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

The Armor of a Truly Handsome Person

Before attacking Hanshin head-on, in a move so obvious and confusing that it would have made a mindful opponent question their read on the tide of battle, Meiko crossed her arm and smacked it by the middle with her elbow, raising the upper part with her fist up high. It looked pretty stylish and Meiko's burst of confidence added flare to it but it only delayed the incoming attack, giving her opponent even more time to properly analyze the attack and decide on a move of their own. Given how Hanshin was already much more experienced and likely faster than the two, as he was fighting on a perpetual lazy mode the whole time, it was not tough to see how Meiko's styling in the middle of a sparring session was a bad idea.

Regardless, the blacksmith launched herself head first. The control in her movements would have blown the clouds in the sky away in its awesomeness. Despite launching her body at speeds that could have allowed Meiko to apply pressure even on higher than average ranking ninja, the blacksmith did not even break the branch of the tree she vaulted from and generated no destructive air phenomena around her. Years after graduating, it appeared that Wakizashi Meiko may have finally learned proper chakra control.

Meiko's attack seemed almost foolish, in mid-dash she dragged her right arm across her left one, unsealing a short two-sided blade that she attempted to thrust through her opponent's face. Hanshin did not even move or twitch his eye. That same invisible force that plagued the young women this whole session blasted Meiko right in the jaw, making the redhead's face deform and her body freeze in motion before shooting off in a whole other direction.

However, instead of the body creating a trail of destruction in its blazing path, it poofed and created a cloud of tar-black smoke.

"A smoke bomb?" Hanshin mumbled to himself, grinning ever so slightly with the tip of his lips. He was almost disappointed that he was attacked so openly and in such a boring fashion. He was glad to see at least a minimal amount of afterthought being put behind such a useless rush forward.

"That was a risky move, throwing your smoke bomb out in the air like that during your posing. What if he had noticed it? He'd have read your substitution from a mile away..." Kiyomi contacted her partner, still looking out for her opening.

"He was admiring my posing. I knew he'd look into my movements and my flexibility instead of what I may or may not throw out. Thanks for that tip though, I'd have never calculated the right moment to substitute with such a small object." Meiko's reply emanated through Kiyomi's link.

As if blown away by a massive fan, the dark smoke from Meiko's smoke bomb all cleared out immediately. There was little doubt that the special jounin could use his invisible chakra armor to remove the lingering smoke but by that time it'd have been all too late. Just like that, when Hanshin noticed Meiko's actual attack coming, the young woman was already high up in the air, aiming to hit him with a hammer almost her own size.

"Useless!" Hanshin taunted the girl as she spun, flipped and proceeded to add more and more momentum before her upcoming strike. "Just like your posing!" the shinobi added. As a testament to his words and superior posing skills, the handsome ninja turned around and tightened his buttocks, bent his back in and raised one shoulder while letting the other sink down so that the risen shoulder perfectly obscured the vision to most of his turned around face except for his gleaming eyes.

"Weapon Transformation!" Meiko grunted after beating half of the falling distance. Her large hammer sunk in smoke sprouted colossally in size, becoming large enough to cover the entire training grounds field that spanned as wide as smaller settlements outside the village borders.

"Interesting..." Hanshin winked. What previously was invisible now lit up with bright, blue flame and, finally, he pushed his armor to a rank high enough for it to become visible.