It’s been two months sense Zanto returned to his home village. After traveling for so long searching for answers; it would seem he would have to get used to the high altitudes again. He wasted two years of his life on a failed quest to understand this curse he received and now it seems the only way he would find answers is to look inwards. He remembered the Durian Tree of Demonic knowledge. Maybe that would be a good place to start even though it was just a stupid legend.  
‘This is stupid….I am going to a tree to find answers.’ He thought
At this point Zanto would try anything to get answers. Even if that means going to a demon fruit tree. He walked calmly and quietly in the warm sunny day to the tree. He did not leave very far from the tree it only took him fifteen minutes to get there. Zanto just stood at the trees base wondering how the hell this thing was supposed to help him in anyway. He leaped up and sat comfortably in the branches with his back on the tree itself while sitting in the suns warm rays. He didn’t want to go high in case something went wrong, but he also wanted to be relaxed and comfortable, and sitting peacefully in a tree is somehow comforting to him even though it was supposed to be a demonic tree.
‘Maybe meditating when the power is active will help me shed light on this whole thing’ He thought.
He summoned two Null spheres and had them circle around him.
‘Ok let’s try this’
He cleared his mind of all thoughts and focused on the energies that flowed though him. He took long and steady breaths. In time
It wasn’t long until a strange sensation gripped him. He felt cold and empty. When he opened his eyes he only saw blackness. A never ending dark void.
‘Well…. This is new. ‘He thought.
To Zanto he was in another world, But to everyone else he was just sitting in a tree with two black spheres circling him.
He stood up and took a step forward and heard a bellowing voice from behind.
“I see you.”
Zanto spun around ad tried to locate where that voice came from, but all he saw was darkness.
“Who are you?” Zanto Shouted.
No one answered. Zanto continued to scan the area to no avail.
‘Damn it… I hate these games.” Zanto thought.
“Aw, but games are fun.” The voice said again.
Fear gripped Zanto he stood in a defensive posture ready to fight whatever was in here. Whatever was in here it could read his thoughts.
“This might get complicated.” Zanto said.
Zanto’s body felt stiff. It was getting harder and harder to move.
“You are a freshling.” The voice cackled.
“Show yourself!” Zanto Shouted.
“Tsk tsk tsk freshling. You are not ready nor are you worthy to be in my presents, But I am generous. I will give you a chance to prove your worthiness.”
Zanto was finally able to freely move his body again. He already knew he was outclassed in every way and the fact this thing can read his mind didn’t make the situation any better.
“May I ask you a question?” Zanto asked politely.
“Yes freshling you may.” It said.
“Who are you and where am I?” Zanto confidently inquired.
“I agreed to one question freshling, But I do suppose it’s only good manners to introduce oneself, so I well answer both. I Am Naraka The Demon Lord of the Void. As to where you are. You are still sitting in that tree like a ridiculous monkey.”
Veins popped out of Zanto’s head. His blood began to boil with anger at this this demon.
“My… you have a temper.” Naraka cackled before continuing.
“The path of destruction is perfect for you.”
Zanto was growing impatient, but he had to remain calm for his own sake.
“So how do I prove my worth to you?” Zanto inquired.
Naraka cackled and said.
“Straight to the point… I like that. How you prove your worthiness to me is to fight in my presence a warrior of my choice. With one catch.”
Zanto had a feeling he wasn’t going to like this one bit, but he was right where he wanted to be. He could find all the answers he could ever want right here. There was no way in hell he was going to back down from this.
“You can only use Void energies in this fight. Fists are allowed , but no weapons from the mortal realm.”
“I accept your challenge Naraka.” Zanto boldly stated.


[chakra 85/100] 
[Kekkei Genkai training. C-B 5000 words Quick learner characteristic [word count 780/4500

Naraka cackled and said.
“Good… Let’s see how you do freshling.”
Zanto stood tall and ready for whatever Naraka was going to throw at him. He summoned two orbs and formed them one of them into a shape of a Nodachi and hardened it for strength. He bent his knees and assumed his stance ready to fight.
Out of the darkness came a vile creature. It looked like a combination of a melting gorilla and a man. There were no eyes on its face but its entire body was covered in yellow eyes with a giant one on its stomach. Its left hand was replaced with what resembled a giant crab claw and a vile slime was being excreted from its face. It was a truly disgusting creature.
“I have to fight that disgusting thing?” Zanto Inquired.
The creature let out an ear shattering screech as it charged Zanto. It was fast. A lot faster than Zanto thought. If it weren’t for Zanto’s reflexes and natural speed this match would have been over.
AS the creature swung its massive claw at Zanto’s midsection he leapt into the air over the claw and swung his sword straight down on its head cutting it clean in half down to the creature’s sternum.
“That wasn’t so hard.” Zanto said out loud.
He pulled his sword out and turned to the darkness.
The creature’s body started to regenerate. Its flesh mended together and in a few short seconds he was as good as new and Zanto did not know it was happening.
As Zanto started to relax the creature grabbed him by his leg with his claw swung him around and slammed him into the ground with tremendous force effectively knocking the wind out of him. He was then thrown clear across the darkness and crashed hard into the ground.
Zanto coughed and tried his hardest to recuperate before the creature struck again.
He continued to cough violently.
“What the hell? I nearly cut him in half.” He wheezed
‘Damn it this is bad… I have to end this quickly before I burn myself out. Let’s see it defiantly has a strength advantage, so there is no way in hell I’ll be able to win if it comes down to fists. On top of that this thing regenerates… But even it has to have a limit. I bet if I cut him up enough it will burn off his energy too.  So looks like it will come down to my Nodachi’s reach advantage and my speed advantage.’ Zanto thought.
“Alright let’s do this.” Zanto shouted.
The creature screeched again and charged Zanto.  He charged back at the monster With the Nodachi in hand. Zanto was indeed faster than the creature and he used it to his advantage. The creature swung its massive claw and Zanto simply rolled underneath and swung his sword creating a deep gash on the creatures back, but like before the wound closed up. The creature quickly turned and continued to mindlessly charge Zanto.
‘At least this thing is predictable’ Zanto thought.
The creature lunged forward with his massive claw to strike down Zanto, but with his speed he kept just out of his reach. Zanto moved his second void sphere over the creature setting it up for a devastating attack. As he moved the orb into position he transformed the sphere into a large spike. When he finished he ducked just under the creature and made a wide swing at his midsection. The creature did not have the time to react and was cut in half. Zanto then sent his spike crashing down on the creature piercing its back and driving it into the ground.
‘I hope that did it.’

Zanto learned his lesson from the last time and watched the creature closely to make sure it stayed down.  Unfortunately the creature was still moving and it slowly began to put itself back together.
‘Damn it… what does it take to put this thing down.

[chakra 65/100]
[Kekkei Genkai training C-B 5000 words Quick learner characteristic [word count 1445/4500]

‘Damn it… what does it take to put this thing down”
The creature stood back up and turned to face Zanto. It was growling menacingly as it squared off with him.
Zanto gripped his void Nodachi. He spread his legs about shoulder width apart leaning slightly forward. He held his blade so the tip was behind him preparing for a wide swing, and called his other void sphere to his side.
‘Stay calm and think… how can I keep this thing down?’
Right then an idea popped into Zanto’s head.
‘Maybe I can literally bury it. If I do it right then the creature won’t be able to come back up, but I’m running low on chakra I need to get this done fast and in a hurry. I sure hope this works.”
Although risky Zanto was running out of options he had to make a move fast before he ran out of chakra.
Zanto created a massive drill with his void sphere and had it drill a hole into the ground. The drill was slow, but it was making noticeable progress.
‘Now I just need to stall him until the hole is done.’ Zanto thought.
The creature mindlessly charged Zanto once again swinging its massive claw at him. Zanto elegantly dodge his every swing with ease.  With one swift swing Zanto severed the creatures arm. He switched his grip and brought the sword down on the creatures head.  With great force the creatures struck Zanto’s stomach with the side of his claw knocking him back a great distance leaving his nodachi in between him and the creature.
‘Damn! That hurt.’
Zanto stood back up and prepared to fight the creature again.
Zanto quickly glance over at the drill and saw it was making slow progress. He forced more energy into the drill to speed up the process.
‘This will work. It has to.’ Zanto thought.
Zanto was already starting to feel much weaker his chakra reserves must be below half right now. If he can’t finish the hole in time then he was done for.  
“Come on freshling, you can do better than that” Naraka taunted.
Zanto was starting to get frustrated and Naraka’s taunting was not helping either.
‘Damn it I wish he would just shut up.’ Zanto thought.
“I can still hear you freshling.”
Zanto completely forgot about that which only irritated him more. He summoned his nodachi back into his hand and took his basic fighting stance preparing for another attack.
All Zanto could do for the time being was dance circles around the creature while the void drill did its work.
Naraka was still in the shadows observing the fight.
‘The boy is resourceful but reckless. He puts everything into one plan and prays it works. That is more than likely going to get him killed one of these days, but that kind of thinking is absolutely perfect for those who follow the path of destruction.’ Naraka thought.
Zanto was trying to be conservative with his chakra. The drill was making excellent progress, but he was running out of time and fast.
It became repetitive the creature would lunged at Zanto and he would avoid its massive claw. He kept leading him in a circle around the hole he was making so when it was ready he could spring his trap.
Zanto looked over at the hole and it was nearly done, but as soon as he took his eyes off his opponent the creature caught Zanto in between its massive claw.
‘Damn it… this is bad. I need just a little more time.’ Zanto thought.

[Chakra 45/100]
[Kekkei Genkai training C-B 5000 words quick learner characteristic [word count 2036/4500]

Zanto continued to press on the drill was working fast and he was nearly ready to hatch his master plan.
The monster was still charging at him full speed, but thankfully it was a clumsy creature.
Zanto looked over at the hole and found it was not deep enough. He recalled his massive drill and positioned himself so he was in between the creature and the hole.
“Come on Ugly give me your best shot.” Zanto taunted.
As predicted the creature mindlessly  charge Zanto.
Zanto waited until the creature was close enough. Before the creature got to him he ducked under the creature’s massive claw and swung his sword at his feet severing both of them.  The creature toppled and fell forward into the pit so far his plan was working. Zanto brought the massive drill down on the creature as it fell into the hole.
Zanto released the sword from his grasp and allowed it to hover next to him. He conjured two small black orbs into his hands.
“I have been waiting  to use this.” Zanto said.
He threw both of the orbs at the walls in the hole. Both of the orbs exploded violently causing the walls to collapse and bury the creature.
“I really hoped that worked.” Zanto said.
He herd cackling in the back of his mind.
“Does this mean I win?” Zanto inquired.
“Yes freshling you did.” Naraka said.
Zanto’s body was screaming at him. His chakra reserves were dangerously low and all the muscles in his body felt like jelly.
“So now that I proved my worthiness I have more questions.” Zanto sternly said.
A sharp hissing noised pierced the darkness and Zanto buckled over in pain. He landed on his knees with one hand holding himself up and the other hand gripping his chest.
‘What the hell is this?’ Zanto thought.
“Mind your tone freshling. How dare you speak to me in that tone. If you do it again Ill tear your heart out.” Naraka warned.
Zanto was still gripping his chest breathing heavily.
“I understand.” Zanto grunted.
The sensation soon left him and Zanto collapsed on the floor.
“Sense you did prove your worthiness to me I suppose I can give my knowledge to you.”
Zanto forced himself into a sitting position using his hands to brace himself.
“How did this happen to me?” Zanto inquired.
“My dear freshling. You are part of the Akui clan. It seems when Yami Akui was still infectious he infected you with void chakra.”
Right then everything started to make sense to him. Yami must have been that stranger he came a crossed a year ago.
‘Least now I know how this started.’ Zanto thought.
“Oh yes freshling that is how it started, and that is how it shall remain”
Zanto took a deep breath his muscles wouldn’t allow him to move.
“So what’s the history behind the Akui clan? How did it start.” Zanto inquired.
Naraka chuckled and began to tell the story of the Akui clan. Zanto pay special attention to this and he was hoping there would be more answers in the history of the Akui clan.
“Akui Clan was founded in a cruel twist of fate, a punishment given by Asura to a young Sage.” Naraka explained.
“ This young Shinobi was a powerful Sage, however in his duel with Asura his Natural Chakra energies were overwhelmed and despite his valiant effort to stop the darkness that was encroaching upon the world, he was defeated. The Sage lay upon the hot sands of Wind Country, he could feel his spirit slipping from his physical body as Asura approached, the Sage figured death was the only card left in his hand and braced himself for the end.”
Naraka paused before continuing.
 
“However, Asura was not fully redeveloped; his body was still rejuvenating in his weakened state Asura made a mistake. Asura looked upon the dying man and only saw a corpse, in a vain attempt to twist the body of the man into an undying servant Asura poured his darkened energies into the young Sage, forever tainting him. The young Sage experienced agony as his bloodline mutated, as the pure Nature Chakra was twisted and corrupted by the twisted power of Asura until only an unnatural energy remained, a complete absence of elemental influence on the chakra.”
‘That explains why I have no elemental chakra, But I have found so far I have almost limitless control over these void energies.’ Zanto thought.
 
“The those final moments of agony the valiant young Sage was ripped away, completely overwhelmed and destroyed by the Void that tore at his body. In his cries of terror and agony Yami was born, the first of clan Akui, the wielders of the Void.” Naraka continued..
For years Yami wandered the dunes of Wind Country, the excess Void energy corrupting the chakra of those he came into contact with. As Yami wandered he was continuously tortured by the fractured memories of the final moments of the man he once was. Slowly Yami pieced together what had occurred to the man that he once was, the agony and pure destructive power of Asura who had now been allowed to roam the lands unchecked. Now armed with his memories, the unstoppable force of the Void, and those who had befallen the same curse he has Yami has set forth in an attempt to destroy the Three Eyed Demon, Asura and all in his likeness, and the rest is as they say is history.”
“So let me get this straight. Sense we do not have any elemental chakra natures we are able to wield your powers of the void?” Zanto inquired.
“In a nutshell yes, Who would want elemental chakra nature anyway it’s so boring.” Naraka replied.
Zanto struggled to climb to his feet, but his body would not let him and he collapsed back onto the ground.
“Relax freshling we have time.” Naraka insisted.
“Earlier you said I was perfect for the path of destruction. What do you mean by that?” Zanto inquired.
Naraka chuckled and paused before answering.
“There are three paths which all Void wielders must take. The path of Delirium, The Path of Desecration, and the Path of destruction. You have taken the path of destruction. Which unfortunately for you means your chakra reserves have been limited further.”
“That explains why I can’t fight for as long as I use to.” Zanto said.
Naraka giggled and said.
“True but you sacrifice longevity for brute force. Every strike you make will be harder and stronger. Those grenades you made will pack an even bigger punch now. It’s a fair trade wouldn’t you say?”
“I supposed.” Zanto sighed before continuing
“Guess It just means I have to be more conservative.”
 
[chakra 30/100]
[kekkei Genkei training C-B 5000 words quick learner characteristic [word count 3,176/4500]

Naraka cackled hysterically at Zanto.
“My dear freshling you don’t have to do anything of the sort. You just have to make sure you kill them before they kill you, And on that note you should really buy yourself a sword. As an individual that walks the path of destruction you really ought to have at least a kunai in your arsenal.” Naraka advised.
Zanto thought about it carefully. Naraka was right if he relied on only hi ninjutsu he would burn out too fast. It was displayed clearly here with his previous battle. If that trap didn’t work he would have been doomed. Zanto felt incredibly lucky.
“You are right. If I don’t carry a weapon then I’ll burn out way to fast. It’s a troubling problem that needs to be fixed.” Zanto concluded
Zanto finally felt his strength returning and stood up slowly. He legs were screaming at him. It felt like a massive cramp in both of  his legs.
“So as far as these void energies what exactly can I do with them?” Zanto inquired.
Zanto was starting to realize Naraka had an annoying habit of laughing at everything like a crazed lunatic, but this crazed lunatic was his best bet for finding all the answers he could ever want.
“Freshling… The only reason you can still use any jutsu is because you’re replacing the required element with raw energy. So in simple terms you can do anything with these energies. Nothing is beyond you. everything can be done. Well except for Nature energies I would Advise you to steer clear of them.”
Zanto looked up into the darkness and asked.
“Why would I avoid sages?”
“Because Natural Chakra is like a poison to all Void wielders.” Naraka replied.
‘Great so despite all the option’s I have I’m screwed if I ever go up against a sage.’
Naraka sucked his teeth.
“tsk tsk tsk freshling you have no imagination. I just said you could to anything with the void energies and yet when I tell you about natural chakra you already admit defeat. There is something wrong this picture.”
“Well… There is no sense crying about it. I’ll just have to make do with what I have.” Zanto concluded.
Zanto’s body had not fully recovered he sat back down and then laid on the floor. He took a deep breath and stared into the blackness of this void.
“So I can do anything with void energies. Create anything with them.” Zanto was speaking out loud to himself. There was no sense in just thinking about it sense Naraka could hear everything anyway.
“Well It is up to you how you develop these gifts. I can grant you a little more power, but if you want more you will have to come back here and prove your worth to me freshling. In time maybe you will become a master at controlling the void energies, and then nothing will be beyond you. Anything you could ever want in battle will be there with a single thought.” Naraka explained.
“Most of my abilities can be done without hand symbols. Which does give me an element of surprise in battle, and if I continue to develop those kinds of abilities it would give me a slight advantage in battle.” Zanto concluded.
“Well this power is only limited by your imagination freshling.” Naraka said.
“I will give you a few minutes to digest all this information. Then I will bestow upon you power that will help you in the future, and trust me freshling this process is not going to be pleasant at all.” Naraka cackled.
Zanto didn’t like that idea, nor did he like the fact he only had a few minutes to rest before he had to undergo what he suspects a very painful process. He had to rest while he could.
While he was laying there in the middle of a black void his mind began to wander. All he could think of was how he was going to use this power. His mind was riddled with ideas on how to use this power, but at the same time it was a lot to take in all at once. He did feel silly that he wasted so much time searching when all he had to do was look inwards and all the answers would have been there. There is still a few things he didn’t fully understand and he doubted Naraka was going to give him any more information until he was able to prove himself again. Zanto thought about going to the next step but decided against it. Sense this fight completely drained him he assumed the next fight would be even harder and he was in no way shape or form ready for it. He was going to take it slowly until he had a better grasp of how to use this power.
His body started to feel numb. That last battle must have taken more out of him then he thought. His midsection was throbbing in pain after taking a few direct hits from that hideous disgusting creature.
In the back of his mind he knew it was going to get worse. Naraka specifically said the process to receive more power was going to be unpleasant.
‘Well at least I answered a lot of questions today. I should have tried this a long time ago.’ Zanto thought.
“I wonder if there are other like me out there.” Zanto said out loud.
Right then Zanto heard a familiar annoying laugh. One that could only belong to the Lord of the Void Naraka.
“Too answer your question freshling. Yes there are more like you out there, but I’m not going to tell you who or where they are. That’s something you are going to have to learn for yourself.”
Of course Zanto was disappointed with that, but he looked on the brighter side of things. At least he was able to get some answers today and more power for controlling the void.
“Are you ready freshling?” Naraka inquired.
Zanto slowly climbed to his feet and said.
“Yes I am Lord Naraka.”
As soon as Zanto said that black tendrils sprouted from the ground and wrapped around Zanto’s chest and lifted him in the air.
‘I swear his better not turn out like those scenarios I saw in the adult book store.’ Zanto thought.
For once Naraka didn’t laugh or anything. He sighed and said.
“Honestly you humans need to get your minds out of the gutter.”
The tendrils continued to wrap around Zanto until h was wrapped in a cocoon
‘Ok this is weird, but so far it isn’t that bad. I could have sworn this was going to be a lot worse.’ Zanto thought.
Naraka cackled and said.
“Trust me freshling it’s about to get a lot worse.”
The tendrils molded together until Zanto was trapped in a solid cocoon.
Zanto braced himself for the worse. The worst part of this is he didn’t know what to expect. Was he going to suffer physical pain, or mental pain, or both. He was in the dark.
Zanto was completely blind. He could not see anything in this black cocoon. He started to feel uneasy, and soon his muscles began to tighten on their own. It felt as if they started to cramp. As time went on the cramping got worse and worse until the sensation was replaced with a burning sensation. Zanto felt this sensation before almost a year ago when he was first infected by the void energies.
‘Damn it what the hell is this?’ Zanto wondered.
It felt as if his skin was burning and his blood was boiling. Every nerve in his body was registering extreme pain. Zanto tried to ball up in the fetal position, but he could not move. He was paralyzed and suffering. He could not scream, nor could he cry. His entire body was completely immobile. He could feel another sensation grip him. A cooling sensation as if someone injected him with icy cold water. It helped to take away the burning feeing that gripped him, and soon all the sensation slowly began to disappear. He tried his best to move with no success. He summoned all of his will to move, but he was still unable to.
“Relax Wielder… It is almost over.” Naraka said.
Naraka didn’t call him a freshling this time. This must mean he succeeded and this transformation or whatever it was almost over.
Slowly the cocoon began to fade and Zanto was able to move his body again. When the cocoon completely disappeared Zanto collapsed on the ground face first.
“Well done wielder. You have risen in the ranks of void wielders.”
Zanto was gasping for air he could barely move.
“Next time you come here though try to pass my tests with a little more grace.” Naraka demanded.
Zanto couldn’t talk he was way too tired.
“Well at any rate it is time for you to go Wielder. Soooo Ta.”
In an instant Zanto found himself back in the durian tree of demonic knowledge. As soon as he opened his eyes he fell out of the tree and landed on his back, and his null spheres disappeared.
‘Wow that was a major pain.’ Zanto thought.
He still could not move after his ordeal. He just laid there looking up at the sky before slowly drifting off to sleep.
 
[Kekkei Genkei Training. C-B 5000 quick learner characteristic [word count 4,739/4,500]