"You wanted to see me, King?" Mana kneeled in front of the plump figure of Getsugakure royalty as the same courtesy she'd show a Kage. She had stayed long after her part of his extravagant party was over. Usually, Mana wouldn't have performed in private shows, unless she decided on an exception because of other conditions. The last thing she'd have done was stay around a high society that couldn't have had enough of her and the Getsugakure ninja elite who respected Mana's skill as much as they mistrusted her presence in their village.
After all, things have been going so well for Getsugakure that they had their Golden Age to lose if Mana was a party with malicious intent behind her. No. Mana didn't stay because of her own choice, she stayed because the King's assistant relayed to her a message that the King himself wanted to see Mana after the show.
"Yes, your show, is simply marvelous. You know, if you need your vintage uniform for your performance, we can arrange our finest craftsmen to replicate it for you. Improve it even…" the King clapped his hands that could probably have fit most of Mana's head inside of them. Still, the man radiated almost no chakra signature, showing that whatever potential for chakra manipulation existed within him, it laid dormant and untrained his entire life.
"You're being too kind, King. This will not be necessary," Mana bowed. "I've come to like your native manner of clothing well enough."
She had performed in a long, tight silken dress that had nearly touched the floor. In her youth, Mana may have been worried that the tight wrap around her hips and calves of the cloth would have impeded her mobility and the complete lack of sleeves would have limited her available trick selection for the performance but, somehow, this worked out just fine. Mana just loved having something long to cover her lower section up.
"I'm just worried that all this jewelry might distract your esteemed guests from my performance. I'm not sure I can produce enough dazzle to get their eyes away from something so opulent," Mana tried voicing her complaint in the most agreeable and non-criticizing manner she could. The chest accessory held by her shoulders, covering up the opening of her dress by the chest area, had dangling jewelry on it that clanked around when Mana made sudden moves. It was loud and clunky and Mana would have rather shown her skin that had a coat of gold and gemstones weighing her down.
"I won't presume to be able to tell you how to present yourself to the audience. You've shown today that you're the Mistress of Entertainment. These clothes and anything else I provide you with are gifts from Getsugakure. Feel free to use them, wear them or discard them, or give them away if you feel like it. It is up to your discretion," the King waved his hand about. It didn't take a detective to see that King Kamar wasn't a fan of how deep into this buttering up the conversation had gone, as he wanted to move on to something else. Something of importance to him.
"I would say, if I may, giving away the gifts of the King himself might appear in bad faith though," the assistant raised his right eyebrow, turning to the King with curiosity about why his monarch gave this advice.
"As I've said…" King Kamar's tone bolstered, displaying an even clearer need to move on to the next subject. "Up to the Sorceress' discretion. I've asked you to stay for a little both because I wanted you to enjoy the ball and because I wished to discuss your stay here in Getsugakure."
Mana stood silent, waiting for the King to clarify. She was no fool, nor was she naïve. Mana sensed the footmen that the King had observed her at a respectful distance. He may have judged Mana's sensory capabilities to be around Gasco's level, unaware that she had trained and expanded the range much further. The King was interested in Mana's intentions here as much as his court and his elite ninja were.
"From what I know, you've been spending most of your time on the estate, training with Stea and helping her train her students. News reached me you've been performing in the Getsugakure streets for the villagers during the evenings," King Kamar's voice filled the royal throne room. He was being boisterous, but not really imposing or aggressive.
"Have I broken any rules or laws or done something wrong?" Mana wondered.
"Not at all. I truly appreciate you sharing your knowledge, skill, and experience with our younger generation too and, from what I've heard, the villagers enjoy your performances. It's just… I'll ask you upfront, out of respect, and I hope for a respectful and honest answer in return, is that the extent of your play here in Getsugakure?" King Kamar asked.
"My play…?" Mana repeated with loose facial muscles.
"By agreeing to train Stea's pupils, you've stepped out from the boundaries of being just a performer. You've shared skills and experiences that belong to your village, Konohagakure. You may not have shared any village secrets with them, that'd be ludicrous to presume, but this differs greatly from you joining the Allied Ninja. You've shown willingness to join the Getsugakure, and I'd like to discuss counting you in as a Getsugakure asset from now on," King Kamar said.
"A Getsugakure asset…?" baffled Mana repeated.
"That's right, given your condition, I would not send you away to active missions but by counting you as a Getsugakure kunoichi, both of us would profit from such an arrangement. You could achieve that promotion to the rank of jounin that your village was hesitant to provide you with. After all, both you and Stea benefited this village greatly, no one would blame me for promoting you for it. As long as you are my ninja to promote, of course," King Kamar shrugged. His voice became more akin to purr as he was visibly attempting to entice Mana to take him up on his offer.
"I'm afraid that simply cannot work, King," Mana flatly denied his suggestion. "My license as a Konoha ninja is still technically active. The village has merely suspended it upon my joining with the Allied Ninja as per the treaty that the Allied Ninja have with the various ninja villages. I couldn't just flat-out join another village without becoming a rogue ninja first. That'd put me in crosshairs to Konoha ninja and the Black Ops, let alone other ninja villages looking to treat with Konoha. Your relationship with Konoha would become strained too, you'd be harboring a rogue Konoha ninja and accepting her into your fold. Since you've yourself spoken about a promotion to jounin, that's an A-Rank problem we're dealing with. That's more than ample ground for a serious military conflict with Konoha."
"It's unlikely that an armed conflict would occur. Getsugakure is too far away for Konoha to devote forces to a military incursion on such menial grounds. It's a grave offense, but on a tremendously small scale. The other villages shall expect a response but for Konoha to respond in such a way would be irrational and it would knock Konoha down to a position of weakness before the other villages. Since the Coltan Conflict resolved, Konoha has been the top military power in the entire world and they wouldn't even humor the idea of an armed invasion an entire continent away from home. The only access to the ocean Konoha has would leave them sailing in a circle across the whole world just to reach our shores, across the northernmost regions, they'd have to sail across three seas and the entire outline of the Lightning Country to reach us," the King's assistant detailed why Konoha wouldn't flat out wage war against Getsugakure.
"I don't see why you fear becoming a de facto rogue ninja for a blink, after all, you've been on the Bingo Book for years now. Ever since your promotion to the rank of chuunin," King Kamar leaned back on his soft throne.
"I'm sorry, King Kamar-san, I'm afraid I cannot take you up on your offer. My goal is just to perform in Getsugakure as part of my World Magic Tour and train here for a while until I discover what I wish to do after that," Mana shook her head. She knew she was treading on thin ice, refusing this request and calling it "an offer".
"I see… I'm afraid that this is not an arrangement that works for us, in that case, Konoha's Sorceress," King Kamar sighed with disappointment oozing from his tone. It was no coincidence that he used Mana's promotional stage name then. He wanted to show her why he didn't enjoy keeping her around long-term, after the novelty and the pizazz of having her around wore off. "This was no mere offer, either. You are welcome here as a performer and as a political guest, but unless you agree with these terms, we cannot host you here without seeing you as a security threat eventually. You said it yourself, you're an A-Rank problem for us even though we've very few reasons to see you as such."
"I… I understand, King, and I am grateful for your hospitality," Mana bowed in gratitude.
"You are welcome to stay at the Imbrium Estate and train with our ninja, but we will have this conversation again before long and, when we do, we'll have to come to a wholly different arrangement," King Kamar said. "I won't bother your head with this today any further. As you were, Mana."
Mana weaved her fingers together, drowning in the depths of her own psyche with intense focus. Just as cerulean fireballs began forming around her, Stea vaulted almost a dozen meters with an overhead whirlwind kick. The cerulean fireballs popped into shapeless flares as Mana's missing part of the foot ignited with an ethereal chakra armor.
When the first stage of Serenity Arcana smashed into Stea's chest, the impact let out a thunderous crack and sent the Getsugakure kunoichi flying aside straight into the Imbrium Estate wall. The barrier seal attached to the building's wall activated, creating a violet force field around the mansion and reflecting Stea with a violent pushback that sent the woman flying back at her opponent. Mana allowed her Serenity Arcana armored leg to dissolve and used the resulting aftereffect to assist in her leap. The magician's palm smacked into the back of Stea's head.
Even with the knowledge of Stea's Damage Seals being in full effect, Mana didn't fall for the trap of fighting her rival passively. Taking the fight right to her sparring partner and taking her down was the only way to defeat her even though it was a perilous and painful path: each bit of damage that the Getsugakure kunoichi took bolstered her Damage Seals that could've been used to enhance her abilities temporarily or to simply be released in one mighty blast. Even if Stea still took the intended amount of damage from the hits she took in battle, her medical ninjutsu let her recover from them partly and make the enemy feel trapped.
As Mana's palm strikes swooped up and down, hitting high and low and targeting Stea's pressure points that would've made it difficult for her to use her superior agility and the advantage of not being handicapped, she tried to remind herself that she wasn't fighting Stea to win, but just as a training exercise. Even if Mana treasured their meditation sessions far more, she'd have been lying to herself to deny the fact that the thought of physical sparring sessions intimidated her because of her condition. That meant she had to swallow that fear and submerge into the cold shower to overcome it.
Mana jumped up, activating her Serenity Arcana leg again to compensate for her handicap. Stea ducked the boisterous kick and rolled back, reaching out for the Seal of Reconciliation. The handicapped kunoichi accepted it without skipping a heartbeat.
"You caught me with that rush," Mana admitted. "I want to get the hang of Shura Release, but I just can't seem to get it done. I figured you might have some great insights since you've mastered such a complex sealing technique."
"It's true, for someone trying to polish your Advanced Bloodline ability, you haven't been able to pull it off in battle once. I'm not sure how I can be of help to you," Stea stretched out to ease some numbness in her muscles caused by Mana disturbing her pressure points in a few key chakra network areas. These strikes were nowhere near as precise as those of someone able to see the Tenketsu, like the Hyuuga, but Mana's experience on the battlefield and familiarity with pressure point theory let her hit the general area of the most vital pressure points with a decent amount of success.
"Well, your chakra control could be even superior to mine. I was wondering if you knew something about Advanced Bloodlines I didn't," Mana scratched the back of her head while limping to her top hat and scooping it off the ground with a crutch. She was getting used to acting like someone with her disability while not engaged in active combat to preserve chakra and stamina and only using Serenity Arcana or Mystical Wings to compensate for her missing part of the limb when she was in a sparring session or a real fight.
"As someone who matches and possibly surpasses your level of chakra control, I am afraid I can't share any insights you may not be aware of. However, as the mentor to a prodigious youth wielding Advanced Bloodline techniques, I suspect why you are unable to achieve Shura Release," Stea's expression made Mana believe that it'd say something that'd outright crush the magician's spirit and, from the looks of it, Stea was hesitant to share that fact. "Advanced Bloodlines have as much to do with DNA as they have with skill. You don't have to be born with an Advanced Bloodline to gain it, but the capacity for it must be within your genes. People can inherit Advanced Bloodlines with great consistency, but one must possess the genes to manifest an Advanced Bloodline in order to pull one of their own off."
"Hmm… Neither Shige-H nor Dollay-san told me this," Mana's head slumped down. Could she truly have hit the wall of lacking the talent to complete her Advanced Bloodline training?
"Perhaps the Allied Ninja had an interest in keeping you hooked on the idea that if you worked hard enough, you could achieve it? It feels cruel to lure someone with a talent they have no capacity for but… I'm sure the Allied Ninja had their reasons," Stea shrugged.
"Yes, I'm sure they did…" Mana's fists clenched tightly as her gloves let out a rubbery squeeze.
Mana rolled back across the dirt. Even if her body ordered her to spring back up, somehow, she lacked the balance to return to action immediately. Instead, she had to peel her body off the ground and face the incoming black energy sphere with a scarlet outline accumulating at the end of Aleba's hands. Mana asked Stea's pupil to use her Dark Release ability more this session because she thought she'd get a greater understanding of Advanced Bloodlines if she saw one up close.
It wasn't that Mana was just using the genin for her own ends either, she genuinely intended to help the kid better use her ability. It was an incredible Advanced Bloodline, possibly the top of the line of those Mana had to face. The magician vaulted back, initiating Mystical Wings while her hands worked through the hand seals.
"Fire Release: Searing Migraine!" Mana yelled out. Rising from all the way down in her chest, a small fireball assembled at the tips of her lips that inflated after leaving Mana's mouth. It rushed at the black sphere that looked almost like a tiny singularity with a blood-red outline when in motion. Upon colliding with the Dark Release technique, Searing Migraine began to sizzle and spew wild sparks before whirling around as if it was being flushed into the void.
"Dark Release: Judgment!" Aleba yelled out with a strong and authoritative voice. She must've felt the rush of oppressing an older and more experienced kunoichi who rivaled her own mentor in skill and power. At that moment, the black void with a scarlet outline opened at the tip of Aleba's mouth and it unleashed a mirror-version of Searing Migraine except glowing with a haunting teal flame.
"Serenity Arcana!" Mana yelled out, crossing her arms up and forcing her armor ninjutsu to appear in its final stage and form an entire magical stage out of her chakra. The formation took the brunt of Searing Migraine's force and took the searing, all-encompassing flames well.
"Dark Release: Judgment!" Aleba went on to the offensive again, but this time Mana had a response. With the blazing, ethereal curtains of the Serenity Arcana opening up and the whole magical stage dissolving, the overwhelmed magician fell to her knees, but this didn't break the rhythm of her hand seals.
"Wind Release: Rebellious Twist Jutsu!" Mana chanted out while forcing air currents to spin her up and enhance her movements while forming a whirlwind around her. The vortex of pure Wind Release chakra made the Searing Migraine bounce off of it while charging it up with Wind Release chakra. Aleba gulped and covered up before the whole training stage became engulfed in a devastating blast zone.
"C-Can't be…" Aleba grunted with her jacket completely singed and her leather top covered with holes while her body showcased bruises and dirt. She appeared to struggle to move at first, so Mana crutched her way to the young kunoichi, fearing she may have gone too far by repelling a supercharged version of her own jutsu back at her. "I'm completely wiped out…" Aleba sat up, making Mana sigh in relief. The girl winced and panted, suggesting that she stretched her chakra augmentations to their limit to survive such a blast without significant injury, and even then her stamina was completely drained and the remnants of the damage that passed through her augmentations battered her to where she didn't have it in her to keep going that day.
"This is something you need to be aware of," Mana helped the young woman stand up. "Your Dark Release is like nothing I've ever seen before, absorbing the enemy's technique and making you able to use it as your own. But you need to realize that the technique's weaknesses also apply to you. Not to mention, if your opponent is aware of how your Dark Release works, they may bait you into absorbing a weaker jutsu first, in which case they'll effectively neutralize its impact for as long as you are locked into it."
"I guess you're right…" Aleba huffed. "It may be better if I use it defensively, pick and choose which jutsu it comes into contact with. Thank you, Mana-san. Your training has been a tremendous help."
"If it's not a secret, how did you come upon your Dark Release? Did you perfect it through training or were you born with it?" Mana asked.
"Oh, both my parents can use it, so it was a breeze picking it up," Aleba smiled just to show that there was no bad blood between her and the Konoha ninja who flat out beat her up during training.
"I see… I can take you to the hospital using Mystical Wings. These look like some nasty bruises, so it might be for the better if you have them examined," Mana offered.
"No, that's fine. We're meeting Stea-san in a few hours, so she'll patch me up a bit if I still need it. I wouldn't dream of asking you to exert yourself any more in your condition," Aleba politely refused.
"Jeez, make me feel any worse, will you?" Mana teased the girl about her suggesting that Mana's handicap made her much more deserving of pity than Aleba's current battle-worn condition.
Tanibi rushed across the rocky training stage that still didn't have the patches of grass planted and all the uprooted trees repaired since Mana's training with Aleba yesterday. He wielded a large scythe that had two curved blades on each side and in that reminded more of a pickaxe than a scythe. Despite her best attempts at evading, it was only a matter of time before Mana's vision dulled out due to a painful sensation at the back of her healthy heel, which forced her to collapse on her knees for a second.
The genin slammed the other end of his twin-sided weapon into the ground and jumped at its ends, spreading bat-like wings from his back that tore right through his white coat. He made it of bronze rods connected through gear work and it allowed Tanibi to leap greater distances or to glide when falling from grand heights as well. After ascending to the peak of his ability, the young man went through hand seals and aimed down.
"White Lightning Crash!" he chanted out and aimed his cupped hands down, emulating the jaws of a beast. A crackling aura of Lightning Release burst from the entire body of the now bare-chested genin before surging back into the opening in between his cupped hands. The color of the lightning turned marble white somewhere in between the beginning and end of the channeling journey and the electricity collected into a sparkling white sphere of Lightning Release that then took off toward where Mana had been cowering.
"Summoning Jutsu!" Mana scooped up her top hat and pulled Usubane out from its depths. Wasting no time, the rabbit picked her summoner up from the ground and dashed aside from the White Lightning Crash range just before the lightning sphere detonated into a marble-white lightning storm of bolts shooting wildly in all directions. Mana formed the Seal of Reconciliation after Usubane placed her down.
"Jeez, really pushed me into the corner by targeting my healthy heel," Mana admitted while Usubane beamed mean stares at Tanibi.
"Would you accuse me of fighting dirty? I saw a weak point, and I exploited it. I had no intention of fighting honorably against a foe that has such an edge in terms of experience and skill," Tanibi looked down at Mana for a few seconds before extending his hand to help the young woman stand up. Even with his aid, Mana's heel spewed blood when she put pressure on it, so Usubane suggested taking Mana to the infirmary.
"Nevermind that," Mana waved it off. She didn't want to feel like she owed this village any more than the King already let her know she does. "I'll just patch it up myself at the estate and Stea-san can heal it before our evening training."
"Please, use this," Tanibi extended his own ninja pouch filled with medical and food pills and various emergency first-aid supplies. "I am quite competitive and I seek to excel in all things I take a crack at so I can go overboard at times. This is the least I can do, all things considered."
"Thank you," Mana bowed her head politely, pulling out a few plasters and some bandages to cut off and stick to her wound. Luckily for her, she had her crutches right by her side, so she wouldn't need to crawl to the mansion or rely on Usubane to give her piggybacks, as much as the rabbit would've loved it. "Say, your White Lightning ability. Is it an Advanced Bloodline?"
"Not quite," Tanibi shook his head. "It is merely a unique form of Lightning Release. There is a vast difference in forms of Nature Release and Advanced Bloodlines. Advanced Bloodlines combine different Nature Affinities, molding them into one, different Nature Release forms emphasize a certain quality of any single Nature Release ability. I am surprised you can't identify the nature of White Lightning, since the Kumogakure elite train the famed Black Lightning ability."
"I see… So it's a honed ability," Mana looked away. She sensed a notable chakra signature closing in from the sidelines, so she turned to see Sajital rushing in to give Mana a hand.
"Sajital, I wasn't aware you were watching, then again, perhaps it's for the better that you were. Maybe you'll learn a thing or two from watching skilled ninja hone their skills against each other," Tanibi beamed a mean-looking glare at his teammate. Mana wondered what this was all about, but the surprise of seeing Sajital completely no-selling the attempt to offend him with a rich smile and a goofy giggle made her thoughts move aside from that.
"Aww man, I was hoping to train with Mana myself some more!" Sajital chuckled. "I guess you won't be in any condition to train after Tanibi's cheap shots."
"What exactly do you mean by that?" Tanibi clenched his fist in objection. "Ninja are meant to fight dirty and take shots at obvious openings. How could a ninja that can use all five elements be this dense is beyond me. What a waste of freak talent…"
"No way! That is what gives ninja a bad rap! Ninjutsu doesn't have to be used for killing and crushing people. You can resolve arguments through a fair and honorable clash of skills too. Plus, it's way more fun and bombastic that way, don't you think so?" Sajital looked to Mana, leaning down to see how her patching-up business was going and if she needed any more help.
"I'm afraid I can't quite agree with either of you. Not that either of you has wrong beliefs at all. I believe ninjutsu is a gift and that it's up to everyone that's gifted to serve those that are not. Moreover, I believe that no life in this world is without value, even though they weren't gifted with a speck of talent. I don't see the point in fighting altogether, though I still haven't found a way to stop murderous intent without it," Mana answered after finishing her patch-ups. Usubane wouldn't let her walk back on her own, so she scooped Mana up in her arms again before transitioning her into a piggyback position, manhandling the magician like a sack of potatoes. Usubane had grown quite strong.
"Well… As you said, we may disagree on certain issues, but if anyone can find a way to accomplish your nindo, Mana-san, that'd be you," Tanibi nodded, looking a tad bitter that the veteran didn't back him up. "What are you so chipper about, gutter trash?"
"Heh, I just realized that Mana's beliefs are way closer to mine than yours…" Sajital beamed a sheepish grin, looking beside himself with joy.
"Ugh, in any case, thank you for a stimulating training session, Mana-san. I look forward to more in the future. I hope your injury heals well. Now, I've got business to attend to in my family shop," Tanibi excused himself before taking off with a bountiful leap reaching the tree branches that could provide him a platform to move to the upper layers of the village outskirts from.
"He says "family business", but he makes picture frames for a living. Not quite what he cracks it up to be with the tone he says it in, huh?" Sajital laughed out to himself.
"You can use all five Nature Releases?" Mana turned to Sajital who appeared resolute to accompany Usubane and Mana all the way back to the estate, though probably just so he had the excuse to wind back and relax there and enjoy the fine food.
"Yep. I got myself messed up pretty badly as a kid, so they had to transplant a bunch of organs and limbs to help me survive. They must've healed up funny, 'cause I've got a whole bunch of different DNA in me now and I can use all the elemental natures that those people I've got transplants from had the affinities for. It's pretty weird, 'cause some of 'em weren't even ninja," Sajital shrugged the question off like it was not that big of a deal. "I know I've only shown you a few elements in our last training sessions, but that's only because you kept mopping the floor with me. I'll get to show you all five some day, I promise!"
"That's a promise then…" Mana smiled at the boy before looking up in the sky and wondering about something, all the different things she's learned training with Stea and her team. Things have been pretty rough as she's been active and brawling with changing sparring partners multiple times each day, but she's been building herself up too. Soon enough, she may even surpass the level she had before losing part of her leg. Even her chakra capacity has been returning to its peak, with her system exploring new connections between tenketsu to replace the missing ones and reconnecting different chakra masses with dormant energy that stayed untapped since the injury.
Even with the pressure from the King mounting up, Getsugakure was as close to paradise as it got and Mana felt glad that Stea could realize her dream of seeing her home built up and brought into the Golden Age like that. Before the shift in the timeline, Konoha used to call Mana the Golden Child. Seeing what she's seen, Stea must have been the real Golden Child now. Even though she wasn't a child anymore. None of Mana's generation were…