Tales of a Ninja Magician: Of Journeys We Make

Small Talk

"So... What's up with you?" Prim-S turned to Mana while the two observed the busy warehouse housing people who came here to stack up while the Allied Ninja waited for the impending attack.

"What do you mean?" Mana asked in return.

"I mean, your skin looks almost normal. Why have you moved in with the Allied Ninja and haven't returned to your people?" Prim-S shrugged.

"Excuse me?" Mana's right eyebrow stiffened while her eye squinted in a cocktail of confusion and aversion.

"I mean... You're not native, that's for sure, but one of your parents is from Kumogakure, right? If Konoha sent you away to the Allied Ninja, they either wanted to get rid of you or they didn't much care about you enough to approve your application to leave to join the Allied Ninja. Either way, why didn't you return home to Kumogakure?" Prim-S looked like he was quite content with how clearly he worded his question, almost as if it had become even remotely decent because of it.

"I'm not from Kumogakure. My mother was a part of the Wandering Ninja, so that side of my family has a diverse background, likely related to Kumogakure in some way. So far, my only relation to Kumogakure is my revulsion of their pride in their military strength and casual racism," Mana knew the minefield she was walking into yet she felt almost pride to risk her limb in it. Almost as if she dared the mines to go off.

"Right... You're one of those people... Poor, innocent Iwagakure. Bullied by the warmongering, bloodthirsty cannibals from Kumogakure..." Prim-S rolled his eyes. "Remind me again which village spawned the extremist trash we have our hands full of right now? Having grown up in Kumogakure and poured my sweat and blood all across the Land of Lightning, I can assure you that no mind born in the Cloud can produce abominable nightmares like what we've seen in just the past few days."

"That's not what I meant. I know the Coltan Conflict had nothing to do with the survival of either village. It was a war of interest and only meant to secure immense profit. Regardless, that was not how it ended. I detest the very fact that a war took place for monetary gain, but the fact that it had to end with almost total obliteration of a village full of people outright makes me nauseous," Mana pointed out. She closed her eyes and extended the reaches of her sensory as far as she could while staying on her feet and taking part in an awfully bothersome conversation.

"And you think Konoha wouldn't have done the same if they had a weapon in their hands comparable to the Chakra Diffusion Wave Cannon? I'm not surprised that the other countries can't see the nobility behind Lady Raikage's actions. If the war continued without conclusive action, countless more ninja and civilians alike would have died. If you're as concerned about the cost of human life as you make yourself out to be, you'd see reason in decisive action," Prim-S crossed his arms and turned his nose away, acting interested in the issues of people whom he looked at as if they were actual aliens from another planet.

Prim-S and a few other peacekeepers Mana had met during her time in Boulder Town looked at the locals like farmers looking at cattle. They saw value in their flock, but they wouldn't have eaten from the same table and would've seen their loss only as what it reflected as on their wallet. How had it come to Mana actually wanting the enemy to attack sooner to put an end to this small talk, she'll never know.

"Yes, I'm sure it quite surprised you to see such nobility in someone you'd see as having unusually colored skin..." Mana rolled her eyes. "I'm not particularly fond of samurai either, but samurai would never sign off on a death toll their mind couldn't quantify and that they could not accept the weight of by seeing every single casualty off into the afterlife themselves. The Raikage neither knew the people she obliterated nor could she understand the weight of her actions because the human mind hadn't evolved to the level of savagery necessary to comprehend losses of that magnitude. Maybe that's why it was so easy for her to be so noble..."