Chapter 359: A Sparring Partner
Mabui, Darui and C listened silently. None of them objected to Ay's decision.
After a few seconds, C said, "I guess the only question is how we kill him. If Iwa's information is right and he is good at Fuinjutsu, we can't use it to set a trap for him. In addition, he is also a damn good sensor. Drawing him into a trap would be nearly impossible. Even if we succeed somehow, he can easily escape using his summon."
Darui added, "No, even without his summon, his escaping skill is very good. Last time, we only gave him a few seconds of rest and he created an opportunity to escape. And now, they should be even better. Pinning him down to kill him will be very difficult. Iwa should be hiding this information or perhaps didn't get to see it as he decided to fly."
C nodded and said, "Yeah. Such a troublesome fellow. Considering his speed with Wind Instantaneous Body jutsu and his summon's flight, the only sure shot way I can think of killing him is if Raikage-sama and Bee-sama act together against him."
C's words left the entire room, including the four hidden Anbu guards, speechless. To deploy their Kage and their perfect Jinchuriki against a mere 14-year-old ninja!
However, no one countered C. Without Ay, Fujin could just run away by spamming Wind Instantaneous Body jutsu. No one apart from Ay would be able to give chase. But, Ay didn't have any good means of attacking someone who flew at a high altitude. Though he could kill Fujin before he got an opportunity to use the summoning jutsu, if Fujin managed to summon, there wouldn't be much he could do. So, they would need Bee's Tailed Beast Bomb to target Fujin in that case.
But, to deploy them both would be very embarrassing for Kumogakure. Ay thought, 'For both me and Bee to go on a hunt to kill one 14-year-old boy… What an embarrassment will that be!'
Just like Onoki and Iwa, Ay and Kumo fell into the same dilemma. Though Fujin wasn't necessarily stronger than their top ninjas, killing him was an incredibly difficult task. Even if Fujin was defeated, the victory would be pointless if Fujin managed to escape. Due to his young age, he would steadily grow stronger and eventually become a headache for them.
Mabui said, "That wouldn't be wise. If we have to deploy our Leader and our Jinchuriki against him, we will become a joke in the ninja world. Not to mention, their movements will attract a lot of attention. And Konoha could retaliate by sending their Sannins after our talents as well."
Ay replied, "I don't mind being laughed at. Killing him now will save a lot of lives in the future. But you are right. I can't move around rashly. Once I move, I will have to guarantee his death. Until that opportunity arrives, you will have to deal with him and find the information that Iwa hasn't mentioned, Darui."
Darui nodded and said, "Alright boss."
He followed it up by sighing and muttering, "That's such a pain in the ass."
Ay's fury surged on hearing Darui complain. Veins visibly pulsated on his forehead. He scolded, "It's all your fault for being soft! If you hadn't shown mercy the last time and killed him there, we wouldn't have this problem."
Darui immediately apologized, "Sorry boss."
Ay snorted and said, "No need to keep analyzing. Have our spies check to see what he is doing. We could try to attack him if he takes a mission in the Land of Frost or the Land of Hot Water."
Darui nodded. Both he and C left the room while Mabui continued her work. As he left, Darui thought, 'I'm curious to see how strong he has become since the last time.'
Despite their plans to kill Fujin, both Onoki and Ay missed one crucial aspect. That crucial aspect was the intense training Fujin was undergoing to eliminate his current weaknesses.
Onoki, despite all his intelligence and experience, never imagined that his failed trap would result in Fujin taking training so seriously and working to completely revamp his fighting style and habits.
Instead, both he and Kitsuchi believed that Fujin would be very happy considering the number of Jounins he killed despite falling into Iwagakure's trap. Any other 14-year-old would be thrilled by having such an achievement under his belt. But, with Fujin's mentality about caring just about himself, he didn't feel any sense of achievement and instead focused entirely on the huge threat to his life.
Of course, that training could still not yield any result if he encountered the likes of Ay or Onoki prematurely. But if the two Kages and their Jinchurikis didn't make a move and instead sent their subordinates, their village could end up paying a heavy price for targetting Fujin!
As he planned, Fujin spent a couple of days entirely resting. The backlash from using the pill was as bad as how effective the pill was. Fujin didn't have any energy or stamina to train on the first day. For safety reasons, he decided to rest on the second day as well while treating himself to a lot of delicious and nutritious food.
On the third day, Fujin got up early and began his morning training routine. He increased the training seal pressure from 69% to 88% for the duration of the training to exert his body as much as he could.
Four hours later, Fujin sat exhausted in the training ground. He drank some water and ate a few ration bars while thinking, 'My Taijutsu is stuck at the same level for quite some time. Even though my body is growing stronger steadily and my chakra control is improving, in terms of basic Taijutsu, I have long grown stale.
I guess the main reason for this is how rarely I use Taijutsu in combat. Generally, my sword gives a far better result. And when I do use it, it's just a chakra enhanced punch or kick to win the fight or gain an advantage. Modifying the Assassin's Rush jutsu will aid, but the improvement will just be on top of my basic Taijutsu which needs improvement desperately.'
Fujin thought for a bit before concluding, 'I need a Taijutsu partner. And a damn good one. The only decent ones I can think of are Guy, Renjiro, Kakashi and Hoka, in that order. But, Hoka won't spar with me right now, Kakashi might not agree to spar on a consistent basis and Renjiro and Guy are frequently out of the village. Even now, all four have been dispatched to the Land of Waterfall border due to my clash with Kitsuchi.'
Fujin sighed and decided, 'Leave it. I'll work on my Taijutsu forms with my clones and do a basic Taijutsu spar without using any chakra enhancement. At the same time, I will continue training my control over Assassin's Rush jutsu. It'll be the best if I reach an acceptable level before they return.'
Fujin continued his rest. After recovering sufficient stamina and chakra, he got up and created 11 shadow clones.
8 clones immediately moved away and began training. The remaining 3 stood around Fujin. At the next moment, 2 clones attacked Fujin, while the last clone tried to sneak attack the 2 clones.
They began a four-way battle involving only basic Taijutsu. Since a one-on-one Taijutsu would be boring, Fujin decided to have some fun with a four-way battle with all four fending for themselves.
The fight was as chaotic as Fujin imagined. Since all four had the same intelligence and thought process, they had to consider what others would think and do something that they normally wouldn't do. In addition, since there were no teams, temporary alliances would randomly form and when least expected, there would be backstabbing. So they had to stay on alert even against any temporary ally.
As the week progressed, Fujin's Taijutsu began showing slight improvements. The constant scheming and backstabbing also raised his awareness and added some new aspects to his scheming abilities. However, what had the most improvement was his Assassin's Rush jutsu.
Fujin stood on the training ground and pointed his index finger at a tree. Immediately, a stream or wind was released from the tip of his finger. The wind moved at a high speed like a ray for a dozen meters. After that it began spreading out, covering a slightly larger area.
Finally, it hit the tree. The highest amount of pressure was at the center of the ray, while the rest hit around it, forming a circle of about a 5 cm radius. Despite having a high speed, the attack didn't have much destructive capability. It left no marks on the tree.