Somewhere in Japan...

"Hidden Ninpo: Dual Slash!" Asuka exclaimed.

She then hopped from one rock to another, then front flipped onto a third, then pushed off the third rock, propelling her at a high speed. As she flew, she slashed her swords at an enemy shinobi, causing them to fly into a tree, knocking them out.

When she landed, Asuka deflected an attack from another enemy shinobi, unintentionally striking a pose.

The enemy shinobi then charged towards Asuka and rushed her with a flurry of attacks with a blunt weapon. Asuka blocked them, but couldn't manage to make an opening for herself.

She jumped backwards to put some distance between them. She then immediately charged towards the shinobi at great speed, hoping it would catch him off guard. Unfortunately, when she reeled back to strike, the shinobi threw down a smoke bomb.

Asuka would have stopped herself, but she had already swung her sword, and all she slashed was air as the smoke began to engulf her. She raised her scarf to make a makeshift mask to keep the smoke from making her cough. However, her sight was impaired, and she couldn't see the shinobi.

Said shinobi used the smoke to drop kick Asuka out of the smoke cloud and into a nearby tree. The impact made Asuka drop her swords and knocked the air out of her lungs. She raised her head in time to see the shinobi charging towards her.

"Hidden Ninpo: Charge!"

Suddenly, Homura appeared and slashed the shinobi, then teleported to the right and slashed the shinobi again, then teleported to the right and slashed the shinobi again, this slash sending the shinobi flying off into the woods.

She stood there for a moment to catch her breath, then looked to Asuka, who had gotten back up and was picking up her swords.

"You okay?" Homura asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's get back to the others." Asuka replied.

Homura nodded, and the two were about to head off to regroup with their friends. However, they were cut off by the same shinobi, who came charging from the from the woods, their weapon poised to strike.

"Hidden Ninpo: Black Ice!"

When Asuka, Homura, and the shinobi looked over, they saw a giant icicle hurling towards them. It passed Homura and Asuka, and rammed into the shinobi, sending them flying back into the woods.

Homura and Asuka knew exactly where the icicle came from, and looked over to see Yumi.

"Perfect timing, Yumi!" Asuka said with a smile.

"Thanks." Homura said.

"You're welcome. Now, I would suggest that we head back to help Miyabi. Last I saw her, she was dealing with a rather large group of enemy shinobi." Yumi said.

Asuka and Homura nodded, then followed Yumi to Miyabi's location. They arrived at a walled-in village. The three jumped onto the wall and were greeted with the sight of Miyabi getting surrounded by enemy shinobi.

"Hidden Ninpo: Delightful Inferno!" She exclaimed.

She then assaulted the small army of shinobi with a barrage of slashes from her sword, which was covered in a dark aura. The slashes knocked all the enemy shinobi unconscious, and... shredding their clothing...

Meanwhile, Miyabi herself was completely fine.

Asuka, Homura, and Yumi hopped off of the wall and landed next to Miyabi.

"Glad to see you're okay, Miyabi!" Asuka said happily.

"Where are the others?" Homura asked.

"They decided to make distractions around the village so that we could get in without much trouble." Miyabi replied.

The four then looked at the large pagoda in the middle of the village. That was their target.

"Good thinking. Let's not waste the opportunity they're giving us." Yumi said.

The other three nodded, then proceeded towards the pagoda.

However, as they walked to the pagoda, they were suddenly attacked by the shinobi that attacked Asuka, Homura, and Yumi earlier. Miyabi simply jabbed them in the stomach with her sheathed sword, doing so with such force that the shinobi crashed through the wall of a nearby building.

With that out of the way,

You may be wondering how all of this came about. Well, it all started earlier that day. The elite students of Hebijo Academy (Miyabi's team) were sent to retrieve a scroll from a rival clan of evil shinobi. After scouting the place first, the Hebijo team realized that they would need some help and went to Crimson Squad.

Then, on the way to deal with the rival shinobi clan, the two teams stumbled across the Hanzō Academy and Gessen Academy teams. It turns out that they were sent on a mission to clear out the very same village.

Since their goals were aligned, as well as the fact that they were all friends, they decided that they would all assault the evil shinobi village, giving them a better chance at succeeding.

Now that you're all caught up, back to the girls.

The four were inside the pagoda. There were a few enemy shinobi in there, but the four girls managed to dispatch them easily, as for whatever reason, the enemy shinobi decided to ambush them one at a time.

Eventually, after a sweep of the entire building, the girls eventually came across a door that led to the final room they had to check, which had been covered in talismans and seals.

"Gee, you think this is it?" Homura asked sarcastically.

Miyabi threw a bomb at the door, which exploded on impact and incinerated the seals and talismans. Oddly enough, the door itself was fine.

When they opened it, it led them to a large room, six pillars holding up the ceiling. And at the other end of the room was an altar, on top of which was a black and white ninja scroll with what looked like red, vein-like designs.

The girls walk up to it to get a closer look. The black looked like it was some kind of leather, and the white, bone-like material it was wrapped around had small spikes around the edges. And of course, as mentioned before, the red vein-like designs that covered it, which, upon further inspection, had patterns to them.

"Is this it?" Miyabi asked.

"Well, it's definitely a scroll, there's no doubt about that." Homura said.

"It doesn't look like any scroll I've ever seen." Yumi said.

"Yeah... it's kind of creepy." Asuka added, an uncomfortable look on her face.

"Agreed." Homura agreed.

"Well... creepy or not, it's what you and Miyabi came for. Let's grab it and get back to our friends." Yumi said.

The other three nodded in response.

Miyabi reached out her hand to pick the scroll up. However, when her hand was inches away from the scroll, the four suddenly heard footsteps quickly approaching them.

The four turned around just in time for Miyabi and Homura to deflect an attack. Though they didn't get hit, they accidentally directed the attack towards Yumi, which caused her to fly into one of the pillars and knock the wind out of her.

Asuka attempted to stab at the attacker with her swords, but they ended up getting caught between the two prongs of the attacker's weapon. Said attacker then twisted their weapon and disarmed Asuka, then backhanded her across the room.

Homura and Miyabi suddenly rushed the attacker with a flurry of coordinated attacks, however they were surprised when the attacker managed to keep up with their combined speed and deflected every attack. He then did a powerful spin attack that, while Miyabi and Homura did block it, sent them sliding back towards Yumi and Asuka.

When the four girls looked to their attacker, they saw that it was the very same shinobi that kept attacking them. However, now they had a crazed look in their eyes.

"I know why you and your friends are here, Hebijo." The shinobi said in a male voice.

Miyabi's eyes widened and pupils constricted in surprise, but that was the only thing she let show, unlike the other three, who knew that Hebijo's existence was a secret to all but it's students and those they allowed to know.

"Yes, I know who you are... and I know you want this." He said, pointing his weapon at the scroll.

"Yes, we are. Give it to us, and we might let you walk out of this alive." Miyabi threatened.

"You don't know what kind of power is in that thing!" The shinobi shouted.

Miyabi and Homura readied their weapons, the latter smirking, thinking he was bragging about how his clan was more powerful. Asuka and Yumi also readied their weapons, however, they noticed that his voice sounded more like he was trying to desperately plea with them not to take the scroll.

If there was a chance at negotiation, it was lost the moment Miyabi charged towards him, rushing him with a multitude of slashes, all of which the shinobi blocked. The shinobi then backflipped, kicking Miyabi in the chin as he did so and sent her flying into the air. Whilst she was in the air, Asuka jumped towards her.

Miyabi then reached behind her and grabbed Asuka's wrist and front flipped whilst holding Asuka, flinging the latter downwards so that she could perform a powerful cross slash. However, not only did he manage to block Asuka and Miyabi's combo attack, but he grabbed Asuka and threw her at a charging Yumi.

Homura then appeared behind him and was prepared to attack him from behind, but he had apparently predicted this, as he immediately swept Homura's legs, knocking them from under her using his weapon. Then, while she was in the air, he grabbed her and threw her into Miyabi, effectively sending the girls back to where they were when the battle started.

Homura and Miyabi were about to attack him again, but Asuka then tackled them to the ground. When they looked up, Homura and Miyabi saw a bunch of tiny icicles flying towards the shinobi, which Yumi had fired.

Homura and Miyabi smirked, thinking that it would be enough to take him out, or at least catch him off guard enough to successfully attack him...

However, those smirks disappeared when his cane began to change.

The shinobi then pulled the trigger on his morphed weapon and shot the icicles out of the air.

The girls were genuinely shocked at the sight of this, as they didn't expect trick weapons.

Thankfully, they managed to shake off their shock quick enough to get back into the fight.

Asuka and Homura rush the shinobi, but it doesn't last long, as the shinobi quickly transformed his weapon back into a cane and deflected their attacks, then swung upwards with his weapon, launching the two girls into the air. He then transforms his weapon back into a gun and briefly pulls the trigger, firing a quick burst which knocked Asuka and Homura back.

Miyabi and Yumi charge in next. Yumi summons three icicles above the shinobi and attempts to slam them down on him. However, he aims his gun upwards and shoots them out of the air. Miyabi uses it as a distraction and charges towards him. She rushes him with a barrage of slashes, but his gun seemed to be durable enough to block them all. Her final slash was powerful enough to send him back, but he only slid a few feet away from her.

Yumi then made an icicle jut out of the ground under the Shinobi's feet, sending him flying into the air. She then summoned another icicle behind him that she had meant to slam into him in mid-air. However, when it got close enough, he reached behind his back and grabbed it. He then front-flipped in order to propel the icicle towards Miyabi. Normally, she would have been able to dodge it without problem, but the problem was that it happened so fast that she barely had time to process what had just happened before she was sent flying backwards.

Yumi attempted to catch her, but Miyabi slammed into so hard that it knocked Yumi to the ground and caused the two to slide back next to Homura and Asuka. The latter two helped the former two up, then they all returned their attention to the shinobi.

"You cannot control what's in there! I won't let you unleash her upon this world!" The shinobi shouted.

At this point, his clothes were slightly tattered, his irises were still constricted, and when he shouted he sounded insane. The whole image made him look like a madman.

However, it still didn't deter the girls. Much to Homura, Miyabi, and Yumi's surprise, Asuka was the first to attack this time.

She rushed him with a flurry of slashes and even a few lunges with her swords. The shinobi deflected all of them, then transformed his sword into a gun, crouched down and aimed upwards at Asuka. Asuka managed to block the bullets with her swords and was sent flying into the air.

"Hidden Ninpo: Hanzō-Style Full Bloom!" Asuka exclaimed in midair.

While still in midair, Asuka's swords were coated in a green aura. The second she landed, she immediately dashed towards the shinobi and attacked him with a flurry of slashes. She moved so fast that the shinobi didn't have time to block any of them, and so got the full force of the attack. Asuka finished the attack by slamming her swords into the ground, which caused stone spikes to shoot out of the ground, sending the shinobi flying into the air.

"Homura! Now!" Asuka exclaimed.

Homura then charged towards the shinobi as he landed.

"Hidden Ninpo: Resonate!" Homura exclaimed.

Homura then unleashed a barrage of heavy, slightly slower slashes at the shinobi, who didn't have time to block the attacks. When Homura's attack was over, she turned to a charging Miyabi.

"You're up!" She said.

"Hidden Ninpo: Delightful Inferno!" Miyabi exclaims.

While the shinobi was still off guard, Miyabi also unleashed a flurry of attacks. She then sheathes her sword, causing an explosion that send the shinobi through three of the six pillars.

"Hidden Ninpo: Ice Pillar Fan!"

Yumi then spins around with her fans, icicles flying around her, slashing the shinobi before he cold recuperate.

When Yumi finished her attack, Asuka jumped over her and drop kicked the shinobi in the stomach.

However, when she did, she noticed that when she kicked him that there was some kind of colorful ripple that went over his body.

The shinobi then flew through three of the six pillars and slammed into the wall next to the door.

The four girls watched as he struggled to get up, the girls readied their weapons. The shinobi weakly lifted his weapon, but did not have the strength to keep it raised. Then, he suddenly fell to his knees.

"If you truly are determined to unleash hell upon this world... all I ask is that I not live to see it." The shinobi said.

Yumi and Asuka were shocked at his request. It wasn't uncommon for shinobi to ask for death instead of failure. What shocked them was the apparent fact that he wasn't asking for death instead of failure... he was saying that death was a preferable alternative to unleashing the power of this scroll they were fighting for.

Asuka, Homura, and Yumi looked to Miyabi. Asuka and Yumi's teams were tasked simply with clearing out the Evil Shinobi village, which meant it didn't matter if they were alive or dead. As for Homura, she and her team were there to help. This was Miyabi's mission to begin with, so it was her call.

Much to Asuka and Yumi's relief, Miyabi stood down, as the former two were opposed to killing (though they are aware they'll have to resort to it someday).

"You're a strong and talented adversary. Killing you would be a waste." Miyabi said.

Miyabi and the others then turned around and walked towards the scroll.

This then caused the shinobi to go ballistic.

"NO!!! YOU'LL KILL US ALL!!!" He shouted.

He then prepared to charge at them again, making the girls prepare for another fight from him.

However, just as he was about to charge, two large mechanical arms wrapped around him.

The girls were surprised but thankful by the sudden appearance of Haruka's robot.

"Perfect timing as usual, Haruka." Homura said.

"Well, I try my best, darling." Haruka replied.

The rest of the four teams then entered the room.

"STOP, OR WE'LL ALL BURN!!! WE'RE ALL GOING TO DIE!!!" The shinobi howled.

"For God's sake, can someone turn his volume down? I think he just blew out my eardrums." Ryōbi said, plugging her ears.

"Ahhh, that sounds like it'd be wonderful~!" Exclaimed the masochistic Ryōna.

Ryōbi groaned at her sister's antics. Usually she'd scream her head off at Ryōna for saying those kinds of things, but she was honestly too tired right now.

Mirai, Hibari, and Minori were a little scared by the Shinobi's erratic screams of terror.

"Can someone please shut him up... without severely injuring him? We may need him for information." Miyabi said.

"I've got something that should put him to sleep." Haruka said, opening her coat and looking for the concoction she had in mind.

"YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU'RE DOING!!!" The shinobi screamed.

However, as soon as he said that, he suddenly stopped screaming and quit struggling to get out of the robot's hold. This of course, concerned the four teams somewhat.

"You... you don't know... hehehe... hehehehe... hehehehahahaha!" The shinobi begins to laugh.

Now the four teams were creeped out.

"You don't know. Of course you don't. Why would you? After all, that's her greatest strength. No one truly knows how dangerous she is." The shinobi began to rant.

It was only then that Miyabi and Homura began to listen to him.

However, they listened too late, as the shinobi began to laugh maniacally.

"Can somebody shut him up?" Ryōbi asked.

Mirai and Yagyū both walked up to him and raised their umbrellas to knock him unconscious.

However, when their umbrellas were raised above their head, Haruka's robot suddenly began laughing as well.

"Uh, Haruka? Is it supposed to do that?" Hibari asked.

"No, Hibari, dear, it's not." Haruka said with a somewhat concerned look on her face.

The robot then let go of the shinobi, and suddenly attacked Yozakura and Imu. Murakumo and Murasaki charged towards it with their weapons drawn, but the robot simply batted them away. The robot was suddenly hit by Hikage's knives, which allowed an opening for Shiki and Ikaruga to strike.

However, they didn't get the chance to, as the shinobi then dashed forward with enough speed to knock the two back. As he dashed forward, he snatched the scroll from Miyabi's grasp.

The robot then stopped attacking the four teams, and looked around as if it had no clue what just happened.

The four teams then readied themselves for a fight as they looked to the shinobi, who was laughing like a madman as he held the scroll in his hand.

"Y'know... why wait to invite madness? Why keep her waiting? When we could be her guest!" The shinobi cried as he opened the scroll.

A bright light then erupted from the scroll... a light which began to expand and come towards the four teams.

The last thing that Asuka, Homura, Yumi, and Miyabi heard was their friends calling their names before passing out.

???

"... -llo..."

"... Hel-..."

"...Hello..."

"... -ou okay?"

Asuka's eyes were heavy. It took tremendous force to open them, but she managed. After her eyes, she then began to move her head, which turned out to be more laborious.

When she managed to turn her head, she finally saw the source of the voice.

"Are you guys alright?" The girl asked.

Asuka tried to say something, but she ended up passing out again.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]