Day 2 Evening

[Kakashi Hatake]

The shinobi twosome high-tailed it out of the cave, narrowly avoiding the gnashing fangs of the pursuing beast. Kakashi followed closely behind his mentor, outpacing the horror by a few meters before they turned to face it. He had not been able to see much of the beast while they were within the caves confines. but he now regretted his curiosity.

Nearly a ton of fetid flesh stared them down, held together by rage and rotting fur. Calling it a bear would be generous; it more closely resembled a mound of walking rot. Patches of raw muscle dotted its hide, the flesh having fallen away in clumps. Long, jagged bones jutted from its body, interspersed between the splotches of decaying matter. A disgusting mixture of blood and spittle dripped from its maw as it took in slow, rattling breaths. The rotbear eyed the duo for a moment, hunger evident in his eyes, before all-at-once letting loose a feral snarl and diving toward its gawking prey with renewed vigor.

“Split up!” Minato announced at once as the ursid closed the gap. “I’ll draw him away, see if you can find some way to trap him!”

Kakashi couldn’t fault the logic. Minato more than surpassed the former ANBU operative in speed, their difference only compounded by him lugging around the bulky tech weapon. The silver-haired ninja nodded wordlessly, turning abruptly on his heel and dashing into the forest.

Trap it… the shinobi wondered, glancing around breathlessly. If only the Spirit (or whoever it was that was in charge of his transportation) hasn’t deprived him of his tools and jutsu. He felt all but useless glancing around, hoping for something useful to jump out at him. He was truly spoiled by his wealth of copied techniques. Going from exploding scrolls, tripwire and throwing daggers to a gravity-defying firearm and a jury-rigged spear wasn’t appealing to him.

The scarecrow furrowed his brow, scanning the area. “There has to be something usable here. I just need to find it.”

“This thing is so gross!” The Yellow Flash called out, retching comically. “I’m more afraid of catching something from it than being eaten!”

Kakashi had to admire than Kage’s levity in such a situation. He watched as the fair-haired ninja dashed headlong toward a tree, skillfully swerving past at the last moment. The putrid pursuer was not so lucky, slamming his full weight into the sturdy trunk. The tree sundered with a deafening crash, casting splinters in every direction. The unholy ursid staggered for a few seconds, howling with a mix of rage and confusion.

“Keep that up!” Kakashi called, drawing his gravity gun. If they wanted to get any sort of advantage over the beast, they’d need to play to their strengths.

“No problem!” The former Captain could practically hear the smile in the blonde shinobi’s voice. “But it’s your turn to be bait next time we fight a zombie bear, okay?”

The shinobi wielder rolled his heterochromatic eyes, quickly skirting the edge of the clearing, heading toward the rock wall that bore the cave’s entrance. Noting the canopy overhead, Kakashi quickly grabbed at a low-hanging branch, beginning an ascent. The occasional crash and increasingly furious roar told him that Minato was holding up his end of the bargain, he hoped that he could hold up his own.

Kakashi’s sharp eyes scanned the top of the crag as he neared the treetops, relief spreading over him as he saw his edge. Perched carefully on a delicate bough, he took up his homemade spear in his left hand, aiming the gravity gun with his right.

“I can’t keep this up much longer,” Minato muttered, deftly dodging a swipe from the blighted bear. The beast was becoming increasingly wary of his ploy, his rage spurring him toward the beguiling blonde at a feverish pace. Whatever had animated the bear seemed to also grant it more power as its rage multiplied.

“Minato!”

The Kage glanced up, spying his protege among the leaves. He watched as the scarecrow flung his spear, the implement lodging itself in the soil near the rock wall. Minato nodded in understanding, nimbly changing direction and dashing toward the spear.

“Here goes nothing,” Kakashi muttered, pulling the trigger on his firearm.

The device whirred to life, its core glowing a bright amber as it charged. The shinobi closed his right eye and leveled the gun, aiming the machine’s gravity-altering effects at the top of the crag. Tension mounted as the loose rocks atop the mound began to jostle, shaking briefly before being pried loose entirely. Kakashi glanced down and saw Minato just barely clear the area, leaping skillfully over the spear. Mere seconds later the bear came into view as a veritable avalanche of rubble came crashing down upon it.