FicWad

Dead Rising

Chapter 3

Naruto had lost track of how long he was in the Der Riese facility. Most of his time spent there was undergoing experimentations that had the unfortunate effect of making his amnesia even worse. What little memory he had to begin with and the ones he was eventually regaining was now gone. Apart from knowing how to speak, knowing his name and age and to function on his own he was essentially a blank slate. He had miraculously retained the memory of his friendship with Dempsey, Takeo and Nikolai however.

He did not know how long he had been there but he knew he was never brought out of his room he shared with Dempsey, Takeo and Nikolai unless it was to be experimented on. So he was confused and a little suspicious as to where he was being led as he followed Ludvig Maxis through the corridors of the facility. From what little interaction he had with the man Ludvig Maxis is a nice man. A kind man even despite the experimentations he had allowed his subordinates and assistant to preform on him.

“Maxis? Can I please ask you a question?” He suddenly asked.

“You may young one.” The man replied without looking over his shoulder.

“Where are we going exactly?” He asked with curiosity in his voice. “The only time I've been allowed out of my room is when I have...” He trailed off before sighing in depression. He didn't need to finish what he was bout to say. Maxis already knew what he had went through in this place since he got here.

Ludvig did not say anything for the longest time.“I am taking you to see someone I hold very dear to me.” Maxis replied after gathering his thoughts together. “She needs to interact with someone that is close to her age.”

Naruto had his interest piqued. There was someone close to his age and she was important to the doctor?

“Who is she?” Naruto asked as he and Ludvig Maxis stopped outside a closed door.

Ludvig wrapped his hand around the handle as he looked down at the curious boy who was staring between himself and the door with barely concealed interest. Maxis seeing this allowed a small smile to pull at the sides of his lips.

“My daughter; Samantha Maxis.” The doctor said before opening the door.

X.X.X.X

The border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Hot Water was currently peaceful. There was no invading army of zombies. No life or death battles that decides the fate of a village, or town. It was a rare moment. As Jiraiya, the Toad Sage of Mount Myōboku, sat on a hilltop overlooking the barren wasteland that was once part of the Land of Fire he silently mused as to how the world came to this state.

If he were a guessing man then he would guess that Naruto - his godson - going missing was the catalyst. It may have been mere coincidence that the dead rose from the grave a month after Naruto vanished, but in truth, it could have been anything really.

A ninja somewhere in the elemental countries could have tried to test out a new technique and it backfired which resulted in what is happening right now. Another guess could have been a novice seal user who designed a seal that was far too complicated. One thing led to another and the dead rose from their graves. A ninja could have been experimenting on people like Orochimaru is widely known to do.

If he were a religious man then he may have believed that the dead came back to life in order to punish them for all the misdeeds they've caused. Three Shinobi world wars. The abuse of Jinchūriki. Giving away the Tailed Beasts literal forces of nature to villages that sealed them in human containers in order to control their power. He knows that the shinobi world has brought a lot of death and misery to others for the benefit of their village. For their country. And instead of learning from their many past mistakes they continue the cycle anew.

Nevertheless the world as he knew it was being decimated little by little by an enemy that does not know how to stay dead. No matter how many zombies the ninja alliance manages to put down, a hundred more would come and take their place.

Almost all forms of chakra was useless against the walking dead. For example; what happens when you use techniques that attack ones chakra network on something that does not have one? Nothing. Nothing happens; and that is because illusions don't do shit on the dead. Techniques that use elements such as water, lightning, fire and earth however have proven to be effective against them. Even the raw chakra that Jinchūriki use have proven to be most effective and so far the zombies have been unable to adapt to the raw chakra of a Tailed Beast.

And since Konoha had lost theirs when Naruto vanished three years ago they were at a major disadvantage. But they held their own against the undead without a Jinchūriki backing them and this had shown the shinobi world just why the Land of Fire was known as the strongest country in the Elemental Nations.

Another form of chakra that was effective against the zombies much to Jiraiya's relief was nature chakra. Since nature chakra was part of nature itself the zombies were, for a reason unknown to him, unable to adapt to it.

Using summon animals to help fight off the dead was as of two years ago off limits. To his surprise all summon animals were being invaded by the undead as well. Unsurprisingly the summons were having more success in fighting off the dead than the humans were. Almost being the size of a small mountain did have its perks. However in spite their successes in pushing back the undead they too were having problems. The zombies seem to be growing more and more in number with each death every day and they are slowly adapting to the way summons fight as well.

But until the summon animals find a way to keep the dead from finding their way into their realm then summoning them was prohibited unless the situation really called for it.

That was two years ago.

Then not more than a week ago he felt a new energy source appear just on the outskirts of the Land of Fire. The Land of Waves if he remembered correctly. He did not travel over there to look into what was the cause of the strange energy source considering he was helping ninjas of different nationalities fight off zombies at the time. By the time he got there the trail was cold, but had gotten information from fellow Konoha shinobi of a group of five people who mysteriously appeared out of nowhere and somehow stopped a zombie invasion that was plaguing the village for the past 7 days.

After probing the konoha ninja for more information he had gotten a small description of the dubbed 'Mysterious Five' and the weapons they held. When he heard of the blue eyed, spiky blonde haired teenage boy being with them it caused alarms to go off in his head. He had his suspicions on who the boy was and after reverse summoning himself to Mount Myōboku he quickly checked the summoning scroll to see if his suspicions about the boy was correct.

To his dismay the name he had been wanting to see back on the scroll was not there. Therefore his suspicions were not correct..

Sighing aloud with depression Jiraiya shook his head to get rid of the depressing thoughts and got to his feet. From his current location he was near Yugakure and beyond that is a large division of Kumo shinobi - along with one of their Jinchūriki leading the division - is stationed and is attempting to delay the advancement of the undead horde into the Land of Lightning.

He was on his way to support them after catching wind about it from civilians who were fleeing the Land of Hot Water. Not that it would do them any good considering the undead are almost everywhere. From his estimate it would take him about 3 – 4 hours tops, 2 if he really pushed himself while travelling at ninja speed to get there.

Sending chakra to his legs the toad sage leap off the hill and sprinted the way of the way to his destination. Every second was crucial and if he wasted it resting then the changes of the division succeeding holding their ground was becoming less and less likely.

As he made his way to the Land of Hot Water the toad sage felt a large spike of chakra near the border of the country he was going to, and the Land of Frost. Knowing of the defence stationed there Jiraiya guessed it was them doing something big to increase their chances of success.

X.X.X.X

Dempsey, Samantha, Takeo, Nikolai and Naruto narrowed their eyes in interest as the group stared at a rather large defence force preparing themselves to protect the Land of Frost. Not more than 4 miles away is a large force of type 1 zombies, and they are closing the distance at a shocking pace.

The location the group are looking at is in the Land of Hot Water, a country that stands between the Land of Fire and the Land of Frost. It is also one of the many countries that has been overrun with zombies is now nothing more than a wasteland.

“So that is where we're goin' next, huh?”

“Yep. That is where we are heading Tank.” Naruto replied with his head nodding.

“Appearing in front of zhe defence group before the undead get zhere may not vork in our favour. If ve vere to suddenly appear vithout any varning, zhen they may become hostile towards us zhe moment ve reveal ourselves. Ve may have to appear somevhere else so ve do not startle zhem.”

“That's true.” Dempsey admitted. “Appearing right in the middle of them may work against us than for us. So where do we go from here?” He asked himself before he turned to stare at the others for suggestions.

Takeo has a keen tactical mind. Naruto surprisingly can think up plans and tactical ideas on the spot. Nikolai whenever he isn't completely hammered to the level he can't tell his own ass from his foot can think for himself and is fairly intelligent. But that was rare. Samantha he was not to sure about her, since she hasn't been with the group that long. But she has been more helpful to them than Richtofen had ever been since she had joined their little group.

Grumbling to himself Nikolai sat down, unstrapped his back sack, opened it and took out a bottle of vodka. After uncorking the bottle Nikolai took two mouthfuls of the alcoholic liquid and re-corked it.

Smacking his lips Nikolai put the bottle back in his sack and made a suggestion. “What if we were to wait. And then once the hell-spawns are engaged with the defenders we make our appearance when they're fighting?”

“A viable method. But not a good idea.” Naruto replied as the tactical map zoomed in on the defence force so the group would have a better understanding on their placement. “I may not remember much about these idiots who have the gall to call themselves 'ninja', but I do know they are likely to have a lot of widespread based chakra techniques. So appearing in the thick of the fighting may not be a good thing to do.”

“These widespread techniques you mentioned; just how widespread are we talkin' here?” Dempsey asked.

Naruto shrugged helplessly as he scratched the back of his head. “I don't know. Let's just assume – because they can defy all logic – that they can wipe out entire battalions in a matter of seconds.”

Dempsey nodded his head concededly. “Ok. Fair enough.” While he could ask more questions to get more answers he decided to conclude the conversation there. Naruto barely remembers anything of this dimension anyway. But he did have a fair point; Naruto did defy logic by making a solid copy of himself and considering he came from here, it is safe to assume these 'ninja' - and he is using that term loosely because the things these people do not have the right to call themselves that – can use similar techniques.

“What in zhe name of...” The group heard Samantha say in disbelief.

Nikolai, Dempsey, Takeo and Naruto who weren't looking at the map at the time brought back their attention to the tactical map. Just when they saw a large concrete wall that is several miles long in length suddenly spout out of the ground in front of the defence force.

“What...” Dempsey began as he stared at the newly appeared wall in shocked disbelief.

“The...” Takeo added, looking equally shocked as the American.

“Fuck...!?” Nikolai concluded looking and sounding as shocked as Takeo and Dempsey is.

Naruto merely stared at the scene with arched brows and a slightly gaping mouth. He knew that the ninja of his dimension are capable of a lot of great and terrible things. But he never really expected them to be able to create a large solid concrete wall from the ground itself.

“Well that's new. I wonder where that came from?” Just as Naruto asked that question he took notice of several ninjas kneeling with their hands planted firmly on the ground in front of them.

He analysed the scene and quickly came to a theory as to what had happened. The ninjas that are kneeling on the ground must have done one of their logic defying techniques and made that concrete wall spout out of the ground.

Taking a minute to gather himself Dempsey slapped himself across the face to make sure he wasn't hallucinating. He wasn't. Sighing shakingly the former marine turned to Naruto and said, “Ok; this dimension of yours Naruto is just getting weirder and weirder by the minute. What's next; being able to summon a god?”

Even though it was a rhetorical question Naruto replied anyway. “Defying all laws of physic and logic remember?”

“...You cannot be serious kid. They could summon an actual god?” Dempsey questioned with mounting disbelief. If Naruto was being serious about his people being able to do THAT then fucking hell!

“I dunno.” The whisker face blonde mumbled lowly. “I came to your dimension through unknown means. Not to mention we exited your dimension and came to mine from a portal made by a machine powered by Element 115. If that is possible then anything is.”

Takeo nodded in agreement with Naruto. If that is possible then they can't do things half-ass here. They will have to be careful and make sure they don't piss off the people here. “I believe we can all agree with one another that we should to expect the unexpected?”

Naruto clasped his hands together enthusiastically after they agreed. “Now that we got that out of the way, let's get back to what we were doing before: finding out where we should appear.” He said with so much enthusiasm in his voice it sounded fake to be real.

After Naruto said that the group then began to plan on where they would enter the battle from. Teleporting right in the thick of battle was something they agreed not to do. They would be at risk from attacks from not just the zombies but from the ninja as well. They also agreed to not appear in front of the defence force, just in case they might take the five of them as hostile's by accident and attack them. But they can be too far from them either.

In the end Samantha got fed up over their bickering and indecision and picked the location for them without their consent.

X.X.X.X

On the border between Land of Hot Water and the Land of Frost we find the ninjas from Kumogakure standing and in some cases kneeling on top of the concrete wall they had created to delay the zombie advance. Ever since the zombies learned from each encounter with the ninjas they've engaged, the ninjas from different nations were having difficulties in trying to stop the zombies from advancing deeper in their territory.

They were forced to go back to their basics that involved using anything at their disposal such as hand to hand combat or projectiles weapons. Unfortunately they were unable to get their hands on any of the kunai launchers that Konoha had gotten recently from the Land of Spring. They would have helped tremendously. However they knew that some chakra techniques were utterly useless against the dead while others were more effective.

'Earth Release: Earth-Style wall' is a defence technique. Used by the user or users to either help defend their position or themselves, and as the name of the technique suggests, it isn't ideal for attacking but defending; or in some cases delaying an enemies advance. In this case the technique is used to delay the zombies from advancing into the Land of Frost and in turn the Land of Lightning.

“Have you heard about that group that appeared out of nowhere near the Land of Waves?” A Kumo ninja of genin rank suddenly asked as a conversation starter and as a way to pass the time.

“The so called 'Mysterious Five'? Yeah, I heard of them.” A kunoichi of chunin rank replied with a nod of her head. “They were said to have stopped the zombies attacking the Wave village on the day they appeared only to vanish into thin air not long after. I wonder why they are called that though?”

“We barely know anything about them, and what little we do know of them makes the five of them mysterious.” A third Kumo ninja also of chunin rank said including himself in the conversation. “I heard they are all foreigners that come from a distant land across the seas, far beyond the Elemental Nations.”

“I have never heard of any other lands that lie beyond the Elemental Nations.”

“That's because we never sent anyone to explore the world beyond. It is of no surprise we never heard of them until last week. And even then we still know next to nothing about them.”

“What about the Konoha-nins? They were looking into it since they are closer to the Land of Waves.”

“I heard they got little to no information regarding the mysterious five. Just a basic description of them among other things.” The kumo ninja that began to conversation replied. “How long do you think the dead will arrive?”

“That is something we don't know.” They all turned and saw the commander of the defence force, Yugito Nii standing behind them with her arms crossed as she stared ahead unflinchingly.

Yugito Nii is a 29 years old woman, a Jonin and the second Jinchuuriki of Kumogakure. She has dark eyes and long straight blonde hair that was bound with tight bandages that reached down her mid-back. Her attire consists of a short-sleeved black and purple blouse and black pants with both of them having a similar design of clouds on them and a red belt around her waist. On her arms and legs she also wore bandages of a similar design she used to bound her hair. Lastly the woman wore purple fingerless gloves and a chain of blue beads wound around her left arm and hand.

The blonde haired woman looked at her subordinates and added; “Seeing as they never tire they could arrive at any time at any moment. That is why we must remain vigilant.”

“Commander Yugito!” All the ninja's in close proximity jump to their feet and stood in attention respectfully. The ninja who spoke continued. “What do you think our chances in succeeding holding back the undead?”

Yugito stared at her comrades with a hard look. “Do you want the optimistic or honest answer?” She asked.

“The honest answer.”

Yugito nodded and then answered honestly. “Very well then I won't sugar coat anything; the honest answer is this: with the enemy being able to quickly adapt to our abilities with every encounter our chance of defending the Land of Frost successfully is slim.”

“So we have no chance then?”

“I never said that!” Yugito replied sharply, giving the nameless ninja that spoke a fierce glare. “Our chance of succeeding maybe small but it is not impossible. Not to mention you have me here.” She reminded them all, while at the same time, raising their hopes since Yugito is the second strongest Jonin Kumogakure has because of her Jinchuuriki status. “So far the chakra of a Tailed Beast is effective against the dead and not to mention they are for the moment unable to adapt to it. If the situation becomes dire enough then I will transform into my Tailed Beast form.”

One of the nearby Jonin kunoichi, who had dark brown hair tied in a bun asked pensively, “Do we know what type of zombie we're up against?”

“It was reported that type 1's are what we are up against.” Yugito replied informatively. “But that can easily change. As you all most likely know type 1's are able to evolve to type 2's or 3's depending on the circumstance. And having fought all three types I know how difficult they are...”

She trailed off as she and everyone else in the defence force felt an unknown source of energy suddenly appear out of nowhere, in the direction of Yukagure. It did not take long for them to recognise that the mysterious energy signature was the one that had appeared near the Land of Waves the week before.

Knowing just how mysterious the group that appeared one week ago was, and the connection they had with this unknown energy, Yugito to make her decision. She turned to the nearest ninja and with authority in her voice began her orders. She recognised the first two and addressed them.

“Akira! Get a group of four ready to mobilize and follow my lead! We need to reach Yukagure before the undead can!” She then turned to the kunoichi that was beside Akira. “Asuka you take command here while I'm gone! Make sure no one abandons their post!”

A chunin addressed as Akira, nodded his head frantically before speeding off to do what Yugito had asked of him. Asuka when given her orders merely saluted and immediately began to give out orders to inform the defence force that she is going to be in command for the time being.

Meanwhile Yugito had already leapt off the wall and was making her descent to the ground. Using the skills she had gained from years of experience as a ninja the female Jinchuuriki safely and expertly landed on the ground in a kneel, making a small smoke cloud that was filled with dirt and dust from the dying earth shoot up into the air around her. Huffing the blonde haired woman leapt up like a cat and started sprinting in the direction where she had last felt the energy signature.

That energy was exactly the same as the one that appeared at the Land of Waves. The very same energy that signified the mysterious groups arrival. If her hunch was right, if she continued moving in the direction she was going now, she and her group – once they caught up to her - would soon meet up with this mysterious group that made themselves famous in the Elemental Nations.

Elsewhere at the exact same time, Jiraiya was making his way to the Land of Hot Water. On his way to the abandoned country he too had felt the mysterious energy suddenly appear out of nowhere. The toad sage narrowed his eyes as he stopped his fast pace, and closed his eyes to concentrate in his sensing of the direction the energy had come from.

Huh, now that is odd. The energy dispersed just as fast as it appeared so he was not able to completely pinpoint where the energy originated. Concentrating a little Jiraiya was able to detect a few traces of it left, not enough for him to point it down however. He isn't that much of a sensor without of Sage Mode but he is passable.

As he 'felt' for the energy he picked up something else that was almost smothered, coming from the north east. “Now that is interesting. A chakra signature?” He mused to himself aloud as he scratched his chin.

Jiraiya focused his limited sensing on the chakra signature. From the distance he is from it the chakra signature was coming in the direction of Yukagure and was barely noticeable. As if it was being suppressed. There is also feeling of familiarity to it. He wouldn't know why the chakra signature felt familiar to him unless he got closer.

“That chakra signature feels familiar.” The toad sage said to himself as he opened his eyes. “Could it be someone I know from Konoha?” He asked himself thoughtfully, before shaking his head. “No. It isn't likely to be anyone from the Land of Fire.” He told himself. “It takes almost a month at the very least to reach Yukagure. The rumoured 'Mysterious Five' is the likely answer, but why would one of them be someone I should know? No, a better question is why is there only one chakra signature instead of 5?”

There are so many questions, and so little answers. And if he wanted the answers then he needs to go to Yugakure to get them. He decided to take a little detour from his original destination. Yugakure leads the way to the Land of Frost and that former hidden village fell a long time ago. There is nothing more than ruins and abandoned buildings there now. He also knew if the undead are to reach the Land of Frost, and in turn the kumo defence force, they would have to pass through Yugakure first.

X.X.X.X

Takeo blinked his eyes in bewilderment. He was no longer in that odd place with the others and in was in a different area. He quickly raised his type 100 and carefully scanned his surroundings. He appears to be in an abandoned town that was filled with a lot of decay and rot with a battered looking bridge nearby that would look like it would collapse if the slightest weight was pressed on it.

The buildings now that he looked closely at them were covered in fungus and corrosion. Most likely the exposer to time in combination to the earth dying being the main reason for this. The buildings, even the bridge, are made from the resources the earth provides. It made sense they too would deteriorate as the earth did.

How did he end up here again? Oh, that's right, Samantha got fed up with their indecision and teleported them down to the planet, to a completely random location, without their consent. Sighing in irritation Takeo allowed to the Type 100 to drop against his waist. With it in close proximity to his hand, he can easily grab it, bring it up and take aim in less than 10 seconds.

Still, he had to admit to himself that something good did come out of this. Samantha had gotten them to a location and from what he can tell it is not near the defence force that had made the wall in the far distance.

Wait a minute...

Takeo squinted his eyes and made his way to the bridge to get a better look. A fair distance away – approximately 3 miles is his guess – there is a giant wall that seemed to stretch for miles. If he were to guess from where he was, the samurai would say the walls were about 40 feet in height. Maybe more.

“Takeo?” The man heard Naruto loudly calling out. He was fairly close by too from how loud the boys voice was. “You around somewhere?”

“Over here, Uzumaki.” The former Imperial officer yelled out in response without turning around. He had thought on not replying for a moment, but quickly threw that idea out of the proverbial window. Takeo was not that sort of person. Dempsey and Belinski were. And in some cases so too was Samantha. But he was not. Nor will he ever be. His tactical mind knew how important it was for them all to regroup as soon as possible.

The former Imperial officer heard Naruto making an affirmative grunt before trying to make his way over to him. A few minutes later Naruto finally found Takeo standing by the bridge looking in the distance.

The whisker face blonde immediately noticed something different about the man. The elemental staff that was strapped to his back was something even a five year old would notice. But it wasn't that, that had made Takeo look different. Instead of the 'old, but wise man who can kick your ass five ways to Sunday' look Takeo had about him, the asian man was...less strained. He seemed younger for some reason.

It wasn't until Naruto was close to the man that he was able to confirm the differences. Takeo had indeed gotten younger. The wrinkles that were on his face were now gone. The moustache that was above his upper lip now had a rough beard to go with it. He now looks to be in his mid to late twenties instead of his fifties.

He still wore the same uniform when he had first met the man. The officers uniform the samurai would wear when they are in the Imperial Army to signify their heritage.

“Takeo.” Said man silently turned his head and looked at Naruto with curiosity at the nervous tone in his voice.

What did the boy have to be nervous about?

“Do you feel... 'different' than you remember?”

Takeo narrowed his eyes in confusion. What sort of question was that? Why would he feel different than he normally would? He paused, now that Naruto mentioned it he did feel a little different. He feels a lot stronger and more healthier than he remembered. Not to mention he feels like 30 years was taken off from his age.

“Now that it has been mentioned I do feel different.” The man replied with a gesture of acknowledgement. He closed his eyes and steadily breathed in through his nose and out through his mouth. “I feel younger. Stronger. Much healthier. I feel I can fight for several hours and then some.” He opened his eyes and looked at Naruto once more. “Why do you ask, young one?”

Rubbing his chin Naruto let out an analysing sound as he looked Takeo over. “Well you look a lot, lot more younger than I remember you being.” He said to the man as he stared up at him. He didn't see Takeo being young necessarily as a bad thing.

Takeo stared at Naruto in astonishment for a moment and quickly brought his hands to his face to look them over. While he couldn't see his own face Takeo knew his own body well enough to know its limits. He had seen the wrinkles on the back of his hands since he had came to his late thirties early forties.

To see them without the wrinkles for the first time in almost 30 years was astounding for the samurai.

He looked over his shoulder noticing the elemental staff for the first time he had arrived here. There was only one way that this was possible. It had to have been after he had got the staff. He saw that Naruto came to the same conclusion as he did, given the look the whisker faced blonde was giving to the staff.

“Are you thinking what I'm thinking Takeo?”

“Yes. It appears the elemental staff may have been the main cause of my decrease in age.”

They turned their heads around to look over their shoulder when they heard Dempsey loudly calling out. “Nikolai! Naruto! Takeo! Where the hell are you all!?” They heard his voice from behind the fense.

“Takeo and I are over here Tank! Is Samantha and Nikolai with you?” Naruto called back, revealing their location to the former United States marine.

Both Takeo and Naruto heard the marine grumbling incoherently under his breath while not answering the question he was asked. Naruto inwardly sighed in irritation. Of course Dempsey wouldn't answer his question about Samantha, he still did not trust her after all. Suddenly the fence was knocked down sending dust and splinters everywhere.

Both Takeo and Naruto stared at the feat with wide eyes as an annoyed Dempsey emerged from the smoke with Nikolai and a sheepish looking Samantha trailing behind him.

The trio made their way to Naruto and Takeo at the bridge. After they were finally beside the duo Dempsey finally answered to the question Naruto had asked him two minutes before. “Yeah, they're with me.” Dempsey sniffed the air as he leaned against the bridge and sneezed violently. “Man, it stinks here.”

“What can you expect from a place that is literally rotting and decaying?”

“Good point.” Dempsey conceded. He looked around and seeing the wall from the real time tactical map had asked, “So any ideas on where the hell we ended up? Because I know for a fact we're not near the defence force seeing as the wall they made is all the way, way, way over there.”

Nikolai rubbed his armpit as he grunted thoughtfully at the back of his throat. “Perhaps were are in Land of Waters?” He stated, before shaking his head seconds after. “No, that's not it. Hot Waters? Da! Land of Hot Waters! I remember now, to get to Land of Lightning the hellspawn would need to pass through the Land of Hot Waters!”

“Very perceptive of you, Nikki.” Takeo said thinly.

Both Naruto and Samantha knew that Nikolai can be frighteningly perceptive when he wants to be. Because of the way Nikolai is, a lot of people quickly forget that and think he is an unintelligent drunk.

“Holy fuck!” Nikolai suddenly exclaimed in shock as he took in Takeo's youthful appearance. “What the fuck happened to you Takeo!?”

Dempsey and Samantha looked at Takeo and they too were shocked at how longer the samurai looked. Samantha however was able to keep her shock well under control. Tank Dempsey, not so much. He aimed his M-16 at the samurai with a suspicious look on his face.

“...Are you serious?” Naruto asked blandly, and with a blank expression upon seeing the marine holding Takeo at gun point.

“I am dead serious Naruto.” Dempsey said seriously, never taking his eyes and gun away from Takeo who merely stared down at the barrel of the gun with an uncaring look. “How do we know that this is the real Takeo???”

“You spent the past five minutes standing beside him Tank. And I was with him longer than that.” Naruto pointed out in the same bland tone and expressionless face. “Not to mention-” He pointed his index finger at the elemental staff that hanging from the samurai's back. “-he still has the staff we got from the Wave Village.”

Dempsey looked at the staff for a few seconds before looking back to Naruto. “It could have been faked.” Was the marines stubborn reply.

“He knows where we've been and what we've done.”

Dempsey gazed between Takeo and Naruto for a moment. “Really now? We'll see about that.” And refocused his attention on the indifferent Takeo who of all things was looking bored. “If you are really Takeo, then this should be easy for you since you were there when this happened: what is the most embarrassing thing that happened to me?”

Takeo arched an eyebrow at the question. There were a lot of embarrassing moments Dempsey had. But there was one that stood out. The time they were trapped in the frozen shut room that was filled with darkness.

He answered that question by asking a question of his own. “Is this before or after we reached Shangri-la?”

“Before.”

“Very well.” Takeo much to the surprise of everyone had an uncharacteristic smile. Looking as if he was going to enjoy what he was going to do next. “We were all trapped behind a frozen door at the time. I was vomiting, and the room we were all trapped in was dark. Richtofen was trying to find a light switch and in his search he--”

“Okay! Okay! You are the real Takeo! Just don't mention that ever again!!!” Dempsey frantically cut the Asian from finishing his sentence. The others stifled their laughter at Dempsey's frantic interruption and quickly silenced themselves when he glared dangerously at them. Daring them to laugh at his misfortune with Richtofen.

Clearing her throat Samantha looked at everyone with a serious look. “Joking aside ve need to prepare for zhe undead zhat ve vill inevitably encounter.”

Knowing that Samantha was right they too became serious. Wanting to know how much time they had left, Naruto turned to Samantha since she is connected to the undead. She just can't take control of them anymore.

“Samantha do you know how long we have until they get here?”

Samantha narrowed her eyes and look at Naruto in return. “I vill check.” Samantha closed her eyes and a second later they snapped open, revealing a pair of glowing yellow eyes. Her skin also lost its colour, becoming a pale white, like snow during the winter.

This was Samantha's 'Awakened' state; where Samantha uses whatever remained of her power when she was controlling the zombies to help out the group. Having seen this a few times before and knowing she wouldn't harm them, it still made the others nervous to be around her. Even Naruto. Having seen those pair of eyes on all the zombies before Richtofen and Samantha switched bodies on the moon it became unnerving to see it on a girl like Samantha who always appeared so lively.

While it did unnerve them they had to admit her being allowed to do that, despite being in a body not of her own, saved their hides multiple times in the past. Not only did that ability tell Samantha how many zombies there are, she also knew of their location.

There was also a weird side effect that affected her speech pattern. Instead of having a German accent she had an American one. Strange, isn't it?

Samantha narrowed her eyes as she looked to the East. “I found them. They're coming from the south and are less than one mile away from us. My guess is they'll be here within the hour.” She told them.

Dempsey nodded in confirmation. “Then we need to prepare for their arrival.” He told them before taking command. “Samantha do you think you can help us out by putting some weapon outlines and perk machines around this place?”

“It will strain my already limited power but it can be done.”

“That's all we'll need. We can change our weapons, or get more ammo, and increase our chances of survival by drinking those perk-a-colas.” He then turned to Takeo. “Takeo do you think that staff would be of any use?” He questioned regarding the elemental staff on his back.

Takeo took the staff from his back and held it in front of him with the top facing the ground. He didn't know why but it felt he knew how to use it. As if the knowledge on how to use it was was engraved into his memories. There was a lever like trigger near his left hand to make it fire, he would just have to pull on it.

“Yes.” Takeo eventually answered. “I believe the staff would be of use to us.”

“It fires balls of molten lava.” Naruto dryly pointed out. “If that isn't useful then I don't know what is.”

“Being able to melt the sons-of-bitches beyond recognition does sound useful.” Dempsey stated with grim satisfaction in his tone. “But to me watching them turn into red mist, when we tear their bodies apart with our bullets is much, much more satisfying.” He added as an after thought.

“What about blowing them away with Thunder gun? You enjoy doing that more than any of us.” Everyone had to give Nikolai a point there as he was speaking the truth. Dempsey did genuinely enjoy blowing zombies away with the Thunder Gun in both Kino Der Toten and Ascension.

“What's not to enjoy? You blow them up into the sky. Plus it clears out rooms quickly enough. Not like the Wonder Waffle.”

“Hey! That gun was awesome! You could clear out rooms with that too.” Naruto said coming to the defence of the electric used weapon. What could he say? He fricking loved that gun. It was always a one-hit kill no matter what type of zombie they were or the distance you fired from.

Of course you had to make sure that the bolt of electricity managed to connect with its target or it would have been a waste. But it was always a one-hit kill, no matter the distance you were. If you were on top of a roof of a building then as long as the bolt hit its target, it would spread out to several more zombies like a chain and kill them instantly.

Unlike the Thunder Gun you had to be close to the zombies in order for it to be a one-hit kill.

“Before you all get carried away we need to figure out where we can go to hold the zombies off.” Samantha said reminding them of the oncoming threat. In her “Are there any buildings we can use to defend against them?”

“The buildings aren't safe enough to hide in.” Naruto replied as he spun around with the others turning with him to look at the buildings. “As you can see they're rotting and most of them look like they are going to collapse at any second.”

“Not to mention taking shelter from the undead in any of these buildings will trap us from all sides as well.” Samantha added in support of Naruto. “Staying outside we would have an advantage of staying one step ahead of them.”

“Staying in the open isn't safe either.” Countered Dempsey. “They'll be swarming us from every direction. Inside these buildings we can funnel the freak sacks through the doorways or windowsills allowing us to easily pick 'em off. Not to mention giving us a better chance of survival.”

“Both of your concerns on our situation have merit.” Takeo butted in the conversation. Having gotten their attention he began to state his own points about staying in the open, or staying in the buildings. “Staying in any of these structures, we would be at risk of having it collapse on top of us, and surrounded by enemies. But we would be able to combat the undead with great efficiency if they are focused on getting inside through the windows and doorways. However, staying outside, we would be at risk of getting separated and overwhelmed.”

“Staying inside buildings for long period of time is not good idea then. Nor is staying outside.” Nikolai said. He understood what Takeo was trying to say.

Takeo nodded in confirmation glad that Nikolai was able to understand. The asian then went on to tell the group to remember about their past experiences on their engagement with the undead; he brought up Der Riese and Shi No Numa, as examples where they held their ground in the rooms Der Riese provided but moved on when they were being close to getting overwhelmed.

For Shi No Numa Takeo reminded them all how many close calls they had because they stayed in the open swamp instead of taking shelter in the buildings or huts that was close to them. The five of them nearly lost their lives in that godforsaken place because they never used their common sense and now while they were trying to plan on how to deal with the oncoming threat, he realised they were once again not using their common sense.

While they did make good and bad points they conveniently forgot they can move to other buildings before they get overwhelmed.

When Takeo finally got his piece said, Samantha nodded her head in agreement with Takeo and asked them in a questioning tone, “Why don't you do what you used to do when I was controlling the zombies? Move from building to building before you get overwhelmed? That was an effective strategy you used against me if I am honest.”

They all stared at her making the girl a little uncomfortable at the looks they were giving her. Then all of a sudden Naruto much to the surprise of everyone palmed his face and groaned at their stupidity for not using their common sense.

“...You know instead of having this conversation we could have just done what Samantha suggested.” The whisker face blonde said to Dempsey, Nikolai and Takeo without turning to look at them.

Suddenly Samantha whipped her head to the south of their location. Her normally calm eyes going wide in distress. The others saw this and quickly raised their guns and carefully surveyed their surroundings. Anything that startled Samantha was bound to be bad for them in the long run.

“Samantha what is it?” Questioned Dempsey as he scanned carefully scanned the building rooftops for any zombie activity. Having fought zombies that could teleport anywhere at any time, he knew they had to keep an eye on everything within their field of vision.

“The zombies.” Said the girl in a faint whisper. “They've started to run!”

The four turned to look at Samantha with confused yet startled looks before looking at one another worryingly. Their previous encounters with zombies told them they don't just suddenly run.

“Walkers don't run.” Dempsey stated as his teeth bared to an angry snarl. “Samantha, put those weapon outlines on the walls and get those perk machines down here ASAP!” He ordered as he pulled the magazine out of the chamber of his M-16 to see how much ammo was currently in it. “These are not walker's we're going to be dealing with!”

“No shit!” Nikolai exclaimed with a loud curse. He too was checking how much ammo he had in his drum magazine for his PPSh-41 by taking it off the slot where the magazine would go, and weighting it in his hand. It was heavy so Nikolai knew it was full. “These are either runners or sprinters we are to be dealing with!”

“Hopefully it's the former and not the latter!” Naruto said to them urgently. Like the others he too was checking how much ammo was in the magazine of his assault rifle. However unlike the others he was checking how much bullets were inside his side arm as well.

While the others were checking on how much ammo they had Samantha was doing what Dempsey had asked her to do. Glowing eyes closed in concentration Samantha used her already limited power to place weapon outlines on the walls of the abandoned village. Once that was done she then summoned the perk machines and spread them throughout the village so they would not be to close to one another.

With the perk machines and weapon outlines in place, Samantha began to sway on her feet as she went back to her normal state. She promptly fell to her knees wheezing heavily and looking out of it. Naruto seeing this had already finished checking his weapons and quickly wrapped an arm around her waist, and helped her stay on her feet as she didn't have the strength to do it by herself at the moment.

As Samantha mentioned before, her power was limited. She is unable to do what she was capable of doing before completely. She could bring perk machines, power-ups, and weapon out lines to aid her group. She can sense the presence of zombies from up to 10 miles in diameter but will not be able to control them like before. Unlike trying to discover where the zombies are in terms of location, bringing the perk machines and weapon outlines to her team strains the body she is possessing significantly.

She would be weak for ten minutes at the very least and would require the aid of the ones around her. However she was friends with Naruto, and on relatively good terms with the others. Figuratively speaking of course. She knows if she wasn't useful to them then Dempsey, Nikolai and Takeo would have abandoned her long ago.

“Samantha, are you ok?!” Asked a frantically worried Naruto who had an arm under her arm to keep her on her feet.

Samantha still wheezing nodded her head slowly yet tiredly in response. “I am alright Naruto; I merely need to rest until I get mien strength back.”

Naruto nodded his head before looking around for the closest building to take shelter in. With Samantha immobile, as much as he didn't want to admit it, she would be a liability to them rather than an asset. Previous warnings of the buildings not being safe be damned he was going to find some place to put Samantha so she can rest, and where they can defend against the undead horde.

They don't even know how far away the undead are now that they're running to this abandoned village.

Seeing one structure that has a stiff door still on its henge, Naruto with Samantha being held in one arm, made his way to the building. Without stopping the whisker face blonde turned to look halfway over his shoulder and yelled; “Dempsey, Takeo, Nikolai, I'm going to take shelter with Samantha in one of the buildings!”

“What happened to us not using the buildings?” The marine questioned as he and the others followed the two teens to the building.

“Plans change when you're facing a crisis.” Was Naruto's hasty retort as they made their way across the road. Pressing his foot up against the door, Naruto put all his weight into pushing against it to see if it would budge or not. Seeing it wouldn't budge Naruto tsked, and knocked the door of its hinges sending splinters everywhere. “I'd say that having one of us immobile, while an army full of fleshing eating zombies with no knowledge of how close they are to us, is a crisis!” He added as he and Samantha went inside the building with the others following in after them.

“You won't get any complaints from me kiddo. I wonder if this building is sturdy enough to withstand added weight?”

Nikolai bounced on his feet on the floor of the building. “Looks sturdy to this Soviet!” Exclaimed Nikolai as he kept bouncing on the balls of his feet.

“I do not think jumping lightly on the floor proves anything” Takeo deadpanned at the Russian, who rudely flicked him the middle finger in response. He scoffed and began to look around the room of the building they were going to be using for the time being.

Surprisingly the inside of the building was in a much better condition than its outside appearance. There was a little corrosion on the walls and floor, but overall, the building looks sturdy enough to withstand the added weight of a few people. He wasn't sure about the added weight of all the zombies that are sure to try and get themselves inside.

“Fortune smiles upon us, for this structure will suit our needs.” Stated the samurai after making his examination of the building's interior.

“Hopefully there will be an outline for a weapon somewhere in this building. I do not fancy fighting zombies and being unable to change our gun when we run out of ammo for it.” Naruto said as he helped Samantha move to a nearby couch and laid her gently down on it.

Dempsey grunted in agreement as he made his way to another section of the building. “In that case I'll scope out the building. See if there is anything useful to us here.”

“I will border up the windows and other access points!” Nikolai yelled out before going off to do just that.

Takeo sighed as Nikolai began to try and move a bookcase that was beside the doorway to block the entryway. Forgetting there was a currently broken door lying flat on the ground. In front of the doorway itself. Currently impeding Nikolai's attempt at moving the bookcase. Shaking his head Takeo sighed in irritation at Nikolai forgetfulness, and, began to mutter incoherently under his breath as he made his way over to Nikolai, before yanking him away from the bookcase and pulled him to the front of the doorway while ignoring his indignant yelling and whining.

He forced the drunk to look down at the ground, where Nikolai stopped his whining and yelling as he finally took notice of the knocked down door that was in front of the piece of furniture.

“...How did that get there?” Nikolai asked as he pointed at the downed door lying in front of the bookcase.

Takeo merely growled out as he palmed his face before dragging his hand downward. It wasn't Nikolai's fault he became the way he now is. He needed to down alcohol regularly otherwise he would become unresponsive; which is why he is always drunk.

“Takeo! Want to help me move this door out of the way?” The man asked as he went down on his knees to try and lift up the door.

Takeo sighed before getting on the opposite end of the door. “Very well.” He replied before kneeling down and slipping his digits under the edges of the door. “On three. One. Two. Three!”

While they were busy moving the door out of the way Naruto was sitting on the ground beside the slouching Samantha with their hands clasped together. The girl was resting on the couch to regain her lost energy bringing those perk machines and weapon outlines to the village they're in. Naruto in the meantime was keeping an eye on things around them. He took amusement in watching Takeo and Nikolai's antics in trying to shove the door out of the way so they could move the bookcase in front of the empty doorway.

“The door should be used to help us!” Takeo argued with a glare.

“No! Door should be outside where it would not be in way!” Nikolai argued back with a snarl pulling at his lips.

As you could tell, the two did not agree with one another.

Samantha opened her eyes and showing her annoyance tried to glare in the direction of the noisiness. When she couldn't do that she settled for lightly glaring at Naruto. Seeing the light glare Samantha was giving him, he gave her a flat look, his expression conveying his answer without the need to say anything.

“You are zhe closest one.” Samantha uttered in a soft voice. Her light glare never leaving her eyes even as Naruto's expression became even flatter at what she said to him.

“You can speak for yourself.” He pointed out to her in a lowered voice.

Samantha gave him an 'are you serious look' before replying. “Zhey are more likely to listen to you instead of me.” Which was true since Nikolai and Takeo are more closer to Naruto, and would therefore take his consideration more highly than her own.

Then just as Naruto was about to make his reply Tank Dempsey made his presence known. “Takeo! Nikolai! Keep your voices down for fucks sake!” Bellowed the man from upstairs. His voice was tinged with barely veiled annoyance. “You'll bring the zombies down on our asses at the rate your argument is going!”

And just like that Nikolai and Takeo stared at the ceiling in stiff silence. Naruto and Samantha merely looked at one another in surprise before shrugging and making themselves comfortable. If they're both quiet now than that is all that matters to them. Quietness equals more rest, and more rest equals less time for Samantha to regain her energy.

X.X.X.X

Jiraiya was panted heavily as he stopped sprinting to take a break. The toad sage had pushed himself really hard to get within spotting distance of Yugakure. Two hours he had pushed himself for. Two miles of non-stop chakra enhanced running. And right now he was paying for it as it left him exhausted.

The forests and gigantic trees the Land of Fire was well known for was long gone. Now the landscape was replaced by rocky terrain, also reduced to a barren wasteland like all the other countries affected by the undead hordes. In the far distance was the now abandoned former Hidden Village of Yugakure. Beyond that was a tall concrete wall that blocked off the border to the Land of Frost and in turn the Land of Lightning.

Jiraiya had to make an appreciative sound at the sight of it. The wall looked impressive from where he stood. It must've taken a shit-ton of chakra to make that. That must have been what that other chakra spike was. Ninja making that gigantic wall to delay the advancement of the undead horde.

Now that he was much closer to Yugakure the lone chakra signature he picked up was a lot clearer. He could sense something that wasn't there before now he was closer to it. It felt odd to him to say the least. The familiarity the chakra signature was giving off was there. He could almost recognise it now. But there was something with the chakra itself that was preventing him from doing so.

If he were to describe it, it would seem as if there was something tainting it. Like it was dying. But at the same time the chakra was regenerating itself. It was as if the person was dying but not dying at the same time. It was confusing but that description is as close as he could get.

“If my...contacts were right...then the walking dead...would need to pass...through Yugakure in order to...get to... the Land of Frost.” Jiraiya said through deep breaths. After regaining his breath the toad sage stood tall and stared ahead of him. “Given that familiar chakra signature never left Yugakure, and that mysterious energy signature never appeared again, it is safe for me to assume that this mysterious group that made themselves famous in the Land of Waves are still there.”

The toad sage narrowed his eyes in interest when he felt five more chakra signatures, one of them being massive in comparison to the other four suddenly appear within his senses. They came from the Land of Frost and were heading toward' Yugakure at a rapid pace.

The current Toad Sage rubbed his non-existent beard. “Hmm, I guess the one with the largest chakra out of the five approaching signatures is one of Kumo's Jinchuuriki. And with how fast their moving, I'd say all five of them would reach Yugakure about the same time as I will.”

Slightly rested after taking that short break Jiraiya stretched his arms above his head with a strained groan escaping his throat. He lowered his limbs and stretched his legs to get the kinks out of the joints before continuing his chakra enhanced sprint towards Yugakure.

Meanwhile the squad Akira had made finally reached Yugito who was now a fair distance away from the border between the Land of Frost and Land of Hot Water. Yugakure was within eye-sight.

Knowing just how serious this side mission was, Akira had forgone Genin ranked ninja and got the more higher rank to join him. As harsh as it may be Akira did not need any liabilities. Yugito can be one scary bitch when she wants to be and not having well trained and experienced ninja brought with him will most likely bring out her bitchy side. Which was why the three ninja he brought with him are of Jonin and Chunin rank.

Yugito looked to her left from the corner of her eyes as she noticed Akira and the ninja he brought with him catching up to her. “Chunin and Jonin ninjas. I approve of your choice Akira.” She told him when he and the three ninja were now running side by side with her. “You three tell me your names!” She ordered barkingly at the currently nameless ninja.

“I am Taiki Anno, commander! I am also known as T.A by my comrades.” Taiki or T.A for short, introduced himself to his superior in a respectful manner.

“My name is Juro, commander Yugito.” Juro was next to introduce himself. He kept his tone respectful and his introduction short. There was a bit of arrogance in his tone, though it was well concealed.

“My name is Kanon, Lady Yugito.” Kanon the only female of the trio had introduced herself. She also held Yugito in high regard.

All three of them appear to be in their late 20s to early 30s, they all wore the standard Kumogakure uniform, consisting of a long, grey top which gathers just at their waist, giving the shirt a sash-like appearance which matching coloured bottoms. Over this they wore their white, one-strapped coloured flak jacket with the sleeves torn off at the elbow, baring their forearms to the elements.

Their forehead protectors, were either around their arms – in the case of Kanon and Juro – like an arm band and in the case of Taiki wore it around their waist like a belt.

“Taiki, Juro, and Kanon; I hope that Akira has given you three a debrief on where we're going?” Yugito asked as she redirected her attention ahead of her.

“He told us we were heading to the abandoned village of Yugakure where that mysterious energy originated from correct?” Taiki asked in a questioning tone.

Yugito nodded in confirmation. “Yes. It is essential that we reach Yugakure before the invading undead do. If you heard the rumour associated with the unknown energy, the group who appeared and made themselves known to the Five Great Hidden Villages one week ago are said to have appeared when a mysterious energy was detected just outside of the Land of Waves.”

“And since the energy we detected is the same from the Land of Waves we're going there to investigate.” Kanon concluded before her eyes went wide with realisation. “The mysterious five could be there!”

Yugito nodded her head in confirmation. “Yes and if we were to bring them back to help with our dilemma our chances of successfully delaying the zombies from advancing into the Land of Lightning will increase.”

Juro scoffed in dismissal at that. “What makes you so sure they'll be able to help us?”

“Two weeks ago the Land of Waves was under siege nightly.” Yugito began stiffly. “One week ago the 'Mysterious five' came out of nowhere, appearing on the outskirts of Wave Country. And on that same day they somehow stopped the nightly attacks.” She turned to Juro in order to give him a fierce look and said in a serious tone. “Considering what they've done, along with their instruments that are a more advanced version of the kunai launchers from the Land of Spring, they will be able to help us with our dilemma.”

“Everyone stop!” Kanon suddenly yelled out as she came to an abrupt halt in mid-run. Juro, Akira, Taiki and Yugito all came to an abrupt stop as well and turned to look at the kunoichi with questioning looks in their eyes. Juro looked more irritated however.

“What the heck is it Kanon? We're wasting valuable time!” Juro hissed with a scowl on his face.

“Shut the fuck up Juro and listen!” She snapped back causing the man to bristle at her in outrage. “Do any of you sense it at all?”

Yugito frowned and extended her senses. At first she found nothing but after a minute or two she discovered something unusual. It was a chakra signature in the direction of Yugakure. But instead of five like she was expecting it was one. And it felt tainted. Yugito had relayed what she had discovered to everyone else. Everyone apart from Kanon herself was surprised.

“That can't be right.” Juro stated. “There should be five. Not one.”

“Do you think it's a trap? Or a new type of zombie?” Taiki asked them as no one recognised the chakra and given the 'tainted' feel it was giving off, it could be a person who was unlucky enough to have been bitten. Or more frighteningly a new type of zombie.

Yugito narrowed her eyes in contemplation as she crossed her arms beneath her bust. “The likelihood of this being a trap is high. Time is against us here. In the likelihood that this is a trap fall back immediately. No questions asked. Do all of you understand?”

“I understand.”

“Yeah.”

“Got it.”

“We fall back, no questions asked. Understood commander Yugito.”

“Good. Let's move out!”