Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos-Chapter 2217 Pursuit

With noon coming and going, Pink was beginning to think that Black may have reneged on their promise to duel.

Fortunately, just as Pink was thinking about calling it a day and relaxing in the onsen, Black showed up with an 'unreadable' expression on her face. Pink took notice of this, but, instead of focusing on the woman's face, her perpetually shifting eyes lingered on Black's bust as she asked, "Did you stuff your bra...?"

Instead of responding to Pink with words, Black placed her hand on the kashira(butt) of her katana in a reverse grip. The smile on Pink's face immediately faded, her pupils contracting to the size of pinholes as she rolled backward to evade a thin, bluish-white 'line' that only she could see.

Far faster than the cameras could perceive, Black unleashed a strike that left a visible distortion that extended several thousand meters in an instant. Though it faded almost instantaneously, everything along the line appeared to have been 'erased' from existence. It wasn't simply sliced. Everything the thin beam of light had touched was simply gone.

With her incredible mastery over Sword Laws, Pink was generally able to see through even the most mysterious sword techniques at a glance. Black appeared to be an exception in this regard, as, even though she was on the receiving end of the woman's attack, Pink's intuition told her the attack had very little to do with Sword Laws. She just didn't know what it was.

Realizing there was a possibility she would lose instantly if she kept fooling around, the emotion in Pink's expression appeared to melt away as she manifested Goenjin in her left hand and Mugen-no-Hana in her right. A visible pulse immediately erupted from her body, but, instead of destroying her surroundings or kicking up a storm, the space surrounding the two Musashi's appeared to stagnate as even the leaves falling from trees ceased their descent towards the ground.

At a glance, it appeared as though even time had frozen. In reality, Pink's reiatsu(spiritual pressure) was so great that it simply held everything in place. If one were to look closely, literally down to the sub-atomic level, they would find that even the electrons orbiting atoms were vibrating in a strange manner.

Under the influence of her own spiritual pressure, Pink was forced to enter the State of Nothingness just to be able to move. Black reacted in an identical manner, but, due to her momentary shock, she was barely able to protect her heart as Pink attempted to stab both it and her kidney.

Activating her Empyrean Eyes, Pink intended to ensure that both of her attacks were successful. A mysterious compelling force spread through the area, and, for a brief moment, the trajectory of the attack Black had blocked shifted slightly. Unfortunately, even though Pink fully anticipated it, so too did the position of Black's body and katana. She wasn't able to make it so that she wasn't stabbed, but, instead of having her kidney pierced, she suffered a superficial injury as Pink's Mugen-no-Hana cut through the fabric of her obi and grazed her abdomen.

While others might feel a bit of apprehension upon receiving a cut, Black was far from a normal woman. The moment she felt the familiar heat of a sword slicing through her flesh, a vicious smile developed across her face as she slipped between Pink's swords, her free hand leaving a black trail as she landed a loud, cracking blow against the latter's face.

While many of the people viewing the scene hissed in response to the unnerving sound, the events that immediately followed the painful-sounding strike left them completely speechless.

Instead of reeling back, Pink's eyes released a vibrant, blue, and purple glow as what appeared to be an afterimage flew away from her body. As for Pink herself, she stood her ground without so much as flinching, an equally vicious smile on her face as she attempted to bifurcate Black's body via bringing her blades together like a pair of scissors.

With her path of retreat cut off, Black's body briefly became immaterial as she slipped through Pink's comparably bustier frame. The latter, seemingly having anticipated this, swapped places with the illusory figure that had been sent flying by Black's punch. Then, at a speed untraceable by the growing number of cameras present, both she and Black appear to blink out of existence for a brief moment before appearing where each had previously stood.

For a brief moment, the crowd spectating the scene had absolutely no idea what had happened. It was only when a series of bluish-white 'lines' appeared out of nowhere, their number reaching into the hundreds, that they began to piece things together. They couldn't fathom the speed required to perform such a feat, but, the area surrounding the two swordswomen had been severed to such an extent that an area of several hundred meters resembled a latticework of fractured glass.

Exhaling a steamy sigh, Pink half-turned to meet Black's gaze. When she noticed the olive-skinned woman's eyes had shifted from obsidian-black to a familiar mix of blue and purple, a teasing smile developed across her face as she mused, "You're supposed to be the original. Don't you think it's a little shameless to be stealing my techniques...?"

Instead of responding to Pink's taunting, Black slowly sheathed her two katanas before closing her now-mesmerizing eyes and muttering, "It was a good fight...next time, don't hold anything back..."

Snorting through her nose, Pink appeared as though she was about to say something, but, feeling what could best be described as a sense of 'wrongness', her body suddenly became statuesque. In the very next moment, several of the lines that had 'frozen' in her surroundings emitted an eerie yet familiar glow that immediately reminded Pink of a certain heterochromatic princess. By the time she finished that thought, she found herself standing in the otherwise empty waiting room of the Sage Dragon's Hearth.

"Well, fuck..."

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Seeing Pink disappear into motes of bluish-white light, a sigh of relief parted Black's lips as she pulled down the rim of her bamboo hat. Shortly after that, her figure gradually blended into her surroundings, but, if one were to look closely at where she had been standing, a fair amount of blood could be seen staining the ground...

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Realizing that Nobu could suddenly sense where she was located, Hanzo's fifth resurrection was followed by a prompt departure. Nobu severely outclassed her in both offense and defense, so, now that she could also track her location, Hanzo understood she would merely be wasting lives trying to delay her.

To her credit, Hanzo's raw speed was head and shoulders above Nobu. The latter was the type to overwhelm her opponents with tremendous firepower. She was decently skilled with a sword, but, if she tried to cross blades with a true master, it wouldn't even be a competition.

Unfortunately, while Hanzo was exponentially faster than Nobu, the latter was extremely persistent, and, more importantly, possessed the ability to teleport. Hanzo could outrun her and move through the Shadow Axis at faster than light speeds, but, unless she found a way to remove the trace on her body, Nobu would invariably appear the moment she stopped to rest.

Hanzo's only saving grace was that Nobu had reverted back to her human form due to the difficulty of teleporting her Yamata-no-Orochi form across large distances. The caveat was that Nobu was no longer in her petite, scantily clad form. Instead, she appeared as a mature, demonic-looking woman with blood-red hair, three eyes, and a voluptuous body garbed in a leather bodysuit covered in thin yet exceptionally durable plating. Trailing behind her was a blood-red cloak comprised of the same corrosive mist that caused even the ground beneath her to hiss as it turned pitch black and barren.

Though its offensive and defensive power were merely a fraction of what she was capable of in her Yamata-no-Orochi form, Nobu's 'Demon King of the Sixth Heaven' transformation was nothing to scoff at. She had previous obtained a Logia Type Devil Fruit known as the Chi-Chi-no-Mi. Eating it had turned her into a Blood Human, so, even if her head or heart were pierced, she would quickly regenerate so long as her body wasn't completely destroyed.

Taking advantage of the unique properties of her body, Nobu completely ignored most of Hanzo's efforts to deter her pursuit. It didn't matter if the woman threw kunai into her body, obstructed her path with explosives, or loosed excruciatingly painful arrows towards her. The only thing that could stop her from ripping the ruby-eyed ninja apart was interference from Vahn or her elimination from the Gift Game.

Aiming for the latter, Hanzo lured Nobu all the way to a location occupied by another Community. They hadn't been the only ones trying to invade the offensive satellite, so, in the hopes of getting Nobu off her tail, Hanzo effectively tried to perform a 'Pass Parade' on a small group belonging to the 'Undersea Volcanic Palace', aka the Community belonging to the Saurian Demon King.

As a Community comprised almost entirely of the Saurian Demon King's descendants, each and every member of the Undersea Volcanic Palace possessed the blood of a Pure-Blooded Dragon flowing through their veins. Their father was also a Lunar Dragon and one of the previous Moon Guardians, so, while they were nowhere near their father's level, each of Kouryuu's descendants possessed an inordinate affinity with the Moon, Yin, Ice, Water, or Darkness.

Unaware of Hanzo's true identity, Nobu believed that the group of young men and women were a part of the same Community. They all had raven-black hair, and, while most possessed icy blue or sapphire eyes, a few had the same ruby-red irises as Hanzo. They also attacked her the moment she appeared, so, before pursuing Hanzo, Nobu assaulted the group of five with the temperament of a natural disaster.

Surprised by the sudden attack, the leader of the group, a handsome young man named Suiryu shouted, "Audacious! You dare to attack we, the descendants of the Great Demon King Kouryuu!? Courting death...!"

Punctuating his words, the raven-haired youth manifested a pitch-black sword that resembled a wide and flat piece of ornately carved wood. A tremendous volume of ice-cold water manifested around him, but, compared to the deluge created by the Model Leviathan, it was relatively tame. As a result, Nobu was able to casually sweep it away with a veritable tidal wave of blood as she asked, "Have you lost your find? Do you truly believe you have the standing to make such accusations? I am Oda Nobunaga! Demon King of the Sixth Heaven and Eastern Empress of the Aldrnari Empire! Allow me to show you what true audaciousness looks like, brat!"

Activating the effects of her left eye, Nobu directed an ever-increasing swirl of corrosive blood to surround the man who had brazenly called out to her. The pupils of his pale-blue eyes immediately contracted to thin slits as he waved his weapon in an effort to try and freeze the encroaching blood. Unfortunately, even though he was successful in icing over a rather sizeable quantity of blood, that did little to prevent Nobu from controlling it. So long as it was blood, the state didn't matter. It was her's to command.

Seeing their brother crushed in series of icy, blood-colored pillars, the four remaining members of the Undersea Volcanic Palace attempted to contain her using a powerful sealing formation known as the Seal of the Four Gods. Unfortunately, Vahn had gone above and beyond to make sure each of his friends, family, and loved ones were immune to sealing, so, while the group of four managed to trigger the seal, Nobu barely even had to try before she was able to break free, slaughter each of them, and continue her pursuit of Hanzo.

Nothing was going to stop her from capturing and butchering her prey...

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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Sephiroth vibes...','Well, that was unexpected o_o...','Nobu is pretty chill up until the moment she isn't...')