Chapter 392: A Sense of Freedom

Fujin was unaware of the developments taking place inside Akatsuki. But he wasn't very concerned about them as Akatsuki didn't have any record of taking revenge for their fallen comrades. He kept thinking about more ways to counter ninjas who could absorb ninjutsu until Konoha appeared in their sight.

Fujin looked at the village and thought, 'Leave it, I'll think about it after I develop it completely. Anyway, this mission wasn't bad. I kind of expected things to go south when Akatsuki got involved. Fortunately, everything went well.

I managed to collect some information on Zetsu and Kisame and got to see Kisame and Mangetsu in action. And the only loss I suffered was that my Fuinjutsu mastery was revealed to them. But that is fine. Even if they are aware of it, Fuinjutsu will be a big pain in their ass.

Though I also used the Wind Style Genjutsu, I doubt they would be aware of it. Zetsu had probably gone to call Kisame and we were covered by Mist. But, even if that stays a secret, it won't be very effective against rank S ninjas. All of them are too sensitive towards such chakra.

More importantly, I got an opportunity to fight two very strong ninjas. It showed me a lot of my weaknesses. The new range of Vacuum jutsus that I developed, though effective, won't have any chance of killing a rank S ninja or ninjas close to that level.

But, it's fine. I created them to cut through Jounins who were trained to counter my previous fighting style. And if killing rank S was so easy, then they would have already been dead.

Besides, even if they can dodge them, it will create a lot of pressure on them. Especially when I use them along with Wind Style Genjutsu and Fuinjutsu. Hehe, they will be incredibly annoyed to face me when I go all out. One small mistake will cost them their lives.'

A glint appeared in Fujin's eyes as he thought, 'Of course, my biggest gain was Juzo's death. Though he wasn't a rank S ninja, Juzo was very close to that level. To be able to kill such a ninja, especially in the presence of another rank S ninja, I can be considered as a rank S ninja!

A 15-year-old rank S ninja, hehehe. Who would have thought that the thing that would help me breach the gap between rank A and rank S level would be Fuinjutsu?

When I first arrived in this world, this was the step I wanted to reach. At this level, killing me would be incredibly difficult. I no longer have to worry about offending anyone or being targeted by someone with malicious intentions.'

A smile appeared behind Fujin's mask. Though he had long gained the ability to face and escape from rank S ninjas, finally reaching that level gave him an entirely different feeling. It was as if he was no longer bound by anything. As he stepped into Konoha, he felt a sense of freedom like never before. It was a feeling he hadn't experienced in either of his lifetimes.

Fujin looked at his teammates and said, "I will report to Lord Hokage. You guys can go back home if you want but meet me in our room in half an hour for a meeting."

Yugao, Fumito and Bunjiro were a bit surprised by the sudden meeting. They nodded and went their separate ways.

Fujin continued forward to Hiruzen's office. He flickered directly outside Hiruzen's office. Hiruzen, who was busy with paperwork, looked above and noticed Fujin. A bit of confusion appeared in his eyes as he thought, 'He feels a bit different.'

He said, "Come in."

At the same time, he looked at the ceiling at the hidden Anbu Guards. They immediately left the room and closed all doors and windows.

Hiruzen made a hand seal, activated the seals and said, "You are back early. Eagle informed me that you took the rank S mission to the Land of Hot Water. Was the mission successful?"

Fujin nodded and said, "Yes. It was as you calculated. They were ninjas from Kirigakure who were creating trouble. All were eliminated."

Hiruzen said, "Good. Send me the report later."

Thanks to his previous record, Hiruzen wasn't surprised that Fujin managed to complete the mission with just his squad. Unfortunately, Hiruzen was completely oblivious to the several shocks he would receive very soon. He went through his drawers and grabbed a scroll.

He tossed it to Fujin and said with a gentle smile on his face and a hint of tiredness, "I copied all the details regarding the Flying Thunder God jutsu in this scroll. It has insights from both the Second and Fourth Hokage. The rest will be on you. I hope you learn this jutsu."

Fujin grabbed the scroll and looked at it. A smile appeared on his face as he thought, 'Sweet! Even though he fakes a smile and tiredness to invoke sympathy, he is truly magnanimous! Now, how do I break the news to him?'

Fujin stored the scroll and looked at Hiruzen. He said, "The missions had a few complications. You might still need to send a couple of squads led by Elite Jounins to sweep that place."

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow and wondered, 'You couldn't say that before I gave you the scroll? Why does it feel like I was baited into giving him this scroll? Also, what is this different feeling I am getting from Fujin? It's as if something about him has changed.'

He asked, "What complications?"

Fujin said, "I didn't do the mission and left it to my subordinates to complete it. Yugao acted as the leader. They encountered 25 Kiri ninjas, 5 Jounins and 20 Chunins. All were eliminated by the three of them."

Hiruzen was surprised to hear that. He had thought that Fujin was the one to cut down most of the Kiri ninjas. He thought, 'I didn't expect Yugao and the rest to kill 5 Jounins and 20 Chunins by themselves. Such efficiency... They have already exceeded the requirements of becoming an Anbu Captain.'

Fujin continued, "Unfortunately, while they were fighting, Yugao was ambushed by Biwa Juzo, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist."

Hiruzen's eyes widened. He asked, "Has he also gone rogue just in name? And is Yugao fine?"

At the same time, he wondered, 'Why was Akatsuki there? Did he encounter Itachi as well?'

Fujin answered, "I had thought the same as well. But that wasn't the case. Yugao and others are fine. I confronted Juzo while they eliminated the Kiri ninjas. I asked his intentions of fighting us several times. But he only said one thing. He said that he wanted the bounty on my head. From his actions, that seems to be the case."

Hiruzen knew that Akatsuki was looking for funds. So he wasn't surprised by what Fujin said. He asked, "Alright. How did you manage to get away from him? Also, did he have any allies?"

Hiruzen hadn't heard about Itachi in a long while. So he was curious as to how he was doing. At the same time, there was some sorrow inside him due to what they had forced Itachi to do.

Fujin nodded and said, "Yeah, he had two allies. While we clashed, I sensed a being hiding in the forest and later underground. When I attacked it, it escaped. Some time later, Hoshigaki Kisame arrived to reinforce Juzo.

That being who escaped showed itself later. I am not sure what it was. It looked like a Venus Flytrap plant. It had a humanoid body inside, one half of it was white while the other half was completely black. It certainly didn't look like a human."

Hiruzen analyzed, 'That sounds like the Akatsuki member called Zetsu.'

To Hiruzen's surprise, Fujin tossed him a scroll. Hiruzen caught it and asked, "What is this?"

Fujin answered, "It contains Juzo's headless body. I tried to seal his head as well, but it was some distance away from me and Kisame destroyed it."

Hiruzen's eyes widened. He instantly realized, 'I understand why I am getting this feeling from Fujin.'

Fujin continued, "I managed to catch Juzo off guard thanks to Fuinjutsu. He wasn't aware of my expertise in it. Unfortunately, that is leaked now. I clashed with Kisame as well. Our information regarding him is incorrect. This guy is incredibly strong. His chakra is insanely high. He was in a whole different league as compared to Juzo. I didn't see any way of defeating him.

Thankfully, I received some aid and managed to escape. Hozuki Mangetsu arrived with 24 Hunter ninjas. I am not sure who informed him or why they were there. Anyways, in the fight, Kisame managed to kill 7 Hunter ninjas before escaping.

I am not sure what Mangetsu did later. But considering that we killed 25 Kiri ninjas and Kisame killed 7 more, they should have retreated from the Land of Hot Water. The squads you send will just have to confirm that they did."

Hiruzen nodded and said, "The mission was indeed very complicated. It's good that everything went well."

Fujin handed him a few scrolls and said, "These scrolls have the dead bodies of the ninjas my teammates killed. Their memories can still be checked to understand what their mission was."

Hiruzen nodded and replied, "Alright. Anything else?"

Fujin nodded and replied, "Yes. Seeing the performance of Uzuki Yugao and Yamanaka Fumito in this mission, I recommend both of them be promoted to the Anbu Captain ranks. Handa Bunjiro is growing strong as well, but he still needs some time before he is ready to be promoted to the Anbu Captain rank. I will send a report later highlighting their performance in this mission."

Hiruzen had expected Fujin to say that as he had made them complete the mission by themselves. He nodded and replied, "I will have them take an Anbu Promotion mission. Good work in ensuring that they become capable enough to reach this level."

Fujin replied, "I didn't do much. All three of them are highly motivated. They have grown stronger rapidly and are very well-versed in Anbu's strategies and tactics. I'm sure they will become capable Captains in the future."

As he spoke, Fujin removed his mask. He looked into Hiruzen's eyes and said with a smile on his face, "Just one more thing. I'm retiring from Anbu."