The next workday took almost no time at all before turning hectic. From tackling the complaints from disgruntled Security officers who have now found themselves suspended indefinitely until the licenses of those who were verified and approved for the clash with the Diamond Hand were unsuspended and joined the taskforce, to the elementary difficulties of building such a taskforce, to begin with.

The old Security chief was a massive help, lending his great experience in managing the force and giving insight into the experience, personalities, skillset, and history of the people Mana and Itemi were going through. The magician had never imagined Itemi to be this skilled with managing paperwork, skimming through towers upon towers of files, instantly identifying cooked documents or "freebie" arrests with a pair of glares on the files.

Okasune-san was right, whatever the man took away from the force by being a rambling machine of little to no ability to keep something to himself, the officer was amazing at writing detailed and textbook-right reports or identifying when reports were either rushed or otherwise tampered with.

"You know, all those men and women we've suspended will now join the Diamond Hand's ranks, most likely." Chief Chontai cleared his throat, raising a valid yet long discussed between Mana and Itemi point.

"Yeah, that's kind of the plan. We'll draw clear lines, let everyone choose instead of having to worry about being backstabbed all the time in a game of who's who." Mana sighed.

"The kid was not entirely truthful to what she was thinking. This was just an idea she cooked up, a plan. Somewhere inside she still worried about it, wondered if the plan was too cold and calculated to be put to use when human lives were at stake. Sometimes I wondered if this kid ever planned around civilian lives before. If she knew what a powerful internal factor it was or how it could derail a perfectly good plan." Itemi kept on rambling to himself as his eyes ran down another file.

"You know, if the enemy force is too powerful, if there is no hope for victory, even the most idealistic and hopeful will tip to the Diamond Hand's side. Not because they agree with them but because they want to survive." Chontai scratched the back of his neck.

"The old man was tired, hell, I was tired. The girl had not slept for a pair of days either. She looked much better now than she looked yesterday, she must have been getting back into shape. That was the only explanation, still, even given her supernatural body and mind, she'll begin getting weary eventually and it didn't look like she had anything to seek solace in." Itemi pulled out another smoke before lighting it up. It was a massive fire hazard but whereas earlier in the night Mana stopped the officer from doing it, now she had grown accustomed and somewhat numbed to it.

"You should move your family and hide. As a defector, they will come after you. Even if the dirty and scorned officers have not already leaked the information of your involvement – they soon will." Mana looked softly at the old man.

"Do you truly think that I was as foolish as to bring up a child in this world, given my status and circumstances? My wife has accepted the consequences of being involved with me long ago, she's been nagging me about being secretive and grumpy for too long. If anything, she'll be glad to hear about the fact that I pissed some thug badly enough for us to be targeted." Chontai laughed out. His laugh was not genuine, there was a hint of bitter in it.

"So instead of bringing up a child who could potentially face danger because of their relation to you, you'd rather derive them from life completely?" Mana asked quietly, almost like leaving the question out in the air, like she herself was still trying to determine what her stance on such a decision was.

"It's not deriving a child of life if they haven't been born. You cannot derive from life something hypothetical. Just by living your life you're deriving thousands of children of life. It was a sick way of thinking about it but, then again, the magician girl was just a child. That train of thought gave me an idea…" Itemi decided as he flung his smoke aside, letting it spread its black and blazy powder across some downed paperwork. Mana hurried from her chair to pick it up and properly dispose of it, something she's found herself doing quite often recently.

If anything, it was a battle of wills. Mana was almost sure of it that she was being tested, smokes represented Itemi's abandonment of what he once stood for, what he once embodied when he started working in Shukuba Security and he was merely testing to see just for how long Mana would stick to the old ways of fixing everything she saw out of order. There was actually no reasonable way for Mana to win this clash of wills for it was perpetual but there was a painful way to lose – let the discarded paperwork light up in flames after she missed just one careless act.

"Tracking all this history, conducting all those interviews will give us shit. I knew that. Chontai secretly knew that. The kid may not have known that yet but she'd have found out. Waste of time – all of it. That being said, it was not all hopeless, there was a way to mold together Sorceress' idea for reforming the Shukuba Security and the way reality operated. We'd employ the newbies. People of no history, no loose ends to track. Anyone skilled enough to graduate could have done the job, their freshness and move-the-world attitude were just what we needed in this…" Itemi concluded.

"That's a great idea. Where are you going?" Mana's face changed from ecstatic to irritated in just one moment. Itemi was standing and getting dressed for leaving.

"I needed to pick up my herb potions. Before this whole fight was done, I'd be shot at, stabbed at and whatever other sick methods of execution and torture the Diamond Hand employs. It was a sick fight, so sick that we needed people who had no idea about how sick it was to fight it. That told me everything I needed to know. The potion seller arrived in the late morning, just a few steps shy of the main square. Next stop after Konoha, then to gather intel for the rookie squad…" Itemi kept rambling to himself but his ramblings sort of put the general picture together quite nicely.

"There's no use in stopping him. Itemi, fill her up for the whole squad!" Chontai yelled at the man who just flipped his hands up in the air before leaving the door to slam. He then unwillingly tackled the rising storm of confused and outright infuriated Security officers before redirecting them to the chief's office.

Herb potions that arrived in the early mornings in Konoha before moving to Shukuba for some late morning sales… Mana felt an unpleasant rush of memories from home, could those potions have been the pain-numbing herb concoctions that her father has been using? Chief Chontai looked like he knew about them and even encouraged Itemi to pick them up for the whole squad.

"What are those potions Itemi was talking about?" Mana asked with unease.

"Oh, it's just… This miracle drink from Konoha, or somewhere close. Renders you completely painless for a while before filling you with a pleasant, numbing sensation for hours on end that sort of counteracts pain that is yet to come. It's probably meant more for recovering veterans or elderly people with knee pains but… Nothing better to power through having high-velocity blades shred your flesh multiple times." Chontai shook his head before helping Mana gather a bunch of files about younger and less experienced officers.

"Don't you have medical ninja working here? They could patch you right up after injury. They work really fast and they don't just mask the pain – they deal with the problem." Mana wondered.

"Not anymore. Not unless Konoha sends some here on a mission or something. They sometimes do, it makes for fine practice for the inexperienced ones just... They haven't for a while now." Chontai shook his head. He then handed Mana a file, the magician felt a bit confused about it before looking at it more closely and getting the old man's point. The file was of the ex-officer who was seduced and played by Okasune. He was pretty young too. Mana needed even less experienced people in her squad.

As the magician went on through the files, gathering a handful that actually fit all the criteria, she realized just how dire the odds were. There could have been less than a couple of dozens of files there. Chontai saw Mana's lingering eyes and tried consoling her but he just couldn't find the right words. Seeing just how many people were even eligible for consideration, Mana felt like she was sending these poor people for slaughter.

"You know, maybe this whole reformation idea was a bad idea after all. Maybe I'm better off doing it all alone. I mean…" Mana placed the file she held tightly in her hand, slamming it onto the small pile.

"Oh, are you invulnerable?" Chontai raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I can withstand something as trivial as dispenser fire for a while, even easier I can avoid it. Even if I'm attacked when I'm unaware, my body will instinctively react to it for the cost of a more strenuous drain and pressure on my chakra network… I'd rate my chances quite high against the likes of common thugs." Mana breathed in and out heavily, glaring at the small pile of files comparing them to the towers upon towers of personal files and reports positioned on the floor because the table ran out of room.

"Eventually even the most fortitudinous of men and women are brought down. Do not underestimate the enemy. They are too numerous for that, too influential. In addition, people with gifts like yours are not nearly as difficult to come by as you think. I'm sure that the leader of the Diamond Hand surrounds himself with people who'd be more than a challenge even for you, Sorceress-san. Mercenaries, rogue ninja, wandering samurai or disgraced pirates hiding out where the navy of no country or crew of none of their peers would be looking for them – solid ground. Diamond Hand has influence, money, and power. That means they have the access to all of them." Chontai wisely warned her.

Even if there were a couple of dozens of suitable candidates to begin the selection from after the secondary selection was finished only eleven young officers remained. After that, there was the unpleasant matter of confronting the rookie eleven and explaining the situation to them.

"I'll send out the messenger hawks." Mana sighed after the roster was settled on and all that was left to do was to draft the summons.

Mana had never drafted an official document in her life. Amongst most other things she has never done and yet would have to learn to do if she was to help this town rid of its shadowy oppressors and make it what its pleasure town façade made it out to be.

"You don't have to go all the way to the Aviary, we have a local facility for that. It'd be a hassle to go there every time someone wanted to send something…" Chontai pointed before relaying the directions to Mana. "I think the building's clear by now. You seem to have a handle on things. I'm off, best of luck to you and your rookie squad."

"My rookie squad?" Mana repeated uneasily, questioning the chief's choice of words.

"But of course, you are a chuunin, are you not? You better get used to managing a squad." Chontai laughed out.

"B-But Itemi-san is more experienced, he knows all the procedures better. He'd be better suited to lead the rookies."

"That is not true. Itemi may be more experienced but he is ridding responsibility wherever he is confronted by it. He'd rather walk around and do his own thing, gather intelligence, shoot up smaller criminal dens instead of taking people in, draft a mean report up all by himself. You may not know a thing or two, but that is why you have a squad, is it not?" Chontai nodded at Mana before standing up unceremoniously and heading for the door.

Before Mana could even find an argument to object the man with, he was gone. The magician contemplated what she had started. She'd have gone nowhere if Shukuba did not want to get rid of the Diamond Hand itself. If the governor did not wish to aid her, if Chontai did not wish to clear his name before retirement so that his night sleep was more peaceful in his final days, if Itemi did not burn with passion to avenge his friend. She'd have been labeled and forced out of the town. Even the Hokage did not object her intent and actions.

In that case was it Mana's own decision and actions to rid the town of the Diamond Hand or was she just a tool, just a useful opportunity that everyone superior to her is exploiting to their own ends? Whatever the case, the Diamond Hand cost human lives with every day of their existence. They stay hidden and unseen, exposing themselves only to leave bodies that are written off by their agents. Whether Mana was the actor or the agent, in this case, it was only her Ninja Way to tear down the Diamond Hand.

The office was awfully quiet. Mana stood up and went through the same door the chief had left through, looking around the mess of paperwork left by the outraged Shukuba Security. Many of those that were employed must have rushed to their Diamond Hand contacts, offering their services, without a doubt. Still, without an actual access to the Security, they'd be mostly useless to the syndicate of criminals, as good as the amount of muscle they carried with them. As good as a spare pair of arms and legs…

As the hawks soared into the sky like arrows launched upward, or like salutes of explosive spheres launched from a kunai dispenser at a formal funeral, Mana's hopes and fears all left skyward with them. Just how many of these rookies would report back? They had all the reasons not to – for a significant portion of their lives they were trained to join the Shukuba Security and now they were told that the establishment no longer existed. Then they were called up by a foreigner to wage some war, outside the procedures they so closely studied, lead not by a fellow officer they knew or could trust but a ninja – the very definition of a trickster and deceiver.


It may have been useful to find Itemi, whatever he was doing, he could have used Mana watching his back. Still, it was not like the magician could once again transform into someone he hated with hopes of luring him out. At this point she'd just be wandering around, looking for trouble. For that reason, Mana stayed indoors, studying the files of the rookies, again and again, their physical capabilities, their mental preparation etc.

That was when the unexpected happened – a knock came to the heavy wooden door of the chief's office before it opened. A shaken and frail looking, yet well-dressed, man entered and lifted his top hat to Mana, given how the magician was also hatted with a similar garment she wondered if, maybe, she needed to follow up that gesture but that intent somehow timed out by the man offering the first words of this curious meeting.

"Ehm… Is this really the Shukuba Security? I am here to report a foul lawlessness in our fine establishment of a town and there appears to be not a single representative of law inside." The man spoke up in a very formal and highfalutin manner. Must have been a local big cheese, fears of possible contact with a Diamond Hand agent lit up inside Mana's gut almost instantly.

"Yes, this is the… Well, Shukuba Security has been disbanded for a complete re-staffing. I'm not sure that's an actual word but it relays the idea. We probably will not have an active force until at least tomorrow morning." Mana rubbed the back of her neck in unease. Duty called, someone needed to answer it and Mana was literally the only person for the job.

"Curses, I have no idea what to do with this curious predicament. If I cannot rely on our finest lawmen to shield me from transgressions most foul that hangs over my head on a delicate thread, how am I to behave? Next morn may just be too late." The man looked quite distressed by this news, perhaps more than even a decent actor would be able to convey.

"Well, it would most likely be fitting if you sat down right there, breathe in and out and tell me what's the trouble. I am keeping this chair occupied until buttocks better than mine show up to take my place." Mana tried imitating the man's manner of speech but it did not work nearly as well as she had envisioned it in her mind.

"Not that I do not value your proposition, young lady but… I am well aware of your prominence and the cause of it. I do not believe that a… On second thought, mayhaps a stage magician would be the best person to ask the favor from." The snob was quite conflicted with himself, it seemed.

"I don't like to brag but there is a reason why I was left to safeguard this chair for the while, Sir. Please tell me what brought you here." Mana encouraged the man to go on as the possibility of any kind of criminal activity peeking from the corner and showing the yet unformed Shukuba Security where to aim their dispensers and watchful gazes at sounded exciting and very fortunate.

"Well… My name, for you may not be aware of this, is Oribu Fuun, my mother – Oribu Toun was a famous theatre actress and personality. She had accumulated somewhat of a fortune, you see." The man finally relented.

Mana just kept on nodding while trying not to let her multiple sleepless nights get to her, she was quite an admirer of history but she could not have cared less about aristocrats and fortunes that people made. The magician was not the best at managing or counting money, making this entire Shukuba affair very unsuitable for her, yet remarkably less so than an assassination would have been…

"Her remarkable jewel necklace, a relic of my family, is still residing deep in my estate, on the outskirts of Shukuba. I verily appreciate the countryside, you see. Do not take me for some pompous and airheaded fool, young lady, I very much appreciate and protect my dearest matriarch's legacy but…" The man appeared to get a bit stuck on his explanation.

"It was stolen?" Mana raised an eyebrow. While she did not feel very confident about her ability or interest to solve a case of theft or the relation to the Diamond Hand of the entire affair as it was too "on the nose" and obvious for the shadowy criminal syndicate to be related to it, theft was very much something Shukuba Security would trouble themselves with.

It was Mana's responsibility, therefore, to occupy herself with things that Shukuba Security would have occupied themselves with because she was the one that robbed this town of their, Security force. A bit on the corrupt side, albeit a notable one nonetheless.

"Well… No. The burglar… That crook, thankfully, did not complete the… Big job. They have successfully disabled multiple of my guards and several of my security measures, bypassing some very intricate traps in the process, very impressive… Yes… But the necklace still remains, I can affirm it is the real deal and not a switched fake. In fact, the very final room where it is contained has not a single trap or security measure tampered with. To make matters worse… Or better, depends on the point of view entirely, nothing appears to be missing at all. I've had my servants do the full inventory check this morning, something they are quite bitter about at the moment."

The man stopped talking to bemuse himself with the prospect of the difficult and menial labor of his servants. It was perhaps less menial than the man realized as he had provided Mana with many useful clues about his case. While the man must have handed the assignment to check the full inventory of his mansion out of spite and for the sheer reason of the fact that he could do so, the fact that he did was very useful to Mana.

"Very well…" the girl smiled, "I shall accompany you to the place of… Incomplete crime and examine the clues. I will do everything I can to give you same results, or, hopefully, more than Shukuba Security would have given you had they not been disbanded. Also, I'd appreciate if you kept the fact of the Security being disbanded a hush-hush type of matter".

"Very good, off we go. And do not worry, Konoha's Sorceress, I do not interact too often with the townsfolk. My days are best spent hunting and entertaining myself in mother's garden and the deforested fields that I own with sport and games." The man assured Mana before standing up and readying himself for departure. "I even arrived here with my own personal carriage so our journey will be most swift and as comfortable as it can get!"

And that was how Mana got entangled in the case of not-really-missing jewel necklace and a mysterious not-quite-yet burglar.