The palace guard stood lined up at consistent intervals across the long hallways circling each floor. No matter how much the pace of the taps of Mana's and Damisan's boots on the floor picked up, how much wider each of their steps was, it didn't feel like they'd made that much progress. Maybe it was because of a myriad of dark thoughts and doubts running through their heads about all the horrible things that could have happened to Ryoku Genshi.
After making their way to the ground floor, Mana and Damisan stepped out through the palace gate and confronted the guards watching the gate. Despite it being a later hour in the evening, the guards didn't seem bothered by the fact that Mana was leaving the palace until she stood before them and spoke to them.
"Excuse me, have you, by any means, seen contestant Ryoku Genshi today? I know I'm about to fight him tomorrow, but he's actually my friend and I'm worried about him. Neither of us has seen him since the aftermath of his match," Mana asked the guards, only now realizing how odd it may have seemed for a contestant who was scheduled to fight Genshi tomorrow to be looking for him on the evening before the match was to take place.
"The crippled athlete with a suit of armor? I haven't seen him," one of the palace guard pair shook his head.
"Actually, I'm pulling a double shift, because the guy I'm filling in for got hospitalized with a leaky gut. During the midday shift, I saw him leave with a flashy pair of companions. A young woman in a black leather skirt and a colorful, purple, black, and white sleeveless top, a red and black leather jacket, and a beret. Also, a man in a purple tuxedo and a black vest with decorative golden buttons, a top hat, and a domino mask. They looked quirky enough to remember, but the contestant looked chummy with them so we let them pass," another tall and burly guard recalled.
"Well, that's just great!" Damisan spoke as if cursing, despite saying nothing but sarcastically positive things. "Those sound like those sponsor folks, right? What could they want with Genshi?"
"With Wayna Nunnon out, he's the last horse they can back. It appears obvious…" Mana scratched her chin, still within hearing range of the two guards. "Thank you for your help," she politely bowed before the guards, who looked mostly baffled by her gesture as one of them scratched their baggy white, oversized beret-like headgear.
"Umm… Sure, you know, if those guys are bad news, we'll help you find and retrieve your friend. He's an active contestant, and it's really important that he makes it to the arena tomorrow. We can get the entire palace guard up and at arms to seek him out," the chubbier and shorter guard with a round and coiled, pointy mustache pointed out.
"That will not be necessary, thank you," Mana bowed her head, easing up on the politeness protocol after seeing her middle-eastern continent body language confuse the western desert folks. "I do not believe those two mean Genshi-san any harm. In fact, they likely want Genshi-san to fight and win tomorrow more than all of us."
"I see, well then, you two have a good evening…" a lightly baffled palace guard nodded while scratching the back of his head so that his baggy hat slipped over his forehead and required correction.
"Can you track him with your chakra sensory?" Damisan wondered, tilting his eyebrows as if knowing this was a long shot, yet feeling obligated to ask just to feel calm about having ticked every box of what he could do to find his protégé.
"His chakra signature is small since he's untrained, but I have spent a fair amount of time around him… It's possible, but…" Mana stopped to collect herself before weaving her hands together in a Tiger Seal position and closing her eyes to concentrate. "I've got it," Mana's eyes shot wide open. The fact that she honed in on the signature with so much precision and took so little time finding him surprised her a little. Then again, her sensory abilities were developing at a consistent pace, even if it was a tad sluggish, and Genshi was a consistent presence around Mana ever since her awakening back into her real body.
"Really? You're amazing! Where is he?" Damisan perked up.
"He's around five kilometers north of Agbarah Sheikhate. Out of town, but not too much so. In fact, he's currently slowly moving toward the town," Mana relayed the information she picked up with her chakra sensory that she could now feel passively as if her more focused scan revealed a picture that was now placed on the walls of her mental fort like a poster with the artist breaking in and correcting their piece every time it changed. "I can pick up delicate chakra signatures around him. Those must be the sponsors. Their chakra isn't particularly remarkable. They're ordinary civilians."
"Outside of town? What could they be doing there?" Damisan became gloomy, running different scenarios inside of his head about what a pair of shady sponsors might have wanted with the young man Damisan saw a lot of himself in. Softening her expression, Mana gently touched Damisan's shoulder, as if trying to comfort him, when, in fact, her true intentions were a bit different.
"Are you sure it's a good idea to chase after him?" Mana asked, slamming a figurative sledgehammer straight into Damisan's chest and stunning him with this bold and aggravating question. "It's clear that the sponsors won't harm their last chance at winning this tournament and getting what they want. They probably want him to succeed more than we do right now."
"Why would you even ask that?" Damisan looked like he was about to lash out, but then swallowed his exasperation and looked down, scratching the back of his neck to alleviate the tear that stuffing his ire down like that left in his psyche. "We don't know who these sponsors are, who they're loyal to. The only thing we know is that they're supplying those athletes with military-grade equipment with weaponry stolen from the ninja villages around the world. If the Supreme Leader knew about this, she'd probably instruct us to capture them for political favor with the villages."
"Well, she's not here, and Shige's report of them hasn't reached her yet, or her updated orders haven't reached us yet, because we've received no such order. If you want to capture those two, I'll go with you, but… What's important now is if that's what Genshi-san wants," Mana tried explaining why she was so hesitant about interfering with the sponsors' business with her tomorrow's opponent.
"We won't know what Genshi wants until we ask him," Damisan stuffed his hands inside his pockets and turned in the direction where his friend was, according to Mana's senses. "Before I met them and saw what they're peddling, I advised Genshi to accept their favors and offerings, because I thought I might not be able to keep him alive on my own out there. Not with you awake and needing me just as much. If this gets Genshi in trouble, trouble that might end up biting him in the ass, I wouldn't forgive myself."
While Damisan's worries were undoubtedly affected by his personal feelings and biases, they weren't entirely unreasonable. If it leaked that the Great Ninja Villages had their military secrets, weapons, and technology stolen by foreign private agents, who used those secrets to score real estate and amass military power and influence, if Genshi was to win the tournament and become the new Sheikh, this could be a cause of a massive conflict between Sunagakure and the Sheikhate. It wasn't like the Kazekage wouldn't appreciate an excuse to centralize more and more of the desert power in his hands by eliminating another Sheikh he had to consult with before making any big decisions in the area.
"Very well, let's confront Genshi-san and see what the sponsors want with him," Mana nodded in agreement with Damisan's plan of action. "If we move in that direction, we should catch up to them just as they enter the town through the gate. The town guards won't let just about anyone in at this hour, so the sponsors need Genshi-san by their side to enter the town."
"Yeah, it's not like civilians with expensive and colorful outfits like that could sneak in…" Damisan nodded with a sullen look on his face. Seeing him bothered like that made Mana dread needing to protect those sponsors from her boyfriend's wrath.
The town around the Sun Disc arena had that familiar glow and cheer in the evening hours. With the bustling crowd now wholly leaked into the various establishments around the town and celebrating the grand festivities, there was plenty of music and joy in the air. While usually, the sounds of tipsy customers slamming their pints of drinks of their choice against one another and recalling their favorite fights would've sounded troublesome on most evenings, the Succession Tournament had a certain celebratory mood to it that made every spectator feel like an Agbarahan and united the whole Sheikhate and its visitors for a common occasion to celebrate.
Besides the usual sights of athletic fever that's been gripping the Sheikhate firmly for a few weeks now, ample parades and street musicians were making a living and giving their part of this grand and inspiring celebratory mood, elevating their hometown. Part of Mana almost wanted to be a part of that, to leave her mission objective and this whole tournament behind and just forget everything, pull out a deck of cards, find the nearest point of elevation, and start dazzling the crowd herself. The older and more experienced Mana became, the more she yearned for the simplicity of her childhood days.
A loud exclamation of surprise made Mana snap out of her daydreaming and follow the point captivating the entirety of Damisan's attention–a party of Sunagakure ninja clad in baggy black bodysuits and wearing thick, brown flak jackets with wide shoulders and head and neck wraps with the village insignia. The lined-up party marched surrounding a black and golden vehicle with an open top and a dozen of golden bent pipes pumping smoke while the wheeled steel caravan rolled forward.
Inside the rolling, suspiciously bath-shaped vehicle stood a towering man of two and a half meters in height, waving at the admiring audience. The man wore a white and green ceremonial Kazekage garb with his long and wild, spiky red hair slipping from under his triangular Kazekage hat and rustling over the man's shoulders, adding some additional gravitas to his size and presence.
"Lord Kazekage?" Mana said to herself, standing in place and observing the parade rolling past them and through the open town gate. It wasn't entirely illogical to assume that the Kazekage may have been interested in the outcome of the Succession Tournament, given how Agbarah was the nearest Sheikhate to Sunagakure and its future ruler would then be either Kazekage's political rival or his partner, resuming the dance of influence between the Kazekage and the Sheikhs over ruling the vast Wind Land desert.
"That's odd," Damisan crossed his arms over his chest. "Somehow I thought that the Kazekage would have been present for the entire thing, but I can't seem to recall seeing him in the spectators' stands. Now's a strange time for him to arrive at the event, isn't it? The whole thing's just about wrapping up with two days of the tournament being left over."
"It's more than likely that Lord Kazekage's interest in the Succession Tournament isn't related to the flare of the fights, but to the politics of it all," Mana shrugged. "Come to think of it, Sunagakure has only had a single competitor in the tournament, if I recall correctly. Maybe the Kazekage arrived now because he's received the news the ninja they sent to represent their village failed to move to the second round?"
"Ngh!" Damisan grumbled, becoming serious once again as he turned to the rear end of the long, bath-shaped, steam-pumping vehicle in which the Kazekage rolled into town and dashed toward two exuberant and colorful characters surrounding Ryoku Genshi from both sides. Feeling the atmosphere turning dense, Mana rushed after him, begging whatever universal forces were hearing her out so that Damisan didn't trigger a conflict with these two jokers in Lord Kazekage's presence and cause a scandal that would give the Supreme Leader a premature heart attack.
"Ah, if it isn't the ninja engineer that's taken such good care of Genshi-san so far!" the man with slightly long but neat emerald-green hair and a ridiculously flashy and expensive-looking outfit cheered for Damisan, kicking his left foot up and to the side while extending his arms and raising a black umbrella in his left hand in the air before twirling it around and slamming its front end into the sandy road the Kazekage's vehicle just rolled through.
Thankfully, Damisan had enough sense and composure not to hit the man or threaten him, instead positioning in front of the trio with a wide-enough stance and a no-nonsense look that left no doubt about the fact he wouldn't let those three pass without first resolving their issues openly. Mana stopped behind his back, scanning the three with an observant look. Her eyes lingered on the trio of the two sponsor representatives and Ryoku Genshi, then switched to the closing town gate and an assemblage of guards that thickened compared to how many guards usually watched the place.
These two may not have been threatening combatants, but they were relatively intelligent, using the Kazekage's arrival for an easier entry back into the town. It would have been the easiest infiltrating Agbarah when all the guards were busy letting the Kazekage through and following his party, seeing to it that every need of the Sunagakure's leader was met.
What bothered Mana in particular about this note she's made was that the Kazekage's arrival wasn't advertised ahead of time. The crowd was nowhere near as thick and wide as the crowd watching the matches when usually a parade as flashy and luxurious as this would have been more interesting than a night drinking and fine dining in some town establishment. Yet, somehow, those two either knew ahead of time of the Kazekage's late and unannounced arrival, and planned accordingly, or used this opportunity to their own ends. Either way, they were no ordinary customers.
"And Nakotsumi Mana, Konoha's Sorceress, or… Gladiatrix, as you're known in Agbarah?" the pink-haired woman bowed and with a warm smile in Mana's direction. "I'm a little bit star-struck right now. You wouldn't sign this poster for me, would you?"
Much to Mana's awe, the woman slipped her hand behind her jacket and pulled out a rolled poster of Mana's stage magic show Hiro's Hall back in Konoha. Why would she carry this thing around with her, why specifically now? Did those two suspect that they might run into Mana that evening? Why is the poster from Konoha? Were their benefactors based in Konoha, or was this just a massive diversion?
"You're well-informed," Mana noted, swallowing her awe and rebuilding the crumbled wall of composure while grabbing the maroon and gold pen with a golden nib and scratching a messy signature. Not her finest work, but some of the better autographs she's signed without solid support underneath, such as a table or someone's back.
"Hardly, you're flattering me!" the sponsor woman exclaimed with a loud and cheerful tone. "Maybe that would be the case if we were dealing with any ordinary ninja, but you're one of those ninja who operates in plain view. Heck, you attract attention like a black hole! You basically pioneered that field of work!"
"Besides, you're a competitor and tomorrow's opponent of Genshi-san's. It's obvious we'd have to do some research, even though your particular flashy attitude and need for attention has made it easy as pie," the green-haired gent with a domino mask shrugged with a smug expression.
"Genshi," Damisan spoke up, addressing the uncomfortable-looking man wedged in between this larger-than-life pair. "What are you doing with those two? What's going on here?"
"Damisan-san…" Genshi said, rubbing the back of his elbow with an artificial arm that wasn't one of Damisan's making. It was a limb of dark blue dyed wood, Mana couldn't tell the exact sort and decorated with golden framing and ruby decorations. Exactly the type of prototype a sponsor with unlimited information, resources, and technology, as well as a flair for theatrics and luxury, would provide. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything, but… I didn't want to cause you any trouble with me being matched up against Mana-san. I didn't want to hurt your or Mana-san's feelings, so when these two approached me with an offer to support me for my match tomorrow, I took it."
"You were outside the town just now. Were you training? Should I be worried?" Mana smiled, trying to lighten up the atmosphere and show Damisan that she wasn't going to hold anything against him tomorrow.
"We weren't testing anything," the sponsor woman crossed her arms under her chest with a confident expression. She then shot her eyes wide open, as if reveling in the weight of the revelation she was about to drop. "We were picking up a drop of some additional gear from our suppliers and benefactors."
"Indeed, we didn't expect that Genshi-san's gear would get wrecked in the quarterfinals. It cost our conglomerate a great deal of money and time to invent and assemble that armor. With Wayna Nunnon's elimination and Genshi-san's unique… Challenges… We had to order our agents to deliver some new gear from our warehouses in the region," the green-haired male sponsor added with a much more nonchalant attitude.
"New stolen military secrets? Careful with that, the Kazekage is within arm's reach. What if he doesn't like what he sees Genshi doing tomorrow?" Damisan squinted with suppressed ire. "I'd rather Genshi doesn't get into trouble over something you built for him."
"They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. We may yet see if Lord Kazekage agrees with that saying…" The pink-haired woman giggled into her open hand before turning to her partner and Genshi. "Say, how about you two head on back to the Agbarmahal? I'd like to discuss something with Konoha's Sorceress…"
"What's this about?" Genshi perked up while the other sponsor gently guided him along with his firmly attached and marvelous prosthetic arm. "You better not hurt Mana-san or try to intimidate her or something underhanded like that."
"Don't worry, dear. It's just fangirling stuff!" the pink-haired sponsor lady clapped her hands with an ecstatic smile that vanished as soon as Genshi and her partner were out of view. Seeing this sudden shift of the woman's mood made Damisan's fists clench and his body twitch toward placing himself between Mana and this sponsor woman.
"Now, I've heard something about you offering to throw the fight earlier. Is that correct?" the sponsor woman perked up, forcing herself onto Mana and prompting Damisan to step in and make her stop in her brash advance so that she didn't bump into the protective Allied Ninja.
"I did propose this," Mana nodded. "Our mission objective in this tournament has nothing to do with my victory."
"Would you still agree to it? Generously sponsored, of course!" the woman touched the tips of her fingers together while donning her kindest business proposition face.
"H-Hey, wait up!" Damisan objected before Mana calmed him down with a gentle touch of his back with her hand.
"I would, however, Genshi-san wouldn't. He's made it painfully clear that, if he suspects foul play, he'll surrender and refuse to take further part in the tournament. Even if I threw the fight first, he'll simply surrender in the finals," Mana replied. "I'm not very passionate about winning this match, and I've lost most of my chakra in the previous match, but my intention for tomorrow is to compete and let fortune decide the outcome."
"I see," the sponsor woman closed her eyes and sighed, unable to contain her disappointment. "That's unfortunate. I'm sure that if our superiors reached out to your superiors, we could have made some sort of deal. We represent influential people with the power to open doors and realize new opportunities. The power dynamics of this world are changing. The status of nobility, physical or political power, doesn't always decide influence and define true power in these interesting times. Whoever you represent, you'd be wise to remember that."
Excusing herself, the pink-haired woman bowed once again, and walked off, following the path made by her partner and beneficiary while Mana and Damisan followed her with wary looks before looking at each other, as if trying to determine what the other thought of this uncanny situation.
