The land of Ohakagakure, a village once considered among the finest. Old, dead, and crumbling away into the ground that surrounded it. Rotten trees surrounded buildings of stone, sinking into the earth. Gravestones covered much of the ground, moss covering many of the names. And in this land of graves, the sun failed to shine, leaving a dark and dead land. There was nothing here but sorrow, and death... A dead land.

In the center of the village though stood a statue of three men. The three legendary Shindakages of Ohakagakure stood together. A middle aged man with a skull mask, a shriveled old man carrying a corpse, and a child who seemed as if he had been stitched together with dead body parts. Two of those kages were gone, but one remained, standing before the statue in a position of prayer. The child had grown into a man... A man named Akurei Ohaka.

"Father... Grandfather... The village is gone, I apologize for my failure." the corpse man apologized, hanging his head in shame as he prayed before the statue. "The villagers are dead, our clan is dead, and I am all that remains. I have tried to bring honor to our village's name, but my success has been limited. I have lost so much, and I feel as if I cannot stand. What do I do now?" Akurei inquired. He would have wept a tear if he could still shed a tear.

Walking through the the deceased village which had once been one of the finest, was a man named Sannoto Senju, the leader of Kurētāgakure. "It is a shame that this village, after being one of the best, it finally collapsed like all great empires do", Sannoto stated as he continued walking along the pathway, which was once occupied by exceptional shinobi and merriest village, but now was inhabited by the dead.

As he continued down the pathway he stumbled onto the center of the village, which held three statue of three men. Sannoto looked upon the third statue, which was the last leader of the village, which under his rule eventually faded. "I wish i could have helped you. Only if I would have known what your village was going through", a saddened Sannoto declared, as he stood facing the back of the statue, completely unaware that Akurei was on the other side.

Akurei, from the other side of the statue could hear Sannato speaking, and for several seconds thought the man was speaking to him. Yet Akurei knew the man did not see him, he could sense the man's location and knew that the statue obscured his vision of Akurei. "There is nothing you could have done. This village died decades ago when I was still young." Akurei said, speaking loud enough for Sannato to hear him. "The village died quickly, with aid from Iwagakure arriving too late to do anything but bury the dead I did not." Akurei explained, stepping out from his position and into Sannato's line of sight. "I lost my village, and all that remains is my title of Shindakage, the last of the Ohaka Clan." Akurei said, a hand reaching up to touch the face of the stone child.

"Now, who are you to come here? There are few that still remember this village, or the fact that I was once it's Kage." Akurei asked, looking at Sannato through the corner of his eye.

Sannoto turned and faced the man as he looked at him. "Wait Your Akurei?? I thought you were dead!", Sannoto stated, showing his confused, and dumbfounded disposition as he observed Akurei, seemingly studying him.

"Dead... I have heard that so often it bores me now to say that I am alive." Akurei stated, tapping the old statue with his finger before he turned his focus to Sannato. "I live, a result of the forbidden jutsu I possess, as well as my own medical expertise. In essence, I am ageless." Akurei explained, a smile creeping up his face. "But again, I must ask who you are, and why you have entered the territory of dead souls."

"I'm Sannoto Senju, the leader of Kurētāgakure. The reason i am here was to pay respect to your village, and to you", Sannoto said, as he readied his hands to clench his blade, known as the Samehada which rest upon his back.

"Pay me honor, what a kind gesture." Akurei said, smiling as wide as he could. "And I see you are carrying one of the weapons of the Seven Swordsmen, how interesting, I've always wanted to find one of their corpses, but trouble always seems to get in my way before I do." Akurei teased, running a hand through his hair and sighing loudly. "But now that you're here, and you know I still live, what do you plan to do? The fact that you're reaching for your sword suggests that you're on edge, believing that I am a hostile threat to your well being." Akurei said, analyzing even the small movements that Sannato made. "But you are a fellow Kage, so if you would prefer we could have tea, or some other beverage." Akurei said, grinning at Sannato.

Hmmm? He even notices the little movements i do, Sannoto thought as he smiled. "Although i would love to have tea with a powerful,and wonderful shinobi like yourself, I do not possess the time", Sannoto said, as he kept his eyes on the shinobi. He's a little creepy. I can tell whether he's gonna attack me or not, Sannoto thought to himself as he walked backwards, keeping his eye on Akurei.

"Really, but you've come all this way to speak to my statue, why don't you want to speak with me?" Akurei inquired further, stepping forward as Sannato stepped back. "Maybe my appearance is unsettling, I know how others can be unnerved by such things. Maybe if I took on a form you may know better..." Akurei said, forming a handseal.

His body began to peel away as if it was dying. Akurei's discoloered flesh turned white, and the clothing her wore vanished as well. Within minutes, all that remained was another shinobi, smaller than the first. Akurei's intemidating form had vanished, replaced with the visage of Hashirama Senju... The First Hokage.

Sannoto stood there completely mesmerized as he observed Akurei's new form. "How the...How did you do that?!", Sannoto asked, as showing his surprised disposition.

"This is my forbidden jutsu, the one that made me the Shindakage! I devour the bodies of the dead, gaining their form and power. My life extends, but my body is mutilated in the process, forever making it impossible to live amongst the average man. As such, I am a horrible monster to many, but you do not seem afraid... Why are you not scared of me?" Akurei asked, stepping forward. "Is it because you believe yourself stronger than I? Or is it something more?"

Sannoto stepped forward towards Akurei, with a smile. "You are correct, I am not afraid of you. I see no reason to be", Sannoto said as he relaxed himself. "But i don't know why i am not intimidated by your looks. I never was type of person!", Sannoto said, as he looked at Akurei.

"Interesting." Akurei said, smiling and brushing aside the First Hokage's rather long hair. He never understood why so many shinobi adored the long hair look, it just seemed too obvious to the ageless Shindakage. "But you know something, I like you. You're different from the others I've met, the others I've talked to. I actually happen to be running some experiments, and I require a place to set up shop. You claim to be a Kage, so could you be capable of allowing me to hold my research in your village?"

"Yeah..Sure you can conduct research in my village, no problem!", Sannoto said with a smile showing his friendly disposition. "But promise me, you'll transform back to your regular appearance. No one in my village will judge you. I mean...We are all refugees attempting to escape the shinobi world".

"That is brilliant." Akurei said, forming the handseal from earlier once more as he shifted into his more inhuman form. Approaching Sannato he ran a hand across the Kage's cheek, looking intently into Sannato's eyes. "I thank you for allowing me the oppurtunity to continue my research, but there is something I must tell you. My research uses live humans. Anybody is fine. But exceptional people, like you, with Kekkei Genkai are the types of people I need the most. Would you be willing to offer up your blood? Or even your life if science and progress called for it?"

Sannoto jumped backwards, away from Akurei. "My life?? Your research deals with people lives?", Sannoto asked as he glared at Akurei with cruel intent. "Your just like Orochimaru!!!", Sannoto shrieked at his drew his Samehada. I'm sorry Akurei but i cannot offer any of my people nor myself to assist you in this research. I know i said you can do it, but after realizing the requirements of this research, my conscious simply will not allow it. Have a good day", Sannoto said as he turned and began walking away.

Akurei was silent for several seconds, his eyes narrowing at Sannato's retreating frame. Akurei's silent mass stepped forward in pursuit of Sannato, a bulky hand reaching outwards. Channeling chakra through his arm as he reached out to Sannato, Akurei spoke. "Wait a minute Sannato, I have yet to explain the full details. My research involves the improvement of the human body, making men stronger with minimal risk. I have even done these experiments on myself with a 100% success rate." Akurei was reaching out to Sannato, his arm targeting Sannato's shoulder. The goal... Was simple, place his hand upon Sannato's body, and send a surge of chakra into the Kage. Using hislification technique, Akurei would cripple Sannato with a single touch.

Sannoto, completely ignorant of Akurei's intentions continued walking forward. "What are the side effects of these experiments?", Sannoto asked as he observed his hands.

"Side effects of course are minor." Akurei explained, his hand closing in on Sannato's shoulder. Just one touch, and he would cripple the Senju with pain enough to knock out a grown man. Pain was universal, and sudden pain could send a man into shock, all it would take was one touch for Akurei to set off the pain receptors in Sannato's body. Akurei's technique was flawless.

"The side effects are mostly cosmetic. Certain changes such as a hardening of the skin can cause an increase in body mass or even noticeable scarring. Enhancing vision can often cause some scarring around the eye, and possibly sensitive to light in extreme cases. Even the removal of organs to add weapons to the human body is relatively safe. I am still alive after all." Akurei explained, finally in range as he hand moved down onto Sannato's shoulder. "You can trust me."

As Akurei hand moved down onto Sannoto's shoulder, the Senju's pupils contracted and his body became still. "What the...", Sannoto stated stated as he felt the pain rush through his body, rendering him incapable of speech. What is he doing to methe tortured Sannoto thought to himself as he attempted to stay conscious, afraid of what would happen to him if he was to be unconscious. Eventually the world around Sannoto became dim, and black as he fought to stay awake. "Please...", Sannoto mumbled weakly as he stared into Akurei's eyes.

"Tell me Sannato, will you allow my research in your village, or shall I need to replace you when you die?" Akurei said, his eyes devoid of human passion as he continued his crippling assualt of Sannato's body. Pain was a distraction, and that distraction would make Sannato weaker and incapable of preforming any form of jutsu. Akurei's tactic had worked, victory in a single moment. "My research shall create the strongest shinobi in the world, so I offer you a chance to accept me in order to gain that power for yourself. I am a generous man, but you would know too much if I were to let you go free without my watchful eyes."

What is with this guy? Sannoto thought before his eyes turned blue, and his body began to expand.

"Don't struggle unless you want to die." Akurei said, channeling more chakra into Sannato's body. The pain would intensify, more than enough to knock out a bear if he continued. But Akurei would be damned if Sannato continued his technique. Raising his free hand Akurei began to channel chakra through it, striking down at Sannato's head. Using the Mystical Palm Technique Akurei would send a surge of chakra into Sannato's body enough to through his chakra system out of whack and knock the Kage unconscious. Akurei couldn't allow such a powerful man to threaten his work.

"Your a tough competitor", said Sannoto who was standing several feet behind Akurei. "If i wouldn't have had my precautions about you earlier that would be me right now", Sannoto stated, implying that the man Akurei was using his technique on was a clone of himself. "See when i readied my hands, i was able to manipulate the Iron in the ground, and the Iron from other people's bone marrow to create a clone under ground. Then just as you were about to touch me, i simply used the Body Replacement Technique switch places with the clone, therefore avoiding your attack. Now get ready, because I'm about to show you what I can do", Sannoto declared as he clenched his Samehada in his right hand.

"A replacement technique... Funny, normally I would have seen the handseals, or even a puff of smoke." Akurei said, frowning as he kicked the clone in the back of the head. Iron or not, the clone would shatter upon contact with Akurei's monsterous strength, leaving Akurei alone to face Sannato. I'll have to keep my senses up more, I've never fallen for a trick like that before. Akurei thought, cracking his knuckles and tapping his foot on the ground.

"My move." Akurei said, slamming his hand against the ground. A seal appeared, and a puff of smoke signified Akurei's Summoning Technique. Five large worms, bigger than a human being rested around Akurei, their bodies covered in a bone-like shell that protected them from harm. The worms then vanished beneath the ground in a second, digging deep down as they moved through the earth. Now there was no escape below ground for Sannato, all that remained so the fight.

Akurei didn't hesitate though. As soon as the Corpse worms had been summoned, Akurei struck. His speed was formidable as he seemed to appear instantly in front of Sannato, his fist moving in an arc towards Sannato's chest, and more specifically, his heart.

Due to his instantaneous reflexes, Sannoto was quickly able to spot Akurei's attack, and quickly react. Sannoto forced himself onto his back, therefore watching as Akurei's attack completely missed him. Immediately afterwords, Sannoto swung his Samehada towards Akurei's face.

As Sannato landed on his back to avoid Akurei's strike, the poor lad had left himself wide open. On his back, Sannato's chances of maneuvering were lessened, even more so by the fact that he was swinging the bulky Samehada.Some would feel threatened right now, but not Akurei... The chakra absorbing sword wouldn't matter, as Akurei was a taijutsu master, and thus could survive with the little chakra he would lose to the sword.

Instantly ending his strike in a single movement, Akurei began to fall forward, his massive bulk moving to pin Sannato to the ground. As Samehada would be swung though the blade would leave little impact on Akurei. The reasons were simple. Samehada did not cut, rather the sword was used to tear, being pulled back like a saw to deal its damage. The second reason was that Akurei possessed naturally hardened skin, as hard as steel thanks to his research. Sannato's attack was useless as Akurei's bulk fell upon the lesser Senju, and all it would take was another burst of chakra from Akurei to once more fill Sannato with inhuman levels of pain.

Realizing his chances of maneuvering were lessened even more by the fact that he was swinging the Samehada, Sannoto had no where to go, he pointed his hand towards Akurei. "Iron Release: Attraction and Repulsion!", Sannoto shrieked as he attempted to repel the Akurei, by manipulating the Iron inside of his body.

The large Akurei was knocked back several feet, landing on his hands and knees, glaring at Sannato. The child had been quick using some sort of repulsion technique to knock him away. Judging by the fact that Sannato had shouted the name of his technique, Akurei could swiftly judge that he was facing some sort of Iron Release, a powerful ability that manipulate iron in the bodies of enemies. Sannato had already given away his trump card, but Akurei was still full of surprises, the advantage was his.

"Clever... I like your moves, but I think I should show you mine." Akurei said, forming a handseal from earlier. His body began to shift, changing as his body shifted. "I want you to understand that this is my ultimate jutsu... The Corpse Eating Sacrifice!" Akurei announced, and the form of the large man faded away. In its place stood another... He had become the Second Hokage, a man feared for his water jutsu the world over. The Second smiled, forming a series of handseals, chakra flowing from his body. All of Sannato's vision would become black, his vision stripped from him by the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique.

Sannato would be temporarily blinded by the Second Hokage's technique, leaving him vulnerable as Akurei formed one more handseal. Water formed in the air around the Second Hokage, forming the familiar shape of the Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique. The dragon of water would fly towards Sannato, unaffected by any of his iron jutsu.

"Ugh! This is crazy!", Sannoto said as he attempted to devise a plan to stop Akurei's technique. However, in the middle of devising his plan, Sannoto could hear water gliding through the air, and swiftly ran to his left, hoping the attack would not follow. "Wait a second, the bringer of darkness technique only strips My vision, meaning...", before finishing his statement, Sannoto had formed a simple handseal. Iron Release: Iron Clone Technique he thought before releasing three clones from his body, who unlike the original Sannoto was not caught in this hallucination.

"See, i managed to develop my cloning technique to the point where the clone and I can s"share" vision, and right now I'm going to use their's". Sannoto closed his eyes, and turned towards Akurei. "Your an extremely capable shinobi, and i can understand why you are a member of the Anoyoasashi", the senju said as he continued looking through the eyes of his clones. "However, I you will now experience one of my most powerful techniques", Sannoto claimed before forming a series of handseals. "Iron Release: Shinigami's Forest!", he shrieked as Trees began sprouting from the ground, Iron in the gas state of matter shot from tiny cracks in the ground, and as the forest was surrounded in the massive genjutsu which would strip Akurei of his hearing and vision using the Echoes in the Dark Technique, and the same technique he was using on the original Sannoto, the Bringer-of-Darkness Technique.

"You know of Anoyoasashi? I guess I can't treat you like a child then." Akurei smirked, his water dragon having missed the agile Sannato. The lad was skilled to avoid a jutsu by the Second Hokage, but now Akurei would have to lose that disguse for another. Forming a handseal as Sannato formed his own, Akurei prepared for his own victory.

As the iron forest grew around him, Akurei's plan was set in motion. His body began to change, and that was the last thing Sannato would see before dust kicked up by his attack would hide his vision. Silence fell upon the land then, and it seemed to all as if Akurei Ohaka had died in that attack, unable to defend himself... But that was the only comforting moment of silence Sannato would get before the ground beneath him ruptured, and a large coffin was launched directly at his exposed chest. Even if the clones had been searching for Akurei it was unlikely they would have expected an attack from below. Because... From beneath Sannato ruptured the God Coffin, the living weapon that had fused with Akurei long ago.

"I can still hear and feel!", Sannoto yelled as he jumped into the air, and his clones turned around only to see a the God Coffin. "Woah! What is that thing", the mesmerized Senju stated before landing on the ground, several meters away from the Coffin.

The Forest continued to grow, the gases continue to emit from the ground just waiting for Akurei to inhale them, and the genjutsu surrounded the forest, however Akurei still managed to launch another attack. "I can understand why you were the leader of this village long ago, but how did a man who possess this prodigious strength lose his village due to war?", Sannoto asked, attempting to stall Akurei; and attempt to force him to inhale the gas which would surely secure's Sannoto victory. If Akurei was to inhale the gases, Sannoto knew he would be able to force it into his bloodstream and then change the Iron into liquid state of matter, drowning Akurei in Iron from the inside of his body.

"Nothing lasts forever." the voice of Akurei could be heard... But where did if come from? "The Second War involved titans capable of destroying entire villages. I was still a child... Can you blame me? I lost people I loved, people I cherished. And yet revenge was denied me again and again! I have suffered so much that I cannot suffer any more if I wanted to!"

It was at that moment, that the coffin moved, and from the depths grew an arm... An arm that belonged to Akurei Ohaka. "I fused with my own weapon..." Akurei explained, the arm giving way to a head and body. "As long as I am fused with this weapon, I cannot be harmed." Akurei explained, reaching over and grabbing a hold of a latch on the side of the coffin. When fused with the coffin Akurei was safe from the gas, no longer needing to worry about breathing. This was his advantage, and he would use it well.

"But now, you should meet a God I constructed with my own two hands." Akurei stated, opening the coffin door before returning to his safety spot. And there, resting in the coffin was a corpse... A corpse Sannato would know well, because as soon as he looked at the dead body he would be under Akurei's ultimate genjutsu... the Demonic Illusion: Undying Love, a technique that made the enemy see the corpse as a dear loved one... Not even Sannato and his clones would be safe from his genjutsu.

"So your basically telling me that if i manage to destroy that coffin, you'll be exposed?", Sannoto asked before on his clones jumped directly over the coffin and emitted a wave of hot Iron, even hotter than lava itself. The Iron fell towards the coffin as Sannoto smirked believing this battle was his. "I didn't want to do that..but you forced me into doing so", Sannoto said as he watched as the hot Iron fell towards the coffin.

"Harm this coffin? What a foolish notion." Akurei mocked. The God Coffin could survive in the heart of a volcano, untouched and fine. The heated iron, even if hotter than lava still had limits and would deal very minor damage to the coffin. Not that it mattered, because as the iron mass descended, the coffin was swallowed up by one of Akurei's Corpse worms, dragging it underground to safety. Within a second the ground beneath Sannato opened up though, and another worm struck from below, mouth already gaping and wide. The massive maw was more than enough to catch Sannato, even if he attempted to dodge in time.

Realizing that he had no time to dodge Sannoto knew he had to rely on Academy level techniques. Almost being completely devoured by the worm, Sannoto manged to form the necessary handseals, to complete the Body Replacement Technique, with one his clones, which he did at the very last second. "You almost had me there, but now your worm will begone forever!", Sannoto declared before forming a boar handseal. It would be only a matter of seconds before his clone would explode, which he thought, would surely be enough to destroy the worm.

"I possess a kingdom of corpses, what you have to threaten me with is nothing..." Akurei said, his voice echoing through the earth, his location distorted. "Tell me... How do you plan to continue? My advantage is great, and soon this fight will end in my favor. Already your jutsu have failed to harm me, yet already you resort to childish tactics to face my superior skills. If this match was decided now than I would be the champion. Your Kekkei Tota puts you above me in sheer strength, and I respect that." Akurei said, a slight teasing in his words.

"You are correct, you do have the advantage over me, however i have multiple tricks up my sleeve", Sannoto said as he absorbed his other Iron clone into his body. "So how about you come up, and we can discuss where you are going to conduct your research again. Considering your strength, I think i have no choice to happily oblige. See I was always going to let you use my village, but I also wanted to test your strength. When I realized you would attack if i didn't allow you to use my village, I found an opportunity to face you; to see if the rumors about your strength were true. And so far you have not disappointed me", Sannoto declared.

"You speak such kind words, but forgive me if I still doubt their honesty to some extent." Akurei replied, and the ground several feet in front of Sannato began to part. Pulling himself from the ground, was Akurei Ohaka. "Well, here I am. Lets chat. It was an entertaining bout to say the least."

"I have no problem with you attempting to build the perfect human being, and i have no issue with you using my vessel. However, i have pride in my appearance, and I cannot deal with the side effects. So is their anyway to complete your experiment without those side effects occurring?"

"Of course, the physical side effects can be minimized." Akurei said, resting his chin on his hand as he began to muse on the tools needed. "I will probably need a blood sample, and while not impossible it would be tricky without the right tools. I would also need an assistant to cut down on the operation time." Akurei explained, watching Sannato with careful eyes. "But might I ask what kind of alterations you are looking for. Some alterations may require amputation depending on the level of changes required."

"Okay...I have many assistants for you to use, and just give me a list of tools, and they will be supplied", Sannoto said, looking at Akurei. "I actually seek no certain alteration, i just want to help you in your experiment..So do what you want and need, but please keep the physical side effects limited."

"Hee... I shall attempt to minimaze any physical distortion." Akurei said, suppressing the urge to roll his eyes. "I shall be ready to move my lab equipment when you give the word, lord Sannato." Akurei said, the last part dripping with sarcasm and hidden mockery. The fight was over, the rest was now about the planning.

"You can move your stuff to my village at anytime you wish..but i'll send one my shinobi to come assist you in about two days", Sannoto said, as he turned his back to Akurei and began walking away.

"Of course, I shall be preparing. But before you leave I would like it if you removed the forest of iron from the center of my village." Akurei said, a slight growl building in his throat as he turned to look at the destruction Sannato had dealt to his dear village. Overturned graves, ruined homes, and several uprooted corpses littered the massive forest Sannato had created. Next time he fought somebody, make sure it was outside the village...

"Oh...Sorry about that", Sannoto said, before he removed the forest he had created. Sannoto meant no harm to Akurei's hometown, and he felt terrible for what he had done.

"Return to your people now. I must tend to mine." Akurei said, walking over to the dead bodies, his flesh breaking away to reveal the body of a child. Age withered away, replaced by the face of the child kage who had led his people to their graves. Now, only he could bury the dead, the last of his village. "I shall be here when your men come to collect me."