Tales of a Ninja Magician: Of Where We Come From

All Ways Lead to Bliss

The sound of a small squirt of liquid splattering over the castle ruins made any creepers lurking on the walls, waiting for another one of their kind to creep by just so they could feast on their insides, creep away. It was not a gruesome death that stood behind the noise and it was not blood that colored the ancient structure walls. It was Kusagoro spitting over his shoulder in frustration.

"Shit, I must've taken a wrong turn somewhere..." he cursed as he was moving quite fast and yet he still hasn't found his son and the others that accompanied him. The only explanation that with all his speed would've still kept him behind was getting lost. He wasn't able to really get into his speed reserves because the place was filled with non-functional traps, sharp twists and turns and bottomless pits that went nowhere. He was still faster than those twerps could've possibly been...

The sound of squirming alerted Kusaguro as his entire body was instantly surrounded by golden sand. The golden grains concentrated into a structure that resembled a cocoon of some sort, a spherical coffin of death that lifted into the air.

"Desert Funeral..." Regalia's cold voice chanted out as the sphere was crushed grinding anyone inside to dust. The technique was lethal to ninja even when used by genin, strong enough to grind stone to dust, strong enough to tear steel apart. When used by Regalia and her unmatched golden sand it should've been enough...

And yet the man simply slumped onto the ground, he appeared relatively unharmed except for a scratch on his forehead and one above his eye that sent blood spurting down his face. His mercenary vest which was strong enough to withstand kunai and sword slashes was also torn up and now less useful for protection. Had the woman used such a relatively simple technique on someone as world-breaking as a Tailed Beast it'd still have felt some pressure... This golden sand was dangerous but, to the man, it felt more like a nuisance.

Normally, such an event would've invited excitement to Kusagoro's lips, maybe even joy that his abilities were somewhat challenged. After all, having fun like his old days was the goal, normal forced suspension from his ninja duties would've killed him of boredom and while he still craved the magician's head he did feel some gratitude to the girl. If it wasn't for her he'd have not had this much to do...

"Why are you here?" Kusagoro asked with a serious face, the face of a killer who was ready to burst into emotion at any point despite his current expression looking quite lifeless and bloodthirsty calm.

"I'm looking for the girl, the magician girl, who is currently looking for the Box. Judging from her movements she knows what she's doing, she's moving in a singular direction and only stops briefly when her dormant chakra takes a significant dip to regain her breath" Regalia replied. After seeing this man only receive minor scratches that were more visually repulsive than actually effective at keeping him down she felt like picking a fight with him may not have been too wise.

"Hmph, I'm looking for my son and his party. They're a safer bet. The little brat is slippery and crafty. If you can control her friends you can control her. Sadly, I won't let you lay a finger on my son." Kusagoro lifted his palm forward, his palm extended and his fingers stuck together in a mash of flesh as his hand formed a giant hole in the center and his skin at the end formed a cannon of wooden-like texture. A blue ball of chakra started glowing at the end. Yet the man did not fire his technique, he stood and watched the woman for whatever reason.

"Back out, Konoha Jounin. Yes, we can tell you're too skilled to be genin following the girl. She must've done something to annoy the Hokage and we aren't interested in her per se. We only wish what she knows, namely about the box, more specifically where it is. Whatever you wish to do with her is of no interest to us." Regalia's skin became dried out and cracked, her arms dissolved into golden sandy dust and created a dust cloud behind her as the woman resembled a creature made of both sand and flesh alike. The golden sand from the woman's gourd mixed in with her natural sand creating more golden sand with a mere contact of the two sand grains.