Tales of a Ninja Magician: Of What Defines Us

Blood in the Eyes

"Let me go..." Kiyomi cried out burying her anger and frustration deep in her chest, trying to sound calm and reasonable so that Sugemi freed her from his jutsu.

"I will. Once I see you have no reason to charge at the Kumogakure assassin who may have just killed our friend." Sugemi mumbled out carefully observing the wreckage of wood and rocks where Mana's body was flung into after the incredibly fast and immensely strong blow by the Imarizu. Even Sugemi found that man's speed to be tough to see at times. It was almost like his attacks were delivered in an instant from his point of perception, they accelerated steadily but then at some middle point of movement they just went out of control.

"I won't interfere!" Kiyomi shouted out in a way that made it seem that she will absolutely interfere.

"You shouldn't pick a fight with that man, young lady." Yanagi huffed out still clutching at his own aching sides from a clash with one of the Imarizu. Granted that one was fairly fresh and nowhere near torn down and broken as the leader of the group was right now, still, the unbelievable acceleration of their punches was just as dangerous and deadly. "You should feel lucky they didn't kill you the first time they got their hands on you, usually when people deal with the Imarizu they feel lucky having escaped them and never interact with them again."

"I am to thank for that, I believe, and also - you're welcome..." Inomame smiled in a manner not unlike a way cartoons depict vipers twisting their anthropomorphic lips. "I could've had the Imarizu kill you at any point but I made sure you were captured alive!"

"Don't rub yourself, it's only because you were afraid the line of succession would be altered after your plot was found out. Posthumous line of succession alterations are nothing new and the discovered plot of heiress' murder would've been all the proof the clan needed..." Yanagi replied calmly. Being a member of a highly overlooked yet prevalent and important clan he knew the intricacies of clan inner administration well.

"It's why I don't like it when people focus on the details..." Inomame complained poking his chin with his index finger.

*****

The whole right side of Mana's face was sticky and warm, the magician tried opening up her eyes but the stench of blood and the taste of it in her mouth was too strong. She had to spit out some blood and teeth aside, only after her right eye did not open did magician realize that something was wrong. Right after her head was lifted up at least in a diagonal position a weak yet relentless streak of warm blood gushed out from her cracked forehead down the right side of her face. None of it reached Mana's eye, the blasted thing was either gone or swollen.

Usually the magician may have felt troubled about the fact that teeth were painful to have regrown using medical ninjutsu, that replacing lost eyes, if that was indeed the case was astoundingly expensive as a new one had to be cultivated by highly treasured specialists using not just medical ninjutsu but actual organ cultivation through flesh modification with cultivated Senju cells. Right now only Inomame's life mattered. Ignoring the blood and her blurry eyesight Mana got back on her feet and stumbled forward.

Kiyomi's crying eyes when she looked at her were painful. Mana wasn't sure just how badly banged up she was but the fact that seeing right was difficult and her head was dizzy enough to throw her around if she tried just walking straight told the right answer. She'd not be doing any flips or graceful acrobatics any time soon. At least she didn't pass out... Not just yet... Had the magician not suppressed her body's subconscious instinct to augment heavy damage she'd certainly have been comatose right now from chakra loss.

Mana had seen so many die. Not all who have fallen here today have died. Most of them were just out, whether from being knocked down and not properly finished off or due to their own augmentations being overworked causing them to pass out from chakra loss, just like there was a decent chance for this fight to end for the Konoha magician. She could've died here but she wouldn't let one more person die, not if she could flex one more muscle, move one more finger and throw one more punch to possibly prevent that. No matter how heinous the man she was trying to save, Mana firmly believed that killing was not justified. It was an escape from justice.