Did Kazuki bit more than he could chew this time? He was alone, inside a house he did not know a thing about, trying to exterminate a Hydra Cell that had operated, for Zabucho knew how many time, before being discovered by sheer luck. If those populating the cell were nothing but common soldiers, then he would have no trouble at all dispatching the lot of them. Common soldiers had no chance against a seasoned shinobi like the Senju Overlord. Any warrior above that pay grade, Elites or Champions were bones harder to chew, but still possible to contend as long as he did not allow himself to get swarmed. Min-bosses or bosses were something to be taken alone and, specifically, not lightly and not to be considered trivial. He knew many SHIELD agents that had payed with their lives for making such mistake. As their Director, he knew better than that. He had faced many foes in his long life and had always came out on top, because he was prepared and because he knew what he was doing, most of the time. Today was probably one of those rare exceptions. The White Wolf did not every house's schematics, thus he was not familiar with the room disposition of this one. Judging from the outside he was able to safely conclude it was a two-story building. But he had no clue if there was a basement. Considering he had his headset, he could radio his HQ and request the blueprints, but doing so could jeopardize his concealment, further endangering the mission. He was also not aware of how many Hydra Agents were inside the building. Two at least there were, the guy he had followed inside and the one that had opened the door, given those two could not open automatically. An opposition consisting of two would be easy pickings for him, but it was quite unlikely. If he was lucky, there would be a few dozen or less. But if he wasn't, there could be many more and some of those of that higher pay grade. Zabucho forbid if there was one boss inside, or even worse, more than one.
And so the SHIELD Director found himself inside the house's atrium. Luckily for him, the room's ambient light was dim at best. Without shutting off his shadowy armor, Reaper observed the surroundings trying to understand how to navigate inside. There were two semi-circular stairs that led upwards to the second level. There was a small wall free corridor up top, with two doors on each extreme, with a single double door entrance at the middle of it. On the ground level, where he stood at the moment, there was a smaller door in front of him and, just like on top, there were two doors on each opposite. There were barely any furniture in this this room, a possible indication this house was not an actual home for a family, but a base for some nefarious group with nefarious goals. He stood there for a while longer, using his keen hearing sense to spot where anyone was. He heard laughter from his left and a muffled humming sound, possible from machinery working endlessly, which seemed to be coming from the door that faced him in the distance. Given the lack of audible sounds from up top and to his right, he took the right choice first. Light as a feather, Kazuki traversed the atrium in a few silent steps and slowly opened the wooden door. The hinges were well oiled and the door opened easily and without making a sound. The corridor in front of him had two doors on each side and nothing else. Closing the door behind him, the White Wolf would place his ear on the door trying to catch any sound from the inside of the first door at his right. After a few seconds and after listening anything, he would slowly open the door and find it was a storage room filled with weapons. Repeating the process with the other three, he learned all those rooms were storage. Weapons, armor and any all assortment of equipment. Placing a primed explosive tag on each, the Shadow Sword would reenter the atrium and he would climb the stairs.
Just like before he would start with the door to his right, inside he would find several empty rooms that looked like to be dormitories. There were at least 20 beds distributed by the several rooms in this area. All of them empty. A quick search on the left wing, he would find more dormitories, also empty. On that level, there was only the last, apparently, big room to inspect. He would again place his ear onto the door, trying to ascertain if there was someone inside. After a single minute of silent hearing, he opened the doors and entered. This was a conference room, no doubt. Two large windows were on the back wall. The side walls were covered by shelves with endless books. The center of the room was dominated by a single, very large, wooden table with countless chairs on each side. If there was anyone inside this cursed house, they were inside those doors on the left and in front of the building's main entrance. As he exited the conference room, an alarm would be triggered. A very loud, painful and annoying alarm would echo endlessly, alerting everyone in the house to an intruders presence. His shadowy armor was still present so, if he was luckily, he would not be seen if anyone came rushing toward where was. For precaution, he would fully exit the room and made his way toward the entrance of the left wing dormitory, creating a bottleneck that would decrease the amount of enemies he could face, thus increasing the odds of success.
He stood there, waiting, knowing there was no escape and, in fact, escaping was something he could not do if he wanted to crush this cell once and for all. If he were to retreat, to gather a force and then tackle this threat again, there was not way to guarantee it would still occupy this house. No, he had to destroy it today, alone. His acute ears caught the sounds of countless footsteps. He would hear the door beneath him opening and several people rushing out. It would seemed a small army was pouring out and they immediately began making their way upwards. Once a dozen were upstairs, they would spread out, a few inspecting the conference room and a couple went for the right wing dormitory. The rest remained there, waiting for their fellow warriors. Given he was not inside any of those areas, they would come out empty handed. There was only one place left to investigate and that meant going through him. He knew there was a chance he could navigate his way around them all, but it was rather slim. No, he would have to fight his way through those guys and whatever waited for him downstairs. Uncloaking, Kazuki would emerge from the shadows, Frostmourne in hand. Several zombies would emerge from the ground, moaning and groaning. They would immediately lunge toward those soldiers. They would stand their ground, trained to not cower nor flee from their enemies. Together with his tiny zombified army, the SHIELD Director would create a symphony of death, as with each swing of his black bladed weapon, Frostmourne sang with delight with each soul that was absorbed. Blood would litter the ground as twelve men fell, their bodies lacking any life to sustain them upright.
He neared the edge of the corridor and he would see a few dozen more stood there, arms ready, determined expressions all over their group. Frostmourne would show a faint blue glow. Without needed any command, Reaper's Zombies would jump downwards, dragging a few soldiers down as they fell on the ground. Clawing and biting was all they could do and they were to weak to take a single soldier on their own. A nuisance or distraction was all they could provide, but it was all the White Wolf needed. Without a single handseal made, a large fireball would crash the floor below. Cries of pain and the stentch of meat burning would reach the Shadow Sword's acute senses as he also jumped down. He would lightly land on the ground and he would, like before, begin a deadly symphony of death. All those men would be dead once he stopped. He had not sustained a single scratch but he knew he had been lucky. As trained as they were, those soldiers never stood a chance against someone like him. Unaware if there was anyone else, Kazuki sent his zombies to search the left wing. After a few minutes of waiting, where no sounds of any scuffle would reach him, they would return empty handed. There was only one place left to investigate. Where the humming sound came from.
Cleaning his sword one someone else's clothing, Reaper made his way toward that smaller door. As he got closer, so did the hum got stronger. He would swiftly open the door wide, finding stairs descending to what he deduced to be the basement. Given the alarm that had echoed moments ago, but had since stopped, there was no point for concealing himself. He would slowly buy steadily descend this flight of stairs and, eventually, he would reach the basement. This division was an open space and given its wide area, it seemed to be as big a the house itself, at least in terms of length and width. There were countless monitors littering each wall, thus the humming sound. Each station had a single individual, manning it, paying attention to the screens. The Shadow Sword would crouch and he would inspect a bit before making any action. He saw how each screen showed up a different part of the village. He saw the Kazekage Tower, including Sousuke's office. He saw the Toraono Dojo and many other places. They were even watching the Academy. Eventually he would spot a single man, seating in the middle of room. He had sat in the lotus position,bare chested. He had a large tattoo covering most of his chest. It was a blueish Tiger. This man, perhaps the leader, or the brute, had his eyes closed and was, apparently, meditating. No one had noticed the White Wolf was there, focused on their tasks. One by one, Kazuki would dispatch them by snagging them via a shadowy embrace at the neck. Choking the life out of them with his natural ability to manipulate shadows, the SHIELD Director would dispatch any and all opposition until there was only one guy left. The one meditating.
The Hybrid would take a few steps forward, facing his last opponent. This guy seemed strong, controlled, collect, unafraid. Maybe it was because he was meditating, but Kazuki knew otherwise. There was a faint aura of power emanating from him. A single shadowy tendril would dart toward the tattooed guy, only to stop a few inches away from the guy. He would immediately open his eyes. They were of the same color as the tattoo and a faint glow to them. "I've been waiting for you. You will die at the hands of the Blue Tiger and Hydra will reign supreme." he would announce before springing to action. Before he could react, the White Wolf would find himself flying backwards before he crashed into one of those screen littered stations. He had been punched in the chest and he had been unable to do anything to prevent. The bare fist monk had assumed a fighting pose that clearly wrecked of Kung Fu, the Tiger pose to be more precise. "You pack a punch, but that is not nearly enough to defeat me." the Shadow Sword would tell him. He would summon his zombies back, which would immediately dart toward the martial artist, trying to surround him from all directions. A single roundhouse kick would send them back flying and as they crashed, they would disperse. "Ok. Plan B." the SHIELD Director would conclude. This guy was strong enough to destroy his zombies with a single strike. He knew he was outmatched in a physical confrontation, but there was someone he could bring that would give this guy a run for his money.
A shadowy orb would drop from his back, one globe that would begin to waver, grow and mutate into the shape one individual known as Iron Fist. The Champion of K'un Lu would begin a co-joint display of martial fighting with the Blue Tiger. They seemed even in skill, though given his undeath status, Kazuki knew he would eventually be defeated. But he did not expect for his summon to defeat the boss. No, he had also brought Iron Fist out to distract his enemy long enough for him to extend his shadow reach and eventually trap the guy, something he had failed to do earlier. After a few tries, success was reached. Without being told to stop, Iron Fist kept pummeling against an opponent that was now defenseless, unable to move a single muscle, except for blinking. The White Wolf would slowly approach his frozen enemy, each step echoing in the room, each step promising death. Frostmourne would begin to glow and a single swipe later, a headless Blue Tiger fell over. The Shadow Sword would send away Iron Fist and he would place several explosive tags. After reaching the entrance door, he would ignite all tags at once, creating a massive explosion that would render this cell inoperative. The head been chopped.
[WC - 2287]
And so the SHIELD Director found himself inside the house's atrium. Luckily for him, the room's ambient light was dim at best. Without shutting off his shadowy armor, Reaper observed the surroundings trying to understand how to navigate inside. There were two semi-circular stairs that led upwards to the second level. There was a small wall free corridor up top, with two doors on each extreme, with a single double door entrance at the middle of it. On the ground level, where he stood at the moment, there was a smaller door in front of him and, just like on top, there were two doors on each opposite. There were barely any furniture in this this room, a possible indication this house was not an actual home for a family, but a base for some nefarious group with nefarious goals. He stood there for a while longer, using his keen hearing sense to spot where anyone was. He heard laughter from his left and a muffled humming sound, possible from machinery working endlessly, which seemed to be coming from the door that faced him in the distance. Given the lack of audible sounds from up top and to his right, he took the right choice first. Light as a feather, Kazuki traversed the atrium in a few silent steps and slowly opened the wooden door. The hinges were well oiled and the door opened easily and without making a sound. The corridor in front of him had two doors on each side and nothing else. Closing the door behind him, the White Wolf would place his ear on the door trying to catch any sound from the inside of the first door at his right. After a few seconds and after listening anything, he would slowly open the door and find it was a storage room filled with weapons. Repeating the process with the other three, he learned all those rooms were storage. Weapons, armor and any all assortment of equipment. Placing a primed explosive tag on each, the Shadow Sword would reenter the atrium and he would climb the stairs.
Just like before he would start with the door to his right, inside he would find several empty rooms that looked like to be dormitories. There were at least 20 beds distributed by the several rooms in this area. All of them empty. A quick search on the left wing, he would find more dormitories, also empty. On that level, there was only the last, apparently, big room to inspect. He would again place his ear onto the door, trying to ascertain if there was someone inside. After a single minute of silent hearing, he opened the doors and entered. This was a conference room, no doubt. Two large windows were on the back wall. The side walls were covered by shelves with endless books. The center of the room was dominated by a single, very large, wooden table with countless chairs on each side. If there was anyone inside this cursed house, they were inside those doors on the left and in front of the building's main entrance. As he exited the conference room, an alarm would be triggered. A very loud, painful and annoying alarm would echo endlessly, alerting everyone in the house to an intruders presence. His shadowy armor was still present so, if he was luckily, he would not be seen if anyone came rushing toward where was. For precaution, he would fully exit the room and made his way toward the entrance of the left wing dormitory, creating a bottleneck that would decrease the amount of enemies he could face, thus increasing the odds of success.
He stood there, waiting, knowing there was no escape and, in fact, escaping was something he could not do if he wanted to crush this cell once and for all. If he were to retreat, to gather a force and then tackle this threat again, there was not way to guarantee it would still occupy this house. No, he had to destroy it today, alone. His acute ears caught the sounds of countless footsteps. He would hear the door beneath him opening and several people rushing out. It would seemed a small army was pouring out and they immediately began making their way upwards. Once a dozen were upstairs, they would spread out, a few inspecting the conference room and a couple went for the right wing dormitory. The rest remained there, waiting for their fellow warriors. Given he was not inside any of those areas, they would come out empty handed. There was only one place left to investigate and that meant going through him. He knew there was a chance he could navigate his way around them all, but it was rather slim. No, he would have to fight his way through those guys and whatever waited for him downstairs. Uncloaking, Kazuki would emerge from the shadows, Frostmourne in hand. Several zombies would emerge from the ground, moaning and groaning. They would immediately lunge toward those soldiers. They would stand their ground, trained to not cower nor flee from their enemies. Together with his tiny zombified army, the SHIELD Director would create a symphony of death, as with each swing of his black bladed weapon, Frostmourne sang with delight with each soul that was absorbed. Blood would litter the ground as twelve men fell, their bodies lacking any life to sustain them upright.
He neared the edge of the corridor and he would see a few dozen more stood there, arms ready, determined expressions all over their group. Frostmourne would show a faint blue glow. Without needed any command, Reaper's Zombies would jump downwards, dragging a few soldiers down as they fell on the ground. Clawing and biting was all they could do and they were to weak to take a single soldier on their own. A nuisance or distraction was all they could provide, but it was all the White Wolf needed. Without a single handseal made, a large fireball would crash the floor below. Cries of pain and the stentch of meat burning would reach the Shadow Sword's acute senses as he also jumped down. He would lightly land on the ground and he would, like before, begin a deadly symphony of death. All those men would be dead once he stopped. He had not sustained a single scratch but he knew he had been lucky. As trained as they were, those soldiers never stood a chance against someone like him. Unaware if there was anyone else, Kazuki sent his zombies to search the left wing. After a few minutes of waiting, where no sounds of any scuffle would reach him, they would return empty handed. There was only one place left to investigate. Where the humming sound came from.
Cleaning his sword one someone else's clothing, Reaper made his way toward that smaller door. As he got closer, so did the hum got stronger. He would swiftly open the door wide, finding stairs descending to what he deduced to be the basement. Given the alarm that had echoed moments ago, but had since stopped, there was no point for concealing himself. He would slowly buy steadily descend this flight of stairs and, eventually, he would reach the basement. This division was an open space and given its wide area, it seemed to be as big a the house itself, at least in terms of length and width. There were countless monitors littering each wall, thus the humming sound. Each station had a single individual, manning it, paying attention to the screens. The Shadow Sword would crouch and he would inspect a bit before making any action. He saw how each screen showed up a different part of the village. He saw the Kazekage Tower, including Sousuke's office. He saw the Toraono Dojo and many other places. They were even watching the Academy. Eventually he would spot a single man, seating in the middle of room. He had sat in the lotus position,bare chested. He had a large tattoo covering most of his chest. It was a blueish Tiger. This man, perhaps the leader, or the brute, had his eyes closed and was, apparently, meditating. No one had noticed the White Wolf was there, focused on their tasks. One by one, Kazuki would dispatch them by snagging them via a shadowy embrace at the neck. Choking the life out of them with his natural ability to manipulate shadows, the SHIELD Director would dispatch any and all opposition until there was only one guy left. The one meditating.
The Hybrid would take a few steps forward, facing his last opponent. This guy seemed strong, controlled, collect, unafraid. Maybe it was because he was meditating, but Kazuki knew otherwise. There was a faint aura of power emanating from him. A single shadowy tendril would dart toward the tattooed guy, only to stop a few inches away from the guy. He would immediately open his eyes. They were of the same color as the tattoo and a faint glow to them. "I've been waiting for you. You will die at the hands of the Blue Tiger and Hydra will reign supreme." he would announce before springing to action. Before he could react, the White Wolf would find himself flying backwards before he crashed into one of those screen littered stations. He had been punched in the chest and he had been unable to do anything to prevent. The bare fist monk had assumed a fighting pose that clearly wrecked of Kung Fu, the Tiger pose to be more precise. "You pack a punch, but that is not nearly enough to defeat me." the Shadow Sword would tell him. He would summon his zombies back, which would immediately dart toward the martial artist, trying to surround him from all directions. A single roundhouse kick would send them back flying and as they crashed, they would disperse. "Ok. Plan B." the SHIELD Director would conclude. This guy was strong enough to destroy his zombies with a single strike. He knew he was outmatched in a physical confrontation, but there was someone he could bring that would give this guy a run for his money.
A shadowy orb would drop from his back, one globe that would begin to waver, grow and mutate into the shape one individual known as Iron Fist. The Champion of K'un Lu would begin a co-joint display of martial fighting with the Blue Tiger. They seemed even in skill, though given his undeath status, Kazuki knew he would eventually be defeated. But he did not expect for his summon to defeat the boss. No, he had also brought Iron Fist out to distract his enemy long enough for him to extend his shadow reach and eventually trap the guy, something he had failed to do earlier. After a few tries, success was reached. Without being told to stop, Iron Fist kept pummeling against an opponent that was now defenseless, unable to move a single muscle, except for blinking. The White Wolf would slowly approach his frozen enemy, each step echoing in the room, each step promising death. Frostmourne would begin to glow and a single swipe later, a headless Blue Tiger fell over. The Shadow Sword would send away Iron Fist and he would place several explosive tags. After reaching the entrance door, he would ignite all tags at once, creating a massive explosion that would render this cell inoperative. The head been chopped.
[WC - 2287]