Paths of Divergence

Forlorn

*Enjoy the music above*

Chapter 54

-Forlorn

Gusts of howling wind batter the glacial valley, swirling ripples of ice and dust around the two lone shinobi. Shizake's breath steams in the frozen air ragged and shallow but slowly getting better. His body still rattles from the poison that was laced in his rations although the worst of it had passed. His muscles remain stiff while his chakra system feels sluggish but his resolve to remain alive stays unbroken.

Across from him looms a hulking figure, a towering beast of a man clothed in tattered red cloth. Its fraying edges show signs of ancient decay as if he has been donning them for centuries. Jagged plates of rusted and corroded armor jut from his shoulders and chest but appear fused to his skin. His frazzled gray hair spills out of his crimson hood with only his mouth remaining visible beneath it all.

A colossal but broken onyx sword rests in his right palm. Most people would require both hands to wield it but the monster that stands before Shizake makes it seem weightless. The sharp edge no longer exists, rather it's chipped and broken yet somehow honed enough to slash and impale.

Shizake freezes, his heart thrashing in fear as the nightmarish chakra practically crushes his lungs. Even though he had stood against monsters like Itachi and Pain... this was something worse, something... unnatural.

Shizake clenches his teeth, forcing words out, "Your master's... body?" he says out loud. "What would that bastard Danzo possibly want with my Sharingan?!"

The slave shinobi tilts his head uncannily as if attempting to comprehend the spoken words. Then, without warning, he lifts the greatsword in a wide sweeping arc and slams it into the ground. A jagged fragment of ice then shoots up beneath Shizake who narrowly avoids it at the last moment. He plants himself on the wall unleashing a flurry of kunai at the man. He then makes a few hand signs, encasing the kunai in chained arcs of lightning.

The kunai converge upon the man immediately, snapping with static like sparks. However, the ancient brittle looking plates deflect the barrage with ease.

Shizake's eyes narrow, he didn't even try dodging that. Which means he relies on his armor. I'll have to break through it somehow.

"Rrrragh!" The man roars like a beast while surging forward. He practically gallops while dragging his weapon behind him. Each step he takes leaves craters as if his mere presence was evaporating the snow beneath him.

The monstrous shinobi approaches Shizake quickly, swinging his sword from the side. Shizake flips sideways over the sword encasing his fist with lightning. As soon as he lands he delivers a crushing blow in the direct center of the man's chest plate. The shinobi counters immediately by slamming his boot into Shizake's sternum launching him into the nearby glacial wall.

Spit and mucus eject from Shizake's throat from the impact, his bones vibrating in waves of pain. Before he can even regain composure he notices flickering tendrils of something lash out towards him. The slave shinobi holds his arm out as several whips of barbed chains lash out and latch around Shizake's appendages. The barbs dig deep into the Uchiha's skin tearing large chunks of flesh out of his arms.

"Aghhh!" he screams out loud as his nerves alight with fiery anguish.

The shinobi jerks his arm back, forcibly yanking Shizake towards him at soaring speeds. With one hand he lifts the onyx blade above his head prepared to strike. A blazing stream of fire erupts along the path of the chains, exploding upon impact and scorching the shinobi. He tanks the hit but gets lost of the cloud of smoke and steam that results from the jutsu.