Chapter 829 : Fujin's strangeness... (Patreon)

Homura and Koharu stared at their former teammate. While they always supported him, they fully knew of his nature. Neither would believe him if he said that he never did anything to antagonize Fujin given Danzo's track record. 


Danzo muttered, “I wouldn't say I did nothing at all. However, nothing I did should antagonize him to this extent against me, let alone transfer it to you two.” 


Koharu directly asked, “What did you do?” 


Danzo answered, “When he started gaining fame in the Anbu, I had some of my ninjas keep an eye on him. However, nothing came of it. He took a lot of care to ensure he couldn't be spied on. You should know how many seals his house and the training ground opposite it has.” 


Homura and Koharu nodded. Everyone in Konoha who understood and could sense or see seals knew what monstrosity Fujin's house was. It had been subject to a lot of speculation and Koharu had even tried using it to attack Fujin's reputation once but was shut down by Hiruzen so quickly that Fujin never learnt of it. After that, none of the others in charge raised this matter officially. Even if something suspicious was happening, they knew Hiruzen was onboard. So, it wasn't their concern. 


Danzo continued, “In addition to seals, he was very sensitive to any spying attempts. Hence, my spies had to retreat without finding anything. They weren't spotted by Fujin…” 


Homura asked, “Are you certain they weren't spotted? Seeing how suddenly he revealed his strength, he must have been hiding it for quite some time.” 


Danzo answered, “My ninjas would have known if they were spotted. Even if I assume they weren't, linking them to me should be near impossible. They never act carelessly.” 


Homura and Koharu didn't doubt the capabilities of the Root ninjas to carry out covert operations, but Fujin had given them surprise way too many times. Koharu said, “However, if they were, it would explain why he felt hostility towards you. But…” 


Danzo cut her off and said, “No, it doesn't. I still remember my first meeting with him vividly. Though he hid it very well, I could feel that he was on edge. I didn't understand it very well back then because we weren't supposed to have a history. Looking back at it, it is obvious that he was ready to kill me if I made any suspicious move. 


Simply being spied upon shouldn't result in such hostility. It was almost as if he had some deep enmity with me. Not to mention, none of this should tie to how he sees the two of you. Even though the two of you defended me, it shouldn't have led to him treating you with hostility.” 


Koharu nodded. Homura thought for a moment and said, “He isn't exactly hostile towards us. While it's true that he certainly doesn't trust us, he hasn't gone out of his way to target us. Any clashes we had were merely differences of opinion on crucial matters. In a way, it is similar to how you and Hiruzen frequently had opposing views.” 


Unlike the other two, Homura has a decent relationship with Fujin, mostly built during the times the two went together on diplomatic missions. 


Danzo frowned upon realizing, ‘Strange… His relationship with all four of us is different. He is extremely close with Hiruzen while being completely at odds against me. His relationship with Homura is cordial while he is confrontational with Koharu. Is it just a coincidence or did he purposefully do this? Was it an attempt to divide us?’ 


Danzo's hunch was quite close to the mark. Fujin was close to Hiruzen because he needed his help to get stronger while he was hostile to Danzo due to the threat he posed. As for the two elders, he didn't care much. Unlike his proactiveness with Hiruzen and Danzo, he was more reactive with Homura and Koharu. 


Since they decided to oppose him during his standoff with Danzo, Fujin initially planned to hammer both of them down. However, Hiruzen slowly but steadily gave responsibilities to Fujin. Fujin understood that he needed someone whom he could dump the responsibilities on. Since Homura had been the cordial one and Koharu had been the aggressive one, he maintained a cordial relationship with Homura while confronting Koharu whenever the opportunity presented itself. 


So, Danzo's hunch of Fujin doing so purposefully was on point. However, he didn't particularly have any intentions of dividing them and pitching them against each other. Fujin knew very well that the four old ninjas were too smart and cunning to see through any such attempts. Even though he ended up forcing Hiruzen to suppress Danzo, that was more due to Danzo's actions and Hiruzen's disappointment in them than Fujin's scheme. 


Koharu said, “Even if his relationship is more cordial with you, it still doesn't answer several of our questions. Since you showed up here, I assume you have already thought of the answer. Am I right, Danzo?” 


Danzo shook his head and answered, “Unfortunately, I don't have anything concrete. If something is wrong with him, he has done a very good job hiding it. However, I noticed something peculiar about him.” 


Homura and Koharu listened curiously as Danzo listed a string of Fujin's actions. They included the care Fujin took to ensure he wasn't spied on, the fact that he hid his strength for so long, his hidden battle with Katsuhiro, the two Root ninjas who went missing while chasing him, Fujin's sudden interest in Naruto along with other activities that Danzo found suspicious. 


Initially, Homura and Koharu didn't feel much as not one of those actions alarmed them. However, as Danzo continued speaking, both Homura and Koharu became serious. Koharu muttered grimly, “Individually, not a single one of these events can raise a question about Fujin. They merely feel odd. However, there are too many such oddities. If we consider all of them… Something is horribly wrong about Fujin!” 


Homura thought longer before adding, “Actually, even with all this together, it doesn't prove anything. These are merely suspicions. However, I understand you finally…” 


Just like Koharu and Danzo, Homura had a bad feeling. Though they didn't have any proof, they instinctively felt something was off. As veteran ninjas and politicians, they trusted their instincts completely. 


Danzo continued, “There's more. He had been out of the village for some time and only returned on the day he met Katsuhiro for the first time. On that very night, my Root bases were attacked for the first time. So, I had ample reason to be suspicious about him, though I didn't understand how he could possibly link Katsuhiro to me. 


A few days later, my headquarters was attacked by a massive Lightning jutsu. Though we didn't know who it was, Hiruzen now believes that it was Akuro, the ninja who attacked Kumogakure recently. Weirdly enough, Akuro appeared in Kumogakure at the same time Fujin was in the Land of Lightning. 


I can consider Akuro attacking me when I was scheming against Fujin a coincidence. However, his attacking Kumogakure at the same time Fujin was eliminating their ninjas is just too convenient to be a coincidence. I feel like the two are connected somehow and possibly have a cooperative relationship. Unfortunately, this is merely a hunch too and Hiruzen never listened to me.” 


Both Homura and Koharu were shocked. Koharu thought, ‘As shocking as Fujin's achievements are, Akuro has been far more outrageous. If these two are working together, then…’ 


Koharu felt fear. Fujin's words, threatening to kill her, echoed in her ears. She believed Fujin would never dare to attack her despite their differences unless he intended to go rogue like Orochimaru. However, if Akuro could do his dirty work for him, then it was an entirely different matter. 


Koharu knew she wouldn't stand a chance. Worse, she understood that both her killers would go scot-free. Without any proof, no one would point fingers at Fujin. And, Akuro's displays so far showed that no one could stop him from escaping or track him later. 


——


“Finally!” Fujin and Tsunade exclaimed in relief. The last step took a lot longer than they expected, but they finally managed to inflict similar injuries on a soul as Hiruzen had. 


Tsunade said, “Good work, Fujin. Now, put the soul back in the body. Souls have to be healed while they're inside the body to avoid complications.” 


Fujin nodded and followed her instructions. He slowly lowered the soul and used his Yin chakra to manipulate it and push it back into the prisoner's body. However, just as he was about to do so, the soul crumbled and began dissipating. 


‘...’