Chapter 931 : Another Way to Gain Strength?

Fujin had reasons to be concerned about the future. If even a fraction of Konoha's plans bore fruits, Konoha's strength would go through the roof, completely shattering the current equation of the ninja world.

It was also important to remember that Hiruzen and the remaining leaders in Konoha weren't aware of the true potential of Naruto and Sasuke. They were also in the dark about Fujin's mastery of the Flying Thunder God jutsu along with the miraculous abilities of his Myriad Tetragram Seal.

As such, Konoha would completely stand out from the remaining hidden villages. And, it wouldn't be just at the highest level like what happened after the Fourth Great Ninja War in the original story due to Naruto's and Sasuke's existence. Instead, Konoha would suppress the remaining villages at every level!

And, it wouldn't just be the villages. Fujin seriously doubted whether Akatsuki would possess the strength to force the Fourth Great Ninja War on to the ninja world.

Kabuto, who arguably contributed most for Akatsuki's side until the final stages of the war, had already been eliminated by Fujin. Fujin had also killed Deidara. From what Fujin knew, Akatsuki still hadn't found a replacement. Itachi was still a spy. Who knew how many more would run into Fujin before Akatsuki finally began hunting the remaining Tailed Beasts?

Fujin couldn't help but speculate, ‘If this were to continue, the only way the final war would be fair is if the remaining four villages teamed up with Akatsuki and ganged up on Konoha… As stupid as Obito's decision to declare the Fourth Great Ninja War was, I doubt he'd be so stupid to still force it…’

When Hiruzen survived without much interference from Fujin, Fujin understood the future had been affected greatly. The changes would be substantial and difficult to calculate. However, it was only now that Fujin realized to what extent the future would be distorted!

Fujin felt awkward as he realized another possibility, which was rather detrimental to him, ‘Shit… That bastard might revive Madara if he feels too helpless. It totally slipped my mind! I shouldn't have bullshitted so much!’

Unaware of Fujin's thoughts, Hiruzen answered Jiraiya, “I'll be leading a division to take over the vein…”

Hiruzen explained his analysis again. Jiraiya thought for a while before agreeing, “I'll look after the village, but be careful. If it's Akatsuki's trap, this mission can get very risky. We still do not know the extent of Nagato's abilities, or if they have any more secret members. If Akuro can use the vein to recover his strength quickly, he may not feel the danger and escape. That'll be risky too.”

Hiruzen nodded. He had already considered these risks. Suddenly, he noticed something odd and turned his attention to Fujin, who still looked deep in thought. He asked, “What are you thinking, Fujin?”

Danzo's suspicions aside, Hiruzen always found Fujin's perspective quite different from the rest. Aside from Fujin's greediness, it was the main reason why Hiruzen pushed Fujin into Konoha's political arena and frequently consulted with him.

With Danzo not cooperating with him, Jiraiya and Tsunade not in the village, Koharu and Homura slowing down with age, Fujin had become Hiruzen's go to person after Shikaku for discussing strategies towards the end of his reign.

Fujin gazed back at Hiruzen, thinking, ‘What do I do now? Should I downplay the threat or existence of ancient experts and turn their attention to Akatsuki? No, that wouldn't work. They have already convinced themselves of their existence. There's no way to undo this…’

Since he didn't see any other way, Fujin decided, ‘Ah, fuck it! I'm already too deep in it. I can only double down now…’

Fujin answered, “I was thinking of another way to improve our strength rapidly… Or perhaps, to reach the same level as these ancient experts…”

Fujin's words immediately generated curiosity in everyone. The existence of the ancient experts had been causing everyone except Jiraiya intense headaches for the past few hours. Danzo asked, “What is the way?”

Fujin said, “It's rather simple, if you think about it. Akuro said he was still recovering his strength and isn't anywhere close to his peak. So, I think it's safe to say the remaining ancient experts will be weak after they wake up in this era.

We simply have to find them before they recover sufficient strength and kill them. Not only will it reduce the danger, but we can also read their memories and learn the secrets behind their immense strength, their longevity and their techniques.

Even if we assume we can't copy the paths they took to gain their strength, or gain their longevity, just learning their techniques could help us increase our strength by a level or two. Didn't Akuro say Shin'en no Kōshi's Genjutsu techniques weren't passed down to us? Others should possess techniques we don't know too.

Another big gain would be learning about the remaining ancient experts from their memories. We'll know for sure what to expect in the divine war.”

Fujin's words brought silence in the room. It wasn't because he said something extraordinary. No! Hiruzen, Danzo, Shikaku and Tsunade, had all thought of this possibility. However, no one had said it out openly.

Danzo shook his head and broke the silence, "That's naive. These are experts who have survived for several eras. We can suspect their strength, but what we can't suspect is their ability to survive. They'll have countless ways of sensing danger. Even if trapped, they'll have a myriad of means of escaping. Killing them will be next to impossible. We can't count on this method.”

Fujin chuckled, “Who said anything about it being easy? Besides, you plan to eventually confront them. When will it be easy to kill them? When they've recovered their strength or when they are still vulnerable?

Of course, we can't depend entirely on this method. It is heavily dependent on encountering an ancient expert who hasn't recovered as much as Akuro has. Even then, the chance will be low as you said. However, there's no reason not to pursue it. We'll just have to ask our spies and patrol teams to keep an eye out for such individuals.

If we succeed, I don't need to tell you how beneficial it'll be for us.”

Shikaku muttered softly, “It could also result in the remaining ancient experts focusing on first…”

Fujin shrugged, “That is inevitable. However, it also depends on the relationship between these ancient beings. Akuro claimed they were injured by each other. So, we can say they aren't harmonious at the very least. If there's some deep enmity among them, it could also give us opportunities to create some alliances. Of course…”

Fujin's gaze shifted to Danzo as he continued, “We can't trust such an alliance…”

Hiruzen thoughtfully said, “There are other risks too. If we fail to kill the ancient experts, we may attract their vengeance for our attempts. But you are right. In the end, we'll still have to face them. We'll give this task to our spies and patrol teams. We'll decide what to do depending on the intel.”

Fujin nodded, expressing his satisfaction. At the same time, he awkwardly thought, ‘From being sent repeatedly to investigate and hunt myself, to scheming against non-existent comrades… Sigh, I don't even know what to think about this anymore…’

Hiruzen said, “The army is nearly formed. We'll set off within a couple of hours. Wait here in the office in case we need you…”

Hiruzen furrowed his brows as he suddenly thought of something. He asked curiously, “By the way, why did it take so long for you to come to the village? Where were you roaming this time?”

Fujin replied, “On the other side of the Land of Water. Didn't you ask me to investigate Fourth Mizukage's death? I was planning to report my findings. However, Danzo's death shocked me.”

Tsunade muttered, “Due to their civil war, our spy network in the Land of Water has taken quite a hit. We failed to gain any critical intel from them. What did you discover?”

Fujin answered, “I gathered the intel from one of the Chunins on Mei's side, who was present in the final battle. The truth is quite shocking, though not as much as what I just learnt here…”

Fujin looked at the ninjas in the room and said, “The Fourth Mizukage wasn't defeated in battle in the usual sense.”

Danzo asked, “What do you mean?”

Fujin answered, “When he appeared on the battlefield, Ao, the ninja with the stolen Byakugan, discovered that the Fourth Mizukage was under a Genjutsu. Their entire battle was essentially focused on breaking the Genjutsu. They eventually succeeded, but the former Mizukage collapsed immediately after, bringing an end to the civil war.”