As soon as Hoka said yes, both he and Mieko attacked Fujin. However, Fujin flickered before they got close.
Teru, Yori and Hana moved behind to create a safe distance. They were surprised to see Mieko and Hoka attack their former teammate.
A scowl formed on Mieko's face. She complained, "Now he will keep hiding till we are done fighting!"
Teru asked, "What do you mean?"
Hoka was about to answer when everyone noticed something. Very strong winds were headed towards them.
Yori thought, 'Right. Fujin has an affinity to Wind nature. Wind is weak against Fire.'
He quickly made hand signs.
'Fire Release: Fireball jutsu'
Mieko and Hoka saw the fireball and flickered away. The Fireball hit the winds and was amplified and dispersed. Unfortunately, the winds carried these amplified flames back towards the group.
Yori was shocked. Hana and Teru escaped underground. Yori also tried escaping, but he was slow.
Fujin saw the flaming winds and smirked, 'As I expected, that moron blew fire into the winds.'
The jutsu he used was a powered-down variation of the Infinite Breakthrough jutsu. It focused more on the wind flow rather than creating sharp winds. So the jutsu was pretty harmless despite its great momentum. At most, it could send someone flying for a few meters.
The flaming winds hit Yori. However, his resistance to fire was quite high. He wasn't injured much. Just some of his clothes caught fire, but he doused them quickly.
Unfortunately for him, Fujin wasn't his only opponent. His words were fresh in the minds of Hoka and Mieko. Both flickered and appeared next to him.
Yori's Sharingan noticed them flickering towards them. He immediately tossed shurikens at them. Mieko neutralized his shurikens with her own, while Hoka attacked from a range with Vacuum Palm.
At such a close distance, Yori couldn't dodge. The Vacuum Palm hit one of his chakra points and sealed it. It disoriented him. Hoka noticed the opportunity and attacked him again.
'Eight Trigrams: Sixteen Palms'
Yori tried struggling, but he was no match for Hoka's Taijutsu. Hoka sealed Yori's chakra points.
After getting his last hit, Hoka said, "You are out."
He placed his palm on Yori's chest and pushed him towards a tree.
However, at the same time, he heard, "So are you."
Teru appeared under Hoka and grabbed his legs.
"Earth Release: Headhunter jutsu"
Hoka was dragged underground, leaving only his head above the ground. Teru placed a kunai on his forehead.
Hoka cursed internally, 'Shit! I got distracted.'
He sighed and said, "I give up."
At the same time, Mieko launched shurikens at Teru. Teru immediately blocked them all with the kunai. They both began fighting.
Hana stayed away from Teru and Mieko and just observed them. Fujin too observed from a distance while thinking, 'Did they forget about me?'
His eyes wandered towards Hana. He commented, 'Eh, looks like I am not the only one who likes to wait till others are exhausted and injured. Unfortunately, there are no rewards for winning.'
'Wind Instantaneous Body jutsu'
Fujin flickered along with the wind. Hana, whose attention was majorly on Teru and Mieko, was also keeping an eye on Fujin. Though she didn't expect Fujin to move so quickly, she was prepared to face him. She attacked him with the gentle fist style.
The basic rule, while fighting against a Hyuga, is to keep a distance. But Fujin was interested in measuring his progress. So he engaged Hana in Taijutsu.
Hana's strikes were on point. But Fujin blocked all the attacks with ease. His speed was much faster than hers. He never allowed her fingers or palm to touch his body.
Hana was shocked, 'How much did he improve in just over a year? I can't even touch him!'
After blocking her continuously for a minute, Fujin concluded, 'In terms of Taijutsu, she isn't anywhere near Hoka's level.'
Not seeing any point in extending it any further, Fujin decided to attack. Hana attacked Fujin again, but he grabbed her wrist and threw her into the air. He exhaled a gentle but strong wind at her which sent her flying back towards a tree. She flipped in the air and landed on the tree on her feet.
Fujin said, "You have lost."
Hana had a complicated expression. She nodded. Fujin smiled and left towards Teru and Mieko.
Hana saw him leaving and thought, 'Though they didn't say anything, I am the only genin in this group. And I'm the weakest. I need to work hard or else I will never be at their level.'
Fujin guessed Hana's inner turmoil. After all, being the only one who wasn't promoted to a chunin would hurt. Especially considering that she was only eleven.
Mieko and Teru were engaged in a tough fight. Teru was superior in speed and Taijutsu. Even in ninjutsu, he had an edge with Earth and Water elements. But he had to be very careful about not looking into her eyes.
Suddenly, they heard, "You two didn't forget about me, did you?"
Immediately they looked towards Fujin. He was sitting on a branch. As soon as they saw him, Fujin exhaled strong winds towards them. Both made hand signs and escaped underground.
Fujin muttered, "While escaping underground is a good defense, it doesn't mean that you can abuse it without any consequences."
Fujin jumped off the branch. Chakra gathered on his fist. He punched the ground right above them.
Cracks formed on the ground. The impact of the punch could be felt underground. Teru felt the shockwaves and frowned. He wondered, 'Is Fujin good at Earth release as well?'
Teru made a few hand signs. The ground around him hardened. It protected him from the shockwaves. However, Mieko was hit.
She escaped above ground, only to have a kunai placed at the back of her neck. Fujin said, "You have lost."
A scowl formed on Mieko's face. She gave up unwillingly while complaining in her heart, 'I always manage to detect and neutralize sneak attacks in mission. Why do I fall to his sneak attacks every time?'
As soon as she gave up, spikes formed on the ground and launched at Fujin. Fujin instantly flickered out of the way. His eyes glowed as he watched Teru's location underground. More spikes and spears kept forming and launching at Fujin. Fujin dodged all.
He thought, 'While hiding underground isn't always good, if someone hides like a porcupine, then I don't have a 2nd way of dealing with them. Just Vacuum Bullet, but that might kill him. So not usable in this situation.'
Realizing that he was only wasting his chakra, Teru left the underground. He said, "You have grown strong Fujin. I didn't expect your Wind Release to improve so much."
Fujin replied, "So have you. I never thought you would develop a porcupine-like battle tactic."
Teru smirked. This battle tactic was very annoying. He enjoyed using it against Yori.
Fujin said, "Wanna end this the old way?"
Teru replied, "With our fists? Sure."
Both rushed towards each other. Their fists clashed. They followed up with a flurry of punches and kicks. Teru was stronger and faster than Hana. But Fujin was still faster and stronger than him. In a minute, Fujin landed 7 hits on Teru.
Fujin kicked at his chest. But Teru raised his forearms in defense. The kick landed on his forearms and sent him flying for a few meters. Fujin didn't pursue him. Teru flipped in the air and landed on his feet.
He complained, "Shit! What have you been eating?"
Fujin just grinned without replying.
Teru said, "I'll use my full power. Be careful, this is the Taijutsu of my clan."
Chakra began gathering around Teru's fists and feet. Fujin could see it clearly. He understood what Teru was up to. A smile crept on his face.
Teru didn't understand why Fujin was smiling. He sent a punch straight at Fujin's chest. Fujin formed a fist and gathered chakra in it. He punched Teru's fist.
Both the punches clashed. Teru's eyes widened in shock as he felt the strength in Fujin's punch. Fujin applied more force and sent him flying.
Teru flipped in the air once again and landed on his feet. But, this time he was sent flying for 25 meters. And he skidded backwards a few meters more.
He asked, "How do you know Senju Taijutsu Style?"
Fujin said, "Did you forget who my sensei is?"
Teru smiled bitterly, 'I didn't think he would teach it to someone outside the clan.'
Teru shook his right hand and said, "I give up. I can barely feel my right hand anymore."
Fujin said, "Yeah, mine kinda hurts too."
He thought, 'I should check whether Kakuzu's skin hardening jutsu is in the library. It might be a perfect combination with the Senju Taijutsu Style. Maybe I should discuss it with Renjiro.'
