Tales of a Ninja Magician: Of What Defines Us

Sensei of the Quantum Variety

Hanasaku's strange transformation surprised all three of the students. It was unlike anything they've seen before. It didn't look like an illusion, granted, they'd not have known that until they've tried dispelling it. It didn't really abide any laws of what ninjutsu usually was capable of. It could've just been a fancy Transformation Jutsu but there would've been no point for that, it wouldn't have enhanced the Sannin's abilities if it was as simple as that. The closest explanation at least somewhat touching the grounds of reality seemed that this was an odd variant of the Transformation Jutsu, one on a much more advanced scale.

"Catch you?" Kiyomi wondered.

"That's right..." Hanasaku growled out through her teeth. Her voice became more wild and howling. It was like her entire essence had completely transformed. "Lay your hand on me and touch me, that's all it takes for you to pass this test."

Meiko gave the two girls an affirming stare before she darted off. Halfway through her charge the blacksmith touched her armored boots only to set off the sealing glyphs on them. In a powerful burst of chakra the girl was propelled forward. Mana had to hand it to her friend – she was fast. While the magician could still see the blacksmith move, while she may have had what it takes to survive and avoid any attacks delivered at that speed in a race Meiko would've blown Mana and Kiyomi away.

"Blockbuster!" Meiko yelled out as she pointed her shoulder and tensed her upper body for impact. It must've been a newer taijutsu technique as the magician couldn't recall seeing it before neither in the mission she had with Meiko nor during one of her several training sessions with Meiko afterwards. A painful pinch woke Mana up from admiration of her friend's impressive ram, she didn't need to hurt Hanasaku with that, just have it blocked or at least connect...

"I think she is acting as a distraction, she trusted us to come up with a plan of attack." Kiyomi murmured out trying not to draw attention from Hanasaku.

Meiko's shoulder charge completely phased through Hanasaku, like the woman wasn't even there to begin with and yet her image didn't blur as it used to do if a ninja was so fast that they left afterimages. It was like Meiko should've hit but then just phased through the woman completely.

"You can't do that! Human beings can't phase through objects coming at them!" Meiko shouted out before delivering another punch. Strangely enough the woman didn't just allow it phase through her. This time Hanasaku just vanished into thin air, moving so fast that neither of the students could follow her movements until the leaves rustled by her sudden dash gently twirled and settled down on the layer of their peers. "Damn it! I thought I had her..." the blacksmith cursed with a playful snap of her fingers.

"It's not about you, she's teaching us teamwork. It's a common exercise, we need to work together!" Kiyomi suggested.

"I don't think that even working together we can catch her, or even tag her to begin with... What even was that ability? I thought Meiko's punch connected and I didn't see Hokage-sensei move a bit... To top it off – that transformation..." Mana scratched her chin before her headache acted up. That skull crushing pain that interrupted her chain of thought and got in the way of relating all those new and unseen things.

Meiko's hand tapped Mana's shoulder with all the subtlety and restraint of a country sized asteroid.

"Don't twist your head. I figured her out during our first meeting – sensei's skills defy human logic. Her mind is so out of sync with reality that she just does whatever she thinks she can do, when you point out to her that humans don't function like that, when you tell her the limits she can't do that anymore. That's why I thought I had her after the first failure..." Meiko pouted.