Tales of a Ninja Magician: Of Games of Body and Soul

The Grey Man's Miracle

Hanasaku's body disappeared from Meiko and Kiyomi's field of vision. Despite her injuries, the Sannin could still race with the fastest of them. Through the sheer speed of her moves, Hanasaku clearly translated her decision to ask Kiyomi and Meiko to stay behind her and let the woman deal with this for now.

After all, there could have been no way that Kiyomi and Meiko could have kept up with that sort of speed, something that was necessary when ninja fought together. Even if one of the two partners was faster, they purposefully toned down their speed to allow a perfect synchronization of movements. Cooperation was preferred over raw speed.

"It is useless," Togure yelled out. His body leaned back in fear, fueled by pure instinct. He was able to perceive Hanasaku's movements as he blurred his yell out in between the first telegraph of her intent to attack and between her fist met his palm.

A powerful shockwave resonated through the surrounding area, bending trees as old as the world that raised them, tearing leaves as plentiful as the stars in the universe and making Meiko and Kiyomi spread their feet apart wider to maintain balance. Togure's body shifted like the surface of water when a pebble hit it, resonating the forces within Hanasaku's punch and nullifying the blow completely.

Surprised by the profound success of his defense, Togure smiled. He could almost taste the triumph. The entire body language changed at that moment. His elongated pale grey back straightened, the protruded spine spikes returned inside making the man look less alien in appearance. His previously wide and shaking glare was now sharp and confident.

"Your strength cannot hurt me!" Togure breathed easier after pushing Hanasaku back with the palm that stopped her blow, forcing the woman to flip backward and land on one knee and one foot, crouching on the ground.

"He figured it out! Hanasaku-sensei's weakness, just like we did during our survival training..." Kiyomi grunted, feeling the cloud in the sky gloom, muddying the future of their mission. Whereas before the girl felt confident about managing to overcome the traitorous criminal, now their destiny was like a hazy crystal ball.

"B-But why didn't Hanasaku-sensei phase through the sound waves like she did when we tried that?" Meiko looked at her companion sharing the Yamanaka's worry.

"It probably has something to do with her injuries. She probably can't do that anymore..." Kiyomi closed her eyes just to feel the warm sweat running down her face, making her hair sticky and unruly.

Chestnut Hanasaku was one of the most powerful ninja alive. She was by far the physically strongest person, her abilities matched well with her intellect, namely, the lack of it. The woman could accomplish anything she believed and knew she could – her mind was the literal limit to her power but... That was a double-edged sword. It worked both ways.

"That bastard just sat back this whole time. Watching us fight, letting our enemies figure out our weaknesses for him to absorb. He must have been watching Hanasaku-sensei especially closely. He kept babbling this whole time, asking about her abilities..." Kiyomi grunted seeing Togure attempt to land blows on her sensei, using a similarly flappy and elastic fighting style that her own opponent in the Chuunin Exams, a fellow victim of these mysterious disappearances, used.

"I thought he was just being curious. I was just as interested in Hanasaku-sensei's abilities when I first met her..." Meiko clutched her fists tightly, blaming herself inside. That much her tone and the pitiful facial expression she wore betrayed.

"We all did..." Kiyomi grumbled. Restraining herself somehow from yelling it out with all of the anger that she felt rustling inside her.

Hanasaku managed to recuperate after the initial shock of being figured out. She may have been tricked and had her abilities being toyed with but she was still the superior combatant. Chestnut Hanasaku was always a very transparent person. Her feelings were printed out in smoldering letters right there for anyone to read from the surface of her face.