Chapter 399: Indiscipline
Fujin freshened up and went to the training ground opposite his house while his Shadow Clones continued working on the seal. As he walked, Fujin analyzed, 'Though the seal is quite complicated, I should be able to learn it faster than the Four Symbols Seal. Without having to worry about any missions, I can keep training this non-stop alongside my Wind Domain.'
He soon saw Naruto who was waiting restlessly inside the training ground. As soon as Naruto saw Fujin, he immediately became excited. He thought, 'He came!'
Fujin noticed his restlessness and excitement and realized, 'He was worried that I wouldn't show up. Sigh, so much mental trauma. I wonder whether Minato would have given up his life if he knew how Naruto would be treated…'
Even though the answer seemed simple, Fujin wasn't sure. The Will of Fire burned intensely within some ninjas. Those ninjas would still choose to serve the village even if the village harmed their friends and family. Their decisions were difficult for someone like Fujin, who gave the highest priority to himself, to comprehend.
He asked, "How long have you been waiting here?"
Naruto replied, "Only 25 minutes."
Fujin said, "You don't need to show up too early. Just come at the exact moment. If I'm ever late, just knock on the house opposite the training ground."
Naruto asked, "That large house is yours?"
Fujin nodded and said, "Let's start. Before we begin, show me the jutsus you can perform."
Naruto nodded and immediately showed Fujin the three basic Ninjutsus. While he performed the jutsus, Fujin's chakra field spread out and covered the entire Training Ground. Immediately, two figures escaped from the training ground and flickered outside. Both had a frown behind their masks.
One of the two was the same Root ninja whom Fujin had threatened the day before. Due to Danzo's instructions, he obediently left and stood outside the Training Ground.
The other one was an Anbu assigned by Hiruzen to keep an eye on Naruto. After leaving the training ground, he wondered, 'Anbu Captain Suzuki Fujin… Though he met up with Naruto yesterday, I didn't think that he would actually show up today. But is he doing it by himself or did Lord Hokage ask him to?'
He thought for a bit and decided, 'Lord Hokage should have told me if he assigned him this job. I should inform him to be safe.'
He created Shadow Clone which immediately flickered away. Unlike the Root ninja, he didn't bother confronting Fujin. He was aware of Fujin's Anbu Captain rank and knew that he couldn't command him. So he decided to stay back and wait for Hiruzen's response.
Fujin analyzed Naruto's jutsus, 'Hmm, not bad. His Substitution jutsu and Transformation jutsu are very well mastered. The clones are horrible though. But, it's not exactly his fault.'
Failing at the Clone jutsu wasn't uncommon. However, in almost every case, that would happen because the academy student couldn't infuse enough chakra to create a good clone. However, with Naruto, it was the complete opposite. The chakra he infused into the clones was too high. In addition, his chakra control was terrible.
Fujin thought, 'Even if his chakra control becomes very good, it is unlikely that he can create a Clone. Unless he decided to create something like a hundred thousand clones, but that has its own set of challenges.'
Fujin wasn't particularly interested in helping Naruto learn the Clone jutsu. While he wanted Naruto to view him favorably, he wanted to do so while minimizing the impact on future events. Though some changes would invariably happen, as long as they weren't too drastic, Fujin could take advantage of his knowledge.
Seeing Fujin in thought, Naruto asked, "What do you think?"
Fujin nodded and said, "Except for the Clone jutsu, you can perform the remaining two well. So you might have some chance to learn what I am planning to teach you."
Naruto immediately became excited and asked, "Will you teach me the jutsu to control ramen using the wind like you did?"
Fujin shook his head and answered, "That wasn't a jutsu. It was just the application of a few jutsus."
Naruto became confused. He interrupted Fujin and asked, "What does that mean?"
Fujin explained patiently, "The method of using a jutsu isn't limited to one. Once you properly master a jutsu, you can use it in several different ways. It is only restricted by your creativity. You will understand it soon.
For now, I will teach you 4 jutsus that will help you control the wind."
Naruto's eyes immediately sparkled. He exclaimed, "Four jutsus?"
Fujin ignored his excitement, extended his palm in another direction and said, "Watch carefully. This jutsu is called the Gale jutsu."
Naruto focused his attention on Fujin's hand. Soon, a small amount of wind was released from Fujin's palm. It created a small wind flow and blew away all the fallen leaves and some soil in its path.
Fujin explained, "This is the most basic jutsu in Wind nature manipulation. Once you learn this, I will teach you three more jutsus."
Fujin taught Naruto the hand seals for the jutsu and explained the inner workings of the jutsu in a language that Naruto could understand. He asked, "Did you understand?"
Naruto nodded his head repeatedly and said, "I got it! I will create the strongest wind, believe it!"
Naruto weaved hand signs and shouted, "Gale jutsu!"
As he shouted, he moved his right palm forward forcefully as if he was pushing the air and then maintained that form. Unfortunately for Naruto, no wind flowed from his palm. As he stood, a gentle breeze flowed in the opposite direction and blew a leaf into his face, making him look incredibly stupid.
Fujin watched with a deadpan expression, 'This kid. His ability to manipulate chakra is horrible! No, even horrible is too kind of a word!'
Had it been someone else watching, they would have questioned Naruto's talent. Not being able to do something so basic usually showed that the ninja had little to no talent in Ninjutsu, something that was for a ninja like Rock Lee. In fact, every teacher in the Academy believed that to be the case for Naruto.
Had Fujin not known about Naruto's future achievements, he might have thought the same as well. But Fujin was very clear about how monstrous Naruto's talent was. What he was seeing was just a result of the indiscipline of the highest grade.
Naruto asked in an awkward voice, "Why didn't any wind blow?"
He looked at Fujin nervously and said, "Don't worry, I will do it this time."
He quickly weaved his hand signs, shouted the name of the jutsu and pushed his palm out again. Obviously, the result wasn't any different. Of course, Naruto wouldn't quit. He continued trying the jutsu again and again non-stop.
Fujin didn't say anything and just observed Naruto. He analyzed, 'Though he has a massive amount of chakra, he is barely even able to manipulate him. The reason why he is able to perform the Substitution and Transformation jutsu so well should be due to working on them for an extremely long time.
But if he has to learn a new jutsu, especially one that needs the user to knead chakra inside his body, he will struggle a lot. The reason for this is very simple. He just has rarely trained in this aspect. Unlike me, who went systematically, he is directly trying to learn the jutsus despite not having the basics down.'
Fujin observed Naruto, who was getting more desperate, and wondered, 'It has only been 5 years since I left the academy. How did the quality of teachers drop so much? Or rather, why did the Academy stop being strict?
Even if I assume that Naruto was the only one being ignored, why didn't Hiruzen assign him a teacher who could ensure that Naruto had the basics right? After all, even if I ignore his parents, he is the Jinchuriki. How can a Jinchuriki be allowed to be so terrible at basics?'
Fujin couldn't make any sense of it. Though he normally marvelled at Hiruzen's schemes, his decisions in regard to Naruto confused him. Had he been in his place, raising the Jinchuriki to be strong and creating more bonds for him in the village had been his first move. He didn't understand why Hiruzen didn't do that and why no one, be it the Elders or the Clan Leaders, pushed him to do it.
After trying unsuccessfully a few hundred times, Naruto walked back to Fujin with his head down. He said, "I'm sorry, I couldn't do it. But I promise that I will learn it quickly. Believe it!"
Fujin sighed and raised his arm. Naruto was fearful but didn't move. In the next moment, a karate chop landed on Naruto's head. Naruto immediately held his head but quickly realized, 'That didn't hurt?'
Of course, Fujin didn't intend to hurt Naruto. That was just an action to calm him down and stop Naruto from being too fidgety. Fujin asked, "Did you forget what I said yesterday?"