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After he was killed by the Crusaders of the Catacombs on the rooftops of a fog-shrouded Rome, the body of the ninja assassin that had tracked Ogon Fox all the way from Japan was stolen by the Sultan's agent, Hisao of the Yellow Reeds (a former Lusty Fool). The ninja Hisao brought his clansmen's body back with him in his bag of holding to Murad's court, and paid for his resurrection, earning the Iga Shinobi ninja's undying loyalty...
As the walking dead man’s adrenaline wears off, he feels and realizes the damage he has taken and succumbs to his wounds, flopping on the floor of the bakery, visible to all, a loaf of bread sticking out of his dead mouth!
Bursting into the kitchen, Quinlan sees evidence of the ninja’s passing—ruined loaves in the fireplace, sooty footprints on the floor, drops of blood and bread crumbs—but the ninja is nowhere to be seen...
Making himself invisible again with the ninja trick, Gokei San silently extricates himself from the chimney, dropping into the roaring fireplace and ruining some loaves of bread baking therein... Snatching a loaf for himself, causing it to also vanish, he sneaks past the bewildered bakers in the kitchen...
...who have no chance to perceive such a well hidden ninja...
Quinlan’s angry force hornets chase the ninja down the chimney, and a scream of pain echoes out of the pipe! YEEEOOOWWCH!!
The bakery fireplace is lit, and smoke billows up around the squeezing ninja! He retrieves a potion and quaffs it, giving himself resistance to fire...
Slipping out of the Bear’s furry arms, the ninja leaps toward a chimney that looks almost too narrow for a man to slip inside...almost... In an instant, he has vanished down the chimney!
Suddenly breaking out in a torrential sweat that greases and lubricates his nimble body, the ninja pops out of the Bear’s grip like a hotdog popping out of a bun with too much mustard and ketchup on it!
Johann catches a glimpse of the black-clad ninja squatting on the rooftop of the bakery, within a claw’s swipe...
Unable to shake the Bear’s pursuit, the ninja applies the deodorant oil, quickly dousing himself and rubbing in the alchemical substance that masks his scent...
Johann follows his nose to an intersection of street and alley, where the ninja is attempting to scurry up the side of a bakery to reach the steep pitched rooftops of Rome...
Dammit! The Bear has my scent! Better use a little alchemy to throw him off... As the ninja climbs up the side of the bakery like a spider, he fishes a vial of deodorant oil out of a hidden pocket...
Trying to distract the Wolf with rainbows, eh? Not gonna happen...
The ninja seems unfazed by Quinlan’s color spray!
In the twinkling of an eye, the assassin vanishes from sight!
This could not be going any more smoothly... I really have a knack for subtlety... Yeah, this mission is a total success, Gokei!...F@&$!!
"......RRRRRGGGHHH!!" As he runs... Johann becomes hairier, his body grows larger, his claws lengthen, he begins to run on all fours... where the two legged man once ran is instead a terribly huge dire bear moving at tremendous speed! Johann the True Bear barrels through the shocked and screaming crowd! The crowd scatters in a panic, parting a wide path for the charging Bear! The ninja’s eyes bulge in shock and fear as he beholds the beastly engine of wrath and destruction barreling down on him! N-NOOOOO, BEAR SAN! APOROGIES FOR HURTING YOUR FRIEND THE FOX! I COULD NOT PASS UP BOUNTY!
As he moved through the crowd toward the portal, the ninja drew weapons from hidden pockets...a wakizashi now gleamed in his left hand, in a blade-down overhand grip, a telescopic yari spear in the right... So the Wolf must fight his way out, eh? Very well, Sun Wukong. May the Monkey King never lack peanuts...
The ninja gasps in shock at the speed with which the hulking orc bounds through the crowd, like a young dragon! Doomcrescent opens a gash across the “fisherman’s” back! *GASP!* HUUUNGH!!
Moving swiftly, with fluid, frequently-drilled motions, the shinobi warrior retrieves a potion of haste and quaffs it in one flowing motion, then attempts to use acrobatic maneuvers to pass through the throng of spectators...
As the crowd of spectators applauds and cheers, the disguised ninja assassin makes an attempt on the life of his target, Toshio Okumura, hurling a shuriken coated with lethal venom at the kitsune... striking even at a significant penalty for range, and piercing for damage plus poison The shadowy figure attempts to disappear into the crowd...
Unknown to Okumura, a kinsman from his native Japan is also at the feast, disguised as an Italian fisherman... |
