Allied Shinobi Forces
The ASF's collaborative Earth jutsu destabilizes the bedrock's structural integrity, generating geological fault lines overflowing with magma. Ceaseless seismic activity devastates the war-torn jungle's already volatile terrain, sinking foothills through vast craters and crumbling mountains into bottomless lava canyons. A temporary hindrance in the unending tsunami of flesh-eating ghouls enables the Allied Shinobi Forces to contain the Amaterasu's silent, pitch-black flames into narrow choke points and funnel the hoards of Red Zetsus into self-sustaining annihilation lines, incinerating the vast waves of infectious flesh on a subatomic scale.
Nevertheless, the ASF is in retreat, but a courageous few stay behind, acting as bait to stem the looming cascade of mutants into the scorching Amaterasu pits. Amegakure (Village Hidden by Rain) shinobi rev the engines of their hoverbikes, drawing the abominations toward themselves as they speed down the treacherous trails, luring the zombie-like creatures towards the all-consuming black flames. Itama, Nightingale, Satō, and Uroko leap through the tropical greenery, suppressing their chakra to avoid alerting the hordes of cannibalistic fiends swarming the jungles. They inspect what remains of the combat zone for any survivors along a gruesome path of destruction.
Using his sensory abilities, Nightingale surveys the surrounding area for potential hazards during their brief yet burdensome endeavor. The two Grey Berets (Anbu) and both kunoichis refrain from using firearms and jutsu, instead using blunted or bladed weapons to dismember and immobilize any Red Zetsus that pose an immediate threat while bypassing the lurchers and crawlers lurking within the dense vegetation. However, the charred, burning bodies skewered upon stalagmites via Earth Release and the discovery of what remains of the Allied Shinobi Force's defensive trench lines renders their prospects of locating survivors grim.
Smoldering with vexation, Uroko struggles to restrain herself as the Red Zetsus consumes her compatriot's remains. She tries distracting herself by listening with mild inquisitiveness and morbid curiosity as Satō questions the detrimental information deficit concerning ReDeads and Gibdos.
"Unfortunately, out of the many victims, I can count on one hand those willing to come forward, hence the Intelligence Division's severe lack of data to update our field manuals," Itama says.
Satō pinches the bridge of her nose, 'Oh, you've *got* to be kidding me!' sighing at the sheer absurdity of the ordeal, "Okay, I get it's an open secret not many talk about, but where did those things come from in the first place?"
"The scarce information gathered by the Allied Shinobi Forces remains inconclusive, but there are suspicions of those ghastly monstrosities being, for lack of a better term, hideous perversions of the Akuta Kinjutsu."
The Anbu Captain's dispassionate account piques Uroko's curiosity: "Weren't those things an experiment Iwagakure lost control over, and why monsters live in the coastal city ruins along the Land of Earth's warm-water ports?"
Satō groans in dreadful realization, "Those eerie wooden masks, their glowing eyes—hell, the freaky shysters even have similar abilities! Why didn't I realize it before!?"
"Satō, you're from Iwagakure… surely you must know something about those things. Is there a correlation between Akuta and ReDeads?" Uroko says.
Satō grimaces, reluctant to admit, "It's a forbidden jutsu developed by that mad scientist, Dr. Ōnoki, that helped my village push the Sovereign Colonies Armed Forces back into the Aisu Bay during the War of Whirling Tides."
Uroko gasps, doing a double take, "Wait, you mean that fence sitter brat!?"
Satō nods, "Even with Amegakure's assistance, defending our borders from Takigakure and Kusagakure spread our armies thin. After the Marine Contras stormed the Land of Earth's shores, Iwagakure was on the brink of capitulation until the Tsuchikage deployed the Akuta despite Ōnoki's dire warnings of his research and development of the jutsu being incomplete."
Itama's eyes narrow within his mask, "consequently, the Akuta were uncontrollable even before augmenting them with tailed beast chakra and used as an area-denial weapon; thus, the Land of Earth remains a landlocked nation. Though perhaps it was for the best, Dr. Ōnoki couldn't continue his research because the SCAF eventually got their hands on it."
Satō eyes Itama with suspicion as the Anbu Captain's knowledge of her village's classified intel exceeds expectations, "Well… Ōnoki, Madara Uchiha, and Mū of the Dust Release tried capturing Malkhaz. Still, that damn kraut escaped, somehow using Lord Mū's Particle Style as a catalyst to trigger an atomic blast that heavily irradiated the Land of Earth's uranium mines along the border. The fallout halted the Sovereign Colonies but trapped Iwagakure behind a radioactive mountain chain infested with feral ghouls!"
Nightingale grits his teeth, taking a deep breath as abhorrent memories and regret resurface within his mind, "once Kusagakure bogged down Iwagakure and Amegakure in the Tenchi and Kannabi trenches, the SCAF were free to settle their score with Uzushiogakure. Tch, poor bastards never saw it coming. The Sovereign Colonies Air Force dropped hundreds of storage scrolls containing Gibdos over the Land of Whirlpools."
Uroko turns toward Nightingale, almost afraid to ask, "Um… what the hell is a Gibdo?"
"Oh, they're the *hideous perversions* of Dr. Ōnoki's kinjutsu, the SCAF reverse-engineered... but—mummified with friction-induced paper bombs. I'll let *you* do the math as to why Uzushiogakure's ruins are known as *The Grand Tomb of Boom*…"
Uroko's jaw drops behind her face mask, her eyes widen, and she blinks twice, processing the horrific implications behind such an utterance, "Oh—my god..."
"Or worse, mummified with fūinjutsu tags that immunize ReDeads to Fire Release so they'd reanimate after being put down repeatedly," Itama says. "When Mito, the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, was cast into the Eye of Terror and lost forever, the Uzumaki Royal Family, along with any loyalists or nobility, were overthrown and exiled to the Land of Fire."
Though subtle, the slight crack in Nightingale's voice fades. Yet the trickle of blood from his tightening fists displays the aching pain in the Anbu's heart, "The Hyūga Incident was the final nail in the coffin that disrupted our supply lines, resulting in the eventual downfall of Konohagakure, which crippled our logistics and did irreparable damage to morale. Without the Nine-Tails, liberating the Land of Fire's northern territories was a lost cause."
Itama's PTSD resurfaces; his voice becomes monotone as if reading from a script, "in a final act of desperation, Izuna Uchiha sacrificed his pride and dignity so the Allied Shinobi Forces could retreat to Tanzaku Quarters. He fought valiantly but was eventually overwhelmed."
Nightingale shudders, "Ugh, I still get nightmares remembering how many ReDeads it took to bring that fucker down."
"Well, other than the psychological trauma, Izuna made a full recovery. The Hokage relocated the Hidden Leaf Village to the Land of Waves, renamed it Neo Konohagakure, and even commissioned the construction of a bridge that connects the island to the Land of Fire to honor his son's heroic sacrifice."
"Oh, you mean The Great Izuna Bridge, right?" Satō says, suppressing a subtle snort. "At least he went down with a bang, right?"
Itama snickers, "Hmm, though maybe I wouldn't call it honor, considering the associated colloquialisms that further contributed to Izuna's alcoholism, but I digress. According to Izuna's first-hand account, if you're ever outnumbered or surrounded by Gibdos or ReDeads, it is essential to be as stationary and motionless as possible."
With a twitching eye and a nervous chuckle, Nightingale paraphrases Izuna's report, "Though it's best to lay face down on the ground and play opossum; they *should* walk past you unless you draw their attention."
The graveness in Itama's voice amplifies, almost leaking killing intent, "but beware... if the fiends are suspicious, they'll Slavic squat around you, then poke you with their bony index fingers for a while. Just be calm, keep your head down, and stay still; they'll eventually move on. If you're at all ticklish, then God help you..."
Dead Man's Hand Shadow Clones
A hyperventilating Hidden Rain shinobi sprints through the swampy jungle like a frightened child, scouring for his lost squadmates as he distances himself from the thousands of grunts and groans reverberating in the howling winds. His lungs burn with excruciating exhaustion and involuntary gasping from shellshock. The Ame-nin's heartbeat pounds in his ears as he strains to suppress his chakra; adrenaline bolsters the young infantryman's senses to almost inhuman degrees of awareness. The nauseating stench of necrotic flesh oozing with pus and stale blood, blackened from oxidation, assails the shinobi's nostrils.
With his eyes watering, he gags, muffling shrieks of terror with his hands as he clenches his butt-cheeks, ducking and dodging the occasional Red Zetsu lunging out of the bushes and trees around him. Much to his dismay, he learns that any uncontaminated biomass the cannibalistic fiends ingest regenerates their injuries, thus restoring the abominations' mobility, or becomes cancerous growths emerging from random portions of their bodies that mutate into writhing unrecognizable, inhuman extremities, often making them stronger and faster.
The Ame-nin escapes the nigh-indestructible zombie-like creatures stalking the shadows yet saves one round in his sidearm if the worst occurs. As the coalescent blood-curdling screeches fade into the darkness, he stumbles upon a small clearing. The panting infantryman slides down, sitting against a palm tree, savoring the momentary respite to regain his bearings and assess the area. His bowels almost vacate after detecting subtle indications of enemy barrier ninjutsu.
He readies a kunai, approaching a bound and gagged Village of the Bloody Mist (Chigiri no Sato) kunoichi hanging from a tree. She struggles enough not to trigger the fūinjutsu enhanced restraints. Emiru's muffled shouting forewarns the apprehensive Rain shinobi, reaching for the duct tape covering the green-haired Chigiri-nin's mouth.
The Ame-nin halts, trying to decipher her frantic murmuring, "Trap?" the kunoichi sighs in relief, then nods. He raises his index and middle finger at eye level, curling the rest into his palm, "release!"
The genjutsu dispels, revealing the roaring industrial-grade woodchipper below. Thunder erupts across the storm clouds; lightning brightens the sky in a blinding flash, turning night to day—the infantryman staggers atop a narrow platform above a shallow pit. Two gentle taps, then a human-size mass alights onto Emiru's back, chilling her to the bone. The Chigiri-nin's muffled shout alerts the shinobi to the dark figure blinking into existence. He gasps; the figure lunges forward, stunning the Ame-nin with a front kick to the face.
The infantryman shuffles backward with a bloody nose, "Argh! You bitch!" he swings the kunai, but Jim's shadow clone ducks then deflects a low follow-up kick with the side of his boot. The shinobi dispatches a tornado kick at the duplicate's head; he shifts the ground underneath the Ame-nin via Earth Release, redirecting the attack's trajectory. The infantryman lands, faltering from the slight seismic shift. The Marine Contra's clone whips his foot into the shinobi's solar plexus, chains two kicks to his head and a third back into the abdomen, doubling him over before ending the vicious combo with a downward ax kick to the back of the Ame-nin's head.
Recoiling from the rapid blows, the infantryman spins, forcing the shadow clone to avoid a reverse-turning kick. The doppelganger and the shinobi vanish into swift blurs and metal sparks, clashing throughout the clearing. They reappear adjacent to the bound and gagged kunoichi, exchanging a speedy succession of fisticuffs, each punch yielding a concussive blast that compels Emiru to shield herself from the perpetual rain droplets pelting her face. Jim's clone side-flips onto the Chigiri-nin's back; the Ame-nin casts a turning heel kick at the replicate's legs.
The kunoichi ducks; Jim's shadow clone backflips over the infantryman's leg, then sprawls to a prone position, avoiding an incoming high roundhouse kick. Emiru's muffled protests go unheard as the intense battle upon her back persists; the duplicate jumps above a turning heel kick, then butterfly twists off the Chigiri-nin, evading another kick from the shinobi. The kunoichi whimpers as the chain dips a few notches closer to Woodchipper Kun.
The Ame-nin seizes the high ground, jumping onto Emiru's back despite her angry murmuring, "Wind Release: Blade of Wind!" Chakra emits from his fingertips, creating a nigh-invisible wind sword.
'Shit! Wind Release!' the clone rushes forward, closing the distance. The infantryman swipes with his wind-blade, but the doppelganger teleports before him, deflecting the shinobi's wrist and dazing him with an uppercut. Jim's shadow clone dispatches a volley of sharp jabs and pokes up and down the Ame-nin's floating rib, shoulder, triceps, elbow, and wrist. The replicate slams his elbow across the infantryman's face and knees him in the stomach; however, the shinobi tightens his abdomen, shifts through a succession of one-hand seals, and conjures another wind sword on his non-dominant arm.
Jim's clone evades both swipes before twisting the Ame-nin's wrist and grappling behind his neck, pulling him into a headlock. The duplicate whips his heel back into the top of the infantryman's head and jumps off the Chigiri-nin's back. The shinobi somersaults into a front kip-up and turns around in a battle-ready stance, unfazed. The shadow clone teleports behind him; they erupt into a ferocious exchange of elbow and knee strikes, swift jabs, various grappling techniques, dexterous footwork, and evasive maneuvers.
The kunoichi's face boils red with rage, screaming muffled obscenities as muddy bootprints continue trekking up and down her body. The doppelganger rolls between the Ame-nin's legs and shoves his boots into the infantryman's face as he turns around, sending him flying. The clone executes a kip-up on the skinny Chigiri-nin's back as she squirms in frustration. With his arms crossed and fingers extended, the replicate enhances his hands with Lightning Release before uncrossing and pointing them at the shinobi.
The Ame-nin regains sensation in his dominant arm, conjures a second wind-blade, and beelines after the duplicate. Jim's shadow clone leaps off Emiru above an incoming swipe and evades another the moment he lands. The doppelganger dodges the infantryman's duel wind swords; with a single hand-seal, he displaces the surface beneath the shinobi, altering the course of an incoming assault. Jim's doppelganger rams his elbow into the Ame-nin's forearm, halting another inbound swipe. He seizes the infantryman's wrist and slams his elbows into both the shinobi's ribs.
The clone thrusts his leg above his shoulder and boots the Ame-nin in the forehead. He winces in pain before retaliating with a spinning heel kick; the replicate ducks. The shadow clone backflips, slamming one foot after another onto the infantryman's chin. He b-twists, thrashing his heel against the shinobi's head, launching him through a palm tree. The Ame-nin reaches for the holster on his hip; he draws his sidearm, forgoing the round's dire terminal purpose and aims. However, each trigger pull results in the infamous *click-click-click*.
The duplicate wags his index finger, side to side at the infantryman, "tsk, tsk, tsk… should've saved it for yourself," he says, rolling the bullet back and forth across his knuckles. The irritated shinobi pitches the firearm. The clone sidesteps, but the Ame-nin uses substitution jutsu with the handgun before appearing on the doppelganger's flank. Jim's shadow clone crosses his arms, blocking an airborne ax kick; the ensuing shockwave disperses the pouring rain. The impact forces the replicate to kneel as he stops the infantryman's heel centimeters from the top of his head.
The clone and the shinobi reengage in close-quarters taijutsu. The Ame-nin tries distancing himself via teleportation and substitution jutsu from the duplicate's relentless onslaught; nevertheless, the shadow clone continues appearing beside him like a massless phantom, each time landing a devastating blow. The infantryman ducks the doppelganger's roundhouse kick and counters with a reverse heel-sweep. Jim's clone jumps, responding with a tornado kick.
The shinobi ducks but is dazed by a follow-up spinning heel kick, then a secondary tornado kick that sends him spinning through the air. Despite his dwindling stamina and chakra reserves, he lurches back to his feet. The replicate executes a roundoff backflip, then teleports midair before the breathless Ame-nin. He seizes the infantryman's shoulders before driving his knee into the shinobi's stomach. The dry-heaving Ame-nin retaliates with a right hook; the shadow clone evades, lunges forward, and slams his elbow onto the infantryman's temple.
The duplicate jumps, spins, and heel kicks the shinobi in the head. He grabs him by the collar of his flak jacket, then headbutts the Ame-nin's nose. He rolls backward, flipping him over onto his back. Jim's clone vaults off Emiru's head, inflicting a powerful stomp onto the infantryman's face.
The doppelganger shifts through a few seals as the dizzy shinobi staggers off the ground, "Lightning Style: Lightning Net Jutsu!" Electricity surges through the screaming Ame-nin, seizing the muscles and nerves within his body and limbs. He stumbles back and forth, struggling to regain his bearings. The shadow clone chains another sequence of one-hand seals, casting a genjutsu that darkens the surrounding area.
FINISH HIM
He removes his helmet and pulls a small white rabbit out by its ears, startling the infantryman. In a dazed stupor, he giggles and waves at the bunny. The replicate puts the helmet back on his head before teleporting beside the confused shinobi. With a fierce battle cry, he flogs the Ame-nin across the face.
Again, Jim's clone wacks him upside the head, spinning the infantryman around—he swings in an upward angle, striking the poor schmo between his legs. The shinobi's eyes bulge as he falls to his knees; he cups his groin with both hands, sustaining a high-pitched wail worthy of a theatrical opera performer's grand finale. The duplicate pivots and batters the Ame-nin in the back of the head, knocking him face down in the mud before bludgeoning the infantryman senseless.
Emiru stares in utter silence with her eyes wide as dinner plates, 'OH SWEET KAMI, WHY!?'
BRUTALITY
The shinobi's leg spasms; Jim's shadow clone rears his arm, ready to bestow another vicious pummeling upon the groaning Ame-nin. However, the rabbit thrashes about within his grasp and bites the doppelganger's thumb. He flinches, releasing the bunny, "Ow! Little scoundrel!" hissing in pain while shaking his hand to relieve the stinging sensation.
The rabbit stops near the dense vegetation, turns around, and stands on its hind legs, chirping angrily at the clone while shaking its paw at him. He snatches the unconscious infantryman's pistol and racks the slide. The bunny scurries off into the jungle, drawing the attention of a wandering Red Zetsu that lurches after the small critter, "That's right, you better run!"