Once the chaos subsides, their proximity to the sniper becomes evident by how numerous and elaborate the traps are. Pelican exhales, regaining focus, "Was all that for us!? Gee, I'm flattered..."

A small chuckle escapes Sparrow, "That sniper's attention ain't on us now, I suppose."

"Good thing we went around..." Parrot's ghoulish giggle disturbs Pelican, "Um, you alright over there, man?"

Sparrow grabs Parrot's shoulders, shaking him, "You've picked a rotten time to start losing your mind again, don't you know; snap out of it!"

Pelican snickers, "There goes that verbal tic you share with your nutty little brother."

"Back off! Yours truly is imagining that sniper's face once those zombies barge in on…" Several high-pitched, blood-curdling screams reverberate around the Anbu. The temperature plunges; the air becomes like a thick sludge. They struggle to move; weight or some unseen force restrains them. The phenomenon wears off after a few seconds; Parrot's body regains movement, and his breath becomes visible in the abrupt frigid breeze, "Wh-wh-what was that, ya know!" he says, shivering.

Pelican focuses, disrupting his chakra flow, repeating, "Release!" without success, "Figures—this isn't just an ordinary genjutsu of some sort."

Sparrow tries standing, but her legs are almost unresponsive, "We may be dealing with an enemy that possesses a bloodline limit." She scouts the middle floors using her binoculars and then confirms the sniper's location, but her attention wavers.

Parrot becomes curious about his sister's concentration on a particular floor, "What do you see?"

"They're frozen in place like we were," Sparrow recons the structure using binoculars, "something's moving towards the hoard, dozens of them humanoid in shape."

News of enemy activity unsettles Pelican, "Great more Syndi-guerrillas to deal with?"

"No, they're too slow to be enemy shinobi. Those things are grabbing onto the undead and—conflagrating themselves. Um, whatever they are ain't human."

"If the enemy's found a way to control those things, we've got bigger issues."

"There's movement. The dead are piling on those creatures now; this is getting weird."

"Indubitably, but now's our chance," Parrot resounds, "there's nowhere else the enemy can run! Let's set up an ambush on the upper floor."

Pelican surveys the rooftops before determining a safe area to land. He disarms the explosives and spring-loaded rebar steaks; most are hidden with genjutsu, making his task tedious. The shinobi can't help but admire the intricacy and sophistication of some of the devices: 'These hellish contraptions could've easily taken out a Tokubetsu Jōnin.' He deactivates a few Sealing Tags to the best of his ability, thus clearing a safe path for Parrot and Sparrow to land, "Alright, red-head, you're up."

"Which one?" Sparrow teases.

Pelican sighs, "Whichever one of you can deactivate fūinjutsu without getting us sealed away or blown to kingdom come."

Parrot pulls a scroll from the front pocket of his flak jacket before summoning an ink bottle, brushes of varying sizes, and other complex tools from his inventory, "Tch, fair enough. Still, we need a way to lure the enemy onto the top floor, you know," After disarming the remaining fūinjutsu seals, the Uzumaki opens the roof access hatch, then gestures for his teammates to follow, "I've been bouncin' around a few ideas in my thinkin' meat; it's a long shot, but it's all I got, ya know, which is why I'd like to run it by both of you first."

Pelican crosses his arms, leaning against a wall, "Okay, let's hear it, poindexter."

"It's simple. You're our engineer, so locating and disarming traps won't be an issue. Sparrow's stronger than us, so you'll take point while she covers you."

Pelican raises his eyebrow, "so where's your part in this?" he quarries.

"I'll reverse-engineer the enemy's sealing tags and have a few recovered fūinjutsu traps ready before you two can flush out that sniper; however, this takes time to prepare. Which is why I'll remain here."

"I could use Earth Release and collapse the rooftops onto our target."

"True, but the surge of chakra may draw whatever else lurks in the ruins away from our target and directly to us. Besides, don't you want your five minutes with whoever turned half of your arm into mincemeat?"

Pelican sighs, walking towards the access hatch, "I suppose, but another part of me wants the sniper dead. I don't care how anymore."

"If we capture that sniper alive, I'll let you do your thing—you know your weird thing that I don't approve of..." Parrot says, squinting his eyes.

'Tch would've done it anyway,' Pelican's light-blue eye brightens inside his mask, "Deal, but you nor your sister will interfere with my work this time."

Sparrow rolls her eyes, "Of all the things we can learn from a civilization vastly different from ours, we appropriate and propagate its worst aspects!"

"Yours truly understands your concerns; yes, it's shameful. Yes, it is frowned upon," Parrot glares at Pelican, "but it's one of those things the ASF tolerates to maintain this fragile alliance until the war's won."

"I don't understand what the big deal is?" Pelican says, "Those vile degenerates do it to us on the battlefields. I'm simply returning the favor by teaching them the severest lesson in who towers above thee, as they say!"

Sparrow gasps, "Oh, you mean that!? OK, what are we waiting around for? Let's get to it then!"

"What's with the change of heart?"

"I uh… need to make sure the sniper isn't killed too soon by—um… you know, monitoring the gen—I mean vitals," Sparrow shrugs.

Pelican isn't buying it, "You could've just said you wanted to watch—"

Sparrow dispatches a straight kick with the bottom of her foot to Pelican's stomach (Laktisma Eis Gasteran), knocking him down the pitch-black access hatch.

"Toasty~!"

Pelican backflips, righting himself midair before sticking a perfect three-point landing pose, "brainless short stack," he mutters.

"We'll have the enemy in position faster than you can say: believe it," Sparrow gives Parrot a two-finger salute and steps down the hatch, "Be ready."

"You were always such a perv, sis," Parrot mumbles, 'I'm many things, but stupid isn't one of them; I saw you wiping the blood flowing from your nostrils!'

Sparrow steps away from the moonlight and adjusts her eyes to the darkness. The entire floor is a windowless empty chamber incomplete in its construction; aside from the occasional flash of lightning, stone pillars with torches are the solitary light source.

Pelican communicates to Sparrow via sign language, 'Proceed with caution.' They survey the area for signs of activity or an ambush, yet there is nothing but silence and crackling torches. After a thorough examination, Pelican concludes it's safe to advance and gives the 'all clear.' The kunoichi locates an elevator, although chains blockade each door frame corner. Pelican scans the elevator for possible hazards, yet the single abnormality is a sideways metal square with a keyhole in the center. 'Light,' the shinobi gestures.

Sparrow ignites the torches, flanking the elevator. High-pitch buzzing draws their attention as small orange orbs of light spiral around a transparent chest. Parrot observes from the access hatch, raising an eyebrow and tilting his head in curiosity. The buzzing ceases; the chest materializes. Pelican and Sparrow exchange glances of bewilderment before staring back at the magical treasure chest.

Sparrow pulses her chakra in small waves, whispering, "Release," trying to dispel any potential genjutsu; however, the trunk remains. Pelican shrugs and walks over to the chest. He checks for wire strings or explosives before kicking the chest open and grabbing the key inside. Pelican unlocks the elevator. There's a discrete clank; the chains recede into the frame before the elevator shaft opens. They inspect the small space but find nothing unusual.

After descending onto the next floors, ceaseless unease washes over the Anbu as they cross the threshold into a circular room. The temperature plummets; their hearts pound in the silent void. Sparrow's senses scream, 'Something isn't right with this place!' Indentations that resemble feet appear on the rug, 'Enemies spotted,' she signals to Pelican. They halt near the doorway, 'Five total: two, twelve o'clock—three, six o'clock.' Someone or something invisible stands there, not moving or attacking.

Pelican draws his sword, as does Sparrow, 'defensive formation,' he gestures. Back-to-back, they ready themselves for combat. "Release," Pelican whispers, pulsing his chakra.

The illusion dispels; the deafening silence ceases. The indentations on the rug materialize into grotesque humanoid figures resembling emaciated masked corpses slouching forward with their arms hanging. Sparrow and Pelican stand fast, eager to counterattack at the drop of a hat. Pelican anticipates an ambush, but the onslaught never happens. Instead, the creature's glowing red eyes fade as they lower their heads. Low-pitch zombie-like moans reverberate within the room in sync with one another in a tone that raises and lowers twice before drawing off and repeating.

After the shock of five groaning corpses appearing from thin air, the Anbu gain their bearings. They analyze the situation, searching for potential weaknesses or opportunities to strike. Pelican and Sparrow question whether or not the masked creatures are an amateur's failed attempt at Earth Release: Shadow Clones rather than actual living corpses. The ReDeads remain motionless while groaning, seeming defenseless, yet their purpose remains unclear. The kunoichi's grip tightens around her blade's hilt; she prepares to attack, which affects them. The groaning ceases; the ReDead's eyes glow as their heads rise. Sparrow and Pelican brace themselves, remaining stationary and vigilant, yet nothing happens.

The ReDead's gums and teeth are visible through the mouth-holes in their reddish-orange wooden masks. Sparrow shudders, imagining how their faces look. The ReDead's glowing eyes fade; they lower their heads, resuming their zombie-like groans. Pelican hypothesizes, 'these creatures are reactionary to sound or sudden movement, perhaps acting as warders.' He tests his hypothesis; the shinobi's foot taps the rug. As he expects, a similar occurrence transpires. The ReDead's eyes fade again. Sparrow taps her foot and confirms his theory.

'Sound or activity seems to alert those things; a gradual pace is paramount to sneaking past them.' Regardless, the ReDeads outnumber and surround the Anbu, 'Starting a fight with the two guarding the doorway is a foregone conclusion, but how will the rest respond?' Pelican wonders. Not taking any chances, he raises his arms slow enough not to draw the ghoulish creature's attention. He points his fingertips at the three before him; the shinobi's bones emerge from his forearms, 'Attack!'

Sparrow blitzes the ReDeads by the doorway in a flash of blinding speed, leaving behind an afterimage. She appears before them without warning, slamming her foot into one of their heads. Pelican unleashes his Ten-Finger Drilling Bullets (Digital Shrapnel/Teshi Sendan); the ReDeads stumble back as their arms flail and heads shake from the continuous bone fragment bombardment. While airborne, the kunoichi uses her momentum to Roundhouse Kick the adjacent ReDead. After knocking them off-balance, she follows up with a relentless succession of rapid slashes and strikes against their gummy flesh.

Pelican drives his knee into the central ReDead's sternum in the blink of an eye, launching it into a pillar. He lands between the ReDeads, wielding his sword in a reverse grip—a short bone-hilted blade extends from Pelican's other palm.

"Camellia Dance!" Pelican erupts in a whirlwind of afterimages, hacking and slicing away at the ReDeads. His subsequent offensive is chaotic and continuous. The shinobi's movements are irregular, with each sword thrust changing direction at random angles. Dark-blue slime squirts from the ReDead's wounds with every strike as they groan in pain. Pelican finds how the ReDeads react to injury hilarious until he realizes they're still standing after excessive damage. Sparrow's endless assault continues as she takes her frustration out on the ReDeads. Yet, the creatures absorb every blow, resulting in a repetitive groan or occasional stumble.

"Just die already!" Sparrow roars; she enhances her blade with chakra, preparing a final attack, but the ReDead catches the kunoichi's wrist. Her eyes widen.