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

A Look Forward to Bigger Things

"We are just two weeks past the as horrific as it was random rampage of an unknown monster in the village. And what absolutely kooky pair of weeks this was... When one looks at the aimless toppled buildings or hears the occasional sob in the streets of a mother that had lost her child in the tragedy, oh so close to the calamity in the Ninja Academy, let's not forget, I'm sorry, but one can't make a different conclusion from the fact that the Administration's handling of the subject has been appalling..."

Click.

"It is really rare for such a high-ranking member of the Administration to step out from the ivory tower and grace us with your presence. As angry as many people may be with you, please let it be known that here at Azuma Lotus station appreciate communication between the ninja and the civilians, who are so often kept in the dark about the more... Confidential aspects of the village, which are as many as they are vital, don't you think?"

"Oh, absolutely. It's really relieving to be here."

"Relieving?"

"Well, I believe to say that it is a pleasure to be here, given the circumstances, would be very insensitive. What this chance to communicate with the civilian population of the village, the importance of which is generally dismissed by the ninja, I admit, is a relief. There has been so much animosity between the two sides of the village, and neither one can function without the other."

"I see. So how about we get right to the most important questions that nibble at each of our cores – where was the Hokage during the rampage, where were the A-Rank ninja. Our sources of completely normal, powerless, compared to your like, civilian reporters, that actually did not falter stepping into the proximity to the monster where all it would have taken to obliterate them would have been a blink, confirmed that it took at least a good pair of hours before even a single A-Rank ninja showed up."

"That is an exaggeration. It took a while for the high-ranking ninja to confront the monster, yes, but that is not to say they were sitting calm and doing nothing. People who say that forget so many other factors that go into problems like this: you cannot expect the Hokage to confront every enemy himself. That is not his role, he is a leader and a figurehead, not a bruiser. He is, oftentimes, the strongest ninja in the village but that also makes him the most important person and the largest target. Let's not even get into the number of higher-ranking ninja that were away on missions."

"Like both of the Sannin..."

"True, both Zairyo-san and Kusagoro-san are well-known for rarely being present in the village."

"Infamous, some would say..."

"Now, we both know that's a loaded statement. It is just so ignorant to close one's eyes and ears and shout obscenities at people that have sacrificed so much for this village and, really, deserve admiration for the secretive and highly dangerous work they do."

"Is that what the ninja think civilians are doing?"

"Obviously, as the individual in a head wrapped in cooking paper and a dozen of dead cats on their improvised headwear to protect them from the Yamanaka mind signals does not represent the opinions and intelligence of a civilian, I do not presume to speak for all..."

Click.

"Ninja are goddamn heroes! I don't see what these civwits don't understand about that. Please tell me about how scared and oppressed you are by your ninja overlords when you just sit down in front of your televisions brought to you, of course, by a ninja girl who was thirteen at the time from an alternate universe, try wrapping your head around that, and stuff your faces after what? Selling flowers and fruit... Shit, don't change the..."