378 Chapter 375 : A Feeling of Emptiness!

Fujin decided, 'If Hiruzen doesn't give me the Flying Thunder God jutsu at all costs, I will take Naruto under my wing. I will first teach him the Shadow Clone jutsu and then teach him the Wind jutsus that would be perfect for pranks. 

And since he is so gullible, I'll convince him that in order to become a Hokage, he will have to successfully prank the current Hokage one thousand times! 

Though I don't think Hiruzen would refuse to relent after that, if he does, I will drop hints of intending to teach Naruto the Great Breakthrough jutsu and also of teaching him how to supercharge it.' 

Fujin almost laughed in an evil manner while imagining the scene of a thousand Shadow Clones spamming a supercharged Great Breakthrough jutsu! He seriously doubted whether Konoha would continue to remain standing. There was no way Hiruzen wouldn't take that threat seriously.

He began walking towards the Hokage Building. En route, he thought, 'Maybe that's why Kakashi never taught Naruto any jutsu to take advantage of his ridiculous chakra levels. But still, it's such a waste to know 1000 jutsus if you aren't going to use them yourself or teach them to his students. Could have at least given Naruto a few jutsus that weren't too destructive in nature.'

Fujin stopped thinking about Naruto and went over the plans he had come up with to convince Hiruzen. After all, Naruto was his last resort. He'd prefer getting the jutsu directly from Hiruren on that very day. If he failed, then he could think of all the nefarious plans for however long he wanted to. 

Soon, he arrived at the building and knocked on his door. Hiruzen looked towards the door and wondered, 'Why is he here?' 

He put a smile on his face and said, "Come in. Why are you here, Fujin?" 

Fujin entered and put up the same smile as Hiruzen. He said, "Grandpa, I have something to tell you. But it has to be alone." 

Hiruzen wondered, 'Alone? Did he figure something out about Iwa's intentions? Or is he here to ask me for some favor?'

Due to his previous interactions with Fujin, Hiruzen was on a high alert! He nodded and said, "Sure." 

His eyes moved towards the ceiling. Immediately, all 4 Anbu Guard flickered out of the room and shut all doors and windows. Hiruzen activated the seals and said, "Speak." 

Fujin said in an excited tone, "Grandpa, I have learnt all the seals from the Library. I'm now a Fuinjutsu Grandmaster!" 

Hiruzen immediately understood. He thought, 'So that's why he is here. As I guessed, he wants something.' 

Knowing what Fujin wanted, Hiruzen relaxed. He said, "That's good. Have you created an imprint for the Four Symbols Seal as well?" 

Fujin nodded. He extended his left arm. Immediately, a seal spread out from his left palm and covered his left hand and forearm. Hiruzen observed the seal imprint and analyzed, 'Hmm, this is good enough. Since he could create a Seal Imprint for such a complicated seal so quickly, I don't need to test all his remaining seals.' 

Hiruzen nodded and said, "You have done a good job. Congrats. You are the 11th Grandmaster in Fuinjutsu in our village." 

Fujin immediately replied, "Thank you, Grandpa." 

Hiruzen asked, "Do you want to keep this a secret, or should I make your status as a Grandmaster in Fuinjutsu public knowledge?" 

There were quite a few advantages of making the knowledge public. As a Fuinjutsu Grandmaster, Fujin's status would be on an entirely new level. His prestige would increase. A lot of ninjas and even the clan leaders would try to create good relations with him. 

Though it would put a mark on Fujin's back, Fujin already had a 50 million Ryo bounty. So, by no means would it make his situation any worse. And, unlike most Grandmasters who focused entirely on Fuinjutsu and hence had limited combat strength, Fujin's main focus was Ninjutsu. So he didn't have that weakness just like Hiruzen, Jiraiya and Danzo. However, Fujin still preferred keeping his cards hidden. 

He replied without thinking much, "Keep it a secret. If need be, we can make it public anytime we want to in the future." 

Hiruzen nodded and said, "Alright." 

Fujin said, "Actually, there is one more thing." 

Hiruzen thought, 'Here it comes.'

Fujin continued, "After I became a Chunin, you promised that you would teach me the Flying Thunder God jutsu after I became a Fuinjutsu Grandmaster. So could you teach it to me now?" 

He looked at Hiruzen with a hopeful look on his face as thoughts clashed at the speed of light in Fujin's head to counter anything Hiruzen might say to decline his request. 

Hiruzen sighed internally and thought, 'I just said it so that he would stop bugging me. How would I have even known that he would become a Fuinjutsu Grandmaster from nothing in less than four years? It almost feels like he already knew that this was a requirement and baited me into saying it.'

Hiruzen couldn't help but wonder, 'I wonder what Sensei would think if I started giving the Flying Thunder God as a reward for breaking a record in the Chunin Exams.'

Hiruzen could imagine Tobirama lecturing him on making promises so carelessly. He thought, 'Well, this won't be the first time I have disappointed Sensei.'

As Fujin expected, Hiruzen shook his head! However, Hiruzen's words were something he never imagined!

Hiruzen said, "I have no talent for Space-Time Ninjutsu. The only ones I can use are Summoning and Reverse Summoning jutsus. So I can't teach, guide or even help you in this regard. But, I'll hand you the scroll for learning the Flying Thunder God jutsu that the Second Hokage created and the Fourth Hokage improved. Whether you can learn it or not depends upon you." 

Fujin was stunned by Hiruzen's words. He thought, 'That's it? He isn't going to make me work to get the scroll? And he isn't going to give me a  Will of Fire lecture for 3 hours?'

Hiruzen continued, "I will arrange the scroll for you in a week. You can take it from me after you return from your next Anbu mission." 

Fujin was still speechless. He had calculated numerous schemes and arguments for so long. He never imagined that Hiruzen would just hand it to him. He just nodded absentmindedly. 

Hiruzen asked, "Anything else Fujin?" 

Fujin gathered his thoughts. He shook his head and said, "No. Just keep this a secret as well." 

Hiruzen nodded and replied, "Of course. You have done very well, Fujin. Though no one knows it yet, Konoha is proud of you. If you manage to learn the Flying Thunder God jutsu, then you will be a beacon of hope for our village, just like the Fourth Hokage was. Even if you don't, you are still doing very well. So don't force yourself too much.'

Fujin nodded and replied, "I will, Grandpa. Thank you. I will see you later." 

Hiruzen nodded and Fujin took his leave. Fujin didn't talk to anyone and just began walking back to the training ground at a slow speed. He was still processing his thoughts. Finally, he let out a sigh and thought, 'I should be happy and ecstatic for receiving this jutsu so easily. 

But for some reason, it feels like I have just suffered a great defeat. It almost feels like there is an empty feeling in my heart. Why is that?' 

Meanwhile, in the Hokage's Office, Hiruzen continued his work. He recalled his earlier interaction with Fujin and chuckled. He thought, 'Does he still think that he is eleven or that I don't know him? I could smell his intention to fight for that jutsu from miles away. Why would I even bother making things difficult for myself when I intended to give him that jutsu eventually in any case?' 

Though Fujin had tricked Hiruzen four years ago, Hiruzen didn't mind it. In his view, Fujin was already capable enough to receive a jutsu like the Flying Thunder God. After all, he had given it to Minato when he was even younger and weaker than Fujin. Though he would preferred to make Fujin contribute more to Konoha before giving him the jutsu, Hiruzen decided against it after recalling Fujin's actions in the Land of Wind and the Land of Grass and his way of 'contributing'. 

Fujin reached the training ground but was still a bit down. He shook his head and thought, 'Ah, screw it. I got the jutsu. That's all that matters. I'll teach Naruto some Wind jutsus to compensate for the emotional roller coaster Hiruzen put me through. Besides, I will need some entertainment in my retired life. But since Hiruzen gave me the Flying Thunder God jutsu without any trouble, I'll leave out the Shadow Clones, supercharging and the part about pranking the Hokage a thousand times.' 

Having cheered himself up, Fujin returned to training! 

[A/N : Bonus chapter on next Sunday if the fic gets 1000 Power Stones. Bonus chapter on next week's Saturday if the fic gets 2000 Power Stones.]

-----------------------------------

A/N : If you can, then please support me on P@treon.

Link - www.pat reon.com/DevilHex

(No space)

Can read up to 50 chapters ahead on P@treon.