Naruto: The Wind Calamity
Naruto: The Wind Calamity - Chapter 482: A Capable Subordinate (2)

Shigeki was about to answer when Fujin said, "Leave it, just use them in our spar. It won't be fair to you if I know everything beforehand."

Shigeki nodded. The two travelled to the deepest part of the valley. As they ventured deeper into the valley, an expanse of lush, verdant landscape greeted their eyes. Towering trees draped in moss and vines, their canopies interlocking in a verdurous ceiling, cast intricate patterns of light and shadow across the forest floor. Due to the absence of human interference, myriad species of flora carpet the ground, from delicate ferns to vibrant, sprawling bushes bearing succulent fruits.

Amid this tranquillity, there was a range of wild animals. As he moved deeper, Fujin saw a bunch of deer, bison and rabbits. He also saw various predatory animals, such as a small pack of wolves, a few sleek panthers hiding among the trees waiting for their prey and an array of snakes, some poisonous, and some gigantic.

Fujin thought, 'This brings back the memory of that wolf valley I entered while finding my summon. If the animals in this valley could use chakra as the summons can, then this valley would have been a forbidden area even for ninjas. Even rank S ninjas won't casually enter too deep if that was the case.'

Fortunately or unfortunately, it wasn't to be. Very quickly, Fujin and Shigeki reached the deepest part of the valley. The place was entirely covered in mist. Shigeki looked around and asked, "Are you sure that we should make our base here? The visibility isn't good and this place isn't exactly safe."

The area was sprawling with wild animals. While they weren't a concern for Fujin or Shigeki while they were awake, even they would be on guard while they slept.

Fujin nodded and answered, "It's fine. Our spar will scare away the wild animals. As for the environment, I'll handle it. Don't worry."

Fujin flickered and appeared 20 meters in front of Shigeki, facing him. While Shigeki couldn't see through the mask, he could see a pair of eyes staring at him. Fujin said, "Let's start. Come at me with the intention to kill me. Show me your full strength."

Shigeki prepared himself and began building up his chakra. The wild animals, who were on guard and observing the two intruders who entered their territory, immediately began fleeing away on sensing his aura.

Shigeki grabbed a kunai and said, "Here I come!"

Having trained continuously for nearly three years, Shigeki was excited to test his strength. If it wasn't for the fact that he wanted to keep his survival a secret, he would have long challenged other ninjas to a spar. At the same time, he was curious how strong Fujin, or rather, Shigan was. After all, Fujin had killed his pursuers in the blink of an eye, giving him no opportunity to evaluate his strength.

He moved forward at a fast speed and thrust his kunai towards Fujin's heart. However, Fujin easily moved out of the way. He continued attacking Fujin with his kunai, shot a few shurikens and tried kicking several times, but Fujin dodged them all with relative ease.

Fujin was about to counterattack when Shigeki retreated realizing that he was completely outmatched in close combat. He began weaving hand signs as he moved away from Fujin.

Fujin observed him and thought, 'Those hand seals… The Water Dragon jutsu, huh? Sigh, it is so tempting to attack. I'm too used to killing. Thankfully, my spars with Guy helped curb some of the killing instincts I developed during my Anbu days.

That said, even if I wanted to, I doubt I could kill Guy even with a sneak attack. Of the ninjas I have seen fighting, he has the highest alertness other than Hiruzen. If Kakuzu didn't have five lives, perhaps he would have been as alert as Hiruzen.

Hmm, a water dragon of this size… Not bad. Even in Konoha, he could be promoted to the Jounin rank, but only barely. As for Elite Jounin, that's out of the question.'

As Fujin was thinking, a 25-meter-long Water Dragon formed in front of him. In a second, it came rushing straight at him. Shigeki saw as the Water Dragon hit Fujin and swallowed him. However, a frown formed on his face as he failed to see Fujin's figure anymore.

As the water wave created by the Water Dragon hitting the spot Fujin was standing began settling, Shigeki looked around himself and thought, 'How did he disappear? Now that I think about it, he had disappeared the last time as well. All this mist around me… Is he using the infamous Hidden Mist jutsu? Not good!'

He quickly weaved hand seals while keeping a watch around him to prevent any sneak attacks.

'Wind Release: Great Breakthrough jutsu'

Instead of launching the jutsu in a direction, Shigeki spun once while exhaling high-speed and razor-sharp winds. As a result, the winds moved in every direction, dispersing the mist around the area. Shigeki quickly looked to his right and saw Fujin standing around 50 meters from him. He couldn't help but wonder, 'How did he dodge those sharp winds? Or is he invulnerable to attacks somehow?'

He didn't think much about it. In fact, even before the mist had dispersed, Shigeki had already begun weaving hand seals for the next jutsu.

'Water Release: Exploding Water Colliding Wave jutsu'

Shigeki spat out a large volume of water from his mouth. It immediately turned into a giant wave. A major portion of the water moved in the direction of Fujin, but the rest spread equally in all directions. Seeing Fujin's ridiculous speed, Shigeki understood that single-target attacks would have no chance of hitting Fujin.

A smile appeared on Fujin's face as he saw the massive volume of water heading towards him. He thought, 'Not bad. Not bad at all. He's able to take advantage of the terrain very well. In a place where water is abundant, he'll be able to pack quite a punch. I'll need to correct my judgment. He will have no issue in becoming a Jounin in Konoha.'

Fujin would have to reevaluate Shigeki once again. After all, he wasn't done. The massive amount of water was just the start. Even before it could reach Fujin, Shigeki had shot another Great Breakthrough jutsu, this time into the large amount of water he had just spat out.

Fujin was intrigued. He quickly moved backwards while analyzing, 'Is he planning to use the Great Breakthrough jutsu to speed up the water? However, how will that be of any help against someone as fast as me?'

As Fujin expected, the speed of the water indeed increased. However, there was one thing he didn't anticipate. The winds didn't just speed up the water, but they also allowed Shigeki to control the water to a great extent.

Dozens of water blades flew at Fujin at a rapid speed. It was far faster than a normal water jutsu. Fujin stepped out of the way, but his new position was bombarded with high-speed jets of water, forcing Fujin to flicker repeatedly.

Shigeki observed Fujin's movements and thought, 'He is still able to dodge them so easily? How did he even train to have such a speed? I'll have to change my style of attack.'

He exhaled more wind into the water. A second later, hundreds of shurikens were shot at and around Fujin, leaving him no space to dodge. Of course, it wasn't enough to stop Fujin who flickered a couple of times and appeared to Shigeki's left.

For a moment, Shigeki was left speechless. He thought, 'He flickered such a long distance? Though my shurikens covered a large area, it was useless against him. How am I even supposed to land an attack on someone like him?'

As opposed to Shigeki's helplessness, Fujin was excited. He thought excitedly, 'He improved so much in these few years? Marvellous! To be able to keep me on my toes. Now, let me see the limits of this combination jutsu, hehehe.'

To Shigeki's surprise, Fujin flickered on top of the large water body he had created and shouted, "Give me your best shot."

A sword appeared in Fujin's right hand. It wasn't his usual sword and instead was just an ordinary sword he had picked up from the targets he eliminated earlier. With Fujin standing atop the water, Shigeki's attacks became much faster as they didn't need to travel.

Fujin flickered continuously to dodge the incoming attacks. In most cases, he moved just a couple of meters away to dodge an attack. However, every now and then he'd be forced to flicker long distances or defend with his sword.

Fujin stayed atop the water for 5 whole minutes, dodging everything Shigeki could throw at him. The combination jutsu surprised Fujin a lot. He had researched Shigeki before he left the village. Shigeki did have a history of using Wind attacks in water bodies to block enemies from progressing. However, what he was using was in a completely different league.

Fujin judged with excitement, 'He is good. He's at least on par with Tokuhei from Yugakure. Though he still can't be considered an Elite Jounin, he isn't too far away. With my help, he'll reach it in no time at all. Anyway, it's time to end this. His chakra has almost run out.'