Chapter 377: Hoka's Resolution and Fujin's Reasoning

Despite his complicated feelings, Hoka said, "I will train even harder, Fujin. Though our target is very strong, I'll be disappointed in myself if I don't even try to avenge our friend."

Fujin nodded and said, "Good luck. You will need to train a lot more. The difference between a Jounin and a rank S ninja is very high. A couple of years of training isn't enough to bridge that gap. In addition, you will also need a lot of strong fights during missions to help understand what you lack."

Hoka nodded and smiled. He said, "I believe you aren't too far from that level. Good luck, Fujin. I am sure sensei will be proud of you for becoming one so quickly."

Fujin smiled and said, "Thanks. But I still have a lot to grow. Don't count on me to slack off just so that you can catch up to me."

Hoka grinned and replied, "I will be disappointed if you do that. If that happens, then it won't be satisfying to finally defeat you."

Fujin chuckled and said, "Don't forget to visit the hospital. I don't have much expertise in detecting or healing internal wounds."

Hoka nodded and took his leave. Fujin looked at his back and thought, 'Though I was a bit harsh, it was needed. Mieko is already dead. There is no point in meaninglessly joining her. Though he is strong, if I give him false hope and he tries to go after Itachi by himself, he will die without a doubt unless Itachi convinces his partner to leave him alive. If Hoka doesn't surpass Hiashi and reach the rank S, then it is pointless for him to even think about revenge.'

As he left the training ground, Hoka sighed and muttered to himself, 'I thought that I was training too much for the last three years. My parents as well as clan elders frequently told me to take it easy. But Fujin...

How hard did he train for his Taijutsu to become better than mine? And the information in the Bingo book says nothing about his Taijutsu! Meaning that his Ninjutsu skills should be even more fearsome. I will have to train like a crazy person if I am to have any hope of catching up to him. After all, he doesn't have anyone to tell him to take it easy!'

Fujin was lost in thoughts as well. After Hoka left the range of his chakra field, Fujin sighed. He thought, 'Though everything I said was what almost everyone believes to be true, I didn't tell him that I am probably the one who knows the most about Itachi's abilities.

Though I am quite strong, and probably could even barely be considered a rank S ninja or at least extremely close to it thanks to the jutsus I learnt in the last 2 months, defeating Itachi is still pretty much impossible.

He can neutralize me at a glance using Tsukuyomi. Though I am confident in my speed, if I mess up and get hit by Amaterasu, it would be deadly as well. Now that I think about it, I should make a seal imprint for sealing Amaterasu. It could be useful if I do end up fighting him or Sasuke.

Anyways, in addition to being vulnerable to his attacks, I have no methods of piercing through his Sussano. Even if I did, he still has the Yata Mirror to block anything I can throw at him. That asshole is full of cheats! And that's not even considering Kisame or Jozu who might be with him.

Anyways, what's the use of killing someone who is suffering himself, be it mentally or from a deadly disease? He is already dead inside and isn't even the true culprit behind the event. If there is a culprit...'

Fujin looked in the direction in which he had sensed the bugs around 3 weeks ago. A frown formed on his face as he thought, 'Danzo, I hope you don't give me a reason to eliminate you so soon. Just keep hiding in the roots and wait for the death I have planned for you. I promise you, it will be a death in every possible meaning of that word!'

Fujin stopped thinking about Danzo and Itachi and returned to his training. However, there was a bit of restlessness in him, a restlessness to become stronger quickly. Fujin suppressed it and continued his training. Unfortunately, it didn't diminish much even after he was done with his training.

While eating dinner, Fujin sighed and thought, 'This restlessness is similar to what Ryo had pointed out. I was already upset at being countered that badly by Iwa. I haven't even gotten a chance to repay that Tailed Beast Bomb Roshi shot at me. And now Hoka brought back memories of Mieko and reminded me of the abilities of those crazy bastards...'

Fujin sighed once again and thought, 'I hope the opponent in my last Anbu mission gives me a good fight. I have been itching for one ever since my fight with Roshi. That said, I need to return to Mount Muteki to calm myself a bit. Impulsiveness and restlessness are the bane of any ninja. A moment's distraction is all that is needed to lose my life.'

The next day, after sparring with Guy, Fujin informed him that he would be away for a few days and returned to Mount Muteki to meditate and calm his mind. He spent 3 days at Mount Muteki, mostly flying extremely high in the sky while meditating on Kaito's back. He also used the environment to improve his control over the Wind Domain at a much faster speed.

After returning from the small break, Fujin returned to his routine of training to his limit. Though the progress he made wasn't visible on a day-to-day basis, the massive amount of hard work he put in finally started showing results.

One week before the end of his 3-month long vacation, Fujin was training in the training ground along with a dozen Shadow Clones.

Standing facing a tree, Fujin extended his right arm ahead and made a grabbing motion. In an instant, a claw formed around the trunk of the tree. Following the motion of Fujin's hand, it grabbed the trunk as well. The sharp winds that made the claw immediately pierced into the tree, breaking it in two!

A smile formed on Fujin's face. He analyzed, 'The Ghost Hand is finally ready to be used in combat. It also provided me with a lot of insights into the entire Wind Domain. The reason why I managed to make the ghost hand sharp so quickly was because of the increase in the concentration of air to create the ghost hand.

Though it's good enough for the Ghost hand, I don't want to do this with the Wind Domain. If I have to concentrate the air in one place to make it sharp, it will make the process very slow. And anyone will be able to sense the change in air density, making dodging the attack much easier.

For the Wind Domain to be as effective as I want it to be, I need the wind blades to be created spontaneously without any signs or a lot of time. Als...'

Fujin suddenly received a bunch of memories. So did his Shadow Clones. Immediately, everyone stopped training. An elated expression appeared on Fujin's face. A massive grin broke on his face. He muttered, "It's done! I'm a Fuinjutsu Grandmaster!"

Fujin's clones had learnt each and every seal in section A of the library! He had fulfilled the requirements of becoming a Grandmaster in Fuinjutsu!

Fujin almost began moving towards Hiruzen's office to demand the Flying Thunder God jutsu when his foot stopped. A frown appeared on his face as he realized, 'Though Hiruzen unknowingly promised me the Flying Thunder God after the Chunin exam, knowing how cunning he is, I doubt he will hand it to me so easily. How do I ensure that he does so?'

Fujin dispelled the Shadow Clones in the Training Ground. At the same time, he created a new Shadow Clone and dispelled itself. Immediately, the clones that were still in the basement received a message. One by one, they dispelled themselves as well after short intervals.

While he received their chakra and memories, Fujin sat down on a rock with his chin resting on his right hand while thinking about how to approach Hiruzen to raise the probability of his success as much as he could.

Fujin's mind was completely focused. He completely exerted himself and extracted every last ounce of shamelessness hidden in each and every cell in his body to come up with arguments to confront Hiruzen and create contingency plans in case they didn't work!

When the last clone dispelled himself, Fujin decided, 'There is no foolproof way. I did think of 2 arguments to appeal to him emotionally and another 5 to appeal to him logically. I can only hope that they work.

If he still denies me the jutsu, then that would mean that the chances of getting this jutsu in a fair manner will be very low. Or rather, he would only give it to me when I make a huge contribution to the village. But, there is no significant event that is about to happen for me to make such a contribution. And when one happens, Hiruzen will be the one kicking the bucket unless my actions change the future. And getting it from Tsunade or the elders will be even more difficult as I have little to no connection with them.

So waiting obediently is out of the question. If he doesn't give it to me willingly, I can only force him to give it unwillingly. As for the method...'

A sadistic smile appeared on Fujin's face. If Hiruzen had looked at Fujin's expression at that moment using his crystal ball, he would have shivered involuntarily!