Chapter 326 : Not yet S rank!

Unlike his teammates, the surprise on Fujin's face was due to an entirely different reason!

He thought, 'That's it? Her chakra is barely higher than Renjiro's! But why is it so low? I thought that it'd be higher than Hiruzen at the very least!'

Suddenly, it clicked. He realized, 'I see. She hasn't reached the S rank yet. There are still 6 years until the start of the war. She should have reached that level during this time. Now that I think about it, the scroll with her information said nothing about her being an S ranked ninja. And if she was rank S, then the rebels wouldn't be hiding so much. Maybe even the Genjutsu on the Mizukage would have been figured out by now!'

During the last 8 hours, Fujin was under a lot of stress! Taking on S ranked ninjas was not a matter he could take lightly. Even more so when they were holding hostages. But since Mei wasn't at that level, all the stress was released.

A smirk appeared on Mei's face seeing the state of Konoha's ninja. The Kiri ninjas were also smirking. They saw that the leader of Konoha ninjas was looking dumbfoundedly at Mei while his subordinates were under heavy pressure.

Unknown to them, a smile appeared behind Fujin's mask. The scroll in his hand disappeared. He said softly, "Unfortunately, you won't be able to afford the cost."

To everyone's surprise, Fujin riled his chakra as well! And to the horror of Kiri ninjas, his chakra was at the same level as Mei! In fact, it could even be said to be barely higher!

His chakra lifted the pressure from his teammates and put the Kiri ninjas under pressure. At the same time, two swords appeared on the left side of his waist. Their sheaths had intricate designs carved on them.

Ao's eyes widened as soon as they landed on the swords. He looked at Fujin again and realized, 'Hawk mask… Those two swords… And those patterns!'

He immediately whispered, "He is the Spectral Swordsman!"

Mei was already surprised to see another Konoha ninja match her chakra. However, after learning about his identity, she felt that it was normal. The name Spectral Swordsman was very well known throughout the Land of Water. The reason for that was the insane number of rogue Kiri ninjas that fell to his blade! Over 80% of the rogue Kiri ninjas were estimated to have been killed by him.

On the other side of the island, a look of surprise appeared on Renjiro's face as he felt Fujin's chakra! He looked in the direction of Fujin and thought, 'He has already reached this level?'

Soon, the look of surprise was replaced with a prideful smile. He said, "Let's move!"

They appeared on top of their houses as Renjiro riled his chakra as well.

Both Fujin and Mei sensed his chakra. Fujin chuckled and asked, "Do you still refuse to accept my terms? If you do, I'm afraid that the losses you will experience, even in victory, will far exceed what's in the scroll."

Mei wasn't offended. She said, "I never thought that Konoha would show that the Spectral Swordsman is from your village. But, if the Hokage sent you, I doubt he'd lie about the money."

She stopped exerting her chakra and said, "Ao, bring Renjiro and his squad here."

Ao nodded and immediately flickered. Mei looked at Fujin. Though she was confident in taking him on, she knew that the circumstances weren't in her favor. A conflict would result in a large number of casualties on her side. And even if she managed to kill all Konoha ninjas, she wouldn't gain anything apart from a new and strong enemy.

Renjiro's squad was surrounded by 28 ninjas. They were extremely tense. But since no conflict had started on the opposite side of the island, they didn't start the fight either. Their actions would depend on what Mei and Fujin decided.

Soon, Ao appeared and said, "Renjiro, come with me. You guys follow too."

Renjiro and the Kiri ninjas nodded. Everyone left towards Fujin and Mei. Though no one showed it on their faces, everyone was secretly relieved. None of them wanted meaningless casualties.

Meanwhile, Mei looked at Fujin and said, "If it weren't for the circumstances, I'd have liked to fight the one who killed so many of our rogue ninjas. I wonder who you are behind the mask."

Mei thought, 'Though I have information on all the top Konoha ninjas and have a few guesses, I have a feeling that none of them are right.'

She focused on Fujin to memorize his chakra. Unfortunately, Fujin's chakra kept fluctuating the entire time. So Mei realized that Fujin could disguise his chakra. But, the frequent changes gave her more information. She analyzed, 'To be able to change his chakra fluctuations so rapidly… He should be a very good sensor.'

Fujin chuckled and replied, "Why would I bother wearing a mask if I'd be willing to reveal my identity so easily? Besides, even if I show you a face, would you trust me?"

Mei replied, "I guess not. Still, I do have a bone to pick with you. You killed too many of our rogue ninjas. I was planning to recruit them after this civil war ended to recover our strength."

Fujin replied in a deep voice, "I would suggest you focus on winning the war first."

Mei frowned. She analyzed, 'What does he mean by that? Does he know something that I don't?'

She had a bad feeling. Before she could ask, Ao and Renjiro arrived along with the rest. Fujin's eyes glowed as he observed the 4 Konoha ninjas. He and Renjiro exchanged glances. Renjiro nodded in acknowledgement to say that everything was fine.

Fujin thought, 'Good. No injuries or signs of torture. And their chakra flow is steady as well.'

He looked at Fumito, who nodded in response. Fujin said, "I'm glad you honored your part of the deal, Terumi Mei."

He tossed the scroll with 40 Million Ryo to Mei. Mei grabbed it and checked the contents inside the scroll. She nodded and said with a smirk, "It's been a pleasure doing business with you."

Fujin knew that it was a taunt. After all, Mei had received 40 million Ryo without giving anything in return. She didn't even risk the lives of her subordinates. However, the money didn't belong to Fujin. So he wasn't bothered.

He thought, 'If that was my money, I'd definitely steal it back. But, Hiruzen is too loaded. Just the trade deals he did with those 4 countries would bring over a hundred million Ryo on a monthly basis. And that is without considering the cost of Elemental Crystals. 40 million Ryo is probably just pocket money for Konoha.'

Though it might be a small some for Konoha, for Mei, whose finances were tight, this was like a boon from the heavens.

Fujin looked at Renjiro and asked, "Ready to leave?"

Renjiro nodded. The Konoha ninjas were about to leave, when Mei said, "Wait, I have two things to clear up."

From their exchange so far, Fujin knew that she wouldn't abruptly begin attacking. He said, "Speak."

Mei said, "Around 3 years ago, one squad from my faction was chased into the Land of Fire by a squad from Mizukage's faction. However, both squads disappeared. I want to know what happened to the squad from my faction. I hope the Hokage can provide me with the truth."

Fujin thought, 'Just cause he gave you money, you expect him to speak the truth?'

He was about to agree, when Renjiro asked, "Who were in the squad? And who were the ones chasing?"

Before Mei could answer, a young girl said, "The leader of the squad was Sakai Chou. She was chased by a squad led by Karatachi Kazuki."

Fujin looked at the girl and thought, 'She looks a bit familiar…'

After a few seconds, he recognized her and thought, 'Sakai Yumi. I didn't expect to see her here. Regardless, it looks like Mei is nurturing her. Or at least has some hopes from her.'

Fujin didn't pay any more attention to her. He was stronger than her during the Chunin exams. And right now, the difference in their power was even larger.

Renjiro said, "I don't know anyone by the name of Sakai Chou, but the mission to deal with infiltrators back then was taken by me. I remember encountering a squad of 5 led by Karatachi Kazuki. Unfortunately, we didn't see anyone else.

We managed to find him because we found 2 corpses that were brutally mutilated and blown up into pieces. After defeating him and searching the forests, we found another body that was destroyed and blown into bits.

I don't remember the exact number, but the blood on their weapons was tested to be from more than 15 people. But we never managed to find any other bodies. So they might have been eaten by Wild beasts or killed before entering the Land of Fire."

[A/N: I know many were expecting another epic fight. Apologies for not going that way. Though Naruto is a world where decisions are often made through fighting, I wanted to show that things can end up through dialogue as well, especially when neither party has anything to gain from fighting.

IMPORTANT: With this enlightenment, Fujin will embark on a new journey to master the greatest jutsu in Naruto (you know which jutsu that is).

PS: I'm just kidding. Have a fun start to your week.]

[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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