Chapter 492: A Surprise

Since his mission was supposed to be close to the Land of Grass, Fujin had to move back to that location and then make his way back to Konoha in order to avoid any suspicions in case something happened on that route. This time, he travelled inside the Land of Rivers and moved North while leaving his Flying Thunder God at regular intervals. While making his way to the Land of Rivers, he had done the same on the opposite side of the border.

As he moved, he sensed a few ninjas every once in a while but ignored them. His mind was still busy thinking about whether he missed any important detail while building the Phantom Haven Society and whether he could do something more to strengthen it.

After some time, he concluded, 'There is nothing I can think of that I missed. Everything now will depend on the sincerity of the ones I recruited. If they decide to slack off, there is little I can do. That said, Shigeki was affected quite a lot by the Phantom Will. Hopefully, this issue won't occur. If there are any bad apples, I'll need to come up with a scheme to eliminate them.

The one shortcoming that Phantom Haven will have is a lack of high-level combatants. Shigeki should reach the Elite Jounin level soon even though his chakra levels aren't sufficiently high. However, apart from him, others don't even qualify to be called Jounins.

Not to mention, even when Shigeki becomes an Elite Jounin, he'll be one of the weaker ones. There is not a lot I can think of to improve his strength after he masters Pressure Damage and Blades of Wind jutsus without giving him any classified jutsus...

I guess I'll give him the Ice Kekkei Genkai book that I received from the Land of Frost. If he succeeds in merging the Wind and Water elements completely, then his strength will increase immensely. Though he still might not reach rank S, fending off weaker rank S like Kitsuchi or perhaps even Darui shouldn't be much of an issue.

Unfortunately, mastering a Kekkei Genkai is extremely difficult. All the information in the book is about failed attempts. So, this method has a very low chance. Should I try to recruit a rogue Elite Jounin to increase top-level combatants? But who?'

There weren't many rogue Elite Jounins. The ones who existed were almost all recruited into the Akatsuki. The worst part was that most of them had already died! Needless to say, Kakuzu was the one who killed the most.

Fujin analyzed, 'The only ones I can think of are Zabuza, Raiga and the Six-Tail Jinchuriki, Utakata. Unfortunately, all of them are rather difficult to deal with. I might be able to convince Utakata, but Akatsuki is hunting the Jinchurikis. It could directly expose the base in the future. It's too risky.

However, Zabuza and Raiga's personalities don't suit the Phantom Haven Society. Not to mention, Zabuza's goal is still Kirigakure. If I recruit them, then it might result in a conflict within the society. Without me being there to manage them, it'll be too risky. Unless I can create a second organization with morales that suit them. However...'

A bitter smile appeared behind Fujin's mask. It was too much work. He had to spend long hours and had dozens of Shadow Clones wrecking their brains to come up with every arrangement for Phantom Haven Society. To do something that might be even more complicated would take a lot of time.

Fujin let out a sigh and decided, 'Screw it. There is no point in spending so much time on an organization. Even in Phantom Haven Society, my interference has to be minimal. In this world, the only thing that matters the most is the strength that you have. If I were to become as strong as Hashirama or Madara, or better yet the Sage of the Six Paths, would it matter if I have 10 ninjas under me or 10 million?

I can't dedicate any more time to the organization than I already have. As long as it gathers sufficient information, I'll be satisfied. If I happen to come across any talented ninja or someone with a Kekkei Genkai or a secret technique who is worth recruiting, then I'll recruit them. Beyond that, my contribution to the Phantom Haven Society will be limited to finances, jutsus and a bit of management.'

Having made his decision, Fujin began freely changing his appearance to decide what his third identity would look like, what his name should be, what mask he should wear, his back story and so on. Unlike his organizations, this identity was far more crucial for Fujin. It would be what he'll be using to wreak havoc in the ninja world!

After some time, Fujin finally decided on his disguise. He wore a Demon mask that was painted in red and black. His build was lean but quite tall, at nearly 7 feet. It was hidden behind a long black cloak which Fujin intended to inscribe hundreds of seals on to assist in battle. Just like Shiden, this identity didn't wear any headband either.

After deciding on the appearance, Fujin thought, 'What name should I give this iden...?'

Fujin suddenly stopped and jumped backwards. Several shurikens rained down on his previous location. Fujin looked forward and four ninjas appeared against him. He wondered, 'What the hell? I ignored them and they still came to find trouble with me? Besides, what do Amegakure ninjas want in the Land of Rivers? I'm still quite some distance from the Land of Rains.'

Fujin was indeed surprised. He didn't expect anyone to attack him without any provocation. Even more surprising was the fact that the attackers were from Amegakure and not Tanigakure.

The leader among the four Amegakure ninjas instructed authoritatively, "Take off your mask!"

Fujin asked in a taunting tone, "Sure and what else? Should I write my autobiography as well?"

Fujin's voice was incredibly deep. It was the voice he would use with his third identity. He thought, 'Oh well, though I wasn't expecting a fight, these four aren't very weak. The lead ninja should be a Jounin while the other three are close to Elite Chunin level, though they might be Jounins in Ame. It should be good for my first fight with Lightning jutsus.'

Fujin's taunt annoyed the four Ame ninjas. The leader said, "One of our ninjas stole important documents and escaped into the Land of Rivers. We need to check everyone to ensure that he doesn't escape from under our noses."

Fujin once again taunted, "Why would someone like that run in this direction instead of escaping?"

The leader arrogantly replied, "It doesn't matter. If you don't want to die, take off your mask. Otherwise, meet your doom!"

He thought, 'Who does this bastard think he is to be so arrogant? I would have let him go initially, but now, even if he takes off his mask, I'll accuse him of using Transformation jutsu and kill him. Considering the speed he was moving, he should be at Jounin level. So, he should be having a lot of money or other valuables.'

To his surprise, Fujin chuckled and replied, "Guess I want to die then."

The leader snorted and pulled out a small vajra-shaped object. He shouted, "Kill him!"

Immediately, the three Ame ninjas got into action while the leader followed them. Fujin didn't make the first move as he wanted to test his prowess with Lightning Release. There wouldn't be much point if he eliminated them in the blink of an eye. However, he couldn't help but shake his head and think, 'In this world, when there are so many people who can kill you in the blink of an eye, why do you want to butt your heads with someone confident enough to face you? Even Hanzo and Nagato won't be able to guarantee my dea...'

Fujin's eyes suddenly widened as he noticed the weapon in the leader's hands. A blade of pure electrical energy that glowed yellow appeared from the vajra-like object. It turned out that it was just the hilt of the sword.

Fujin quickly dodged the incoming attacks while thinking, 'This guy has Tobirama's sword? No wonder he was this cocky. Hehehe, what luck! I never imagined that I would get a suitable sword so easily for this identity!'

Fujin did research on Tobirama's Blade of the Thunder Spirit while he was in the academy. From what he recalled, the sword was stolen only a few years before Naruto graduated. So, he wanted to steal it from the ones who would attempt to steal it later. Unfortunately, the information from his memories didn't match up.

The Blade of the Thunder Spirit had been missing since Tobirama's death. Konoha always guessed that it fell in Kumogakure's hands. However, a couple of decades later in the Second Great Ninja War, this sword was in the possession of an Ame Jounin who was a close aide of Hanzo. Due to Hanzo's existence, Konoha couldn't retrieve the sword.

Fujin had given up on the sword as well as he knew that there was an entity far more dangerous than Hanzo in the Land of Rain. In fact, he had pretty much forgotten about it. He never expected that an Ame Jounin would bring him such a valuable gift.

A grin appeared behind his mask as he thought, 'I thought he was stupid. How ungrateful of me. This guy is even more generous than Hiruzen.'

As Fujin kept dodging, the Ame ninja with the sword appeared in front of Fujin and swung the sword vertically. A grin appeared on his face as he shouted, "DIE!"

To his surprise, Fujin raised his right arm and caught the sword with his right hand. A grin appeared on the ninja's face as a massive current electrocuted Fujin! A painful scream escaped Fujin's mouth as he was assaulted by innumerable electric shocks!