Mana stared at the slowly spreading crowd of Yordalarans in the main hall of Eternal Fire. Besides the crowd stumbled the beaten-to-a-pulp collaborators that were also tied up and looked all-around pathetic. Regardless, it was the fate they've chosen and it appeared as if though their gamble to surrender has paid dividends comprised of their own lives. Even if dignity and trust had to be sacrificed in the process…
The magician lacked the strength left in her to be as shocked as the situation demanded her to be or nearly as scared. These people have just effortlessly killed a ninja already, granted, it was more because they've managed to catch the woman off-guard during one of her one-track-minded rampages. Still, Yordalarans were fine warriors, otherwise, Iwagakure spies would not have bothered with this plot.
"You killed her…" Mana stated the obvious, leaving her cover while still standing close enough to it so that she could use the wreckage for support whenever her numbing body failed to keep itself upright.
"Oh, please. You, of all people, have no right to complain. You should have sensed them coming from a mile away… You're just as hypocritical as this waste of talent right there, albeit a much more intelligent one." Hanshin put his index finger under his nose like a fleshy strip of mustache and chuckled to himself.
He was right, it crushed Mana to admit it but he was right – she did sense the Yordalarans coming. Not for as long as she should have been sensing them but she sensed them ever since they made it to the vicinity of the structure. Their chakra signatures were nowhere near as distinguished as those of ninja, making them incredibly difficult to sense, impossible to detect in a crowd of civilians of other nationalities even, however, they were still present.
A part of the young woman had hoped that the Yordalarans would break in and break up this engagement. Control what she could not, crush with force what reason could not bend. She did not expect such a fatal entry, had she known that the Yordalarans would go for the kill immediately, she'd have likely done something stupid. Something that would have been more likely to get her killed…
"Kiyomi and Meiko, what did you do to them?" Mana stumbled forward, holding onto the parts of the wrecked tables and chairs to move in closer to the crowd of Yordalarans. If these people were as ruthless to the pair as they were with this spy…
"These two have grown a consciousness, even if it was far too late, they've explained what was going on thoroughly, which is why you and both of your friends are still breathing." The Yordalaran who was now without a spear spoke. Oddly enough, his voice lacked any threatening undertones or roughness and was just as kind as when the Yordalarans displayed their signature generosity.
Mana looked at the busted up collaborators who looked beaten far past the point of where they should have been able to comprehend what was transpiring around them. They were moving when forced to move. They reacted to pain when someone kicked them or shame when someone stared at them from above but they looked so… Distant from it all.
So these people actually told the Yordalarans the truth, despite having every opportunity to make up a lie about Konoha being the invading force? In a way, they had saved the lives of both Team Hokage and Hanshin. Maybe even squirming worms such as these could have been redeemed?
"Don't get any grandiose thoughts now…" Hanshin smirked while continuing to pose even when he had no need to trick anyone or dodge anything. "The only reason these worms submitted and barked what their masters told them to was that they were so desperate to save their own hides. Not lying was just the most elementary way for them to do so."
"We'll treat your injuries, as we would even to an enemy. After that, you must leave and never interfere with Yordalar's affairs ever again." The spear-less Yordalaran warrior declared looking at Mana, as if he perceived the magician to be someone with higher maturity and authority to deal with, compared to her flamboyant mentor.
"Thank you!" Mana nodded and tried to bow but the pain and exhaustion in her body made her crash her face into the rubble below, opening up some of the wounds on her front again. While some Yordalarans rushed in to aid the magician, the young woman kept shaking her head and repeating like a mantra that she was not the one that needed help and that she was merely exhausted.
She was worried about Kiyomi and Meiko the most, after all, those two must have been in an especially bad condition to not even continue past the room Hanshin came from. Mana just pleaded to whatever unnamed, supernatural forces were listening that the two were okay and that they'd make a quick recovery.
"Don't even dream of it…" Hanshin scolded the approaching Yordalaran warriors with his eyes. The man was in the complete condition of being able to walk all by himself and needed no help with that venture. Not that he would have allowed any if anything different was the case. Mana had learned this much from witnessing this last fight and, in a way, she had grown to respect the man more because of it.
Or, at least, rather feel less disgusted by him compared to when she took him for someone that was purely the way he was because of how strong he was.
A Yordalaran woman, as thick and sizeable as any of her male counterparts, approached Hanshin having placed her mace on the ground and switched it out for a jar of open herb ointment that she held on a pouch in her belt. The woman dipped two of her fingers into the goop and removed it, letting its repulsive odors and appearance become the source of nightmares to anyone that saw it. She slowly and carefully moved her pair of fingers closer to some of the cuts covering Hanshin's body, staring into the eyes of the Konoha ninja as if asking for his permission to treat him.
"Very well, you may touch Hanshin…" the special jounin relented with a sigh.
The pressure building up and erupting from her body made Mana yell out. As if the shout she let out could have somehow alleviated the tension and strain. Even if it made no actual sense, just letting it out there and feeling the pressure and the building up force convert into something and leave was almost alleviating and the switch between more wear compared to the overflowing chakra empowering her to flip over mountains and kick planets around like rag balls with nowhere to let this energy out was a welcome one.
A corporeal avatar of chakra manifested around Mana's body. It was just like an outer layer of her body, even shaped generally like another, chakra-based version of the magician. It was just about the simplest outline of what a chakra armor was supposed to be. Just like Mana had speculated, the basics of the chakra armor weren't all too complicated, it was getting it to advanced levels that required great skill.
Controlling the armor to take certain shapes was immensely difficult. It was the highest level of chakra shape manipulation embodied in a single feat. That was not something outside of Mana's reach. Her control of chakra was quite remarkable given her specialization in illusionary techniques that also demanded exceptional chakra control to grasp and improve them. Manipulating the size of the armor as well as its power and the power of the derivative techniques the armor could use was the complete opposite – it simply required entire mountains-worth of chakra.
A special branch of ninja techniques requiring both a monstrous chakra capacity as well as unforgivingly strict chakra control. So easy to grasp and so demanding to master…
"Heh, it appears you have gotten the hang of it. Hanshin isn't surprised. You did seem the second most receptive member in your team for this sort of training." Hanshin smirked looking at Mana with his own unique version of pride in his passion project.
"Second?" Mana wondered as her armor burnt out into blue tongues of chakra flares and faded away. It would not have been too wise to push the jutsu just after picking it up.
"Yes, the numbskull did have an incredible latent potential in chakra coating, figures she'd form the mightiest chakra armor as well." Hanshin waved his hand in dismissal, a gesture asking that Mana did not linger on the matter and that it was merely to be considered a triviality.
Mana had never considered Meiko a hidden talent in chakra coating. Not given how tough it came for the blacksmith to learn the technique and how much effort she had spent just learning to sit still and concentrate. With abysmal chakra control like that, Mana wondered if Meiko would ever live up to the beastly talent for chakra armor that Hanshin perceived in her. As someone who had spent an entire lifetime perfecting just a single jutsu and deriving secondary techniques to further bolster it – Hanshin was an authority on chakra armors and his word of hidden talents for the technique was not to be questioned.
"Maybe you should have trained her. I've noticed incredible potential inside of her as well when I was teaching her. I could not draw it out, however. She was the first person I have ever taught anything to so… Maybe that is why." Mana admitted. Now that the matter was brought up, even if Hanshin did not want to linger on it, she was beginning to feel bad about taking the time of the special jounin when Meiko may have been the much worthier recipient for the man's training. "She's going to be an amazing ninja one day…"
"Hmm?" Hanshin turned his head. For the first time in quite a while, all signs of goofiness and mockery faded from his look. "Have you given up on your own future? You speak like an old hag and you haven't even broken through twenty yet…"
The tutor's words did shatter a glass wall deep inside Mana's chest, forcing the magician to look down and think about it further. She truly did not imagine her future too much further past the upcoming, inevitable reunion with Guru Ayushi. Even if she had been preparing for years, honing her skillset not for improving herself and growing as a ninja but solely in taking that man out and protecting the ninja world from his madness she herself gave birth to. Living up to her responsibilities… That was always what was most important.
It would have been naïve to expect a future past that meeting. As naïve as expecting a candy after a stern talk with one's parents… Perhaps Mana has given up on her own future and has been looking out for her village in a different way, making sure that the heroes she had noticed within other people would eventually surface and be there where Mana has already surrendered to her fate.
"Well… It's very bushido of you not to fear death. Death is very artistic indeed, it cannot be said that Hanshin blames you for exploring that nook…" the Konoha ninja shrugged. He was one of the first few people to not scold Mana or attack her for sinking to such dark depths in her mind. When the first and only person agreeing to one's deepest thoughts was Hanshin – maybe it was the right time to reevaluate things…
"Bushido…" Mana mumbled silently. The code of honor that the samurai followed like law, requiring no further legislation or authority besides words written by whomever, whoever knew how long ago. The magician had never thought of herself of being honorable. Life was always the thing she strived to protect, remaining honorable was an optional cherry on top…
"There is a reason why Hanshin chose to train you and not the brawler one. Believe it or not, that reason is not just that the dimwit has been sleeping for days on end and recovering from her beatings, it has more to do with what Hanshin expects in return…" the special jounin lingered on something he was rather hesitant to tell. That in itself intrigued Mana as her temporary mentor was not the kind of person to be ashamed of absolutely anything, even to the point of where she felt ashamed for the both of them at times, such as his passion for kicking people he found bothersome in the face...
"In return?" Mana mumbled, the curiosity of what it could have been that she could have helped her superior with reared its head.
"That's right, Spirit Frequency is one of Hanshin's strongest techniques. It is so otherworldly in concept as well… It was not something that Hanshin came up with, however." The special jounin kept up his reserved face that was completely unusual for him. He did not enjoy something that related to the topic he was talking about.
Mana blinked a couple of times while remaining silent, just to socially nudge the other ninja to the right direction. If the magician was to help the man with anything, she would need more clarity than that.
"Well… You see… You are someone who is quite remarkable. You're not the strongest out of the three of your group, the margin by which you are the smartest is nowhere near important enough but… You treat the ninja arts as art, show them off to other people and they love you for it. Hanshin will require some of that trust and love that you get out of it." Hanshin tried putting his agenda into words and while he did make it a bit clearer, Mana still felt a bit out of the loop.
"Oh, you mean you shall need my commendation so that you get promoted to jounin?" Mana wondered. "I don't think my word will outweigh those of Meiko and Kiyomi, however…" the magician's face turned troubled. There was no way that Kiyomi would remark of her time working with Hanshin as anything but lousy.
"Oh, that is not it. Hanshin will acquire his promotion soon enough… What Hanshin meant to say was… Hanshin learned Spirit Frequency by researching ancient texts that Hanshin found in the hidden temple of a cult Hanshin was sent to eliminate. There may be other useful hidden techniques that will escalate Hanshin even faster along Hanshin's way, however…"
"People don't trust or like Hanshin." Mana finally put two on top of two. "So you need the aid of someone people actually like to have them let you into their hidden archives…"
"It seemed so complicated to say but… When you put it like that… It seems just about right." Hanshin nodded in affirmation with enthusiasm.
"Normally it would truly feel wrong entering sacred grounds purely for acquiring power but… You're lucky I enjoy history and legends and would find such a quest fascinating." Mana grinned, duplicating the energetic nod of her temporary squad leader.
"Quest? You misunderstand… Hanshin requires as much of this hidden knowledge as possible, preferably all of it there is." Hanshin made a tamer pose. Something told Mana that it was purely to disguise his glee and pride after the magician's agreement to play the planned part of his company.
Kiyomi and Meiko made a quick recovery after the first few days. Letting the spent chakra return, after which point their supernatural ninja metabolisms did their part and greatly assisted the recovery was the difficult part but the Yordalaran generosity by helping treat the wounds of the young women greatly aided with that.
Even if the unvoiced sentiment of the Yordalarans wanting and meaning to have the Konoha ninja gone from their village, just like they expunged the surviving Iwagakure ninja with only the necessary supplies so that they could treat their wounds themselves, remained in everyone's minds, the Yordalarans were surprisingly generous and kind. It was no wonder that the two kunoichi made such a successful recovery in a relatively short amount of time.
"Wow, what a wild trip…" Meiko smirked while looking on ahead the road they were about to make. Hopefully, there would be none of the previous hitches, even if the Red Hawks showed up again, the Konoha squad would be ready for them now.
"You should get used to it. Every mission is going to be this crazy from this point on." Kiyomi turned at her friend with a heartwarming smile. One that increased in size and warmth after a short pair of moments that the young woman spent looking at her recovered friend.
"We're still genin so… Not for a while, probably, what do you think, Mana? You've been a chuunin for years now, is every mission this wild on that step of the ladder?" Meiko turned at the magician.
"Every single one…" Mana couldn't help but crack a grin of her own. Even if the memories of the stressful and life-threatening times ever since she's become a chuunin were not too bright, something about them surfacing now, with the current context in mind, that made them much more enjoyable.
"What's the matter? Planning to retire?" Kiyomi teased her friend by poking Meiko with her elbow a handful of times. Something that triggered the inner instinct within the blacksmith to brawl with her friend. A notion that was seconded and responded to from the side of the Yamanaka heiress.
"You wish!" Meiko grunted while rubbing her armored knuckle onto the top of Kiyomi's head.
"Are you three done fooling around and keeping Hanshin back? We do have a return to make and these settlers will get anxious if we overstay our welcome." Hanshin looked back at the three kunoichi who were still lingering about the edges of Yordalar.
"We better get moving, the sooner we come back, the sooner we will never have to see that asshole again." Kiyomi sighed.
Mana could not help it but cackle. The recent events and deals she has made predicted a lot more Hanshin in her future.
