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

Heat Inertia

S-Crew just carelessly waved his hand about in a manner not unlike that in which he'd do it if he had grabbed something too hot to keep hold of. A raucous thud came from the direction of his opponent while the face of the serpentine ninja folded inward like a smashed dumpling. The golden-shaded, reptilian eyes blew out like balloons around the center of impact.

The opposing figure just hunched forward as if it had died instantly but somehow managed to stay on two feet from adamant will alone. In just mere moments, the man lifted the upper half of his body back up and glared at the Allied Ninja that had attacked him faster than any eye could register it.

"That's some amazing speed but you shouldn't have shown your hand this early." The mysterious ninja said nonchalantly as if the overwhelming threat of his opponent's rank was completely beyond his care.

"Oh? You think you got my jam? Then how about you try stopping it?" S-Crew grinned with a cocky smile as his body proceeded to display no sign of movement but invisible strikes just as potent as the first one but overwhelmingly numerous littered the opponent's body with nasty looking bumps.

This time, the serpentine man fell on the ground like a sack of potatoes. Just a moment later, however, just like before, it rose up in a skyward spiral, the integrity of his body completely reshaped.

"Damn... No damage, huh?" S-Crew pouted to himself.

"You should have suspected that snakes are capable of sensing heat. I know the secret of your trick, you fool." The ninja dragged his fist across his scaly face and took the same fighting stance from before.

Without any further warning or telegraphing, the ninja launched himself at his Allied Ninja opponent. The man carried within him all the lethality and speed of a snake's lunge in a human body. Every single strike, every movement delivered with the same blinding speed that a Ninja Snake would use to lunge its head. It was a nasty trait of whatever odd technique caused this man to adopt snake-like properties.

Regardless of how fast the Konoha ninja was, it did not matter that he had numerous snake appendages increasing the number of his limbs, not even his impressive speed could match the blitzing evasiveness of the Kumogakure ninja who appeared to be moving almost instantaneously. Mana had not seen this kind of speed since she witnessed Chestnut Hanasaku in a fight. She would have had problems following this battle if it was not transpiring in such a limited space, perhaps it was for the better if she did not involve herself in it.

S-Crew snapped back on the offensive, moving in but a blur before just fading away and leaving a grinning afterimage right up in his opponent's face. The reptilian man kept looking around him. This mysterious disappearance confused Mana initially but upon stronger augmentations being placed on her perception, straining it to its very limit, she could see it – a blur of literal circles that S-Crew was running around his opponent.

"This is stupid, he's just showing off..." Mana observed.

"No, he's actually powering up this way. He is showing his opponent respect." Junichi shook his head.

"How is feinting a hit and then running circles around your opponent respectful?" Mana wondered. To her, it seemed like S-Crew's aloof personality translated perfectly on the battlefield and she just refused to believe that this was part of proper and honorable ninja fight.

"Your perception is not strong enough yet to comprehend S-Crew's ability, that is why his actions make no sense to you." Rushira grinned, looking at Mana as if the magician was just some kind of naïve child.

Out of seemingly nowhere, a shockwave that even Mana could see because of its mirage-like appearance overwhelmed the reptilian man and sent him stumbling back. His tongue was sticking out and the ninja kept on exhaling air through his nose like trying to get rid of a pretty nasty invader or some feeling he did not particularly like.