I don't own solo leveling or Naruto
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"I am Indra Otsutsuki and you are my incarnate. Sasuke Uchiha."
Sasuke looked shell shocked to say the least. He didn't think that he would encounter this entity Indra that had somehow taken refuge inside of him so soon. Sasuke guessed that he was the cause for this strange occurrence with his curse mark. He thinks, 'Was he the one that dragged me here? Where am I even? Who is he?'
His thoughts were interrupted when Indra started speaking,"Welcome to the Darkspace. At least that's what I've termed this inky black void of nothing, but I suppose your life can be summed up as such, correct? A void of darkness." His voice, smooth and charismatic, with a cold smirk crossing his lips.
"This is my space?"
"Correct."
Sasuke was disappointed to say the least. "Who are you? What do you want from me? How am I even here?" The questions flew from his mouth, harsh and direct as always.
Indra's face contoured into disgust as he scoffed, "Watch your tone. You call me here and demand answers from me with your insufficient and puny power? How unsightly."
"Just answer the damn questions! If what you've spoken is true then this is my space and I could control it however I want to. So you either spill it or I won't make things easy for you." he threatened.
Indra's was pleasantly surprise, however he still remained outwardly unbothered. "I'm surprised you came to such a conclusion about this place. Are you sure it's going to be that easy for you?" he counters, making Sasuke's confidence falter slightly and putting him on edge.
Suddenly a wave of pressure came over the entire space, covering it like a blanket. This dropped him to his knees.
"You feel that?" Indra asks. "That is my aura. You're a sharp one so you should understand the difference in strength between us. I will not relinquish control so easily." he finished.
The pressure vanished from the Darkspace, allowing Sasuke to breathe normally once more, rising slowly to his feet.
"Wha-What do you mean I called you here?" he managed to croak out, still trying to catch his breath.
"When the acclimation was complete it acted as a sort of direct line between your soul and mine. When you activate the 'curse mark' you draw power, no longer from that disgusting snake Orochimaru, but mine instead." Indra explained rather tersely like it was a bother.
"Acclimation? What are you talking about?" Sasuke asked even more confused.
"Right." Indra sighed as if recollecting something. "You were unaware the entire time I was in control in that dungeon."
He waved his hand and a bright light shone to reveal a glowing orb in his palm. It was that same orb from the last time he was here.
"This is the spirit of the forest. The monster that had given you so much trouble. Its power to bind itself with nature, absorb and convert any energy matter it targets into pure mana was intriguing to me so I decided to use it for myself." He stated, his hand glowing purple. "I used it to create a home for myself within the curse mark, using it to get rid of that snake's presence completely. It is also luck that it benefited you by adding the pure mana to the tiny mana pool you had after consuming that Ogre meat."
Sasuke, judging from his face, was still completely puzzled but Indra continued.
"The acclimation was a test of sorts to get your body ready to handle the strain of this power." His hand clenched around the orb and made it disappear. "Think of it as the spirit being the 'bridge' between our souls and your body being the 'ground' or foundation from which the 'bridge' can stand upon."
"I see." Sasuke murmurs, another thought coming to him. "Wait, during the 'test' I died twice, wouldn't dying mean I failed? So how am I even here?"
"Hmmm, good point." Indra acknowledged, closing his eyes. "It was all thanks to the actions of those outside. You should really give those doctors their flowers. I know you have trouble with that." He answered, a smug expression on his face that ticked Sasuke off.
"They do their jobs well, I'll give them that. I'll be sure to thank them."
"See that you do." Indra nodded with finality. "Is there anything else?"
Sasuke huffed, clearly miffed by Indra's tone. He reminded him of those royals that were royal pains in the butt.
"Yeah, I do. Who are you? You said I was your incarnate. What does that mean?"
"Like I told you before, I am Indra Otsutsuki and what that means is that I'm the progenitor of your bloodline." Indra answers.
Sasuke blinks, too stunned to speak.
He thinks to himself, 'The progenitor of my bloodline? The Uchiha?'
As if to back up his claim Indra's eyes shifted into the Sharingan like he had which took Sasuke even further aback, "I am he who has filtered through time and generations like a ghost, a phantom of a past long forgotten. I am capable of many things and so I know many things. You being my reincarnation means only one thing and that is to be the vessel for which I will be born again."
"Born again?" Sasuke repeats.
"Yes. Initially I was just a piece of chakra that clung to yours. I was never meant to take form or even exist. My existence was that of an unaware dream. That is until you ate that Orge meat, the mana infested in there caused my chakra to cling to energy source like a lifeline. It was like my eyes were opened after a long slumber and you having all your chakra drain was what finally got me out of bed." Indra continues, "However, I had a problem. My manifestation through you was unstable and would not last long due to the fact I had no anchor to this reality and so I would've had to return to slumber once more."
Sasuke interrupts him, "If it wasn't for the spirit of the forest."
"Correct." Indra nods and then shifts behind him to continue, "It was convenient for me that your body possessed a natural anchor in the curse mark and all I had to do was get rid of the presence of Orochimaru using the spirit's power."
"So you say that's what you mean when you say you eroded Orochimaru's power?"
Indra tilts his head to the side, his face showing that he still knew something Sasuke didn't, "It's not all I did. Tell me Sasuke, now that I have made the curse mark my domain what does that mean for you?"
Sasuke furrowed his brow, trying to piece together the puzzle Indra was painting, "Are you saying that you hijacked the curse mark's function in my body?"
"Let me tell you something that you probably didn't know about the curse mark." Indra says, raising a finger. "The first is that it's not just a source of power but was meant to be an extension of Orochimaru's will. What this means is that as long as a curse mark exists then a form or piece of Orochimaru will always exist. In other words he can never die through conventional means." He raises a second finger. "The second is that the curse mark is an altar of sorts."
"An altar? You mean like a sacrificing bed?"
"You really were prepared to sacrifice your bloodline to that snake without having realized that he would have had his way regardless. The curse mark is the setting ground for where his body transference ritual would've taken root." Indra explained, much to Sasuke's alarm.
Chills went up Sasuke's spine as he thought that even if he'd stayed in the village, if he had encountered Orochimaru again he would have had his body stolen against his will. A sacrifice he was willing to make before, but now? Not so much.
"So what is it that you've done? Take that rotten domain for yourself?" Sasuke asked, heatedly.
Indra answered coolly, "Exactly so. However, I dislike it when those weaker than me demand my action. From now on until you can challenge me never call upon this power again or I won't be so charitable as to relinquish control over this body."
Sasuke furrowed his brow, displeased with the arrangement but knowing that he didn't have the power to demand otherwise. It was an unbearable situation, but he supposed he would have gladly walked into that hell months ago with Orochimaru. The problem this time is that he had no guarantee of power and a power that he controlled had been stripped from him.
"I just have one last question. You said that me being your incarnate meant that you would be born again, so how come that hasn't happened yet?" Sasuke asks.
Indra answers, nonplussed, "You have your master Kakashi to thank for that. He crafted an expert seal." He finished, leaving the details of what he meant completely vague and just as Sasuke was about to question him further the whole area shifted back to normal.
The nurse that was beside Sasuke jumped in surprise when Sasuke snapped awake from his trance-like state. Sasuke ignored their squeals glaring at the mirror with unfiltered venom. 'That bastard sure has put a wrench in my progress. I can't use the curse mark anymore. Dammit!' he seethed.
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A hooded figure stood nonchalantly in a hidden alleyway as monsters rampaged through the streets, tearing apart cars, buildings and other infrastructure.
The individual carried a clipboard as he observed hunters dispatched by the Hunters Association to clean up the dungeon break and as typical the poor souls were under leveled. He watched with cold eyes as the tanks were blown away by the wild swings of Girallons. Wild, vicious white furred Gorilla looking monsters with Four Arms, usually found inhabiting high C-rank dungeons.
If it wasn't for their shared taunt skill then these beasts would have been running around more rampant but it was thanks to them that the fighting was focused on them. However, they couldn't handle the pressure much longer as their bodies and magic began to wane. Even the support from the spellcasters and archers behind them weren't doing anything to swing the tide of battle in their favour.
"Come on. Use it. You don't have a lot of options left now do you?" The hooded man urged, wanting for the hunters to do something. His impassive gaze grew more expressive with a weird tiny grin.
Back with the Hunters, they were being backed into a corner with not a lot of options left and with no idea when or even if higher ranked hunters would show up. One of them yelled, "Damn! Now my spells are barely having an effect on them. Are they getting stronger?" he wonders aloud.
His companion next to him corrects him, "No, it's not that they're getting stronger, it's that we're getting weaker! We can't keep this up for long!"
The Hunters grew weary as they were backed thoroughly into a corner with their stamina and magic running low. One of the tanks still fighting to the bitter end, his C-rank level bronze armour the only thing keeping him in the fight. He thought back to a mysterious hooded man he'd met earlier that day with the promise of power.
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15 minutes ago
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"Hey there! You need to evacuate the area! Didn't you hear about the monsters attacking this place!" Han Jihye shouted at a man sitting down on a bench as people scrambled from the park.
Jihye approached the man and grabbed his shoulder roughly, "Hey! Did you not hear a word I just said?"
"Oh, I heard you loud and clear," The man responded, his hood obscuring his features. "My question is if you can take on such a threat. Things are getting a lot more dangerous these days."
"Well that's for me to find out, so get outta here!" Jihye told the man hurriedly.
"Have you ever pondered on the nature of human evolution?"
"What?" Jihye says, unprepared for the question.
The stranger continues, "For centuries humans have constantly evolved and changed, whether for their own self-interest or for the betterment of others. We as a species can never settle, we always have to push forward for more, for greater. It's what has brought us to the top of the food chain. Now with the emergence of Gates, Monsters and Magic the status quo has been changed and we have to fight to reclaim our spot at the top once more. It's fascinating that in a world so supernatural and limitless, the powers of hunters are the ones restricted from ever growing. As if the gods themselves have told humanity to stop evolving, to stop climbing higher."
"Yeah, yeah, real interesting stuff dude, but maybe we can talk about this in a less stressful time." Jihye said, dismissively trying to move the man along.
"Oh, but of course. Now is no time for you to understand what I'm saying. You must go fight a battle of life and death, in a world that is set on your limits. You try and fight to change your destiny but it is all futile. You will never grow."
It was so much the words, but the feeling the man conveyed that put Jihye on edge. The man was talking about something profound, an idea that he hasn't given a lot of thought or time to. That is what made him weary as the stranger pulled out a small plastic bag containing 3 black pills.
"Take these," he said, handing him the pills. "Fight desperately against your destiny and change them with these."
Apprehensive, he moved to decline but the man had taken his hands and clasped the pills into them.
"What the?"
"Use them in your time of need and they will Eclipse your destiny." He said, skirting away from him before he could question him further.
He looked down at his palm, pills in hand and even though he had no special senses he could feel a power brewing from them. Quiet like the calm of a storm to come and noticeable to the likes of a D-rank like himself.
Jihye hesitated for a moment, not only wondering what these pills were, but what kind of civilian would have something like this if that stranger was even a civilian.
The explosion of battle broke from his thoughts. He pocketed the pills and ran off into battle to fight the beasts.
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'Change my destiny, huh?' Jihye thought, the words of that stranger coming to him as blood leaked from the wound on his forehead.
He was blown back by another vicious strike from the Girallon, using its advantage in height, weight and number of arms to break his guard and send him sprawling.
The ruins of this minor city block looked like the devastating results of years of war. He was dragged away to cover by one of the support hunters that were probably called to action by the Association. As he leaned against the toppled car, he pulled out the black pills from his pockets.
"What's that? Anxiety pills?" The staff wielding sorcerer jokes.
"No," He replied. "My change of destiny. Eclipsing my former self."
He was given a strange look but he didn't pay it any mind, gulping down the pills. He wasn't any different for a moment before the well of his mana exploded and his aura became visible.
"What!?" The sorcerer was taken aback by the explosion of power.
"Oh yeah!" Jihye shouted, jumping to his feet. "This feels good! I feel like I can do anything!"
His teeth had grown sharp canines with his hair growing longer and cat-like eyes to complete the animalistic transformation. He rushed forward from cover to land a punch on the Girallon, sending it flying back.
Others looked on in shock and relief, thinking to themselves that they were saved now that this high ranked hunter had shown up, but they were left confused when it was the tank that had been fighting with them the whole time that looked to be dominating the pack of Girallons.
"What happened to him?"
"Is that the same guy? He's completely different."
"He's fighting like a monster! Is it even possible to fight like that for a tank?"
The grin on the hooded man's face couldn't have been more pronounced. He was ecstatic that Jihye had used the pills and they were working like he expected them to.
Jihye was hand locked by the bigger monster as it tried pushing him down to no avail. It then tried to use its extra arms and punch him in the gut which made him cough out blood but he remained resolute and physically superior.
A headbutt broke the clash, stunning the ape monster before he threw it at the onrushing monster to his left. He then grabbed his spear on the floor and jumped high into the air, coming down on the two of them with a powerful overhead stab.
He ran through the two of them as he let out a guttural battle cry. His need for battle however was still unquenched as he continued to beat down the downed beasts until their faces were nothing but mush.
The others may have wanted to stop him, decided that steering clear and letting him blow off steam would be best— least they deal with another monster.
"As a first time for real-time use and application I'd say this was successful. Although I'd like to get rid of that unhealthy lust for combat, it's not something Mr. Dal has an issue with." The stranger noted on his clipboard as Jihye calmed from his explosive display of power and sank to the ground unconscious.
He lifted the hood from his head to reveal that it had been Dr. Kyo Minjae the whole time. With his observations done and noted he left without a trace of his presence as the other hunters moved to surround Jihye in a mixture of concern, apprehension and curiosity.
"Does anyone know what the hell just happened?" One of them asked, the fires of battle having calmed down enough for them to assess the situation.
"No clue."
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"Hiyaah!"
Cha, with her wooden practice sword, slashed down on Sasuke who hurriedly rushed to parry. He was successful in his endeavours and stepped out of range of her next attack only to return with a forward stab of his own. The expert swordswoman dodged the strike and went for a flurry of strikes that Sasuke had a hard time countering even with the visual acuity of the sharingan.
'This is a lower level of her signature dancing style! It's the first time she's used it on me and I'm already having a hard time.' Sasuke thought to himself.
He didn't leave the exchange unscathed and had a few bumps and bruises as evidence. 'Left, right, up and down. She's not giving me anytime to think or weave signs. Genjutsu won't work either, she's just too strong and will break out easily. What can I really do? Is this really my limit?' Sasuke fretted, his odds of winning dwindling as fast as his stamina.
They had been going at it for 10 minutes now and the heaps of sweat accumulating on his brow showed just how much effort he was putting into the spar. However, Sasuke wasn't one to give up so easily and forced a clash of swords between them. He used the strength advantage Cha had against him to direct her momentum forward and past him while he brought his sword over to strike the back of her head. But he was swiftly met with a boot to the face from her back roundhouse kick, using her superior agility to turn her forward momentum into an advantage. That kick had sent the young Uchiha sprawling and hitting the ground with his back, bringing an end to the spar.
"Well done, Sasuke." Cha said and offered her hand to Sasuke. "You've certainly improved your fundamental skills. I'd say they're even better than mine."
Sasuke accepted the hand, albeit a bit dizzily from the kick to the face. "Yeah, but I still lost though."
"Well, that's to be expected. I'm an S-rank and you're a B-rank, there's worlds of difference between our powers." She said as though it was an obvious fact, which it was.
"Yeah, yeah." Sasuke waved his hand dismissively. Walking over to drink some water from his water bottle. Cha took a seat next to him and sat down and sipped from her own bottle with a towel wrapped around her neck.
"By the way," she started, wiping off some sweat. "Why didn't you use your beast transformation? Since we're using wooden swords I know channeling lightning through it wouldn't have worked, but flying would've added a new dimension to that that I had to deal with."
Sasuke grew quiet for a while, thinking up an excuse but coming up short on a reasonable explanation. He'd already made it clear in previous sessions with her that improving his stamina with that form was a priority along with swordplay. 'No use in lying I guess.'
He sighs, "The truth is that I can't use that for anymore."
"What?"
"I haven't had the chance to speak with Choi about it since he's been so busy, but you know about that Indra guy, right?" Cha nodded, Sasuke's grave tone putting her on edge. "Well, 3 days ago I met the guy and he said a lot of things I had to process for myself, but he's essentially locked me out of that power and made it his own. I can't use it anymore."
"Really? Well that's important and I'm glad you told me, but is there anything else?" She asked much more seriously.
"Yeah. He did say something far more disturbing. He said that he was the progenitor of my bloodline, the Uchiha Clan."
"Uchiha Clan? That's your last name, right? Is your family special?"
"Hn." Sasuke nodded. "You've seen it more than enough times by now but these red eyes of mine are the result of my bloodline. They're called-"
"The Sharingan," Cha interjected. "You've told me this before although I find it interesting that it's a genetic trait rather than an awakened power. The ability to read and predict an opponent's physical movement and to be able to copy those movements in turn, eidetic memory, and the ability to cast illusions. It's certainly a formidable ability, almost unheard of."
Sasuke rolled his eyes in annoyance, "You can say what's been on your mind. I can tell it's been eating for quite some time."
"You're not of Japanese origin, I've checked along with Master Choi and your records don't exist anywhere else. One of the conclusions that we came to was that you were some kind of mutant or that you were from another world. Are you from another world, Sasuke?"
Sasuke didn't waste a moment or think about hiding anything. "Yes."
"Why didn't you tell us?" She asked.
"You guys just assumed and I went with that assumption since it was to my benefit at the time." Sasuke replied.
"I suppose that's fair." Cha shrugged because she couldn't knock it, so instead she asked. "Don't you think about going home?"
"..." Sasuke thinned his lips, the words caught in his throat. " …There's nothing for me there, but I want to go back to complete my mission one day. I'm just not sure how and I'm not strong enough yet."
"Your mission?"
"There's someone I need to kill." He said coldly enough to send chills down the S-rank hunter's spine. Whoever that person was, she felt sorry that they had incurred the young Uchiha's wrath.
"Shall we get back to it?" He asked.
She knew him well enough to know that, that was his way of saying that the conversation was done. At the moment she didn't feel the need to push him further because he'd need someone to speak to in the future and she'd be there.
"I think we've rested enough, yes?" She stood up.
"Agreed."
They moved to get in another hour of training but the ring of a phone coming from Sasuke's bag put a pause on that. He took out the phone and saw the name on the screen and his face twitched in annoyance.
"Who is it?"
"Someone really annoying."
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Who do you think that person was on the phone?
If you're a little confused with the timeline of this chapter just know that Jihye and the debut of Eclipse is on the same day as Cha and Sasuke's training session and the conversation with Indra was 3 days before all of that.
Just to clarify as stated by Indra himself, Orochimaru's presence has been completely erased and he's taken control of the curse mark meaning Sasuke no longer has access to curse mark even though it's still on him. For now it seems that he's been kept at bay due to what Kakashi did and Sasuke is not quite sure how yet.
I also noticed that I never dedicated a scene to where Sasuke explains what the Sharingan is or what it can do. So this is me addressing that as well. Thanks to Cha, just assume that Choi is aware of this as well except that it is a genetic trait rather an awakened power, which it is both.
I'll say that the curse mark is a significant loss as that was what allowed him to fight confidently against A-rank monster's.
Pls review thank you for reading and God bless!