Fujin was happy with the progress he was making. He decided, 'I should take a few months off and learn all the jutsus that I decided to learn. After all, I completed a lot of missions in the last month. Combined with my team disbanding, it shouldn't raise any eyebrows.'
Having made a decision, Fujin began making hand signs.
'Lightning Release: False Darkness Jutsu'
He stretched his arms forward. Lightning was launched from his palms. Fujin aimed it at a mannequin. However, right before the jutsu hit it, Fujin changed its direction. It barely missed the mannequin.
Fujin analyzed, 'Hmm, this jutsu's power output is much weaker than Lightning Beam. But, with training, I'll be able to maneuver this jutsu more freely. So in a usual battle, False Darkness will be much more effective. Lightning Beam, on the other hand, will be more effective when used on a stationary object, an immobilized enemy or when I want to use it to confront an enemy's jutsu head-on.'
Fujin continued training False Darkness jutsu until he ran out of chakra. For the next 2 days, he trained the jutsu until he could perform it seamlessly.
Fujin weaved the same hand signs and performed the jutsu. He aimed the lightning at a mannequin. Right before he hit it, he changed its direction to another mannequin. He repeated it once again and changed its direction to 3rd mannequin and scored a direct hit.
Fujin smiled while breathing heavily. He concluded, 'Shit, it isn't easy to train 2 rank B jutsus at the same time! It puts a lot of strain on my chakra reserves. Lightning jutsus use a lot more chakra than Wind jutsus. Still, it looks like this jutsu is down. Though I haven't reduced the hand signs required, it's fine. Reducing or even eliminating hand signs will require months of training. I can do that slowly over a few years.
Anyways, it's time to practice the next jutsu.'
Fujin weaved hand signs. Lightning appeared on his body. After a second, the lightning changed its shape. It began taking the shape of needles. However, suddenly they collapse. The lightning on his body dispersed as well.
Fujin frowned, 'This jutsu is tough.'
He kept trying. On his 14th try, he finally managed to make the Lightning on his body change shape to needles. His body had dozens of Lightning needles pointing away from him. He made another hand sign. Immediately, all the Lightning needles were launched. They travelled around 5 meters before dispersing into the air.
Fujin sighed, 'This jutsu is tough. Though I guess the difficulty makes sense. After all, it isn't simple like just generating and launching Lightning. The scroll said that hundreds or even thousands of small needles can be formed. And they can be launched for around 40 meters around the user. In addition, the user can also control the part of the body on which the needles are formed. This way, the user can avoid hitting allies.'
Fujin kept training the Electric Needle Spread jutsu.
Five days later, Hiruzen was sitting at his desk going through the paperwork. The Uchiha massacre had increased his workload numerous times. He had to check files on every dead Uchiha ninja, classify them as dead and analyze any impact their death might have. He had been working on it for over a week.
With a sigh, he closed one file and handed it to his assistant. His assistant handed him the next file. The file was titled, 'Uchiha Mieko'.
Hiruzen opened and read all her data. He analyzed, 'She didn't have much contact outside her clan. Just her Genin squad. Renjiro should be fine. He is used to dealing with such events.'
He looked at his assistant and asked, "Takao, have Hoka or Fujin taken any missions after the incident?"
Takao grabbed some files and began checking.
Hiruzen looked at Mieko's file again and wondered, 'Why did Fujin leave Tamotsu's squad and form one with his teammates and classmates?'
Hiruzen said, "Also check on Tamotsu's file and see what he is doing."
Takao said, "Yes Hokage-sama."
While Takao was taking a look at the files, Hiruzen decided, 'I wonder how that greedy kid is doing. Hoka has his parents to look after him. So he should be fine. But Fujin is an orphan. I don't think he understands how to deal with a loss.'
Hiruzen looked into the crystal ball on his table and channeled his chakra into it. Soon, a picture appeared on the crystal ball. It was Fujin's house.
A peculiar expression appeared on Hiruzen's face as he thought, 'I heard Takao say that Fujin's house was too extravagant. I now see why he said so. Even my house isn't as big as his!'
He focused on the crystal ball to peer into Fujin's house. However, Hiruzen was surprised, 'My Telescope jutsu can't look into his house? Did he hire a SealMaster to inscribe anti-spy seals? No, I have specifically instructed every SealMaster to not inscribe seals that stop my jutsu.
Only a few with authority like the clan leaders or strong ninjas can go around it and get those seals on their houses. So how did Fujin manage to convince a SealMaster to inscribe such this seal on his house?'
Hiruzen was intrigued. A smile formed on his face. Fujin's shamelessness and his talent in Wind Nature Manipulation had already impressed Hiruzen. So did Fujin's performance against Kaminari. He didn't expect Fujin to surprise him once again so soon.
He concentrated on the crystal ball. Soon, the seals that were inscribed on his house began appearing in the crystal ball. Every seal was glowing lightly in different colors. The walls of Fujin's house began fading in darkness, only leaving the seals visible in the crystal ball.
Hiruzen had a smile on his face at the start. However, soon his smile faded away. Half a minute later, shock could be seen on his face.
Takao found the information and approached Hiruzen. He said, "Hokage-sama…"
However, he stopped talking when he noticed the shock on Hiruzen's face. The Uchiha massacre had put him on edge. Seeing Hiruzen shocked worried him. He quickly asked, "Did something happen, Hokage-sama?"
Hiruzen snapped out of it and shook his head. He said, "No, everything is alright. Report what you found."
Takao didn't understand why Hiruzen said no. But it wasn't his job to enquire about that. He began reporting, "Fujin and Hoka haven't taken any mission post the incident. They had created a team with Uchiha Mieko and Senju Teru. Senju Teru has returned to his old team. So I believe their team has disbanded.
I have some additional information regarding Fujin. Apparently, there is a record of him using Training Ground 23 every day when he wasn't out of the village on Mission. But for the last 10 days, he hasn't used the training ground."
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes on hearing that. He thought, 'I guess losing his team member did hit him hard. Unfortunately, this is a part of being a ninja. It'll be a shame if he loses his interest in being a ninja due to this.'
Takao continued, "As for Tamotsu, their last mission was tougher than the estimated rank B. One of their team members got injured. They seem to have taken a break after that mission."
Hiruzen said, "Alright. Send a messenger to Tamotsu. Ask him to visit me at the earliest."
Takoe replied, "I will get it done, Hokage-sama."
He left the room.
Hiruzen turned his attention to the crystal ball. He thought, 'Which crazy person inscribed over 2,500 seals on his house? It's as if every seal in the library under rank A is inscribed on his house! No wonder I couldn't peer into it. Should I ask Fujin about it?'
He thought for a bit and concluded, 'No. He may get offended or on guard if he learns that I was trying to spy on him. Worse, he might accuse me of violating his right to privacy and ask for some compensation from me. I'll ask Renjiro when he gets back from the mission.'
Later that day, Fujin was visited by Tamotsu. Fujin was surprised. He stopped his training and greeted him.
Tamotsu entered his house and said, "Hey, how have you been Fujin?"
Fujin replied, "I am alright Tamotsu. How is Katsumi?"
Tamotsu said, "He has recovered well. We are planning to start taking missions again. I came here to see whether you are interested in returning to the team."
Fujin was surprised. He thought, 'It hasn't been 3 months since we took a break. Did Hiruzen ask every team that is available to take missions?'
He looked at Tamotsu and said, "I would love to but I have been on missions continuously for the last month and a half. So I am planning to take a few months off. I'll rejoin the team when I am ready."
Tamotsu watched Fujin carefully as he spoke. He got a bit worried as he recalled his conversation with Hiruzen. Hiruzen was worried that Fujin was depressed and hence wanted Tamotsu to take him along with him on missions to distract him and revive his interest in training.
Tamotsu said, "Fujin, I am aware that you might be hurt due to losing a teammate. However, the best way to deal with situations like this is by interacting with others. If you stay alone and keep thinking about it, you'll be more depressed."
Fujin was confused. He thought, 'What the hell? He is worried about me? If so, why did he take 10 days to visit me? No, I don't think I ever told him that I formed a team with Mieko and others.'
Tamotsu continued, "Come with us for this mission. If you still think that you need rest, you can take it after this mission."
Fujin thought for a bit. But he couldn't find a reasonable excuse to say no. He agreed. Tamotsu smiled and said, "Good. Come to the mission center tomorrow morning."
Fujin nodded. Tamotsu took his leave.
