kumogakure noire.

[Estilo]

Chief of Battle [4]

---

Having disabled the young and foolish crossbow man, the half-masked Jounin set his sights on bigger fish. Up ahead, having just evaded a slash from the shocking tiger's wrath, was an armored man bearing an intimidating mace. Intimidating to others, perhaps, but not to the Jounin in question. Though a mace had its uses, and could prove to deal quite a substantial amount of damage should someone manage to strike another with it, it was slow and cumbersome if you didn't have the strength or experience to wield it. The armored thug seemed to be having difficulties.

Drawing his katana, the red-maned man silently rushed towards his target. For the time being, the mace-wielding and armored warrior was unaware of the shinobi's advancement. He was too busy, it seemed, dealing with that vicious tiger of his- who, ironically, was more interested in fighting the last thug that remained. But, after that sword and shield wielding yelled a warning to the cumbersome fellow, the target became aware of his presence. He quickly turned, swinging his mace along with his movement, and tried to kick the shinobi when he dropped to a crouch and slid past the man.

A cloud of dust kicked up in the air, and the Jounin leaped back on two feet from his abrupt slide over the ground. He was now positioned behind the armored, mace-wielder, but not for long. The warrior in question was turning around now, ready to release another swipe of his spiked weapon, but the half-masked male was too quick for the counter. He ducked and moved to the man's other side, identifying a weak spot and taking advantage of it. There was a crevice between the man's armor, at the back of his knee.

As the armored warrior's mace swiped at nothing but the fresh morning air, the shinobi drew back his katana and prepared for his own attack. Crouch beside the encumbered man's legs, he stabbed his blade into the flesh between the knee and the foreleg, smiling with satisfaction when he heard the hollow cry within the armor. He drew out his blade and backed up as the incapacitated man fell to his knees, and fell forward with a 'thump'.

[Estilo]

Chief of Battle [5]

---

The shocking tiger, realizing that its master was done with the second-to-last warrior in their presence, made a lunge for the man with the sword and shield. Said individual, however, quickly leaped away in time, gazing with surprised eyes as the tiger hit a brick wall and dispersed into many small wisps of electric blue. He picked himself up as he saw the Jounin approach him, wielding a bloody katana, and dropped into a fighting stance.

With his sword and shield raised, and his eyes aglow with a ferocity the Jounin had only ever seen in predators, he stayed where he was and awaited the shinobi's next move. The red-maned man, not wanting to disappoint the young chap, held his katana with both hands and charged with as much precision and grace as a bird taking flight. A clash of blades ensued, sparks of orange lighting the space between their battle-stricken faces.

The lad with the shield and sword attempted to knock the shinobi's face with a bash to the forehead, using his shield. But the half-masked male quickly released their dead lock of blades and took a swift side-step. He slashed his katana, attempting a quick decapitation of the head, but was countered with the other man's scabbard. Though he failed, he didn't hesitate to follow-up with a series of expertly executed slashes, stabs, and swings.

His opponent blocked and evaded each and every attempt, with sword and shield in hand, and it was obvious that the Jounin was losing more stamina attacking than the other was defending. So, knowing his time was running short, he decided he'd take drastic measures. Stabbing forward to put some distance between, and simultaneously leaping backwards, he would drop his katana and issue quick hand seals. But all he needed was one.

[Estilo]

Chief of Battle [6]

---

The body paralysis technique he had learned as an ANBU was quite a handy move. Having frozen the sword and shield wielding warrior in place, he calmly advanced with his hand seal held. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go pick up your friends." He said rather sourly, staring into his opponents frightened and baffled eyes. Without a moment of hesitation thereafter, he'd knock the young man out with a swift head-butt to the forehead. The man's body hit the ground roughly, and he left.

Running across the rooftops of his village this early in the morning was usually something he did for recreation. But now that he was hot on the trail of that squad of mercenaries that had escaped his grasp previously, he sped along the edges of the buildings with ease and fluidness. Which was actually pretty impressive, considering the speed in which he was traveling. With the tower's safety compromised, he couldn't afford to give these guys another second of free time. He knew just how desperate they were, trapped here.

So he hurried, and he kept his eyes peeled for them, approaching the tower even closer with each and every step. Through his previous investigations, he knew they were planning to infiltrate the tower and bypass all its outward defenses by taking a sewer tunnel they wanted to exploit. So that was obviously the half-masked male's first destination. When he reached the site where the sewer entrance was located, he would notice the wire meshing blocking anything or anyone from entry had been cut open.

Quickly, he would advance into the stinky and rotten tunnels of the sewers, crawling through the same sliced open mesh that they had been forced to crawl through as well. He wondered whether they had reached the interior yet, and whether they were already wreaking havoc inside the tower as he crawled through all the gooey nastiness. And, as he continued through the darkness, he realized that the sewers were famous for being underground mazes. He could definitely get lost here, if he wasn't careful.

[Estilo]

Chief of Battle [7]

---

Upon reaching the end of the first tunnel he found himself crawling through, he emerged on the other side, icky and gooey and absolutely disgusted by his own visage. His coat was stained with splotches of green, brown, and yellow, and he was definitely not happy with the result. But, despite this frustration and intense desire for a bath, he continued on. Sprinting through the spacious tunnels, splashes of murky water being kicked up as his boots powered his run, the shinobi of Kumogakure no Sato would eventually reach a circle-shaped clearing. He stopped at its center abruptly.

He was not alone, he had found them, they had been expecting him, and they surrounded him at all sides. Clever, little pricks, they were. Clever for hired thugs, at least. He should have figured that they would want to clear any witnesses and potential threats to their plans before continuing with their efforts. Even when faced with the prospect of being trapped in Kumogakure no Sato, condemned to death by shinobi, they still believed they had a hope of seeing this through. The Jounin, in a way, respected them for that.

Their commander came out of the shadows first, wearing nothing but animal furs that covered his burly frame. It was clear that he was an experienced and ruthless mercenary, and there was no doubt that he lead this group with an iron-fist. Drawing two swords, one in each hand, he chuckled menacingly. With his approach, the rest of his surly gang came lurking out from all sides. The red-maned Jounin would turn his head calmly, observing them all, and taking into consideration the weapons they had in their grasp.

Save for their commander, everything was basically the same as before. One wielded a feather-decorated spear, another held a crossbow in both hands, one of them carried a sword and shield, and the standard armored mace shock trooper was there with them as well. Though caught in this potentially dangerous situation, the Jounin couldn't help but daydream for a moment, imagining the sight of an armored man crawling through the stinky sewers.

[Estilo]

Chief of Battle [8]

---

They attacked swiftly and precisely, with much more experience than the previous squad. It was then clear to the shinobi of Kumogakure no Sato why the chief of this band of merry mercenaries had chosen to take these guys along with him, and not the others. These guys were leagues better than the others, and sadly, the Jounin didn't escaped their first attacks without an injury or two. The man with the spear, sliced the side of his right arm, while the one with the sword and shield sliced the side of his leg.

The half-masked Jounin's movements were just as swift and precise, however, and he managed to avoid the worst of it at first chance. He leaped upwards when the spearman stabbed forward with his weapon in unison with a fired arrow from the crossbowman, dodging both attacks simultaneously. Then he landed a roundhouse kick on the spearman, effectively (and roughly) knocking him away, before ducking and avoiding a potentially lethal strike from the man with the sword and shield.

With the brunt of these forces temporarily stunned, save for their commander, the red-maned Jounin expertly issued a set of hand seals to prepare for his next technique. By the time his opponents were battle-ready once more, his technique had already taken effect. He unleashed a devastating circus of lasers from his body, lighting up the circle-shaped clearing within this once dark corner of the sewers, with a bright, neon red light. The warriors in his sight didn't stand a chance thereafter.

He fired one straight through the spearman's chest as he attempted to gouge him with the weapon. He fired one at the crossbowman's hand before he managed to pull the trigger and fire yet another arrow at the shinobi. He struck the man with the sword and shield right in the crotch, having wasted the opportunity to strike his forehead by mere inches. But, thanks to the illumination provided by his technique, he managed to find and strike their commander at that very place. A laser to the head, ended it all.

G A M E O V E R

[Estilo]

Chapter Seven

Undying Threat

name; undying threat
rank; b
description; Ever seen a zombie movie? You know how they never really die? Well they have nothing on the undead force your gonna be facing. 40 strong and not very capable, in fact they’re completely unarmored and only have their creepishly long nails and teeth to bring you down. The kicker is that they regenerate and an incredible rate. Somehow whenever a limb is cut off, it just climbs back onto the body and reattaches itself, almost any injury we’ve inflicted so far has remedied itself in the blink of an eye. Good luck against the Horde.
reward; 300 experience, 5,000 ryo
minimum shinobi; one
mission status; interminable

The night thrived with the sounds of crickets, and was covered with a mantle of dark clouds up above, masking the heavens and the moonlight. In Kumogakure no Sato, civilians slept safely in their houses, unaware of the evil lurking about their neighborhoods, only worried by the prospect of starting their next day and completing their chores bright and early.

A graveyard at the west end of the village is basked in an unusual cold, with no animals, insects, or people in sight. The wind dare not howl through the vicinity of this locale, the trees dare not grow, the flowers dare not live long. And in the icy black darkness of the current night, anyone foolish enough to even go near it will instantly feel a cold snap run down their spine.

It is, for all intent and purposes, dead in this locale. Even the stones reek of death and rot, and a sick yet unrecognizable smell seeming to hang around in the thick air. Being here simply spawns a sense of nausea, a miasma of blood-curdling and offensive traits shocking to all the five senses. The taste of moss and vomit enters the mouth of an unaware visitor as he breathes in the air. The sound of nothing inspires a unnatural, instinctual, fear.

The foolish one entering this cemetery is an old man, garbed in a large yellow rain coat and carrying a lit lantern. He walks with an unbalanced gait, stumbling through dead brush and stone-peppered dirt grounds. Passing by a dead oak tree, he enters the myriad of gravestones, tombs, and abandoned memorial sites. But he stops, when something growls.

[Estilo]

Undying Threat [2]

---

The old man in the yellow rain coat looks about, wondering where that strange sound had come from. When nothing else happens in the unspecified amount of time he stays standing there, he lightly shrugs and continue on towards his destination. It is clear that he is headed towards a crypt at the center of the cemetery. The family name "Kanashi" is etched into the stone above the locked entrance, long dead flowers adorning its sides. Solid proof that it hasn't been opened for decades or more.

Despite its awful and rather ominous appearance, however, the old man remained undaunted and continued. He didn't seem to have purpose here, especially when he was wearing that rain coat when- clearly- there was no rain present. But he approached the door to the crypt with a sense of familiarity, pulling out a ring of keys from his pocket when he stopped before. He'd proceed to unlocking the various locks thereafter.

Chains, and padlocks, and locks that had been built into the large and powerful doors, were slowly dismantled and opened as the old man alternated from one key to another. The sound of chains jangling and keys jingling permeated the once silent air of the cemetery, but the old man didn't bother to look around for anyone who might have heard it. He just continued with his actions, not a moment of pause, dead set on opening the passage into that crypt. After a moment, the last of the chains fell.

Grasping the rusted handles, he slowly opened the creaky doors. A thick cloud of dust creeped out from the murky interior, air that hadn't seen the outdoors for years pouring out greedily. And, when both doors opened all the way, the old man raised his lantern and continued into the mysterious crypt. Darkness enveloped him, and he was lost to the world.

[Estilo]

Undying Threat [3]

---

The Jounin had taken a special assignment today, investigating the strange murder of an old man in a cemetery. He was not quite sure why he had taken up this assignment, but he knew that the circumstances of this man's death interested him. See, when a person is bitten to death, the red-maned male has a good idea of what was behind it, and how he would stop it.

This wasn't the first time he had dealt with a case such as this, something that stayed on the line between cannibalism and satanism. But, the Jounin knew, it was neither. It was something much more supernatural, something Kumogakure no Sato didn't entirely want to believe in just yet.

He approached the crime scene as the forensics team continued to scour the setting around the crypt. They were almost finished with this part of the investigation, and soon, it would be in the Jounin's hands. They would be depending on his expertise in this field to complete the investigation and capture the "criminal". Whoever- or whatever- that possibly was.

"Are you the Jounin the mission compound sent?" One medical ninja inquired, walking beside the half-masked male as they approached the site of the murder. "Oh boy! There is no chance we're failing this operation now! I heard what you done, over the past few weeks. You ain't kiddin'!"

[Estilo]

Undying Threat [4]

---

The smell of rotten flesh and dust smacked his nose like a bag of bricks, but the Jounin tried not to show it on his face. He ducked underneath the police tape running along the width of the door, entering the dark building and eyeing the corpses meters away. There it was... the remains of the body. He was surprised forensics had even managed to discern it was a man.

The body was a mangled mess of clothes and meat, pieces of a yellow rain coat drenched in blood and peppered with flesh. A broken lantern was shattered to the side, and the metal that framed it dented at one of its corners. A set of two footprints covered the dusty ground surrounding the mutilated body. Thanks to the efforts of the forensics team, it was untouched.

The half-masked Jounin entered the crime scene within the crypt carefully, thankful for the lights the forensics team had provided prior to his arrival. Without them, he was sure, they would have been running around in circles in the dark. But, thanks to the illumination, the red-maned man could see everything with near perfect clarity- including the staircase that led to some unknown graves below. He sighed, trying to ignore the stench.

Without another moment to waste, he continued with his own investigation. He made sure to check the obvious things first, the things the team here had marked with yellow checkpoints. This included a piece of old cloth, a bleeding tooth, and even a chunk of hair. The clues were all over the place.

[Estilo]

Undying Threat [5]

---

The clues, unfortunately, only pointed him into the direction of the real culprit. The one that he had in mind all this time, the one that he dreaded had resurfaced, ever since he'd complete an assignment like this one all those years ago. And, he knew, he only had a short amount of time before this entire case was blown out of proportion. Time was running out.

After checking the dead body a little closer, inspecting those human-sized bites for himself as he gingerly lifted a severed arm from its place, the half-masked male would turn his emerald gaze towards the stairs at the back. There were two footsteps: the first, belonged to the man with the yellow rain coat. The second, belonged to an assailant that had come from below.

So he stepped over the mangled mess of meat, dried blood, and dust, headed straight for the darkness of those stairs. As he descended them, following each step as he spiraled into the abyss, he wondered exactly why the thing that had killed the old man was down here. A gut feeling told him that this went deeper than he could ever imagine. And he suddenly felt nauseous.

Upon reaching the crypts below, he'd stand there for a moment in the darkness, before a forensics guy appeared behind him with a lantern. "Creepy, huh?" He smiled, before eyeing the Egyptian-like sarcophagi that inhabited the room. Each one had a different face painted on it, a different family member belonging to the clan that had built this private crypt.

[Estilo]

Undying Threat [6]

---

The Jounin, however, didn't respond. There was something off here, in the half-illuminated darkness of the crypt. He could feel it in his bones. Besides the fact that one of the sarcophagi had been opened, and no dead body lay within it, there was also a chill that permeated the air. An unnatural alpine breeze that didn't quite seem like it belonged here. Something malevolent.

He approached the open sarcophagus and inspected the engravings etched upon the mid-section. It had once belonged to a man named Katsumaru Kuriyama, a man who had only died at the age of twenty-four. He died of illness, and left behind a loving wife. Turning his gaze towards the face painted on the sarcophagus top, he felt a chill run down his spine.

The forensics intern that stood behind, carrying a lantern, tentatively approached. But abruptly stopped, when a sound made itself present. It was the sound of stone grinding against stone, slowly and steadily, as if it didn't want to be heard. This sound was then followed with a chorus of stone against stone, and it prompted both the Jounin and the intern into sudden alertness. The sarcophagi were being opened- from the inside.

There must have been a good fifteen or twenty corpses crammed into that room underneath the crypt, and each of them rose with such horrific moaning and growls and sneers that they froze the forensics intern in place with the mere sounds. Noticing this, as rotted and flesh-eaten hands came out from half-opened sarcophagi, the Jounin demanded the intern leave. "GO, RUN. DON'T LOOK BACK." He yelled, sending him off.

[Estilo]

Undying Threat [7]

---

The intern ran for the stairs, but not before dropping the lantern behind him. The half-masked Jounin wasn't sure whether his action was intentional or not, but he was thankful nonetheless. With the illumination that the lantern provided, the red-maned man would stand a better chance against the undead that were rising from their tombs. He would definitely need it.

The first of the undead that managed to crawl out of their tomb was an old woman in a once elegant Victorian dress. Her garments were tattered at the edges, most likely eaten by the same insect vermin that had crawled into her eyes sockets and feasted on her brains. Maggots squirmed within those very sockets, and fell out of her nostrils as she tilted her horrific head, more than aware of the shinobi's presence. Then he mouth dropped into a loud growl.

She then, suddenly, ran towards the half-masked individual with unsteady legs. Her arms outstretched, her claws extended, her gaping mouth ready to taste the delicacy of warm flesh. Realizing that her attack would buy her undead family members enough time to get themselves out of their own tombs, the Jounin burst into a set of hand seals, preparing himself.

Moments before her claws reached the softness of his flesh, the red-maned Jounin would yell with a loud battle-cry as his technique was unleashed. A devastating rhapsody of chain lightning followed, striking the old woman's head, then bouncing off to incapacitate three of her other family members. Without a moment to waste, the shinobi drew his katana and attacked.

[Estilo]

Undying Threat [8]

---

He came from the room below the crypts, bearing an undead creatures seemingly shocked head (no pun intended) in one hand, and a stainless katana in the other. The forensics team situated there looked, agape, at the man, as he tossed the creature's head towards the center of the floor. "This is what we're dealing with. And there are more... out there."

Everyone remained completely silent for a moment thereafter. They had their suspicions before, but now that the undeniable truth was before them, they were completely astounded. The undead were real, and they were out there, in Kumogakure no Sato, creating more and more undead as time passed. The Jounin sheathed his katana, headed for the exit.

Having dispatched all the undead that had been cooped up in the crypt, he now wondered how and why these zombies had appeared there. This conspiracy, this situation, went far deeper than he could have ever imagined, and he wasn't going to stop until he got to the bottom of it. When his two-way transceiver blared with noise, he promptly answered the call.

He'd killed several undead today, but it seemed as though the problem of their appearance was already spreading. He was getting reports, from the mission compound, about random attacks downtown- and mutilated homeless corpses in the alleyways. When asked to investigate these matters further, he accepted. He was tired of this undead blight in his village.

[Estilo]

Chapter Eight

Bleeding Moon

name; undying threat
rank; b
description; Ever seen a zombie movie? You know how they never really die? Well they have nothing on the undead force your gonna be facing. 40 strong and not very capable, in fact they’re completely unarmored and only have their creepishly long nails and teeth to bring you down. The kicker is that they regenerate and an incredible rate. Somehow whenever a limb is cut off, it just climbs back onto the body and reattaches itself, almost any injury we’ve inflicted so far has remedied itself in the blink of an eye. Good luck against the Horde.
reward; 300 experience, 5,000 ryo
minimum shinobi; one
mission status; interminable

The sound of boots tapping against a stone-paved street sounded as the night wore on. A full moon decorated the dark sky above, surrounded by a majestic tide of clouds and blinking stars. The half-masked Jounin investigating the recent sightings of cannibals and mutilated corpses smoked a cigarette, calmly strolling through as he headed towards the shady downtown district. Holstered to his hip, was his trademark katana.

The latest reports of mutilations, cannibalism, and strange sightings pointed towards the direction of the undead- a force he had fought long ago, and believed to have exterminated completely. But, after someone opened a long locked crypt within a graveyard, the blight was out in Kumogakure no Sato once more. Nearly a day had passed since the undead broke out. They could have multiplied substantially since then, and that's what he feared most.

He could take out a handful of them without a problem, but any more than that, and he was going to experience some difficulties. These creatures, after all, wielded claws, and teeth, and an insatiable hunger for human flesh. Not to mention the fact that they were painless, and needed to be dispatched with a blow to the head. He had a long night ahead of him, searching.

All the while, he wondered exactly why the undead had been locked up in that crypt he had just come from, and under what circumstances. That, and the reason behind its opening. The old man with the yellow rain coat... exactly what had he been doing there? Everything seemed so spontaneous, and didn't make any senes. But he just knew it was all connected, and relevant, in some way. He just needed to open his mind a little more.

[Estilo]

Bleeding Moon [2]

---

Suddenly, without warning, a scream pierced the once quiet atmosphere. Someone, just down a couple of blocks, was in distress. Except this wasn't just any scream, the half-masked male knew. This was the scream of someone experiencing an intense amount of agony. Almost certain that this was another lead on the creatures he was hunting down, the Jounin burst into a full sprint towards the source of the cry, coat tail flapping.

He got to the forefront of an alley before the victim released another blood-curdling cry again, and he immediately realized that the attack was occurring within the darkness of that spacious alley. So he ran into it, eyes peeled, feet ready to propel him anywhere he desired, hands ready to issue hand seals if need be. Then he found him- the homeless man and his attacker.

The man's face had already been bitten off on one side, his eyes opened in an eternal sense of shock, his mouth agape as his chin and jaw dripped with a seemingly endless flow of blood. His flesh appeared to have been peeled off, but the bite marks on the sides of his exposed flesh proved that they had not. The attacker was, of course, one of the converted undead.

From its extensively ragged appearance, it would seem that the undead creature he was currently facing was homeless as well. The flesh it carried with it was, to a certain extent, fresh. Which meant that the cannibal that had escaped from the crypt had indeed begun to spread its disease to other people. Now ticked off, the Jounin drew his katana slowly.