Shikaku asked, "You killed 47 Jounins who were trained to counter you?"
Fujin replied, "Well, they didn't have any defense against my Vacuum jutsus. So I had to create opportunities to make them drop their guard momentarily or make a slight mistake. Though difficult, I managed to do that a few times and managed to kill a few of them. But I didn't manage to kill many.
Thankfully they made a big mistake towards the end of the battle that allowed me to kill more than 20 in one go. It's probably what forced the Explosion Kekkei Genkai ninja to act."
Shikaku didn't know how to respond. He thought, 'Killing 47 Jounins is a huge achievement. But there isn't even a single bit of joy in his voice or a sense of achievement in his expression. Instead, he sounds like he was the one who lost 47 Jounins.'
Unlike Fujin, who was very frustrated over his skills being countered, Shikaku and Hiruzen weren't worried about it. After all, Hiruzen was probably the most all-round ninja in the world. He had no weakness and he could freely switch to any fighting style to counter his opponent.
As for Shikaku, his opponent's intelligence was the last thing he worried about. He could make numerous strategies on the battlefield to counter whatever plan the enemy came up with. So neither shared Fujin's vulnerabilities. Though they understood his position, from their point of view, it was just a natural obstacle that any top-level ninja would have to overcome.
Hiruzen thought, 'If Fujin can overcome this by himself, he will become a force to reckon with. If not, then I will have to provide him with more jutsus to ensure that he doesn't stay susceptible to such tactics. But if I have to do that, then his future prospects won't be as bright as I expect. He will still become a rank S ninja but won't reach the same heights as me or Minato.'
Hiruzen said, "You did great. Take a break. We will be sending an army to reinforce Takigakure."
Fujin said, "Thank you. I have a request though."
Hiruzen said, "Speak."
Fujin said, "I was hoping to get a long vacation. This mission was difficult for my team. But on the positive side, it has motivated them a lot. They all want a break to train and get stronger. I want a break as well to avoid being vulnerable to such traps."
Shikaku's face became dark. He thought, 'This brat! He keeps increasing my workload and then asks for a vacation in front of my face?'
Hiruzen wasn't a stranger to this request. Fujin had asked for vacation several times in the past. He thought, 'Though I refused his requests in the past and kept him busy with missions, it won't look good to reject this time. Plus, this incident should motivate him to train more instead of just meditating in the training rooms. And I'm curious to see how he breaks through his current situation.'
He asked, "How long of a vacation do you want?"
Fujin replied, "Preferably 6 months."
Hiruzen replied, "That's too long. I'll give your squad a 3-month vacation. But, if the situation in the Land of Waterfall worsens, you will be called back to duty."
Fujin replied, "Alright. I'll convey the message to my team."
Shikaku let out a sigh and got back to work. He wrote a reply to Takigakure and sent it to them through the same messenger bird. While the bird travelled, the two of them worked through the night.
After leaving the office, Fujin wondered, 'So, what should I do now?'
As he had eaten the soldier pill, Fujin wouldn't be able to sleep for another 2 and a half days. He thought, 'Though my chakra isn't completely exhausted, it is still very low. It will take around 8 to 10 hours to recover. Until then, I can't train or create a lot of clones for Fuinjutsu. Looks like I only have one choice.'
Fujin went straight to the Wind Training Room and began meditating. As he meditated, he thought, 'The Wind Crystals barely have any effect on me anymore. Though thousands of small, minute improvements could still create some qualitative change, the process will be very slow and might need decades.
I don't need to waste my time in these rooms anymore. Though there is no harm in coming here when I have to meditate for any reason.'
Fujin eliminated all thoughts from his mind and began meditating earnestly. The energy from the Wind Crystal began dissipating rapidly.
By noon, Shikaku had assembled 250 ninjas. Around 60 were Jounins while the rest were Chunins. Once again, the leadership was given to Kakashi.
Kakashi stood in front of the small army and muttered, "Aren't we doing this too frequently?"
Guy, who was standing close to him, said, "Yeah and we don't even fight anyone. We just move around until the situation diffuses itself."
Kakashi sighed. He wasn't a big fan of war. But since Hiruzen wanted to nurture him, he had been assigning Kakashi to all such leadership roles. Due to frequently leading hundreds of ninjas and in addition to his reputation, almost everyone in Konoha had begun seeing Kakashi as the leader of the next generation.
Under Kakashi's orders, the Konoha forces began moving towards the Land of Waterfall. An hour later, the messenger bird reached Takigakure. Shibuki received the message and called for another meeting.
He informed the council, "Konoha said that they will send out 250 ninjas this noon. Meaning that they should have already left. In addition, they will dispatch 500 more ninjas tomorrow."
One of his advisors said, "Konoha is quick as always. The first force should arrive at our borders by tomorrow morning. So they will be in a position to reinforce us quickly after our clashes begin."
Shibuki asked, "How is our preparation?"
Another advisor answered, "We have prepared all our ninjas. All 2000 ninjas are available and are awaiting orders.
Shibuki thought for a bit and said, "If we move now and run into Iwagakure's trap, then we will suffer a lot before the Konoha forces arrive. We will wait for a bit more to prevent any needless casualties.
At midnight, you will lead half our forces towards the Ito family's territories. We will use the cover of the night to sneak attack any enemy forces in our territory. The remaining half will stay back and defend the village in case this is some sort of distraction."
Everyone agreed with his decision and began making preparations.Ñøv€lRapture marked the initial hosting of this chapter on Ñôv€lß¡n.