Open challenge again...

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I shall referee this conflict, the place of battle shall be a shopping mall . . . the outside of which is surrounded by the living dead . . . MUHAHAHAHAHA.

As usual, the fight will be to the best of three rounds.
 
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*western face off sting*

(whistle) That's a big sword you got there. Looks mighty heavy. Want me to carry it for you?
 
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Carry it for me? Pishaw, I'd be surprised if you could even drag this thing through the dust.
 
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(alright… let’s get this show on the road)

Ryuken opened his eyes and was taken completely by surprise as to what he saw. Instead of his home, he was in a darkened shopping mall. He was lying behind a counter. On the walls were shelves, stocked with various goods. Ryuken got to his feet and observed his surroundings. A nearby window revealed it was nighttime, the stars shining brightly. The only light came from lights hanging on the ceiling. Ryuken had no idea what was going on. Where was he? Was this some form of genjutsu? All he knew was that he didn’t belong here. Ryuken decided to make a quick exit and walked towards the window. Just as he was about to leap through the window into the night, he was frozen by the horrifying spectacle outside.

Dozens, if not hundreds of people, were surrounding the mall. Their clothes were worn and tattered; their flesh was pale, and most of them were covered in blood stains, wounds, and other forms of physical damage. Others were missing an eye, a part of their head, or a leg. Ryuken couldn’t believe what he witnessed. Only the most powerful ninjutsu could raise the dead… if this was ninjutsu. The walking dead were busy trying to break into the mall through the various doorways that had been barricaded, barred and otherwise been made impossible to pass through. Ryuken figured he had to escape somehow. Maybe he could reach a sewer tunnel somewhere and escape that way. Ryuken straightened his sunglasses, and started moving towards the doorway, into the hall.

As he entered the hall, he heard the soft, but dreading wail of the undead coming through the cracks of the barricaded doorways. Ryuken knew he stood no chance against an army of the undead that size. He kept moving, looking around for any possible points of escape. Ryuken leaped around, chakra powering his speed and height. He leaped onto a higher level of the hall. He ran towards a hallway between two stores. The wail of the undead kept coming from all around him, softly, but bone-chilling nonetheless.

As Ryuken turned around the corner, he suddenly sensed a strong chakra nearby. He pushed himself against the wall and peeked around the corner. He was standing on a higher level. To his right and around the corner was a ledge, viewing down into the mall. Ryuken noticed a tall figure stepping through the dark corridor below. Could it be one of the undead? No, its chakra was too great to be that. Ryuken decided to carefully move in to get a better look. He focused his chakra to the soles of his feet, and carefully leaped towards the ceiling, flipping around as he went upwards. He attached himself to the ceiling, crouched down, and slowly moved closer to the figure…

As he got closer, he noticed the figure was human. He was carrying a large katana in one hand, inscribed with mysterious symbols Ryuken did not recognize. The figure wore a dark black gi, along with a black cloak, making him nearly indistinguishable from the darkness. Ryuken silently moved forwards, trying not to draw attention to himself. Suddenly the figure stopped in his tracks, and turned his head towards Ryuken. “Damn!” Ryuken thought to himself. “He must be able to detect chakra as well.”

Ryuken realized it was useless to continue sneaking around. He jumped off the ceiling and landed on the floor, in front of the mysterious warrior. Ryuken observed him closely. “So you finally showed up, eh?” the stranger said. Ryuken didn’t understand. “What do you mean? You were expecting me? Did you take me here?!” Ryuken replied. “Well… no. Not exactly. It’s hard to explain… but what I can tell you, is that you and I are here for only one purpose…” said the stranger. “Oh, but where are my manners? Allow me to introduce myself… my name is SA_Gohan. I already know you… Amahachi Ryuken, of the Hidden Leaf Village.” Ryuken had no idea how a total stranger could know who he was. Ryuken queried “And you? Are you from a hidden Shinobi village as well?” SA_Gohan chuckled. He replied “No… I am from… what you would call another dimension. You and I got drawn into a dimensional rift by some higher power and were brought here.” Ryuken could not grasp what SA_Gohan just said. Another dimension? Higher power? What was this madness? Ryuken’s mind was racing. “But why? What is this place? What are those creatures outside?” Ryuken quickly asked. SA_Gohan replied “All that is irrelevant. What matters is the purpose of why we are here.” “What purpose do you mean?” Ryuken asked. SA_Gohan replied calmly “To do battle.”

Immediately after speaking these words, SA_Gohan’s gi suddenly turned bright red. He tightly grasped his katana and swung it towards Ryuken. Ryuken quickly grabbed a kunai from his holster and blocked SA_Gohan’s swing. SA_Gohan grinned, pushing hard against Ryuken’s block. “Impressive strength… but can you keep it up!?” SA_Gohan said. Suddenly the blade of the katana started growing, quickly increasing in length. The tip was moving towards Ryuken’s chest. Ryuken quickly put away his kunai and leaped backwards. As he hit the ground he slid backwards a bit. Ryuken quickly got to his feet. He started channeling his chakra and made a half dozen quick hand seals, after which he said “Katanaken no Jutsu!” He extended his right arm towards SA_Gohan, who watched the goings on with a mixture of fascination and dread. Ryuken clenched his right hand into a fist… the texture of his skin suddenly turned to metal. A large blade emerged from the shiny metal. It grew to the approximate length of SA_Gohan’s sword. Ryuken moved his metal fist with the blade sticking out of it in front of his face, glancing murderously in SA_Gohan’s direction. “Let’s get this show on the road,” he said.

The two warriors stormed towards each other, their blades shining in the moonlight. They swung their blades. CLASH! The two blades struck and sparks went flying, a discharge of the mysterious energies powering them. Ryuken quickly swung again and managed to cut SA_Gohan’s chest with his razor-sharp blade. A large red streak was visible on his gi, blood gushing out of the cut. His gi turned to a dark blue. “Argh… impossible!” SA_Gohan said. The size of his blade suddenly diminished. Ryuken smirked at the sight of his wounded opponent, his pride shattered by a single cut. Ryuken laughed. He extended his right arm in front of him and started moving towards SA_Gohan, the blade on his hand closing in on his opponent’s face. SA_Gohan had put his left hand on the streak across his chest. His right hand barely managed to hold the katana. Ryuken suddenly swung his blade again and knocked the katana out of SA_Gohan’s hand, sending it flying through the air and towards the ground. Ryuken then made a seal with his left hand and said “Kai!” Suddenly the blade on his right hand diminished and disappeared. The metal faded away into his skin as well.

“Look at yourself… you’ve already lost,” Ryuken said confidently. “I’ll end this quickly.” Ryuken channeled his chakra and made seven quick hand seals… ram, hare, serpent, bird, boar, horse, tiger. He held the seal of the tiger and exclaimed “Katon, Goukakyuu no Jutsu!” He inhaled deep and opened his mouth. As he exhaled, a huge ball of flame came towards SA_Gohan. But even though the situation was dire, SA_Gohan didn’t look worried at all. His gi turned to a bright red once again. He suddenly crossed his arms in front of him, erecting a magical barrier that blocked the flames from Ryuken’s mouth. Ryuken was surprised by this sudden turn of events and exhaled the last bit of flame from his lungs. SA_Gohan moved his arms away from in front of him. The barrier had left him unscathed from the fire.

“Looks like you’ve been holding back on me…” Ryuken said. “That barrier was just the beginning! I possess power the likes of which have never been seen before!” SA_Gohan excitedly replied. He extended his arm towards his katana on the floor, and as if it were obeying SA_Gohan like a faithful dog obeys its master, the katana flew straight into his hand. SA_Gohan immediately extended his other arm towards Ryuken. A shockwave was emitted from his hand. Ryuken was taken completely by surprise and stood frozen on the spot by SA_Gohan’s power. Ryuken wasn’t overly pleased by this turn of events – his face showed signs of extreme stress as he apparently struggled to move. But it was all in vain, as his body refused to budge an inch, held tightly in place by SA_Gohan’s power.

“You’re a disappointing opponent,” said SA_Gohan. “I expected more from a Leaf ninja. Looks like I picked the wrong one to fight. Oh well. I’ll finish you off quickly, and proceed to my next target.” SA_Gohan slowly moved towards Ryuken. His gi suddenly turned blood red. SA_Gohan drew back his katana, and proceeded to thrust it into Ryuken’s shoulder. White hot pain went through Ryuken’s shoulder; it was too much to bear. If it weren’t for SA_Gohan’s power paralyzing him, he would’ve screamed like there was no tomorrow. SA_Gohan pulled his katana free from Ryuken’s shoulder. Blood splattered on the floor. The pain became even more unbearable. “Time to die,” whispered SA_Gohan softly. He drew back his katana again, ready to thrust it through Ryuken’s heart…

Until suddenly the barred doorway behind Ryuken was forcibly broken open. SA_Gohan held back his katana and looked at the spectacle behind his opponent. His gi suddenly turned to a yellowish tint. His katana reacted by shrinking to the dimensions of a dagger. The shock of what he saw was so great, that he suddenly released his grip on Ryuken. Ryuken immediately fell to his knees, shivering in pain. His hand went for his pierced shoulder. He then got to his senses… this was his chance to attack! His hand went towards his holster. He quickly grasped a kunai, jumped up to get on his feet, and without hesitation, rammed the kunai right into SA_Gohan’s shoulder. He screamed out of pain. Blood came flowing from the fresh opening in his shoulder.

Suddenly Ryuken’s eyes went towards the opened doorway and his mouth fell open in reaction to the awful truth… the undead had found a way into the mall.
 
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The power, and the responsibility that came with that power when one used a technique was great. You had to have strength, so that it would not fail. You had to have control, so that it would not overwhlem you. If you missed one or the other, the jutsu could become dangerous, and not just to oneself, but others as well.

But what if you had both strength and control, and it was still dangerous?

The shrieking of metal and the and sharp tinkling of glass shattering against the ground came to SA_Gohan from everywhere. It echoed down the concourse of North Point Mall, filled the dozens of stores that filled its walls, assaulted him from his left and right, and he could see the cause of the noise directly in front of him.

Undead. Thousands of them. Hundreds of thousands of them. They tore at the walls and doors, pounded the glass and each other, mad in their attempts to get and feast on the flesh of one of the only humans left alive in this city.

The glass caved under their blows countless times, shattering to the ground . . . only to seemingly rewind back into place less than a second later. Some form of magic SA assumed. That or the laws of physics had were radically different from what he was used to.

He turned from the scene, concerned. How long the magic would hold was a mystery to him, but he had a strong suspicion that it would not be forever.
As soon as it failed, he was dead, or would be seconds following. He was a powerful warrior, with a weapon that had yet to have failed him in conflict, but against these numbers and considering their strength he would be but a child's dam made of sand against a tidal wave of endless force.

He knew of only one way to stop this and save himself and what remained of this worlds population. If he could perform that jutsu . . .
Sadly it required two people, and with no one else living around, it was impossible.

Suddenly the now familiar sound of glass breaking came from above as the skylight shattered and a figure dropped from the opening and landed back first at Gohan's feet.

"How fortunate."

***

The figure was a young man not much younger than SA. Dressed in gray pants, blue shirt, sandals, and with a holster strapped to his thigh, he seemed out of place in this world. The colors of his clothes were brighter than those of any of the undead, and the cut of them was radically different as well.

Curious.

At his side lay a kunai, dripping with blood up to the handle.

A . . . warrior?

SA glanced at the man's face. He didn't seem familiar, and his eyes were covered with a set of sunglasses, but Gohan did recognize the headband that held back his hair from his studies. A Konoha Forehead . . . that would make this man a Shinobi from the Hidden Leaf Village.

Where Hidden Leaf was exactly, SA didn't know, but he was quite certain it wasn't local. So how had this guy gotten here?

Well, no matter. He's just the person I need.

He groaned a moment later and turned over on his side, coughing, not noticing SA until he'd recovered from his fall.
He took the hand offered by Gohan and stood.

"How did you get in through the skylight? I thought the barrier was stopping anyone from getting in or out?"

The man brought a hand to the back of his then checked it for blood. "About a hundred of those things knocked me off the edge."
He extended his other hand. "I'm Ryuken."

"I'm SA_Gohan-"

The glass shattered behind him once again, and this time it took a bit longer to reform itself.

Gohan gritted his teeth then looked back at the new arrival. "You've picked a pretty bad place to drop in on. In about 5 five minutes whatever is holding these things out is going to fail, and we're going to be torn apart. The only way to stop them is to send them back where they came from and I know how."

"What are they, some form of magic?"

"They're the product of a ninjutsu gone out of control."

Ryuken seemed suprised. "So you're a shinobi too."

Silence.

"How can I help?"

SA was relieved. As soon as the requirements were met, the dispelling jutsu would require mere moments to perform.
He led the way to one of the structural supports of the mall.
"First, I'll need you to stand right here."

" . . . Ookaay . . . now what?"

Reaching behind him, SA drew Ryuken's fallen kunai into his hand and took careful aim at his face.

"What are you doing?!"

"This is your part . . . mine comes after you're dead."

Ryu's form blurred and vanished, only to reappear hanging upside down from the ceiling moments later.

"What is the meaning of this?!"

SA sighed. Things would have been so much simpler if the guy had just done what was asked of him.

"The jutsu that will send these creatures back requires a blood sacrifice, and that sacrifice has to be substantial, like one's entire lifeforce.

"And you want me to die so that you can perform this technique and live on . . . I don't even know you, and there's not a chance I'd do that now so you better start thinking up another solution."

"There isn't one."

Ryuken folded his arms. "Then I believe we've come to an impasse."

SA took another glance over his shoulder. The longer he spent in here, the more attuned his senses were becoming. He could almost feel the energy of the magic protecting the building . . . and there wasn't much of it left.
Then there's no time left for negotiation."

"Very well. If you will not give your life willing, then I'm afraid I'll have to take. Against me however, will your decision make any difference in the end?"

***

Ryuken somersaulted off the roof and landed before SA, frowning. "I'm not going to die here."

Gohan withdrew his sword with one hand, still holding his opponent's fallen kunai in the other. "We shall see."

In a blur of motion, Ryuken released a hail of shuriken's at SA. The metal stars shrieked through the air at deadly speeds, and even with his impressive speed, it was all the young man could do dodge out of the way of most of them. He leapt backwards then spun to left, avoiding a trio, then flicked his sword in a quick mauever to deflect another quartet, and finally leapt straight up into the air before those that remained could overwhlem his defenses.

Fast . . .

He'd only just somersaulted and adhered himsef to the ceiling before two kunai came flying at him unexpectedly. He only barely saw the glimmer of their blades out of the corner of his eyes and instinctively he allowed himself to fall back to ground to avoid them.

He landed in a crouch and stood up a moment later, barely winded, but secretly alarmed. This guy's speed . . . it was quite impressive. It might even rival his own.

He channeled chakra down into his legs and through the blade of his sword simulataneously and leapt forward. A torrent of wind built up around him as he prepared to launch his own counter. "Gale-"
He was suddenly cut short as a foot painfully connected with the back of his head and sent him flying forward far faster than he'd anticipated. Midair and thus unable to stop his momentum, SA crashed through the window of one of the malls toy stores, knocked over two shelves stocked with dolls and action figures, and finally came to rest within what had been a pile of RC cars.

Blast it. A Bunshin clone.

Ryuken touched down outside the store almost instantly afterwards, his hands blurring as he performed a number of hand seals, then curled a finger above his mouth. "Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

"Suk!"

Flames burst from Ryuken's mouth and flew towards his prone opponent, quickly incinerating anything separating them before enveloping the other warrior completely.

For a long moment, the leaf ninja stood frozen in his position, smoke clouding his vision. Chakra swirled in his belly, ready for him to use again; at the slightest hint that his opponent had survived he was prepared to unleash another attack.
That was why it came as a surprise when a small truck trundled from the ruined store.

He lowered his arm, confused. "What the heck?"

The little vehicle circled at his feet, seemingly unable to decide where it wanted to go, and Ryu scratched his head. What was this thing?

Suddenly it stopped and two more materialized beside it. Dread flared within him. Kage Bunshin-

The explosive notes attached to their undersides detonated and the resulting explosion tossed Ryuken high and far. He landed on the other side of the thouroughfare and skidded to a stop in front of the Gap.

Limping from the fading smoke of the toy store came SA_gohan, his gi a glowing red that reflected the excitement he had of the battle. His hands were empty of all but his katana now, the kunai having been lost in the wreckage of the store.
He gripped his weapon tightly in one hand, the other arm quivering and apparently having been damaged by Ryuken's attack. Regardless of this, he smiled.

He channeled chakra down the length of his sword once more, concentrating it into and around the blade. Air pressure began to build around it, a small tornado that swirled around the weapon, growing larger and more powerful by the second.

Ryuken struggled to stand despite the injuries incurred from the explosion. Blood trickled from his nose and ears, and his body felt strange. I shouldn't have used, so much chakra.

SA raised the Nilliu.
"Gale force!" He shouted. The air rippled with heat and pressure as it was compressed into wave that flew towards Ryu. Still recovering from the last attack, the leaf shinobi had no chance of blocking.

The attack slammed into his chest with devasting force, drawing a scream from the young man as he went flying backwards into the Gap. He crashed through the window and several racks of clothes, the metal of which tore at his clothes and limbs, before rolling to a stop at the main counter, unconscious.

Two minutes left until the magic surrounding the mall would fail. SA sighed with relief. There was just enough time left to perform the sealing jutsu.

Gohan stepped through the window display of the gap, but froze in surprise as his adversary spat blood onto the floor then struggled to stand once again.
His glasses were gone, his muscles strained to support him, and it seemed he didn't even have the strength to stand fully upright, but the smirk that turned up a corner of Ryuken's mouth, and the undefeated fire in his eyes told far otherwise.

He brought up the back of his fist and wiped away the blood trickling down his chin. "I'm not done yet."
 
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Hmm. Excellent rounds to both of you, but SA clearly whupped you on content and plot. SA wins round one. Let it also be known that SA is two reputation ranks above you, and may indeed finish you if he wins.
 
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Well.... I'm sorry to disappoint you, but you are obviously superior to me. There's no way I can beat you now. It would be meaningless to continue this battle with my skill. So I have no choice but to forfeit.
 

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