Ambition

The very next day, Danzo had assigned three trusted Root members to train him. One of them was Tarou, which made the lessons taught the first day quite painful. Physically he only received a couple of bruises, but his pride had seen better days after Fuzen was shown much he was outclassed in actual combat.

One of Root's core training philosophies was to establish a solid foundation. They believed only by letting the roots of the tree reach deep beneath the earth could something able to weather both storms and disasters be grown. This meant nearly all the focus, in the beginning, had been on taijutsu and chakra control as they considered both core aspects of shinobi combat. Only after he'd completed these would he be allowed training to start working on his apparent bloodline.

Fuzen received perhaps the best educational environment possible to improve himself. He had no obligation to do anything besides train and prepare for the war he knew was coming. During this period he trained harder than ever before and gave himself no relaxation because he knew how crucial it would prove later on. The world of shinobi was one of cruelty. A place where fights were certain and death a real possibility. It was a place near perfect for someone like him, however, if he was to have any sort of influence and deciding power over his own path, then he still needed strength first.

It didn't take Danzo and the assigned trainers long to notice Fuzen's unnatural pace of improvement. He excelled both faster and beyond what any of them thought humanly possible. Like a black hole, he absorbed everything taught and based on this, Fuzen quickly became known as a prodigy within the Root organisation. When he passed people in hallways, they nodded in respect. The idiots that they were, they all thought he was committed to Lord Danzo and Root. He could see how his dedicated practice could lead them to that conclusion, but it wasn't anywhere near the truth.

He was there because it benefitted his personal ambition to lead a life conquering all the most powerful kunoichi's and do battles across the entire continent. He might well be crazy, however, there was going to be no stopping him from spanking this world into submission if he thought it necessary to achieve his goals.

If there ever came a day he grew tired of fighting he could always retreat to his personal harem of women. But first, he needed power. As a man, Fuzen believed you could only deal with women from a position of strength. That was also why he would never sleep with women who didn't respect him. Not more than once or twice at least, depending on how hot she was. After that, his self-respect dictated that he lose their contact. Life was easier that way.

Just before he turned four, his taijutsu had reached a level where he quite consistently hold out against his three chunin level trainers who fought as a unified group. To gain the upper hand, his style of taijutsu came to revolve around utilizing his physical body's phenomenal speed and reflexes. Altogether, it quickly became very difficult for his trainers to catch him unaware and much less beat him. Doing this allowed him access to the next part of training concerning the use of chakra.

During the initial inspection before they started teaching him how to properly build and control chakra, one of Fuzen's trainers with sensory abilities noted his chakra reserves had grown almost comparable to the current jinchuriki candidate, Kushina Uzumaki. Additionally, his chakra had slowly begun seeing a change in character. It was somehow gaining a black hue and becoming more potent as if it now contained the power of an exploding star.

The change occurring in his chakra didn't hinder him from completing the normal practices used to improve moulding and manipulation of chakra. Given the potency of Fuzen's chakra and the raw amount of it available, he learned that he only had to use a minuscule stream of it to climb vertical surfaces and balance on top of the water. Completing these basic exercises, he graduated to learn about the different hand seals and how to further enhance his already significant physical attributes using chakra. Knowing of the potential possessed within the Body Flicker Technique he decided to focus on that as it augmented his natural speed and fast reflexes.

However, he found learning this was difficult. Most shinobi were only able to perform the Body Flicker Technique in a single short burst, which never truly utilized it to its full potential. Since the augmentation of speed and faster reflexes relied on the instant consumption of chakra as soon as it is moulded, then in order to bring the Body Flicker Technique to the next level, he had to learn how to keep a constant moulding of chakra going throughout his body while at the same time expending it instantaneously.

The normal use of this technique didn't allow for it to be applicable in actual combat as it only increased speed in linear bursts. Fuzen's way of doing it allowed for him to appear as a blur and still maintain the mobility needed during combat.

Fuzen knew he was far from reaching the maximum power using the Body Flicker Technique. At any given point, he could only mould a small amount of chakra otherwise he couldn't expend it fast enough for it to actually augment him. There needed to be a balance between the two, if not, it was just a pure waste of chakra.

The potent chakra of Fuzen possessed did help enhance the effects this technique had and when used in combination with his taijutsu none of his trainers stood a chance. Like a dark shadow, he slipped through their grasp and went straight for the places where he knew it would hurt.

"You're able to control chakra quite nicely," Danzo said while inspecting him and the trainers doing their best to overwhelm him.

They'd begun using the Shadow Clone Jutsu in order to surprise him and help Fuzen familiarize himself with the constant charges that could happen during combat, not to mention get more familiar with the balance between the moulding and instant expenditure of chakra needed for maintaining his version of body flicker. He was getting more proficient in its use and the fights were gradually becoming easier to handle.

"All right! I shall train you myself," having decided after watching his significant progress during these years.

At first glance, Fuzen might look like a five-year-old, perhaps six even as he was closing in on 4 feet. In truth, however, it had only been slightly more than four years since Danzo had carried him away from the hospital.

"I don't really care," Fuzen answered walking away from the practice hall left for his sole use.

In annoyance, he looked at the three Root members still surrounding Fuzen.

"Get up already! You're embarrassing yourself and most importantly me! Can't even beat a four-year-old."

Leaving them, he went to find Fuzen. He didn't have to search for too long. One of the upsides of having a Sharingan implanted into his right eye earlier this year.

"That was fast, old man," Fuzen said when he noticed Danzo enter the library he'd more or less taken ownership of since two years prior.

Taking an empty chair, Danzo sat down and faced Fuzen who'd taken a crosslegged position on the ground reading a book.

"Yes?" Fuzen questioned when he found himself tired of being stared at.