Chapter 825 : You have too much time... (Patreon)

Naruto shivered as he noticed Fujin's smile. He didn't doubt Fujin's words one bit! While he knew Fujin wouldn't harm him directly, he understood that what awaited him would be a training session more hellish than any he endured so far.

As he thought of what troubled him and how to say it, Naruto's energy unusually subdued and he slumped on the table. After a minute of silence, he finally spoke in a low voice, “It’s just... I don’t get it, you know? Sakura-chan... after everything we went through, after all that trouble to bring Granny Tsunade back to the village, she just... ignored me. I mean, I fought my heart out and gave everything I had! And who does she run to first? Sasuke. She hugs him, cries over him like he’s the only one that matters.”

Naruto stared absentmindedly at the table as he continued, "I know she doesn’t see me like that. I’ve always known. But… I thought after everything, I’d at least get something. A ‘thanks,’ maybe. Or at least a smile. But nothing. Not a word, not even a look. Like I wasn’t even there.”

Ayame paused in her work, glancing at her father, who quietly continued wiping a bowl, both clearly listening but choosing to remain silent. Fujin didn't say anything either as he continued slurping the noodles.

Naruto sighed again and leaned back. "Whatever. It’s not like I helped Sasuke just to get noticed. But... it’d be nice to feel like I mattered even a little.”

Ayame smiled and said, “Of course you matter, Naruto. It's just that her mind was occupied by Sasuke because he had been sick for such a long time. I'm sure you felt relief on seeing him get up too, am I correct?”

Naruto replied with another long sigh, “You are… But still!”

He turned his eyes towards Fujin, who always seemed to have a good solution, and wondered, ‘Could Fujin give me some tips to get closer to Sakura and make her forget about Sasuke? Hmm, he might. He seems to know everything. I should have asked him sooner!’

Expectations rose in Naruto's heart as he waited in anticipation for Fujin's response. To his surprise, Fujin asked, “You're done eating, correct?”
Naruto nodded as Fujin asked again, “Good, how old are you?”
Naruto answered with a confused look, “Twelve.”
Fujin asked for the third time, “Do you remember what Itachi and his partner said?”
Naruto's expression became gloomy as he remembered their threat. He unwillingly nodded.

Fujin summarized, “So, if I understand correctly, you, a twelve-year-old kid, are being hunted by two terrifying individuals from a dangerous organization and you're more worried about being accepted by a girl who rejected you a million times?”

Naruto could only whisper softly, “Hey, it wasn't a million…”

Fujin sighed and muttered, “Looks like Jiraiya's training was very lax. You have too much time to waste on such frivolous activities instead of training…”

A hand suddenly clamped on the back of Naruto's neck. Naruto’s face instantly darkened, a sickly purple hue creeping across it as if all the color had been drained. Fujin said strictly, “Inform Sayaka and the rest that the break is over and to get back to training. I'll soon overlook your training personally.”

“Wai… Not again!!!” Naruto screamed as Fujin sent him flying with a flick of his wrist. Several people looked above to see Naruto flying and screaming once again. He flew all the way from the Ichiraku shop to the compounds and landed right in front of Sayaka's little group.

Yuji looked at Naruto and sighed, “Again? What did you do this time for Sensei to send you flying?”
Sayaka asked, “More importantly, why did he send you to us?”
Naruto got up and dusted himself while saying, “He said that the break is over and to return to training. He'll look after the traini… Why are you looking at me like this?”
All five students of Fujin stared at Naruto.
Hikari asked, “What do you mean that the break is over? We returned home less than an hour ago!”

Fujin's students were a part of his army. They actively fought in the Land of Rice. Even though there wasn't much fighting other than that, Bunjiro had them participate in every combat exercise. He even took them for some bandit elimination missions in the vicinity of the army. Not to mention, they had just spent a couple of days running from the Fire Capital to the Land of Wind and back to Konoha with little break. They were hoping to finally sleep in their comfortable beds when Naruto dropped right in front of them and passed Fujin's message.

Naruto asked in surprise, “Where did you guys go?”
The kids caught up, informing each other of their exploits. When Naruto informed them what Fujin had said, all five slumped and followed Naruto to the training grounds unwillingly. As much as they wanted to sleep properly, none of them dared to disobey Fujin's instructions. From their experience, it was better to simply follow instead of enduring what would come next.

——

In a corner in the Torture & Interrogation Department, another set of prisoners were sitting silently outside a room. Everything about them screamed how terrified they were. By now, the entire department knew that something horrifying was happening in that room.

The prisoners were about to resign themselves to their fate when they suddenly heard footsteps. They turned their heads synchronously and their fear intensified even further. They thought, ‘Wasn't one monster enough? Why is he here?’

The two guards respectfully said, “Councilman Fujin.”

Fujin nodded and asked, “Is Lady Tsunade inside?”
One of the guards replied, “She is and cannot be disturbed until she appears out herself. However, it shouldn't take too long…”

Fujin rolled his eyes and muttered, “It should take a long time if she has to succeed. Don't worry, I'll wait here. Why don't you introduce these fellows in the meantime?”

Shivers passed down the spine of the prisoners as they saw Fujin's ‘innocent’ smile. Unlike Naruto, who was merely afraid of an intense training session, the prisoners understood that they would have to endure the cruelest torture proportional to the severity of their crime.

As the guards listed their crimes one by one, some wanted to beg forgiveness, some wanted to curse their hearts out, and some wanted to wail in sorrow. Unfortunately, they knew it was pointless. No matter what they did, the Konoha ninjas seemed to take joy in their misery. They felt like Konoha wanted to see them break even before the torture began!

Fujin didn't particularly care about their stories. His mind was occupied elsewhere as he thought, ‘I didn't think Tsunade would struggle this much to heal souls. I wonder if it's just a lack of practice or the insane nature of Hiruzen's injuries. Regardless, this is a good opportunity.

Even though I learnt the Spirit Transformation jutsu, my knowledge of souls isn't very deep. With her help, I can finally fill the gaps in my understanding. This is also a good opportunity to build a good rapport with her, similar to the one I had with Hiruzen. Even though I no longer need the Byakugou Seal, there's still a lot I could use her help for…’

Suddenly, the door opened and Tsunade stepped out. She was about to call her next test subject when her eyes fell on Fujin, who was casually standing next to the terrified prisoners.

She smiled and said, “Shikaku said you'll visit me here.”
Fujin smiled and greeted, “Lady Tsunade, it's great to see you in person finally.”
Tsunade smirked and asked, “Oh, so you have seen me in other ways?”
Fujin chuckled and said, “Nah, other than your Bingo book entry of course. I just heard several stories about you.”
He suddenly placed his hand on the shoulder of an unsuspecting prisoner and said, “Just now, he was saying a lot of things about you.”

The prisoner immediately snapped in horror, “Bullshit! I didn't utter a word!”
Tsunade looked at that prisoner meaningfully and said, “Why don't you come in? We'll find out what you said and what you didn't. Fujin, join us.”

No matter how much he screamed, the remaining prisoners saw him being dragged to ‘hell’ by the two ‘demons’. Even though the ‘gates of hell’ shut close, they could still hear his terrified screams.

As the prisoner was laid on the bed and his movements sealed with more seals, Tsunade said, “Shikaku said you have some knowledge about souls. What do you know?”

Fujin answered, “It's hard to say as I don't have much to reference against. Lord Third was the only one I knew who knew about it, but comparing with him isn't exactly fair.”

Tsunade agreed without any hesitation. She believed her knowledge in this area exceeded that of Hiruzen, yet she couldn't reduce a soul to his state without killing the prisoner.

Fujin added, “In addition, my understanding has some gaps. So, I won't be able to help you much in that regard, though I don't think you need it. Shikaku-san said that you were struggling to injure a soul to the same extent as Grandpa. Since I learnt the Soul Transformation jutsu, I might be better suited than you to cutting the soul.”

Fujin's eyes were focused on the prisoner, so he didn't notice Tsunade's pupils dilating. She thought in disbelief, ‘He learnt Dan's jutsu?’