10-25-2015, 12:41 PM
Meanwhile, there was quite the ruckus up within The Scantly Clad. Itachi dashed over the heads of patrons as the black cloud that was Nealaphh floated up into the rafters and out a ventilation window. Giving pursuit, the ex-shinobi burst into a flock of crows that keened loudly as they funneled through the small gap. It wasn't until Nealaphh was on the other end of The Scantly Clad's roof that the Enigma materialized again, his black-skinned form rapidly enrobed by the roiling ebon steam as it stood perfectly still. Itachi pulled his component parts together and stood, balanced precariously on the covered vent of a fireplace and stared at the strange aberration. It was clear that this creature, this Prime, also had some form of visual jutsu, but it seemed only capable of causing raw mental pain. How crude. Nealaphh itself was doing its best to block out the ninja's ability to scan it, but there was something more than mere mental power behind those eyes of his. So it was to be a fight then.
"It seems we both have a preference for using these Secondary puppets for our own benefit. So I gather that you're the one who Lady truly hired? Hm. Disappointing." the elder Uchiha said from behind the high collar of his robe. Nealaphh said nothing in response as its eyes flared once more. Itachi was loathe to avert his eyes from the creature, but it was a better option than simply allowing its mind to overpower his. Unsurprisingly, once the white brilliance faded, Nealaphh was gone, peering at Itachi from a distant rooftop across the street. Unintimidated, Itachi soared over the immense gap of the street below with a single leap and sent a fusillade of shuriken flying towards Nealaphh. Itachi was barely able to twirl out of the way as the shadow caught the incoming blades with its mind and flung them back the way they had come. In the fraction of a second that Itachi wasn't facing the god-mind, it teleported again, across yet another street. The God-Mind was attempting to draw the ex-shinobi away from dense center of Bilgewater, to a place where less people would witness the ensuing battle. There was no sense in causing a scene and gaining yet another bounty. The dueling pair of Primes continued in this fashion for almost two full minutes, traversing the low lying skyline of Bilgewater until they reached the arboreal depths of the tropical forest on the steamy mountains behind the port city.
By this point, Itachi had long figured out that Nealaphh could only teleport whenever he wasn't being looked at. At the same time, Itachi himself had to be wary of looking directly at the shadow, or suffer the mental consequences. It was quite an intriguing foe, to say the least. This was a disadvantage to Nealaphh, in that the only solid facts it knew about its foe was that it could overpower Itachi's genjutsu, and that the ninja possessed skills clearly beyond human agility. As the pair cruised through the canopy of the jungle, Itachi summoned a wealth of chakra from his reserves.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu." he said in his placid voice. The ninja proceeded to blast an immense stream of flames at Nealaphh. The Enigma casually stepped off of the branch it had been standing on and descended to the jungle floor, far below, keeping its unblinking gaze focused on Itachi. The ex-shinobi burst once more into a cloud of crows and surged down towards Nealaphh. The god-mind prepared to raise a defense against the flock, but was caught off guard when it flew past him and recombined into Itachi. The ninja delivered an adroit snap kick to Nealaphh's surprised face, and sent the god-mind careening towards a nearby tree. Before it impacted, Itachi suddenly burst out from the darkness behind the shadow and stabbed a kunai forwards. The blade shattered through Nealaphh's stoney skin, releasing a strange, metallic black ooze.
"Don't be angry at yourself. This was the only possible outcome." the shinobi said in a soft tone. His crimson hues glanced towards Nealaphh, watching as the being shuddered violently. It wasn't with pain though. With a sharp grunt, Itachi burst away from Nealaphh as the ground itself was turned pitch black. A piercing, baleful scream pierced Itachi's mind like a spear, and the ex-shinobi was forced to grit his teeth, eyes bulging, as it ricocheted around his thoughts. A moment later, with a cacophonous boom, Itachi was sent flying, along with a great deal of vegetation and loamy jungle soil as Nealaphh released a monstrous telekinetic burst. The lone akatsuki was able to recover in mid-air and land on his feet, but rather than immediately counterattack, he stood his ground. Nealaphh slowly turned to face the ninja, its three eyes betraying no other emotion than determination. Itachi flinched as the creature's voice penetrated his psyche, forcing its words to be heard.
When you deny you deny the universe its infinity, it will always prove itself to you.
"I view reality as I see fit."
With this, the battle was back on. Itachi became nothing but a blur as he surged forwards in a startling burst of speed. Nealaphh was barely able to warp space in time to block the piercing stab that Itachi issued from the deep sleeves of his robe. Straining its mind, Nealaphh accelerated its own perception of time, giving it just enough speed to slink out of the way of the ninja's sudden attack from behind. The God-Mind got the unpleasant feeling that its opponent was barely tapping the depths of his potential, but there did seem to be a clear pattern to Itachi's attacks. This sudden miss did not interrupt Itachi's flow of strikes, however, and the ex-shinobi simply stepped forwards and landed a harsh slash across Nealaphh's chest. The glancing blow did little to actually injure the shadow, but it was insulting that someone should land more than a single blow on its flesh. And then another. Even with its enhanced speed, the Itachi human was simply too fast for Nealaphh to keep up with. As the Uchiha brother began to fold his hands together for another jutsu, however, the shadow took the opportunity to rocket up into the air, clear through the cover of the trees and into the clear night sky above. Another burning fireball followed the Enigma's path, but Nealaphh felt the attack coming long before the flames reached it. The roaring fire passed by Nealaphh like no more than a mere breeze as it was pushed aside by another bend in space. Itachi soon appeared at the topmost bough of one of the trees below, leering up at Nealaphh with hateful eyes. The two stared at each other for several seconds before Nealaphh sent more words to the ex-shinobi's mind.
Why bother fighting anymore? What are you trying to achieve?
Itachi maintained his flat expression.
"It's a matter of principal. I cannot let you reveal the true nature of my operations within the Omniverse, either."
The only way you could prevent that at this point would be by banishing me. Even then, that's no guarantee it won't be revealed sooner or later.
There was no response from the ex-shinobi.
Maybe an agreement can be reached. You have a hand in Leto Natrian's smuggling operations, yes?
"Is that really a question?"
Fair enough. The only reason I had for infiltrating your establishment was to satisfy the whims of Lady Jereson. Her payment was to be information. Perhaps you can satisfy this need instead.
"We'll see."
"It seems we both have a preference for using these Secondary puppets for our own benefit. So I gather that you're the one who Lady truly hired? Hm. Disappointing." the elder Uchiha said from behind the high collar of his robe. Nealaphh said nothing in response as its eyes flared once more. Itachi was loathe to avert his eyes from the creature, but it was a better option than simply allowing its mind to overpower his. Unsurprisingly, once the white brilliance faded, Nealaphh was gone, peering at Itachi from a distant rooftop across the street. Unintimidated, Itachi soared over the immense gap of the street below with a single leap and sent a fusillade of shuriken flying towards Nealaphh. Itachi was barely able to twirl out of the way as the shadow caught the incoming blades with its mind and flung them back the way they had come. In the fraction of a second that Itachi wasn't facing the god-mind, it teleported again, across yet another street. The God-Mind was attempting to draw the ex-shinobi away from dense center of Bilgewater, to a place where less people would witness the ensuing battle. There was no sense in causing a scene and gaining yet another bounty. The dueling pair of Primes continued in this fashion for almost two full minutes, traversing the low lying skyline of Bilgewater until they reached the arboreal depths of the tropical forest on the steamy mountains behind the port city.
By this point, Itachi had long figured out that Nealaphh could only teleport whenever he wasn't being looked at. At the same time, Itachi himself had to be wary of looking directly at the shadow, or suffer the mental consequences. It was quite an intriguing foe, to say the least. This was a disadvantage to Nealaphh, in that the only solid facts it knew about its foe was that it could overpower Itachi's genjutsu, and that the ninja possessed skills clearly beyond human agility. As the pair cruised through the canopy of the jungle, Itachi summoned a wealth of chakra from his reserves.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu." he said in his placid voice. The ninja proceeded to blast an immense stream of flames at Nealaphh. The Enigma casually stepped off of the branch it had been standing on and descended to the jungle floor, far below, keeping its unblinking gaze focused on Itachi. The ex-shinobi burst once more into a cloud of crows and surged down towards Nealaphh. The god-mind prepared to raise a defense against the flock, but was caught off guard when it flew past him and recombined into Itachi. The ninja delivered an adroit snap kick to Nealaphh's surprised face, and sent the god-mind careening towards a nearby tree. Before it impacted, Itachi suddenly burst out from the darkness behind the shadow and stabbed a kunai forwards. The blade shattered through Nealaphh's stoney skin, releasing a strange, metallic black ooze.
"Don't be angry at yourself. This was the only possible outcome." the shinobi said in a soft tone. His crimson hues glanced towards Nealaphh, watching as the being shuddered violently. It wasn't with pain though. With a sharp grunt, Itachi burst away from Nealaphh as the ground itself was turned pitch black. A piercing, baleful scream pierced Itachi's mind like a spear, and the ex-shinobi was forced to grit his teeth, eyes bulging, as it ricocheted around his thoughts. A moment later, with a cacophonous boom, Itachi was sent flying, along with a great deal of vegetation and loamy jungle soil as Nealaphh released a monstrous telekinetic burst. The lone akatsuki was able to recover in mid-air and land on his feet, but rather than immediately counterattack, he stood his ground. Nealaphh slowly turned to face the ninja, its three eyes betraying no other emotion than determination. Itachi flinched as the creature's voice penetrated his psyche, forcing its words to be heard.
When you deny you deny the universe its infinity, it will always prove itself to you.
"I view reality as I see fit."
With this, the battle was back on. Itachi became nothing but a blur as he surged forwards in a startling burst of speed. Nealaphh was barely able to warp space in time to block the piercing stab that Itachi issued from the deep sleeves of his robe. Straining its mind, Nealaphh accelerated its own perception of time, giving it just enough speed to slink out of the way of the ninja's sudden attack from behind. The God-Mind got the unpleasant feeling that its opponent was barely tapping the depths of his potential, but there did seem to be a clear pattern to Itachi's attacks. This sudden miss did not interrupt Itachi's flow of strikes, however, and the ex-shinobi simply stepped forwards and landed a harsh slash across Nealaphh's chest. The glancing blow did little to actually injure the shadow, but it was insulting that someone should land more than a single blow on its flesh. And then another. Even with its enhanced speed, the Itachi human was simply too fast for Nealaphh to keep up with. As the Uchiha brother began to fold his hands together for another jutsu, however, the shadow took the opportunity to rocket up into the air, clear through the cover of the trees and into the clear night sky above. Another burning fireball followed the Enigma's path, but Nealaphh felt the attack coming long before the flames reached it. The roaring fire passed by Nealaphh like no more than a mere breeze as it was pushed aside by another bend in space. Itachi soon appeared at the topmost bough of one of the trees below, leering up at Nealaphh with hateful eyes. The two stared at each other for several seconds before Nealaphh sent more words to the ex-shinobi's mind.
Why bother fighting anymore? What are you trying to achieve?
Itachi maintained his flat expression.
"It's a matter of principal. I cannot let you reveal the true nature of my operations within the Omniverse, either."
The only way you could prevent that at this point would be by banishing me. Even then, that's no guarantee it won't be revealed sooner or later.
There was no response from the ex-shinobi.
Maybe an agreement can be reached. You have a hand in Leto Natrian's smuggling operations, yes?
"Is that really a question?"
Fair enough. The only reason I had for infiltrating your establishment was to satisfy the whims of Lady Jereson. Her payment was to be information. Perhaps you can satisfy this need instead.
"We'll see."
And, we dream of home I dream of life out of here Their dreams are small My dreams don't know fear I got my heart full of hope I will change everything No matter what I'm told How impossible it seems We did it before And we'll do it again We're indestructible Even when we're tired And we've been here before Just you and I
Don't try to rescue me I don't need to be rescued
Don't try to rescue me I don't need to be rescued