Naruto - The Wind Calamity

Chapter 51 : Clash in the Forest of Death

Team Renjiro rested in the town for the day. Next morning, they left the town to return to Konoha. On arriving, they went to the Hokage tower to turn in the missions. Renjiro handed the papers to the chuunin responsible for checking them. After checking, he handed 4 packets to Renjiro.

The 4 missions combined, paid them 280k. After Renjiro divided them, each of the 3 kids got 56k. Fujin thought, '280k just for these missions? I'm pretty sure I could have completed them solo and in under a day! It's much faster than Fuinjutsu. Though it has some risks, if a strong ninja is hiding among the bandits. Anyways, I should be able to collect enough for a sword made from chakra metal pretty quickly if I take a lot of missions.' Unlike Fujin, Mieko and Hoka didn't concern themselves much with the money. Thanks to having rather rich parents, they never had to worry or think about money.

After the division of money, Renjiro dismissed them and said, "Tomorrow there won't be any training. We begin our training the day after tomorrow at the same time as usual." The kids nodded and dispersed.

Since it was lunch time, Fujin decided to head to Ichiraku. On the way, Fujin thought, '7 rank D missions and 4 rank C missions. Isn't the requirement for chuunin exam just 8 missions? I wonder when Renjiro will make us take the exam. Will it be the next round, or will it be like Teru's squad?'

Thinking about Teru created new thoughts in Fujin's mind, 'Ya, isn't Teru's squad participating in the chuunin exam? I wonder what has happened with that. Did the chuunin exams already start, or is there still some time?' This question resulted in Fujin realising something very critical.

He thought, 'Now that I think about it, I am really clueless in regards to what is happening around me. Other than what I remember will happen in the future, I have no idea what is exactly happening. I need some means of gathering information. But, how to do it....'

He thought for a bit and decided, 'Well, the least I should do is start getting newspapers delivered to my home. Though it won't contain any crucial information, it'll still keep me updated. Apart from that, I should probably make my own information gathering network. While I don't think I'd be able to make something as complex as what Jiraiya has, I don't really need it to be that good either. Just getting unfiltered and timely news would be sufficient. Oh well, I'll leave this for the future too. It'll take a lot of effort, time and money to actually create it. Right now, I barely have any money or free time anywa...'

His thoughts were cut by a loud shout. He heard, "Old man! Three miso ramens for me." Fujin turned right and noticed, 'Eh, Naruto? I didn't even notice reaching Ichiraku. But considering that Naruto is here...' Fujin then focused on sensing his surroundings. After sensing, he thought, 'As I thought. 2 Anbus are hiding nearby. Or perhaps 1 Anbu and 1 Root. I doubt Danzo wouldn't keep his eye on the lone Jinchuriki of Konoha.'

He then released a sigh and thought, 'Well, as much as I'd like to meet him now, it'll probably create a lot of deviations in the future. Not to mention that it'll also gain the attention of both Hiruzen and Danzo. I'll leave this meeting for the future. At least until the time I can calculate and control those deviations. And until I'm strong enough to at least face these two Anbus in case they have some stupid ideas. Sigh, this means I'll have to go to a different restaurant.'

Fujin then moved in the direction of a nearby sushi restaurant. After lunch, he searched for a newspaper stand near his house and bought a subscription.

With the rank C missions completed, Team Renjiro got back to their training. A week's rest suddenly made the morning workout seem much more difficult. When Renjiro returned after the team's break was over, Mieko asked, "Sensei, when can we go on the next mission?" Hoka looked over with interest. Renjiro replied casually, "Rank C missions take a lot longer time than rank D missions. So we'll only do 1 monthly. Rest of the time will be focused on your training." Mieko's shoulders slumped on hearing that. It meant that there was no escape from this deadly training.