Fujin said, "I'll talk to Hoka and Teru about forming a team."
Mieko apologized with a dejected look, "Sorry, I can't accompany you right now. But we can go on missions after 4 days."
However, Fujin shook his head and said, "No, take a week's rest. We will take missions when you are back to full strength. And don't worry about taking a few days to recover. I'll need some time to master my new jutsu."
Mieko asked, "Is it that cannon-like jutsu you used on our opponent?"
Fujin nodded.
Mieko snorted with some annoyance, "You are getting stronger once again!"
Fujin looked at her with deadpan eyes, "My eyes didn't evolve mid-fight."
A grin formed on Mieko's face. She smugly said, "That's right."
Fujin thought, 'I have always been curious about how Sharingan works. As every 3 Tomoe Sharingan wielder is ranked at Jounin or higher rank. Is it just everyone's hard work or does Sharingan's advancement bring other benefits to the Uchihas?'
Fujin asked, "By the way, do you feel anything different or any improvements after your Sharingan evolved?"
Fujin's question surprised Mieko. She fell into thought. Even Shunko paid full attention to Mieko. After some time, she said, "I feel like my chakra reserves have improved slightly. But the increase isn't very high. It's probably around 15 to 20%. More importantly, my chakra seems to be slightly denser. And, I am guessing that my eye powers will be stronger."
Fujin nodded and replied, "That's a great improvement."
He analyzed, 'Hmm, not too overpowered, but still very good nonetheless. Assuming that the improvements are higher when advancing to 3 tomoe Sharingan, it would make sense why every Uchiha with 3 tomoe Sharingan would be a Jounin. Especially considering that any advancement in Sharingan needs them to suffer emotional trauma or something similar. Anyone who experiences that will be more likely to train intensely.'
Mieko stared at Fujin who was lost in thoughts. She asked, "What are you thinking?"
Fujin casually replied, "Nothing. I am just wondering whether you'll have any chance against me now."
Immediately a tick mark appeared on Mieko's forehead. She muttered, "One of these days, I'll trap you in a Genjutsu and do things to you that you could never imagine!"
Fujin was caught off guard by her reply. He thought, 'Shit, since when did she become a pervert? Ninja village my ass, it should be called a Pervert village!'
Fujin said, "Yeah, right. Anyways, I'll see you later. Get well soon."
He was about to leave when Shunko said, "Fujin when I am healed, I want to fight you."
Fujin stopped and looked at him and asked, "Why?"
He said, "Though I don't want to admit it, you performed better than me in the mission. I want to fight with you to prove that I am stronger."
Fujin looked at him with a deadpan expression, 'What's in it for me?'
He turned around and said, "I have no interest in fighting you."
Fujin's attitude offended Shunko. He felt that Fujin was insulting him. He shouted, "Are you afraid of fighting an Uchiha?"
Fujin replied without turning around, "Not really. I just don't have any time to waste."
After speaking, he disappeared from the room.
Shunko was very annoyed. He asked Mieko, "Is he always this arrogant?"
Mieko was thinking, 'A fight between these two? It would be fun to see Shunko go crazy in rage in a few minutes. As annoying as Fujin normally is, he reaches the highest level of annoyance while fighting.'
Shunko asked again, "Mieko?"
Mieko looked at him and said, "You are just weak Shunko."
Mieko's reply annoyed him even more. He said, "Do you think that a civilian orphan is stronger than all Uchiha?"
Mieko replied, "Not all Uchiha, just you. If it was Itachi who asked, I am sure that Fujin would have accepted."
Shunko immediately complained, "Hey, it's not fair to compare me with Itachi!"
However, Mieko crushed every bit of his pride when she replied, "Why? Aren't you the same age as him?"
Shunko was left without any words. He just turned his head away from Mieko and sulked alone. Comparing him with Itachi was indeed very unfair. After all, Itachi was an Anbu captain. A rank that signified that he was strong enough to be considered as Jounin and even go against Elite Jounins!
After leaving the hospital, Fujin treated himself to a huge meal and returned to training. After experimenting with all shapes, he reached the conclusion that staying with the same shape as the Vacuum bullet core would be ideal. He used the jutsu again but frowned, 'No, though this shape is ideal, something doesn't feel right!'
He sat in meditation to analyze where the problem was while he recovered his chakra. After running multiple calculations, it finally hit him, 'Right! I am maintaining the exact ratios I use in the Vacuum Bullet core. I don't need to maintain the same ratios. I only need the deepest layer of the Vacuum Core to be huge. Shit, this is so basic. Why did I miss such a simple thing?'
He thought for a bit before sighing, 'I got too excited. I need to keep myself calm and not lose myself in celebrating little achievements.'
He formed a Vacuum Core in his mouth. It had the shape of a cone in the front while its body was cylindrical. A very thin chakra film surrounded it. It was encased by another layer of Vacuum which was divided into 6 parts. However, compared to what Fujin was doing earlier, this layer was very thin. Its thickness was the same as it would be when Fujin used the Vacuum Bullet jutsu. Thin threads of Chakra flowed through this layer of Vacuum. Soon, it was covered by another thin chakra film and winds began flowing around it.
Fujin opened his mouth and launched the jutsu at the tree in front of him. A smile formed on Fujin's face as it ripped through all the trees in front of Fujin. He thought, 'Good. I only needed 5 times the chakra this time. I saved 37.5% chakra without sacrificing the speed or power of the jutsu. With some practice, I should be able to perform it at the same speed as Vacuum Bullet jutsu. And, if I have enough time, I could make it more deadly by forming a much larger central vacuum core!'
With the form perfected, Fujin spent the rest of the night alternating between practicing Vacuum Cannon, meditation and physical workout.
He finally stopped at 8 AM. He left the training ground while breathing heavily, 'Good. I only needed 20% more time as Vacuum Bullet. With time, it will improve even more, but there won't be any point in wasting more time to try to reduce the time needed forcefully.'
Satisfied with his progress for the day, Fujin went to Ichiraku. He sat on the stool and rested his arms and head on the table and said, "Bring me one bowl of every Ramen!"
Since it was early morning, Teuchi was preparing the essentials. He was surprised to have a customer so early in the day. Ayame came out to see Fujin. She and Fujin interacted often as Fujin visited Ichiraku rather often and they were of the same age. She was about to say hi excitedly when she saw his state. She asked in a worried tone, "Fujin, why do you look so bad?"
Fujin looked at her and replied without lifting his head, "Nothing much. Just ended up training a bit too much."
Ayame puffed her cheeks and said, "I told you to not train so much but you always keep training!"
Fujin sighed and replied, "Will you continue lecturing or get me something to eat?"
Ayame sighed at the unenthusiastic reply and left to help her father prepare the noodles more quickly.
Fujin ended up eating 8 bowls of Ramen before leaving for his home. He made his way to the bathroom and turned on the faucet, letting the cold water fill the tub. He grabbed all the ice he could find in his home and poured them into the tub and jumped in to rest. With a deep breath, he lowered himself into the frigid water, feeling the cold seep into his bones. Despite the sudden cold, he felt a sense of relief wash over him, the cold water soothing his tired muscles and calming his mind.
After resting for some time, he made a shadow clone and dispersed it. The clone that he had made earlier received his message. After a few minutes, he dispersed himself and sent all the memories back to Fujin. Fujin felt a slight headache but soon relaxed in the icy water.
He spent an hour in the bathtub before heading to his bedroom and fell asleep. He ended up sleeping for 18 hours straight to compensate for exhaustion and the drawback of the soldier pill.
