Shikaku grumpily walked towards Hiruzen's office. He muttered, "It has just been a couple of months since the situation with Suna cooled down and I could sleep comfortably. Don't tell me that they have become active again."
He reached the office and asked, "What's the situation this time?"
Hiruzen tossed him the scroll and said, "Take a look."
Shikaku began reading. He muttered in dissatisfaction, "What does Iwa want in that country?"
Hiruzen said, "To send that many ninjas, for so long, and take action against so many civilians. It looks like they were looking for something. Or planning something huge in that country."
Shikaku nodded. He added, "It's tough to say exactly though. With those actions, they could annex the western half of the Land of Waterfall. But it won't benefit them much. After all, Takigakure itself would have been safe and that's where the forces of that country are accumulated. And hurting a buffer country between our villages will cost them diplomatically. So overall it would be a loss.
I have a feeling that they were searching for something or someone. Which Anbu squad did you send?"
Hiruzen replied, "Fujin's squad."
Shikaku became mildly annoyed on hearing Fujin's name. He muttered, "Nothing good happens when that brat is involved. Our relationship with Suna is still brittle. And Kumo is eyeing us like Wolves. If he provokes a war with Iwa, then we will be in a tough spot when hostilities begin."
Hiruzen sighed and said, "Even if he doesn't our situation won't be any different. We have always had to face all four villages. Regardless, Fujin has calmed down a bit since he clashed with Roshi. Let's wait for him to arrive. In the meantime, start deciding who we should send to the border."
Shikaku nodded. Fortunately, they didn't have to wait for long. A few minutes after Hiruzen and Shikaku met, Fujin and his squad arrived in Konoha. Since they had eaten soldier pills, they travelled non-stop until they reached the village.
After entering, Fujin said, "It's nighttime. Lord Hokage should be asleep. You guys can go to your homes. I'll report the mission to him."
His teammates nodded. But before he could leave, Yugao said, "Captain, I thought a lot during our journey here and have a request."
Fujin stopped and turned around. He asked, "What request?"
Yugao said, "During this mission, every one of the enemies was as strong as me. I couldn't do anything to help you. I want a few months' break to train so that I won't be a burden the next time."
Fujin was surprised by her request. Before he could speak, Bunjiro said, "I have the same request."
Fumito added, "Same here."
Fujin said, "The enemy was strong this time. Even if you get stronger, there will still be someone stronger than you. So don't be too discouraged. But alright. Taking time off to train is good. I was thinking about it as well. I'll discuss with Lord Hokage to see if I can get a training vacation for our team."
Yugao said, "Thank You, Captain."
Fujin nodded and flickered away. His team stayed in the same spot for a few seconds. Fumito chuckled and said in a self-mocking tone, "We were completely useless during this mission."
Bunjiro didn't know what to say. Yugao sighed and said, "They were probably all Jounins. If not for his summon, we would have died there. And could have dragged him with us as well."
Fumito said, "They had a few chances to deal fatal blows to us during the initial phase of the battle. But for some reason, they didn't. Thinking about it, I believe they wanted to keep us alive so that he would be forced to stay and defend us."
Yugao nodded. She had realized it as well. That was the main reason she asked for a break. Bunjiro's eyes widened. He thought, 'I was wondering about that as well. I never imagined that this would be the reason!'
Fumito said, "Anyways, we have managed to return in one piece. Let's train so that we won't feel this way again. Good luck to both of you."
Yugao and Bunjiro wished him luck as well and went their separate ways. Fujin was unaware of their conversation. As he approached the Hokage building, he thought, 'If they train seriously for a few months, Yugao and Fumito will quickly get promoted to Anbu Captain. Though Bunjiro wouldn't, his strength will reach close to this rank as well.
That's good. I'll convince Hiruzen to give us a long break. After the break, I'll recommend Yugao and Fumito for the Anbu rank and quit the Anbu using that opportunity as my team will be dissolved. Hmm?'
Fujin focused his attention towards the Hokage office and sensed two chakras. He wondered, 'What are these two doing awake at this hour? Did Taki send a message? Anyway, this is good. I won't have to wait for an Anbu Guard to go and wake him up.'
He quickly went to the office. An Anbu Guard appeared and asked, "Tortoise, what are you doing here at this hour?"
Fujin answered, "Here to meet Lord Hokage."
The Anbu Guard said, "He is having a secret meeting."
Fujin replied, "I'm pretty sure the discussion inside is regarding my mission. Regardless, this is a high priority."
The Anbu Guard said, "Alright. Go ahead."
They had interacted on several occasions. So, he knew that Fujin had a great relationship with Hiruzen.
Hiruzen and Shikaku immediately looked at Fujin, who entered the room. Fujin closed the door, looked at the scroll on Hiruzen's table and asked, "Did Takigakure send a request for reinforcements?"
Hiruzen nodded, "Something like that. But there isn't much information here. Report what happened."
Fujin nodded and said, "It was probably a trap. After we reached the town, the attacks stopped once again like what happened when we sent a squad earlier. But a few days later, a big incident occurred and everyone in one of the villages went missing.
When we went to investigate, I realized that the village was covered in seals that were extremely difficult to detect. I believe that they had a Fuinjutsu Grandmaster hiding in the village. Though we avoided the trap, we were attacked by the Iwa ninjas hiding inside the barrier."
Fujin took a pause. Shikaku looked at him and thought, 'Why do I get the feeling that what he says next will be very troublesome?'
Fujin continued, "The attackers were led by Kitsuchi."
Hiruzen and Shikaku weren't surprised as his name was mentioned in the scroll sent by Takigakure. But what Fujin said next shocked them. He added, "Along with him were 96 other ninjas, every single one at the Jounin level."
Shikaku asked in disbelief, "They moved 96 Jounins along with an S ranked ninja and a Fuinjutsu Grandmaster there?"
Rank S ninjas making a move was very common. After all, they could move freely throughout the world and very few would be willing to oppose them. Just from Konoha, Jiraiya and Tsunade would frequently be heard about roaming randomly in the smaller countries.
Hundreds of ninjas moving also happened frequently. Not too long ago, all the major villages were moving over a thousand ninjas each around their countries due to the volatile conditions. But a hundred Jounins moving together was extremely rare. Even during wars, that would be a rare occurrence.
Fujin nodded. Shikaku asked, "What was their goal?"
Fujin answered, "I am not sure, but my best guess is they wanted to kill me."
Shikaku and Hiruzen were surprised again. Hiruzen asked, "Why do you say that?"
Fujin answered in a serious tone, "Kitsuchi recognized my real identity. And every single one of those Jounins was trained to counter me. They all were quick on their feet and could use Iron Skin jutsu quickly, which protected them against most of my Wind Jutsus.
In addition, they were very on guard against my Wind Vacuum Techniques. They would observe the slight changes in my body and take preemptive measures to assist in dodging my attack. They also had a few chances to deal a lethal blow to my teammates, but refrained from doing so to keep me from running away.
If it wasn't for the fact that they didn't know about my Fuinjutsu skills and my summon, I would have been in deep trouble."
Hiruzen and Shikaku went silent on hearing that. Both realized how serious the matter was. After a while, Shikaku asked, "How did they know you would be sent there?"
Fujin replied, "I was hoping you'd find out. If the locations of Anbu ninjas are getting leaked, then we will be facing a lot of trouble. Even more so if they have some degree of control over who gets dispatched on some missions."
Neither Hiruzen nor Shikaku opposed him. Both could see the Anbu squads getting picked one by one by enemies if that was the case. Hiruzen said seriously, "I will look into this matter. If someone is leaking information, then that person would be eliminated."
Fujin nodded. Just like Fujin, Hiruzen's first thought was Danzo as well. But he couldn't think of any reason for Danzo to do that.
Shikaku asked, "What happened after that?"
Fujin continued, "Well, I summoned my summon and began attacking from the air. After a long difficult fight, I managed to kill 47 ninjas and a few more were injured. But someone hiding inside the village attacked us with Explosion Release Kekkei Genkai.
The power behind the explosion made it look like it was another S ranked ninja. But I'm suspicious as that ninja never showed himself. I decided that it was too risky to continue and withdrew along with my team.
Once again, Shikaku was left speechless. He wondered, 'Did they set a trap for him or offer him their heads?'
[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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