Tales of a Ninja Magician: Of Where We Come From

Kazekage VS Oni Mask

The two men continued to stare each other down. Each of them was competent in close range fighting techniques so it was important for them to properly assess the situation, observe the opponent's stance and find any openings they could exploit. A weak breeze sent tumbleweed rolling around but the wandering plant did not distract the two shinobi who continued to stare each other down. Kazekage's eyes were full of determination to destroy this high ranking member of the Kirigakure Demon Corps, a man who was in a high position of the order that killed so many of his trusted men that day. It was impossible to clearly say what exactly Oni Mask's eyes looked like, his demonic mask removed any signs of the man being human and with each battle and lost limb he reminded less and less of a man and became much more of a demonic ideal he strived to be.

"I wonder..." one of the ninja who survived the scuffle with the assassins mumbled but only his closest friends heard him. They curiously looked at their troubled comrade with questioning glares.

"This man, he clearly is a high ranking Demon... What if he is THE Demon? Kirigakure's Legendary Demon who survived a battle with Star of Hope Howoku and killed Raijin's Prophet Sorano twenty years ago." The shinobi finished his chain of thought as his comrades looked at the assailant with newly found fear in their eyes.

"You mean the man who then got promoted to Kirigakure Sannin by the Water Lord after a suggestion from Third Mizukage, tyrant Daikon himself?" someone in the group of survivors shouted out in surprise. The fact that all Demons concealed most of their bodies: their faces and every trace of their skin made identifying the specific Demon near impossible. This man could've been whichever one of the Demons, he could've been THE Demon and no one would have known. In some ways the Kirigakure Demons were the perfect ninja as no one knew their identities, no one could even pin a specific person to a battle or event because of how secretive and utterly badass these men were.

"Yeah... Rumor says that the particular Demon can only be identified by one feature - he is missing a leg. This man seems to wear some sort of metallic leg which makes one wonder: is he the real deal or if he is just messing with everyone taking other Demons' names..." the Sunagakure ninja concluded as the group continued to stare the nameless Demon down. This man definitely did his homework if he was impersonating the real Oni Mask as his body build and height was identical, he was missing the same leg that Raijin's Prophet Sorano annihilated. It would've taken some effort to properly identify and confirm the man's identity but it didn't appear like the Kazekage even cared about that.

Suddenly, the Demon just dashed forward leaning his head up front and shooting at the speed of an arrow cutting through the air. His arm lit up with lightning sparks as the man thrust it forward cutting through the air, the Kazekage leaned to the side avoiding the thrust. Oni Mask leaped into the air swinging his metallic leg in an impressive jump kick but Mugao once again outmatched his opponent by leaning below the kick and avoiding it. Utilizing the momentum of his jump kick Oni Mask spun around and thrust his other leg down in a vertical kick. Mugao's iron staff blocked the strike, the man flicked a switch on the weapon and blades shot out of the scythe. A silver flash lit the air up and the Demon leaped backward covering a wide gash on his chest, Mugao decided to keep going he tossed the scythe forward twitching his fingers to activate his puppetry technique. 

"Puppetry Style: Phantom Weapon Jutsu!" he chanted sending the scythe cutting like a disc saw. The Demon's speed was impressive as he quickly avoided certain death ranging the puppet strings out but he still got cut in his mask, he had to thrust his metallic leg forward and damage it as well so that his fleshy bits didn't get amputated in an instant.

"Look at his chest! It's burnt up, he has to be THE Demon from twenty years ago! So this bastard survived!" the Sunagakure ninja shouted out having witnessed the man's uniform tear up and reveal his burnt skin underneath.