Takao saw Hiruzen. He wondered, 'What did Lord Hokage realize for him to be so surprised?'
Hiruzen thought, 'No wonder Fujin never did any mission. He never joined a team. From what Genki had said, Fujin stayed alone and never interacted much with others. Renjiro noted the same thing and said that Fujin preferred being and acting alone.
So Fujin has no contacts outside his small bubble of friends. And most of those friends are still in their genin squad or in the academy. He shouldn't be in touch with any chunins other than maybe his academy teachers.
And since he is an orphan, no one arranged for him to enter a squad. And with both his teammates being from big clans who were arranged in squads by their families, he was left with no one to make a team with.'
Hiruzen said, "Takao, call Sarutobi Tamotsu to my office."
Takao nodded and left the office.
Hiruzen sighed, 'Renjiro didn't teach that kid to socialize! And Fujin didn't even approach anyone about it. If he had visited the Mission Center a few times and let others know about his Wind Release Capabilities, lots of teams would have extended an invitation to him. Even if no one invited him, at least he could have improved his leadership skills by clearing out the rank C missions. Instead, he just chose to not do any missions at all.'
Hiruzen analyzed a few more things. In the end, he decided, 'I need to keep checking on Fujin's progress every month. While he isn't as talented as Minato or Orochimaru, he is still good. It'll be a waste if he loses interest due to not doing any missions and only training.'
Back to the present, Ryota led Fujin to Yakiniku.
Fujin asked, "Shouldn't we be going to the mission center?"
Ryota replied, "Not really. Meet up with the team first. We will accept the mission officially tomorrow."
Fujin wasn't sure what Ryota was up to. But he followed him in. Ryota led him to a table where 3 other people and a dog were sitting.
Fujin observed them. One of them was overdressed. Fujin noticed some bugs buzzing around him. Fujin concluded that he was from the Aburame clan.
Another was a definite Inuzuka. He was in his late teens as well. A huge ferocious-looking dog lay behind him. The dog noticed Fujin's gaze and stared back at him.
The last person looked to be in his mid-20s. His face had a large burn mark. There were multiple scars on his arms as well. Of the four people in this team, his chakra was the highest.
The scar-faced guy looked at Fujin and smiled. He said, "So you are Fujin. I have heard a lot of good things about you. Come sit."
Fujin sat down and said, "Hmm, I wonder who spoke about me."
He chuckled, "It was Lord Hokage."
Fujin wondered, 'Hmm… What is that old fox up to?'
The scar-faced guy said, "Let us introduce ourselves properly. I am Sarutobi Tamotsu. I am an Elite Chunin and the leader of this group. I specialize in Fire Release."
The other members of the group began introducing themselves.
Ryota said, "As I said, I'm Hatake Ryota. I am a Chunin. And I specialize in Earth Release."
The man sitting with the dog said, "I am Inuzuka Tadashi. This is my partner Kenta. I am a chunin too. I am responsible for scouting, tracking and smelling danger. I specialize in Taijutsu and I can use a few Fire jutsus as well."
Kenta barked at Fujin as if to say hello.
The last member, who was very quiet, said in a neutral tone, "I am Aburame Katsumi. I am a Chunin. I am responsible for scouting, tracking and trapping enemies. I can use some Water jutsus."
Fujin heard them carefully and remembered their specialities.
Tamotsu said, "Our team lacks explosive power. So we were looking for someone who specialized in Wind Release. That way, we could use a Fire-Wind combination jutsu. Unfortunately, ninjas with good control over wind manipulation are very rare in Konoha. That's why, when Lord Hokage recommended you, I agreed. So Fujin, would you like to join our squad?"
Fujin was a bit surprised. He asked casually, "I can refuse?"
Tamotsu chuckled and said, "Of course, you can. I can't force you to follow us. Hahaha."
Fujin nodded and asked, "Can you tell me how teams work? Like how many missions you do. What are the rules or common practices of your group? I haven't been a part of any team before. So I don't know much about this."
Tamotsu answered, "You don't need to worry much Fujin. We are very casual. So there are no strict rules as such. The most important thing is to give your all in the mission and maintain good teamwork. Also, never abandon your teammates. If you are found slacking or putting your teammates at risk, then we won't keep you in the team anymore. Of course, the same applies to the rest of us too"
Fujin nodded. What Tamotsu said was basic.
Tamotsu continued, "As for missions, we only do rank B missions. We take them continuously with a few days' break between missions depending on how tired we are after the missions. The reward money is equally divided among all team members.
When you are a part of the team, all your rank B missions will be with us. You can take up missions with other teams only if we take a long break. I wouldn't recommend wasting time on rank C or D missions, but you can take them on your own on rest days if you want.
The only exception would be if Lord Hokage assigns you on a separate mission or if you get invited for a rank A mission. In that case, give preference to those missions. Of course, let us know that you'll be busy on those missions if possible."
Fujin thought for a bit and concluded, 'That's very reasonable.'
Tamotsu asked, "So, do you want to be a part of our team Fujin?"
Fujin replied, "Sure. I would like to be a part of your team."
He sighed and said, "Besides, I haven't been assigned any mission for 3 months. So I don't really have any other choices."
On hearing Fujin, Ryota, Katsumi and Tadashi had weird expressions. Tamotsu had an idea. He said, "Fujin, you are aware that you have to form a team and then go to the mission center to get missions, right?"
Fujin looked at him and raised an eyebrow. He asked, "What do you mean?"
He said, "You get missions only if you go to the Mission center with a team."
Fujin was surprised. He thought, 'What the heck? I recall Hiruzen and Tsunade sending messages when they had to assign missions. I thought that job is done by Mission Center here instead.'
He asked, "Are you sure?"
Tamotsu replied, "Yes. You will be called only if Lord Hokage has a special mission for you. And usually, only Elite Jounins get missions assigned that way."
Fujin was stunned. He exclaimed internally, 'Fuck! No wonder I never got any missions!'
Fujin's new squad chuckled at his expression. Tamotsu didn't want Fujin to feel embarrassed on day 1. He said, "Introduce yourself Fujin."
Fujin sighed again and said, "I am Suzuki Fujin. I specialize in Wind jutsus. I am also a sensor. So I could aid Tadashi-san and Katsumi-san a bit."
Tamotsu said, "Good. Also, no need to be formal with us Fujin. Just use our names."
Fujin nodded, "Alright."
At that time, a waiter came in and delivered meat. Tamotsu said, "Let's celebrate getting a new team member!"
The group began eating while chatting casually.
At one point, Fujin asked, "Tamotsu, how do you become an Elite Chunin? Is there an exam similar to the Chunin Exam?"
Tamotsu said, "No. There is no exam. You get assigned this rank by doing missions. The missions that you complete are analyzed by the village. When they are satisfied with your performances, they promote you to Elite Chunin."
Fujin was surprised. He asked, "On what parameters do they decide?"
Tamotsu replied, "Well, the basic requirements are your strength and overall capability. If you have any obvious weakness, you won't be promoted to Elite Chunin. Once you meet those requirements, they check your mission record.
There are no fixed criteria regarding the missions. So I can't comment on what parameters they check here. But, it'd be safe to say that you need to have completed at least 50 rank B missions."
Fujin thought and said, "Oh. Thank You."
Tamotsu smiled and said, "No worries. There are a couple more things that you should know about Elite Chunins. Other villages aren't as strict as Konoha while promoting to Jounins. So most Elite Chunins from Konoha can go up against Jounins of other villages. So don't expect to be promoted quickly.
Also, if you want to be promoted to Jounin or Special Jounin ranks, then you first need to be an Elite Chunin. Otherwise, you won't be considered for Jounin promotions."
Fujin nodded. He had expected that. After eating the food, Tamotsu said, "I have already accepted a mission. Tomorrow, we will escort a noble from the Land of Rice back to his country. Meet up at the gate at 11 AM. And bring enough supplies for a couple of months."
Fujin and the others nodded and left. After leaving, Fujin headed back to the training ground.
