CH 15: The Second Battle, Sort of

During his reminiscing of his old memories, he did not even realize that the portal had already been closed.

The moment he realized, he immediately flew upwards to check on Jigen and the others.

"How are you all doing here?"

He asked.

"Oh we're all fine, there was some big animals that wandered around the crater earlier, but they were all mainly here to inspect the source of the big rumbling"

Jigen spoke within the barrier.

"OK then that's good, let's go b as go back to the village"

Isshiki commanded in seriousness.

"Immediately? Have you already resolved whatever is down there? And what if there were still some more around here? "

Jigen asked in confusion.

"Yes, I already sealed the portal down there, and I am sure that there are no longer any of them around the area... for now"

Isshiki responded in an ominous tone.

"But let's go now, I feel something strange from the direction of the village"

He added.

Jigen became serious the moment he heard something like this from Isshiki.

And so all of them decisively went back to the village.

------POV CHANGE:BACK TO THE VILLAGE: MINUTES BEFORE THE PORTAL WAS SEALED---------

"Fellow villagers! I implore all of you to calm down!"

But despite her command, the villagers continued whispering amongst one another.

"I am aware that most of you are all already having a tough time-"

Her words were interrupted by another rumbling.

"Again?!"

"What is happening around our village these days?!"

"Oh my!"

The villagers all exclaimed in nervousness of the huge rumbling.

(What is happening Isshiki?)

-----------POV CHANGE: ISSHIKI AND THE OTHERS-----------

Jigen, Isshiki and the others were now standing on a crystallized air platform made by Isshiki. As the latter could not afford to waste time by walking, so he chose to fly with the others using his [Crystal Release: Flying Platform Technique].

By this time, the hired guards by Jigen were all beginning to bet used to their employer' friend's inhumane powers. But they were still fascinated and excited to be able to fly like a bird for the first time.

As for Isshiki flying by himself, he scratched that as he wanted to fly while testing out his newly created Bloodline Limit Technique.

Their direction of voyage was to head back to the village.

*WOOOOOOGG*

They all collectively heard the roaring sound of the earth rumbling underneath them, accompanied by the sound was the shaking of the trees and the ground.

"Was that an earthquake?!"

Jigen questioned in a panicked tone.

He turned to look at the similarly surprised Ōtsutsuki in front of him, and then Jigen saw Isshiki's left eye showing bulging veins around it. It was his Byakugan activated as he channels his chakra towards it to check the energy all around them.

"The village!"

Isshiki shouted in distress, as he then willed the crystal platform they were standing on to become quicker, increasing its speed as they all went to the direction of the village.

After a while, they were now closer to the village and were able to land safely on the ground.

Isshiki dispelled his technique, shattering the crystal platform they were standing on earlier into millions of pieces.

The group that just landed on the main village square looked around as they scanned the area, and they found that the place was devoid of any villagers.

Isshiki continued using his Byakugan to scan further than the others and found that the villagersm along with Mina, were now all safely evacuated within the large plain fields to the west. This was his self-made earthquake evacuation protocol that he taught to both Jigen and Mina, who then both taught it to the villagers. It was designed after the earthquake drills he had learned back in his previous world.

"Mina did well"

Isshiki said with a smile, to which Jigen heard and could only respond with both a frown and a smile simultaneously.

After confirming the villagers' safety, Isshiki continued searching for the possible monster/Demon that could've caused this minor calamity, looking around the surprisingly stable and not ruined village houses and infrastructure, even after the strong earthquake that had suddenly occurred earlier. Which was quite possibly is stronger than the last one the portal he sealed had caused.

"[Crystal Release: Clone Technique]!"

"[Shadow Clone Technique]!"

Isshiki suddenly summoned several Crystal Clones with other normal Shadow Clones.

These Crystal Clones mostly had the same properties of the normal Shadow Clones, but with an added nearly invincible defense, making them able to take any physical hit, no matter how strong the opponent is. Sort of like the real mantle-deep Crystals, some were even harder and stronger than diamonds, while some were tougher and more robust than steel. This is due to the immense pressure in the place they dwell on.

The only weakness of these clones would be the carefully manipulated frequency of either an energy or a sound wave hitting and destabilizing the intricacy of the crystals' molecular pattern. Which would in turn, shatter the crystals into millions of pieces faster than light.

He then telepathically ordered these Clones to go with Jigen and the others towards the plain fields, to guard him and Mina, together with the evacuated villagers.

"Jigen, and others, go and evacuate to the western fields by following my clones"

He ordered in a serious tone.

"But what about Mina and the villagers? We have to find them-"

Jigen's words were interrupted by Isshiki raising his palm up.

"They are all safe within the fields, as per my earthquake protocol"

Isshiki informed him with a serious tone.

Jigen wanted to adhere to his pride by rebuking and saying that he wanted to help, but he was smarter than that and could only eat his pride by running towards the evacuation center with the others.

Immediately after Jigen and the others had left with his clone, Isshiki violently flared his Yin Chakra in all directions, with the intent of intimidating whatever hidden entity had slipped through his Byakugan's perception.

"Not this time bastards"

He muttered with excitement.

He was now more pumped to be throwing his fist than ever, as it has been quite a year since he last fought something stronger than him. Though he wouldn't really count that as fighting, as he only caught the Demon slowly exiting its portal off guard by quickly employing his Sealing Techniques. But he didn't care about that, because he was now surer than ever that he could go beyond toe to toe with a Demon with his accumulated and successful Divine Sealing and Crystal Release trainings that he was proud of.

And so he waited patiently while periodically flaring his Yin Chakra to ensure that he was annoying the bug from its camouflage.

----

It was now more than thirty minutes since he started his patient wait, and that patient wait was beginning to turn into an increasingly pent up frustration as he continues to wait for the Demon to come out from hiding.

----

An hour has already passed and he was beginning to give up and doubt his instincts, while inwardly cursing at Isshiki for advising him to trust his so called 'Ōtsutsuki Instinct'.

But lo and behold! After making him suffer mentally, a weird energy fluctuation finally caused a ripple through the fabric of space and time were able to reached his Byakugan's perception, it was from north of him, from the direction of the Templar Palace.

He confirmed once again if what he was seeing with his Byakugan were true, and saw that there were still some weird ripples on the air coming from the direction of their palace.

And so with a smile, he rapidly flew towards that direction.

----

Arriving in front of the palace where they have lived for the past year, Isshiki did not come here to go back home.

He came here for one thing and one thing only, that is to relieve his bloodthirst.

"You stupid bugs will not intimidate me this time!"

He shouted with intense killing intent.

Upon stepping his foot on the door mat, the place rumbled, accompanied by an menacing roar.

*RAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHHHH*

"¤^π¥\%-you hu....MANS!!!"

After the roar, a monstrous voice spoke with killing intent. At first, the voice spoke in tongues, sounding like an unknown language he had never heard of, but it then immediately got transmuted into something Isshiki could understand.

The growling and intimidating speech of the Demon drowned out every single matter within the palace, plunging it and the surrounding area into a heavy and oppressive atmosphere.

Isshiki felt this change in pressure and initially frowned upon getting affected by it. However, despite the intense atmosphere, he did not falter and continued walking towards the stairs.

As he took a step closer to the source of all of this negativity, it felt as if gravity began pushing down on him as he got closer and closer.

But he still stood and continued undeterred by any of this, today he was somehow extremely motivated to do all of this, as if all of these actions he's beginning to take were all instilled to his very being. As if these actions were somehow genetic.

He continued taking steps until he suddenly stopped mid-way.

(Wait..... this body.....its beginning to affect even my soul.... )

(These thoughts and decisions, their all full of hubris and superiority complex....)

He realized inwardly.

"This is definitely a change.... if this continues, then what will become of me? A week from now? A month? Years? Decades? Centuries?..."

Isshiki could not help but wonder deeply amidst the incoming battle.

Fortunately, he was able to snap out immediately from his fearful thoughts and was able to continue pursuing his real current goal, and that is to rid of these Demons who all continually attack his precious village, his precious people, his precious humans that will be vital for his grand plan.

Thus, he needed to be rid of everything that will block his path, the road he decided to take in order for the greater good, in order to save himself.

Selfish as he may be, Isshiki is not only doing this for himself, because he also knows that him being captured by Kaguya should never happen. The course of this world that will eventually lead to its near-demise, but in the end, it got saved by many of its inhabitants. And that is what he needs, he needs this world to exist for him to be alive.

Even the smallest and most subtle of changes will forever change his known course of this turbulent world, the timeline that he was at the very least aware of and can take advantage. And that is why he wishes for everything to stay as they should, especially in this era that will decide everything that will happen for the thousands of years to come.

----

Isshiki continued his way upstairs, until he was now in front of the grand dining table where they dined earlier in the day, but this time there was a new guest.

A tall figure that fully reaches the highest ceiling of this huge palace, its height caused it to pierce the upper floors, causing it all to collapse.

Surprisingly and fortunately, the Demon was a little bit smaller than Satori, because if this demon were the same size as him, then this whole place should've already collapsed under it's feet.

The Demon has white fur this time, and with a mocking face, instead of the menacing smile of Satori. It's claws were colored red, indicating that it has killed atleast one or more of their servants.

"You! you even killed my servants?!"

At Isshiki's disbelief, the demon shrugged as if did not give a F-ried U-ndercooked C-hicken K-ebab at all.

Isshiki could only grit his teeth in anger, he does feel sorry for the dead servants, but right now he needed to save the many, he promised to pray and pay respects for the dead servants later.

But in all honesty, he was actually more angry at the fact that his palace will take some time for it to be fully reconstructed later, after he beats this demon into a pulp.

"Not only did you threaten some of my people and killed my servants, but you also nearly destroy MY palace?!"

Isshiki roared in anger, he was genuinely frustrated by the amount of damage this bug caused for him and his village.

(But it's a good this the grand entrance was big enough to fit him-)

His reassuring thoughts got cut short as he looked upwards, at the broken ceiling just above the Demon.

A large hole penetrating up until the clear sky was present.

At the sight of this terrible damage, Isshiki's vision gradually darken, while his Byakugan and his unnamed right eye activated. And at the same time, a devilish grin began forming from ear to ear, accompanying this was a large amount of Chakra beginning to accumulate in his right hand. As all of this were happening, the Demon was not aware of the Ōtsutsuki's expressions, as Isshiki was facing downwards. The Demon was only aware of the large amount of Chakra pooling on both his eyes and right hand.

"You really have done it..."

Isshiki muttered ominously.

"You Demons are too messy....."

He continued to mutter in anger as he continued facing downwards with a now menacing grin with his activated Dojutsus.

"GAHAHAHAHA! A meager human dared to tell me what I am?"

The Demon laughed foolishly unaware of what creature it has stumbled it self upon.

Isshiki grinned widely for the Demon's taunts with bloodshot eyes.

"WHAT A DUMMITY DUMB DUMB DEMON, YOU ARE THE ONE WHO'S NOT EVEN AWARE OF WHO YOU ARE TALKING TO"

He retorted with an enraged voice.

"Hoooh, you really are not a normal human at all, being able to retort despite feeling my pressure..... But that is still nothing..."

Isshiki did not respond to the demon's taunts, as he closes his eyes.

(Huuuuhhh, i need to calm down.... okay lets forget about the damages for later, i'll deal with this dumbass first)

(This is the first time i will use this technique, since i literally just conceptualized this yesterday.....But i still need time, i need to distract this dumbass somehow)

He inwardly calmed himself and continued accumulating chakra on his hands for his plan.

The demon was a little surprised hearing the 'human' talking back at him, and so it thought that telling a story that led to this interaction was going to further spice up the incoming battle.

"You see here human.. The reason i am here was because from just a little further west from here I felt two energy signatures, a familiar energy coming from somewhere in this vicinity, and a strange but enticing energy from somewhere a little farther. Heading here, I was actually surprised to have sensed a lot of human around this barren area. And so I dashed towards the largest concentration of humans, which led me to this village, but i found that they were already gone, well, except for some foolish ones"

The Demon taunted and began to tell it's story.

Hearing this, Isshiki listened in closely as he continued channeling a large amount of Chakra to his right hand.

(Hah! what an idiot! This is literally what i just needed!)

He insulted inwardly with excitement.

Isshiki began showing a subtle attentive expression, just enough to hint at the demon that he is listening, but not too much that'll make it suspect something is up.

He needed this delay for his grand technique, that is why he was extremely glad that this demon had too much time in its hands to be able to dilly-dally like this before killing its prey. Isshiki was also aware of the fact that Demons cannot be easily killed, by the original Isshiki's words, and that is precisely why he has this grand technique he's cooking up.

The Demon sensed his attentiveness and was a little happy about it, truly naive.

"Oh you're listening? You are so foolish, knowing that i will kill you anyways yet you listen to my story. Why don't you continue accumulating your chakra? atleast that will give you an edge against me later....."

Hearing that the demon knew about him accumulating chakra, Isshiki flinched with a nervous frown.

(Shit! i forgot about their annoying senses!)

He cursed inwardly at his idiocy.

"Nevertheless, that's all right since you'll die anyways, might as well continue telling you a parting story as you do your thing"

The demon disregarded his effort as futile. His eyes twitched in annoyance after hearing the first line. But nonetheless, he soon regained his composure and continued his act, smiling inwardly.

(Looking down on your opponent is the worst that you can do, it'll only lead to you own demise...)

Isshiki advised the demon inwardly with a mocking tone.

The demon, completely unaware of this thoughts and his true strength, naively and ignorantly continued his story.

"So the moment I spotted one of the humans in this palace, I hacked them one by one, however, one human was very peculiar. A female human who was desperate enough to offer her own master up to me...."

The demon stopped talking and realized something.

"Now that I think about it, you said that I killed YOUR servants right? Then you must be her master whom she was willing to offer up in exchange for sparing her life."

Hearing the demon's mocking words, Isshiki could not help but frown after realizing the disloyalty of one of his servants.

(I will deal with her later-)

His thoughts regarding setting aside for the future what he will do to that disloyal servant were cut short by the demon's continuation of the story.

"But I still hacked her into pieces, since I really hate cowardice...Especially the cowardly who offers up another's life just to save their own skin"

Isshiki was taken aback by the demon's human-like principles. But then he realized something that the original Isshiki told him about demons.

("The moment a soul experiences enough suffering, it either collapses to the point of oblivion, or it gets corrupted, turning it into a demon" is what that dunce told me about them, dang, they were still alive at one point... sad, but I don't really care)

Isshiki mused inwardly as he finishes up his Chakra prepping for his technique.

"After slaughtering them, i came here, as she said this was where her master who possesses superpowers lives. And i will tell you this before your death, I really love eating up powerful creatures, especially those filled with what I call as-"

The demon's words this time, were the one cut short.

"Chakra"

Isshiki finished the demon's sentence as he conjured a huge crystal sword from his right hand.

The demon flinched at his unexpected knowledge, however, it also quickly noticed the release of Isshiki's huge chakra, prompting it to guard itself with its hands and its dark energy.

"This is all due to your hubris of letting me accumulate my chakra!"

"[Crystal Release: Sword Creation]!"

He shouted the technique with a confident smile.

The sword did not only appear out of thin air, but was also able to expand and lengthen, reaching the Demon's face, piercing it. The demon was shocked at this attack, but it soon acted by trying to grab the crystal sword.

However, this wasn't the only move Isshiki makes, he then slashed the sword downwards, splitting the demon into two. This move stunned the demon, completely immoblizing it.

*FLSSSSSSHHHHKK*

The sound of flesh being cut apart sounded all across the previously sacred dining hall.

*SPLLLLSHHHKKK*

Accompanying the the sound of the flesh being cut was the splattering of purple blood all over the dining hall furniture.

Isshiki witnessed all of this with an empty expression, a face devoid of any remorse.

However, it was still not over, the demon that was split into two was still alive and smiling mockingly.

"I knew it! you are not a normal human! BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN YOU CAN JUST KILL ME! "

The demon spoke with a terrifying aura.

Isshiki was still facing downwards not giving a S-ally H-enderson's I-ce T-ub about the demon's words, preparing as he imitates Light Yagami's initial laugh before his villainous speech.

"*Chuckles Intensely*"

"GUAAHAHAHAHA! A MEASLY BUG..... A BUG THAT ONLY KNOWS HOW TO BUZZ DARED TO TELL ME I AM A HUMAN?!"

Isshiki countered with a psychotic laugh.

Witnessing this chaotic display, the demon became quite nervous at the actions and words of the one in front of it that it thinks is a human. It seems the demon is very much more infantile than Satori, completely unaware of what an Ōtsutsuki is.

"[Crystal Release: Crystal Hexagonal Prison]!"

The Ootsutsuki announced his second technique.

Afterwards, the demon felt Isshiki's chakra beginning to submerge him. It tried to retaliate by flaring its own negative energy, but it was too late.

The demon that was split quickly became encased by a gigantic yellow-colored crystal. It's two vertically split bodies were seperately encased by two different crystals.

He did this to ensure that the demon does not rejoin its body back to its full shape, as it might regain its strength from earlier if it were to heal back.

And as he expected, the demon was resilient and so it violently used it's own energy to shatter the crystals into millions of pieces.

Upon seeing this, Isshiki smiled devilishly.

Much to the demon's ignorance, the moment it used it's negative energy to destroy the crystals encasing it, it's own half bodies got shattered along with the crystals into the oblivion.

*PSHHTSHTSHTSHKKKK*

The sound of crystals shattering into dust reverberated throughout the palace.

Amidst all of this, Isshiki still stood there expressionlessly, it seems that the battle is still not over.

Immediately after its body got destroyed, a loud ghoulish howl echoed throughout the palace.

*WUAAAAHHH*

*HOOOOAAOAOAAOAO*

The ghoulish howls sounded like people burning in pain, as if thousands of humans were being grilled to death within the wooden walls of this palace.

Isshiki began feeling a searing tinnitus within his brain and ears, but he kept standind upright to not let his guard down.

"Its soul got freed"

Isshiki muttered in seriousness.

As per the original Isshiki's words, Demons' bodies may cease to exist, but when it comes to their souls, they are more robust in that aspect. As their souls could just wander around as it tries to find a new vessel, though not for long, especially in a planet rich in Natural Energy.

And so upon hearing the howls, Isshiki took out a purple colored scroll.

He opened it up and it revealed one singular character, he placed his palm on top of it.

A technique within a branch of the Shinfuinjutsu, aka, the Divine Sealing Techniques, this branch is called Reikonfuinjutsu, translated as 'Soul Sealing Techniques'. A technique that has the ability to suck out nearby weakened souls that are causing disruption to the people around it. It uses a higher grade of Yin Chakra to pull in a mindless soul towards an object, in most cases, the Ootsutsuki and even the future Uzumaki clan who uses a derived version of this technique will only seal ghosts and spirits within objects. But when it comes to demons, the Ootsutsuki and the Uzumaki seals them within strengthened and well guarded scrolls, to prevent them from escaping. It is called the...

"[Soul Sealing Technique: Metaphysical Siphoning]!"

"ugh"

Isshiki declared his technique while biting his lip, the feeling of increasingly becoming lethargic was creeping up on his body like a frostbite.

The howls of demons, as it was stated by the original Isshiki, are spiritually disrupting. If you are exposed to it for too long, your soul will gradually weaken, giving them a chance to possess you.

Isshiki as of now has an extremely robust soul due to his reincarnation, but that does not mean he is as resilient as an Ōtsutsuki. A normal human can not be exposed to a demon howling for more than two minutes, while an Ōtsutsuki can tolerate for as much as fifty years, as per the original Isshiki's statement. As for him, he has been hearing the howls for no more than five minutes and he is already experiencing the weakening, meaning, he is much more weaker than an Ōtsutsuki spiritually.

(It seems I will also need a way to cope with that)

Isshiki cogitated.

Seconds later, the howlings became louder and louder until it gradually got silenced.

Afterwards, the whole palace became silent, as if the voices earlier was just a severe hallucination on Isshiki's end.

Isshiki could no longer hold it and came crashing onto the ground in exhaustion.

Physically, he was barely exhausted due to his direct Ōtsutsuki lineage. But mentally and spiritually, he was as tired as he was after his first job interview back in his previous life

Isshiki then brought out the scroll he used, and saw that the character is glowing in blue like a neon ink.

"Huuuhh, That was a little intense!"

He sighed in relief.

"Wait..... I just realized!"

"That demon is certainly the one that came out of that portal!"

He realized too late.

"Oh, is it too dumb of me to realize that just now?"

He asked himself with a tone of disappointment.

"..."

No one answered.

"No, i cannot be that stupid, I am basically a Seal Legendary Master by now, me not finding that out earlier is not my fault"

He tried to justify his stupidity.

"...Wait... i knew it! he didn't mention anything about the bandits earlier!"