Darkest Gaze

Rei stood on a high vantage point, a hill that she was all too familiar with. As a child, she had visited this spot many times: mostly after the other children were finished playing for the day. The hill was just outside the circumference of what was once the mighty Uchiha clan's compound, Heaven's Blossom. The hill overlooked a portion of the old clan compounds ruins, for the whole of the former glorious clan was much larger. All of it was for naught however, as some sinister being had decided for some unknown reason, to obliterate the Uchiha and their allies. In one fell swoop, the assailant had blown up the entire compound and surrounding land and lesser banner clans. Out of the survivors, less than thirty percent of the uchiha and other clans remained.

At the time, Rei had not been in the village: for if she had, the outcome would have surely been very different. Instead of being destroyed, Heaven's Blossom would have been protected and the unknown enemy would have been shown the true glory and power of the Uchiha legacy and bloodline. At the time, Rei had been in the land of Carpathia, under the guise and leadership of Setoshi, the leader of weapon mercenaries. Their group was called Heiki Gishi. Heiki Gishi had seized the opportunity to "protect" Carpathia from other assailants in a coordinated attack on all of the lands. Rei had played a crucial role in the defeat of the assailants on Carpathia. Through some nefarious methods, the attackers were undead with immortally regenerating bodies. It had taken Rei using many of her Gates to amplify her physical abilities enough to completely annihilate the enemies to keep them from regenerating.

She had defeated the four enemies with the assistance of her mercenary clan family. She had obtained a legendary weapon, Nuibari from the incident and had put it to good use ever since. Even now, the weapon that appeared as though a rapier or possible a long needle sword, hung at her waist on a belt. The weapon was surprisingly light and sharp, though also quite durable. Rei wore her usual attire: no shirt, just a black leather jacket zipped halfway up to still reveal the cleavage of her 44DD bust. Beneath her gloves on her arms was her weapons Erebus, the glove weapons. For pants Rei wore form fitting black leather pants. For shoes, she wore black steeltoe boots. On her hips were three loose fitting belts in an "X" shape for fasion. Nuibari hung on one of these belt loops. Rei's hair hung loosely as raven darkness behind her back and down her shoulders, her eyes purple and obsidian, gazing at the ruins of Heaven's Blossom, recalling old memories from the place.

Her thoughts were mixed between indifference, pain, sadness and heaviness. She struggled to feel emotions, but she was regaining the ability- though as she was used to, it was easy to turn off those emotions she had grown somewhat accustomed to. Someone stepped up beside Rei, interrupting her own turmoil of thoughts and memories. She repressed the feelings and took the mental stance of callous indifference once again- the darkness. The person in question which had stepped up alongside Rei, was more or less not really a person. Rather, it was another "part" of Rei. The figure was cloaked, its features hidden beneath the cowl of its disguise. If the wind of the plains hit the cloak right, one could catch a glimpse of purple eyes from beneath the shadowy guise. The movements of the being were methodical and heavy, and yet full of grace.

The identity of this individual would be revealed soon, but for now there were other matters to attend to. The reason for Rei's appearance in this broken land full of darkness and lost memories- was unclear to say the least. Something had called to Rei, a voice from the winds, unable to be understood but gave the impression to the young Uchiha clan leader that she needed to return to the land of her clan's birth. So here she was, in Heaven's Blossom, descending the hill and entering the ruins of the clan compound. Even four years passed, the destruction of the land was impressive. Rei had hunted down one of the men responsible for this destruction, but his powers alone had been insufficient and lackluster. She had beheaded the man in one swift motion. Even now, his heart beat within her body, granting her immense power collected with the hearts of others who had fallen from her greedy hunger for power. Let's go... I see something further down. she said outloud even though there was no need to talk. The disguised figure at her side had no thoughts of its own, nor a will of its own. It moved in unison with Rei, whether she spoke or not. If she turned randomly in a direction, the cloaked being too turned in unison.

Rei and the person traveled for several minutes until they reached the center of the clan's compounds. Once, before the destruction of the clan compound, there stood erected here a statue of their ancestor. The statue of Azulon had dwarfed some of the buildings around it: the clan revered their forefather as a god. A god who had been cheated from his birthright and then slain in a pointless battle. It was the whole cause for the warring for generations with the Senju. Even now, though the Uchiha were greatly reduced, tension still arose between the clans. However, now that the Uchiha were a minority within Oashisugakure's village borders, there was less direct conflict between them and the Senju. Each clan now belonged to an even bigger group, a village: as such, they couldn't simply do as they wished without negatively impacting the village. As it stood, the aggression festered between the two clans but they were unable to act independently to destroy one another. In a way, it was a good thing. With their numbers greatly reduced, the Uchiha did not have the manpower to stand toe to toe with the Senju clan anymore. The pretenses of villages shielded the Uchiha from a terrible fate.

Despite their hatred for the Senju, the understood their vulnerably precarious situation more painfully than anyone else. The Senju, seemed to know this well also and simply counted their time, waiting for an opportunity to finish off the crippled Uchiha clan. Rei had become the new clan head of the Uchiha in the years that had passed and the clan adjusted reasonably well within Oashisugakure. An ally of Heiki Gishi was also the clan head for the Senju, Kikato. Because the two of them ruled their clans, there was a silent understanding- they were comrades but they were also nemesis. One day, they would have to settle their clans' differences, but not for now. Now now, there were more pressing matters that needed handles. Like uncovering the identity of the group who had attacked all the lands.

Rei's mind once again returned to the matter at hand as her purple gaze looked down into the ground where once the statue of Azulon stood tall and erect. There is something beneath the ground here... she thought to herself, wondering why no one had noticed this before. Instinctively, knowledge came to Rei. Her partner too seemed to understand the instinct and the being posture tightened up, ready to engage. Up Rei's hands went into a handseal without her consciously willing it. Kai. she and the being said together in unison with the Kai handseal.

The ground suddenly trembled intensely beneath Rei's feet as a stone platform began to rise from beneath the ground's surface. Her feet were at the edge as the platform began to rise: a black obsidian temple slowly rose from the ground, knocking loose debris as it rose, defying anything from touching it. The structure was old, much older in creation than Rei recognized. Rudimentary in make, its structure was unique and she immediately recognized the symbols carved into the walls. It was the Uchiha's tomoe and Uchiwa fan, the crest of her people. Large double doors stood before Rei with invisible inscription upon it that only the eyes of her bloodline could see. In fact, it was a complex writing that Rei could only assume that someone with the Rinnegan could read.

Rei read it carefully, it had many meanings, but most importantly was the fact that Azulon's birthright was beyond these doors, guarded by  sleeping guardian. She grinned an amused smile as she placed her right hand confidently upon the obsidian door's surface. Who would have thought such a thing, such a blessing was beneath our feet this whole time... she sad to herself and her companion as the large double doors opened slowly to allow entrance.

As Rei and her companion entered the doors archway, she felt a barrier in place. Once inside the doors, they closed immediately before anything else could attempt passage. The sudden and quick closing of the doors set on a fit of blinding darkness on Rei and her companion for but a moment. Suddenly, on both sides of them, large torches began to lit up and stretched onward and downward in what the dancing flames revealed to be a narrow tunnel filled with nothing but skulls. In fact, the walls themselves were made of countless skulls. These skulls all neatly and carefully placed with their "faces" turned inward to gaze at the long awaited guest. The width of the hallway, or corridor as it were, was only about five feet in width and eight feet in height. Just larger than the average human, it allowed for comfortable movement for Rei, but not side by side with her companion.

Her companion moved forward and ahead first, acting as vanguard in the unknown ancient halls. The path of the skull filled corridor took a continual easy downward slope. It was obvious that Rei was going deeper, much deeper beneath the surface of the ground. The catacombs were indeed a surprise, well crafted even with the rudimentary skills. The tunnels held for countless generations with little to no signs of deterioration. The flames of the torches eventually lessened as they reseded behind the walls of skulls and lit the hallways with flickering shadows through the eye sockets of the skulls. That was where the tunnel had begun to expand, leveling out and widening as Rei and her companion entered an enormous underground cavern. The cavern was darkened but it was filled with skulls that made up its walls. As Rei and her companion stepped into the cavern, it lit up with the flames behind the walls as the flames flickered in shadow behind the skulls. This room was well lit from the flames, two statues dwarfed everything else in the room. One statue of Azulon on the far right side and another statue of Avalon at the opposite end. The two statues were turned inward, facing towards each other, brandishing weapons and forming handseals as if they were in eternal conflict.

In comparison, Rei's size was only as big as the smallest toe on the statues. Their enormous size reaching to the top of the cavern, which was less lit and more filled with shadows at the ceiling of the large room. Rei whistled in amazement as she inspected the statues, Azulon's statue was much like what she imagined him to be. beautiful and scary at the same time, a beautiful monster with darkness crazed eyes. Some portrayed Azulon as a saint or compassionate man, but Rei had always felt that he was more of a killer than anything else. This staue's perception of his was nearly spot on, those only difference was the fine details of his eyes. She had imagined that he possessed a Mangekyou Sharingan pattern, or maybe the Rinnegan's purple circular pattern. It was neither, which intrigued Rei immensely as she smiled in pleasant delight at the implications.

Her back was turned to the rest of the room, admiring the handsome statue of Azulon- yet she could still see the rest of the room. In the very center of the room was a coffin of black obsidian, emblazened with flames and skulls. Atop this coffin was a human, laying atop it and un-moving until Rei had whistled. At the sound, the humanoid had begun to stir. Rei watched with interest but little concern through her companion's eyes as she herself continued to inspect the statue until the humanoid had fully arisen from atop the coffin and stood. That was when Rei turned to gaze at the person, to her disdain, it was not Azulon. Her smile faded as the person spoke. Descendant of Azulon. You have come here seeking the birthright of your people: but I will not give it to you. said the man in a short and unyielding tone.

Rei could read between the lines, it was a gift since her mind was fractured and she was crazy. This was the guardian of the catacombs and he sounded as though Rei could not have the prize buried here for generations. In reality, this guardian was testing her, to see if she was truly worthy. She spoke in response only a couple of seconds after the guardian. Then I will take it, as is my birthright. a befitting response, one that seemed to please the guardian even though his body posture implied that he was preparing for combat. Suddenly, the guardian rushed forward as remarkable speed in an attempt to bypass the cloaked figure to strike at Rei.

Their vision linked, Rei and the cloaked companion fully anticipated the attack. Rei jumped to the side as her companion stepped to the left side and held out its fist in intercept as it caught the guardian's fist. The power of the punch was enough to shred the cloak which disguised the figure beneath. A metal body revealed with black receivers and glowing Rinnegan eyes. Asura as it was called, one of the Paths of Rinnegan. As Asura caught the guardian's intercepted punch and its cloak was shredded, both the guardian and Asura were moved backwards several meters by the punch. Asura's grip held however and its fist transformed suddenly into a whirling drill as it shredded the guardian's fist. The guardian retreated after having its fist destroyed, unphased by the pain but seeking a different route. The Asura path was nearly unstoppable and its fully body was a weapon. Well versed in the Rinnegan, the guardian knew that the most effective way to defeat it was to take out the source of its power.

As the guardian fell back, it turned its attention on Rei. The biggest issue for the guardian, that was Rei held all the other paths but Asura within herself. Extremely powerful and versatile, amplified by her own natural skills and battle experience, coupled with her blood lust, was a truly deadly combination... and in this case against a singular powerful opponent, was likely unstoppable. Rei was already lit up with her usual style, black lightning armor enshrouded her and fight floating 5m large black lightning fists moved about, eager to destroy. The thought gave pause to the guardian, seeming to understand his own demise if he continued to hold back. You are truly frightening for a human. Though a descendant and different fighting style, your aura and frightening power remind me of father. said the guardian: which of course he referred to Azulon, which implied that the guardian was Azulon's first son. Prepare yourself, young Uchiha. I will no longer hold back now that I know you are terrifying.

Rei cackled maniacally, she wouldn't have it any other way. The guardian's body began to increase in bulk then, increasing his physical prowess including his strength and speed. An interesting choice for power: the guardian favored physical confrontation over ninjutsu. A sound battle tactic- having overwhelming speed and power in an enclosed environment nearly sealed the opponent from having the time to produce handseals. Luckily, Rei was not the type to rely solely on handseals.

Suddenly the guardian leaped forward, dashing towards Rei with speed comparably equal if not greater than her own Lightning Release Armor. Instinct told her to block the guardian's next punch, but she ignored that instinct to respond by connecting her own fist with the guardian's as he punched. Amplified by Lightning Release Armor and Black Lightning, the power of her strike was terrifying and the impact between their fists caused the air in the catacombs to ripple, casting a long shadow in the room from the flickering flames behind the skull walls. Despite all her power however, the now large and bulky muscular guardian's punch pushed Rei backwards. Surprised, Rei decided to go with the flow of the strike rather than try to tank it. Up her feet went as she jumped and allowed the impact to be absorbed and sent her flying backwards. Asura dashed by then, sweeping Rei off her feet and landing safely twenty meters to the left side of the guardian. A wise decision. If you had decided to test the difference in our power directly, even after allowing the force to throw you back... you would have been paste against the far walls.

It was not a boast, rather a simple truthful statement. If the guardian favored his physical combat so much, then Rei would respond with similar sentiments. With Asura acting as a vanguard: Asura's right arm raised up and transformed as a missile was released from its arm and shot towards the guardian. Its am was not the guardian, but the distance before the guardian to cause him to evade and buy time.

While this happened, Rei began to action. One by one, she released the restraints on her body as the Gates began to activate one by one. She kept going, her body taking on a different color, the stagnant air being charged with energy and began to swirl as she activated up to the Seventh Gate. Her own strength and speed now in the thousands, the guardian hesitated. Where once his own speed and strength were revered during his generation: now he witnessed a power far surpassing his own, yet he pressed on.

As the missile landed in front of him and exploded, his moment of hesitation nearly caused him to get caught up in the explosion. The explosion rocked the cavern as he dashed backwards and then evaded to the left as a row of lasers sliced through the flames from Asura who remained stationary on the other side of the flames. the sight of Rei had been lost in the bright explosion: as the guardian landed back and evaded to the left of the lasers, Rei suddenly appeared in front and beneath him with a powerful uppercut from her fight fist. Her powerful uppercut sent the guardian swiftly into the air and crashed violently into the darkened rock ceiling and cracked it. The guardian, staggered from the sudden powerful surprise attack, began to fall once and Rei refused to allow the momentum to be lost. As the guardian began to fall, she tensed her leg muscles and kicked off he ground, cracking the floor as well as she intercepted the Guardian's fall more than halfway and punched him again, sending him back into the ceiling. She punched again and again, shattering the ceiling and pounding the guardian further and further into the ceiling's obsidian rock until one final punch combined with Erebus' ability to channel her doujutsu abilities, punched the guardian one last time with a mighty release of Almighty Push.

The connection of the last punch, mixed with the seventh Gate and Almighty Push was so great that it shattered the Guardian's monstrous body. Shattered, broken and finally exploding into red paste on the ceiling's rocks, the impact of the punch went much further. The punch drilled a hole clean through the ceiling and back into the upper world of open air with an explosion above surface that rocked the cavern below.

Below, Asura floated up swiftly to recover Rei as its jetpack feet fly it up and caught her in its arms and then lowered back towards the coffin that was shut. Rei had read manga and books, normally in these situations, the "hero" who defeated such a foe would be praised by the opponent and then the reward would be given willingly after boasting about the hero's powers. This was not one of those situations. The guardian's body had been obliterated into paste, the catacombs had been shattered and a large gaping hole from above now led into the catabomb's tomb room where the coffin rested.

Rei grabbed the lid of the coffin and flipped it off with ease unceremoniously as she looked down at the corpse in the coffin. It was Azulon, his body perfectly preserved within the coffin. Hello Greatgreatgreat- she began and then stopped with a chuckle. She didn't know how many times over Azulon was a grandfather to her, all that mattered now was that his will was passed on. She deactivated her black lightning release armor, the five hands disappeared and Asura reached down into the coffin to retrieve the eyes. Out Asura plucked them gently from Azulon's body and with his other hand, fingered transformed into a blade, dug out Rei's own Rinnegan without anesthetic and inserted the eyes of Azulon into Rei's sockets. Her blood, touching Azulon's eyes, activated the growth of the eyes as they responded to Azulon's bloodline and attached to his descendant's body and adapted to Rei's use.

The pain was great, but Rei reacted to pain differently than others. Her fractured mind giving her the benefit of viewing pain as a trial rather than an instinctual fear to run from. With the makeshift surgery completed, Asura sealed Rei's old Rinnegan within the scroll Rei kept on her person. Eyes closed for a moment, Rei reopened her eyes to embrace the new sight. Wth the eyes of her forefather, she now saw- her eyes neither sharingan or rinnegan: rather, a stage of both. Purple Rinnegan circular pattern with many sharingan tomoe inside.

Seeing her own eyes through the eyes of Asura caused her to laugh to herself in great pleasure. Though few in number now, the Uchiha had achieved their father's power and woe to anyone who opposed the rightful clan and its ruler. Or so that was what Rei's mind told her she should be thinking anyways. With this power, she could protect her people once more and there would be no repeats of Heaven's Blossom. Come. Let's return to our "time" she said to Asura, who's own eyes now reflected her own Rinnesharingan. Asura grasped Rei around her waist as she released the hold over the seventh Gate and relaxed with ease as Asura used his jetpacks to fly into the air towards the gaping hole in the catacomb's cavern ceiling. Once at the top of the hole, Asura aimed its other arm down into the pit and fired several missiles. The explosion and destruction caused the tomb and corpse of Azulon to be destroyed, the catacombs collapsing in on itself and sinking into the ground through the makeshift sinkhole the explosions had caused. The catacomb doors that had once stood, had apparently gone back deep beneath the ground after Rei had initially entered the catacombs. Looking down, with her new sight, there was no residual chakra to be drawn to. The secrets of the catacombs would remain that way: no one else deserved to find the place anyways.

Rei felt heavy, her body anyways- even though she felt more powerful. The told of the Gates was great, but fortunately she possessed a makeshift immortal body and her monstrous life force had already began to heal the drawback damage that the Gates had caused to her. It was time to return to their Uchiha's current homeland in Carpathia, the village of Oashisugakure. How would her family respond to such a power? No doubt there would be conflicting interests and preferably, Rei wanted anyone who thought they had a chance against the clan to try and attack them without knowing of her new power. The best way to defeat an enemy without a doubt, was to allow them to strike with everything when they thought you were the weakest. Rei would then reveal her true power and wipe away everything that was in opposition to her clan.

Achieved: