The Mystic Palm Technique's (healing/shōsen jutsu) emerald hue shimmers around Raven's hands as she gasps for air, writhing on the ground while holding her groin. She gnashes her teeth, slurring opaque curses and offensive remarks regarding the Marine Contra's ethnicity. However, the undue genocidal threats in meticulous detail prove ineffective in riling or provoking a response. His maniacal laughter infuriates the Anbu Captain; she radiates with killing intent, glaring daggers at him.
Crane stirs from semi-unconsciousness with a kunai in hand, ready to attack, although he hesitates. Jim composes himself, then holds his fist in front of the medical-nin. The shinobi darts before the Uchiha, shifting into a defensive stance. A lecherous smirk creeps along the mass murderer's face as his grip relaxes. The kunoichi blushes as her g-string droops on Jim's index finger and flows in the wind. The tall Anbu fumes as the war criminal uses deception and sexual harassment as a means to wage psychological warfare; nevertheless, he is thankful for his mask hiding a massive nosebleed.
"What's weird is that creep Madara wears one too..." Jim claims, snickering as he exposes the black cloth dawning a crest in its center—a red and white fan that symbolizes the Uchiha clan's pride. The fugitive teases and mocks Raven with her ruined lingerie in an ironic manner, fanning the ever-growing flame that coincides with an Uchiha's infamous temper. 'Rage obscures judgment; thus, the enemy becomes irrational and reckless. If I press further, I may not require my initial escape strategy.'
The Grey Berets (Anbu) rebound without indicating fatigue or chakra exhaustion, "This thunderstorm is a fitting backdrop for your demise—" Jim evades a shuriken. "You could've *at least* let me finish my monologue before..." They allow none of it: no stereotypical evil villain monologues, compromises, or mercy.
Crane slaps an explosive tag on a kunai before chucking it, "Stuff your monologue!" The Contra takes cover behind a stone column and uses the impurities within the rocky structure to conduct electricity and defuse the explosive on impact. A ferocious flurry surges alongside him; the Anbu Captain pounces with astonishing speed.
"The pen of fate awaits writing a final line for you!" she ambushes his flank. He amplifies the voltage through the medical-nin's kunai, jolting it upward to deflect the frigid blade racing toward his throat. Jim ducks an impending kick, then catches the spinning kunai before maneuvering behind her. She deflects his follow-up attack, then assails him with a relentless onslaught of whirring steel. A rapid exchange of scraping metal and raining sparks ensues. Their weapons clash, mirroring the thunder bellowing in the storm clouds as afterimages shift along the ground like a dazzling dance of lightning bolts.
The Uchiha lands a spinning kick to his celiac plexus. She chains a sequence of hand seals, "Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!" Swirling hellfire erupts from her mouth like a dragon scorching flocks of shrieking sheep in a stockyard. The blazing inferno accelerates at a blistering speed; the torturous tempest appears to engulf the mass murderer, disintegrating him into a smoldering ash pile.
Time grinds to a standstill; the dust settles, and victory seems irrefutable until her Sharingan depicts an inbound assault. She reacts a hairsbreadth away from a killing blow. Dust and debris discharge from underground, lightning glints the blade, rocketing toward her jugular. She leans back, redirects, and yanks Jim's wrist down before trying to punch him in the face. He dodges, yet the kunoichi transitions her strike into a grapple. She seizes his red hair, shoves the war criminal's face against her mask, and stares into his widening eyes. Jim's body falls limp as his kunai hits the ground.
She clutches her helpless captive's face, holding him up by his head. "And so, now you belong to me, Vega Contra."
The shinobi breathes a sigh of relief; his anxiousness fades as time resumes its endless stride, "catching Jimi Isra Malkhaz alive, though? I-I can't believe it!" The tall Anbu is almost frothing at the mouth, struggling to comprehend how many times over the mission payout *including* the colossal bounty on the fugitive's head, will increase.
"Your bloodline limit will be another fine addition to the clan…"
Crane's eyebrows raise, "Wait, what!?" from solace to abhorrent shock, then grim cognizance concerning the ominous implications behind such an utterance. He remains uncertain if Jim's techniques indicate reluctance or inability to use any unique abilities before the medical-nin's recollection of previous skirmishes reaffirms the latter over the former. 'So *that's* the Hokage's endgame; Tajima knew Malkhaz possessed a carrier gene all along!' His analytical mind deduces a nightmarish synopsis of what an unholy synthesis of bloodlines could unleash upon the Great Shinobi Nations.
However, the Uchiha are oblivious to the shinobi's ulterior motives and knowledge of their sinister intentions. 'Nothing a little mix-up at the Logistical Support and Medical Division's loading dock can't resolve.' He places a scroll on a messenger bird containing a situation report and meticulous instruction in preparation for a covert abduction, then reverse-summons the animal outside the Five Seal Pentagram Genesis Barrier.
The Contra snatches her forearm; Raven's eyebrows furrow as her hand sinks through his head, 'So that's why my genjutsu is not having any effect; it's just a clone!' The Clone Trap (Bunshin Torappu) reverts to a mud construct, ensnaring the Anbu Captain's callous clutches within itself. A Lightning Release sealing tag inside the Earth-style shadow clone activates—the dirty duplicate bursts, coating her in a thick layer of warm, steamy sludge. The bubbling brown batter blasts the tall Anbu, stumbling him into the seal barrier. The sudden jolt shocks Crane off his feet before chocolate rain pelts both assassins with muddy misery.
Jim reappears, "You tried eating the booty whole and got nothing but mud."
A seething brown blob resembling a flowing chocolate lava mound with bloodshot scarlet eyes scowls with unfathomable fury, "What the hell does that even mean!?"
"Oh, and uh… sorry, doll. I've already been married before, and you better believe I won't be making that mistake again!"
"I… FUCKING!! HATE YOU!!"
"Earth Style: Dust Devil Disguise!" He vanishes in a debris cloud, but they pinpoint his location and bolt after him. The Anbu flank the mass murderer, speeding over hand seals.
The medical-nin applies Water Release, "Secret Jutsu: A Thousand Needles of Death!"
"Fire Style: Searing Skull Salvos!" The Uchiha casts a triumvirate of cackling, flaming skulls.
Jim blurs over a short sequence of one-hand seals before punching the ground, "Earth Style Barrier: Earth Dome Prison!" A protective mound shields him from the impending barrage. They breach the stone wall, initiating an all-out close-quarters brawl. His speed, flexibility, and agility allow him to fend off the persistent onslaught of strikes at his pressure points and vital organs. Quick as a flash, The war criminal's fists surge up their limb joints, weakening the extremities with an aggressive, lightning-fast counter-offensive. The kunoichi deflects a swift haymaker, then shoves her heel into his abdomen.
The shinobi's foot impacts Jim's chin, spinning him through the air; nevertheless, he traps them inside the stone structure and absorbs their chakra. The blue luminescent energy vibrates through the fugitive's hands like a soothing massage traveling up his arms. Violent rumbling shakes him from his concentration; Jim's eyes widen as an explosion destroys the back of the Earth-dome. The tall Anbu grabs his throat, slamming him against the stone wall. He lifts the Contra, strangling him. He swings around Crane's arm, battering his heel onto the medical-nin's face.
He hurls a punch at Jim's jaw. The mass murderer dodges, grabs the shinobi's forearm, then slams his elbow into the tall Anbu's abdomen, eliciting a distinct crunch. He barrel-rolls midair, crashing his heel into Crane's head, sending him skipping across the ground. He lunges after him for a finishing blow, but the medical-nin throws a kunai, forcing Jim to react. He catches the blade, yet the shinobi uses it as a distraction to land a solid right hook.
"Argh!!" He reels from the blow, backhand-springing away. In a last-ditch effort, Raven teleports behind him, unleashing a continuous flurry of attacks despite the early stages of chakra exhaustion deactivating her Sharingan. He exploits her sharp dearth in speed, then times the slight apertures and vulnerabilities in the Anbu Captain's reckless fusillade. The war criminal sidesteps an incoming kick and drives his heel into her stomach.
She vomits on Jim's leg. He cringes in repulsion, "SERIOUSLY!?!" before uprighting her with another kick to the chin. The fugitive thrusts his knee into the Uchiha's chest, side-flips, and sends her flying with an airborne kick. Via teleportation jutsu, Jim's fist collides with the kunoichi's jaw midflight before she crashes onto the ground. He hooks his boots beneath her shoulders, then tosses Raven with a backflip, "Lightning Release: Ballistic Bolt Barrage!"
A consecutive triumvirate of lightning bolts hammer her through the rooftops and into the seal barrier; mutant constructs of tortured flesh, unrecognizable inhuman extremities, and slimy slithering tentacles reach inside the barrier, trying to pull the hysterical Anbu Captain through. He prompts the substitution jutsu as a dark figure lurches in his peripherals. He stands above his flailing foe, appreciating the irresistible irony that the excruciating ensnarement keeps the Red Zetsus from devouring her alive.
"No one owns me! Nor will anyone ever again, Uchiha!"
"Malkhaz!"
"What the fu—ACK!?!" An inhuman guttural screech from the speeding silhouette blindsides the Contra and tackles him to the ground.
"Die!!" the tall Anbu gurgles, clawing at his face. Blood leaks from Crane's eyes, ears, and nose; severe inflammation causes his necrotizing skin to hemorrhage. Despite the near liquefaction of the medical-nin's intestines, he retains total mobility. Jim's swift responsiveness enables him to repel the vicious assault and prevent the feral shinobi from vomiting blood and intestinal chunks onto his face. He rips a broken rib fragment from the tall Anbu's torso, then plunges it into his jugular.
Conductive cables wrench Crane's neck; the mass murderer heaves the wires while shifting over a chain of one-hand seals. Lightning arcs within the metal, galvanizing the medical-nin as he hangs from a stone pillar; however, the powerful currents prove ineffectual in restraining the mutating shinobi. He withstands the electricity and cuts himself free. He evades an upsurge of stalagmites from the ground, then retaliates with a shuriken swarm, compelling Jim to dodge.
The tall Anbu removes the bone fragment from his jugular, "Piercing Separation Spring!"
High-pressure jets sprout from the ground, carving through the rocky surface. Crane exploits his opponent's weakness, initiating an expeditious counter-offensive; he pressures the war criminal with successive layers of long-ranged attacks while maintaining an intricate network of sensory deprivation jutsu. Though unable to retaliate, Jim perseveres against the Hidden Mist Jutsu, dispelling a perpetual onslaught of genjutsu while executing swift, evasive maneuvers from the covert attacks within them. He dispatches the marauding water clones and teleports to avoid the complex web of hydro-jets erupting below. A blinding flash disorientates the medical-nin.
"Ninja Art: Cascading Crescendo!" static discharges around the shinobi, infusing and transmuting the dense mist into a greenish electromagnetic haze. The tall Anbu's respective techniques evanesce to a molecular degree, becoming uncontrollable constructs that curve and contort in an unnatural, almost impossible capacity. Analogous to sonar, the supercharged electrons ripple across the greenish haze, enabling the fugitive to pinpoint Crane's location. He capitalizes upon the chaos, seizing the advantage; in an instant, Jim is before the delirious medical-nin. The tall Anbu moves to deflect the blade racing towards his neck, but the afterimage fades upon contact.
Crane gasps as cold, sharp steel punctures his heart from behind. The electromagnetic haze recedes; the Contra and the medical-nin rematerialize outside the tachyon-imbued Hidden Mist Jutsu on the opposite side of the rooftops. Half the shinobi's limbs fuse into a pillar, yet he retains sensation in the extremities.
"Ninja Art: Cascading Crescendo!" static discharges within the dense mist before a thunderbolt overcharges their respective techniques, transmuting the fog into a greenish electromagnetic haze. The tall Anbu watches in confusion and dread as preceding events happen again. A primordial Warp Storm wreaks havoc upon the dimensional plane encompassing Jim and Crane's past selves. Temporal displacement causes them to flicker in and out of reality between alternating locations, then disappear within the space-time continuum. The resulting hyper-dimensional disruption causes a shockwave that deactivates the Five-Seal-Barrier surrounding the rooftops.
'Th-that should've killed him, damn it! I'm too late...' Direct exposure to the Immaterium overloads the mass murderer's chakra pathway system, causing the channels to glow inside his skin. Jim's body stiffens before collapsing due to the resulting seizure and various internal injuries from the Warp. His helpless form is within reach of the medical-nin. Without hesitation nor thought of his actions, he grabs the war criminal before chomping down on his throat, almost decapitating him in one chakra-enhanced bite. A violent gust of smoke erupts from Jim's body as it vanishes into thin air. The shinobi's heart sinks to his feet as grim realization; then melancholy trembles him to the core.
"A Shadow Clone? But how!?"
Razor-sharp steel slices through flesh and bone. The subsequent haunting phrase twists nostalgia into *Sadness and Sorro*, "Believe it…" The fugitive lands, crouching forward, wielding a sword in a reverse grip near his back. Jim's other hand rests at eye level, forming the Seal of Confrontation (Tairitsu no In/Spar Sign). The Uchiha stands silent and motionless, with shock in her eyes.
A crimson hair-thin line broadens as it slithers across the kunoichi's throat. Blood spills from her neck as Raven's head separates, then hangs against her upper back by a sliver of flesh. The Anbu Captain's corpse falls to its knees. Blood pours from the neck as her upper body juts from the ground. Tears trickle down the tall Anbu's face as his former student dies cold, lifeless, and alone.
The Marine Contra twirls the fallen Uchiha's blade, then casts his inhuman gaze toward Crane, "next."
The writing on the wall is ever-present; he accepts his tragic fate as Jim prepares to eliminate him, "Less than a handful of people can use shadow clones, most of whom are dead," he rasps, gurgling and coughing up blood "tell me. Just who, or. What—even are you?"
"I was under the assumption that prolonged exposure to my tactics and techniques would've made this apparent."
"Need I remind you of that peculiar manner *assume* may be interpreted?"
"Tch, a smug smartass till the very end. You haven't changed at all, old man," the mass murderer grabs a pack of smokes from his fatigues. "I'd offer you a cigarette, comrade, but if memory serves correctly, you don't do that anymore."
"Gee, I'm glad you still care, Menma Namikaze. But I think I'll make an exception, just this once." Jim raises a curious eyebrow at the medical-nin before flicking a cigarette towards him. "Mind giving me a light?"
"Oh, you're funny."
"C'mon, kid. What's the matter? I won't bite… *this* time..."
Jim ignites the cigarette between his thumb and index finger, then takes a drag; using Lightning Release, he snaps his fingers, wisely lighting the shinobi's from a distance, "when shadow-clones dispel, their memories return to the user. That's the secret of the jutsu and why it's so dangerous. Imagine that falling into the wrong hands or worse: becoming a ubiquitous technique."
The dying Anbu rolls his eyes, "The ramifications would be—apocalyptic. Oh, wait…" an explosion erupts in the distance behind him. "That Anbu Captain you murdered in cold blood, my former student, idolized you ever since she was a little girl, despite everything. You used to be an inspiration and symbol to all women, proving a kunoichi can be as powerful as or surpass any shinobi should they apply themselves. She was living proof of that, yet the masses were never suspicious of your true nature. Can you possibly comprehend how demoralizing it is for such an inspirational figure's name and legacy to become synonymous with treachery?"
"More than you realize, Dr. Kuriarare. Now imagine the irony of those morally deprived nations prolonging nescience over a fallen heroine to prevent further degradation to their respective village's collective psyche. Thus upholding bogus political narratives via sophistry and deception."
"Was it all just some cruel, sick joke to you? To inspire a false sense of pride amongst a downcast populace and tear away that foundation from underneath, casting them further down a dreary couloir of hopelessness? Tell me, nephew, how does someone once so kind and gentle become a backstabbing megalomaniacal lunatic!? What terrible wrong set you on this path? Why betray your family, friends, and fellow compatriots? Was it wealth? Power? Prestige? Does the Will of Fire still mean anything to you?"
"For the record, I'm not your nephew; Menma Namikaze has been dead longer than you realize. After all, I'm the one who assassinated the young lad and sealed his soul within my body—and still, to this day, he's never once stopped complaining about it."