Tales of a Ninja Magician: Of What Defines Us

The Devil's Parasite

The squad took all the sweet time of a brief cooldown between the sisters' attacks to discuss the flow of the battle. It was certainly much tougher than they expected it to be. After that clash with Hachiro, everyone just assumed that Read and Bonny would be done. Who could've known that they would have so many tricks up their sleeve and such refined mastery over their combined bodies? Reshaping their position, then even splitting completely and functioning as two separate bodies...

"Scaredy-guy is gone..." Meiko noted after taking the luxury of a brief glance.

"Must've wandered off somewhere safer, good for us, he won't be a potential target," Kouta replied breathing a little easier.

"No. Those two are definitely trying something. Something big..." Shimo grunted clutching at his wound. Kouta had the option of healing it but it'd have completely drained what little reserves he had regained up to now. It'd render him from a potential combatant to a helpless exhausted weak link. As long as Shimo could at the very least fend off for himself the two would've agreed that keeping the wound the way it was would've been the best option.

"Yeah, I don't like this sudden transformation one bit..." Kouta agreed with a nod, "I mean why would these two withhold such an ace from Hachiro? She'd have beaten him much easier using all these crazy moves?"

"Because she thinks something about these techniques is risky. Both of these changes in her body must have a significant purpose. The first burst of chakra and fusion with her sister must serve as a short-term boost, something to use when there's absolutely no choice because molding two different chakra into one system makes controlling it problematic. This second transformation... It's... Different. They're not fighting openly, almost like they're trying to do something, this one's risky because it exposes both sisters to danger. If Read uses this move she risks losing her sister for good instead of having her close, her intelligence also seems to degrade to instinctual dribble." Shimo attempted to analyze this transformation.

All of a sudden the bodies of the two sisters moved forward, blurring in and out of perception the two tried to deceitfully sneak up on the young ninja aiming at Meiko. They must've switched up their strategies again. Bonny lunged forward with a strike, Meiko ducked under it and then rolled backward avoiding the wrist spikes as the sister turned her arm trying to slash at Meiko's face using the bony red spikes on her wrists.

The two demonic sisters leaped forward and backward, zigzagging with each other and cross, slashing Meiko as the two switched together but the blacksmith was fast enough to lean out of the way of the blades they tried opening her up with. A couple of weak punches and kicks did land raising the battle into the air.

"Above you!" Shimo warned Meiko at the very last moment where the blacksmith just barely managed to look up and cross her arms to block the punch from above aimed at the back of her head slamming Meiko into the jungle ground toppling a couple of trees.

"They've switched their strategy again!" Kouta shouted out in frustration. He was agitated that a transformation that appeared to diminish one's intelligence still had the pirate captain hold secrets in her fighting style from the ninja.

"No. It's the same... They just want Meiko out of commission. Must be because she always butts into their attacks standing in their way." Shimo shook his head observing Meiko angered comeback flailing her fists since her armor with all of the seals was broken or molten off during the dip in the stiffer mantle before.

"They seemed to prioritize me before, though," the medical ninja noted, "It's crazy, they're tired and underpowered, why would they target the least injured member?"

Shimo looked down at a puddle of black as tar puddle of gooey blood. Whatever this strange transformation was it transformed the entire bodies of the sisters.