Tales of a Ninja Magician: Of What Defines Us

Principles

Only after the brief outbreak of ecstasy did Mana realize how absolutely sapped of chakra she was. Mana tried to move her hands away from Sugemi but she couldn't both stand separately from her friend and successfully walk by herself. While the magician felt like she just needed time to get used to this pale weakness, a feeling likened to that of having most of one's blood drained completely, she still felt embarrassed needing her friend's help to walk.

"I didn't... Do anything, did I?" Mana wondered looking at Sugemi with barely kicking feeling of hope in her eyes.

"You didn't kill anyone, no. It's fine, the blonde must've gotten to Inomame and hurt him strongly enough for the technique to end." Sugemi replied looking onwards to the whirl of limbs as the Demonlings circled around the Imarizu.

"Do you have chakra left?" Mana wondered looking at her friend.

"Not for all of them..." Sugemi shook his head. While normally he felt excited about beating up a bunch of people with a perfect excuse to kick their collective asses, currently he weighed his chances as quite slim.

"That's where I can come in..." Yanagi smiled through pale skin, his case however was not due to chakra loss, it appeared to be much more physical.

"We really shouldn't save them, they'll probably just kill us." Sugemi tried complaining but then after remembering those pathetic begging eyes of his magician friend he just sighed and helped her down on a large rock before sitting on one knee and weaving the hand seal.

"Shadow Possession Jutsu!" she shouted once again using his clan hijutsu in a way they were intended to be used and not how he wanted to use them.

"Parasitic Insects: Cocoon!" Yanagi smacked his open palms together in a hastily put together hand seal surrounding the entangled Demonlings with his locust-like parasitic insects that at the same time used their carried blades to inflict numerous cuts and lacerations as well as feasted on the enemy chakra.

"I thought Aburame don't use hand seals..." Sugemi looked back at his companion once the Demonlings collapsed from injuries and chakra loss.

"We don't have to, but I think they look kind of cool." Yanagi blushed with a foolish grin before stroking the back of his head as if he was ashamed of this revelation. "I can control my Tabekaichu with just a mental command but I'm a big fan of Super Sentai Space Panties."

"I feel like our journey home will be much more entertaining, my friend!" Sugemi smiled fist bumping with his companion. For a moment there Mana began feeling really threatened by a full journey of these two discussing their pervy manga and while, in a way, she owed a lot to one specific pervy manga a whole journey of it sounded like anything but entertaining.

Then she noticed the grisly sight in front of her – the eldest Imarizu member standing in the midst of the battlefield which was now eradicated by Sugemi and Yanagi's teamwork. The man's arms and legs were shuddering, his bodysuit torn in most parts and drenched in his own and blood of his opponents where strings of the suit were still connected to each other and not just hanging like pathetic rags. His mask busted and grinded to dust with only a cloth piece dangling on his chin and the right part of his face, revealing a face covered with blood, beatings and still breathing in violence and breathing out punishment.

"Think we can take him?" Sugemi wondered.

"If the Yamanaka kid joins in, sure. He's undoubtedly barely on his feet already..." Yanagi affirmed with a serious nod.

Suddenly the Imarizu's face turned at the three Konoha ninja, still twisted with rage and with completely whited out eyes. These eyes were the only part of his dark face that weren't completely swollen or covered with blood and for that they were that much more intimidating. The man's figure bent backwards twisting his entire body in ways it shouldn't be twisted before his powerful thighs sent him soaring at Mana and Sugemi with a single bound. Sugemi's knee hit the old man in the chest sending him up in the air a good couple of meters before Yanagi's insects formed a fist shape and slammed him into the ground, with each moment of contact draining more and more chakra and stabbing him continuously with the small blades that each insect carrier with their small but powerful limbs.