother or face a boiling rath that has been passed down my clans since the dawn of shinobi." Yoshitsune shouted, with enough anger and authority that would make Kurama run with its tails tucked between it's legs. The clone died off and with the sudden chakra disappearance, Yoshitsine easily found the real Akurei and how he had the seal from the clone on him. "Wood clones aren't like Shadow clones... There is no knowledge of chakra return... Once the clone dies... It can do nothing." the false Akurei said, slowly breaking apart as the chakra holding its wooden body together was sealed away. The real Akurei was fine from this little battle, the clone not sharing a chakra link with the original in the slightest. "I have already vanished... Maybe if you want I can give you one last reu-" and the clone spoke no more. Akurei had vanished, leaving nothing behind but the memory of his arrival. Yoshitsune would never be able to find Akurei again, not until the master of graves wanted to be found... Yoshitsune's brother was lost to him for good.
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