Chapter 4: The Union of Two Monsters

Twisting his leg, he made a sudden pivot as he threw the back of his knuckles towards her face with a menacing force

*BANG!*

Deftly deflecting the oncoming fist to the side with a quick dodge, she leaped into the air and tilted her body, her legs perfectly poised to unleash a powerful kick aimed at his neck.

*WHOOSH!*

Crouching instantly, he slid under her raised leg with graceful ease, his palms pressed firmly against the earth.

'Earth Style: Absolute Impalement'

A gigantic spike ripped from the earth, moving rapidly towards her, who was still midair.

Just as the spike was about to impale her, she clasped both her hands together, and vanished out of existence. In the blink of an eye, she reappeared behind him, her two fingers pressed against his head like a gun

'Oh, she's that fast?' Madara thought to himself as he took in the full extent of her speed and agility, 'No... she didn't just move quickly, she appeared there instantaneously.' He realised, his mind racing with numerous possibilities, 'So she can teleport, huh...'

*SPLATT!*

Pieces and chunks of his head imploded. The force of the impact was so great that it sent fragments flying in every direction.

"Tch.."

Looking very frustrated, she clenched her fists and jammed them deep into her pockets. She trudged forward, her eyes fixed on the towering spike, that was pointing towards the heavens, in front of her.

With a light kick to the bottom of the spike, cracks began to encircle it, the structure started to topple over, succumbing to the pull of gravity. Just when it was completely horizontal, she stepped forward and with a powerful sidekick, she sent the spike piercing through the air like a missile, disappearing into the dark shrouded by the building

*BOOM!*

A cloud of dust rose from the impact site as the full force of her kick was realized

"Now....will the real you fight me now?" She stated as she cast her sight towards the direction she aimed in, it was the side of the structure drowned in darkness and dust produced from the recent attack.

Tap

Tap.

Tap..

Tap...

The sound of ominous footsteps resounded through the darkness. The slow and deliberate pace made each step seem heavier, echoing through the night like the beating of a war drum. A single foot emerged from the shadows, and as the moonlight washed over it, the rest of the figure came into view.

He stood tall and imposing, his wild hair billowing in the night breeze. With a condescending smirk, he chuckled, "Is this the best you can do?

….Don't disappoint me"

Her expression darkened as a scowl marred her beautiful face. With a glare, she charged at him.

Madara approached his opponent with a confident gait, his hand raised and ready to strike

But she was quick and nimble, dodging his attack with practiced ease. Her movements were fluid, like water, as she pivoted on her foot and delivered a powerful side-kick aimed towards Madara's waist. The blow was precise and powerful, but Madara managed to dodge it, barely avoiding the full impact, forcing him to take a step back. Not letting up, she kept the pressure on, attacking with newfound vigor and finally forcing him into the defensive

A flurry of strikes and kicks were exchanged in a fast-paced dance of aggression, neither making contact with the other. But Madara was quickly losing ground, as each strike pushed him further back. In the midst of their intense struggle, the wooden headless corpse at their feet was crushed under the pressure of their battle The two fighters moved with lightning speed, their movements a blur as they battled for supremacy.

'....because it's fun.' She inwardly snorted in amusement, repeating his words in her mind. It was completely unreasonable. A rational person might assume that he was just lying, hiding his true intentions. But Satori knew better. She could see the truth in his eyes and feel it in his actions. He genuinely was doing this for entertainment. He was absolutely crazy, a madman, a lunatic.....

.....just like her, she smirked.

She kept on advancing as she kept him in the defensive before she finally found it...

'An opening!'

Her cursed energy danced on her fist, crackling and pulsing with a blue-black light that flickered like flames. She stuck out, her fist piercing through her opponents chest.....or she thought

A cloud of white smoke billowed out from the point of impact. When it cleared up, it revealed her arm piercing a broken slab of concrete.

She tensed up,

'It was a feint!' She thought as she rapidly turned around, her senses on high alert...but it was too late

'Got her..' he thought with a crazed grin, his arm reaching out towards her.

However, just as he was about to reach out and make contact with her, his hand suddenly stopped in midair. He tried to force it to move, but it felt as though it had become paralyzed, refusing to go any further.

He frowned, confused by this unexpected development. He could feel a strange, almost imperceptible barrier blocking his way. It was thin, almost minuscule, but it was there nonetheless, and he could sense its presence as surely as he could feel the weight of his own hand.

His expression darkened as he saw a smile spreading on his opponent's face.

....when he finally came to a realisation

'Ah shit..'

"Cursed Technique Reversal: Red"

Red was indeed all what Madara saw..

*BOOOOOOOOM!!*

"Ughhh.."

Madara groaned he lay there on the ground, propped up against the wall of the now-destroyed classroom. The room was in shambles, the debris of the broken furniture and shattered glass scattered all around him. His clothes were covered in dirt and soot, and the ends were singed, testament to the intense heat and force of his arrival.

His eyes slowly fluttered open, and he saw the devastation that lay ahead. A makeshift tunnel had been created where he had crashed through the walls of several classrooms, leaving a path of destruction in his wake. The once pristine and organized hallways were now a mess of broken bricks, twisted metal and scattered papers

'Wow... Rusty much?' Came the mocking voice of his partner, a playful smirk in her tone.

Madara scowled, his annoyance clear, 'Shut up. She caught me off guard.....and I was just trying to gauge the extent of her abilities first.'

She replied back quickly, her words tinged with sass, 'Aww, would you look at that? Mr. Grouchy Uchiha is making excuses. How cute.'

Madara simply groaned in annoyance and shook his head, refusing to rise to her bait. Instead, he refocused his attention on the task at hand

He then furrowed his brows, deep in thought as he replayed the events of the previous moments in his mind

'What happened? I'm sure I had her, so why did my hand stop?'

It caught him off guard, whatever that was.....Well, his arrogance was partly to be blamed as well

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She observed him rising, as he brushed the dust from his clothes. Her eyes narrowed as she saw the lack of injuries. She knew she had held back a lot with that attack, because they were currently in an urban area with people, but still, there wasn't even a single injury.....not even a scratch, she only damaged his clothes.

When he raised his head. he caught her eyes again (at least he assumed he did, behind the blindfold), and in an instant, he was back in front of her.

He didn't say anything as he just fiercely stared at her, as if trying to grasp something.

A hint of confusion passed her

"Why are you looking at me with such burning eyes?.... That too on our first meeting..." She asked, her voice 'trembling' slightly, as she played with a strand of her hair with her finger by twirling it, appearing to be a timid young lady who was trying to disguise her embarrassment, "You're making me blush..."

"What's the meaning of this?" He said suddenly, completely ignoring her act, "Why can't I touch you?.....I know I got in contact" His tone demanding

Her eyes briefly flashed a knowing look before switching back to a playful twinkle.

"Kyaa!" she stammered, her cheeks 'flushing', "Y-you want to touch me?!....How bold.." She avoided his gaze, her eyes falling to her fidgeting fingers, continuing her shy act, "A-aren't we going a little too fast? I mean, we just met today...."

A gust of wind passed by them, as crickets chirped in the background, silence painted the surroundings

He simply deadpanned at her, giving her an emotionless face.

She pouted, "Geee, you're no fun....Fine I'll tell you"

He raised a brow in surprise, he didn't really expect her to say anything

"Well... to put it simply," she began, pausing for a moment to gather her thoughts. "You didn't just touch me, you touched the 'Infinity' that exists between you and me."

'The 'Infinity'?' He mused, his brows once again furrowing

"Here, I'll show you," she offered, a twinkle in her eye.

She extended her arm towards him, her fingers splayed wide open, "Go on. Put your hand out as well," she continued

He narrowed his eyes, suspicion clouding his features

"Oh, come on~" She waved her extended hand encouragingly towards him

He just stared at her

She whined as she continued waving her hand at him, "Comeee onnnn~ Come onnnn~ You know you want to~ I don't bite y'know.....unless you want me to"

'I don't sense any hostility or any malicious intent,' he thought to himself, analyzing the situation, 'Nor do I detect any kind of traps. Her personality doesn't seem the type to commit those cowardly tricks either. Besides, if anything goes wrong, I have a few tricks up my sleeve myself.'

With a sigh, he raised his hand, finally giving in to her request, 'I guess I'll see what it's about'

As his hand approached hers, just as it was centimetres away, it suddenly stopped. No matter how much force he applied, it didn't budge an inch. It was completely still

'There it is again,' he thought pensively. 'I can't touch her. It just stops before her. This is Infinity?'

As if reading his thoughts, she continued, "You're not exactly stopped, to say so. The closer you get, the slower you go."

Even though she had a smile on her face, she was completely serious inwardly.

'This is the closest anyone has been....' She thought in wonder, 'As a matter of fact, his hand is moving so slowly right now that it is appearing to be completely motionless.'

Shaking her head mentally, she brought back her attention

"So, what now?" she asked, as her hand inched closer until her fingers finally made contact with his

'I see. I understand now. Infinity, huh. Looks like I'll let loose a little bit.....

....just a tiny bit'

"We could just hold hands like this, you know," she finished, her fingers slipping to the side to wrap around his hand, initiating the first physical contact between them.

A flicker of annoyance passed over his eyes, and he made an attempt to take back his hand.

..but just as he was about to do that, her grip tightened as she pulled him towards her with her other hand reaching out to punch him in the stomach.

However, he was quick to react, sliding his leg out from under him and pivoting to dodge her strike. The two now stood back-to-back, her hand still clasped around his.

He counteracted her grip with a swift motion, using his leverage to lift her up by the arm and swing her forward

In response, she just gracefully flipped in the air and nimbly landed on her feet with a cheeky smile on her face as if she didn't just try to attack him.

"So, there you have it," she said with a smirk, "You see now why there's no point in fighting. You can't touch me. No matter what you do, it'll always end up-"

'Suki-'

'Yeah, yeah, I know. I'll give you some,' Suki interrupted

"-in a stalemate, with you never being able to land a hit m-"

"Your Infinity...." He interrupted making her shut up, pissing her off a little, "....Its annoying, it's a really annoying technique. Most of my abilities and techniques won't work on you because of that..."

A wild grin slowly stretched across his face, alarming her

"But, do realise....that I said 'most'"

Before she could even react, Madara flashed infront her, with his leg curled up

'He's faster!?'

She felt a smouldering sting in her abdomen before she was propelled backwards.

*CRASH!*

Walls after walls fell apart as her figure crashed through them

*BOOM!*

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Pained groans escaped her as she held her abdomen that ached profusely, she found herself in a similar situation that Madara just did as she crashed into a wall.

The crash didn't damage her, but the attack from him did. She could feel the warmth of her own blood as it trickled down her chin

'Ugh...I think that ruptured some of my organs'

However, before she could catch her breath, another strike came down upon her, even faster than before. This time, though, she was able to react quickly. With lightning-fast reflexes, she crossed her arms in front of her, shielding herself from the impact.

*CRACK*

*BOOOOM!*

The impact was so powerful that it shook the very foundation of the room. The aftermath was chaos. Dust filled the air, making it nearly impossible to see. She grit her teeth, trying to endure the pain as she held her almost-purple bruised right arm. Her black sleeves, which once covered her arms, were now completely ripped off, lying in tattered shreds on the ground.

'It's broken,' she thought in disbelief as she gazed at her arm, which was now swollen and purple. 'He broke my arm.' The realization hit her like a ton of bricks, causing her heart to race and her mind to spin.

The dust slowly settled, revealing his figure as it emerged from the haze. His black orbs looked indifferent, but there was a hint of amusement hidden beneath the surface.

'As I thought, it worked'

"H-how?" she stuttered, still trying to process what had just happened.

A smile spread across his face, a sinister curve of his lips, "Well, since you were so kind as to explain your technique to me, I'll return the favor and give you a brief explanation of mine," he said with a sly glint in his eye.

He raised his right hand, to which she just noticed was pitch black...or at least coated in substance that was, "You see this...This is a Truth-Seeking Orb" Like paint, the black that coated his hand escaped his hand and moulded into a pitch-black sphere that floated beside him.

"Its quite pitiable.....like clay. I can shape it to whatever I want, within a certain limit of course," He continued as the orb beside him shifted into numerous shapes.

"But....apart from that" he continued, "It has quite a unique ability, the one that makes it truly special. It can nullify anything, no matter what technique is used against it. It simply penetrates through any obstacle." He paused, looking intently at her, before concluding with the briefest of explanation of the orb's capabilities. This was of course not the true Truth-Seeking Orb, it was a downgraded version, a weaker imitation

The true one might disintegrate her.

The true one could penetrate almost anything

The true one was nigh-indestructi-!?

Suddenly he had a flash of his fight with that Taijutsu user, with eyebrows bigger than he had ever seen...

.....Well....they were highly durable at least...

*cough*

Anyway...

He could use this fake one with the help of the slight remnant chakra of Suki. Only the slightest trace of her chakra was enough, even if she somehow left his body, the lingering chakra of hers left behind would be enough for him to make this. He could call only one orb, which was enough.

He still hadn't tried his new Tailed Beast Chakra Mode yet, with Suki. It was, of course, going to be much more stronger, and he would also be able to call 10 of the true ones then if he ever had to. He couldn't wait to try it out...however the question was....

Was she a worthy enough foe to make him bring out this form?

He smirked inwardly.....Only time would tell

He watched as she responded with silence, unsure if she was even looking at him. It was as if she was in a trance, lost in thought. Suddenly, her head fell downwards and she leaned back against the concrete wall behind her. As he gazed upon her, he noticed her shoulders begin to shake, and he finally got a clear view of her face.

Her expression was somber, but then he heard a sniffle, followed by a few stifled chuckles. These chuckles grew louder....and louder.... until they finally escalated into full-blown laughter, echoing through the surroundings. Madara raised one of his eyebrows

After a while, her laughter subsided as she tried to catch her breath, and although she had settled down, the occasional giggle still escaped from her lips

Just as Madara opened his mouth to say something, she chipped in as she raised her uninjured arm to her eyes, wiping a tear, "I'm sorry.... Its just-"

A chuckled escaped her once more, before she collected herself and calmly stood up, brushing the dust off her clothes.

"Its...its just been so long..."

The blue bruise on her arm started to fade and her skin returned to its natural, healthy glow.

"So long since I've been injured....."

There was a loud crack, that resounded, as though a bone had snapped back into place,

"So long since I shattered any of my bones.."

She slowly raised her hand towards her face as she tucked two of her fingers beneath her black blindfold.

"So long since I've had a taste of my own blood....."

The black blindfold shifted with a light tug, as it looped across her snow-white hair, unveiling what's beneath...

Madara's eyes widened.

His own irises, instinctively, turned a deep, fiery red as three commas swirled around his pupils

'A Dojutsu?!'

They were....beautiful

Too beautiful in fact.

The epitome of beauty and perfection. It was as if the sky itself had bloomed within them, shining a bright, clear cyan. Her eyes were like precious jewels, the kind that were hidden in the deepest, most remote parts of creation.

But they were cursed jewels....

A feral grin stretched across her face, the hunger for battle evident, "Its just, so...."

Such unnatural beauty used to allure its prey.....

"...exhilarating"

....and utterly devour them.

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