Kakashi asked, "What is Iwagakure planning?"
Renjiro said, "It's tough to say. They might still be hiding considering that they have a Grandmaster in Fuinjutsu. But, if they wanted to attack, they could have already taken out a good number of Taki's forces without taking much damage."
Unlike the two of them, Eagle, who frequently dealt with things in the shadows, could see a few clues. He said, "It looks like they want to change the public perception."
Renjiro and Kakashi immediately understood. They thought for a bit. Renjiro said, "I see. The important part isn't what the people in the villages saw and instead, the rumor they started. Once the rumor spreads, the common people in the Land of Waterfall will hate us or be fearful of us."
Kakashi added, "Not just the Land of Waterfall, the people in the surrounding countries will also be alert. They will develop some vigilance towards us."
Renjiro nodded and said, "True. But it will only spread to the common people. The military leaders will be able to see the truth at first glance. Takigakure will be forced to ally more deeply with Konoha. That's the most important matter."
Kakashi argued, "But if we leave this matter unchecked, it could develop into a big problem. Especially if the next generation of Nobles and ninjas grew up hearing this rumor."
However, Renjiro shook his head and said, "That will take over ten years to happen. We can change the public perception a hundred times during this time."
Eagle nodded in agreement. He could see that he would have to assign numerous Anbu missions in the Land of Waterfall to clear their image. He said, "It looks like Iwa has accepted their defeat in this matter. These rumors are like a consolation win for them."
Renjiro nodded. Kakashi sighed and thought, 'Another big troop movement without any fight.'
He asked, "So, do we stay or leave?"
Renjiro replied, "It's better to stay for some time to dissuade Iwa from getting adventurous. Besides, Taki would want us to wait here as well."
Neither Eagle nor Kakashi opposed his decision. Eagle sent a reply back with the messenger, asking Taki to rein in the rumors and lay the blame on Iwa. However, considering the bleak mood in the common people due to recent events, Taki decided against blaming Iwa and instead just tried to clear Konoha's name without much success.
This would create a peculiar situation in the Land of Waterfall. A situation that neither Taki nor Konoha foresaw when they dispatched their armies.
The ninjas and the nobles in the Land of Waterfall believed that Iwagakure was behind the recent incidents and that Konoha saved them.
While the common people believed that Konoha was behind the recent incidents and blamed them for the people who were still missing.
When Hiruzen and Shikaku received the reports, they analyzed the situation as well. After some time, Shikaku said, "It looks like a last-ditch effort to get some sort of benefit. Iwa really suffered in this adventure."
Hiruzen nodded and added, "Onoki won't start a war. But, he might try to assassinate our top talent. Fujin and Kakashi would be at the top of his list. Start developing countermeasures if he does act."
Shikaku replied, "I will. It's also possible that he might get other villages involved. Especially Kumo. They might see Fujin's Wind Release as a threat."
Hiruzen nodded.
Just like Shikaku speculated, a messenger reached Kumogakure about a week after the clash in the Land of Waterfall. He asked for an audience with the Fourth Raikage and handed him the scroll before being escorted into a guesthouse.
In his office, a frown formed on Ay's face as he read Onoki's message. He muttered, "What information does that geezer have to charge such an exorbitant price?"
Mabui, who looked into the scroll as well, said, "1000 Earth Crystals is a huge price, Raikage-sama. It's worth billions of Ryo. Do you think that the Tsuchikage is trying to make a fool out of us?"
Ay thought for a bit and said, "It's unlikely. Though the price is huge, it's not enough to completely give up his credibility. And from his warnings, it's likely that isn't the information that is costly. Rather, the cost that we may have to bear if we don't know about this."
Mabui thought for a bit and agreed. Though 1000 Earth Crystals was a high price, it wasn't enough to give up a Kage's credibility.
Ay said, "Arrange for the crystals and hand it to the messenger."
Mabui nodded and left the office.
Despite many schemes being devised against him, Fujin was clueless about these developments. However, ever since his clash with Kitsuchi, Fujin was aware that it was only a matter of time before his information was leaked. So he didn't dare to slack off.
Fujin's breathing was rough, he looked exhausted and both his fists were visibly bruised. Around him were several broken trees and numerous rocks with cracks on their surface.
He sighed and muttered, "I'm low on chakra once again."
He took a few deep breaths. A smile slowly appeared on his face. He clenched his right fist and pulled it back while he thought, 'But it's worth it!'
Winds appeared around his right fist and forearm. In the blink of an eye, they began flowing like a tornado around his arm. To an untrained eye, it would appear that winds were revolving around his arm at a very high speed.
However, there were multiple layers and features to this wind. Underneath the winds, his fist and arm were covered with concentrated chakra. The concentration was more on his fist with a very thin layer on the rest of his arm. If Fujin punched anyone who didn't use a good defensive jutsu or didn't have an insane physique, it was sufficient to kill that person.
In addition, the chakra wasn't static. Instead, it moved in the opposite direction of the wind that was revolving around Fujin's arm. Due to this, in addition to its offensive nature, it also protected Fujin from his own technique. Fujin was inspired by the thin film of chakra that he used to isolate Vacuum cores while using Vacuum jutsus while creating this.
In the past few days, Fujin had managed to ensure that no winds hit his arm. However, he decided to do this in order to ensure that he wouldn't be injured in case he ever made a mistake. If he ended up making a mistake in the heat of battle and got distracted by the pain, that split-second distraction could put him at a disadvantage or, in the worst case, cost him his life.
The winds themselves were extremely sharp. They could easily tear apart a person leaving only his skeleton behind.
Fujin flickered and appeared in front of a small hill he had raised earlier using Earth Release. He punched it with his full might. The chakra-enhanced punch immediately created a giant crater on the side of the hill. Several giant cracks spread throughout the hill.
At the very next moment, the winds around Fujin's arm hit the damaged hill. Some winds bombarded the parts that were still undamaged, creating hundreds of deep scars in the hill. Some wind moved into the cracks that were created by the punch and began damaging the hill from inside.
Fujin immediately jumped back. The part of the hill where he had punched crumbled and fell on the ground, releasing a lot of dust.
Fujin looked at the damage with a smile and thought, 'Great. Iron Skin jutsu won't be able to block this attack. The chakra-enhanced punch is sufficient to create cracks in Iron Skin jutsu used even by a top-level ninja like Kitsuchi. When followed up by sharp winds that invade into the cracks, the attack would end up ripping the person from inside!'
Fujin had a thoughtful expression. He analyzed, 'Actually, I can make this technique several times more lethal. No, I can make it so lethal that no one would dare to fight me with Taijutsu. Perhaps only the last 2 gates of Guy, maybe the sixth as well, might be able to counter me then. It's likely that I could hurt Raikage with it as well.
The way to make it so lethal is to add Vacuum waves to the winds rotating around my arm. As long as I managed to add it properly, no one would dare fight me in close range. Unfortunately…'
A wry smile appeared on Fujin's face. The idea he came up with was great. It had the potential to be classified as a rank S jutsu and the potential to revolutionize Taijutsu. But, Fujin didn't dare attempt it!
He thought, 'If I mess up even once, I will directly lose my arm. No amount of chakra or protection from Iron Skin jutsu would help me avoid that. Though I could use Shadow Clones to master this, there is always a risk while using a technique like this even if I master it. Despite its potential, the benefits from this technique are just not enough to justify the high risk.'
Fujin shook his head and thought, 'Anyways, even without adding Vacuum, to develop a new jutsu from scratch in just a week… and such a lethal jutsu at that… Hehe, these 3 months are going to be fun.
Sadly, this was the easier part. I had some inspiration from Kurogane's attack as well as from the way Vacuum jutsus were formed. The next part won't be easy. Regardless, this calls for celebration.'
He began walking towards Ichiraku while thinking, 'What should I call this jutsu? Hmm… Well, it doesn't have to be something very complicated. I'll just call it the Hurricane Fist!'
