"The Raika… No, the entire Kumogakure!" Yuji muttered, his fear apparent.
Fujin's clone laughed, "That's right. That is why, you won't tell anyone else about this training. Be it your teammates, trainers, captains or even the Hokage, no one should learn that you're practising this technique.
As long as no one knows, Kumogakure will not learn of your attempts to recreate this technique and hence won't try to hunt you down. Once you successfully master it, it'll be too late for them to do anything."
Yuji nodded, for once without any mischief in his eyes. Fujin's clone sighed, "Unfortunately, life is unpredictable. If you're forced in a situation where you have no choice but to use this technique, you don't need to hesitate. Keeping a secret is useless if you or your friends die, isn't it?"
Yuji smiled and nodded. Even though he had been trained under Root for a while, his Root training hadn't been completed. Over the years, strong bonds had developed between Fujin's students. Yuji wouldn't hold back if any of their lives were in danger.
However, confusion soon appeared on Yuji's face as he asked, "But how would Kumogakure respond if they learn?"
Fujin's clone ruffled Yuji's hair and said, "Don't forget you are my student. Even the Raikage will have to think twice before making a move. As you said yesterday, hunters can very easily become the prey."
Fujin's words birthed several emotions in Yuji. To start with, he felt relief and his tension was alleviated. At the same time, he felt a certain awe. After all, how many ninjas in the world could consider the mighty Fourth Raikage as a prey? Above all, Yuji felt astonished as he realized, 'That's not what I said… Though similar, the meaning was completely different. Sensei's words show that he'll use me to lure the Raikage into a trap! That's scary to even imagine!'
While most ninjas in the world would be terrified of the prospect of being hunted down by a Great Village, experienced ninjas knew it wasn't that simple. Even if the village possessed the capability to kill their target, finding clues about their target's location and tracking them down was extremely complicated. It was why there were so many rogue ninjas.
Besides, it wasn't as if Kumogakure never targeted anyone in the past. Fujin had been on their radar ever since he escaped from the trap laid by Darui and his army. They wanted to kill a promising talent long before he matured.
However, Kumogakure failed to even trace Fujin for several years due to precautions taken by Hiruzen. When they finally tracked his movements, Fujin had become so strong that very few in Kumogakure could defeat him in the battlefield. Even then, Kumogakure's hunting squads failed to actually encounter Fujin.
Eventually, Hiruzen set a trap for Ay, a trap in which Kumogakure jumped blindly. The wounds inflicted by that trap were so deep that they were fresh in the minds of all Kumogakure citizens! Ay still faced the issues created during those events.
So, despite his warnings, Fujin wasn't too worried about Yuji being hunted. On the contrary, he could get a chance to fight Ay and possibly Killer Bee, with his real identity, something he would welcome with open arms.
Fujin said, "Anyway, that's enough talking for now. I'll start demonstrating the technique step by step. This is the very first step of your training…"
Fujin's clone displayed what Yuji should do in the Genjutsu. Since he actually knew the technique, his display was perfect. An experienced ninja would have found it odd and become suspicious. Luckily, Yuji was quite inexperienced and had full trust in Fujin. He paid attention and tried to grasp what Fujin's clone taught him.
——
In another part of the village, a ninja walked into a training ground to continue his training. However, he received a surprise. Even before he entered the training ground, four people were waiting for him. His eyes twitched as he thought, 'I expected him to not show up today after our discussion yesterday. Sigh, please don't tell me he still hasn't given up on it…'
Fujin's clone noticed him and waved at him without getting off the log he was sitting on, "Grandpa, come here!"
Hiruzen immediately raised his guard. He sighed internally, 'Maybe I shouldn't be training so hard. A few days off would have been fine. Ugh, who am I kidding? This greedy brat would show up at my house if he wants to!'
He continued walking at the same pace and said, "Good morning to you too, Fujin."
Sayaka, Hikari and Shoma respectfully greeted him, "Good morning, Lord Third."
Seeing their sincere expressions, Hiruzen's mood improved. He greeted the three in his usual grandfatherly manner, "You have grown well. Is your training progressing well?"
The three kids nodded obediently. They informed Hiruzen about their recent progress and answered his questions. Unknown to Hiruzen, Fujin's three students complained internally, 'Couldn't you say you would ask Lord Third to teach us, Sensei? Of course he's better at teaching Water Release than you!'
After catching up on their progress, Hiruzen looked at Fujin's clone and asked, "How long are you planning on training them?"
Fujin's clone smiled, "Well, that depends on you."
Hiruzen asked in confusion, "What do you mean?"
Fujin's clone answered, "I want them to improve their Water Release. Unfortunately, I am terrible at manipulating water. So, I brought them here so that you could guide them to raise their Water Release to the next level."
Hiruzen just stared at Fujin, as Fujin tossed the task he assigned back to him. Unlike Fujin's previous requests for the Edo Tensei jutsu, this wasn't something he could reject. In fact, he wouldn't reject it either way since teaching youngsters was a good way for Hiruzen to train himself again. It was just the manner in which Fujin pushed this job on him that made him want to resist subconsciously.
As usual, Fujin's clone ignored all the subtle hints and continued, "I'll be training Yuji and Takeshi for a week or so. Following that, these 5 will do rank D missions with Hoka for a month. If you want to, you can guide them during that time as well. Once Hoka is done with them, they can join the Anbu like others."
Before Hiruzen could say anything, Fujin's clone quickly added, "I'll leave them in your care, Grandpa. See you later."
Before anyone could react, Fujin's clone dispersed into a cloud of smoke! Back in the training ground, Fujin received the memory of his clone while he was guiding Takeshi. He chuckled while thinking, 'It's a shame he wasn't in a good shape when I left the village. If he had been, I'd have made him guide all the orphans. The old fox really lucked out, hehehe.'
Hiruzen looked at the spot where Fujin's clone dispersed and thought, 'This boy's audacity keeps growing bigger… No, he's just messing with me. Sigh, whatever. It's also possible he gave them to me to help in my recovery. I shouldn't be so quick to judge. That said…'
Hiruzen found one thing odd. He wondered, 'Yuji has Storm Release Kekkei Genkai, which consists of Water and Lightning Release. What does Fujin plan on teaching him?'
Fujin's students didn't find anything odd in his interaction with Hiruzen. They focused their attention on Hiruzen, wondering what cool jutsus the 'Professor' would teach them. Their passionate gazes brought Hiruzen out of his thoughts. He looked at them and wondered, 'Now then, what do I teach them?'
He instructed, "Show me your strongest techniques."
——
Over the next few days, Fujin's students received top quality guidance. Takeshi was being taught the Wind Vacuum Technique by the ninja who was the best at it, Yuji received personalized training inside a Genjutsu while Sayaka and the others were being taught by none other than the Professor.
Under Hiruzen's guidance, Sayaka, Hikari and Shoma's Water Release improved heavily. Hiruzen also worked on their Wind Release while providing some guidance even for their Ice Release jutsus.
Yuji grasped Fujin's training methods very well. Unlike Sayaka and the others, his training wouldn't show any results in the short term. Fujin merely taught him the basics with his main focus being on using Lightning to temper and strengthen Yuji's physique so that he could handle such a powerful technique.
Since his physique wasn't as good as Fujin's physique when Fujin started learning the Lightning Chakra Mode, Yuji would need to spend a long time at this phase before he could move up to the next phase. Regardless, Fujin was more than pleased with his progress.
Though it was too soon to say whether Yuji would learn the technique, the Lightning Chakra Mode was more than its final form. Merely attempting to learn it had great benefits for a ninja's physique. And, there were incomplete forms of it, like the one Kaminari used to enhance his speed. In merely 5 days, Fujin could see that Yuji will have some form of success.
The only trouble Fujin faced was with Takeshi!
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