The Sounds of Dreams [Event-Hallowen]

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Kaito huffed and puffed from his overexertion, the concept of finally having overdone it through his previous use of high leveled techniques and jutsu finally having beginning to catch up to him. This was highly unusual for the man, who had preached to his students previously to not overdo it otherwise they could potentially face the consequences of life changing, and potentially ending, situations.

'Damnit...' He thought to himself as sweat dripped profusely from his brow and onto the utterly destroyed ground at his feet. 'I'm getting to be to old for this type of stuff...'

The exact replicas of the Otokage, his adoptive son Hanzo, and Otogakure's favorite forgemaster Quinn smirked at the three Otogakure shinobi, all boasting a blisteringly rejuvenated and begrudgingly superior look about them. The replica of Kaito, in fact, confronted the real one with a currently active Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan. As to be expected from this Land of Nightmares and Dreams, it was exactly as it appeared when Kaito himself had it active him both of his eyes, and Kaito cursed to himself at this realization. If this thing confronting him was to have his own eyes, he was sure that it was going to have all of his other monstrous abilities including but not limited to his Wood Release, his relatively unknown and unheard of Jashingan, and his own creation in the Glass Release. Thankfully for the three present, however, Kaito had made the knowledge of the Glass Release open knowledge to those who had graduated from Otogakure no Sato's ninja academy, but whether they had decided to learn of those techniques and jutsu he knew not. When it came down to it all, Kaito and the monster that took on his own appearance very well have been the only two to wield the Glass Release.

'Damnit...' The Uchiha Otokage thought to himself as he gritted his teeth, somewhat wishing that he had not created such powerful techniques in his six years of free time back in Sunagakure no Sato's Hyperbolic Time Chamber. 'They are all going to give us a run for our money, I'm sure...'

Lost in his own mind as he continued kicking himself in the butt for his unsanctioned and unconvened creations, the Otokage of Otogakure no Sato would be brought back to his senses by the sound of his village forgemaster's voice.

"Perhaps we fight again?" The woman asked Kaito. The Otokage's ears perked at this prospect presented by Quinn, and he looked over to see that the woman his own age was smirking at the young man. Kaito blinked simply as his cheeks began to become as red as the woman's hair that sat atop her head, perhaps hinting at a sign of attraction towards her, but also perhaps reflecting a desire to finally be able to show his worth to her as the village's leader. Quinn, being a kunoichi focusing on physical strength rather than elemental jutsu, had been able to previously exploit all of Kaito's weaknesses during their fight in the village's Tournament of Sound that took place in the months prior to their present situation. The young man had presented it as a showcase of the newly appointed genin's abilities, to show that the village heading into the future would be heading into a brighter future of protection from the outside world and all of the bandits and foragers that had previously plagued the lands, but it was easy to see that the woman had easily gotten the upper hand on the Otokage. Kaito may have been too embarrassed at the time to admit this, thus the small ruse that he had implanted in the ears of those who had been present at the fight, but now that mattered not. Now he would have to go all out and show Quinn that he too was worthy of her praise and admiration. To reflect this, Kaito too smirked back at the forgemaster.

"Alright, deal." He said as, for some reason or another, his appearance began to change from his collection of Nature Chakra during the exchange leading up to now. The Otokage was entering into his Animal Sage Mode, which had normally allowed the young man to take the shape of a werewolf, but seeing as this was the world of dreams and nightmares, and the fact that Kaito had already for some unknown reason taken on the shape of his werewolf form since having arrived here in this land, the use of this Animal Sage Mode would allow him to revert back into his human form. Still smirking at the village's favorite forgemaster that was Quinn Foster, light glinted magnificently in his beautiful emerald green eyes before they turned into the dark crimson that belonged to his own Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan. "If I win though, you'll have to treat me to our next round of coffee together." Kaito's smirk turned to a genuine smile as he winked at the forgemaster before he turned his attention towards Hanzo, who was sure to also have his own Mangekyou Sharingan currently active as well from their previous battle with the monsters that had made up the Land of Nightmares and Dream's population. "Looks like you'll be fighting my shadow then, Hanzo." The Otokage raised a closed fist to his adoptive son for a fist bump, which was slowly but surely becoming a form of parental affection for the two in Kaito's eyes. "Hit me with those super fast Lightning Release techniques of yours. If that shadow of mine is an exact copy like I think it to be, then it will be much too slow to dodge them."

As Kaito spoke with the two Otogakure no Sato companions that stood on either side of him, the landscape would again shift all around them. The ground would slowly rise as the effects of the previous battle seemed to correct themselves in a matter of only a few seconds before rising up from the ground and beginning to form a beige platform underneath all of their feet. The platform would expand to be an exact replica of Otogakure no Sato's Amphitheater, which was the location of the village's first annual Tournament of Sound that Kaito had helped to construct. The only difference between the two was the fact that the arena was much bigger than the actual one located back in the village, this one being exactly three times as big as its real life counterpart so as to encompass the three battles that were about to ensue. Almost all of the details regarding the arena were down to an exact match, and a crowd even erected itself in the stands surrounding the arena. Kaito looked over to where he had previously been stationed during the event in the stands as he observed them, and it was there that he could see the shadow versions of Amaya Uchiha and their clone son, Tatsuya Uchiha. Kaito gulped at this, as the two of them were booing him along with seemingly the rest of the crowd that was observing the oncoming battle. This reflected very well what had been going on between Kaito and his family, as Kaito and Amaya had been fighting as of late with Amaya feeling as though Kaito had been overlooking their small family to oversee the village as a whole. None of this sat right with Kaito, but he understood her position. With a sigh Kaito would shake the thought from his mind, knowing that those were not the real Amaya nor the real Tatsuya.

'Just take it easy, Kaito...' The young man thought to himself. 'Those shadows aren't real...'

Kaito would revert back to his previous smirk as he looked again at the shadow version of Quinn that he was now faced with.

"Prepare to lose this time, Forgemaster." He said, still smirking. The shadow Quinn too would smirk back as it let the giant weapon that it held in its possession hit the ground at its feet, smashing a small portion of the arena around itself shockingly.

"You wish, weakling." The shadow replied, almost mimicking the real Quinn's voice down to her normal pitch and tone. With that, the shadow would dash towards the real Uchiha Otokage with a blistering and tremendous speed, which was granted through its use of the 'Bull Rush' taijutsu technique that allowed almost instantaneous transmission in a solid and straight line. Under normal circumstances, this technique would easily have connected with the Otokage due in massive part to his lack of speed and strength, but since their previous fight, the young man had gained much more knowledge in regard to the powers granted by his Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan. He would keep a line of sight directly above where the shadow version of Quinn once stood, and with the bleeding starting in his right eye, Kaito's body would begin to disperse in a swirl of space time chakra. He would reemerge directly above where the shadow Quinn had one stood as the shadow continued her way forward through the use of her 'Bull Rush', and the real Kaito kept the same smug look on his face that he had for the past few moments. "Oh, you almost had it ." He said as he began to form some hand seals. "You've got to be quicker than that." The shadow, as if on command, would skid to a halt, all the while kicking up dust as it slowed down to a stop only twenty meters in front of the real Kaito. It had gone directly past where the real Quinn and real Hanzo both stood, but it seemed to not notice the two of them whatsoever. In much the same fashion the real Kaito now stood directly between the shadow version of himself and Hanzo, both of which also seemed to not take any notice of him either.

It was almost like the three Otogakure no Sato shinobi had played into the hands of their shadow versions, but this bothered Kaito under no circumstances. The young Otokage knew, without a doubt, that the three of them were going to win this fight, and they were going to do so in such a way that only the shinobi and kunoichi hailing from Otogakure no Sato could. The sound of their victory would be able to heard throughout the entire land that made up this Country of Nightmares and Dreams without question. Turning around, the shadow version of Quinn would grit its teeth at the smirking and smug looking Otokage of the village that was Otogakure no Sato.

"Stay still so I can show you your place, you weak little man!" The shadow slammed the giant instrument of war which it carried upon the ground again, shaking the ground violently as the ground crumbled below the weapon yet again.

"No, I don't think I will be staying still." Kaito replied as he slammed his hands upon the ground before him. "I've got a cup of coffee riding on this." The shadow bellowed out a curse as it began charging toward the real Kaito again, but this was something that the Otokage had been banking on. Quinn, and by extension her shadow, was very powerful. That was especially so in close quarters situations like their previous fight had been, but the real Kaito was not about to let the shadow get the upper hand this time as the real Quinn had previously. As all of this happened, the young man began fusing his chakra into the ground at his feet. It was a good thing for him that, during the construction of the real version of this arena, he had it made in such a way that any and all types of chakra were easily conducted all throughout it, and this would play very well into the Uchiha Otokage's hands. "Wood Style: Underground Root Jutsu!" The entirety of the arena began to rumble, and in the straight line that Kaito faced hundreds of roots in varying sizes began to erupt from the ground. They thrashed all around as if trying to find something to latch themselves onto, and that was the idea that the real Kaito had in mind. If all would go correctly, the shadow Quinn would become ensnared within the roots, and he would be able to separate the shadow woman from the gigantic weapon that she boasted.

"Oh, no you don't!" Remarked the shadow version of Quinn as she easily tore through the roots of the real Kaito's Wood Release technique with her giant weapon from the Land of Iron. The shadow woman would run at her top speed towards the Otokage, and all the while Kaito kept the same smug look about him as he continued to form yet more hand seals. They were the Snake, Rat, Dragon, and Dog hand seals, and upon the completion as the shadow version of Quinn neared six meters in front of him, more roots would shoot violently out from the ground directly in front of Kaito. With the shadow Quinn still running at her top speed, it would be impossible for it to stop in time before colliding with the newly formed roots, which grappled its ankles and began wrapping themselves around it with tremendous speed and tenacity. This would play into the Otokage's hand perfectly, and just as planned the weapon which it carried would fall harmlessly to the ground between them. Well, maybe not so harmlessly as a loud rumbling sound echoed throughout the fake arena and dust too erupted from the ground as the instrument collided with the ground. Kaito couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief at this revelation, realizing that he was easily that close to having to face the long and eternal embrace of death. He too knew that he would have to remain that careful in the world from which he came too, remembering that this shadow woman was this plane of existence's exact copy of Ms. Quinn Foster herself.

'Note to self; do not, and I repeat, do not make Quinn mad in any way, shape or form...'

A bead of sweat dripped down the Otokage's brow as the thought of being hit so hard with one of the forgemaster's weapons that he landed back in Sunagakure no Sato all the way on the western continent came over him, but he would be brought back to his senses again by the shadow version of the forgemaster as it began thrashing around in the roots. The faint sound of snapping could be heard, and Kaito took note of this as some of the smaller branches began breaking off from the bigger roots before his very eyes.

"You think this lousy little technique of your's will hold me forever, Otokage?" The shadow asked with a smirk. "You are dumber than you look!" Kaito chuckled at the shadow's outburst.

"I never said that it needs to hold you forever, shadow," He said, brushing the bangs out from in front of his eyes. "It only needed to hold you until I could do this..." The real Uchiha, Kaito would, with one hand and through the use of his skill in one handed seals, perform the one handed variant of the clone hand seal. Another exact replica of Kaito would form, at least one that would take on the werewolf form that he had initially underwent in this odd land, and it would slowly creep forward towards the shadow. All the while as this was happening the real Kaito would perform in his other hand another set of seals. Upon their completion, and when the real Kaito and everyone else was a safe distance away, he would initiate his next and final technique in this fight. "Clone Art: Great Explosion!" The clone of Kaito, again still in this world's werewolfish form, smirked with its muzzle as it began to glow a bright white color. The shadow version of Quinn let out a gut wrenching scream as a blinding light encompassed the five meter area around the clone. This would be met with a deafening explosive sound and within seconds a strong gust of wind would erupt in the surrounding vicinity of where the clone once stood. "Goodbye, Shadow Quinn." The real Kaito said, again brushing sweat from his brow as the battle had finally been able to come to an end in his favor. He began encroaching upon the resting place of where the shadow had been, and as the dust finally settled he could see as the bits and pieces that remained of the shadow simply began to merge with the ground below, almost as if the world itself was eating the monster that Kaito had just defeated. He looked over to the location of the real Quinn, who had been battered and bruised all to hell in her own fight, but she was still standing nonetheless. The shadow version of Hanzo was also beginning to merge with the ground, and Kaito was sure that all the same the shadow version of himself was too. Something was not right, or at least it felt that way to the real Kaito. This could not just be the end of it all. It may have felt like it to the other Otogakure no Sato shinobi stationed there with him, but he had been thrown into too many other worlds and situations such as this that he knew something big was sure to be encroaching on their location as the trio stood there and licked their wounds clean.

Sure enough, the Otokage would be correct in his assumption, and a loud thud echoed again throughout the fake arenas in which him, Hanzo, and Quinn currently stood. The harsh sound of spine chilling laughter could be heard as it carried on the winds, and Kaito recognized the laughter as one that he had heard before. Narrowing his eyes, with his Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan still active as ever, he would turn sharply on his heel and launch a horde of shuriken towards the location from which the laughter originated. The source of the sound would easily deflect the shuriken as they stuck into the creature's weapon, and Kaito gritted his teeth at the sight of the beast now standing before him.

"We meet again, Lord Otokage." The beast said, standing tall as it took the shape of a large humanoid-like creature with massive and torn wings. The beast was red, even redder than the Otokage's own Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, and it was bulky as though it had never missed an opportunity to pick up a set of weights.

"Beezelbub..." Kaito said through his gritted teeth. "I guess I didn't defeat you the last time now, didn't I?"

"I told you, humans," The beast said, brandishing the same large club that it had in its and Kaito's previous encounter. "My name matters not. It matters not, for this will be the last time we cross paths ever again, and I do mean it this time, weakling." Tired and bruised beyond belief, Kaito knew that he barely had any fight left within himself. His chakra was running on empty, if not close to it by this point, and all the young man wanted to do was sleep blissfully and without care. He was now so close to that goal, however, as he could see the rifts in the skies above the Land of Nightmares and Dreams begin opening and closing erratically. Buildings and structures began falling into the dreamscape as though they were falling from the real world itself, and Kaito knew form his knowledge in the mechanics of space time that the worlds were beginning to merge together. Beezelbub would take note of Kaito looking up towards the skies and chuckled. "Our worlds are becoming one domain now, and it is one that I single handedly will rule over as my own. You humans did your best, but its far too late now."

"You're wrong, demon!" Kaito voiced, balling the both of his hands into fists at his sides. "Myself and the shinobi of this world, especially those from Otogakure no Sato, will not just allow you to do as you please!" In this moment Kaito's human form began to dissipate, bringing him back to the wolfish form that he had taken upon entering the Land of Nightmares and Dreams. His voice was now accented with the low growls of his wolfish form, adding to the weight that he brought to the situation at hand. "Us three will be on the ones to stop you here and now, so bring it on, you son of a bitch!"

To start off the last leg of this little war, Kaito would once again take in the use of his left Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan's ability. He would position his focus directly on the demon lord's large wooden club, which easily stood two meters tall and half a meter in thickness. The space and time around the club began to take on a swirling pattern, and in a matter of seconds the club was gone; forever lost in the endless void that made up Kaito's own personal Kamui dimension. The man's eye began to bleed profusely, and within seconds the entire left side of his face would be covered in the sticky mess of the crimson red blood that oozed from its socket. This would be the perfect time for the three of the Otogakure no Sato shinobi to end the beast in one fell swoop, should they play their cards correctly. Teamwork in this situation, with all three of them on their last leg in this fight, would make or break everything, and quite literally the stake of the entire world was now resting on their shoulders.

"Hanzo!" Kaito said. "Hit his wings with your Amaterasu! Quinn, take him out with your monstrous strength once those pesky wings are out of the equation. I'll provide backup if and whenever necessary!"

Kaito would do just as he had said, and after a short while the battle would come to an end in the trio's favor. The Otokage would allow himself to fall onto the ground of the Land of Nightmares and Dreams, which was sure to now and forever just be called the Land of Dreams once again, and he let out a light chuckle.

"We did it, you two..." He said as his eyes reverted back to their normal emerald green state. Sleep was once again beginning to overcome the young man, and he removed a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped away all of the blood before turning his attention over to his favorite forgemaster. "Looks like I'll be getting that cup of coffee once we get back... home..." WIth that the Otokage would drift off into slumber, knowing full well that he had done his part in saving the shinobi world once again...


[TOPIC EXIT]