Post by Tales on Jan 24, 2018 6:12:02 GMT
The icy winds of the desert night blew harshly across the dune sea, filling the air with enough sand to block out the night sky to anyone on the ground. Animals scurried across the ground of Sunagakure, seeking shelter from the coming sand storm that was racing towards the village. Other than the sound of the little feet clicking against the few stones not buried beneath the sand, the village of Sunagakure was silent, void of all human life. Except for one that is. High above the village, his left leg hanging over the side of the Administration building, his chin resting on the right, sat Taleson Uzaki. Clad in black, the former Kazekage stared off into the night, his eyes seeming to glow in the darkness. Even with a full moon resting above the desert, it's light didn't seem to reach the man. A dark aura surrounded him as he sat there, lost in thought. Within his mind he ran through the events of the last two years, from his meeting with Mirage, to his final battle with Steggo. He had destroyed three villages, and killed countless innocent people. All in an attempt to unite the shinobi world against a threat to vast they couldn't even comprehend it. Or, at least, that's what he had convinced himself it was all about. In truth, even he didn't know anymore. Though he felt his actions necessary, he now understood, though not fully, what Mirage had done to him. Mirage had known that there was no way he could have corrupted Taleson while he had the Ichibi. And Tales had never thought it was possible to corrupt the Bijuu within him. But that's precisely what Mirage had done. Somehow, this man, no, this demon had gotten past Hibiki's seals, seals that would have ripped anyone else to shreds, and corrupted the mind of Shukaku. Even knowing this, Tales had not hesitated to call upon the beast's power to utterly crush those before him.
Letting out a sigh, Taleson moved his hands in front of his face and stared at them. How many lives, exactly, had these hands taken? How many mothers had he killed? Fathers? Brothers? Sisters? And how many had died as a consequence of his actions? How many had starved to death, or been trapped alive, panicking as they quickly ran out of oxygen, or been crushed? There was no way for him to know this number. Even if bringing the shinobi world together was truly his attention, or an illusion placed within his mind by Mirage, none of it mattered. He was not even the same level opponent as Mirage was. Not even close. Even if the shinobi had united and defeated him, they'd still be unprepared for what The Four were planning. He wasn't even sure there was a way to stop them. And now, he was as good as useless. During his fight with Steggo and Koga, something had happened.
During the battle, Steggo had attempted to use a technique on him that was meant for taking out tailed beast. Though the technique hadn't worked thanks to Hibiki's seals, the sheer power level of it being aimed at Shukaku's chakra had interacted with the seals in a different way; it had strengthened them. So much so that Tales' ability to call on Shukaku's powers had quickly faded in the weeks following. He'd still had enough power to test Kohga and Sugoi that day, and it had even seemed like he could draw upon more with enough focus. But drawing upon more than what flowed through him already had also drawn upon the corruption, almost causing him to lose his mind once more. Now, barely any of the Ichibi's chakra still mingled with his own. He maybe had one more fight in him before he reverted back to his old self. To the boy who had been forced into the seat of Kazekage by Kenji all those years ago. To the boy who's sudden promotion had prompted the Tsuchikage, his friend, to declare war on Sunagakure in an attempt to gain more power. The boy who'd been given Shukaku as a means to protect his village. It had been so long, and now he was going to lose that power. Not that he had a village to protect any longer. He wasn't even sure he could survive in this world, especially now, without the Ichibi.
Letting out a sigh, Taleson moved his hands in front of his face and stared at them. How many lives, exactly, had these hands taken? How many mothers had he killed? Fathers? Brothers? Sisters? And how many had died as a consequence of his actions? How many had starved to death, or been trapped alive, panicking as they quickly ran out of oxygen, or been crushed? There was no way for him to know this number. Even if bringing the shinobi world together was truly his attention, or an illusion placed within his mind by Mirage, none of it mattered. He was not even the same level opponent as Mirage was. Not even close. Even if the shinobi had united and defeated him, they'd still be unprepared for what The Four were planning. He wasn't even sure there was a way to stop them. And now, he was as good as useless. During his fight with Steggo and Koga, something had happened.
During the battle, Steggo had attempted to use a technique on him that was meant for taking out tailed beast. Though the technique hadn't worked thanks to Hibiki's seals, the sheer power level of it being aimed at Shukaku's chakra had interacted with the seals in a different way; it had strengthened them. So much so that Tales' ability to call on Shukaku's powers had quickly faded in the weeks following. He'd still had enough power to test Kohga and Sugoi that day, and it had even seemed like he could draw upon more with enough focus. But drawing upon more than what flowed through him already had also drawn upon the corruption, almost causing him to lose his mind once more. Now, barely any of the Ichibi's chakra still mingled with his own. He maybe had one more fight in him before he reverted back to his old self. To the boy who had been forced into the seat of Kazekage by Kenji all those years ago. To the boy who's sudden promotion had prompted the Tsuchikage, his friend, to declare war on Sunagakure in an attempt to gain more power. The boy who'd been given Shukaku as a means to protect his village. It had been so long, and now he was going to lose that power. Not that he had a village to protect any longer. He wasn't even sure he could survive in this world, especially now, without the Ichibi.