Lightning arcs across the storm clouds as a ceaseless deluge inundates the silent, pitch-black flames without effect; the Amaterasu overtakes the raging wildfire, reducing visibility within the apocalyptic landscape. The Allied Shinobi Forces (ASF) use the shadowy flames as another blockade against the endless waves of flesh-eating ghouls bearing down upon them. The shinobi fall back and regroup, securing defensive positions in underground bunkers or tunnels, then barricade themselves behind makeshift barrier ninjutsu as the Red Zetsus chip away at the fūinjutsu seals reinforcing their fortifications.
The cannibalistic fiends concentrate on higher assemblages of biomass, allowing Jim's shadow clones to circumvent the retreating ASF patrols, drawing in the hordes. They exploit the brief tranquility to inspect their supplies and reload salvaged munitions, resulting in a symphony of bullets inserted into each respective magazine, distinct clicks of replenished ammunition belts into their armaments, and racking charging handles. While collecting dog tags of fallen comrades or severing the heads of uncontaminated shinobi for bounties, they retrieve the light machine gun (LMG) lost during their brief skirmish with a summoning slug.
The duplicates melt into the jungle's dense foliage, scavenging from dead or undead military personnel they manage to subdue and drain chakra from. However, compatibility governs the Chakra Absorption Technique through Nature Transformation along with the quality and quantity of the victim's Jutsu Juice during use; furthermore, dissimilar chakra remains unstable until undergoing conversion via purification and refinement before piecemeal reintroduction into their reserves.
They acquire the requisite components to repair their auditory filtration devices, facilitating detection and escape from sonic-based genjutsu. They suppress their chakra to avoid detection and trek through the dark, swampy jungle's muddy terrain. The Marine Contra's clones approach a squad of shinobi attempting to bypass a heavy blast door terminal safeguarding a clandestine weapons cache. The doppelgangers separate and camouflage themselves within the thick vegetation, encircling the ASF infantry. The shinobi collapse one after another; the shadow clones use noise cancellation genjutsu to suppress their firearms and ambush each target from above and below.
Chakra-siphoning stone hands drag the unsuspecting ASF foot soldiers underground via 'Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique,' as galvanized wire strings ensnare any unwary straggler's throat, yanking the spasming shinobi into the trees. The tightening razor-sharp wires incise their arteries, inducing catastrophic blood loss spilling from the broadening lacerations. The replicates drop from the trees; a kunoichi from the Village of the Bloody Mist (Chigiri no Sato) types away on the blast door terminal with fanatic persistence, unaware of the cold-blooded massacre nor the approaching clones, ready to pounce at any moment.
"Aright! I'm in! I've done it, guys! The locks are disengaged!" she shouts, but abrupt silence greets her. "Hey, why's everyone so…" blood drips onto the green-haired Chigiri-nin's shoulder. She gasps, discovering the mutilated bodies of her closest friends dangling from the trees. A chill slithers down the Mist kunoichi's spine once she recognizes the SCAF's (Sovereign Colonies Armed Forces) standard-issue equipment on the figure before her. Individual upper and lower optics on the left side of the duplicate's visual apparatus dim before a shutter on the right of the ocular device opens, revealing Jim's soulless, uncanny gaze through its lens.
Another shadow clone appears beside the Chigiri-nin, knocking her out with his Autogun's shoulder stock as she draws a pistol and fires; the stray round almost grazes him. They chain her to a tree branch, leaving the kunoichi bound and suspended from the ground.
"Water Style: Furious Current Jutsu!" extensive lethargic groans of exhaustion, strain, and distress, along with a thick liquidy substance gushing onto a cauldron of quiescent sludge, startles the doppelgangers into battle formation, "Water Style: Ripping Torrent!" Akin to air seeping from a loosening balloon knot, a prompt, vigorous gas expulsion through a supple, narrow crevice rumbles a nearby porta-potty. "Water Style: Water Shaking Pillar!" With a firm grasp on the seat, a shinobi attempts sitting crunches to somewhat regulate the cascade of gastric Ragnarok, blasting the interior of the toilet bowl to prevent himself from launching. "Ugh, oh—oh yeah… ain't nothin' quite like a good shite… Hey, Emiru! I'm almost ready; tell everyone to finish grabbin' whatever they can, and let's roll out of here."
Jim's clone slaps a fūinjutsu tag on the portaloo's door, a web of Aztec hieroglyphs spread across its framework and seals the poor schmo inside. "You heard 'em; he says he wants to roll out of here!" The other replicates take off like Olympic sprinters, dashing toward the porta-shitter. The shinobi's face pales ghost-white, recognizing the foreign language. With the schmo's trousers around his ankles, he springs to his feet, trying in vain to break out; however, the seal barrier enhances the structure's durability while administering non-lethal zaps upon contact with the interior walls.
Regardless, the hysterical shinobi disregards the agitating inconvenience and continues beating on the door in desperation; sudden duel impacts thrust him against the surface. The shinobi's eyes bulge; shock becomes dread as the sensation of a rollercoaster's initial plunge surges a swarm of tickly butterflies into his stomach with a vengeance.
An aggregation of intestinal soft serve, liquid bling, technicolor yawns, and various other bodily wastes catapult from the overflowing holding tank, engulfing the shinobi in a colossal rogue wave of sewage as he screams at the top of his lungs. The porta-john slides across a mesa until tumbling upside down off a slope. Malodorous filth spills through the apertures as it uprights and overturns onto the roof each time with a boisterous boom. The porta-potty tipps over sideways, resuming a horizontal trajectory down the hill, thus leaving a trail of muck in its wake as momentum continues, accelerating the sloshing, runaway outhouse's velocity.
Two shadow clones flank the entrance, leaning against the bunker wall with their weapons ready; they funnel through, raiding the armory while the tertiary duplicate guards the entryway. With haste, the clones use storage scrolls to stockpile weapons, ammunition, and supplies before seizing or destroying any intelligence documents and hard drives they stumble across. After disabling a fūinjutsu seal on a safe and picking the lock, the doppelgangers obtain a PDI (Personal Data and Inventory) device to systematize their arsenal and expatiate the process of bypassing terminal passcodes.
The primary shadow clone equips the PDI; the device registers his chakra signature, resulting in the text identifying him by name and rank on its screen. He hacks the master terminal, further disrupting the Allied Shinobi Forces COMMS network, then wipes out a slue of compromised data servers before initiating the self-destruct sequence of a few commandeered facilities under the ASF's control. They chuckle as dust and debris descend; the low rumble of distant successive detonations trembles the bunker, overturning various furniture and knocking over random articles from shelves, cabinets, etc.
A bookshelf tumbles over, revealing a hidden door. The replicates use the master terminal to disengage the locks and access a secret vault. Within is a weapon of pure terror, a hellish contraption that instills fear on any battlefield by mere mention alone—The Cerebral Bore.
A rapid sequence of explosions stirs Emiru from unconsciousness. She awakens, hanging from a tree with her limbs chained. The Chigiri-nin's headache and disjointing haze subside; straightaway, she assesses her predicament and devises an escape strategy. Much to the Mist kunoichi's dismay, the tertiary clone is rummaging through her fellow shinobi's mangled remains, often pausing for an obscure undertaking she can't quite discern.
He examines a Bingo Book, then one of the dead ASF personnel before losing interest and moving toward the corpse of Emiru's sensei. The duplicate pilfers the lifeless shinobi for supplies and finds a pack of smokes within the man's flak jacket. After checking for airborne contaminates and ensuring the absence of toxic fumes from spent munitions, her assailant removes his rebreather. Standing before the blushing Chigiri-nin is what she assumes is an attractive young woman with dark red hair, amber eyes, and an exotic complexion common among the Hidden Cloud Village (Kumogakure), except for *his* non-oriental facial features that distinguish the Sovereign Colonies' populace from the natives of all Great Shinobi Nations.
The kunoichi's head tilts in curiosity, staring in utter bewilderment as her presumptions come under reassessment, 'well, at least I don't have to worry about being taken advantage of…' With a snap, the shadow clone ignites a cigarette between his thumb and index fingers using Lightning Release. Emiru continues loosening her restraints; however, not before he verifies the bounty. The reverberating crack of muscle, flesh, and bone ripping like cheap fabric disrupts the kunoichi's concentration as the doppelganger pulls the shinobi's head off his shoulders.
Tears stream down the Chigiri-nin's widening bloodshot eyes as she gawks in horror at the perfunctory desecration of her mentor's body. The kunoichi's impeccable fluency enables her to translate the foreign text on the scroll the clone uses to seal the severed appendage. She grits her teeth, glaring with a white-hot intensity; he detects an immediate influx of chakra that exposes their location. By chance, the disturbance draws a negligible contingent of Red Zetsus that beeline toward the dead shinobi littering the remote clearing, then Emiru, inducing a resurgence of butt-hole puckering urgency on top of an already murderous desire for retribution.
The Chigiri-nin enhances her physical strength with chakra, resorting to brute force against the tightening restraints; the sealing tag on the chains activates, stunning the kunoichi's limbs as electricity surges through her body—the replicate toggles the Autogun's safety switch, pinpointing his targets through its iron sights. The abominations charge the frenzying Chigiri-nin, but a precise quartet of three round bursts drops them from the air, splattering brain matter and skull fragments onto the surrounding vegetation. Emiru catches one of the bone shards and uses it to pick the chain locks. He adjusts his aim and fires, immobilizing three mutant shinobi by rupturing their kneecaps.
The shadow clone dispatches nine rounds in three final bursts, detaching the hanging corpses in the trees upon the slower, residual zombie-like creatures lurching out of the bushes. He replaces the magazine and racks the charging handle. The duplicate switches to full auto and secures the rifle's stock against his left shoulder; he uses his prosthetic right hand to weave seals. A defensive mud barrier materializes from the ground, causing an aperture within the oncoming Red Zetsus, dog piling upon the fresh shinobi carcasses outside the improvisational structure.
Despite dismemberment, the headless abominations shuffle back to their feet, continuing their advance. With haste, the clone incapacitates the quicker flesh-eating ghouls with a steady barrage of machine gun fire while ignoring the crawlers and shamblers drawing near the Chigiri-nin. She shrieks in terror before realizing the cannibalistic fiends are tumbling through the false surface around her, which enables the kunoichi to refocus, hasten her escape endeavor, and succeed in opening one of the locks.
"Te-Tet… suo!?" Emiru stutters. A Bloody Mist shinobi, biting then tearing the flesh off his severed arm, stands; the zombified Chigiri-nin's intestines spill from its torn abdomen. She vomits—Tetsuo bolts after her and lunges. A pair of gentle taps, then a human-size mass alights onto the bound kunoichi's back as a sudden gust follows the resounding crunch reverberating across the small clearing. The Autogun's shoulder stock concaves the mutant shinobi's face, diverting its trajectory; the Red Zetsu becomes silent the moment it vanishes underground.
The doppelganger sitting on Emiru lays backward and rests his head on her shoulder. "It only takes *one* of them to know we're here, idiot," he whispers in the Chigiri-nin's ear.
The kunoichi shudders from his icy breath, tickling her ear, "Get off, you repugnant slattern!!" the furious Chigiri-nin shrills. Emiru's chakra flairs after picking the final lock, but instead of freeing herself, she plunges.
The shadow clone rolls off the kunoichi's shoulder and seizes the descending chain, "Please refrain from any sudden movements or futile escape attempts," he deadpans, looking her dead in the eyes while supporting Emiru's total body weight with one arm, mere centimeters from the ground with ease.
"FUCK… You!" Emiru growls as he refastens her restraints.
The replicate ceases hoisting the chains, raising a curious eyebrow as he takes a drag from the cigarette in his mouth. He grabs the kunoichi's jaw, examining Emiru's face from various angles before blowing smoke at her. "Hmm, no thanks. I have standards." The coughing Chigiri-nin chomps at his fingers with her sharpened teeth as he pulls his hand away.
He sighs, "There is one item of gear that could be the difference between a live shinobi and a dead one... socks; cushioned sole, O.D. green. Try n' keep your feet dry; the next time you and your ninja buddies are out humpin', I want you all to remember to—change—your socks—whenever—you stop." Jim's clone says, emphasizing between each break with a finger wag. "The trench foot you get in this jungle dissolves a shinobi's feet right off their legs."
She blinks twice, looking at the socks with her mouth open in confusion. The kunoichi's head turns at a snail's pace toward the object of her ire; she stares with her eye twitching from almost having an aneurysm before her brows furrow, "Stick 'em up your ass until your hand disappears, kraut!"
An evil grin slithers across his face, "smile like a doughnut, fräulein!" he retracts his arm with an open palm. Emiru's eyes broaden as a swift but firm swat upon her rear end prompts an accidental uproar that flushes the Chigiri-nin's face crimson with shame and self-loathing. He shoves the socks in the squirming kunoichi's mouth, then puts her in a headlock, "C'mere you little tallywacker!"
"Mmm nnm ghmm mnnn ghnn thmm!"
"Stop struggling; you've got no chance! Just let it happen—just let it happen," the duplicate says while cramming the fresh pair of socks with his index and middle finger.
"Ltt mh gh!"
"Take it all. Take it all! TAKE IT AAALLLL!!"
"Yw'll nvvr ghth ehwy whth thsh!"
He modifies the automated sealing formula on the chains to refasten after the final lock opens."Oh, but you'll soon find that I already have darling," the clone says, applying a few revolutions of duct tape around Emiru's mouth. "If you allow me to explain… or show you, rather." He places his hand on her forehead, then shifts through a pair of seals on the other, "Release!" The genjutsu comprising the false surface around them disappears, revealing himself standing upon a narrow rock platform above a shallow pit where a starving Woodchipper Kun awaits its next meal, further alarming the bound and now gagged Chigiri-nin. He chuckles, "So you finally understand? Now, let's try this again, shall we?"
The doppelganger draws the kunoichi's pistol, placing its barrel under her chin, "Please refrain from any more sudden movements or futile escape attempts; you're still suckin' wind because I need a zapper to divert the vermin pestering me. If you're lucky, there may already be a rescue team en route, so sit tight and be cool—well, speak of the devil." A groaning and groggy Konohagakure (Hidden Leaf Village) shinobi regains consciousness with aches and pains across his body; he prompts himself against the armory wall. 'Huh, could've sworn I broke that guy's spine after kicking him through a tree.'
The clone uses the Body Flicker Technique (Teleportation/Shunshin no Jutsu) to vanish from the Konoha-nin's field of view. The Leaf shinobi grits his teeth, and with a slight yelp, he removes the wooden debris from his abdomen. He places his hand upon the wound, using the Mystical Palm Technique to halt the bleeding. Despite patching the injury, the substantial blood loss dulls the infantryman's senses while his vision adjusts. The Konoha-nin's heartbeat pounds in his ears as he uses his remaining strength to limp toward Emiru, unable to perceive the struggling Chigiri-nin's muffled forewarning of imminent peril.
Emiru distinguishes the Yamanaka clan's symbol on the blond shinobi's armband as he studies the mechanism restraining her body. Using some of the blood from his wounds, the infantryman applies it to his hand but hesitates; even in a concussive haze, he maintains enough lucidity to recall the enormous fūinjutsu barrier array, enabling teleportation inside but nothing outside its massive perimeter. After much deliberation, extreme anxiety about his circumstances compels a decision; he presses his hand against the ground, channeling a small quantity of chakra.
"Summoning Jutsu: Lock Picking Monkey!" He casts the technique; however, the seal array interferes with the jutsu's coordinates and summons the animal to an unknown location. "Shit," the Konoha-nin growls in frustration, 'guess I'm doing this the old fashion way until *it* gets here.' He peels at the duct tape on Emiru's mouth, "Look, I understand you're frightened; I sure as hell am, too—this may hurt a little, but you're gonna have to hold still so that I can pick the locks on these chains." The fūinjutsu tag activates, electrocuting the kunoichi and the Yamanaka. The shinobi almost blacks out from the current, stiffening his body, then falls backward as the ground disappears beneath him.
CRUNCH, PPBBLLTT, SQUELCH-BBUUUURRRRTTTT—CRUNCH, PBLT-UUURRRTTT
Emiru shuts her eyes, turning away in horror as blood and gore bespatters onto the shuddering Chigiri-nin's boonie hat.
The replicate watches from the trees, wincing in sympathy, 'Ooh! Trust me, comrade Yamanaka, I know *PRECISELY* how that feels, gol—LY!' He jumps down, rejoining the rest of the body doubles as they exit the weapons cache. He secures the rebreather and visual apparatus to his face, then speaks through its VPU (Voice Projection Unit), "Alright, let's *roll* out of here." he says, earning a few snickers and chuckles from his shadow clone brethren.
"Eh!? What's *that* thingy?" the primary duplicate says, pointing.
A chimpanzee swings from a vine onto Emiru's back, jumping in excitement as it greets her with happy hoots and howls (ooh ooh ah ah). She grimaces in stark realization, 'Oh crap! That must be the Lock Picking Monkey!' Without delay, the chimp unfastens the locks, one after another, in rapid succession.
The secondary doppelganger readies his light machine gun, "Little bastard's about to be confetti after I fill his butt full of something other than bananas."
"Wait, no! Let this play out, trust me." The tertiary replicate says, lowering the weapon's barrel with his hand.
The Chigiri-nin tries shooing the Lock Picking Monkey away, but her muffled cries go unheeded. The kunoichi's incessant interference irritates the chimp, for it pauses to climb down and hang off her shoulder. Being fed up with Emiru's foolishness, the chimpanzee rears back its free arm with an open palm.
SLAP
The chimp climbs onto her back, but as it picks at the final lock, a jolt of electricity stuns the monkey, causing it to fall over like a ton of bricks.
CRUNCH, PBLT-UUURRRTTT—RUURRTT
Again, Emiru turns away, blocking the ensuing gush of chimp chunks with her boonie hat.