Akazo

The Intervention

Zuko continued to walk forward, Itachi's unconscious body slumped over his shoulder. It was now raining in the forest.

The young male let out a peaceful sigh as he threw Itachi to the ground, performing a single hand seal. He closed his eyes before the sound of Gyatsō's voice filled the area. Soon after, a hologram of Gyatsō appeared.

"What is it, Zuko?" he had asked. Zuko bowed respectfully before pointing to Itachi's body.

"Lord Gyatsō, Itachi Uchiha has been defeated. The battle we had was very interesting, to say the least," the dark-haired male chuckled out.

Gyatsō looked over to Itachi's body, his facial expression remaining blank.

"That surprises me not. Hide told me he felt his other side tingle a while ago. Since you both possess the power of the Darkus Phantom, I was sure you were using Mirage's power. Itachi simply isn't strong enough to defeat that power," Gyatsō sighed.

"Well, everything is said and done now. I'll return to the hideout everyone's at with the subject. I'm assuming that Hikari will detonate his bombs scattered in Konohagakure once the fusion is complete?" Zuko asked.

Gyatsō nodded, a slight smile on his face. His Shaolin eagerly evolved into its second stage, greedily wanting to evolve further into the Mūgetsu, but it will have to wait.

"Very soon, oh, so soon. I shall rise as a god. Your services and loyalty will grant you more than what you could imagine, Zuko," he said.

"Thank you, Lord Gyatsō. Signing off."

Zuko lowered his hands. The hologram of Gyatsō soon dispersed. He stood up and sighed loudly before turned around.

A stabbing noise came besides him. Zuko blinked once as a line of blood now ran down his cheek.

He looked to the side to see a kunai was now sicking out of the ground. More of the knives flung at Zuko.

Scoffing, he picked up the kunai and threw it at a single blade rushing towards him. His kunai bounced off of the assailant's, which then bounced on all of the other kunai individually, causing them to fly off course.

A man with red hair, purple eyes, and a black jacket with a red shirt under it stood on a tree nearby. He stared down at Zuko hard, gritting his teeth.

Zuko nonchalantly stared back before appearing above the man, spinning around to send a kick towards his head.

The unknown shinobi quickly rose an arm to block Zuko's kick, a surge of wind blowing as a result of the impact. Zuko frowned down at him, staying in his position with his leg on the man's arm.

Suddenly, a large line of blood rushed out of a cut on the man's arm, wrapping around Zuko's leg quickly.

What?! thought Zuko as the man smirked, spinning him around before throwing him to the ground. Zuko angrily rebounded, sliding on the ground while looking at the man.

"Who are you?" he demanded. The man slowly unsheathed a thin samurai sword, pointing it at Zuko.

"I am Ketsueki Kuraiya," he responded. Zuko's eyes widened with shock.

Did he say Kuraiya? The Hokage had the Kuraiya clan wiped out, and this man survived? To my knowledge, their kekkei genkai allows them to freely manipulate their blood... this won't be easy.

"Furthermore, I am aware of Gyatsō Mataba's plans for a new world order. I am also aware of the Osore organisation. My sources from around the world told me everything I needed to know," continued Ketsueki.

Zuko slowly stood up, his Shaolin entering its second stage.

"I see... well, Kuraiya, it seems that I'll have to shut you up myself," he said.

Ketsueki jumped from the tree, but he levitated in the air. Simply lifting and manipulating his blood allowed him to fly.

"You're just an obstacle for me to overcome. I am merely an intervention. Itachi couldn't be it because his resolve was too weak. He's trying to carry the burden of burying Gyatsō and you Osore folk, on his own, without knowledge. I, however, have that knowledge. That is why you'll be the first person I kill," said Ketsueki as he landed on the ground lightly.

Zuko stared wordlessly before gritting his teeth, the cross on his neck blaring red as his body was quickly covered in black marks.

"I am SICK... and TIRED... of vermin thinking they're worthy of stepping in our way!" Zuko shouted at him.

He appeared in front of Ketsueki, launching a heavy fist to his stomach. Ketsueki smirked as he took the hit, but bounded forward at the same time before jabbing the sword into Zuko's stomach.

The force of his punch sent Ketsueki sprawling back. He landed on the ground and looked ahead with a conceited facial expression.

The Shaolin wielding shinobi grabbed the grip of the sword and pulled it out of his stomach, groaning a bit.

"Using this sword on me is pure stupidity, my wounds heal!" he cackled out.

Suddenly, he dropped to his knees, clenching his stomach with a loud shout of pain.

What is this sensation?! Poison?!

The slash in Zuko's stomach began to burn as it became purple due to inner bruising.

"Underestimating me is pure stupidity, Zuko Taisega. My Sword of Sin is no ordinary sword, you fool. One slash is enough to kill a man due to the invisible, poisonous substance on the blade. The poison itself is said to be the incarnate of my sword's demonic spirit," said Ketsueki before wiping away the blood on his mouth.

Zuko roared as the power of the Darkus Phantom kicked in instinctively, purple mists rapidly coming out of his body. His hair stuck up wildly and turned white, with two wings forming out of his back, flapping quickly.

Ketsueki shot a thin line of blood to his sword, wrapping it around the grip before pulling his hand back, yanking the sword towards him. He turned so that it slid back into its sheath.

"Rather than killing you quickly as I originally planned, I'll let you suffer... the poison will continue to send surges of immense pain throughout your body until the day you die. Let this be a message that you pay for your crimes. The day will come when we meet again, you child of the Taisega clan," said Ketsueki.

He walked over to Itachi's body and picked it up. Zuko roared again and clenched his fist, his bloodshot eyes fixed on the man who beat him in such a quick way.

"Bastard!! What do you think you're doing?!"

Ketsueki laughed gently before spitting on Zuko.

"Gyatsō Mataba needs Itachi to continue on with Project Eyes of Immortality, so I'm taking your prize away. When Itachi awakes, I'll partner myself with him so we can work together on stopping Gyatsō once and for all," he responded.

He then opened one of Itachi's eyes, staring into it before closing his own.

Imitated Sharingan.

Turning his head to Zuko, he opened his eyes, revealing himself to have Itachi's Mangekyou Sharingan. Zuko gasped as he was now panting heavily.

"I also have the profound ability to imitate any Sharingan or Mangekyou I look at and use their techniques. I have Shin Uchiha, my former teacher, to thank for that."

Zuko's vision turned into black and white as he was now tied to a cross.

"Tsukuyomi!"

Zuko's curse mark deactivated as he lost consciousness under the genjutsu. Ketsueki chuckled as he disappeared with Itachi's body.