Manabu and Odaka led the fight to suppress Gaara once again. However, without Susumu and with the added threat of an assassin, the fight became much more difficult.
Manabu shouted, "Yura. Take command of others and encircle Gaara. Have sensors monitor the battlefield and immediately report if anyone senses that Assassin!"
Being struck once, Manabu didn't want to risk getting attacked again. Suna's losses were already terrible. In its entire history, Suna had experienced such losses during peacetime very few times. If he and Odaka were also to die then Suna would be in a terrible position. Not to mention, the assassin could also target their only Jinchuriki!
As the Suna ninjas entered into a bitter struggle, the source of their suffering had already flickered tens of kilometers away. Fujin finally stopped and let out a sigh. He muttered, "What a mess. First, they let me kill Nobles without any obstruction and then they suddenly have over a hundred ninjas defending one remote city with their Jinchuriki standing right on my escape route! If I didn't know how impulsive Gaara was, I could have been in a pinch."
He looked at Susumu's dead body in his hand and muttered, "Though it's not all bad. My Genjutsu level was stuck for a long time. Other than the Bringer of Darkness, I don't have a high-level Genjutsu that could create a significant impact in battle. I was wondering if I could use the Wind to somehow use Genjutsu. Sadly, the Anbu duties didn't leave me with much time. But now it seems to be a good thing. With his jutsus as the base, I would easily master high-level Genjutsu in no time."
Fujin carefully stored Susumu's body. He had no intention of trying to read his memories by himself. He looked back towards where the Sand shinobi were fighting and analyzed, 'In this battle, I only used Wind and Fire jutsus. Apart from it, I also exposed my high speed, strength and expertise in chakra control, flickering and assassination.
Sigh, it's a little more than what I planned to expose. But I did manage to keep my Earth jutsus, Vacuum jutsus, Sword skills and Chakra flow a secret. Even if they investigate, they wouldn't analyze that this was me anytime soon. Though once I begin gaining fame, it won't be that difficult for their suspicions to fall on me.'
Fujin sighed. He could have never imagined that such a distant city would have an ambush made of 1 Jinchuriki, 3 Elite Jounins, dozens of Jounins and hundreds of ninjas. He thought, 'I should have quit after burning the food storage.'
Fujin weaved a few hand signs and slammed his hand on the ground.
'Summoning Jutsu'
Smoke appeared in front of Fujin. It slowly dispersed, exposing a large Sabertooth holding the bloody leg of some wild animal in his mouth. He looked around and saw Fujin. Fujin said with a smile, "Kaito, it's good to see you again."
Kaito continued eating as he asked, "Fujin, why did you call me?"
Fujin replied, "I am deep in enemy territory and have no idea how many are hiding around in ambush. Give me a lift."
Kaito continued eating the leg and said, "Sure, give me a minute."
He swallowed the entire leg and then spat out the bones and said, "Get on."
Fujin disappeared and appeared on his back. Kaito jumped high and spread his wings wide. He flapped it a few times and quickly rose above the clouds. He looked below towards where Gaara was and said, "Your enemy seems quite strong. I can feel his chakra and bloodlust all the way up here."
Unlike Kaito, Fujin couldn't feel anything. He said, "It's a Jinchuriki. A human who hosts a tailed beast. That said, he is a child and has lost control. If he didn't I'd be in deep trouble."
Kaito nodded. Just based on the chakra fluctuations, he had no will to confront that being. He immediately began flying away toward the East. Fujin lay down on his back while enjoying the fresh air and gentle breeze. The last few weeks had been too tedious. He was on guard at all times due to being in enemy territory.
Fujin closed his eyes and began meditating. Despite not having any seals, Fujin had noticed long back that meditating while flying above the clouds was much more effective than meditating in his meditation room. In addition, it had a soothing effect on his mind. In a world with ceaseless conflict and incessant schemes, he cherished this feeling.
Unlike Fujin's calm mind, the deserts he flew over were in turmoil. After a long struggle, Manabu and Odaka managed to stop Gaara's rampage and returned him to his normal state. Unfortunately, the lives of 4 Chunins and 1 Jounin were lost in the process.
Around them, hundreds of Suna ninjas were establishing a new Perimeter. Dozens of sensors moved continuously in the desert to find where the Assassin was hiding! Messenger birds were constantly being sent to keep everyone informed about the situation.
A bit further from them, tens of thousands of people were migrating across the desert from Shunkuto to nearby towns and villages that had the protection of the Suna ninjas. Hiding among them was the family of the dead Noble Toshio.
However, Fujin would have nothing to do with it. He had already left the entire matter behind him. Rasa and the Sunagakure Council would have to handle the aftermath of Fujin's actions. If they decide to retaliate, then Shikaku and Hiruzen would have to face the consequences of not properly defining Fujin's mission parameters.
Fujin flew on Kaito's back for half a day. They left the Land of Wind behind and entered the Land of Rivers undetected. Kaito found an abandoned hill and finally landed. He asked, "Don't you want a lift all the way back home?"
Fujin shook his head and thought, 'Very few people know I have a summon. And even fewer know what my summon is or what their abilities are. Though I don't intend to hide them like my Lightning jutsus, it's good to have another good trump card.'
Fujin replied, "No need, I can make the remaining journey myself as there shouldn't be any enemies here."
Kaito replied, "Alright."
He disappeared in a cloud of smoke and returned to his home. Meanwhile, Fujin stretched for a bit and was about to move towards the Land of Fire when he heard a loud explosion. He turned his head to the left and squinted his eyes. Around 3 kilometers from his location, a forest fire had been started.
He squinted his eyes and observed the location and analyzed, 'A fight? At this time of the night? I wonder what's going on.'
He suppressed his chakra signature and flickered towards the location. His chakra reserves had already recovered and he didn't sense any terrible chakra. So he wasn't very worried.
In the forests, 5 masked people were chasing after a man. The man was injured. There were multiple cuts on his body. In addition, his left hand had a huge burn mark due to an explosion. One of the masked men shouted, "Shigeki! Stop running and face consequences for your actions!"
Shigeki didn't say anything and continued running. His condition wasn't good. The masked men weren't angry. Instead, they looked at Shigeki with ridicule. They could have killed him long back. However, they were just having fun.
Shigeki was aware of it. However he continued running while praying, 'Please give me one chance! Please! As long as I survive, I'll return stronger than ever! I'll avenge my family and kill that bastard.'
Fortunately or unfortunately, the direction he was running in was where Fujin had landed.
Fujin reached the location quickly and observed from a distance. None of the six ninjas sensed his arrival. Fujin analyzed, 'These 5 masked ninjas are from the special forces of Tanigakure. And is that Kasai Shigeki? Why are they chasing their own Jounin?'
Fujin had interacted with Shigeki a couple of times during his Anbu missions. He had a good impression of him. The man was decently strong for someone who wasn't from any major village and didn't have any strong bloodline. In addition, he was smart, loyal to his village and capable of leading large squads.
Fujin followed them stealthily. Within a couple of minutes, he wondered, 'Did he do something that irked the leaders of Tanigakure or the Land of River?'
The more he chased, the more sure Fujin became of his speculation. Especially after he observed Shigeki's facial expressions. A smile appeared on his face as he thought, 'This is a good opportunity. I was hoping to find someone who was capable and in a desperate situation.'
However, his smile faded away and was replaced with a frown as he thought, 'But this is too soon. I am not ready. I haven't finalized my plans or even have any concrete goals as of now.'
