"Stand and face me, petitioner. You will introduce yourself and claim your lineage before we begin."
Katsuo winced as the golem rumbled it's demand. His body still ached from the blast of energy but the pain was quickly fading from his extremities. Looking to Chiyoko, he offered a non-committal shrug to her trailing off question and her confusion.
"You... should probably leave this to me. I might need you to carry me out of here so do me a favor and stay handy, would you?" He didn't wait for her answer. Regardless if she stayed or not, he needed to face the creature and do what he'd come here to do. Quickly getting to his feet while ignoring the aches of his legs and arms, Katsuo rolled his shoulders and advanced a few paces towards the giant golem and came to stand in front of it.
"I am Masashi Katsuo, son of Sunahoshi Hiro and Masashi Inara. Bearer of Tatsumasa and heir to the throne of... well, heir to you I guess."
"Masashi? This is who you've Chosen? He will claim his father but not his name. What right does he have to a legacy which he denies?"
The golem "looked" away from Katsuo and stomped it's foot on the ground in protest. At first Katsuo thought it was speaking to him in it's gravel-like tone but it quickly became apparent that he was speaking to the spirit of Tatsumasa rather than the little human in front of him.
Is that what that feels like? Awkward.
"Do not speak to me as you would a child, spirit! We are equals in this! If he does not meet my standards then he does not inherit the power!"
Katsuo said nothing as the golem verbally argued with the spirit of Tatsumasa which Katsuo assumed he could not hear due to the sword being clearly connected with the Diamond Throne at the moment. It was strange being without the spirit's presence in the back of his mind and it was in that moment he realized how dependent he'd become on her. She was his sounding board for his ideas and impulses. When he'd originally wanted to storm the streets of Sunagakure and take out some bad guys, it had been her counsel that persuaded him to avoid the conflict so as to not risk getting in over his head. Looking back after having faced Saiga, Katsuo could say that was definitely the right decision. She'd very likely saved his life in that advice. He hadn't originally counted on doing this without her but was still confident enough that he could do it alone. After all, he hadn't gotten this far for nothing. He'd never needed a partner before and didn't need one now to deal with this challenge.
"Very well then! The deal is struck." Rumbled the mass of mineral sand. Katsuo wasn't quite sure how the Sunahoshi golem was even communicating but it was certainly announcing it's words rather than projecting the way the spirit of Tatsumasa was. With the blade of Tatsumasa still embedded in the back of the golem, Katsuo was without his blade and he could venture a pretty good guess at what was coming. The spirit had told him that to obtain the power that was his birthright that he would be tested. This must have been a part of the test; a contest of strength between an animated mass of diamond sand. If he possessed the power of Suna's ancient mantle then he would be capable of simply dismantling the creature with his willpower but since he did not the matter was... significantly more complicated. The mass must have received confirmation from Tatsumasa's spirit because mere moments after it asked it's question to the air around it, it "turned" towards Katsuo and seemed to scoff despite it's lack of facial features. "She seems impressed with you but I am not so easily won over. You disgrace your family by pretending to be of another name and for that alone I should take your life but the spirit of Tatsumasa has convinced me to give you a chance to prove yourself against my judgement. If you are truly a Sunahoshi then you must assert your right to rule by defeating me."
"Alright big guy. Let's dance." Tossing his coat from his shoulders and then flickering with movement, Katsuo closed the distance between himself and golem and landed a series of powerful blows to the knees of the creature hoping to knock out it's center of balance and bring it to the ground. All twelve feet of it's horrendous size would mean nothing if it couldn't walk.
Sliding a halt behind the golem, Katsuo's hands screamed in pain from having been slammed into a willful mass of ultra-dense carbon and the diamond golem seemed largely unaffected by Katsuo's blows despite the fact that the strength behind them would have been enough to kill the average human being with relative ease.
"You opt for brute strength over the Sunahoshi gift? Your arrogance will be your undoing, child. You cannot defeat me with out it." The golem scoffed again as it slowly turned. Katsuo got the distinct impression from how the mass shifted with the golem's moves that the slow speed with which it turned to regard him wasn't for the fact that it couldn't move quickly. It didn't feel it necessary to do so.
"For your information, I ain't got that gift. What you see is what you get." Katsuo's mind worked quickly trying to find an effective strategy as the golem wasted it's time talking. Being a shifting mass meant that any power he put behind his blows would only result in further injury to himself. The golem could increase and decrease it's mass where it needed to as it responded to his attacks. He was beginning to see why Tatsumasa's spirit had been so insistent about warning him about this test. Without the Sunahoshi's famous diamond sands technique, this fight would be beyond just about anyone else.
"Then undertaking this test was unwise. I will give you the chance to reconsider your mistake, Son of Hiro. Relinquish your claim on Tatsumasa and the throne and I will allow you to leave this place. No more games, fleshling. Relent or die."
He was right in every regard. Without the diamond sands, this match-up was a waste of time. There was no way that he could beat an elemental manifestation with this sort of composition alone and calling for back-up was worthless. Even if he knew who to call in Sunagakure and even if they could respond to his call given the tulmult going on in the city this was his test to undertake and they could not help him. Further, his lack of skill with elemental techniques made such a contest between him and the golem even more of a mismatch since he could not even rely on the power of elemental attacks in place of his physical ones.
"No can do. This is something that I have to see through to the end, even if it kills me."
The giant mass of diamond sand shuddered as if inhaling and then letting lose a long sigh before once again "looking" at Katsuo.
"It is rare to see a man face his demise with such conviction. Sunagakure will be lessened by your death despite your arrogance and impertinence."
Have to get Tatsumasa back. The blade is Takahashi steel and with some of my chakra it might be able to slice through the golem's body.
Between them there was a simple moment of peace as the golem acknowledged Katsuo's worthiness to lead and expressed it's regret at having to take his life as a part of the test but as that moment passed the animated creature's composite body sprang to life and launched a multi-pronged assault at Katsuo from several directions. Grasping three-fingered hands reached for him from both sides and from above at ludicrous speed for how large the creature was. Knowing that his life would be over the instant any of those hands managed to catch him, Katsuo also exploded into motion dodging over the hand on his left as he climbed on top of it and ran along the surface of the sand golem's appendage towards the place where Tatsumasa was stabbed into it's right shoulder. While Katsuo could not harm the golem physically, it could not check the speed at which he moved which gave him one advantage he could still leverage. With the power of the Zenjingan and his own physical prowess, the Masashi demon hunter could stay one step ahead of the golem's movements for the most part to avoid being caught and summarily crushed under an avalanche of diamond sand.
Reaching where Tatsumasa stood impaled into the creature, Katsuo wrapped his fingers around the blade and once more felt the surging power of the energy that had zapped him across the room into temporary unconsciousness when he'd first slashed the sword into the Diamond Throne and started this whole thing off. This time he was ready for it and as the golden bolts of power lanced into his forearm causing his hand and most of his right arm to blossom into searing pain. Gritting his teeth and pushing through the painful experience, Katsuo pulled and wrenched at the blade but found he could not free it from where it was embedded into the golem and it seemed that his strategy to recover Tatsumasa had suddenly become apparent to the monster he was fighting as the sand around him roiled and prepare to launch an attack on him. Releasing his grasp on Tatsumasa's hilt as a fanged maw of sand in the shape of a sandshark, complete with pearlescent teeth, lunged up out of the golem's shoulder Katsuo flipped backwards off of the creature's back and slid to a halt a few feet away with his arm still screaming at him in pain.
"Ah, the sword. A sound strategy. You will not be able to take it from me. Tatsumasa and it's spirit's purpose is expended in unleashing me for this test. When I am dispatched, so too will they be for we exist solely for this purpose. The spirit of Tatsumasa wishes me to express her regret for not making that clear before the test began.
The golem eviscerated Katsuo's strategy as it reiterated what Tatsumasa's spirit had told him right before he'd triggered the test to begin. Tatsumasa was a key to the lock, the lock was the throne and the spirit was the instruction manual and selection mechanism for the heir to the power that Nori had sealed within it. All three worked together to create a treasure trove which would last through the years ensuring that the power sealed within the throne would never be stolen or misused. To even be aware of it one would need to be Chosen by the spirit of Tatsumasa meaning they would need to be of Sunahoshi blood to be able to draw the sword and then also be worthy enough to hear the spirit's words. With the tests of character and birthright taken care of the petitioning Sunahoshi would need to be able to conquer a test of might to claim the power sealed within the throne. Even in the moment of battle, Katsuo had to appreciate the wisdom and foresight of the first Kazekage. In the same breath however he also felt a surge of anger go through him as well. Why hadn't the spirit warned him that she wouldn't be coming back? Didn't he deserve to know that? If he had known about it, he'd never have taken the test in the first place. But of course, she'd known that. She'd made it clear that she would make him face his responsibility as king no matter the cost and this was the spirit living up to that vow. It didn't make him less angry but he understood her deception. For now he'd have to focus on finding a way to beat the golem without killing the spirit. Was that even possible?
The power discharge running through Tatsumasa must be the thing animating the golem. If I defeat the golem it destroys both the spirit and the golem in the process of releasing the power sealed within the Throne. If I don't defeat it, it kills me. If I try and pull Tatsumasa out it either kills me or ends the test without giving me the power I need.
"You hesitate. This is not the time for thought, Son of Hiro. If you do not act then you will die."
The golem kindly reminded Katsuo of the battle going on around him as if he'd somehow forgotten that he was locked in a life or death struggle with an animated ton of super sand. Scowling at the golem's remark, Katsuo continued to watch for any movement on the creature's part and since it did not make a move to attack, he attempted to make the best of that reprieve to strategize against it.
"I'm hesitating because I don't want to kill Tatsumasa."
"Kill? Fleshling, we are not alive. We have no life to take. The spirit to which you refer is a construct that was created to guide you to this moment and nothing more. Your compassion is misplaced even if it is admirable."
"Says the giant pile of sand with an attitude. Tatsumasa has helped me out plenty of times since we met and I don't intend to pay that back by letting her die so I can gain something as trivial as more power."
"I am beginning to regret having to kill you, Sunahoshi Katsuo. With your conviction and compassion, perhaps you could have made for a passable king after all."
The way the golem spoke it's words put Katsuo on edge for attack as it made it sound as if the creature was preparing for another assault but still it did not move. It was then that Katsuo realized that the golem had been slowly shifting it's nebulous body to the floor of the chapel and had subtly surrounded him from almost every angle while they had been bantering. The golem had been extremely forthright with it's first statement: when it said that if he did not act then he would die it was warning him that it's next strategy would end his life if he did not do something to prevent it. Perhaps it was because the golem's strategy was finally in place or because it realized he'd finally noticed what was going on but the thin layer of diamond dust around him sprang to life and it was all that Katsuo could do to erect a barrier around him before it surrounded him and crushed the life from his body. Putting his left palm on top of his right hand and holding them out in front of him, Katsuo poured his chakra into the tribal tattoo of the mitsudomoe emblazoned on his right hand causing azure flames to erupt around him in a swirling shield of terrible destruction backed up by a layer of his chakra. It was in that moment that an idea came to Katsuo on how to proceed with the fight. It wasn't a good idea but it was better than anything he'd thought of so far. If he kept fighting the way he was then the golem would eventually get the better of him and get him in one of the holds it was looking to put him in and once it got him there would be no escaping. It would be game over. The diamond dust held at bay by the maelstrom of flames which burned around him in a bubble-like shield, Katsuo breathed in sharply and continued to pump his chakra into his right hand charging it full of his spiritual power and energy.
This was a technique that he'd spent years perfecting and was based off of a favorite of other members of his clan. He had never been proficient enough with elemental ninjutsu to perform the Lightning Edge technique as other Masashi and shinobi were able to do but his prowess with physical techniques and mastery over his own spirit was unparalleled. Thanks to the combination of those two things, he'd created a martial technique which focused a mass of hyper-dense chakra into his fist that magnified the strength of his punch by a thousand-fold. Perhaps even more. He'd never dared to use the technique on a living creature; it would almost certainly kill anything with a life to take. But in this instance, it was the only option he had left.
"Get your things together, Tatsumasa. I'm coming to get you."
"Reckless. Foolish--"
Before the golem could finish whatever it was about to say, Katsuo came racing out of the cloud of diamond dust and flames at supersonic speed using every bit of knowledge and skill he'd learned with his Shukuchi technique over the years to close the distance between himself and the golem. Once more proving his theory that the golem had trouble reconciling Katsuo's ridiculously rapid movement with it's own counter-attacks, the golem began to recall the diamond mist that it'd tried to kill him with only moments before but it was too late for it to mount any sort of defense against Katsuo's attack even if the wanderer's target had been the golem itself. Instead, Katsuo reappeared once more standing on the shoulder where Tatsumasa was embedded... but he was not reaching to grasp it this time. Bolts of raw power flashed both gold and white as Katsuo slammed his spirit-charged fist into the hilt of Tatsumasa and the connection between the sword and the golem resisted the attack as much as it possibly could before finally giving through. Tatsumasa was a marvel of swordsmithing and had been powerfully enchanted but such a precise hit at this particular moment with so much power proved too much for it's craftsmanship and as the surface of Katsuo's knuckles so much as touched the leather-wrapping of Tatsumasa's hilt there was another earth-shattering peal of thunder and the blade instantly shattered under the force sending both the hilt with half of the blade attached to it and Katsuo tumbling in the same direction past where the golem was standing and into the far wall behind it. Dazed by the force of the shattering, Katsuo had only enough time following his recovery to claim the broken half of Tatsumasa that he'd blasted off from the golem before a tidal wave of diamond sand slammed into him and pinned him against the statue of Primus that stood at the far back side of the chapel. The pressure of the grip was nothing short of amazing as Katsuo could not move at all under the weight of the sands. Slowly the sands coelesced around him and the golem began to reel him in like an animal caught in a hunter's snare while Katsuo's mind raced trying to think of some way-- any way --to escape the suffocating weight of the golem's grip.
"You have succeeded in ensuring my destruction by shattering Tatsumasa as I will never again wake but you have failed the test in the manner that you will not survive my passing to claim my bounty."
Struggling against the weight of the diamond sands meant nothing. Even with his higher than average physical strength, Katsuo could not break the giant's ironclad grip and as it explained his failure to him he could feel the golem beginning to increase the pressure of the sands surrounding his body. He would be crushed into a pulp in moments if he did not find a way to escape the situation he was in. Feeling his vision swim as breathing became increasingly difficult at an extremely rapid pace, Katsuo let loose one last blast of his burning chakra in a whirlwind of sapphire flames but even that failed to phase the golem's central mass. It had been enough when the creature was only sending waves of shredding dust at him but the flames did nothing to force the golem to release him. Pain shot through his body as he felt several of his ribs crack under the strain of the crushing sands but still he struggled against them with every drop of his remaining strength. Gripping the hilt of Tatsumasa beneath where the sands were grasping him to focus his efforts, Katsuo felt a presence stir within the sword and suddenly felt the spirit of Tatsumasa with him again but it was different. It felt similar to how the blade had when it was trapped within the casket of crystal that Seitoshi had been keeping it in. Still, even without her direct presence there in his hand he could feel a rush of power escape the blade and flow into Katsuo's arm causing a brilliant flare of golden light. Bolts of gilded lightning danced out from the blade and through his arm though this time they only felt warm rather than searing hot as they had before. At last he felt the grip of the giant lessen only slightly as the arcs of energy raced up his arm and into the sand holding him. Throwing his head back, Katsuo put everything he had left behind the energy that he felt surging into him from Tatsumasa's broken half and in that moment his chakra took on a physical form as it surrounded his right arm in the golden image of a massive gauntleted hand. Where the spiritual armor touched the sand that had been previously binding the demon hunter the diamond was blown away from him scattering it across the chapel and most importantly freeing him from the grip of the golem.
Freed at last from the deadly grasp of the creature, Katsuo dropped to the ground in a heap and the huge golden fist that he'd manifested disappated almost as quickly as it had formed. It had done it's work however as the golem stumbled backwards seemingly stunned from having come into contact with the manfiested spirit armor. Sucking in breath after breath and trying to catch his breathing to a normal rate, Katsuo hobbled to his feet and found his eyes drawn to the hilt of Tatsumasa which was still held firmly in his hand. The spirit's presence was there but only just barely. When he'd shattered the physical sword, he must have also broken her ability to commune withim as she had before. The golem had said he'd succeeded only in bringing about their destruction. Did that mean when he'd broken the sword that the spirit would die as well? It made sense, in retrospect. As a spiritual construct, she could not survive the sundering of the artifact she was bound to for long. In the heat of battle he'd forgotten that fact. Crumpling back to his knees as a wet and bloody coughing fit overcame him reminding him of the severe injuries he'd suffered at the literal hands of the diamond golem, Katsuo cursed his foolish mistake. There was one thing he could choose to do but it was a risk that he could easily come to regret. If he soaked the remaining blade of Tatsumasa in his blood he might be able to draw the spirit out and make a connection with his body effectively housing the spirit within him but it would make their connection closer than ever. He would effectively be inviting the spirit into his body at which point she could contest control of it, if she ever felt so inclined. Still. Looking up at the slowly recovering golem, it's formerly decimated form slowly reasserting itself after being blasted apart by the explosion of golden power, Katsuo decided he didn't have a lot of options at this point anyway. Given his injuries and lack of ability to fight back, it was unlikely he would survive the battle for long once the creature finally reconstitued itself fully. Taking a brief moment to prepare himself for what was surely going to be a painful experience, Katsuo took the shattered blade of Tatsumasa and drove it into his shoulder-- into the wound he'd taken from the petrified wood that the golem had now surely reopened. The pain was immense for a moment but then rapidly subsided as he felt a comfortable heat radiate out from where he'd stabbed the blade into his shoulder before his hand moved of it's own accord and withdrew the blade which was now slick with his blood.
Hello again, my king.
"When were you planning on telling me that you were going to die if I beat this thing?" He barked, his voice giving words to the first thought that blazed through his skull as he heard her words echo through it. "Speaking of that, got any ideas?"
I think you will find that with your remarkably reckless decision to stab the charged remnants of Tatsumasa into your shoulder, you already possess your answer. You don't feel it due to your energy and adrenaline but you are very shortly about to collapse. The only thing holding you together right now is me so for both of our sakes, please finish this rapidly.
"I know not how you have pilfered a piece of the power I guard but consider yourself. Injured within an inch of your life and gasping for air. I have nearly crushed the life from you, fleshling. Will you still not relent? My offer to rescind your title, throne and name stands still. Renounce your claim and I will rest once more. You cannot defeat me without the Sunahoshi gift."
"No, I think I can. You're only offering that again because you know I've got a weapon now. This is new ground between us." It was Katsuo's turn for the smirking. He could feel the well of energy within him from the spirit of Tatsumasa being carried within his body. With her carried a spark of the power that he was battling to obtain and even that spark was enough to change the entire game. He could feel his vision sharpen and the golden bolts which ran jaggedly down the arm adjoined to his injured shoulder forced the arm and fingers to respond to his will-power without pain or loss of strength even though he knew that the arm was tired and broken.
"Impertinent to the very end. So be it."
As if to punctuate the golem's statement of finality, the diamond sands which had been spread about the room lifted into the air and and whirled in a circle as they had before but this time much more rapidly as the golem lifted it's arm to the air and clenched it into a fist. Clenching his own fist, Katsuo summoned his chakra and could feel the golden power swelling up through the wound in his shoulder and pooling in his right hand as he did. Bolts of power crackled between the two as the golem prepared to squash Katsuo once and for all and the would-be king of Sunagakure prepared to put everything he had left into his last attack.
"Are you ready for this?" Whispered Katsuo, swallowing hard and sucking in one last breath of fresh air before the culmination of the confrontation between him and the grit golem occurred. At the shoulder of the golem where the remainder of Tatsumasa's blade is there is a cluster of energy. That is the key to defeating it. I can only give you one chance at this.
That brought another smirk to Katsuo's lips as he set his eyes to the golem. Better not miss then, he thought with a mental chuckle. Despite the fact that his opponent had no eyes or face to speak of, Katsuo could feel all of the entity's intensity bearing down on him. The spirit behind the golem was ancient and powerful. Prideful too, from what he'd seen. But at the same time despite the fact that the golem was judgmental and abrasive in personality, it too also held a degree of chivalry and mercy. It'd given him not one but two chances to back down from the battle after finding out that he was not-- in the golem's opinion --properly equipped to deal with the test. When it believed it was mismatched, it had offered it's opponent two separate chances to back out of the confrontation despite having made bold claims at the beginning of their battle about Katsuo's unworthiness.
Then at last the time for the confrontation came and the two clashing energies slammed into each other as the golem brought it's hand forward and scores of miniature streams of diamond sand erupted from all over it's body with razor-sharp spines at their tips intending to pierce Katsuo's body from multiple angles. It was a smart strategy; one that he'd employed against Saiga earlier during their battle. Katsuo was fast but it was unlikely he could dodge an attack from every angle in such a manner and escape completely unscathed. But in this last moment Katsuo did not intend to dodge. Throwing all his weight and willpower behind his right hand as he let loose a near unconscious primal shout, blue and gold flames shimmered around the demon hunter which disrupted and threw away the spears of diamond silt as they closed in on his charging form. The golem reared back a step as Katsuo closed distance between them but it was too late. Massive golden fingers formed around his hand as he blew through the golem's leaping arms in the same manner as he had the spears of sand and reached through it's shoulder to grasp on to the sphere of concentrated spiritual energy and diamond sand. Feeling the fingers of the manifested light-construct wrap around the sphere, Katsuo pulled backwards as he began to fall and as the gauntlet exited the gaping hole in the giant's chest the whipping sands of the golem halted immediately and fell to the ground all around him in an abrupt shower of glittering diamond powder. The hard-light gauntlet disappeared in a similar brandish of amber light and dropped the sphere of crystallized spiritual presence into Katsuo's hand. It was cool to the touch and remarkably light despite it's size being nearly the size of a basketball.
"I am defeated and you have proven yourself worthy. Break the sphere and take the power within, my king." The voice of the golem was diminished without the power of the the test behind it. Humbled in defeat, it seemed.
"I wasn't going to kill Tatsumasa to get that power and I'm not going to kill you either, sand-breath. Even though you were very rude to me."
"The power is within this shell. It is true that I will dissipate once the shell is broken but I am not a living being and this is my duty--"
"Nuh-uh. Nope. I am not going to kill you because it is your duty to die. Big negative. There has to be another way."
Suddenly Katsuo felt the searing pain in his right shoulder re-appear and the strength that the spirit of Tatsumasa had been given him melted away like a curtain hiding a broken window. All of his injuries became apparent to him as he crumpled to the floor with the sphere in his hands.
I am sorry my king but I am out of strength to sustain you. Your injuries are quite severe, I am afraid.
Katsuo didn't respond. He was too busy experiencing a universe of pain from the crushed bones, bleeding organs and smashed blood vessels. The golem's crystal sphere rolled from his grasp as he lacked the ability to hold it any longer and as it did, diamond powder gathered around it in a small swirl moving it back to where Katsuo was laying on the ground. It rotated slightly, as if one side of it were somehow it's "face" despite the sphere being totally round with a polished silver surface, and the sand continued to gather.
"I concede that I erred in my judgment of you at the onset of our meeting but I maintain that your arrogance and naivete will be the end of you some day if you do not grow past them, my king."" The sand gathered around the sphere slowly shaped itself into a similar image as the shark's mouth which had tried to take a bite out of Katsuo earlier in the battle-- this time with it's teeth solidly around the sphere which despite it's perfectly round shape offered no resistance to the diamond spikes which passed as teeth for the maw. "You must learn when to use your heart and when to use your head. Too much of either makes you a fool or a monster. But together, they make you a king. This is your path Sunahoshi Katsuo, Son of Sunahoshi Hiro and Masashi Inara. Make it a journey."
And with that, the teeth snapped shut on the sphere and it shattered into it's own pile of diamond dust. No energy visibly transferred between them but it was clear something changed as the golden power that Katsuo had within him previously shined out from the wound in his shoulder, slowly pushing the broken blade of Tatsumasa up and out of the wound before rapidly closing it. The now spirit-less blade came tumbling down beside Katsuo as changes within him were wrought by the power won from the golem. The power of the king manifested in the magnification of his greatest assets and as such Katsuo's eyes changed unbeknownst to him. The normally green color of his eyes was permanently replaced by the mitsudomoe swirl of the Zenjingan and the blue hue that the doujutsu technique normally was faded out and from beneath it shimmered a brilliant gold color. Laying on his back, his chest rising and falling with rapidly taking breaths, the spark of power that Primus had given to Sunahoshi Nori and subsequently been sealed within the Diamond Throne sealed Katsuo's wounds, restored his strength and magnified his power. For his woe, he'd gained a great new strength and a new ally to boot in the form of the spirit of Tatsumasa now taking residence in his heart.
