The masked men continued chasing Shigeki while occasionally throwing shurikens and explosion tags at him. Fujin followed them patiently for 45 minutes. He had changed his attire and got himself a new mask.
Finally, one of the masked men stopped laughing and said, "He is reaching close to a cliff. He might try to jump off. Enough fun, let's kill him now. We still have to bring his dead body back. Otherwise, Kanji-sama might kill us as well!"
The other masked men got serious as well and said, "Yes Captain."
Immediately their speed increased. Shigeki noticed the cliff as well. He immediately began running towards it while thinking, 'If they catch me, I'll die! I will try my luck by jumping off the cliff. If I survive, I will train and slaughter Kanji, his son and his entire family!'
Unfortunately, one of the masked men appeared next to him. Shigeki's eyes widened. He immediately punched him. However, the masked man ducked and kicked his left leg which had a huge burn mark. Shigeki screamed in pain. He lost his balance and fell on his face and slid across the ground.
The fall aggravated his existing injuries and inflicted fresh ones that began bleeding as well. Despite the pain, he gritted his teeth and got up. However, as soon as he did, he saw the five masked ninjas standing in front of him. The Captain raised his kunai and said, "Farewell Shigeki!"
He swung his Kunai at Shigeki's neck. Tears rolled down Shigeki's cheeks as he shouted, "Just give me one chance!"
The masked ninjas had a smirk on their faces. They had no mercy for Shigeki. Just when the Kunai was about to cut his neck, the masked man's hand lost power. The kunai hit Shigeki's neck but caused no injury as it didn't have enough force to cut through.
Meanwhile, Shigeki's eyes were wide open in shock. As if answering his prayers, the heads of all 5 masked ninjas were sent flying in an instant! In a second, their lifeless bodies collapsed to the ground.
Suddenly, Shigeki felt a chill down his spine. He didn't dare move as he felt a sword resting on his neck. He felt that if he made any slight movement, his head would roll over just like others. He heard a cold voice asking, "Give you a chance for what?"
He immediately said, "One of the Elders in Tanigakure killed my entire family. I want a chance to live so that I can get stronger and get justice for my wife and daughter!"
Fujin was puzzled. He asked, "Why did he kill them?"
Shigeki was silent. Tears rolled down his cheeks. His voice lost all spirit as he said, "His drunk son raped my daughter. He didn't know she was my daughter. In a rage, I beat him up and mutilated him to ensure that he can't do something so heinous to anyone else. I wanted to kill him as well, but I was stopped by my colleagues.
That's when my tragedy began. Kanji couldn't retaliate at first as my colleagues backed me. Instead, he showed that he was upset with his son and scolded him. But in reality, he was plotting revenge.
Slowly, Kanji made numerous allegations about me and spread ill rumors. When my reputation had fallen enough, his personal ninjas made a move against my family when I was out on a mission. They ambushed me as well due to which I couldn't fight back."
He stopped talking and broke down. Fujin sighed secretly but kept his sword on his neck. He thought, 'No wonder he is in such bad shape.'
Though Fujin knew about Shigeki, he wasn't aware of his family. But he knew that Shigeki was just in his early thirties. He didn't need to think much to understand what his daughter might have gone through. He let Shigeki cry out for some time.
Finally, Shigeki calmed down. He asked, "Are you going to kill me?"
Fujin didn't answer. Shigeki begged, "Could you please let me live for some time? I will get justice for my family and then kill myself! If not, could you please kill Kanji and his son after you kill me?"
Fujin didn't answer and asked, "How will you kill your way into Tanigakure in your condition?"
Shigeki replied, "I am not strong enough yet. I will train until I can get justice for my family!"
Fujin chuckled and said, "Strong enough to kill your way into a Hidden Village? You are too old for having such silly dreams. But I have a proposition for you. I was looking for a capable man to recruit to help me run my organization. You might be suitable for that job. As long as you do a good job, I'll help you get your justice. Either by yourself if you get sufficiently strong enough or through my hands. What do you say?"
Shigeki was surprised. He was expecting to die like the masked ninjas. Instead, their killer was trying to recruit him. He asked, "What organization do you want to create?"
Fujin asked, "Does it matter as long as you get your justice?"
Shigeki went silent. However, after a couple of minutes, he shook his head and said, "No. I won't join any organization that would make others suffer as I and my family did."
Fujin withdrew his sword and replied, "Oh, it won't be that sort of an organization. No need to be bothered about that."
Shigeki thought for a bit more. Fujin didn't disturb him. Finally, he got up with much struggle and bowed to Fujin and said, "Thank You for saving my life, Lord. I, Kasai Shigeki, am willing to work for your organization as long as you help me get justice for my family."
Fujin nodded and extended his palm towards Shigeki. Chakra appeared on his palm and began healing Shigeki. Shigeki's eyes widened. He thought, 'I never thought that someone who could kill without a second thought would be a medical ninja!'
The wounds on Shigeki were all external wounds. Fujin healed all his wounds in a few minutes. He said, "Follow me."
Fujin began running. Shigeki, who was now fully healed but low on chakra, followed Fujin. The two ran through forests for over a couple of hours and arrived at a cave. Shigeki was puzzled. The cave was quite small and there was no one there.
Fujin entered the cave. This was the same cave where he had stopped while heading to the Land of Wind. He inscribed a few more seals and created a few hiding rooms in the cave.
He said, "Shigeki, I have inscribed numerous seals in this cave. Unless someone accidentally enters the cave, no one will detect you. Even if someone does, you can hide in the 2 rooms I created. You will stay safe there."
Shigeki asked in a puzzled voice, "Lord, are there any other members from the organization here?"
Fujin replied, "You can call me Shiden. No need for any honorifics. And no. Currently, only you will be stationed here. Though I have recruited a few others, they are in different locations in other countries. You don't need to concern yourself with them for now."
Shigeki nodded and asked, "Alright, but what am I supposed to do?"
Fujin replied, "Train of course. Don't you want to get justice? You are free to train however you want. My plans for you will need a few years to implement. So stay around this place. When I am ready, I will come here to look for you."
Shigeki was surprised. He thought, 'A few years?'
He recalled his family and thought, 'It's fine. I am not strong enough yet. I don't know what Shiden's intentions are but he saved my life and gave me a safe environment to live in and train. Besides, he seems to be a leader of a huge organization. With such a big organization, getting revenge will be very easy.'
He bowed down and said, "Thank you for saving my life and giving me a safe place, Shiden. I will wait here for you."
Fujin nodded and said, "Good. I'll take my leave. Train hard and get stronger."
Shigeki replied with determination, "I will!"
Fujin nodded once again before turning and flickering away. Shigeki raised his head only to see that Fujin was nowhere to be seen. He thought, 'He is even faster than I imagined him to be.'
He left the cave and looked at the stars in the sky. His eyes became watery as he muttered, "Wait a few years for me. I will fight for your justice and come to be with you."
He wiped his tears and a determined expression appeared on his face. He wasted no time and began training!
A few kilometers away, Fujin stopped moving. He quietly changed his clothes and for the first time in a couple of months changed back to his real appearance. However, he had a weird expression on his face and his cheeks had a hint of redness. He muttered, "Since when did my ability to bullshit reach this level?"
[A/N : Bonus chapter on next Sunday if the fic gets 1000 Power Stones. Bonus chapter on next week's Saturday if the fic gets 2000 Power Stones.]
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