Fujin and his squad moved quickly through the forest. Kaneie took the position at the front while Fujin was in the rear. Occasionally, Fujin used to activate his chakra field and sense his surroundings.
Fujin sighed thinking, 'This is tough without Hoka. I could divide this job with him to reduce my workload. And, his eyes could notice the stuff I missed and vice-versa.'
After some time, Yasuoka asked, "Fujin, you became a Chunin in the last Chunin exam, right?"
Fujin replied, "Yes."
Yasuoka asked again, "Who were your Sensei and teammates?"
Yasuoka and his teammates were getting very bored by moving without talking even a bit. And talking among themselves while ignoring Fujin would have been rude. So Yasuoka began talking with Fujin.
Fujin didn't have much of an interest in interacting with them. There wasn't much benefit in doing it. But, as they kept on talking, Fujin realized that those guys were fun. So their talks became more cordial.
At some point, Fujin asked, "How often do you guys do such missions?"
Tadao answered, "It depends on our expenses. Usually, we do one or two missions per month. Shichiro assigns a Chunin to our team to lead the mission."
Fujin asked, "And do you always do missions together?"
Kaneie nodded, "Yes. For rank C missions, we are together as a team. But, if someone needs some extra money, then they take some rank D missions solo."
Fujin thought, 'Not bad. I guess it is a good method of making money. Well, at least to handle day-to-day needs. Plus with the same team, they should be very familiar with each other and should have solid teamwork. Unfortunately, they are too weak. If they were at least Chunins, their team could have been slightly famous.'
They continued moving towards their target. While moving, Fujin seriously considered, 'Should I create such a team too? Having teammates with a good bond, teamwork and complementary skills could ease up the missions quite well.
But, even if I decide to make such a squad, who should I include? The only ones that come to mind are Mieko and Hoka. Perhaps I could even ask Teru and Yori as well. Though I haven't met them for over a year.
That said, both Mieko and Yori will die soon. So there isn't much point in including them. Also, both Hoka and Teru are quite headstrong. And, neither have the fire element or the genjutsu skills that an Uchiha brings to the table.'
Fujin thought for a bit before finally giving up, 'Leave it. Such a team works for these guys because they are all equally weak and have no great ambitions. Among the strong, no such teams ever formed. The only squad with an all S rank roster that comes to my mind is the Sannins. And, even they broke up.'
The journey to the reported area took 7 hours. Fujin sighed internally, 'If I was with my previous squad, we could have reached here in three hours. Unfortunately, not only were these guys slow, but they also needed 2 breaks! I guess expecting the same level of fitness and capability as my old squad was a bit too much. Probably only Anbu or Jounin squads will have a higher efficiency than us.'
Fujin and the genins were observing the area. There were clear signs of a fight happening at that place.
Yasuoka observed the surroundings and said, "There are multiple broken carts here. Looks like the attack had taken place here."
Kaneie snorted in displeasure, "Those cocky bandits didn't even bother to hide and cover up their actions."
Fujin too wondered about that, 'That's weird. None of the dozens of bandit camps we cleared had such stupid bandits. It's as if they want to let others know that they created trouble. But why would a bandit group attract unwanted attention?'
The weirdness of the situation suddenly increased Fujin's alertness to the max!
Kaneie began observing the clues. He said, "According to the clues, they ar…"
However, Fujin interrupted him, "Southwestern direction. About 1100 meters from here. Move quickly and quietly."
The trio were surprised. They never thought that Fujin would be a sensor as well! They immediately followed his instructions without any complaints or doubts.
They moved over a kilometer in the direction that Fujin pointed before they could see the camp.
Kaneie was very surprised. He said softly, "First they left all the clues on the road. And they have a campout in the open? Sure it's in the forest, but there is no cover for them at all when someone finds them!"
Yasuoka and Tadao were confused too. The place had multiple small huts made of bamboo and leaves. They were spread over a hundred meters and could probably hold around 60 bandits. There was no natural protection other than the forests.
However, Fujin's attention was on something else, 'Oh! I see. There is one ninja among this bandit group. And he seems to be at the Chunin level. Is he behind this stupidity? Or is he scheming up something?'
Fujin's eyes moved towards his temporary subordinates as he thought, 'Having subordinates is kinda nice. I'll let them test the waters. If it's just this guy, then I will assassinate him. If he is indeed cooking up some scheme, then they will be good meat shields. I'll stay back and observe what scheme is being cooked here.
Sigh, they kinda seem good. Unfortunately, this world is too dangerous. If something were to happen to them, then it's their own fault for being so weak!'
Fujin steeled his resolve. He said, "You guys begin the assault. Move quietly and eliminate as many as you before alerting the whole camp. I'll stay behind and observe in case there is anything fishy."
Tadao, Yasuoka and Kaneie nodded and moved. They weren't aware that there was someone stronger than them among the bandits. Fujin stayed behind and observed them.
In the central hut of the camp, a large man was relaxing on a rather comfortable deck chair. Two slim ladies were around him, one massaging his shoulders and another his thighs. Both had scared looks on their face. The man grinned like a pervert while enjoying the treatment. Some other bandits in the room were looking at them lecherously.
The man sitting in the chair was Idane Kaii. He was a hotheaded chunin from Kumogakure. Due to his hotheadedness, he killed a civilian and hence ended up in a prison. Fortunately for him, he was able to get out of prison due to 'special' circumstances.
A month ago in the Raikage Office :
An old man entered the Raikage's office and placed some documents in front of him. He was an elder in Kumogakure. He said, "These are some reports that we received from the Land of Fire."
Mabui took the reports and began reading. The Fourth Raikage frowned. He asked, "Is Konoha up to something?"
The old man shook her head and said, "No, this is related to their trade. In the past couple of months, their trade has suddenly boomed. If their trade continues to increase at this rate, then they will earn a lot of money which they can use to train more ninjas."
A's frown deepened. He said, "Konoha controls the richest and the most fertile land in this world. If they begin growing rapidly, then their strength can once again surpass us."
The old man nodded and said, "Yes. And if that happens, then war will have to be started again to prevent Konoha from getting too strong. Though Minato died and Orochimaru betrayed them, their strength is still quite strong. Some of their younger ninjas are gaining fame quickly. We need to ensure that Konoha's growth is at least slowed so that we don't have to go to another war."
A's immediately became angry. He said, "Just a few years ago we could force them to hand over an Elite Jounin. And now they are becoming a threat again?"
However, the old man calmed him down, "I would advise you not to make such a reckless move again Lord Fourth. Konoha promoted a lot of chunins to Jounins in this period. More importantly, our spies have reported that Iwa is recovering its strength rapidly too. That Fence Sitter is spending a huge amount of money on raising new ninjas.
If Konoha decides to retaliate instead of being desperate for peace, then we could get in a pickle."
A calmed down slightly. He asked, "What do you suggest then?"
The old man said, "According to my sources, Konoha's trade suddenly boomed as their bandits were killed at a rapid pace. So we should increase their bandit groups."
A thought for a bit. He looked at Mabui and said, "Mabui, see if we have any useful prisoners. We will release them and let them be rogue ninjas inside the Land of Fire and have them start more bandit groups."
Mabui nodded and left to check their data.
The old man said, "While Konoha doesn't have the strength to retaliate against us, it'll be better if we don't leave any clues behind."
A nodded and said, "Yes, I know that. It'll be annoying if they retaliate with similar measures. Though if they do, I'll smash them all!"
