449 Chapter 444 : Fujin's Frustration

Fujin arrived in Konoha a couple of hours before noon. He went straight to the Hokage Building and was about to walk into the mission center when someone called out his name.

Fujin turned around to see Hatake Takao coming towards him. Takao appeared in front of Fujin and said, "Fujin! Here you are. I visited your house and the 23rd training grounds in the morning to find you."

Takao had gone to look for Fujin in the morning following Hiruzen's instructions. However, he wasn't at his house or in the training ground. Instead, he met Naruto who informed him that Fujin hadn't returned from his mission. He went to the Mission Center to confirm it and informed Hiruzen about the same. As a result, Hiruzen had begun creating another squad. However, as luck would have it, Takao had come down for some work at the same time that Fujin arrived at the Hokage Building.

Fujin raised an eyebrow and asked, "Does Lord Hokage need me??"

Fujin was surprised. It hadn't even been a few minutes since he had returned to the village and yet Hiruzen was looking for him. Takao nodded and answered, "Lord Hokage was looking for you earlier in regard to a mission. You should meet him and see if he still needs you to go for it."

Fujin wondered, 'A mission right when I wanted to head to the Land of Hot Water? Sigh, I hope it is in that country or some place beyond it.'

Fujin replied, "Alright. I'll go see him."

He handed Takao a scroll and said, "Hand it to Shichiro. It contains mission files and dead bodies that had to be collected. Please inform him that I have completed all the missions."

Takao accepted the scroll and replied, "Sure."

Fujin walked over to Hiruzen's office and entered the room. Hiruzen looked at Fujin and said with a smile on his face, "It is good to see you, Fujin. How did your missions go?"

Fujin casually answered, "They went well. There were no complications."

Hiruzen said, "Good, come sit. I have received a mission from the Daimyo of the Land of Hot Water which is eerily similar to one of your past missions."

Fujin sighed in relief upon hearing that. The mission was exactly where he wanted to head to. As for which mission it was, Fujin didn't think much. He had been on hundreds of missions and couldn't speculate which mission Hiruzen was hinting at. Unfortunately, Hiruzen's next words would shock Fujin!

Hiruzen said, "In recent times, the Land of Hot Water has been reducing their military strength and are depending more on us and the Land of Iron for solving their issues. Their country is transforming from a militaristic state to a tourist destination due to the large number of hot springs in their country. However, some ninjas aren't happy with this trend.

One of those ninjas killed 18 Yugakure ninjas and a few dozen civilians before escaping. They arranged for ninjas to hunt him down but couldn't find him. More importantly, while they were hunting him, over 300 people went missing all of a sudden from the small villages in their country. They aren't sure if the two events are linked, but some feel that the same ninja is behind the kidnapping.

They have issued a rank S mission to our village. I want you to go to the Land of Hot Water and find and rescue the missing people. If the same ninja is involved, kill or capture him depending on the situation. Otherwise, ignore him. The ninja is called Hidan."

Hiruzen's words left Fujin stunned. He was so stunned that he even forgot to hide his emotions. Hiruzen noticed it and asked, "Is something the matter?"

Fujin realized his mistake and calmed himself down. He shook his head and answered, "It sounds like that cult named Jashin. Our mission involving them had gotten rather nasty. If those people have been missing for a long time and if no new people have gone missing for some time, then I'm afraid that it will be too late."

While he answered in a calm tone, Fujin's mind was anything but calm. He cursed, 'What the fuck? That bastard couldn't wait a few days? I hope the ritual isn't complete yet. I don't care about Hidan, but I need that Bishop's memories!'

Fujin was extremely pissed and frustrated! His attempt to learn Blood Manipulation by reading Zankoku's memories met a huge number of complications, leaving him unable to replicate it in the short term. Fortunately, he thought of a method to get it easily.

However, even before he could act on it, that method was snatched away from him! The entire ordeal left him mentally exhausted. He muttered to himself, 'It almost feels like someone is making my life difficult and enjoying my sufferings!'

Hiruzen didn't know about Fujin's internal struggle. He replied, "Yes, it is worrying. The killings happened three weeks ago. People started going missing a few days later. The last case of a missing person was reported 6 days ago. So time is precious.

I have already arranged 3 members and was looking at who was available to lead them. Fortunately, you came back at the right time. I'll leave this mission to you. Leave right away, meet up with the Daimyo and get the exact information."

Hiruzen tossed Fujin the scroll. Fujin caught it and said, "Alright. I'll move immediately."

He was about to leave when he suddenly had an idea. His feet stopped and he looked at Hiruzen and thought, 'Isn't he supposed to be the professor? I wonder if he knows about this…'

Fujin said, "I recently faced a question while training. I wonder if you know something about this."

Hiruzen asked, "What did you face?"

Fujin replied, "I was wondering whether we can use Juinjutsu to permanently strengthen ourselves or give us new abilities."

Hiruzen was surprised by the question and became serious. He hadn't expected Fujin to ask such a question. He wondered, 'Did he witness anyone having such abilities or did he just think it by itself?'

Hiruzen couldn't be sure. He asked, "Are you aware of the Uzumaki clan?"

Fujin nodded. Even though almost no one from Fujin's generation would know about the Uzumaki clan, Hiruzen wasn't surprised to know that Fujin knew about them considering how much time he spent in the Library and learning the seals. He said, "Most of the Fuinjutsu and Juinjutsu in Konoha come from the Uzumaki clan."

Fujin had speculated it to be the case. So he wasn't surprised. Hiruzen continued, "The Uzumaki clan was a step ahead of the world in terms of sealing. It was why they were considered a threat by other villages and annihilated before the start of the Second Great Ninja War.

However, even in the Uzumaki clan, a seal like you said was never propagated. It was only during their final struggle that their leader, Uzumaki Ashina, showed abilities similar to what you described.

I'm not sure what exactly you mean by giving permanent abilities, but I guess you mean being able to do something beyond what normal seals should. The seals Uzumaki Ashina used touched that concept and were speculated to be able to take our understanding of Fuinjutsu and Juinjutsu to the next level.

However, with his death, the technique was lost. I'm not sure why he never taught the technique to anyone else in his clan. Or perhaps he did but no one else was able to learn. Another possibility could be that everyone who he taught those seals was killed in the war. Or perhaps someone survived and the knowledge still exists but that person has kept it a secret."

Fujin was surprised by the answer. Though he had asked Hiruzen, he wasn't expecting Hiruzen to know anything about it. He thought, 'Uzumaki Ashina… Wasn't he the leader of the Uzumaki clan when Hashirama was alive? Unfortunately, I barely remember anything about him. Now that I think about it, I don't think much was shown about him anyway.

I wonder if these Juinjutsu seals were passed down in the Uzumaki clan or if he created those seals by himself. Regardless, it shows that even if you don't worship Jashin, you can create seals that are similar to the ones that form in the Ritual or at least have the potential to reach that level.'

Fujin asked, "Did no one try to investigate what seals they were? Also, what abilities did the seal give him?"

[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.]

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