Tales of a Ninja Magician: Of What Defines Us

The Lowest Point

Right after the three of Imarizu barged in they proceeded to carry out their objective. Without a doubt, they intended for Mana to die immediately. Judging from how devoted the Imarizu was in their initial clash to keep Mana from making hand seals they must've known or at least suspected some of her skillset at least and for one reason or the other considered it important to not let her perform a single jutsu.

Immediately the three Imarizu, dressed black as the night that gave them cover and wearing only blank dark masks that removed any semblance of their humanity, charged at each and every ninja remaining alive after their attack. This time Mana did not bother performing hand seals or trying to pull off techniques – she knew it would've been just time wasted as she'd have gotten interrupted again. The magician leaped and rolled over the beds that crowded the room and all the small bedside cabinets that made it difficult to properly evade.

Just like Kouta taught her when there wasn't enough space to evade, Mana utilized that stuffed space to put objects between her and her opponent. If the room did not allow her the luxury of evasion she made sure that it also got in her opponent's way but with a single powerful hook each object sent their way got bashed and ground to sawdust with a single chakra imbued knuckle duster strike. The blades on the bladed knuckle dusters the Imarizu all used sliced through wood like a jet of fire made its way through paper.

Mana offered herself the foolish luxury to care for her friends and see how they were doing. Sugemi, impressively enough, was moving in a way similar to her. The magician was terribly wrong to feel surprised about his skill in close range combat. He was a taijutsu user, if anyone amongst the three of them could keep up with the Imarizu it would've been Sugemi. However, Mana saw it. None of them were close to being on the technical level of skill to match fists with the Imarizu. All of them fleeing, moving away and desperately working to stay alive. This fight would not end well unless they changed something up.

Then there was this sparking thought of the fourth Imarizu. Where was he? Lurking somewhere waiting for their ace in the hole chance to strike for a kill. One good hit would've been everything it'd have taken to kill. This time there was no mystery man to bring Mana or anyone of her companions back from death. It was just what she was willing and capable of doing to survive.

"Sugemi!" Mana shouted and she felt her friend grab her by her abdomen and move her away as he flipped beside her, letting a potentially heart piercing strike punch through the floor.

Her friend lit up like a candle, the young man activated his first gate effortlessly without even taking a moment to channel his chakra. The first gate now came off that naturally to Sugemi.

"Do it!" he affirmed Mana that he had it in the bag.

As the magician worked with her hand seals, one of the Imarizu pointed their knuckle dusters at her and Sugemi who stood in front of her ready to block or deflect any attacks coming her way. The Nara grunted out loud in pain as he bashed the knuckle duster aside with the back of his palm, getting cut in the process. The tension and strain that the First Gate placed on his body made blood spout out from the Nara's wound like an upchuck of vomit.

Mana's hand seals concluded. A sweet melody filled the air as she gently and softly hummed out the tune of her genjutsu activating the Sweet Lullaby Jutsu. The lifeless and almost demonic looking Imarizu twitched and began shaking. Their bodies utterly overwhelmed with pleasure, sadly Mana saw Sugemi and Yanagi be affected by the same illusion. For a moment a relief of a possible victory took Mana over but then a sharp pain in her abdomen interrupted that feeling.

The magician groaned in pain and her eyesight blurred for a moment making a complete and utter mess of the shadow sunken room she was fighting for her life in. One of the Imarizu was leaned down on his stretched out back leg and kneeling on their front leg while they threw a powerful low-aimed punch right into Mana's gut. The magician felt the rushing taste of blood in her mouth as she realized that the Imarizu that punched her was still wearing his knuckle dusters. She instantly devoted a fair flow of chakra to keeping her gut stab wound bleeding as little as possible.