Chapter 157 : Castle Defense

Fujin entered the lowest floor in the basement. He extended his palm and looked at it. Chakra began spinning in his palm taking a circular shape.

Fujin decided, 'It's been a long time since I practiced this jutsu. In fact, I haven't practiced it since I graduated from the academy!'

Fujin began practicing the Rasengan. With all the seals he inscribed, he was no longer worried about anyone seeing this. He was able to form the Rasengan properly, though it was a bit slower.

He continued his training using different methods. He initially tried decreasing the time needed to form it as much as he could. When he couldn't decrease it any further, he began trying to form the Rasengan while running.

After training for 2 days, Fujin managed to improve his control over Rasengan considerably. He was able to form a proper sphere. And he improved the speed of creating the Rasengan by a huge degree! He could now create a Rasengan in fractions of a second and while moving around freely and even while running on walls or ceilings.

A smile formed on Fujin's face as he watched the Rasengan. He thought, 'Great. Rasengan has been mastered to a sufficient degree! Though I should still test it out in mock battles. More importantly, I can prepare for Rasenshuriken when I'm ready. That's an S rank jutsu that no living ninja would like to get hit by.'

Fujin played with the ball of chakra in his hand as he thought, 'That said, it's best to never use this jutsu. Aside from the trouble of explaining how I learnt this, there is also the issue of its effectiveness. A sword with wind chakra flow will be far more dangerous in most scenarios.

The only time a Rasengan could be more effective is when I'm clashing head-on against another strong jutsu. But, considering the high-speed nature of my fights until now, such clashes are almost non-existent.

A giant Rasengan could be more effective, but it'll consume a lot of chakra. So again, it won't be worth it until I can find a way to significantly increase my chakra reserves.'

After observing the Rasengan properly, Fujin dispersed it and his clone and began training again. Since he already had formed a Rasengan properly, he was progressing rapidly.

Fujin's next mission with Tamotsu and the rest was uneventful once again. It was a protection mission again and they didn't even encounter any ninjas.

After the mission, Fujin returned to training in his basement. Around him, there were multiple metal mannequin dummies. He had bought them to test his jutsus.

Fujin created a Rasengan, stepped forward and smashed the Rasengan into a dummy.

The Rasengan sank into its abdomen creating a hole in it. Soon, it exploded and blasted the dummy, sending its pieces flying across the basement.

Fujin grinned, 'Excellent power! Now I need to test it in mock battles.'

Fujin made a hand sign and a Shadow Clone popped next to him. Both moved away from each other. Fujin began creating the Rasengan and charged at his clone at the same time. Meanwhile, the clone attacked Fujin with wooden shurikens and Wind Explosion spheres to keep him away. And, it also moved away from him whenever Fujin managed to close the distance between them.

Fujin's goal was to hit his clone with the Rasengan without using any other jutsu or distractions. While the clone just tried to avoid getting hit.

After a day of intense training, Fujin was breathing heavily. He complained, 'What the heck? It's impossible to hit someone who is as fast as you to hit with the Rasengan! I chased after my clone the whole day without any success! Though my clone did use body flicker whenever I was about to succeed. I guess I should try performing Rasengan while flickering around. Otherwise, it will be hopeless.'

By the time he had to go for the next mission, Fujin could use the Rasengan while flickering in his basement. He had managed to hit his clone a few times. He was very happy with his progress.

Fujin met Tamotsu and the rest outside the Mission Center. Since he had mastered the Rasengan, his mood was quite good.

Sarutobi Tamotsu had just selected a mission. He said, "Since our last two missions didn't have much fighting, I have selected one where our opponents could be strong. Our mission is in the Land of Noodles. The Daimyo of that country received intel that some rogue ninjas are going to attack his castle. He is afraid that his current forces won't be able to stop them."

Inuzuka Tadashi grinned and said, "Now that sounds like a fun mission."

Fujin nodded and asked, "It does. But why is this mission only Rank B? I would assume that a threat to Daimyo would be classified as a Rank S mission."

Ryota said, "Could be multiple reasons. Like maybe the threat isn't that big."

Tamotsu added, "Or, the teams that undertake Rank A or S missions can deter those guys from attacking and they might postpone their attack until these teams leave."

Fujin said, "That makes sense. I didn't think that a Daimyo would be that brave."

Tamotsu chuckled and said, "Don't say that loud. Anyways, my guess is that Daimyo and his family have already escaped to a safe place. They probably left behind body doubles to trick their opponents into attacking the castle. Anyways, let's leave."

The group nodded and left immediately. After a day of travel, they reached their destination. The group observed the castle from a distance. It was a moderate-sized castle with a wall surrounding it.

Tadashi said, "So this is the castle that we have to defend."

Ryota said, "It isn't as big as I thought. Though it ain't a bad thing. At this size, we will be able to defend it properly."

Tamotsu asked, "Do you think you can make use of the walls Ryota?"

Ryota answered, "It's tough to say. Even if I could, it won't be much helpful against ninjas. At max, I can get a few surprise kills."

Tamotsu said, "Depending on our opponents, just that might be enough to give us an edge. Anyways, let's go."

They travelled quickly and reached the castle. Tamotsu handed the mission scroll to the gatekeeper and they were allowed to enter the castle.

As soon as they entered, a ninja flickered in front of them. He said, "Thank You for coming to protect us. I am Akera Sotan. I am responsible for the defense of this castle."

Tamotsu said, "I am Sarutobi Tamotsu. Let's enter the castle. You can brief us with all the details."

Sotan nodded and led the Konoha team to a room in the castle. Everyone took their seats.

Tamotsu said, "We didn't get much information in the mission statement. Can you tell me the exact details?"

Sotan nodded and said, "I can't give you the source of the information. But from what we know, we expect to be attacked by 18 rogue ninjas. Most of them will be at the Chunin level. We don't know who their leader is, but we expect him to be at the Jounin level as he is able to organize such an attack.

As for the defense, I am the only Jounin in the castle. So I will take on the enemy leader. We also have 12 chunins and 17 genins. So we are confident at defending. But we asked for help in case something outside our calculations happens and to decrease our casualties."

Fujin heard the details and his left eye twitched. He thought, 'This guy is considered a Jounin?'

Tamotsu nodded and inquired, "Do you know where those guys are located? We could launch preemptive attacks and cause them casualties."

Sotan replied, "No. We don't know their hideout. Also, the Daimyo wants us to kill every last one of them. If we attack their hideout, then many of them might manage to escape."

Tamotsu said, "Alright. Is the Daimyo still in the castle?"

Sotan didn't speak and just shook his head.

Tamotsu asked, "Do we have any idea when the attack will happen?"

Sotan answered, "No. I will arrange for you guys to live on the highest floor with Daimyo and his family. That floor also provides a good view of the surroundings. So you can keep an eye on any attackers. Of course, give priority to your rest as we need you guys at full readiness when the attack happens."

Sotan led them to the topmost floor. There were 3 rooms on this floor. There was also a small balcony on all sides equipped with Binoculars and other tools to assist in keeping a watch on the surroundings. One of these rooms had a few people who looked very scared. They were the body doubles of the Daimyo and his family.

Sotan explained the defenses and traps that they had set up and asked whether Tamotsu and his subordinates would like to set up more.

Tamotsu agreed and asked Ryota and Katsumi to add more traps. They both got to work. Tadashi volunteered to go scout the nearby areas. Tamotsu went to check out some stuff. Meanwhile, Fujin decided to laze on the top floor.

He thought, 'I was kinda excited, but this mission seems to be a bore too. If Sotan is considered a Jounin, then I could probably go and kill the entire enemy camp. Sigh, I guess only Rank A and S missions will be exciting.

Anyways, this country is known as the Land of Noodles. I wonder how good the noodles from here taste.'

Fujin left to find the cooks in the palace. The cooks and other common people weren't aware of the incoming attack. So they were relaxed. But they recognized the headband on Fujin's head and were very respectful to him despite his young age.

The head cook met Fujin and asked with a smile, "I am the chief cook here. How may I help you young one?"

Fujin replied, "Hello chief. I was wondering how good the noodles from this country are."

The chief cook's smile disappeared and he asked seriously, "Young man, are you underestimating the noodles from here?"

Fujin kept his smile and said, "Nope. I'm just a normal foodie. So give me your best."

The chief cook said, "We have 19 varieties of noodle dishes here. And all the 19 varieties are the best among any noodles."

Fujin said, "Oh, that's cool. I'll try all 19 varieties during my time here then."

[A/N : Additional chapter on Sunday if the fic gets 1000 Power Stones.]

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