Chương 29: Chapter 17

Sunagakure Ryoma, Jonin The long and short of what Mari wanted to talk about was related to the decision made about her missing arm. She had been checked out by the medical corps, the arm determined to not be a long term risk to her health, and then given orders about the 'story' she'd be maintaining about it. Officially, she never lost an arm at all. Unofficially, she visited the medical center deep-labs while missing an arm and came back with one, with an official story about having never lost it.

The actual truth was that her arm was actually a puppet-limb that had been replaced before she ever entered the deeplabs. Two layers of deception made truths easier to hide. Of course, as the 'inventor', Ryoma was expected to be read-in on the situation and had to be told what the story was so he could maintain it too, thus her visit and talk. He had already delivered a full technical breakdown scroll to the Puppet Corps, so his part involving this whole thing was already done.

The scroll was mostly just the formal outline of the process, as ridiculously simple as it was, followed by a bunch of his old notes about what could be done with puppet-limbs and the expected limitations of such. The biggest one being the inability to form normal handsigns. You could perform 'jutsu' through a puppet-arm just fine, so long as you could channel chakra through it.

But handsigns required the chakra to flow through the specific tenketsu of the hand in specific ways, which gave the puppet-limb a twofold problem. One was that the wooden-hand just wasn't flexible enough to make most of those shapes, and the other was that there wasn't any tenketsu in the wood anyways. The only thing that could be done with a puppet-limb was raw manipulation type jutsu, the kind that didn't need handseals.

Fortunately for Mari, most of her specialty-jutsu were based around swinging a fan covered in Jutsu-Shiki around, not using handseals, so this didn't actually limit her all that much compared to before. It did mean that she would have to be more reliant on handseal-less fighting styles moving forwards, but that was far better than not having a hand at all. Besides, plenty of very successful ninja minimize handseals in their fighting styles already, so it was definitely a viable path to take.

He had made many considerations for the eventuality of losing a limb in combat, yet another thing to be paranoid about and prepare for. He needed to learn a kick-based fighting style, probably, losing a leg was something he could compensate for way easier than losing a han-"Hey-hey- stop monologuing, we're almost there!" Mari complained at him with a grin, poking him in the side and pulling him out of his musings about puppetlimbs. He turned a flat eye towards here, then rolled his eyes and huffed amusedly.

"Why am I meeting your friend again?" He asked, letting his eyes wander through the shaded lower streets of Sunagakure. As with everything else in the city, most of the interior was made of various types of sandstone and kept comfortable through the broad network of canopies.

"Because my friends should be friends!" Mari cheerfully explained, reaching up to poke him in the cheek.

"And if I have to go on a mission, you'll be all alone in your apartment, eating gross food and doing weird things!"

"I'm grown, you know? I can handle myself."

"Nope! Only a kid would say something like that!" She denied, crossing her arms over her chest and shaking her head rapidly.

"You're a little baby and you need this big sister to help you out!" She declared proudly, tapping her chest with a thumb and keeping her eyes closed.

"Uh huh- watch out." He responded blandly, before pretending to warn her of an upcoming danger. She threw her eyes open in an instant, feet jittering as she looked for anything that could have tripped her. Ryoma walked past her on the completely clear street. She growled as she sped up and returned to his side, prodding him in the arm a few times to express her displeasure.

"Hey hey, it's not nice to trick a lady like that you know?"

"Oh, that's a good point." He nodded.

"Please warn me when you see a lady approaching." He had a good chuckle as she playfully seethed at him. This playful anger evaporated as they rounded the corner, Mari tugging on his sleeve and pointing at a little shop/stand thing along the way.

"Oh- that's it!

'Frosty!'. They have great ice candy!" She excitedly explained, eyes growing distant with memories of frozen dairy products. She shook it off after a moment.

"Nagare-chi should be waiting for us already- she's always really prompt!" Now, an astute viewer might realize the seeming incongruity of a frozen sweet restaurant being present in the middle of a desert. The desert is very hot, after all, so wouldn't something like ice cream be really expensive and commercially nonviable? This was a false incongruity, because the desert was actually only hot during the day.

Dense vegetation like forests acted as thermal insulators and regulators, keeping heat out during the day and trapping heat in during the night. In this way a forest made the surrounding region warmer during winter and cooler during summer. Deserts, having no such thermal regulation, jumped between extremes. Extremely hot during the day, extremely cold at night, and barely any time where the temperature was 'mild'.

As a result, with clever building-design and a few primitive systems of cooling, it was incredibly easy to make frozen or chilled sweets in an extreme desert. Provided that you had the ingredients necessary, of course. Frozen treats were probably the most common and cheapest sweet thing around in Suna, having something cold to munch on during a hot day was simply nice, after all. Ryoma usually never bothered buying any. The name was vaguely familiar- maybe he saw advertising for the place somewhere.

"Oh! There she is!" Mari exclaimed, dragging him over and quickly approaching one of the outer patio tables, practically throwing herself forwards and tackling a woman in a full-body hug. Ryoma raised his brows as he followed, hands in his pockets and expectations excised. The first thing he noticed were the two enormous jugs. Giant well-rounded gourds of treated clay covered a fine protective lacquer and carried with two long leather straps.

They had huge red corks on the top with the word 'Water' written in bold white kanji. You occasionally saw such gourds for carrying water around, smaller of course, and actually made from dried hardshell gourds instead of carved from wood in imitation of said gourds.

"Nagare! Did you order already?!"

"Mari. I see you are doing well." They were usually the budget alternative to metal canteens, the kind he used himself for his daily water needs. The fact that she had special-made gourds of that scale meant that she was probably making something of a fashion statement.

"Heh- you told me you didn't like ice candy! What gives with suggesting a place like this, huh?"

"I developed a taste for it." Also her tits were massive and it was really difficult to avoid staring at them. It was impolite to stare, of course, but they were each the size of his head at minimum, kept in check with one of those bandage-wrapping bras and loose tan shirt. Frankly unreasonable in scale and shape, something that his pubescent male brain sent constant 'Emergency! Critical targets ahead!' reports blaring through his head about.

"Nice! I knew I'd convert you in time! Hey hey- how've you been huh?!"

"I've been well, Mari. How have you been?" He purposefully averted his gaze, pretending to be boredly waiting for introductions as Mari and her friend made their hellos. Someone carrying giant gourds like that around meant they probably needed it for something- a style of jutsu would be his initial bet. Water was pretty scarce in a desert, so perhaps she had an affinity for water ninjutsu.

"I'm doing great- the last mission was awesome and I- OH! I need to introduce you!" Mari finally remembered that he was there, pulling back from her full-body hug and excitedly reaching over to tug on his sleeve and harshly poke at his vest.

"Nagare! This is Ryoma! He's my new lil bro, okay?!" He was very glad for the mask- made his expression really easy to hide.

"Not once have I called you 'Mari-nee', you know?" He pointed out as he reached out a hand to shake. She stared at it oddly for a few moments, before reaching out her own hand.

"You totally will! You need a big sister, it's not healthy to stay cooped up all the time, you know?!" She waggled a finger at him, which he ignored as 'Nagare' took his hand and returned the firm shake. Her expression was calm and placid- something that hadn't changed since the conversation began. Similar to Mari, she had relatively dark skin and blond hair, the two most common shades found in Sunagakure.

The tanlines on her shoulders that trailed down her front indicated that this was from sun-exposure, not all natural hue, which was normal for a place like Suna. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

"Ryoma. A pleasure to meet you." He introduced himself professionally, absolutely not letting his eyes dip lower than her lips.

"Nagare. Please take care of me." She returned with her own formal and well-recited greeting, their hands loosening and falling back to their sides.

"Sit down! Sit!" Mari immediately jumped in, shoving him over and pushing him into one of the chairs and taking her own seat immediately after.

"If I let you two do this on your own- you'll just stare at each other and talk about nothing the whole time!"

"I'm sure we have plenty to talk about, two people who just met and know nothing about each other." Ryoma replied flatly, raising a palm and letting a finger fall out to point at her.

"You have unreasonable expectations of chance encounters."

"You shouldn't rush things like this, Mari." Nagare immediately followed with a little incline of her head.

"I'm sure we can become adequately acquainted in time." Mari grinned, pointing a bouncy finger in both of their faces.

"See! See! You're already teaming up on me instinctively! Your synergy is way too high for you to not be friends!" Then she leaned over at Nagare and raised a hand, mock-whispering to her friend.

"You gotta help me out here, Nagare! He doesn't have any friends at all despite his dangerous playboy attitude!"

"Playboy attitude?!" Ryoma asked, finding himself not-quite offended at that, but definitely surprised.

"What's that supposed to mea-""Ah- excuse me- are you ready to order?" A black-haired waitress nervously asked, holding a tray up to her chest and fidgeting about. Ryoma's mind immediately changed gears to avoid causing trouble for the employees.

"Ah- pardon me. This is my first time here and I'm unfamiliar with the menu. Is there a list I can look at?" He sat up straight and made sure to make his eyes smile, pulling his replacement straw-hat back to hang off his neck.

"Ah- no- well yes but-" She seemed distinctly unready to be in this industry. To avoid a complication, Ryoma defaulted to the most polite option.

"That's fine then, I'll just have something of your choice." He nodded firmly.

"Eh?" She jumped a little, looking very much like a startled rodent. He was starting to suspect that it was her first day on the job.

"Just pick something off the menu for me, I don't mind." He reiterated.

"I'm sure it'll be delicious, whatever it is." Also please go away and stop looking so terrified around him, you're making the encounter awkward.

"I- yes! I can do that! An- and you two?!" The waitress had her eyes jump over to the two with him.

"A melon flavored stick for Nagare, and sea-salt for me!" Mari cheerfully spouted off, letting the waitress nod rapidly and flee away from the scary customers, back towards the countertop to recite the orders and disappearing into the back rooms again. Ryoma sighed in a slightly frustrated manner and turned his gaze away from the staff door and towards the table.

"You'd think we'd get to see menus before getting ambushed like that." He grumbled agitatedly. Mari was excitedly poking at her friend.

"See! See!" He furrowed his brows- "What are you-" Mari turned towards him and had a theatrical half-lidded eye and smile combo on her face.

"Just pick something out for me… I'm sure it'll be delicious…" She recited with a deep and breathy tone.

"First of all- I did not sound like that." Ryoma countered while raising one finger.

"That's a terrible impression of me, and you should feel ashamed of even trying."

"You totally did!" Mari immediately shot back, which he ignored. Raising his second finger, he continued.

"Secondly- I panicked because I still have no idea what they actually serve here- there's no menu anywhere."

"The menu is on the napkins." Nagare calmly explained, reaching over to grab the little napkin dispenser before turning it around to show him. Sure enough, written in small text and accompanied by little pictures, was a menu of various cold treats served and the flavors they came in, along with little prices. He stared at it blankly for a few moments, before leaning back.

"How was I supposed to know that?" He could've been more observant, he supposed, for some reason his mind just skipped right over the tiny text on the napkins. He had assumed it was an advertisement or something. Mari was just openly laughing at him at this point.

"Y-you- huehue- you could've asked where the menu was! You didn't need to order right then!" He threw his hands up.

"I- i didn't want to make anyone wait on me!" He then scanned over the encounter again, before recalling a detail and pointing a dramatic finger back at her.

"And moreover! I did! I did ask for a menu and she practically collapsed on me! It's simply easier on everyone to just ask 'chef's choice' and move along!"

"You did not ask for the chef's choice. You asked for her choice." Nagare pointed out as Mari collapsed into giggles.

"I feel like the intended meaning of the statement got across perfectly coherently." He groused good-naturedly, leaning forwards and resting his chin on one fist.

"What did I tell you!?" Mari snort-laughed, practically hanging off her friend's arm.

"He's a natural! It'd be a shame to let him die alone and friendless!"

"That's true." Ryoma nodded, looking off to the side in pretend contemplation.

"I am rather handsome and charming- overly so, in fact. It's only my incredible humility that keeps me grounded."

"Pft- yeah right! You were standing in buckets of water when I showed up at your door!" Mari pointed out something entirely unrelated. He wasn't really sure how that was supposed to act as a counter for his joke, but he rolled with it.

"How else am I supposed to learn water-walking, huh? I'm a Jonin now, I can't exactly just ask for help anymore."

"Yes you can! I could've taught you!" Mari pointed out immediately, poking at him.

"I have my doubts about your abilities as a teacher." Ryoma teased with a blank tone. Mari recoiled and wriggled in extreme mock-offense.

"... You don't know how to water walk?" Nagare asked calmly, brows slightly furrowed. The first hint of an expression he had seen from here.

"As a Jonin?"

"I didn't have time to learn with the War going on." Ryoma shook his head.

"Nagare- Nagare-" Mari caught her friend's attention.

"He may look like a mysterious and wizened master, but he's actually a teen prodigy. He's eight years younger than us!"

"Than you- that would only be seven years younger than me." Nagare immediately corrected with a little shake of her head.

"Though- when did you graduate as a Genin, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Twelve, same as normal." Ryoma waved it off.

"It's a lot less impressive than it sounds- I was probably promoted earlier than I should've been. My secondary element isn't nearly as refined as it should be for a Jonin."

"You're a puppeteer, dummy!" Mari pointed out.

"You guys normally don't use ninjutsu at all!"

"Just because I'm unconventional doesn't mean I'm actually strong." He pointed, eyes glancing to the side and anticipating the waitress walking over with their frozen treats loaded on her tray.

"H-here! One melon, one sea-salt, and a daifuku!" He smiled politely and nodded.

"It looks lovely, thank you."

"Y-you too!" With that the waitress quickly retreated again, allowing him the moment he needed to glance at the menu again and look up the daifuku option. Little chilled rice-pancakes with red bean paste inside served alongside what looked a lot like a banana split sundae.

"This is the second most expensive thing here." He grumbled, brows furrowed and voice irritable as he took up the offered spoon.

"Second-most!" He quietly complained.

"Play~boy." Mari teased in a sing-song manner. He rolled his eyes at her for it.

"If you are available tomorrow evening, I can offer guidance on water-walking." Nagare plainly suggested, taking up her own spoon and scooping up a bit of the melon-laden chilled dessert.

"You're correct in suspecting Mari's abilities as a tutor- she's horrendous."

"H-hey!"

"I would like to become a Jonin-sensei myself, perhaps in a year or two, and the practice teaching another would be useful." Nagare finished by elaborating on her own motives, assuring him that she indeed had something to gain here and thus probably wasn't trying to pull something sneaky. He nodded gratefully back.

"Tomorrow evening? If you're willing to give me some pointers, I'm happy to accept. Do you have a meeting location in mind?" Good that it was evening, he had to head over the the Puppet Corps HQ in the morning to formally request the use of a construction-warehouse for his mk2 Wood Dragoon. No way for it to fit inside his apartment, even in piecemeal.

"Central North will be fine, If that's acceptable."

"Sounds fine by me." Frustratingly, the second-most expensive treat on the menu was actually pretty dang tasty, which made it hard to complain about.