Ancients were written about as if they were gods, beings larger than life and all powerful. Even if Mikaboshi hadn't sustained any actual damage, it would strain him and eventually there would be a breaking point. The First Men had proven that and pushed hard enough until they too discovered the weaknesses of their Ancient masters. Akio's lineage had taught him many lessons and it was in this moment that he knew her would not be intimidated. Mikaboshi was powerful, but while he had been hiding for hundreds of years, man had been evolving, growing ever stronger and to such an end that they could reach beyond the stars with their potential. Akio was not part of The Cabal group out of pure luck, he had been selected for a particular set of skills that made him more dangerous than any shinobi in Wind Country.
While his sight betrayed him--Mikaboshi tricking his vision into seeing things that were not real, this much he knew--there was an overwhelming confidence of the shadowy swordsman. Allow a prideful creature to believe they held the advantage and it was the opponent's to take away when they least expected it. As the powerful shock waves lashed out and shattered their surroundings, Akio didn't even flinch at each pulse of power or so much as acknowledge the transition into nothingness, losing complete sight of the Ancient.
"If I had been afraid of you, I wouldn't have come out to your challenge. Your tricks are effective, but that's all they are. You're nothing more than the courts' jester, Mikaboshi."<i></i>
Glowing energy would pulsate from Akio's hand and he would press it against the ground once more, a visible wave of white energy channeling through the whole room in an instant. Mikaboshi may have stalked his prey to this location, but Akio had waited and set up his battlefield too. As the rushing waves of overwhelming pressure hit the room now, small pockets of debris would explode upon being jostled. Patches of the room glowed and popped into fiery balls of death as the
Minefield technique took effect, using the Devastating Aura as a trigger to unleash the unstable chakra. A careful step would be needed.
Fear was an interesting part of the human condition. Akio had heard the stories of Mikaboshi, understood that consuming souls and rending flesh from bone was a common practice for him against anything that got in his way, and the primal desire to flee was as prominent as ever, but the fear was also a powerful motivator. There was a lot wrong with Sunagakure and at its core everything was fixable. Save for a single point that would be a poisonous blister until it was lanced completely: Mikaboshi, Lord of the Deep Court.
Deep breaths escaped his lips as he calmed his nerves and eased the grip upon Retribution, feet moving him slowly around the large golem he had created, listening to the chaos of unpredictable explosion take chunks out of the surrounding terrain. This was all a set-up. Mikaboshi hunting for him and Akio revealing himself. A grand trap for the country's greatest hunter. If man did not attempt to remove evil, it would forever be plagued by it as it hid in the shadows. One more press of his palm against the dusty floor and there would be a noticeable surge of pressure in the room. Scales of jet-black rock would surface from somewhere in the room, vanish and then reappear again somewhere else, like a shark circling its prey in the water. Akio did not need to see for his creations to attack and these blinding techniques were only blinding him.
Tremendous and untamed, the large creature revealed itself as it surfaced and unleashed a mighty roar. The large and imposing
Obsidian Dragon was a favorite technique of the bombardier and made even more deadly by his unusually volatile chakra.
Now Akio kept his hand against the ground, ready at a rigid crouch for an attack.
The dragon would seek out Mikaboshi and attempt to chomp down on him, but his master was taking his time until the Ancient decided to play a bit more forward.