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

Postal, Limelight and a Rampage

"I don't think the Feudal Lords to be fools," Mana replied before she could appear too baffled by the question posed to her. One advantage of the superhuman perception was having what seemed like an eternity before the time that normal people could perceive caught up to you. Time could have transitioned to what seemed like hours, days, years even before anyone but the samurai would have noticed Mana losing her way and her cool. Luckily for the magician, those were some of the warrior souls in an iron shell that refused to speak up or accuse her until the security of the Council was actually threatened.

"I think that if ninja were just mere tools, they'd have long since been replaced. I haven't ever thought of this that way but... I guess my nindo covers this question as well, just like no life is truly useless, no man can be reduced to just a tool. Ninja wield tools, their tough lives make some of them chill and distant but that does not make them the same as a chunk of steel." Mana explained herself, seeing that the Feudal Lords, while pleased by what seemed like a compliment to their intelligence out of nowhere, were generally baffled by what it was exactly that the girl meant.

"What exactly do you think makes ninja different? If the difference between the two is as clear as you make it seem, what is the core difference people who think differently are missing?" the Fire Lord's successor wondered aloud.

"Ninja wield tools, they themselves are not tools. To reduce a ninja just to the tools they use is to reduce them to a piece of what they are. If you need someone dead, which is quite the famous need as of late, you could pick up a dagger and run at them, hoping for the best, or you could give it to someone who knows how to do it right. For that reason, ninja will never be replaced by mere tools. Their knowledge, their experience, and skill make them invaluable. When you apply pressure to a nicely crafted blade – it cracks before breaking entirely. Ninja adapt, they mold and slip into the cracks of whatever is trying to break them. They know that they cannot break before their job is finished, they fear failure similarly to how the samurai fear dishonor and that respectful fear is something mere tools will never know." Mana had to stop and take a breath. Using chakra augmentation to not have to breathe so that she could speak was less than a smart way of using that ability, sometimes it was better to succumb to the more human weaknesses.

"Before we let you go... There is something I need you to tell this Council. Please, if you could do so, tell the Council about the attack three years ago. Over the three years, we have heard plenty of the civilians' side, we have heard everyone but those who were the close enough to the monster to feel its breath picking up their hair talk." The Fire Lord requested. His tone changed from before, this topic, this attack was something that personally bothered him. How could it not? So many people he was responsible for, so much property destroyed, his precious ninja bickering with the very people they worked for... The first time ever that a Hokage was forced to resign behind closed doors because of rampant distrust in the village administration. Shit-show would have been a tame name for it to use in kids' books.

"There's not much I can say, those that did talk about it said so much that there is little space for me to squeeze anything in. I think it is best to focus on the fact that it's over, it has been for three years now." Mana bowed and excused herself, the Fire Lord's tone and the content of his words suggested heavily that this was the last topic Mana was to be asked about.

"This is exactly why the Council had to advise the Sixth to resign." A disgruntled voice came from the side of the civilian representatives. Mana did not know these men and women but they seemed like nothing more than vain people that tried to hide their lack of strength, internal and physical, with fancy hats and a public position that ultimately meant nothing. Then again, she was far too disinterested in politics to be able to tell the difference between a Feudal Lord, a Hokage and one of those politician types...