At one point, Shigeki asked, "What if one of our members wants to quit and return to a normal life?"
Fujin answered, "Then we let them go. As I said, though the Phantom Will exists in everyone, it is unrealistic to expect everyone to act on it. Of course, we won't be removing the Phantom Seal. So there won't be any danger of them leaking sensitive information.
If they change their mind in the future, they can rejoin. They could also recommend others to join us. Not to mention, any former member will help us with gathering information. Whether they do it actively or passively will be their choice. So, they will still help us reach our goal faster. Besides, with them out there, they can ensure that the crimes against the weak are reduced. At the very least, no normal bandit group will be able to harm the village they are staying in."
Shigeki nodded. Though it could reduce their fighting power temporarily, it'll make their unity stronger if they aren't forced to serve. Shigeki continued asking more questions until he covered every aspect.
Once he was done, Fujin asked, "Do you have anyone in mind that you would like to recruit?"
Shigeki nodded and answered, "Yes. I thought of them when you said that I would have to recruit. I know 13 former ninjas from Tanigakure who were falsely accused at different times. They became rogue ninjas and I was even sent to hunt a few of them down. But after learning the truth, I let them off and reported that those missions had failed.
All of them became rogue ninjas. Some lived while hiding from the official ninjas while some became bounty hunters. 5 of them stayed together in a group and 4 more stayed together forming another group. The remaining four moved alone.
Unfortunately, it has been 3 years since I heard about them. So I'm not sure if I'll be able to find them or even if they are still alive and well."
Fujin nodded and said, "Alright, that'll be a start. How long will it take you to find them?"
Shigeki answered, "I can't say for sure. If I'm lucky, then in 3 days. If not, then it might take a month and I still might not track all of them down."
Fujin thought for a bit and instructed, "Alright, you'll set out to find them. Return here in 10 days' time irrespective of how many you find. I'll build the basic structure of the base until th…"
He suddenly paused and began thinking. Shigeki wanted to ask something but stopped since Fujin was busy thinking. After a minute, Fujin looked at Shigeki and said, "Actually, I'll build the main base here and a mini base halfway into this valley. Only the members I have applied the seal on will be allowed in the main base. The rest will have to stay in the mini base until I visit to apply the seals. This will reduce the risk of any spy leaking information about our main base. Also…"
Fujin grabbed a storage scroll and opened it. From one of the seals, he summoned a few hundred tags with some sort of seal on them. Fujin handed them to Shigeki and said, "Though my Phantom Seal is very safe, accidents could always happen. If someone accidentally triggers the seal and it paralyzes them, you can use these tags to undo the paralysis. The Phantom Seal will reform itself, so don't worry about someone trying to use this to get rid of the seal.
When you try to recruit those guys, be careful what you speak. You can't leak the secrets of Phantom Haven Society until the Phantom Seal is applied to them."
Shigeki nodded and said, "Yes, I figured that out. And thank you, this will make my job easier."
He accepted all the tags. Fujin instructed, "Now get going. I'll send a Mud Clone with you to inform you of the location of the mini base."
Fujin was about to create a clone when Shigeki said, "Actually, I wanted to ask something."
Fujin stopped and said, "Ask."
Shigeki said, "You had promised to help me get revenge. Can I know when we can do so?"
Though Shigeki was impressed by the Phantom Haven Society, he never forgot the fate of his family. It had tormented him for years. Fujin had thought of this matter as well. Initially, he wanted to have Shigeki give shape to the organization and only then help him. After all, if Shigeki lost his will after getting revenge, Fujin would suffer a needless loss. However, Fujin changed his mind after seeing how much he was influenced by the Phantom Will.
Fujin said, "I'll give you two choices. The first one is that we'll go now and eliminate the ones who caused injustice to your family. However, since it will be just the two of us, the entire operation will be done silently. I'll give you an opportunity to assassinate them. Or, you can knock them out, take them away from Tanigakure and torture them for a few hours before killing them. Regardless, no proof would be left behind. No one will know that this was done by you or that those scums were finally served justice.
The second choice is that you wait a few years and form a formidable force in this base. You can then lead them openly to help get your revenge. Everyone will know that justice was served. Everyone will know that it was you who did it. In the future, the higher-ups will think ten times before subjecting anyone else to such a fate.
The choice is yours."
Fujin stayed quiet after speaking. It was quite easy to deduce which path he wanted Shigeki to take. Shigeki fell into deep thought. He spent nearly 5 minutes thinking before he answered, "When I work towards the goal of Phantom Haven Society, I don't want to be distracted by anything else.
Nor do I want to feel resentful that the killers of my family are still alive. I choose the first option. I don't want any glory nor do I want to use the Phantom Haven Society to fulfil my goals. I just want to deliver justice for my family. I hope you can help me kidnap them and give me a few hours alone with them.
Also, if I am able to kill them first, it'll be very helpful in recruiting others to join us as most of them hate the higher-ups in the village. In addition, I also want to gather some information about the village. If more were subjected to a similar treatment as me, I might be able to recruit them as well if they are still alive."
Fujin was surprised by the answer. He thought, 'Weird. After getting entranced by the Phantom Will, I expected him to choose the second option. I guess I'm not that good at reading people yet. Oh well, it shouldn't matter much. With this out of the way, he'll focus entirely on making this base stronger.'
Fujin nodded and said, "Alright, let's go."
The two left immediately. En route, Fujin showed him where the mini base would be created. It was around 6 kilometers from the main base and still very well hidden from outside the valley, making it extremely unlikely for anyone to stumble upon it.
In one of the palaces in Tanigakure, a loud shriek could be heard in the middle of the night. Two medical ninjas were around a man in his twenties, while an older man was standing behind them. He frowned and asked, "How long would it take you to heal my son's injuries? It has been over two and a half years now!"
Anger could be heard in his voice. However, the old man was still restraining himself. One of the medical ninjas sighed and answered, "We already told you, Kanji-sama. There isn't much we can do. Itsuki's chakra network was extremely damaged when he was attacked. Even though we have repaired his chakra network as much as we could, it is still very fragile. Every time he uses his chakra, he'll feel an extremely high amount of pain."
Suddenly, Itsuki screamed once again. He could hear everything the medical ninja said. However, it wasn't his chakra network or the pain that caused him the most sorrow. It was what was missing between his legs. He shouted angrily, "Father, I want to see that motherfucker Shigeki and mutilate him too!"
Kanji sighed seeing his son's situation. As time passed, his mental state continuously became worse. He said, "Shigeki is long dead, Itsuki. If he was alive, he would have tried to get his revenge long back."
Kanji had sent 5 ninjas to kill an injured Shigeki. He had expected it to go without any accident. Unfortunately, Fujin had ruined his plans. He never heard about those 5 ninjas again. For some time, he was afraid that Shigeki had killed them. However, as time passed, he believed that Shigeki died as well. He speculated that he did a suicide attack that killed all six of them. Of course, that didn't do much to reduce the hatred he felt for Shigeki.
Just as the father-son duo were cursing Shigeki, a voice was heard, "Oh, you wanted to see me? Good. I have been wanting to see the two of you for every second since that accursed day!"
Suddenly, everyone in the room turned around and looked in the direction of the voice. To their surprise, Shigeki stood there, along with a masked man.
Itsuki jumped out of his bed while screaming, "Bastard! I'll kill you!"
Luckily for him, the medical ninjas held him back.
Meanwhile, Kanji asked in surprise, "How did you enter here undetected?"
[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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