With a wild shout, Kiyomi lunged forward at Hachi. She held two kunai in both of her hands, ready to poke an eye out or deepen the already gruesome eye wound that Hachi's own sensor eye made after bursting during the explosion. The girl's entire body was tense, so tense it was shaking. She was ready to murder this man in the most painful ways she could make up in her mind. A man who so mercilessly and gruesomely killed an innocent and inexperienced ninja had no place on this Earth, or maybe what was so painful to Kiyomi was that fact that such was exactly the kind of man who would've thrived in this world?
Hachi didn't just stand and took the punishment meant for him, his giant puppet arm slammed at where Kiyomi was leaving a crack in the ground from which several fissures started opening up but the girl was no longer there. Hachi's fists only crushed a thrashed log of wood with which Kiyomi had replaced herself using the "Substitution Jutsu" at the last moment. Hachi lifted his arm into the air but then he froze. A cruel smile dyed Kiyomi's face as she raised two of her fingers up, making up a single hand seal. Hachi was frozen in place, the man's entire colossal build was shaking in tension.
"Chakra Hair Trap Jutsu!" Kiyomi whispered to herself, only then Hachi's single working eye lingered down to see strands of hair scattered on the dirt with a blueish glow of pure chakra connecting the hair to a line that also connected Kiyomi and him. The man grunted and tried to force himself out of the technique but unsuccessfully.
"What did you do!?" he shouted out. His cybernetic voice box was bugging out, the damage he had taken throughout the battle must've been doing its part. Now his voice often just dimmed, when the voice box bugged out the man's voice just disappeared as if he had no voice without his box. He may have had several voice boxes to switch up with as this current one sounded a bit differently from the one the two girls had heard yesterday or even earlier that day.
"It's a secret Yamanaka paralysis technique. I always wondered why did my clan elders teach me that if it ties both my and your movements and forces me to insert chakra continuously to keep it going. Seemed like a disadvantage to me, if anything. After I fought Hisako yesterday and missed my clan technique leaving me wide open I realized it... The Yamanaka clan jutsu are incredibly powerful, being able to transfer one's mind into another one's and just force them to do things... However if it misses just by a slim margin the user is left open for a follow up attack for a lengthy window for a counter. This technique is integral to using Yamanaka clan jutsu."
Hachi tried desperately to break out, he could barely even move, Kiyomi was surprised by the effectiveness of the technique. Usually it wasn't supposed to be so completely debilitating, it worked similarly to the usual Nara "Shadow Possession Technique" which just restrained the target but a particularly strong opponent with strong willpower could've resisted, maybe even broken out. Hachi was completely tied down like a machine which was turned off. Maybe it was because of his machinery bits that made the technique so effective, fleshy bits always had enough strength to resist chakra effects but a machine was just a tool, a tool that was useless without flesh manipulating it. Seeing how Hachi was now at Kiyomi's complete mercy he couldn't really work with any of his prosthetics or technological replacements.
"Let me go, let me go and I'll leave you alone..." Hachi started singing a whole different song after he realized the horrible nature of the situation.
"No. Scumbags like you, people who kill other kind and noble people like Mana don't get to just leave. I'll play around with you until I'll think you've had enough, then I'll knock you out, I'll leave you here, knocked out and your subordinates will find you here, they'll never look at you the same, the great Hachi bested by two little girls. You'll be everyone's bitch, serving grub to everyone's dogs and cleaning after their litter." Kiyomi replied looking Hachi right in the eye.
The girl's arms shot forward in the shape of the Yamanaka clan technique seal. "This technique is the first taught to most Yamanaka children, "Mind Body Switch" transfers one's own consciousness into another's body, it's not overly useful in one on one fights, after all, I take all the damage that my weightless body takes, I also take all the damage that YOUR body takes while I'm in it. I can't just force you to commit suicide, not unless I cancel the technique at the very last moment. When avoiding death is impossible for your returning mind."
A loud howl echoed as a hollow ghost-like figure floated from Kiyomi's body straight into Hachi's. Just like that the chakra flow through the hair ended, the wind that blew through the forest scattered them everywhere. For at least two minutes the two bodies just kept standing there, Hachi's body was twitching with his eyes completely whited out, Kiyomi's body collapsed as if she had just died, not even a single sign of its owner's life was apparent. Hachi was the only one with any signs of life, yet very faint and rather grotesque as his wild twitching wouldn't have made anyone get the right idea...
A powerful howl echoed again as Kiyomi picked her body off of the ground and leaped back, she took great haste, right after the girl gained some distance she collapsed on her knees. The girl was breathing heavily and her face had the combination of both fear and anger on it. She used so much chakra, she took quite some damage and it was all for nothing... Hachi's flipped back twitching head returned to its original position, the man wore the most gruesome and disgusting sadistic smile.
"What's the matter, kid? Weren't you supposed to make me kill myself or something?" he asked sarcastically, letting out a despicable thundering laugh afterward.
"It won't work... Part of his body isn't controlled by his mind, it's a machine, I can't take over the prosthetic part of his body for some reason, I can only control one part of his entire collective mind... My techniques won't be too effective as long as he is of that collective mind." Kiyomi grunted in her own mind, still transmitting the message through the mental link. As if she still kept some small rustling flames of hope inside. Finally, the smoke settled down, the Yamanaka wanted to take a look at Mana's crushed and broken body but she couldn't force herself to. She had seen people die during her time away with Hanasaku and her old team but they were always bad people who deserved punishment. They were always just like the dirtbags who killed her brother!
Mana was different, she didn't deserve anything coming at her, she was naïve but she had only the best intentions in her heart. She even believed that someone like Hisako still had kindness and something to foster in her black heart. To Kiyomi the heart of someone like Hisako was just a black oily sludge, similar to that which was running through Hachi's prosthetic parts, there was nothing but dirt and ooze in that woman's heart but Mana believed that everyone was necessary in this world. It was a retarded ideal but the girl wore it proudly and that deserved respect.
"What the!?" suddenly Hachi got over his feeling of superiority, it was when he peeked inside the gaping crater and noticed that there was nobody in there, actually there was just the wrecked giant scrappy part of "Julie", it was not Mana's blood running in torrents down the fissures, it was Hachi's own from when his poor "Julie" was blown up!
The colossal mercenary roared out in anger and frustration, he started looking around the forest, paranoia was starting to take over, the magician girl was a ninja and she was a particularly slippy and tricky one to get a hold of. She could've been anywhere or nowhere, she could've bolted and yet still Hachi would worry that she could've appeared out of nowhere...
Kiyomi smiled. This whole time she looked at Mana like some sort of inexperienced kid, someone who had to be protected, sort of her younger sister who was let out on the field for the first time. That was why Mana's death would've hit her so hard home, knowing that the magician was well able to take care of herself and think of a plan independently made the Yamanaka appreciate the magician a little bit more. Consider her somewhat worth the praise and opportunity to get to work with the future leader of the Yamanaka.
People often said that "Konoha's Sorceress" being a ninja was just a publicity stunt for her shows... No. The whole "Konoha's Sorceress" act was just another training session to aid her in being the trickiest and craftiest ninja out of her entire generation. Mana used "Substitution Technique" so masterfully, she wasted just the right amount of time, made the switch at the very last moment making them believe until the very end that she had perished.
"Come out!" Hachi's voice thundered throughout the whole forest area. Kiyomi placed her hands forward, she had to give Mana some time to do whatever the magician planned to do. Initially, Kiyomi saw herself as the deciding factor just like she ended things with Hisako but after wasting so much chakra the Yamanaka started to count on Mana's plan more and more.
"Mind Switch: Art of War" Kiyomi chanted as the hollow ghost shot out at Hachi, the giant was unprepared, he was looking for Mana everywhere and the clever Yamanaka seized the moment. Her clan technique connected taking over Hachi's mind. The gigantic leader of the mercenaries fell down on his knee and started yelling out loud into the sky. Clawing at his head, at his temple until it started to bleed. He was so strong and his cybernetic arms were so sharp that he almost peeled his scalp off revealing that half of his skull was plated and filled with various technological replacements.
"Art of War" was a B-Rank technique that caused excruciating migraines to the victim, the user transferred their mind into the victim's body but they didn't shelve the other person's mind, they literally started warring over their mind. That was why the technique was a short one, even when one's mind was shelved it usually broke through and kicked the user out of their mind. When the two minds waged war like that the war took only moments but those were immensely painful and debilitating moments for sure, the human brain wasn't built to have two mental projections in it. It wasn't built for conflicts like that.
Hachi's puppet arm shot forward, extending in the middle, his hand wrapped around Kiyomi, the blonde was caught completely unprepared. Apparently, the giant's arm could stretch, it was some sort of incredibly elastic type of steel alloy. The machine man dragged that Yamanaka closer and tossed her in the air, his mind still pulsed with pain, his temple was still spitting blood from the gashes he himself made by clawing at his temple to try and ease his pain. The monstrous man started tossing wild punches in the air, toying with Kiyomi by punching her up a little with weak jabs, his weakest jabs felt like the most horrifying pain to Kiyomi, every punch felt like it went through her bones and dug into her vitals.
"You hear those screams? Those moans? They're for you, stupid brat! Come out! Come out and show yourself!" he yelled out. So that was his plan, Mana had some sort of plan but he wanted to torture Kiyomi until the magician was forced to come out and reveal herself shelving that plan...
"Don't! Mana, you hear me! Do whatever you're doing!" Kiyomi found some spaces between the punches that took over her body. Every time she was punched the girl couldn't help it but scream out from the bottom of her lungs.
Another punch, and another one and... Hachi's third punch was pushed to the side by Mana's kick. The fool came out of hiding and ditched her plan just to save Kiyomi. The magician girl twisted around and delivered another kick straight to Hachi's unflinching face and then kicked off of it grabbing Kiyomi and moving as far away as she could while holding a heavier person than she was.
"Sorry about the landing... And the time I took..." Mana whispered to Kiyomi. "I shouldn't have come here probably, I don't think I'm ready for this sort of mission yet..."
"You idiot..." Kiyomi grunted out, she spat some blood out, probably those punches gave her a nasty case of internal bleeding. "The only thing you did wrong was come save me. I had things under control..." the blonde smiled.
"Sorry, I guess an artist like me just likes to snag the great finale from others..." Mana replied. A loud snapping sound reached the ears of the girls taking their entire attention. Hachi tore off his elastic arm was currently searching the container for some more tech. He removed an arm attached to some sort of chest plate which Hachi added.
"It should be fine now, Kiyomi-senpai, he clawed his head off, damaged his tech enough, his speed and response time dropped. If you land another clan technique he won't be able to resist." Mana said looking at her opponent. It was clearly just a theory, just a plan improvised because her previous plan went up in flames horribly after the magician had to give up on it.
"Call me "senpai" again, see what happens..." Kiyomi squinted at Mana angrily, while to the magician the honorific used with superiors fit both Kiyomi's professional and personal status in Mana's eyes the magician noted the girl's disdain for that honorific.
Hachi smiled, he started pulling switches and pressing pressure points on the chest plate, some sort of sharp metallic devices appeared from Hachi's arm and from his back plate as well as the shoulders. Each had the same kind of chakra battery cell, glowing with blue liquid attached to it.
Mana realized what those devices were, the glowing chakra cells gave it away. The magician took two kunai from Kiyomi's tool pocket and flung them at Hachi, just to occupy his attention and make him direct those missiles to her. Kiyomi tried to shout something, try and stop Mana's suicidal plan but the Yamanaka couldn't properly talk after being pummeled in the chest and gut like that. She tried talking to Mana's mind but the magician closed her mind off, the blonde couldn't believe it, she was just familiar with the technique for over a day and Mana already successfully managed to close her mind from any telepathic messages.
The magician just kept repeating a phrase in her mind, like a mantra, again and again. That was the way to close her mind from Kiyomi's mental messages. For her friend's pleas to stop and think, there was no time for that. Mana got the man's attention. The pointy steel devices with chakra cell tips took off with a loud poof, within just moments they closed in on Mana's location, the magician leaped into the air and activated her "Mystical Wings Jutsu" to push her away, one last dash further from the zone of the explosion.
Kiyomi jumped to her feet with adrenaline pumping and forcing her body into action. The powerful explosion sent her back down onto the grass, Kiyomi covered her ears for a moment so that she didn't hear Mana's gruesome scream when the chakra missiles exploded so close to her. The magician did everything right, she gained Hachi's attention, she pulled the target further away from Kiyomi who was at that moment in time injured beyond the ability to successfully dodge... She even pulled a desperate attempt to avoid the explosion entirely but...
Hachi smiled. "Died again?" he ironically spat out seeing Mana's lifeless body on the floor fifty meters further from where the explosion went off, her clothes torn and tattered and smoke coming from her smoky rags. The girl's body reeked of blood and burning flesh, she probably took some damage but chakra burns were unlike normal burns, they could've been completely healed if Mana received medical attention soon. Obviously, even if she was still alive it was all messed up... Where would they get medical attention from in this middle of nowhere? Mana may as well have sacrificed herself right after coming back to life...
Hachi looked at Kiyomi who stood back up on her feet. "What, you gonna lash out again? We're doing this whole "You killed my friend" routine all over again?" he didn't drop his sarcasm.
Kiyomi angrily flung some ninja tools at the man, first things she could get her hands on inside her pouch, just like with the tools Mana threw they bounced off of Hachi's body. "You two are giving up your lives, refusing to die, wasting chakra just to barely survive each attack and then wait until you recover with your insane ninja metabolisms... Where do you think this'll go?!" Hachi yelled out angrily.
"I'll tell you where it'll go. One of two ways, either I kill both of you quickly with you helping me and stopping using your cheap augmentation and replacement tricks, suffering so much just to barely survive each blow. Or my comrades, who are probably already on their way after murdering your friend from behind, will come here and then you'll really know pain. I'd prefer to finish this all quick, I've already gone through half of the toys in that container, it is becoming useless to me now... Give up."
Kiyomi smiled, her usually tidily tied hair were now wildly all over her face, just her smile was visible on her dirty and blood covered face.
"So if your sidequest of getting that container is worthless, can we return to our previous deal and go on with the mission?" Kiyomi asked following up that smile, "Work like nothing happened? My friend there is either dead or dying, we killed some of yours, we're even, right?" she huffed out spitting out blood as she tried using lungs to draw air and then talk.
Hachi stepped back confused before Kiyomi continued.
"Is what ninja are taught to say in such a situation... But... I and Mana aren't like Hisako, our generation isn't like the usual ninja, we have our heads on our shoulders but we aren't just weapons of the Hokage or the Feudal Lords, we're soldiers, not tools. That's what I believe, that's also what Mana believes. So come, beat me up so Mana can recover and keep on fighting, then beat her until I recover. One thing I know for sure, we'll make your fight not only worthless, we'll make you go bankrupt... That peeves you mercenary folks, right?"
Hachi shouted and pointed his arm at Kiyomi, shooting off smaller chakra missiles as the armor started literally firing itself, just flinging the parts off of Hachi's chest and arm in the shape of missiles, except they didn't have the chakra cells so they weren't explosive. Kiyomi carefully and slowly avoiding each and every missile, the smaller explosive ones tossed her around, making the girl spill some blood but she still picked herself up regardless. Once again, Hachi was unarmed in the literal sense of the word, but Kiyomi wasn't about to let him re-arm.
"Mana... I feel like passing out, I was beaten and tossed around pretty badly. If you aren't dead and feel like tagging me out for a while... I wouldn't mind..." Kiyomi whimpered out looking at her lifeless friend, the smoke coming off of her unconscious body was the only sign of life coming out from her. Hachi started taking slow steps towards the container again. Left, right, left, right... His feet let out strong thuds, bumping and crushing the grass beneath them. A soul-crushing huff came from Kiyomi's left just as she was about to try and interfere.
Mana was on her feet, shaking, huffing and looking pretty dead but she was on her feet.
"That rage back when I came back the first time was completely uncalled for..." she said, her voice was weak and pathetic, her hand seals were just one-tenth of what they once were but her tenth was probably just as fast as anyone else at her age...
"I did complete my plan after I "died" the first time..." she finished the sentence making Hachi freeze in fear after putting his hand right into the hole in the container. Mana shot her hands forward and lightning once again ran down her body and concentrated onto her palms.
"Lightning Style: Magic Spark Barrage!" Mana yelled out firing off the more powerful version of her lightning sparks. These lightning sparks were shaped like little baseballs, they flew at the speed of an arrow and they bumped into the target leaving pretty big bruises, they also let out all of their lightning chakra upon impact. Hachi started yelling out, desperately trying to pull out his arm off of the container to dodge the jutsu being fired at him but failing as it got stuck.
The container blew up, violently, throwing both girls off their feet and making them work to get back up. It was just pure luck that none of the container's shrapnel hit them while they were down.
"Some of the things inside that container were pretty explosive, I tossed a little something inside and waited for him to come closer. Last time he didn't go in as deep, he switched his arms too quickly, plus if those chakra cells exploded in unison with those weapons this whole forest may have been leveled. I waited until now to set them off..."
Kiyomi wanted to laugh but she physically couldn't, it took her a couple of moments before the girl could even sit back up on her butt and look at her disabled friend. Mana turned her head at Kiyomi.
"Can you stand? Like, use your chakra augmentation to force you to your feet or something?" Mana asked.
"Nah, augmentation is dangerous by itself, you're messing with your own chakra flow and you may mess it up without return. You can permanently damage your maximum chakra level, you can also injure your body beyond repair. I've done it so many times on a very small scale that if I did it in my current condition my heart would probably blow up or something..." the blonde replied. Mana laughed, her body ached, the girls were in no condition to move, their mission was failed all because of those mercenaries.
"So I guess all that's left is to wait here for death?" the magician asked with a grim tone in her voice.
Kiyomi lowered her head, "So it would seem, still, if the mercenaries would've killed Hisako they'd have already been here. The bitch is giving them trouble, either way, whoever wins out of the both of them – we lose..." she replied falling on her back and stretching her arms.
Mana took a handful of gravel in her hand and let it gently and softly sip out from her fingers. She didn't want to die like that, not at that moment, not there... Well... She cheated death multiple times that day, but this must've been how everyone felt in this world, everyone who died. They kept thinking on and on about who they were, what they did, what they planned to do and never for a moment accepted death like that. Mana didn't either. She didn't want to die like that, out there it was just not her time. While the girl's body kept fading away, she felt the light release right within her reach, Mana still fought on. For what though?
Thud, thud, thud... What was that noise? The girl lifted her head witnessing the most gruesome and horrifying sight – Hachi walking out from flames, his flesh completely torn off, mangled and burnt up, just a part of his brain must've remained, the part that was hidden inside the prosthetic part of his skull. Hachi didn't talk, he probably didn't think much, he acted out on instinct, just what his damaged dying brain told him to do... Kill. The mindless leader of the mercenary band kept on walking forward, with his single damaged prosthetic arm intending to drive it through the fleshy soft bodies of his disabled enemies.
Hachi drove his arm forward, aiming right at Kiyomi's heart but the girl caught it and tied her legs around the arm. The mindless mercenary lifted it up. The girl kept punching, clawing and bashing the steel skull, trying to finish off the man's brain. Hachi stumbled back and almost fell – as weak as Kiyomi's taps were, they were doing some damage, all shocks to his steel skull were shocking his brain as well, all damage to him mattered in those cruel final moments. Hachi started advancing towards Mana, Kiyomi dropped down unable to keep her hold on Hachi's arm. The mercenary stopped above the girl, raising his arm in a straight palm position to impale her on it.
"I'm killing him, Mana!" Kiyomi yelled as she focused her chakra and made the handseal pointing her seals at Hachi.
Hachi tried to impale the girl but she rolled to the side and kicked his head, the mercenary slowly stumbled backward but he turned around.
"Initiating Protocol: OP Punch!" Hachi's voice box let out, his mechanical mind was operating while his human mind was out cold.
"No... Please... Maybe we can still..." Mana tried to talk but a strong punch to her gut made her spit up blood and pass out from the shock and the pain. The damage she had taken was simply too great and the girl's body just turned out, slowly fading until it was ready to die for good.
Hachi's arm tensed up and straightened imitating a blade again, ready to go through Mana's heart since the girl was powerless and unconscious.
A loud howl echoed, Kiyomi's mind entered Hachi's, this time there were no two conflicting minds, nothing to kick Kiyomi out. The Yamanaka was now in complete control.
"Mind Body Disturbance: Harakiri" Hachi's cybernetic voice spoke, the what remained of the mercenary jumped up, high into the air and backflipped, pointing his head right at the ground. The heavy steel frame just drove into the ground, it's head snapped severing the ties between Hachi's spine and his brain as the neck snapped and broke off, just being held by a small strand of steel wire.
Hachi was finally dead. Kiyomi heard footsteps. This was either the mercenaries or Hisako, either one would've finished both of them off. Hisako had a particularly nasty distaste for Mana. Going out of her way to every time they met point out that she'd kill the magician... Mana's honest and kind approach pissed the assassin off more than anything in the world could, by not sharing Hisako's hatred but instead loving the young woman, Mana earned the woman's eternal scorn. Kiyomi's head raised up, while she was powerless to oppose impending horrible death in the hand of the mercenaries she looked at who would appear from the forest's depths.
A short and slim figure of a torn up and showered with blood woman appeared, her body was covered in cuts, she was almost naked and dressed just with what she looted from the female mercenaries' corpses, her wounds were so intense that the cuts destroyed her clothes. Hisako's hair was bloody and looked extremely greasy, the woman's eyes were the same color but for some reason, they emanated hatred and bloodlust.
Seeing Kiyomi and Mana powerless like that must've satisfied her sick feelings... Kiyomi wanted nothing more but to rob her of the following satisfaction. The bitch kneeled up to Kiyomi and felt her pulse, checked her eyes. She must've wanted to make sure that the Yamanaka was alive to see her plunge a knife into her heart...
No.
The woman stood up and advanced to Mana, checking the girl's neck, running over her injuries and observing her lack of response. She then yelled out to someone. A young boy ran out from the forest, covered in blood but he had little to no wounds to explain that blood – the blood was not his. The boy handed something to Hisako and pointed at Mana's chest.
"She needs to be awake, wake her up, make her feel the pain and snap out from it, drive this right into her heart!" the boy ordered pointing at the long glowing object he handed to the raven-haired sadist. Hisako looked at the object in her hands and at the Mana. Kiyomi tried screaming something out, fighting it. She had to stop it, Mana saved her life so many times in just two days, Kiyomi had to fight those wounds, somehow stop it all. Hisako raised her hand up, taking her sweet time, Kiyomi took the time to look the Yoruma assassin in the eyes... Oh, she was enjoying this moment so very much...
This was so horrible, to die here like this, having won the fight yet knowing nothing, being not a single step closer to the mission objective. Nothing worked out, the boy remained kidnapped and will probably soon follow Mana and Kiyomi. Who the hell even was this boy Hisako kept around, was he another boy-toy of hers? Just like she had manipulated Hachi she'd manipulate this fool, maybe he'll lead her to the village and then take the dive for her? Maybe he'll admit having killed Mana and Kiyomi... No... Not like this, injustice couldn't have won like this... Kiyomi wriggled around, flipped on her belly and started crawling towards Mana and Hisako pointing the object.
"What are you waiting for!? Do it!" the boy shouted out, he was pretty rushing this execution. What was his gain in killing poor Mana!?
"I dunno, you sure you don't wanna?" Hisako asked him back.
"No! My hands are shaking, I'll miss her heart!" the boy replied, "Now stop being such a wuss and do it!" Kiyomi was so close!
Hisako's hands shot down, plunging the object into Mana's chest. The magician's eyes shot wide open and she screamed madly. Hisako sat on top of Mana keeping her from writhing around too frantically. Kiyomi relaxed, it was all over...
She'd be next...