First On the Front

Shimiko marched through the trenches on the Hot Springs side of the Konoha-Kumo war border. As she walked through the mud and filth of the ditches, shinobi gave her a wide berth to pass. She’d be followed by her brother and right hand Seigi. Konoha’s forces had pushed deep into the land that had once been the home of the Chinoike. Shimiko had considered it a personal affront and had vowed to push them out before they got a chance to get to the Land of Frost. The mission had taken priority over several other matters. The Clan Elders had personally requested her presence on the front and they demanded that she make an example of those who dare trod on the Chenzo’s soil.

The front was quiet today but it wouldn’t remain so for long. Shimiko would be leading a charge on Konoha’s offensive lines. The goal was to wipe them out and ordinarily it’d be a piece of cake if not for the fact that they had brought up a regimen of Meteor-Nin. The Meteor-Nin were shinobi who had been subject to intense experimentation via the fragments taken from the Bears-Waterfalls Meteor. They were stronger than your average lug but not strong enough to give Shimiko trouble individually. However, large groups of them could pose problems and if Shimiko was the only member of the wave standing after this battle, then it’d be a failure even if she “won”. They’d need to approach this carefully if they wanted to minimize casualties and maximize gains. The Chinoike had taken extra lengths to conceal her arrival on the battlefield but knowing the Head Strategist she was up against, she wasn’t surprised that what was meant to be a quick mission would turn out to be a battle of timing, skill, and preparation.

The Chinoike looked at the faces of the haggard and beaten down ninja. Many were shivering, some were injured, and all looked miserable. Outside the trench was total devastation. What was once a land rich with wildlife, exotic springs, and beautiful mountains were now desolate hellscapes. The ground had been twisted via Earth Ninjutsu so many times that it would lose its fertility for weeks if not months to come. Shimiko shook her head as she walked through the valley of death. Eventually, she entered into an outpost at the end of the trench. Inside was a meeting room filled with generals and assorted tacticians. They all bowed upon her and Seigi’s entry and she returned to the gesture. On the table was a map illuminated by a dim light hanging from above.

“Alright, let the meeting begin” she said in a dreary tone. The normally chipper woman was never bothered by carnage but even this took its toll on a soul such as her’s.

War. War never changes.

It didn’t matter what universe you came from, it all looked the same. Fearful eyes. Snap judgements. Anxious nights wondering if the floor beneath you would cave in because the opponent used earth release, wondering if they’d send fireballs overhead while you were sleeping, or fill your lungs with water as you stared in horror at the aberrations of battle. It was wondering if your friend you went to the academy with was still alive, despite only being a few trenches over. It was wondering if your village would abandon you should you cross into No Man’s Land and never came back. It was bloody stumps and agonizing screams into the void. It was soaked socks and ankle deep mud from constant bombardments of suiton.

The circles around Seigi’s eyes were deep. He had spent a few week on the frontlines already, against his superiors orders. What was supposed to be a small mission had turned into him opting to stay here and help out. Konohagakure was pushing back the frontlines more and more, killing the morale of the men around them. They needed someone here, with them, who was going through the shit, a soldier like Seigi. The world knew of his existence now, so there was no use hiding it. Instead, he wanted to instill fear, just as his previous incarnation had. He wanted to be a leader the village needed, just as his previous incarnation had. Now that Shimiko was there, however, he was sure they were in the position to advance the frontlines, perhaps even cripple their army. He would accompany his sister as they proceeded through the trenches, the troops giving way to their movement, wide-eyed that the interim leader of the village and the ghost of a dead kage were working together. As they entered into the meeting room, Seigi would close the door behind them, securing it. He would nod to Shimiko as she began her briefing, letting her know he was ready.

When Seigi nodded and indicated that he was ready to begin, Shimiko pointed to a spot on the map. The detailed cartography was a visual representation of the current state of the battlefield. The enemy had advanced deep into the Hot Springs territory and set up several trenches that were rife with forests of barbed wire, explosives mines, and assorted fuuinjutsu based entrapments. Kumogakure had made steady progress in eliminating some of these traps but not all of them. They’d slow down the advancement and that was something that Shimiko could not abide by. She wanted a clear path to the enemy trench and if some of her troops were injured along the way there then their chance at success was nil.

“That is Konoha’s frontline. Aerial reconnaissance indicates that the forward trenches are about 3 stories deep with several hundred shinobi residing in them. They intend to keep what they’ve taken but we’re not about to let that happen. Before we dislodge them we need to deal with their defenses… Mr. Deero why have we only managed to clear about 50% of the traps they’ve laid out?”

“Shimiko-sama, the enemy is quite clever and their utilization of Doton to move traps strategically is rather troublesome. We have already lost one diffusion squad to their tricks. If we send out too many at a time we could risk depleting our specialist forces”

Shimiko looked at the map and contemplated a strategy. She could go herself but the last thing she wanted to do was reveal her arsenal before the charge. They were in a tight bind and running out of time to solve the problem.

“We do a two-pronged assault.” Seigi would speak up, moving over to the map of the trenches. He would lay his finger over the furthest edge of their trenches. “Send me in with a small team, I’ll infiltrate from the bottom trench and push my way forward.” He would trace his route across the map, showing exactly where he would go from there. “Once in, I push inward, bringing their defenses back. I’ll collapse the main trench here.” He would point to a line where he knew a bunker once was. “They’ll be so preoccupied with me in their camp that they won’t even see the main attack force approach.”

It was a risky plan, he would admit, but they were desperate and that meant they needed to be bold.

“Konohagakure has constantly had us on the defensive, but today, we change that.” He would take his finger off the map, looking to Shimiko, grinning. “Today, we turn the tide of this war. We don’t do that by throwing troops back and forth.” This war had already claimed too many lives, starting with Damien Darhk, and Seigi had been counting every single one, ready to repay the favor to Konoha and their wretched shinobi. His blade itched to unsheath once more and Seigi’s bloodlust had been reignited over his time here, almost as if he was manifesting the spirit of his former self, or the title that he was once called.

Shimiko turned and watched as Seigi came up with a plan. She was amazed at how well he had adapted to the world war situation. It appeared that regardless of the universe he was in, he excelled at strategy and warfare. War truly never changes...  Shimiko thought to herself as she listened to him. The blonde nodded but had something more to add.

“Infiltration will work but can you disable their traps from your end? Even if you advance from the bottom trench, I’m sure they’ll have failsafes and contingencies to halt your advance.”

Assuming he had a satisfactory answer to the problem of Konoha’s secret defenses and death traps then she’d nod indicating her assent. That was all the rest of the bigwhigs needed to hear. Shimiko was here to take control of the front and that was exactly what she was doing. There was no one more skilled and experienced than the Honey Badger.

“Turn the tide we shall….with a wave of blood” she returned his grin. Kirigakure had started this war with their assault on Moonspire but Kumo would end it and they wouldn’t nearly be as merciful as they had in the past.

Shimiko was right, he needed to disable their traps they had below, but he had an idea for that as well.
“Best way to set off a trap is to spring it. A few sand clones should be able to do the trick. We then use these sprung traps as the bait to lure them further down into the bunker. Inside the bunker, my team and I will wait until it’s packed full and then we’ll turn it into a tomb.” He would say, wondering if his sister objected to that either.
“I will admit, however, that this entire scenario smells like a trap. Thanks to Konoha’s Doton shinobi, their frontlines have changed every day. This is the first time they haven’t advanced or changed up their trenches in weeks. Either we killed their main Doton users, or they’re waiting for us to make a move.” He would look at Shimiko, not a bit of doubt in his eyes. “We can win this battle if we do it my way. I just need you all to trust me.” He knew how much Shimiko cared about him and didn’t want to lose her brother again, but if they lost this war, then what did it matter? He couldn’t let Kumogakure down. Not again.

“Once the bunker is down, I’ll move to the surface to assist the main force in cleaning up the aftermath. Shimiko, I need you to lead the charge on the surface, but only moving once the bunker is down. If we do this right, the shock factor alone will break their morale. My goal here today is to not only win this battle, but help us win this war. If we can crush their spirit, then it might just get us there faster.”

Shimiko did like the idea of utilizing sand clones to prematurely detonate whatever traps they had lying in wait. It was risky but if there was anyone that could pull something like that off it was definitely Seigi. He mentioned the possibility that this could all be a trap and she could see that angle as well. The trench warfare system was one of shifting fields. Doton users regularly collapsed, reformed, and expanded trenches to keep the enemy on their toes. It had made them one of the most sought after shinobi on the battlefield but likewise the most targeted. Shimiko looked Seigi in the eye and she could see that he was intent on proving himself. She was worried that he was taking too many risks, putting this all on himself so that he could live up to his alternate dimension’s reputation. Seeing Seigi Chinoike’s face on the battlefield was astounding and it had had a measurable impact on the morale of the troops but Shimiko was worried that this was wearing on him.

She moved closer to her brother and whispered in his ear.

“You don’t have to do this to prove anything…” she had said it so low no one else would hear but she wanted him to know that she wouldn’t think less of himself if he eased up. He had fought hard, trained even harder, and had two close calls with fairly powerful shinobi. Shimiko was worried for his safety but even more she was worried for his sanity. It was said that if you pushed too hard in the trenches, you would never make it out. If Seigi confirmed that he was okay then she’d give a definitive nod and turn to the rest of the shinobi.

“I can do that. A pincer movement essentially with Seigi coming in through the bunkers disarming and taking down their Doton specialists while on the surface I lead the first wave against the bulk of their defenders. Seigi is right, a loss of this magnitude would be devastating. If they break, they’ll break badly.”

A confident grin spread across her lips. Breaking shinobi was her professional specialty.

Shimiko’s words reverberated around him for a moment. Was he trying to prove something here? He took a deep breath to reexamine himself and his plan, a new wave of confidence rushing over him. He would shake his head, smiling to his sister.

“No, I can do this. I’m confident I can do this. This is what we’ve been training for.” All of his hard work up until here had been to protect Kumo, to protect the people he loved. This wasn’t any different from those times. His strength had all but returned to him since he had been in this world, and even without the help of a Tailed Beast inside of him, he was pushing forward, just as he always had been.

“One foot in front of the other.” Seigi would whisper to himself.

If Shimiko didn’t have anything else to add, then Seigi’s plan would be complete with him noting that they would attack tonight, at midnight. With that, the other shinobi would begin to leave the tent, leaving just Seigi and Shimiko. Seigi would let out a big sigh, sitting on a trunk used for storing scrolls, moving a few out of the way as he relaxed for a moment.
“Sometimes, I feel like I can’t live up to his name.” Seigi would say, seemingly out of nowhere. “It’s the strangest feeling. Even though I’ve been ME my whole life, it feels like I’m an imposter, you know?” He had been dealing with this feeling ever since he had lied to Ryuko about who he truly was. Even though he wasn’t, it still wasn’t the truth. It wasn’t a lie, but it didn’t feel right.

“Even when I was Kage, I failed my own people. Seigi only failed Kumogakure by dying. I don’t know if I have the same strength as him, but everyone looks to me as him. If I don’t keep up his same level of tenacity, then it feels like I’m doing the wrong thing.”

Shimiko listened as Seigi made it clear that he could do this. He wasn’t over-extending himself. He wasn’t pushing himself too hard. This is what they had worked towards for months. She remembered how frustrated he had been as a member of this world’s Kumo ANBU. He had been stronger elsewhere. The Seigi of this universe had been stronger. It was like a burden and curse but rather than acting recklessly he had been biding his time. She had watched him grow stronger and more competent over the years. It was a slow process but it was working. It had all been leading up to this.

All his sister would do is nod in understanding. The other officers were dismissed giving them both the room. As Shimiko prepared her gear for battle, she listened as he described how he was feeling.

She let him vent as she considered his words. The image and legacy of Seigi Chinoike was difficult to live up to. He had practically won the Lightning Country’s naval war against Mizu no Kuni. He had been a national symbol of Kumogakure’s unrelenting fury and might. When he died the nation had taken it hard and Shimiko harder still. She swore she would never compare this Seigi to the old one but every now and again she couldn’t help but do it. She couldn’t imagine what it was like to be in his shoes. To have to live in the shadow of someone else. Shimiko stepped over to him and placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

“You don’t have to live up to his name. Not for me, not for anyone else. You aren’t an imposter, you are a successor. You can build your own legacy while respecting his. Forge new bonds and strengthen old ones. Harness his power while making it your own. In Jashinism, we believe that our Lord sees and governs all universes. Every soul is unique but linked…..yet few of us will ever be able to use that linkage. You’re special Seigi. You have been given a blessing that no one else has. I know it feels like you’re living a life that isn’t your own but its so much more than that. You have been given the opportunity to pull the best from two different versions of yourself. It’s a gift like none other and you should be proud of it”

The death, screaming, and chaos of the trenches seemed so far away. All that mattered to the Chinike now was building up the one person that had inspired her.

“I’m sorry about what happened in your old world….but I know you Seigi. Twice over. Literally. Whatever happened there wasn’t your fault. You can put it all on your back, that’s why you were sent to me. So that you have someone to shoulder your burdens.”

Shimiko didn’t know this to be factually true but she felt it in her spirit. He had saved her and now she was going to save him.

himiko was right. The past needed to remain in the past. He wasn’t going to live up to Seigi’s name any longer. He was going to carve out his own existence, here on this battlefield. He would hug his sister tightly, before backing up and patting her on the head.

“You’re right. Thank you for helping guide me, Shimiko. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

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5 Minutes Before Midnight….

Seigi was ready. He had gathered his team and gone over the briefing with them alone, and the rest of the forces in the camp were mobilizing. They would be the first group in, the first to fight in what he hoped would be an overwhelmingly crushing battle. No Man’s Land was empty and dark tonight, ready for the gaping maw of war to change it once more, and Seigi would stand with his team.

“Alright, you know what we’re up against, you know the mission. For the Land of Lightning.” The ground beneath the team would open up, like a portal to the underworld itself, swallowing up Seigi and the other four. As he sank, he would simply nod to his sister, mouthing two words.

“Good luck.”

Shimiko gave Seigi a genuine smile and replied: “No problem, I’m just returning the favor” It was a reference to the time when she was just an academy student making her own way in the world. It was he that had inspired her and now she was giving back all that he had given her.


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Shimiko had gathered up her strike squad. They’d be going over the top while Seigi went underneath. The woman’s goal was to eliminate the enemy and nothing would stop her from accomplishing that task. She was decked out in her gear from head to toe with her iconic spandex like armour gleaming against the moonlight. The men standing behind her were likewise armed and ready. The blonde Chinoike nodded as Seigi was swallowed up by the ground. The game was no afoot.

Shimiko walked over to the walls of the trench and began scaling it via the Wall Walking Technique. She was near the top but not quite over it, she looked down to see her nin following. The stayed close to the trench walls ready to go over the top at a moment’s notice. A few were straggling, dragging their feet, and moving slower than acceptable. Shimiko activated her Ketsurygan and hissed at them:

“On your ladders boys, to your work!”

Shimiko tucked a golden whistle between her lips and eyed her watch. The second Seigi collapsed their front trench line and took out the bunker which was managing the traps, Shimiko would instruct her troops to cross No Man’s Land in force. They’d push these barbarians out of their lands back to the Land of Fire where they belonged. For now the Honey Badger, watched, waited, and listened.

As Seigi and his team descended into the tunnel, all light seemed to disappear for a moment, the pitch black void around them sending chills up Seigi's spine. They would have to travel like this until they reached the lower level of the bunker, forced to utilize one of the teams sensors for movement forward. This was always part of the plan, and as soon as everyone was ready, the walls of earth in front of them would begin to break down, the five shinobi moving forward underneath the battlefield at an incredibly slow pace. They couldn't afford for the enemy to hear their excavations, so they had time to spare. As they moved forward, Seigi would remain silent, the only audible sound was the erosion of dirt and boots in the mud. As they moved forward, Seigi's mind would wander, as it normally did while he was nervous, thinking back to the training he and Shimiko had gone through to get here and how much they both had pushed themselves. Shimiko had helped mould Seigi into a new shinobi, much stronger than he had been before, and much more determined to exceed not only his own past limitations but also that of this universes alternate version of him. Failure simply was no longer an option for Kumogakure.

"Sir, we're 100 yards out." One of the men would say, his voice cutting through the darkness as well as Seigi's thoughts, bringing him back to reality.
"Right. Remember, everyone. Whatever is on the other side of the wall, we go in guns blazing. Remember your training. Take no prisoners." Seigi would tell them, no, COMMANDING them. This battle would be paramount to breaking their defences. If they failed here, then they wouldn't get another chance to take it down. The battle began now. Tunneling forward with more intensity now, Seigi could feel the energy around himself and his men rise, feeling the spirit of battle well up inside of them. As waves upon waves of dirt exploded outwards away from them, their speed would pick up into a sprint, the bottom floor of the complex just ahead of them now. Seigi could feel his heartbeat pick up as his nervousness exploded into ferocity, channeling that feeling into anger. The wall in front of them would open up, a beam of light blinding the men as their eyes had become accustomed to the dark, but they pushed on, spilling out into the bottom floor of their enemies base.....

Only to be met with overwhelming and crushing force. The room was large, much larger than what the maps they were given told them, looking like a warehouse of sorts, but cleared out, as if they had been anticipating a battle inside of it. A massive pit had formed in Seigi's stomach as they came face to face with dozens of men donning Leaf and Water headbands. They had played into their trap, hook, line and sinker. It was in that moment that Seigi saw it all along and how it had happened; a traitor in their midst, feeding them misinformation.
"Tactical genius my ass." A booming voice could be heard from within the crowd, a voice that wasn't totally unfamiliar to Seigi. Where did he know that voice from? Before he could finish that thought, another man appeared from below Seigi and his men, exploding from the ground. A massive man bound in armor who moved faster than any man his size could naturally, The Armored Warrior would grab Seigi by the throat, slamming him into the side of the wall. Unable to see his men past the monstrous fighter, Seigi would draw his blade, stabbing it into the cracks in the man's armor. The blade would pierce through, drawing a black substance from his arm. Seigi's eye would focus on the substance, confused by the man's lack of reaction as well, as the man wouldn't even flinch against Seigi's attack. With his impressive strength, he would fling Seigi to the opposite wall headfirst, sending Seigi soaring through the and into the reinforced wall. His vision would go black, and the whooping of Konohagakure shinobi would be the last thing he heard before he lost consciousness, his heavy head falling forward as his eyes closed..



Red filled Seigi's vision and his face felt cold. He began to panic as he couldn't breathe, realizing he was breathing in water. Suddenly, his head was lifted up by his hair, Seigi's vision returning to the world, met with an unfamiliar face. He was somewhere new now, surrounded by people he didn't know. Coughing, Seigi would collapse to the floor, unable to move his arms or legs. The floor felt cold against his cheek. Pain ran throughout Seigi's skull and back as his brain caught up with his body, the assault from earlier catching up. He wasn't dead yet, but he kind of wished he was.

Looking at the man who picked his head up, Seigi would struggle to catch his breath.
"See? Told you cold water does the trick." The man spoke. It was the same voice as before, but Seigi didn't recognize this man.
"Wh-who the hell are you? Where's my men?" Seigi would ask, quickly sitting up. His body ached with pain as he did, but he didn't care.
The mysterious man chuckled, moving around the tub of ice water that Seigi's head had previously been in, kicking him backwards. Seigi would collapse onto his back, letting out a groan of pain.

"Seigi Chinoike, you don't get to ask questions here, you lost that right when you abandoned the Leaf Village... Not that you were ever truly a part of it! The man would yell angrily, and in that moment, Seigi remembered who this man was, even through the pain wreaking havoc in his brain. This was Sugaru Nara, nicknamed "The God-Catcher". He was a fuuinjutsu speciliast for Konohagakure, as well as one of their strategists. He had despised Seigi the moment he had stepped foot into the Leaf Village, so it was no suprise to Seigi that he was here, spearheading a campaign against him. Another jolt of pain would bring Seigi back to reality as Sugaru kicked him in the head viciously. Seigi would lay on the floor for a moment, recovering. He didn't remember Sugaru being this strong, but they both had changed since then. A single scream from a couple rooms over could be heard, one of Seigi's men screaming his name for help before quickly being cut short.

"Inosuke!" Seigi would yell between bloodied teeth, coughing as he did. He had walked these men directly into their deaths, hadn't he?
"I have waited SO long for this." Sugaru would say, walking back to the other side of the ice tub, reaching towards something on the top of crate. Seigi tried to summon sand from the air around him, feeding chakra outward, but the chakra cuffs he bore stifled his abilities. Helpless and cutoff, he began to realize how desperate his situation was. Sitting up, he could feel blood race down his face, a gash just above his forehead painting his face and chest red with little dribblets. Leaning his head back against the wall, his lone yellow eye gazed to Sugaru, who now carried a scroll in his hands.

"You see, we're aware of how difficult you are to kill. We already did it once and you came back. We let you stay in our village when you lost your memory, not to accept you as part of it, but to study you and find out how you returned. I've got to admit, it had me puzzled for the longest time." Sugaru would lay the scroll out in front of Seigi, extending it to it's full length with great care. An intricit fuuinjutsu algorthrim laid before Seigi, something he hadn't seen before.
"And then it dawned on me; what if you hadn't come back to life at all? What if you were an alternate Seigi Chinoike, come from somewhere else? I felt crazy at first, but that was until I found this." Placing both hands on the seal, a single item would appear from it's midst, something Seigi believed himself to never see again.

Skia's kunai laid flat against the scroll.

Shimiko gripped the edge of the trench line for what felt like an eternity. She had done raids before, she had done assasinations before, but this was nothing like what Nariko and Akame had prepared her for. This was an all-out global conflagration and here she was an assassin leading the charge against the enemy. She had trained her whole life for this yet why was she still afraid? Why did she get a sick feeling in her stomach when she thought about their plan? The danger of it was the obvious answer but there was more to it than that. It was the primal feeling that all humans got when their gut was trying to tell them something. It was that itch in the back of their neck that warned them that things were not going to go as planned. Shimiko shut her eyes and ignored those feelings. She had to have faith in Seigi. He'd clear out their underground bunker, disarm their traps, and cut into their ranks so deeply that Shimiko would be able to sweep over the top and taken them all down. Doing it herself was possible, but not likely to achieve the desired effect. They needed the bulk of their troops taking up those forward positions. Laying down wire, mines, and establishing supply lines. This was an effort that could only be achieved by thousands of shinobi and Shimiko clearing the trenches alone simply wouldn't cut it. The kunoichi looked around and saw the youth that was going into battle with her.

They all looked so young. She was still in her early twenties but these kids were still in their teens. They were skilled enough to be part of the first-wave but ultimately they were just getting their careers started. Shimiko pitied them. Statistically speaking, most of them simply would not make it through this fight. They'd die or succumb to injuries as a result of the battle. No matter how much Shimiko tried to protect them, they'd falter and die. It was her job to conduct triage. To save those who might yet still be of service to the ever evolving war front. The stench of mud, blood, and death hang heavy in the air and it threatened to overpower some of the men. One of the soldiers let go of the slope leading out of the trench and stumbled backwards. He was weary. Shimiko could see it in his eyes. There was little fight left in him and his heart was slowly giving out. Shimiko didn't abandon her post but she did unleash a blood clone from her armour. The clone gracefully slipped away from her and marched up towards the soldier. He stumbled backwards to get away from his commanding officer and in his haste he fell on his ass. Shimiko's clone stared down at him with utter disgust and disappointment. The young man was shaking but there was no outpouring of sympathy.

The entire line was silent. They had their eyes affixed to the slab of dirt in front of them. They didn't say a single word. It wasn't worth it. To cross Shimiko Chinoike was to court death and they had no intention of meeting a dishonorable and swift demise.

The clone stared down at the lad and hissed at him:

"On your feet soldier. There will be no retreating today."

The ninja scrambled back on his feet. He feared Shimiko more than he did his inevitable demise. There was a chance that he could make it through on the other side or at least that thee enemy would kill him quickly. If he deserted then Shimiko would be sure to take her time with him. The clone grabbed him by his arm and shoved him back onto thee ledge. The real Shimiko remained at the rim of the opening to No Man's Land. She should have been able to detect fighting by now but there was only eerie silence. The ANBU Captain's heart began to beat quicker. Something really was wrong. Now she needed to decide whether to attack the enemy head-on and save her brother or give it a few more seconds. Seconds that could mean the difference between life or death.

Shock reverberated through Seigi's system. After all these years, Seigi had considered Skia's kunai gone and missing, somewhere beyond his reach, but after all this time it was in Sugaru's hands? It made Seigi sick. He would spit a mixture of blood and spit at Sugaru, hitting his jacket.

"You don't deserve to touch that." Seigi would whisper, feeling a white-hot anger in his stomach. Sugaru would only laugh, unbothered by Seigi spitting on him.

"Too late. I unraveled the fuuinjutsu that bound it. Dissected it to see if my theory was correct. You aren't Seigi Chinoike. You may look like him, but you're just a cheap imitation. See, another thing you might not be aware of, if that I knew Seigi Chinoike personally. He and I had clashed a few times on the battlefield, and one thing I was sure of from the moment I saw you fight, is that you're nowhere near his equal."

Seigi's anger would turn into a burning rage as he struggled against the cuffs. Leaning back against the bloodied door and hiding his hands, Seigi would reach over to his own left thumb. Sugaru would look down to the kunai, picking it up, and as he looked away, Seigi would dislocate his thumb.

"But if it makes you feel better, your village will mourn his death twice. Once The Leaf presents your body to Kumo, their morale will be crushed and this battle will be over. Your identity will be safe with me... at least until the war is over." Sugaru would whisper the last part, as he drove the kunai forward. Seigi moved his hands to catch the kunai, now free of the cuffs, but Sugaru's swiftness took Seigi by surprise, and Skia's kunai plunged into the center of Seigi's chest. Seigi would let out a silent gasp as his lungs began to feel heavy and blood escaped from his mouth.

"And don't worry, I have a special plan for that "sister" of yours." Sugaru chuckled, looking to one of the konoha nin in the room.

"Tell the men to be ready. I'm on my way up." Sugaru yelled his commands, and Seigi could feel the life draining from him. He couldn't breathe and he couldn't move. His body felt heavy, and once again, he felt the peace he had felt the last time he had died. His eyelids felt heavy and he began to close them.

"I don't want to die here..."

....

"I don't want to let Zoe down.."


.....


"I have to protect Shimiko....!"

More time had passed. Not a peep from Seigi. Something was definitely wrong. Shimiko's stomach twisted into knots and she tried to decide what to do next. Standard operating procedure would have her call off the attack. She should send in scouts to see what was up and perhaps mount a rescue operation after consulting with the various officers in charge of this section of the front. Protocol did not allow for impromptu rescue. Unfortunately, this was Shimiko's brother that was at risk and not some random ninja. Shimiko gripped the edge of the trench tighter as she wrestled with her national duty and unconditional love for her family member.

Fuck this!

Shimiko blew on the whistle and its echo reverberated through the trenches. The Honey Badger was the first out of the ditch, moving like a blur as she somersaulted out of the line and towards the enemy position. Shimiko was moving so fast that any ordinary human would be unable to perceive her and even the fastest of archers would be unable to draw a bead on her. The blood embedded into her armour shot outwards forming long tendril that snaked along the ground. The blood tentacles lashed traps hidden underground, prematurely detonated mines, and deflected arrows from the archers lucky enough to shoot at her vicinity. A trail of arrows and projectiles peppered the ground behind her as she zipped through No Man's Land. She formed a zig-zag path purposefully drawing the enemy's attention as the hordes of Kumo-Nin leapt out of the trenches and followed her to the enemy. Unfortunately, the battle space was as wide as it was densely populated with traps. Several shinobi fell to those contraptions that Shimiko simply could not disarm. She tore a path through a forrest of barbed wire that seemed to spring up in her path. The high end steel was no match for her unstoppable Badger's Claws and while she had broken a path for her men to follow her, she was rapidly outpacing them. The ground was littered with bodies, arrows, and assorted relics of war. The stench of blood and mud was heavy in the air but Shimiko paid none of it any mind. There was only one thought that penetrated through her bloodlusted mind.

Seigi! I'm coming! Just hang on! I'm coming!

Shimiko's feet moved faster and her men fell further behind. She was isolated now and moving deeper into enemy territory with little prospect of backup. It was a mistake to move so fast so quickly without Seigi thinning the opposition. She told herself that she was the strongest kunoichi alive. That she could handle anything and everything contained in those trenches. The volley of arrows were getting more intense and the traps harder to disarm as she moved. One misstep and she'd be injured. One injury and she'd be vulnerable. A moment of vulnerability and she'd be dead. Shimiko was now 50 meters away from the enemy frontline when disaster struck. An errant technique aimed not at her but at the airspace above her activated a fuuinjutsu trap that simply couldn't be disarmed in time. Shimiko leapt into the sky and a spray of red lightning shot out from her hand. She neutralized the hail of kunai that sprung from below but not before a follow up arrow knicked her heel. It wasn't much but it was enough. Shimiko landed on her feet but her footing was off by a hair. She had landed dangerously close to a mine which then detonated sending her flying backwards into the dirt.

The kunoichi slowly rose to her feet. No....I can't...I have to keep going....I have to get to Seigi. Shimiko looked behind her and saw that her men were still fighting to get to her position. They were not nearly as talented as she and so the storm of arrows and well-laid traps were keeping them back. When Shimiko looked forwards there were five ninja dressed in specialized combat gear. They all wore masks and every single one of them wielded a weapon that had a green edge to it. She had heard reports of this substance and recognized it at first sight. Cannisters of gas had been thrown around her and was now blanketing the field. Shimiko got to her feet and allowed her eyes to shift into the deadly pattern of the Hachidora Ketsurygan. It was at this moment that the Queen of Close Quarters Combat recognized what she had walked into.

A trap.

They got to Seigi and now they want to get to me. They had drawn her out and away from her squad. She was outside the trenches and too far to run. The wound she had wasn't seriously but it was enough to keep her from escaping. These ninja were likely the best on the front and if she made a mistake or got too cocky, they'd kill her or worse take her alive. Unfortunately, they were now standing between her and the brother whom she idolized. An extra pair of limbs sprouted from underneath her original and they armed themselves with a tessen each. Now armed with her full set of weaponry, Shimiko bent her knees and entered the Devi of the Hidden Cloud Style.

Don't worry big bro....I'm coming!

Everything was silent, save for a low rumble, a constant vibrating in the back of Seigi's head. It didn't hurt, in fact, it was kind of soothing. It took a second for him to realize that was he was hearing was his own blood flow, his surroundings so quiet, it was as if he was in a vacuum. He couldn't breathe, but oddly enough, he didn't need to. Everything felt.... quiet.
Opening his eyes, Seigi would see nothingness, the pure void of the universe staring back at him, the cosmos themselves not even present in this place. It was a vast emptiness, Seigi only realizing it was a void when his feet dangled below him.

"Ah.... So I died again..." Seigi would whisper to himself, wishing he could bring himself to cry, but it seemed as if tears weren't possible in this place. All emotions in this place seemed... impossible, oddly enough. He couldn't even will himself to be angry about this.

"....Not quite." A disembodied voice would speak inside his head. Seigi would turn, looking side to side for the source of the voice, unable to pinpoint the voice. It seemed familiar, like Kira's, but younger, off slightly. He would turn his head once more, then forward again, only to face his own self in a mirror, and his feet would suddenly find themselves planted on an invisible platform. Peering further into the mirror, Seigi noticed things seemed different. For one, his right eye, the Fuuingan, was no longer there, both eyes replaced by two glaring red eyes. His hair seemed shorter, and assorted scars littered his arms and face, scars that weren't his. Seigi was looking at this universe's true version of himself, Seigi Chinoike, The Second Raikage who died years ago.

The mirror would break, shattering at Seigi's feet, thousands of shards scattering about below him, falling into the void below, but Seigi Chinoike remained, staring at Seigi.

"You're at The Crossroads."
"Crossroads?"
The Second Raikage would laugh. "You were here once before, years ago, but you may not remember." He would say, stepping towards Seigi.
"Do you believe in constants?" Seigi Chinoike would ask, peering off into the void, expressionless. Seigi would cock his head slightly.
"I'm not sure I understand."
"Constants. Things in the universe that will always be. Forces of nature, if you will. Gravity, Radiation, Entropy, etc."
Seigi would nod, unsure where he was going with this.
"What if I told you that the soul was also a constant? That no matter what, your soul will always exist?" Seigi Chinoike would hold up two index fingers a foot apart as if he pointed up, but then brought the two together. "But what if two constants exist in the same plane? That's when things get complicated." Seigi Chinoike would make an imitation explosion with his hands.

"Seigi, when you jumped universes, you introduced a new constant into this one; yourself. Just like Fuuinjutsu, the universe is built on top of algorithms. Fuuinjutsu is just our way of tapping into those algorithms. But what happened when you add a 1 to that code? It all begins to fall apart and the algorithm changes until it becomes something new altogether. Your soul overrid mine and the universe deemed only one of us were able to exist at the same time. You and I made a deal here, as you passed through. We agreed that if you were close to death, I would prevent it. But you agreed to let me have control."

Suddenly, emotion sprang back into Seigi as a fire began to boil in his stomach but suddenly began to weigh the options. Seigi Chinoike could see this and would grin.
"And don't worry, it won't be permanent. I can save you and the rest of your men if you give me the reins."
Seigi clenched his fists, and without thinking about the repercussions, would nod.

"Do it."


A bloodied Seigi would open his eyes. Blood had pooled around him and from his head wound, his face completely red from Sugaru's earlier abuse. The room was empty now, having left Seigi for dead, they had laid his body inside of a cell to get him later. He could hear the sounds of battle far above him, on the battlefield, and he would snort, blowing the blood out of his nose. Taking a deep breath in, Seigi would feel his hands bound in the chakra cuffs, his right hand taking his left thumb, and dislocating it. Wincing slightly, he would slip the hand out of the cuffs, feeling his chakra return to him. Tearing the cuffs off of his right hand, he would stand up and stretch his arms upward and begin to chuckle before slowly increasing volume until Seigi was laughing loud enough for the floor of the bunker to hear, the men of Konohagakure terrified of the sinister cackle. Sugaru had made his way to the top floor by now, but dozens of his men still remained on this floor alone.

"Amazing!" Seigi would say, looking at his own hands, before picking up a rock on the floor. Using his magnet abilities, he would levitate the cock before crushing it into sand. Using two fingers, Seigi would cut through the cell he was contained in, turning the sand into a refined cutting blade. As the large cell door would fall to the floor, he would take a few steps forward, feeling Seigi's natural speed and coordination behind his movements. Picking up his things, he would laugh again as he unsheathed the survival katana. It was more than what he needed. He could hear men mobilizing on the other side of the door, preparing to trap him in the room he was in now. It looked as if it had been built specifically to contain him. Chakra resistant walls and floors and only one entrance in and out. Sugaru was smart, but he wasn't smart enough for Seigi Chinoike.

Closing his eyes, he would meditate for but a moment, feeling the power of the void still lingering within him. Taking a deep breath in, then out, he would draw on that power. Lines of seals would begin to draw themselves on Seigi's skin, tracing out intricate algorithms along his skin. His arms and legs were covered in the seal, stretching across his torso, his neck, originating from his Fuuingan. The once dull and glossy eye was once again alive, entering the Parallel Fuuingan form for the first time since he had come to this dimension.

"What power! Has he been hiding this from me the whole time?! Hahahahah!" Seigi would bellow. He would hold the katana in his right arm, kicking open the door to the hallway. They had been waiting for him, preparing to roast him alive in the room, but the second the door opened, a gust of would knock most of the men over, Seigi's unmatchable speed giving him his edge. As the guard captain had opened his mouth to fry Seigi, a katana would enter into his mouth and out of the back of his head, pinning him to the wall. The entire hallway would fall silent as they turned around to face Seigi, his hand still on the handle of the katana that was embedded into the wall. The guard captain would begin to gurgle as he struggled to breathe, holding onto the Seigi's arm with both hands. Seigi would twitch the katana, flipping it from it's side so that the sharp end pointed up, and as the man lost consciousness and his body slumped down, the wait of his own body would bring him down, cutting the remained of his skull open down the middle, all with Seigi barely moving a muscle. The man would burn away into ashes, most like the result of a time-release technique to protect Konoha secrets. Lowering his blade to his side, Seigi would eye the rest of the hallway, uttering but a single word....

Shimiko was primed to make the first move and she usually did, but not today. The enemy had trapped her by using her emotions and ferocity against her. It was a recurring flaw in her otherwise impeccable approach to the shinobi profession. It was a flaw that Ryuko and Seigi had helped her overcome. The specialist forces facing her were not individually stronger than her, but as a collective they'd pose a significant challenge. They were also traps laying about and archers ready to capitalize on a single misstep. Shimiko's own shinobi were still many hundreds of meters behind her and without her to guide them, it'd be awhile before they arrived. She'd need to do this on her own. After what felt like an eternity of waiting, the Specialists darted forwards. They had waited until the cannisters of gas had completely entered and had saturated the field. She held her breath and charged.

The Honey Badger didn't need her eyes to see. Shimiko's senses had evolved past the point of requiring eyesight to fight. She could hear their steps and feel the vibrations of their breath. She used blood to plug her nose to prevent the poison from entering her blood stream, but that was a futile endeavor. The cut made on her leg would leave her potentially vulnerable to a poisonous infection which meant she had to act fast. Shimiko bobbed and weaved as the man slashed at her with the two handed behemoth weapons. One of them was utilizing a halberd and despite the impressive size of the tool, he swung it with the easy of a kunai. Shimiko dodged and parried the attacks with complete expertise. Every time her weapon made contact with their own a burst of blue flames erupted from her Sai and threatened to catch them off guard. Its sudden appearance was like waving a slab of meat in front of a tiger's face. She wanted to pounce on them, hurt them, make them pay in all of the worst ways. But Shimiko knew she couldn't give in to her baser instincts, she had to be patient not just for her own sake for Seigi's. Shimiko fired off blasts of red lighting but the specialists where fast and the armour durable. They were able to block or dodge her attacks, and where they could not another would cover with a fire style jutsu. The resulting explosian carried her backwards into a particularly dense cloud of greenish poison. A hail of arrows threatened to overtake her at the same exact time. They were fast, even at her blinding speed and godlike coordinati0on one of them was bound to hit.

No!

A sea of bats bursts from her armour. The creatures surrounded her in a dome and flew in a counter-clockwise direction. They gave her enough leeway to narrowly dodge the arrows while also disappointing the saturated gas but before she had a chance to rest, they were on her again. One of the combatants roasted a significant number of the bats alive and robbed her of the impromptu defense. Another charged through the flames and stabbed her with the spear. The armour had prevented it from penetrating but yet another cut had been opened on her defenses. Shit...I have to end this. The game of blades between the ANBU Captain and Konoha's Spec Ops continued for a few more seconds as the Chinoike waited for an opening. When the opportunity came, she seized it. She had baited one of the men close by faking a slip. It was subtle, not the sort of mistake you'd expect to feign. It wasn't fatal enough to make him suspicious but it was obvious enough to bring him a tad bit closer. Shimiko's Sai shot out and caught his visual guard before he had a chance to fully back a way. It was just enough to break his visor and expose his eyes. He peered into her Hachidori Ketsurygan and in that moment, she knew she had him. Shimiko loosed a Genjutsu into his mind and he instantly went catatonic. They were skilled in body but their mental fortitude was lacking which was why their armour had insulated their senses. They couldn't match wits with her and the result was a soldier down and in the mud. He was twitching and foaming at the mouth as his mind was assaulted with images so shocking they'd even make Lady Mora blush.

Shimiko would finish him off later.

The next opportunity was not planned nor induced. It was pure happenstance. Shimiko had caused a geyser of blood to erupt under an enemy that was positioned behind her. He had substituted out of the way and the debris he had used was laden with explosives. The blast would have knocked her out if not for the sudden activation for Siberian. The armour gave her a pro-typical Jashinist appearance: black skin, white markings, and snow white hair. They had expected her to at least be incapacitated from the blast given its magnitude. It was large enough to leave a gaping crater where she was once stood but due to the dense chakra armour, she had merely been flung into the sky. A soldier rushed into the spot where she had been hoping to finish off the legendary Shimiko and instead felt a looming shadow over him. When he looked up, it was too late. A roaring thunder deafened his allies and where a man once stood there was nothing but ash. Red electricity bathed the area and rusted armour was thrown outwards. An explosion he had caused had been his own undoing.

Two down...three to go....

The men in the trenches were now getting desperate and they were sending out more shinobi to fight the one woman army. These troops would only get in the way and force errors on the parts of her more skilled opponents. She had them right where she wanted them.  Shimiko looked at the final three specialty ninja. They were gripping their weapons and backing up. She smelled fear. Delicious.

Dozens of terrified eyes blinked back to Seigi in complete darkness as the lone light source in the hallway would break, shattered by a large explosion upstairs, rumbling the bunker, shaking the dust off of the walls. As the lights would blink out, Seigi would move again, using his katana and the sand he had used earlier to expertly snuff the life out of everyone in the hallway. As the light would blink back on, the scene before Seigi was something only seen in war. The walls had been painted red with the blood of the leaf, and Seigi himself stood solemnly back at the end of the hallway he had started on, now drenched in red. He felt his grip around his katana tighten as blood dripped on the ground beneath him, unsure if it was his own or someone else's. He would wait for a moment, as another explosion rocked the bunker above him. Closing his eyes, he would revel in the moment he was experiencing, finally free from years of being sealed away. This was him, the true Seigi, The Second Raikage, The Devil of the Cloud.

And he was here to do the devil's work.

Opening his eyes, he would begin to work again. Thrusting the sand into the wall, he would instantly begin working to create more, the sand spiraling and twisting through the dirt around the bunker, working to create more and more, but he had other plans for getting out. He didn't care about any other lives down here, even for those of his men who were still alive. Their memory would carry on, martyrs for Kumogakure. Seigi would ensure that they would be remembered forever as heroes for the village, a necessary loss.

Hare → Ram → Snake → Hare → Ram → Snake

"Earth Release: Great Moving Earth Core!" Seigi would yell, slamming his hands on the walls, hoping to get the party started.

From the battlefield, the bunker itself would seem to shake and rumble, and just as the Konoha Shinobi in the trenches would turn to face the commotion behind them, a massive tower of stone had erupted from the bottom level of the bunker, crashing through the top with the power of a tailed beast. Debris would be flung high into the air, becoming bombs against the ninja on the battlefield. Spanning 150 meters into the air, any eyes who would gaze upon the top of it would see a long figure using chakra to stand on the side, facing downward towards the Leaf Village's trenches, taking in the fresh air above the battlefield. It felt... invigorating. He could feel his heart beating heavily as excitement filled him with adrenaline, and he wondered if the men below him felt the same heavy beat in their hearts, but cause from fear, from knowing they soon would be returned to the earth. He hoped that their foolishness had been worth it. His eyes would also spy a lone figure on the battlefield, a figure of darkness and lightning, red sparks dancing around the skin of Shimiko Chinoike, visible even from where he stood.

"You've come so far...."

Seigi would push off against the stone tower, rocketing towards the battlefield at impossible speeds, moving over the shinobi in the trenches, past the men, but a foot past Shimiko, coming to a stop suddenly. The air around them had been briefly cleared, the explosion from earlier giving Seigi a brief moment to talk before gas would rush back in. Looking at her with his Fuuingan, Seigi would smile.

"You grew up, little sister."

Shimiko was about to rush the trio when she felt a rumble in the earth beneath her. At first, the kunoichi thought it was yet another trap and she about to move vertically. But then she realized that the gyrations of the plates weren't from an mechanical contraption but a technique. Call it sister's intuition or Jashin's divine wisdom, but she came to the conclusion that Seigi was somehow responsible. However, if it was because he was killing or being killed, she couldn't say for sure. The men in front of her noticed the rumble and by their movements she could tell that this was unexpected. Shimiko grinned and a set of needles teleported into existence next to her. Fifteen needles in total and each of them floating behind her like a chakram. From within the trenches a beam of fire, a hail of stones, and several arrows made their way towards her. She dashed to the left to dodge. One of the Specialty-Nin also moved to the side to counter her but the moment before they made contact, the ground erupted violently.

The bunker that Seigi had been held in was now being forced to the surface with a might that not even Shimiko could fathom. The explosion of dirt, concrete, wood, and assorted bodies was enough to rattle the senses of even the most hardened of Jounin. The halberd armed ninja that Shimiko was in the midst of confronting faltered in his step. Moments later a needle was buried in the crevice of his armour. It was just enough of a hinderance to keep him from fully extending his arm and from there, Shimiko executed a violent death twirl with her numerous appendages. Red lightning, tessen, and Sai cut through his armour and left him a smoking husk of a corpse. Shimiko ceased spinning and paused to catch her breath. Whatever they had hit her with earlier was taking its toll. She'd need to get medical help fast. But first, she had to determine whether the party responsible for the frontline blast was yet another foe who she'd need to contend with. Shimiko's eyes turned over to the lone figure standing above the ruined trench lines. The shape was familiar as was its voice.

"You've come so far...."

The voice that echoed through the dust and smoke caught her attention. It was Seigi's but different somehow. It was more than just familiar, it was familial in a way that you'd only recognize after spending years under the same household with someone. In an instant, the figure was moving at a speed that she could just barely track. The enemy frontlines had been destroyed and those shinobi that weren't dead were either fleeing or working up the courage to fight. Even the now two remaining Specialty Nin were backing away from the blur as it converged on their location.

In a moment he was right near her and that's when Shimiko saw it. The Fuuingan. The Dojutsu looked so strange and alien to her. It was a foreign ability, one not native to this planet. No....not native to this universe.... Once more Shimiko's cosmic intuition clued her in on the reality of the eyes that were now starting at her. For the first time since the war had begun and Ryuko had left her, Shimiko was afraid. She could barely focus on all the carnage and death around her, all that mattered now was discerning what her brother had become.

No....who has he returned to being?

"You grew up, little sister."
"S-Seigi?"

She whispered the name as though it were a prayer. Shimiko considered Seigi Douchiwa to be her brother and he was so like his doppelganger that he had fit the role well. But there were subtle differences between them. Differences that she had grown to overlook and cherish but differences that existed all the same. The bloodlust, the arrogance, the sense of cruelty. The very things that drove her parents to trying to keep her out of the profession. They had seen what her older brother had become and they tried to keep her from going down that same path, but in doing so they had only driven her to hate them. It wasn't enough to defy their vision for who she should be. She wanted to annihilate it and build something in Seigi's image. Something greater. She wanted to become more like him and ultimately surpass him. Seigi Douchiwa had eschewed those traits and she had been with him for so long that she hadn't thought of Seigi Chinoike's personality in years.  It was only when his characteristics were on full display before her that she realized just who was now standing in front of her. The Seigi of this universe. Seigi Chinoike. The Devil of the Cloud had returned to rule over the hell that was modern war.

It was all Shimiko could do to not throw her weapons down, burst into tears, and hug him with all her might. To fight alongside her legendary brother and kill on the battlefield as a family was all she had ever wanted. How long had she dreamed of this moment?

The figure of her long lost brother was enough to inspire pure mayhem. Whatever Shimiko was hold back (precious little) came pouring out in waves of blood and electricity. The lessons she had learned in exhaustion and restraint were forgotten. She was going to take these chicken-hawk Konoha-Nin for every inch of trench that she could and she'd threaten her men with death if they failed to hold it. She wanted nothing more than to run to and embrace her newly returned brother, but in the heat of battle, Shimiko let her blades do the talking. Seigi would know how grateful she was not by her words, tears, or embraces but by how she painted her love in the blood of their enemies. Every laceration, burn, and act of de-limbing was a carefully choreographed soliloquy of gratitude. A play, a painting, a sonnet, or a poem, any and all artistic metaphors could be applied to the work that Shimiko set out.

If her brother did not see fit to sully his blade with the blood of the unworthy, then she'd do it for him and without complaint. The Konoha shinobi would all eventually retreat to the backline. Whether they'd stay there or not was not something she could possibly know, but if they did come back then they would need more than a few juiced up shinobi to take her down. After hours of fighting and bloodshed, the day was won for Kumogakure. The magnificent Chinoike siblings had saved Kumo's position and by doing so, they had etched their names in the nation's history forever. Only once the battle was won would Shimiko turn to greet her brother anew. If he wished to retire, she'd give him space and if he wished to converse, she'd provide him years of material to talk about.

It was on that day that Shimiko had finally achieved what she had sought for so many years: to emerge from his shadow and instead stand alongside him as an equal.

[Fate to Exit]