I want it that way

Age : 32 Posts : 1178

"News is that there are some strong people coming this way to start trouble, I don't want to be around by the time they get here. I robbed them because I needed money to pay the captain of the ferry to get me out of this country.".

With his hand tightly gripping the throat of the man that had been stupid enough to start trouble in the same area Hiruzen had recently started living, his crimson eyes were locked on those of the person he was forcing down. While he was not the most muscular man, he had no need for such things when he had the means to hold people down through hypnosis and genjutsu. A rather simple answer was what he had gotten from a rather simple robber. After Hiruzen had heard sounds from the road not too far from his own home while on his way back from getting his groceries for the third time this week, he had taken the man down while he was trying to rob a man and his wife with a Kunai he had most likely found. He could tell by the way in which he had tried to rob the unsuspecting couple that he had not received any training as a shinobi at all and had been using the partially broken and discarded ninja tool with barely enough efficiency to scare a few civilians. Now that he had heard everything he needed to from the robber, he unleashed a fairly powerful Genjutsu on the man that was still suffering from Hiruzen's hypnotic gaze, causing him to feel a good amount of agony while his mobility was removed entirely by illusionary stakes that pinned his limbs in place.

For a moment, he screamed in pain, though it was not long after that that he passed out. If anything, it went to show that the man had no pain tolerance at all and had most likely just been going around from place to place just to rob people of their belongings. Shrugging his throat and spitting on the ground next to the man, he just left him in the shade of the large rock formation a good twenty meters away from the main road. While he believed that the man deserved to be punished, he was not in the mood to deal with him right now. Sitting down a couple of meters away from him, he used the shade to hide himself from the burning sun. It was an unnaturally hot day today, something Hiruzen did not care a whole lot for. He liked it when the sky was either cloudy but without rain or just clear without too much sun. When things were taken to extremes such as now, he did not like being outside at all. He preferred just sitting inside of his underground base where the temperature was always the same whether there was a fierce blizzard or a drought outside. Unfortunately, the fact that he was close to running out of food and drinkable water forced him outside while the robber made him spend more time outside than he had wanted. Now he was even left to deal with an unconscious robber, though that was not really what was on his mind right now.

The fact that this man had heard something that made him afraid enough to want to leave the country and the mainland all together had piqued his interest. It was not the fact that a lowlife had been startled by strong people coming his way, because Hiruzen knew that Kumogakure still had more than enough people left that could strike fear into the heart of a mere thug. Usually, robbers and other filth like him just took to living in the underbelly of society, a place where they could go about their business while having a form of safety in numbers. Most shinobi did not enter the places where most of the criminals hid, so there was really no need for the man to leave the village, let alone the country and the actual mainland. To Hiruzen, it proved that the people who were on their way to the village were more than just powerful, they were not affiliated to the village. It was often the filth of the world that learned more about other criminals in way less time than a shinobi would, so Hiruzen had very little reason to doubt what he had been told. Besides, his Sharingan was far more powerful than the feeble mind of the robber, so there was no way that he could break the hypnosis and tell him lies.

More so, knowing that the people he believed not to be part of a village were coming to the lightning country meant that they could only be Nukenin or powerful wandering shinobi such as himself. Though it obviously did not mean that they were evil or up to anything that was far from plausible, he felt rather excited. If he could find these people and gauge their level of power for himself, he might even get them to fight him and show him what they were capable of. Maybe they were good enough for him to play a couple of rounds with them, get some new techniques or some ideas for new techniques of his own creation. No matter what, he was going to do his best to track down the people the robber had been so afraid of and see to it that he got to see just what they were capable of. Laying against a rock with his hands behind his head, the Uchiha was wearing black slacks, black boots, a black high collared shirt with the Uchiha crest on the back, a green sash and a pair of black gloves, the cloak he was wearing to cover himself and the katana he held on his right hip was now serving as nothing more than a blanket to lay on. For the time being, he would just lay down and relax while waiting for the robber to wake up seeing as how Hiruzen refused to carry him to the nearest shinobi outpost. Even though he was relaxing, he was not going to set himself up for people to sneak up on him.

Spoilers and stuff:

Age : 32 Posts : 1495

„Lady, I hope you have not fallen asleep... Again?“ a snotty and, judging from the first sight arrogant voice of an elderly man reached ears of Nakotsumi Mana who was sitting on a rocky surface of the wasteland that she was training in. This man was one of the local “Assistants”, the similar agency of butler-like servicemen to that which Kirigakure had. Most likely the same company just moved its services to Kumogakure after Kirigakure’s destruction seeing the Cloud as the “next big thing”, little did they know that this village would become inactive and its economy keep sinking.

The Cloud had a nasty history with their supreme rulers, the Raikage had the habit of either dying before making any significant reforms or just being straight out douchebags caring more of their personal affairs than the well-being of their village. Mana had come to Kumogakure to assist it in the times of danger, what she got was that she was told to organize the village’s defenses herself because for some reason the Raikage won’t see her. The magician was beyond enraged since she had to do the Raikage’s job as far as village defense was concerned.

Not that the girl had a lack of motivation. Mana spent her every free moment organizing the defenses, after long and extensive process she was given control of any ninja (even Kumogakure ninja) who chose to enlist into the Inari Mountain defense. Without a doubt that couldn’t have been achieved without the young woman’s reputation as a hero, and more importantly – as a person who wanted nothing to do with power. The Kumogakure administration had no trouble trusting a woman who had no interest in claiming their chairs or influence or money. They only laughed from her idealism and gave her the space which was just fine by Mana.

“I did not… I’m meditating, have you ever tried forming a dragon of flames around you, Assistant?” Mana asked her Assistant sarcastically trying to imply that she needed peace and quiet for concentration. Not only the young one has been working her butt off organizing the defenses, studying the strategic guides of warfare as she did so, the magician also trained like she had never done before. She still struggled with full mastery over Shingan, also new concepts for jutsu flooded her mind every day and the girl had to test all of them if she was to find out what was possible and what wasn’t.

“I cannot say that I have, Lady, however… I must insist, have you slept recently?” the man asked her with that same snotty and aristocratic tone. Mana loved having Assistant around, she loved them back in Kirigakure but… Sometimes those guys didn’t know their priorities, the state of Kumogakure went first, Mana’s life was somewhere below that. If the young woman was ever to pass out and die from exhaustion at least she’d have organized a valid plan of defense. Mana’s mind tried to run through both the concept for the jutsu, practice her Shingan AND form a valid battle strategy and frankly… Succeeded at neither of them.

“Aaaaarrrrgh!” Mana shouted into the air as her meditational concentration was broken. She was learning to meditate in a new state of meditation, one she had discovered when she slipped into coma some time earlier – the Verse. The Verse allowed the user to create an entire world inside their mind and “play” with it, it was an amazing tool reenacting war scenarios, Mana could run any number of simulations using the dossiers she had read and compare them with the Parabrahma members she had met and those she knew about for certain. It was an exhausting and time consuming process however…

“How much do you know of guerilla warfare, Assistant?” Mana asked with a crushed and broken tone, she was collapsing under the weight of her responsibilities and she knew it. The man coughed up and checked his pocket watch, “I believe Lady was speaking of flaming dragons… I am confused what do those two have in common?” the man asked, he knew bloody well what they had in common and Mana knew it from his tone. He just tried to offend her with suggestion that she was reaching over too much. “If you have come here to train, leave the strategy matters for the evening, Lady.” The Assistant finished his suggestion this time being much more open.

“I can’t… This village has no leader during times when it needs him the most. The administration bicker over tea and biscuits and petty financial squabbles when they have a world threatening organization knocking at their door… I can’t afford to think about anything less than everything.” Mana replied with a silent voice, she knew that the Assistant understood, his duty was to watch over her safety, he had a moderate combat ability and the Sennin could sense a remarkable amount of chakra inside of him, apparently the Assistants branched out to protection of their clients too…

“And yet accomplish nothing in the process…” the Assistant added to her sentence after snickering like a hyena and flipping his nose up. What was he expecting? How could the people of this village hate her so much as to put everything on her shoulders and then criticize her for collapsing under all of this pressure? No. Assistant wasn’t really criticizing her. “I’m not failing! I have almost mastered Shingan, I mean… Almost remembered how my half-dead state mastered it…” Mana replied, it was true and she wasn’t hiding it, she forgot how to properly utilize her Shingan…

The only reason she mastered the damned skill in the first place was because her body was close to death, it was literally do or die and now the young lady had to push her body to the limit in order to reacquire the skill she got under extreme stress in the first place. Her torso was covered with burns and cut marks from that gruesome training and yet… Shingan was within her reach, if only she could somehow remember what made it work in the first place… “It was life! I wanted to live and from that wish to live I adapted, I became strong just like the old samurai guy told me, I need to remember that will to live…” Mana closed her eyes extending her Shingan for what looked like the infinity compared to her previous level of sensory.

Mana sensed everything! Wildlife, small time thugs who were aware of the girl’s existence but avoided her at all costs due to her rep, Hiruzen… Hiruzen? That chakra was awfully familiar to Mana, she had sensed it multiple times in the past and she could even sense some miniscule life form near his feet. They couldn’t have been further that ten minutes of walk from where the magician was, her eyes opened as she looked at the Assistant, “Would you please inform Meiko that I need her in the location half a kilometer in that direction? There is a friend I need to recruit for my scouting party, if that man does not wish to join I will be forced to send one man scouting which I’d be less than content with.”

“Will be done, Mana-sama.” Assistant bowed and walked off with a slow step. Mana stood up from the ground and patted her buttocks to wipe the sand and gravel off, then she turned towards the man’s location. If that man still considered her a friend perhaps this could still be made to work, they did not part under the best of circumstances during their first meeting but maybe, just maybe it could still be made to work. Mana did not try to silence her steps when approaching the location of the man, she knew already that he was a sensor, she could sense his sensory from all the way back. She also wanted him to know that she was coming, so that he could give her his reaction subconsciously. If he tried to flee the area avoiding the meeting Mana would get the clue, if he did not perhaps there was still hope.

“Hello, Hiruzen-san.” Mana greeted him as she entered supposed field of vision, she could identify that the poor man by his side was under an illusion from at least twenty meters away, he had Hiruzen’s chakra inside of his system. “Another bandit? His chakra does not seem like the kind worth cashing in for a man of your skill, the journey might not be worth the reward.” she tried to initiate some small talk. “I do understand the need to detain criminals but I am afraid the attention of the village is occupied with other things, we have an impending invasion to the Daimyo’s estate and Raikage chose the worst time to not appear in public. Might be more fruitful to just impose the vigilante justice upon this man you deem worthy and let him go, doubt the village will deal with him at the moment…”

Age : 32 Posts : 1178

When a chakra signature he recognized entered his field of sensory, Hiruzen was rather interested in seeing the person it belonged to again. He had no problem remembering the person that had once owned a chakra pool greater than his own. It was funny how the flow of things could change over time, that he had now grown into a level of chakra equal or even greater than the one she had. He was talking ofcourse about Mana, the Sennin from the Hidden Leaf village that had once helped him out with a thing or two in the fire country. One of the main things he remembered her for was the fact that she had said some rather hurtful things about him back in the day, though he had gotten over that pretty quickly. What he was now did not care a whole lot about things like that anymore, simply because he did not have to. The fact that he had risen above the ordinary human being in terms of power and knowledge could not be denied, even though most did not know just how much stronger he had gotten in the past years. It made him wonder if Mana would be able to see the changes that had happened to him or if she simply could not tell.

As for Hiruzen, he could tell that her chakra pool was still roughly as big as it had been when he last met her, so the kind of growth she had done was most likely just physical and in terms of jutsu she had in her arsenal. It was not too much of a stretch to think that she would have mastered some new techniques by now, it had been years since they had last met. In those three years, Hiruzen had achieved the same rank she held, mastered the use of the Sharingan, increased the potency of his chakra pool and his special Hermit chakra and even picked up a couple of Kenjutsu styles. Aside from that, he had created a couple of ninjutsu techniques that were out of this world and far beyond what the average shinobi could pull off. Hell, even most Jinchuuriki and other members of his clan would have trouble using the things he had created. Having been quite bored, it was a good thing that Mana showed up when she did. It meant that he had something to do and might even get a chance at seeing just how strong she really was. For now, he would put off on asking her to fight him, at least until he was done talking to her.

"Of all the places, I end up meeting you in a place like this. It is good to see you again Mana, you seem to have grown a bit. I'm glad that you didn't decide to waste your skills by staying tied down to a village all the time.".

Not being much for small talk, he believed that he was doing quite well. It was after all the first time for him to meet up with one of the few people he did not want to smack from one side of a country into the other. After all, she had told him some rather mean things in the past that had made him feel quite insecure, though that did not make him dislike the girl at all. He was actually rather glad about her moving around to see the world, though there was something about the whole thing that bothered him a bit. When she spoke of the robber he had put down, she told him that the village was most likely not going to deal with him and would probably not be worth the trip to deliver him there either. While he was not exactly planning on letting the man go at first, he did not feel like babysitting the guy the entire time until he woke up, just to take him to an outpost that would not even punish him. With regret in his heart, he snapped his fingers and released the grip his Genjutsu had on the man. While it would not make him wake up, it would at least allow him to get up and make a run for it by the time he came to.

"As for this ant, it is not that I deemed him worthy of anything, I just did not want him mugging people so close to me. When I captured and interrogated him, he was saying something about mugging people because he wanted to use the money to pay for the ferry out of the country and away from the mainland. Apparently, he was trying to outrun some people who are supposedly coming to the lightning country. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?".

Though it sounded like Hiruzen already knew about her involvement, he was in fact not sure if she even knew what he was talking about. For all he knew, she might be one of the strong people that were coming to the country, in which case he would have been wrong about assuming that the people in question were Nukenin. In a way, Hiruzen hoped that he was wrong and that there were hostile shinobi coming to the land of lightning to start trouble. The place had seen way too much peacefulness as of late, so it was about time that the higher ups in the village were forced to make some hard choices. In the worst case scenario, Mana was one of the people the ant had been talking about, in which case he would just have to make due with sparring them instead. No matter what it took, Hiruzen was done being bored. When around people that were once stronger than he was, he had to make the best of it and aim for a spar somewhere down the line. For the time being, he would just wait and hear her out.

Posts : 811

It was a rather bright day in the Lightning country, ever since Meiko had arrived, the village hidden in the clouds sure lived up to its name. Nearly everyday was greeted with thick, gray overcast. With the village being so high up on the mountainside, some days the clouds would even form low enough for people to touch them. Today, the skies were clear and a brilliant blue. The sun beat down on the small town with a heat unnatural to the area. Meiko could see it on the faces of the people below, beaten and weary, they rushed about their business so they could return to the shelter of their homes of businesses as quickly as possible. For the red head however, this felt like a relaxing cool day back in Konoha. It was funny how a person's body could acclimate so well to different temperatures.

Anyway, it was back to the business at hand. For the time being, Meiko was preparing for the upcoming attack by the Parahambla. To do so, she had ventured outside the walls of Kumogakure and was patrolling the area surrounding the village. For the moment, she had stopped in a small town a good distance from Kumo. Since this town was right on one of the main roads to Kumogakure, it was likely to become a battleground when the assault began. Right now, she sat herself atop a bell tower and was surveying the town's layout. The true purpose behind this patrol was to memorize the geography of the area around Kumogakure. It would give her a small advantage in the battle and judging from Mana's desperation, they needed every advantage they could get.

Speaking of Mana, she had come out here too for reasons of her own. When Meiko had last checked up on her, she was working on some meditation training. Apparently she had learned some new skill sometime ago but was having difficulty recalling how it worked. Meiko had wished her the best before going off on her patrol. Mana had not been too specific as to what this ability was and Meiko had chosen not to pry. She had complete faith in her Sennin friend and her ability to master this new technique. Besides, Meiko liked surprises. Well, good surprises at least.

Pushing herself up and on her feet, Meiko took a moment to stretch her limbs out. It was time to get going again. Simply sitting around wasn't going to allow her to memorize the town's layout. Meiko was the type of person who had to feel things to learn. Running around the streets would give her much more information than just sitting around like this. She could return to the bell tower later to review everything.

As she was about to leave however, an elderly man appeared behind her. He made no attempt to hide his presence and simply stood patiently as Meiko turned to face him. Immediately she recognized him as one of those 'Assistants' that were following Mana around recently. They were basically butlers, for lack of a better word, waiting on Mana's every need. Since one was here, the magician had likely sent him with a message. "Hey there, something up?"

The Assistant bowed out of respect, nothing significant just a dip of the head, before he spoke. "The Lady Mana wishes for you to meet with her." Raising a bony hand, the assistant pointed to the south-east of Meiko's current position. "She is waiting two and a half kilometers in that direction. It sounded urgent so I suggest you make haste." Rubbing her chin, Meiko looked in the direction the man had indicated. There wasn't much over there, a few buildings but for the most part it was just a bunch of rocks and trees. "Wonder what she wants?" Meiko mused aloud.

"I was given no further information. Now if you will excuse me, I must return to my post." With that, the man hopped off the tower and dashed off into the distance. "Pbbt, well isn't he all sunshine and rainbows." Shrugging, Meiko hopped off the tower herself onto the roof of the neighboring building and started dashing towards the meeting place.

As she ran, Meiko couldn't help but enjoy the cool breeze on her skin. For years, she was almost never spotted without her armour on and nearly a dozen weapons clanking away. Nowadays, she practically just ran around wearing whatever she felt like. Today that was a light red t-shirt and some rather worn-in jeans. The clothing was rather form fitting, in case the need for her armour suddenly arised. Her hands were still covered by the usual finger less gloves. Her palms were not a pretty sight, considering the amount of scars covering them.

Meiko only needed a few minutes to cover the distance. Dropping down onto the road, Meiko nearly collided with a man desperately running from the scene. Tears were streaming down his eyes as fear had overtaken his entire body. "What was that about?" Meiko wondered as he disappeared into the distance. Shrugging, she continued on her path. If it was important, Mana would let her know about it.

Coming around from behind one of the larger boulders, Meiko spotted Mana and one other familiar figure. One she had not seen in sometime. "Hey there Mana, hello Hiruzen, long time no see." While he had grown significantly over the years, Meiko could still identify the Uchiha at a glance. Besides, she knew no one else who wore that much black.

"So, what's up?"

Age : 32 Posts : 1495

Mana laughed out and scratched her cheek with a nail as Hiruzen‘s acknowledgment of both her existance and her growth made her a bit embarrased. One would think that since she was an entertainer known around the world she‘d have gotten used to being acknowledged but it was a quirk she was yet to overcome completely. Still, the young woman could tell that she was not the one who was to be complemented for growth, Hiruzen‘s growth was far more apparent. With her half-complete Shingan Mana could properly size up his chakra and it felt much stronger than it was before.

„Heh, I really should be telling you that, I assume your training at Sanrou was a success then? Your chakra feels much greater and more defined than before.“

Mana smiled at Hiruzen, back when they parted their ways the magician was in a deep crisis in her life, at the moment she had sunk even deeper except the stakes were so high that she had no luxury to sink under it like she did back then. The young Uchiha gave her an exceptionally wise and motivated speech that should‘ve gotten to her back then, he gave her a chance to follow him and see him off instead of isolating herself in the Fire Temple and yet she stayed there hoping to punish herself for nothing. She always was a little bit jealous of Hiruzen, with him having no ties to tie him down he was able to travel around the world freely with no obligations, sort of like Mana was until she‘s done with the Parabrahma...

„I think you know very well I do not stay tied down by choice. There are people I want to protect and those people get in danger way too often for me to have the luxury to explore the world. Only at times of crisis like this can I allow myself to ignore the smaller threats and focus on something much more collossal...“

Hiruzen seemed to believe that traveling around the world was the superior way to acquire strength and wisdom as compared with Mana‘s stationary ways, knowing what she now knows the magician had to admit that he was right. Had she never left Konoha she‘d have never acquired the Shingan or started experimenting on countless new amazing jutsu with the motivation of defeating the strongest enemy she‘s faced yet. The problem was that power and wisdom was never something Mana wanted, power was just a secondary achievement from protecting people she loved so she had no problem staying tied down to a village if that meant being able to help its people.

Mana couldn‘t foresee Hiruzen snapping his finger and releasing the man from the genjutsu, she bit her lip subtly in anger, just a couple of months before she perfectly predicted the movements of a swordsman who moved faster than her eyes could see, now she couldn‘t even see a snap. The only thing that her sensory showed was the illusionary influence dissipating from the man and the man remained downed still in sleeping state. What the Uchiha said about the man worried Mana a bit, he said that the man fled from the country trying to outrun the Parabrahma. It had to be them, it couldn’t have been anyone else that this lowly man would’ve tried to escape from.

That meant that Kumogakure didn’t trust her, the very thing she tried to protect, the people chose to run away and leave the village for destruction. Mana predicted that the Parabrahma would try that at some point, maybe they’ll do it during their attack on Inari Mountain, maybe a bit later. The people must’ve seen that too, the rumors of the words that the magician told the Kumogakure administration were spreading. Knowing that the people she offered her life to defend didn’t trust her and left her and those that did trust her to die hurt the young woman and it was too tough to hide. Mana looked at Hiruzen and sighed.

“Yeah, I know about that… There’s an organization of people who want to kill the Daimyo, they’re coming for the Lightning Daimyo first and they’re all packing enough strength to destroy entire villages. They want to get the Daimyo out of the way so that they can take out all of the Kage and then take over the villages, they basically want to take over the world in the end… I came to Kumogakure because I wanted to offer help, it ended up so that the Raikage is basically holed up somewhere and I do all the work organizing the village’s defenses. Knowing that people don’t trust me and run away, remembering the time I fought against them and got my butt handed to me… Got to say it doesn’t make things look good.”

Mana turned around and massaged her neck to relieve some pain and tension that she had over the endless hours of training and meditation, studying the village’s planning and the forces of recruits that signed up to help her not because their afraid country told them to but because they were heroes. Out of all things, Kumogakure’s fear and lockdown made the girl most afraid of all, now out of all times none of the villages sounded comfortable – Konoha probably already labeled her a criminal for helping Kumo and giving them sensitive village information that they had on the Parabrahma, no one really knew what was going through Kumogakure administration’s head…

For all the magician knew the Cloud was just as likely to let her go after this was done as they were a slipping a dagger into her heart when she was asleep for gathering so much influence in so little time. After all – she was the one organizing the village’s defense, not their own Raikage and not their own administration. She was the one calling people to take arms and fight, she was the one who made amazing and heroic people rally and get ready to fight.

“They plan to attack the Inari Mountain, that’s where the Daimyo is at the moment, the few scouts that the village gave me access to said that a party was on its way through the Snow Country already and that they are probably a week or two away… I’m not a bureaucrat or a strategist, I’m a martyr, I always was… I’m not really sure if I’m doing this right and I guess people like him see it... I… I could really use your help…”

Mana looked away with her eyes closing up, she wasn’t used to begging people for help, she never really cared if other people stood beside her, she just fought her enemies whether she had help or not. The magician already tried that – fighting all of the Parabrahma at the same time alone and they almost killed her. She needed help, not because Mana wanted to live but because she wanted the Daimyo to live, the people in Kumogakure to live, the people that agreed to help her to live.

“I mean I know you don’t consider Kumogakure your home anymore, I know they went out of their way to hurt you but… The people who made you suffer won’t be the ones who will pay the price, Parabrahma hates people who can’t manipulate chakra so those that deserve it the least will. Please…”

Mana bowed her head in front of Hiruzen almost begging the man to help. With him fighting alongside the village’s bravest, alongside Mana and Meiko chances were pretty good. What if when the village sees Hiruzen fighting alongside them they will get braver, trust the defensive force a little bit more, what if they will see Hiruzen himself differently? Mana was always an idealist, she always believed that everyone everywhere could just get along, someday that belief may be the end of her, all that the magician knew was that it won’t be fighting against Parabrahma, not with all that is at stake!

Age : 32 Posts : 1178

"I see.. Well I don't care if they kill the Daimyou or not, I don't know him well enough to feel like protecting the guy, or gal. As far as I know, he was just as involved as the village council when giving me a mission that was doomed to fail. I'm glad that there are other people that agree that people like them should not be in power and should be removed altogether.".

With a rather smug expression on his face, he quietly laughed a bit at the thought of the Daimyou and Kumogakure's council in excruciating pain. For the things they had put him and his former loved ones through, they more than deserved what was heading their way, and he was sure that Mana knew that as well. Looking up to see Meiko arrive, he wondered if all three of the people he had interacted with in the Hidden Leaf were wandering about. Nodding at Meiko in acknowledgement of her words, he drifted off to think about the people deserving it getting punished for all the things they had done. The council had managed to hurt three of the larger clans in the Hidden Cloud by getting so many promising shinobi of various ranks and accomplished KYOBU members killed. How he would love to see them all dragged through the streets of the village, get hung from the main gate, get tossed into the canyon surrounding the village or doused in flammable liquids and lit up like living torches. Whether the way he pictured all of these things in such a lively manner was healthy or not, he did not consider himself to be sick for thinking. After all, they were all shinobi that had taken lives, so none of them would ever be able to go back to the time before they had killed and be one hundred percent normal again. When Mana brought up the fact that Hiruzen no longer saw the village as his home, she went on tell him that the people he wanted to see in pain would not be the ones that would suffer.

Stating that the "Parabrahma" hated those that did not possess the skills to manipulate or in other ways use chakra, he did not really feel bad for the civilians at first. A lot of them had made his younger cousins cry several times when drunkards showed up at their gates only to cry out about how the Uchiha did not deserve their luxurious life within their compound when many civilians in the village had to live in poverty. Growing up, Hiruzen once felt bad for these people, even though he knew that as a founding clan, the Uchiha had more than earned the right to live the way they did because their own money had been put to use when the village was being built. For most of the adults, Hiruzen did not feel bad at all. It was however for the children that lived in the village that he would feel bad in case of an attack. If immensely powerful shinobi came up to their door, there would be little to nothing their parents could do to protect them, at which point they would all die. Had things gone differently, Hiruzen himself might have become a part of such an organization to take care of the council and the Daimyou, but never to hurt those that had done nothing to deserve it. This would, however, not be the reason for helping the village in its time of need.

"You know, those civilians have not made it easy for me and my younger relatives when we grew up as shinobi in training. Some of them deserve what is coming, though a lot more of them do not. The village is not really my home anymore, but if these "Parabrahma" are as strong as you say they are, I would feel bad if I turned you down and missed out on a great fight. So fix your stance and quit begging, i'll help out if it means that much to you guys.".

As soon as he told them that he would help them out, a faint grin appeared on his face. It had been a while since he actually did something that could benefit a large group of people. While it was no different in nature than taking down some criminals for a good bounty, he would not fool himself or the two Kunoichi into thinking that he did all of this for the sake of mankind. His main reason for joining up was an incredibly selfish one, this being the fact that he wanted to experience the power of this organization first hand. To see if there were still worthy opponents out there that he had not met yet, to see if there were powers and applications of chakra that were foreign and unknown to him. While he had a lot in common with these Parabrahma in that they wanted to destroy the current leadership in the land of lightning, he would not be able to justify the killing of those that could do nothing to defend themselves. That alone was reason enough for Hiruzen to kill the members of this organization once they were no longer useful and educative for him. With his abilities, he would be able to take apart everything he saw and keep breaking it down until it made sense to him.

After all, he had done this so many times already that it was not even something he had to really do his best for. Thanks to his incredible perceptive skills and the mastery over his Sharingan, he could see things go down in slow-motion, break a technique down by judging how much chakra is molded and what ratio is being used, which seals are formed, how it is released and eventually see how the jutsu unfolds, allowing him to perfectly mimic every aspect of it. Through that skill, he would most certainly be able to learn something new by watching and studying these Parabrahma people. Even if he did not exactly learn anything new from them, he would get to fight them and test his own level of skill against theirs, which would be almost as good. The amount of chances one got in life to get things done on a bigger scale often came in small amounts, so Hiruzen decided that if he could not get things done by going left, he would get things done by going right. As he thought about testing his skills against the Parabrahma, a different thought formed in his mind, one not even remotely connected to the Parabrahma.

"Now, seeing as you two are the one spearheading this little project, I don't doubt that you will be able to tell me a thing or two about the people I will be dealing with. People always say that knowledge is power, but knowledge without the required amount of strength will not make one powerful. It is through a mixture of both knowledge and power that one truly becomes a force to be reckoned with. That is why I would love to dig in to whatever information you two can share with me about these people. Oh, and before I forget, you two should show me how much you've grown over the past three years. I mean, it is only fair seeing as how i've decided to help you without asking anything in return.".

Again, a small grin appeared on his face as he finished speaking. While he had not asked for anything in return for his aid in this oh so terrible thing the world was facing, he was in fact asking for something in return by telling Mana and Meiko to show him what they were capable of now. Even though his life had been rather dark, the Uchiha was not without humor and wanted to enjoy himself as much as he possibly could. That was what his life was all about these days, having fun and making progress on his self-improvement. As such, he would not let a perfectly good opportunity to learn new things and test his limits go by.

Age : 32 Posts : 1495

Mana could barely even recognize Hiruzen talking about not giving any thoughts of whether the Daimyo dies or not. He was ready to sentence him to death just because of a hunch that he may have been responsible for what happened to him. Mana’s eyes closed because she didn’t want to let her rage be known to the man. To think that she genuinely felt bad for calling him “just the same as all Uchiha”. Maybe back then he was someone more than just a Uchiha but now he was the textbook definition of what those guys were.

For a moment the magician wondered of what should’ve happened that could have turned her friend into this. As far as she could remember the great tragedy of his life had already happened when the two of them met so it had to be something else. What could have happened to him to make him not care about innocent lives and become so selfish? How could a man that Mana admired so much and see as an ideal example become this completely different man, this man who only cared about fighting.

Hiruzen even went as far as to voice his dislike for the civilians that Mana strived to protect. Upon hearing those words she straightened her neck, she would never bow to a man like this again. A man who looked only at what he had to gain, in many ways Hiruzen may have even been very similar to the people that comprised the Parabrahma. “So your answer to their cruelty is to respond with cruelty? They were cruel to you because they believed that you were just a bloodthirsty Uchiha, not unlike I did at first. By leaving all of them to die you will only prove them right and by resorting to violence yourself you will only step down to their level.”

Mana couldn’t remain silent, she genuinely wanted to, she never had a proper thought about how tough this mission was going to be – she was short on people and even shorter on strong people. She needed the likes of Hiruzen to fight alongside her, she needed to be able to make village ninja and nukenin work together and to do that all she would have had to do was to stay silent, just nod to whatever Hiruzen said and ignore him but she couldn’t do that. She then started to wonder what was the greater evil: working with people she started to feel a particular dislike for or shoving them aside and dying on the battlefield. Will living be worth the price she has to pay for that?

“Anyways, you’re right, I know everything about the core of their abilities. I cannot vouch that they won’t have hired new members after I took all ten of them on but I’ve already told Kumogakure this intelligence so I see no harm in telling it to you too. It probably will get me executed back home but you deserve to know what you’d be facing off against. Parabrahma is basically comprised of people from various clans with a unique twist to their abilities: their leader is an Uzumaki who uses his chains to channel genjutsu as a genjutsu focus, they have an Inuzuka who has no dog but has the strongest and the fastest body I’ve ever seen, he also has mastered stealth. I can also remember a Yamanaka who has some sort of apparatus that allows him to use his mental abilities as area of effect techniques, an Aburame who uses flesh eating insects, a Hozuki who uses Blood Style. There was this armored lady who looked like a statue, she didn’t show me her ability but the armor cuts pretty sharp, she’s most likely a weaponry user, then there was a man armed with incineration equipment like flamethrowers and incendiary bombs. I vaguely remember a man who could use Doton zombie raising technique, I was very injured at the time so I’m not sure about the last memory…”

Mana looked away for a moment, remembering that day when she ended up fighting against all of the Parabrahma alone. She was never meant to survive that day… Sometimes it felt like Parabrahma’s reforms were supposed to happen, as if they were a tsunami crashing onto the shore and Mana was standing in its way. Sometimes she herself wasn’t sure why she was clinging to the old order, why she fought so desperately to protect not only the innocents she strived to protect but also those that she may not have been overly fond of: politicians, “bandits-within-the-law” etc…

When Mana’s eyes opened again they stopped on Meiko, the magician was so distracted with Hiruzen, her own memories and the horrific discovery of what her idol has become. “Hey, Meiko, I see Assistant finally reached you. This man is an old friend… I’m trying to get him to help us. You seem to know Hiruzen too?” Mana smiled to her friend trying to wipe all the negative feelings: all the anxiety that thinking about the Parabrahma, all the fear of failure, all the stress from not being able to open Shingan again. Mana wasn’t completely sure just for how long Meiko was standing there or how much she has overheard - the magician was just too consumed by the negativity that the memories brought up.

“I have no wish to fight just for the Hell of it…” Mana closed her eyes and turned around. “If you decide to help us I’ll be eternally grateful, if not, so be it. I still have plenty of planning and training to do seeing how Kumogakure has already given up. I simply do not believe in fighting without a desperate need to… If Meiko has something to prove to you I will support her but I do not. The things I have to prove are not for you but for the people I wish to protect.” with letting these words float in the air Mana turned at Meiko to see what her friend had to say on the matter. It all depended on what her friend felt was right.

Posts : 811

"...Eh?" The disgruntled noise escaped Meiko's mouth a few moments after her introduction. She was certain she had not mumbled when she announced her arrival. Yet the only response she had received was a small twitch from Hiruzen. Nodded his head slightly before returning to Mana. The magician had not even acknowledged her presence. Instead, she just continued on with her conversation as though nothing had happened. "Really?" Mana simply continued speaking with Hiruzen, it was obvious that she was trying to recruit him for the upcoming attack. Honestly, having his strength would be a giant asset against the Parahambla. Meiko had only seen a fraction of what he could do in a spar a few years ago. Sure, he won that day, but Meiko had never gotten the chance to warm up before the fight ended.

Mana soon lowered her head into a bow, practically begging for Hiruzen to join them on this mission. Hiruzen's reply however, was one that did not quite garner hope. There was so much spite behind his words that it almost sounded like he would have joined the Parahambla himself if they had come to him first. The Daimyo and the village had sent him off on some suicide mission and for that, he despised them. Welcoming their coming demise should Mana's plan fail. He even laughed afterwards, with the smuggest smile Meiko had ever seen. "Well at least someone noticed me here..." She mumbled while shooting a stink eye at Mana. Still the two had their attention focused solely on one another.

Sighing, Meiko dropped herself down, curling her knees up to her chest. Picking up a twig that was laying beside her, Meiko began tracing circles in the dirt. "Oh it's fine. Go ahead and ignore me. It's not like I came running all the way out here cause I was worried about you or anything." Meiko mumbled under her breath. Honestly, it was just a way to tease Mana for ignoring her like this. Besides, it was best she stayed out of this conversation for the moment. If anyone could convince Hiruzen to join them, it was Mana.

At the very least, Hiruzen understood the threat to civilian life should the Parahambla succeed. Although, that too was filled with spite and cynicism. For the most part, the only thing that peeked his interest was the promise of a fight. Meiko found herself wondering if he had always been like this. So cynical and angry. When he visited Konoha, Hiruzen wasn't like this. Sure he wasn't the most social person around, but there was still a spark to him. Now, he felt almost as dark as his clothes. Something had happened between then and now, something bad, to change him this much.

At the very least, Mana did call him out on this overly aggressive manner. It was almost like two opposites clashing. Mana, the loving girl who wanted to protect everyone and Hiruzen, the cynical man who couldn't care less if everything fell apart. If it weren't for Hiruzen's interest in the battle itself, this would have become a full on battle of wills. Her money was on Mana of course, never in her life had Meiko met someone as stubborn as her. Even Hiruzen, powerful as he was, would be worn down by her. If he was a cliff, then Mana was the ocean. Eventually, she would break through.

Once the two were on more equal terms, Mana began explaining the information she had on the Parahambla. This was news to Meiko as she herself still did not know the capabilities of their members. Although one bit of information did rustle her the wrong way. Mana stated that the information she had leaked would get her executed back home. Executed? That was the dumbest thing Meiko heard in a long time. Who was going to execute her? Mana, The Sorceress, the freaking hero of the village. Any information she 'leaked' was for the good of everyone. ONE member fighting her had left the Forest of Death in ruins. If execution was ever brought to the table when they returned home, Meiko would rise up in her friend's defense. Even if it meant fighting the Hokage himself.

Meiko made mental notes of the member's abilities that Mana was able to list off. The armoured woman in particular caught her attention. Meiko was having some issues making her new set of armour. At this point, she had gone back and re-sized her old suit simply because of the difficulty the new one was proving to be. Perhaps this lady would give her some inspiration for her suit. Or, she could just swipe it if it fit her needs. An evil cackle escaped her at this thought. She kept it low however, so the others might not notice.

Finally, Mana noticed that Meiko existed, instantly halting the red head's cackling. "Ah!" Pushing herself to her feet, Meiko turned to her friend, brushing some dirt off her rear. "Bout time you noticed me. You're so cruel." Meiko's tone, followed by the wink would clearly indicate her jest before turning to Hiruzen. "Yeah we met a while ago. He was in Konoha for a bit. I taught him the basics for using that sword there." Meiko could clearly remember that session, and her pathetic frustration that came with it. It was then that she learned the reason why Yusuke had stolen that Sharingan of his. Its powers were, simply put, ridiculous.

Although Hiruzen had challenged them, Mana wanted no part in the fighting. That was one big difference between the two. Mana despised violence while Meiko had to admit, she did enjoy the adrenaline rush that came with combat. Needed or not. She still had to get Hiruzen back for that day too. [color=red]"So, you'll be my cheerleader huh? Or would you join in the fray to if I were to accept his offer? It had been sometime since her last fight, if her memory was right, that puppeteer who kidnapped a Genin had been her last bit of combat. That was months ago now and Meiko worried she might be getting rusty.

"So, what's the rules? We going all out here, or just a demonstration?" Meiko asked because, while she wanted to beat Hiruzen, going all out could be dangerous. If either of them, or worse both, were wounded then it would weaken their forces for the upcoming battle against the Parahambla. Right now they had time to breath and ready themselves, but who knows when they would choose to attack. That was the real battle and Meiko had to be in top shape for it.

Age : 32 Posts : 1178

"You're right, that is exactly what my answer to their cruelty is. I've spent the biggest part of my life working for those people, taking on the missions no one else wanted to do because of what often needed to be done. It is because I was an Uchiha and a survivor of that massacre that they picked me for the missions that required mental torture and murder so the village could be safe from another threat. I lost my family and my friends doing what was needed for the sake of the village and the people that live in it. Those same civilians treated me and my family like rubbish because we lived luxurious lives in our own compound, one we built with our own hard earned money. They forgot that the founding clans paid for the village that was build for them to live in and alienated us, among others. I left that village because I know exactly what runs through my blood, because I know the curse of hatred that has taken a hold of several of my ancestors.".

In Hiruzen's mind, he had not said a bad thing at all. After all, he had agreed to help them do what needed to be done for the ungrateful cretins that roamed the streets of the Hidden Cloud. A lot of his years had been spent making sure they could live normal lives, a thing returned with them spitting in his direction, looking upon him with dismay and even uttering hurtful things behind his back. While this was true for a lot of members hailing from the founding clans, the things Hiruzen had done to see to their safety made him want to set them on fire more than once. When someone who hailed from the Hidden Leaf village that was liked in most parts of the world thought that she could say the things she said to him so easily, he was obviously not happy about it. Outsiders always believed they knew how things should be, though they were considered outsiders for a reason. Only those that experienced things first hand had the right to speak about the subject, that was what Hiruzen believed. When she brought up his clan and their apparent bloodlust, the mixture of things killed the good mood Hiruzen had been feeling up to this point.

"I won't deny that I have a lot of restrained anger inside of me, something I vent by finding people who are strong enough to fight. Ever since I left the village, I have not killed a single person, so don't think that I fight just for the hell of it. Sure, i've grown to accept that it is a part of me and enjoy fighting as a result of it, though I don't expect you to understand that much as you're not a part of a clan. People think being a part of a clan is a blessing, and in most cases it really is, though none of you can see what is hidden underneath. You speak of bloodthirsty Uchiha like they were always monsters, but I can tell you that it is a process that turns a kind and loving person into a cold blooded and calculated murderer. Everyone in my clan that I ever heard of that lost to the curse did so because the world around them forced them to change or simply because they had to do it to protect the people they loved while losing themselves in the process. I could care less about what you think about me as i've accepted who I am and what I need to be, but don't speak of the hardships of my family so casually.".

Once he was done talking, he had made it clear that he knew exactly what he had been turned into and that he was fine with that. More importantly, he believed that he had made it abundantly clear to both Meiko and Mana that no one other than those hailing from his clan were allowed to badmouth them, at least when around him. Hiruzen always hated it when people spoke about his clan like they were all monsters and fiends that were all bad to the bone. Within the village, he had been hated for the simple fact that he was an Uchiha, which had been enough for the vast majority of the villagers to spit in his direction and talk bad about him wherever he went. People like his uncle, his grandfather and his cousins were all really good people that always did everything possible for the sake of the village, which was also why his uncle had died recently. While the amount of contact he had with his kinsmen had come to the point of no contact at all, Hiruzen still made sure that he was kept up to date on how his family was done because they would always be that, family, no matter how bad things got between them. When the Uchiha were being called murderers or people possessed by bloodlust so casually, the hairs on the back of his neck stood up straight. Had it been anyone else saying it, he would have punched her right in the face.

Because Mana was someone that had helped him in the past and because she had not done anything deserving of his dislike up until this point, he would let her off easy by using words instead. There were times when words could hurt someone more than weapons could, but that was not what Hiruzen was going for right now. Compared to him, Mana was still a relatively young shinobi that was still being molded by the world around her. While he himself was not that old, the world had already done enough to him to turn him into the person he was today, a person that saw the world for what it was and not for what he wanted it to be. Believing himself to be a true realist, he was not the kind of person that would let go of an opportunity to slightly mold the world for the better when such a chance presented itself to him. In his eyes, Mana was such a chance as she was a shinobi that was liked by many and had shown the talent to get things done. Even now, she told him about all of the members of the Parabrahma and their abilities to prepare him for what was to come. As she prepared him for the future, so did he want to prepare her by giving her some harsh tips about things that were necessary in the world of shinobi. Whether she would accept what he said or not was entirely up to her, though she could not keep him from saying it.

"But to be honest, I wanted to see what the two of you were capable of and how much I can rely on either of you in battle. Besides, if you don't fight for the hell of it, you don't ever get to practice your ability either. Not knowing your current level of skill means you won't realize you're getting rusty, which could be a very dangerous thing when fighting the kind of people you just described. I can tell just by looking at her that Meiko understands my point. Neither of us have anything to prove, but we understand that it is good to match up to people who possess a roughly equal level of skill to see where we stand ourselves. So I suggest stepping out of your comfort zone or bad things might catch you off-guard.".

Though he had not been notable angry aside from letting the two Kunoichi not to speak ill of his clan, he had in fact been quite angry. Starting to calm down by making his boundaries known and letting Mana know that it was about time for her to get off of her high horse, it was not long before he completely regained his composure. She should lighten up a bit and be more like Meiko and the other Konoha kunoichi he had met, Kiyomi. They had sparred him when he was in the Hidden Leaf for the first time without acting like a princess. Battle was a necessary thing for those that chose the life of a shinobi. Sometimes, the fighting was needed during a mission, these usually being about life and death. The others fights were called spars because they were performed by two or more people to see what their limits were and to keep themselves from getting rusty and messing up in actual battles. Those that became shinobi did so knowing that they would have to fight and would have to kill up to the point where they would either fall in battle or become too old to continue fighting. For all he cared, Mana could do what she wanted and keep her clothes dirt free, though he refused to do so without letting her know that sparring people was a necessary thing in this world. Once he was certain that his words were received, he turned his attention towards Meiko.

"As far the spar, I suggest we do that elsewhere. This place is relatively close to the main road, so if the people you guys described are anywhere near as powerful and dangerous as you make them out to be, they just might be able to find us. I know a place not too far from here that would work out well we can check out in a few minutes. Once we're all done here, we can get going.".

[Exit]

Age : 32 Posts : 1495

Mana wanted to stay silent for once, if only it wasn’t for her silly wish to fix the world. It was clear that Hiruzen was wrong, he was a far cry from the man that she once admired and wanted to be like. Ever since the young woman saw Hiruzen becoming „the Strider“ she wanted to follow him, leave the village and stop being tied down by what the officials say, stop being affiliated with a single affiliation and just be „Konoha‘s Sorceress“ with no leaf symbol on top of her hair line. People tend to mistrust and hate people from other villages, had Mana become an entity like Strider she could‘ve been more trusted. If the price of being trusted is becoming like this, Mana would’ve rather being hated for the rest of her life.

“Hiruzen I’ve known would have never made excuses for hating someone, he would have never generalized people and placed labels on them just because he himself was being labeled. When you say how it angers you when people call you “just another Uchiha monster”, letting someone die because someone else offended you is the same thing. Hiruzen I admired would have never been the thing he hates. I guess if you do as you say and help us fight the Parabrahma your actions will talk better than your hurtful words, I’ll know that the Hiruzen I liked is still somewhere in that heart filled with hate and violence.”

Mana did not start walking back to where she came from as it may have been thought she’d do. Instead she looked at the sky and spoke to Meiko. “I’d really wish to honor Strider-san with a spar, however I will only honor the Hiruzen I lead into the Fire Temple, not whoever this man is… I will watch over you two go at it, there is great difference between the chakra levels of the two of you, if needed I will compensate that by watching your back, nothing more.” Mana desperately needed this spar, she needed to fight for her life if she ever wanted to awaken Shingan again and master it like she did in that volcano, Strider however was not the man she wanted to do it with, however, she’d only do so with Hiruzen.

The magician coughed up some blood gently into a tissue and then placed it into her pocket. This strange symptom started happening ever since she was skewered with a katana while training Shingan, even as her lung healed, for some reason this still kept happening. Perhaps it had nothing to do with the master’s katana? Maybe it was all a collection of Mana’s injuries, maybe Ayushi, Leech, Honda, all those injuries and all those times she’s been brought to death were now catching up with Mana just like the doctors said they would eventually? No one could have known, there was no time for check-ups and the magician felt like the last person whose life mattered right now.

The woman observed both her best friend and a man she used to call a friend but now she just wanted to make him return to being her friend again. “Comfort zone?” Mana asked without elaborating. She just couldn’t see Hiruzen’s point. How could he call any of this “comfort zone”? She was out of her home, a place where she will no longer be welcome in because she told some of their secrets to the world. She almost got killed by all of her enemies, alone and broken, surviving only because of her own quick thinking and will to live, she had a giant scar of burnt flesh on her stomach where a katana went through her only for Mana to cauterize it with a wall of a heated steel cage and keep fighting. She trained day and night until her own body could no longer stand. Which part of life in Kumogakure waiting for what could’ve been her death was “Comfort zone”?

This only proved how far away Mana and Hiruzen were from each other, how little both the Uchiha knew of her and how little she probably knew of what happened to him. Still, the magician needed his help, the people she wanted to keep alive needed her to just shut up and get this man’s help. Mana listened to Hiruzen’s suggestion to take the fight elsewhere and would have followed the two without any intention to actually join in. Still, the magician wanted to see it, maybe seeing her friend fight and wishing her well would help her open Shingan again instead of having to place herself in danger? Either way, Mana’s word of only sparring with Hiruzen, not the Strider stood firm.

Once the decision was made: follow or stay there, the magician would have followed the two but she wouldn’t have gotten ready to fight, she’d have found a spot on the ground to sit on and sat down in her meditating position and closed her eyes, trying once again to open Shingan, unsuccessfully as usual. She’d then only utter a couple of words. She was being stubborn and stupid but being stubborn and stupid was Mana’s forte. It was what made her into the person she was, she didn’t achieve her greatest achievements by winning fights, she did so using her stubborn nature and what to other ninja would seem sheer stupidity. Mana was not a fighter, but she had no time to get rusty because right after one fight she had more people to protect, it was exact opposite, in fact – she fought without having time to recover from her last fights. She knew that inside of her own heart and just like she said, she had nothing to prove to no one.

“Say whatever you feel like saying, place labels and make excuses like with the people you pushed away because of some jerks you didn’t like. Say that I’m afraid to spar with you or that I’m in “my comfort zone” or whatever, come at me with the intention to kill but I will not fight you, when Hiruzen comes back, however, I’d love nothing more than to honor him with a spar to the best of my abilities.”

[EXIT]

Posts : 811

Meiko was beginning to regret having answered Mana's summons. This conversation was certainly not for her. Both Mana and Hiruzen kept switching from hot to cold and back again so fast she felt her eyes were going to spin out of their sockets. Her biggest fear was that she would be drawn into this and forced to take a side. If that were to happen, she would only end up alienating one of the two. Mana was her friend and, while insanely stubborn, Meiko believed in her to always do what she believed was right. Yet she could still sympathize with Hiruzen's anger, even if she could not relate to it. She really didn't mind being ignored again while this last bit of conversation played out. She could feel that Hiruzen's words were aimed at her as well during certain parts though.

There truly was a world of difference between these two villages. Meiko could clearly see how talented a shinobi Hiruzen was, yet for some reason Kumogakure had chosen to throw him under the rug. As he explained all that he had lost, Meiko could only wonder what might have happened had their roles been reversed. What if Mana and herself had been from Kumo? Would they be standing on Hiruzen's side with him trying to defend the world? Back home, they knew they were needed. Hell Mana was a literal celebrity and while Meiko wasn't exactly a stand-out shinobi, she did at least have enough clout to run off like she did without causing the fear of her going rogue. Granted, that was likely due to her close relationship with Mana.

Perhaps the person who could most relate to him was Kiyomi. Being the heir of the Yamanaka Clan, she too would understand the pressures others placed upon members. Unfortunately, the blonde was still back home in Konoha. Her clan's abilities would be greatly appreciated in the upcoming battle. Perhaps she could send a letter when this was over? Although it might not make it in time,

When Mana took her turn to speak, she spoke as though Hiruzen was a different person now. Calling him 'Strider', whatever that meant. She almost sounded hurt that Hiruzen had changed so much and wished he would return to the man he was when they first met. Honestly, Meiko had to agree with her to some point. The Hiruzen standing before them wasn't exactly the most welcoming person. He was abrasive and distant. Soured by his past, he was pushing people away.

As for the spar, Mana did not want to participate. At best she would provide backup for Meiko. "That's too bad, I'd have liked to see you really go at it." Meiko mumbled. Finally, Hiruzen turned his attention back to her. Stating they should take the spar to another location. She wasn't exactly excited by the prospect of being discovered by the Parahambla, even with Hiruzen there it could end up being a ten on three fight. Still, Meiko knew she just couldn't back down from this. Nodding, she simply gestured to Hiruzen. "Lead the way." She would then follow Hiruzen and Mana deeper into the country, trying to memorize as much of the landscape as she could.

[Exit]
[END]