Once the chaos subsides, the Grey Berets' (Anbu) proximity to the sniper is evident by how numerous and elaborate the traps become. Pelican exhales, regaining focus, "Was all that for us!? Gee, I'm flattered..."
Sparrow chuckles, "That sniper's attention ain't on us now, I suppose."
"It's a Good thing we went around..." Parrot's ghoulish giggle disturbs the shinobi. "Um, are you alright over there?"
The kunoichi grabs the fūinjutsu specialist's shoulders, shaking him, "You've picked a rotten time to start losing your mind again, don't you know! Snap out of it!"
Pelican snickers, "There goes that verbal tic you share with your nutty little brother."
"Back off!" the Uzu-nin shouts. "Yours truly is imagining that sniper's face once those zombies barge in on…" Several high-pitched, blood-curdling screams reverberate around the Anbu. The temperature plunges; the air turns thick and heavy. A gravitational spike inhibits their mobility as they struggle to overcome the invisible force weighing them down. The phenomenon wears off after a few seconds; their bodies regain movement. Parrot's breath is visible in the abrupt frigid breeze, "Wh-wh-what was that, you know!" he says, shivering.
Pelican focuses, disrupting his chakra flow, repeating, "Release!" without success, "Figures—this isn't just an ordinary genjutsu of some sort."
Sparrow tries standing, but her legs are almost unresponsive, "Ugh, we may be dealing with an enemy that possesses a bloodline limit." She scouts the middle floors using her binoculars before confirming the sniper's location; her attention wavers.
"What do you see?"
"They're frozen in place like we were," She reconnoiters the structure's interior, "something's moving towards the hoard, dozens of them humanoid in shape."
"Great... more Syndi-guerrillas to deal with?"
"No, they're too slow to be enemy shinobi. They seem to be walking toward all those zombies and—conflagrating themselves. Um, whatever they are ain't human."
"If the enemy's found a way to control those things, we've got bigger issues."
"There's movement. The hordes are overwhelming them; this is getting weird."
"Indubitably, but now's our chance," the fūinjutsu specialist says, "there's nowhere else our target can run! Let's set up an ambush on the upper floor."
Pelican surveys the rooftops before determining a safe area to traverse. He disarms the explosives and spring-loaded rebar stakes; most are hidden with genjutsu, further complicating his tedious task. He can't help but admire the intricacy and sophistication of some of the devices; nevertheless, the shinobi deactivates a few sealing tags to the best of his ability, thus clearing a safe landing zone for Parrot and Sparrow, "Alright, red-head, you're up."
"Which one?" the kunoichi says.
"Whichever one of you can deactivate fūinjutsu without getting us sealed away or blown to kingdom come."
The Uzu-nin pulls a scroll from the front pocket of his flak jacket before summoning an ink bottle, brushes of varying sizes, and other complex tools from his inventory, "Tch, fair enough. Still, we need a way to lure the enemy onto the top floor, you know." After disarming the remaining fūinjutsu seals, he opens the roof access hatch, then gestures for his teammates to follow, "I have an idea; it's a long shot, but it's all yours truly has, which is why I'd like to run it by you two first."
Pelican crosses his arms, leaning against a wall, "Okay, let's hear it, poindexter."
"It's simple. You're our engineer, so locating and disarming traps won't be an issue. Sparrow's stronger than us, so you'll take point while she covers you."
"so, where's your part in this?"
"I'll reverse-engineer the enemy's sealing tags and have a few recovered fūinjutsu traps ready before you two can flush out that sniper; however, this takes time to prepare. Which is why I'll remain here."
"I could use Earth Release and collapse the rooftops onto our target."
"True, but the surge of chakra may draw those festering pus buckets away from our target and directly to us. Besides, don't you want your five minutes with whoever turned your fap arm into mincemeat?"
The shinobi sighs, walking towards the access hatch, "Two to the head, dynamite up the butt, whatever; I don't care how anymore! I want that bitch, or bastard dead as a dodo."
"If we capture that sniper alive, I'll let you do your thing—you know your *weird thing* that I don't approve of..." he says, squinting his eyes.
'Tch would've done it anyway,' Pelican's light-blue eye brightens inside his mask, "Deal, but you nor your sister will interfere this time."
The kunoichi rolls her eyes, "Of all the things we can learn from a civilization vastly different from ours, we appropriate and propagate its worst aspects!"
"Yours truly understands your concerns; yes, it's shameful. Yes, it is frowned upon," Parrot glares at the shinobi, "but it's one of those things the ASF tolerates to maintain this fragile alliance until the war's won."
"I don't understand what the hubbub's about," Pelican says, "I'm simply teaching them *severest lesson of whom towers above thee*, as our enemies say."
Sparrow gasps, "Oh, you mean that!? Okay, what are we waiting around for? Let's get to it then!"
"What's with the change of heart?"
"I uh… need to make sure the sniper isn't killed too soon by—um… you know, monitoring the gen—I mean vitals," she shrugs.
"You could've just said you wanted to watch—"
The kunoichi dispatches a straight kick with the bottom of her foot to his chest (Laktisma Eis Gasteran), knocking him down the pitch-black access hatch.
"Toasty~!!"
The shinobi backflips, righting himself midair before sticking a perfect three-point landing pose, "fuckin' short stack," he mutters.
"We'll have the enemy in position faster than you can say: believe it," she gives the fūinjutsu specialist a two-finger salute and steps down the hatch, "Be ready."
"You were always such a perv, sis," the Uzu-nin mumbles, 'I'm many things, but stupid isn't one of them; I saw you wiping the blood dripping from your nostrils!'
Sparrow steps away from the moonlight and adjusts her eyes to the darkness. The entire floor is a windowless empty chamber incomplete in its construction; aside from the occasional flash of lightning, stone pillars with torches are the solitary light source.
Pelican communicates to her via sign language, 'Proceed with caution.' They survey the area for any indication of activity, yet there is nothing but silence and crackling torches. After an in-depth analysis, he concludes it's safe to advance and gives the 'all clear.' The Anbu stumble upon a barricaded entryway with chains connecting to a lock on the door's center. They inspect the framework and threshold for potential hazards before examining its intricate locking mechanism, 'Light,' the shinobi gestures.
She ignites the torches, flanking the entryway. High-pitch buzzing emanates from small orange orbs of light spiraling around a transparent chest as it phases into existence. Parrot observes from the access hatch, raising an eyebrow and tilting his head in curiosity. The buzzing ceases; the chest materializes. Pelican and the kunoichi exchange glances of bewilderment before staring back at the magical treasure chest.
She pulses chakra in small waves, whispering, "Release," trying to dispel any potential genjutsu; however, the trunk remains. The shinobi shrugs and walks over to the chest. He checks for wire strings or explosives before kicking it open and grabbing the key inside. Pelican unlocks the door. There's a discrete clank; the chains recede into the frame before it opens. They inspect the winding staircase, surveying for any signs of peril. After descending onto the next floors, ceaseless unease washes over them as they cross the threshold into a circular room. The temperature plummets; their hearts pound in the silent void.
Sparrow gestures, 'Enemies spotted!' they halt, 'Five total: two, twelve o'clock—three, six o'clock!' then draw their blades.
'Defensive formation,' back-to-back, they ready themselves for combat. "Release," the shinobi whispers, pulsing his chakra.
The illusion dispels; the deafening silence ceases. The indentations on the rug materialize into slouching, grotesque humanoid figures. Pelican and the kunoichi stand fast, eager to counterattack at the drop of a hat. They anticipate an ambush, but the onslaught never happens. Instead, the masked creature's glowing red eyes fade as they lower their heads. Low-pitch zombie-like moans reverberate within the room in sync with one another in a tone that raises and lowers twice before drawing off and repeating.
After the shock of five groaning corpses appearing from thin air, the Anbu gain their bearings. They analyze their situation, searching for potential weaknesses or opportunities to strike. The Anbu question whether or not the masked creatures are some amateur's poor attempt at an obscure Clone Jutsu rather than actual living corpses. The ReDeads remain motionless while groaning, seeming defenseless, yet their purpose remains unclear. Sparrow's grip tightens around her blade's hilt; she steps forward. The groaning ceases; the ReDead's eyes illuminate as their heads rise. The Anbu brace themselves, remaining stationary and vigilant.
The ReDead's gums and teeth are visible through the mouth-holes in their reddish-orange wooden masks. The kunoichi shudders, imagining how their faces look. The ReDead's glowing eyes fade; they lower their heads, resuming their zombie-like groans.
The shinobi hypothesizes, 'these creatures are reactionary to sound or sudden movement, perhaps acting as warders.' He tests his hypothesis; Pelican's foot taps the rug. As he expects, a similar occurrence transpires. The ReDead's eyes fade again. Sparrow taps her foot and confirms his theory.
'Sound or activity seems to alert those things; a gradual pace is paramount to sneaking past them.' Regardless, the ReDeads outnumber and surround the Anbu, 'Starting a fight with the two obstructing our path is a foregone conclusion, but how will the rest respond?' The shinobi wonders. Not taking any chances, he raises his arms slow enough not to draw the ghoulish creature's attention. He points his fingertips at the three before him; the shinobi's bones emerge from his forearms, 'Attack!'
The kunoichi blitzes the ReDeads in a flash of blinding speed, leaving behind an afterimage. She appears before them, slamming her foot into one of their heads. Pelican unleashes his Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets (Digital Shrapnel/Teshi Sendan); the ReDeads stumble back as their arms flail and heads shake from the continuous bone fragment bombardment. While airborne, Sparrow uses her momentum to roundhouse-kick the adjacent ReDead. After knocking them off-balance, she follows up with a relentless succession of rapid slashes and strikes against their gummy flesh.
The shinobi drives his knee into the central ReDead's sternum in the blink of an eye, launching it into a pillar. He lands between the ReDeads, wielding his sword in a reverse grip—a short bone-hilted blade extends from Pelican's other palm.
"Camellia Dance!" he erupts in a whirlwind of afterimages, hacking and slicing away at the ReDeads. His subsequent offensive is chaotic and continuous. Pelican's movements are irregular, with each sword thrust changing direction at random angles. Dark-blue slime squirts from the ReDead's wounds with every strike as they groan in pain. He finds how the ReDeads react to injury hilarious until realizing they're still standing after excessive damage. The kunoichi's endless assault continues as she takes her frustrations out on the ReDeads. Yet, the creatures absorb every blow, resulting in a repetitive groan or occasional stumble.
"Just die already!" Sparrow enhances her blade with chakra, preparing a final attack, but the ReDead catches the kunoichi's wrist. Her eyes widen.