Chapter 13: Trapped; Malicious Ploy
Star Religious Group HQ...
Within a small training room, a figure meticulously drilled himself with serious training, unleashing multiple punch kick combos, devastating a punching bag right before him.
His upper half was bare, his lean body glistened with sweat, his fingers and knuckles taped and his breathing erratic. He had no idea how long he had been doing this gruesome training, but, his goal was clear.
To be known and recognised as the best in hand to hand combat. Despite his possession of the Sharingan that was supposed to make him untouchable in close quarters, he wanted to add on to that ability with unparalleled hand to hand combat.
About a few days ago, he had finally unlocked the Uchiha clan's taijutsu techniques, one that mainly focused on utilizing the reaction speed and granted by the Sharingan to unleash quick explosive attacks that targeted one's weak points.
He punched out, and in less than a second, a kick exploded forth, rocking the punching bag and sending it swinging.
"I need to go faster!! If I can reduce the time intervals between consecutive blows, the opponent won't have any time to counteract me.."
He wiped the beads of sweat running down his cheek, sucked in a deep breath and called forth all the natural strength in his body. He wasn't using any cursed energy in this training, in order to get his muscles and tendons used to the art and the pain before he empowered them with cursed energy.
Without hesitation he unleashed a punch, followed by a kick within a split second. If anyone else had witnessed the scene, they would've thought his hand and leg moved at the same time due to how fast he moved.
He wasted no time and unleashed several punch kicks combos, following each hit seconds after the previous.
In the end, he took a seat, resting his back against the wall, before he picked up a small towel from his ninja backpack, along with a bottle of water, resting for a few minutes and leaving to his room.
Flickering to his room, he quickly entered the shower, took a good bath for about 15 minutes and walked out , wrapped in a white towel.
He had a received a mission from the higher ups, and after meticulous planning and gathering information on the target, it was finally time go hunt.
Slipping on his black pants and Shinobi sandals, he quickly put on his purple wrist warmers and then his sleeveless, brown shirt that bore the crest of the Uchiha clan.
He then summoned the Kusanagi and sheathed it on his lower back, before he finished his attire with his signature Akatsuki robes and grabbed onto his orange looking spiral mask.
While the Akatsuki robe possessed only aesthetic functions, Tobi's spiral mask which he possessed was in Jujutsu terms, a graded tool, at least according to the system.
It's abilities mainly lay in obscuring his identity, tricking even the most heightened senses.
Walking to his opened window, he sighed and pulled the mask down covering his face.
"I've got a bad feeling about this mission.."
He couldn't help but sigh. This mission was going to be a bit different from what he normally carried out. The target this time was a curse user, or in familiar terms, a Jujutsu sorcerer.
He consoled himself with the fact that as of now, the Jujutsu world only had three registered Special Grades. Gojo Satoru himself, Geto Suguru and Yuki Tsukumo.
For first grades, while he couldn't go toe to toe with a fully realized first grade sorcerer as of yet, he had a trump card in his possession that should grant him an easy escape in case he encountered one, hence he could carry out the mission without fear.
Sighing to himself, he placed the uneasy sensation behind him for now, and jumped through the window, disappearing into the distance.
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The outskirts of Shibuya bordered near the banks of Shinjuku, the two cities merely separated by a small road.
A large uncompleted building stood amidst a cluster of buildings, bathed in an invisible gloomy aura that seemed to drive everyone away.
Meanwhile, within said building, an old figure sat within a small room, his expression restless and anxious, and his body slightly shivered in response to the upcoming chain of events.
He was short, yet stout, possessing a bald head and an ugly, wrinkled face that could have people running from, the moment he went out.
His inner white robe was stained with sweat, and he suddenly began to pace up and down in his room mumbling something unknown to himself.
About half an hour later, all the lights within his room went out, and his body shook in fear, instantly mobilising his cursed energy and standing on guard, as if he was expecting someone to just swoop in and attack him from out of nowhere.
But his assumption seemed to be right after all. He looked around his room in fear and suddenly raised his head up the ceiling only to see a demonic pair of eyes glaring at him from above.
For once , he regretted the deal he had made with those pompous religious bastards and vowed to eliminate them if given the chance.
Without hesitation, he rushed forward at full speed, sending himself crashing into a glass window, falling from the top floor where he lived to the ground.
'He was expecting me?'
Meanwhile, the intruder, wrapped in a black robe with red cloud imprints looked towards the destroyed window with a bit of suspicion..while all of his targets had tried to escape the moment they saw him, this old man was different.
It felt as if...as if he knew he was going to come for him.
Frowning underneath his mask, he flickered through the destroyed window and chased after his target, unwilling to soil his reputation and allow his prey to elude him unlike never before.
The old man was certainly fast -- for someone who had lived that long, he sure would have a greater understanding on the mobilization and use of his cursed energy.
He blitzed through the inner streets of Shinjuku, his body still shivering in fear at the very thought that he might actually lose his life to the assassin.
He ran with all of his might, however at a point, he raised his head, as if he sensed something, towards a rather tall building and his heart shook.
The assassin stood atop the building, masked and all, calmly watching him from above, and it was then he felt it -- the true meaning of despair. No matter how far he ran he wasn't going to escape the grim reaper behind him.
'There's only one way then..'
The old man vowed in his heart and rushed towards another direction, while Sasuke looked on in confusion underneath his mask, and disappeared from where he stood.
After about several minutes of non stop running, the old man finally reached his destination, a large abandoned warehouse about a mile from the residential area.
Sighing inwardly, he finally reached his destination, near the entrance, the supposed salvation he thought, when a sharp object suddenly ripped through his abdomen causing blood to spurt.
Looking down in shock, he saw a kunai sticking out, while the blood pouring out of the wound dyed his shirt red.
"I really want to see what game you have planned for me.."
A deep voice resounded behind him, and he turned his head only to see the assassin a few steps behind him.
"Harrgh!"
Pulling out the kunai lodged within his guts, he puked out blood and rushed towards the assassin, choosing to attack with the bloodied kunai in hand.
*Slash!*
The old man relentlessly attacked, while the assassin casually dodged all the blade slashes with relative ease. He did not even have time to attack for the second time, when a punch shattered his nose, followed by a kick to the chest that sent him crashing into the entrance of the warehouse.
Slowly walking into the warehouse, the assassin surveyed the entire area in a glance, before he took another step into it, however, before he could even take another step forward, an object suddenly descended from above and enveloped him, objectively caging his figure.
The metal box shattered the ground below it, and it effectively sealed all escape paths of the assassin.
"Hahaha! I lured you here for a reason. Now be a good boy and..."
*RIIP!!!*
The old man taunted with a bloody laugh, however his eyes widened the next moment, when a hand wrapped in lightning ripped through the metal cage, as if it were made of paper.
His brows twitched, when another hand ripped through the cage as well. Both hands grabbed either side of the metal cage and tore it apart, as the assassin walked out, wrapped in lightning.
"Hehehe. Very impressive. However, you're not making it out of this place alive.."
The old man laughed despite the firm hand that wrapped around his throat and lifted him up.
"You're....trapped!"
The old man choked, on his own blood, but he laughed. It was right then and there that the assassin felt it. Hurling the old man away, he pulled off his mask and his irises turned blood red while three tomoe shaped symbols revolved within them.
Glaring towards the pure malevolent, fiery cursed energy that surrounded the entire warehouse, he sucked in a deep breath and his body tensed.
"An innate domain.."
He whispered, tightly clenching his fists. An innate domain simply signified one thing. A cursed spirit higher than second grade was here in the warehouse.
An innate domain was a metaphysical reflection of the mind and soul of the being it belonged to. It was more of an incomplete version of a legit domain expansion and while it was nearly impossible to destroy it from the inside, it could be destroyed from outside it's range.
"Hahaha. Those religious old fools really want you dead to pay me so much just to put you down.."
The old man slowly arose from his feet, wiping the bloodstains on his lips, and laughed seeing the distraught expression on Sasuke's face.
'So soon?'
Sasuke frowned. It wasn't new knowledge that the Star Religious Group was going to betray him at some point. However it happening so soon was completely out of his plans. He had deduced that once his true identity was revealed, they would betray him so as not to make enemies with the Zen'in clan.
But as of now, his identity was still a secret, so a betrayal at this point was completely unplanned for. However, he needed to find out why.
With a kunai in hand, he rushed towards the old man, ready to end his life, when he sensed a couple of movements from within the ground, along with a familiar cursed energy.
He quickly leapt out of the way, flipping sideways and landed soundlessly. As he turned towards the intruder, he saw a massive worm like cursed spirit burrowing out of the ground.
The curse then opened it's massive mouth, and a figure walked out calmly, with both hands in his pockets.
His long dark hair was tied into a ponytail and he was dressed in a customized Jujutsu uniform with baggy pants. His handsome visage looked towards the surroundings for a moment, however he paused for a moment, after his gaze landed on Sasuke's figure.
Meanwhile, Sasuke's heart sunk even further. He could probably escape from a first grade cursed, however pairing it up with none other than Suguru Geto himself was overkill for the current him.
Without hesitation, his hand moved towards his Kusanagi and rested on the handle. He wasn't going to go down without a fight.
A/N: Keep those powerstones coming in people. Sasuke desperately needs them. Don't forget to comment and review the book as well. Have a great day everyone. Peace ✌️