Chapter 886 : An Alibi

“Me? What did I do?” Fujin asked with a face full of confusion. If a stranger saw his expression, they would immediately assume he was completely innocent and being framed by others. Unfortunately, Tsunade, Shizune and the Anbu Guards knew a lot about him.

Tsunade sighed, “You want to feign ignorance again? Sigh… Shizune, get that scroll!”

Shizune immediately replied, “Yes, Lady Tsunade!”

While Shizune looked for Iwagakure's scroll, Tsunade said, “You managed to enter undetected once again…”
Fujin shrugged, “Though the seal formation is good, it can't stall a Grandmaster for long. Unless you can get new seals which aren't known to other villages, or follow my recommendation, it is impossible.”

Tsunade frowned, ‘Neither of those is easy. It's been years since we found the seals left behind by the Jashin fanatics, but our research into them hasn't yielded any results. As for his suggestion… It's so ludicrous that I can't even consider it!’

Needless to say, Fujin's recommendation involved more than a couple of million seals. Though Konoha had the capability of creating such a formation, maintaining it was more or less impossible. If there ever came a time when Konoha no longer possessed any Grandmasters, the village would be doomed.

Tsunade muttered, “We don't have any choice for now. Just give the barrier team your report. They can continue refining the seal formation.”

Fujin nodded and accepted the scroll Shizune handed him. As he read, Tsunade asked, “Do you want to say you had nothing to do with this incident?”

Fujin read the report carefully before answering with complete confidence, “Yup, I haven't been to Iwagakure. Besides, is this report even reliable? Someone fought Roshi and Third Tsuchikage in the village and escaped unscathed while someone else plundered them? Since when did Iwagakure become so incompetent? It sounds like they're making up excuses to pick a fight with us. Hmph, perhaps I should pay them a visit for real.”

Fujin's words were so full of confidence and his tone was so righteous that Shizune and the Anbu Guards started doubting his involvement. On the other hand, Tsunade's left eyebrow twitched in annoyance. She realized, ‘There's no doubt! It's his doing!’

She answered, “It is true. We received reports from our spies confirming the events.”

Once again, surprise appeared on Fujin's face as he replied, “Eh? For real? Hmm, perhaps I should really go pay them a visit then. What do you think, Lady Tsunade? Do you have any targets in Iwagakure? As long as I don't run into Roshi or the old Tsuchikage, I should be fine.”

Tsunade's patience finally ran out and she exploded, “That's enough messing around. This matter isn't a joke. If we don't handle it properly, our relationship with Iwagakure will turn hostile. Even though we are in better shape, this isn't the right time for a war. You know very well how much a war will disrupt our plans. What am I supposed to reply to maintain the peace?”

The atmosphere in the office became serious. As one of the top ninjas in the village and someone who held a seat on the council, Fujin was well aware of Konoha's plans.

Since he began his little adventure, Konoha had completely revamped the academy, implementing both the changes he recommended along with a slew of other reforms. Konoha was serious about making their next generation far stronger than other villages.

At the same time, the existing ninjas weren't ignored. The Guidance Hall had become such a big hit that Konoha had to construct a second one to reduce traffic in the first Guidance Hall. Of course, it also brought the village massive economic gains, much like the gift Fujin gave Hiruzen.

In addition, Tsunade had a team of retired veteran ninjas look for promising talents among the younger ninjas. So far, over 250 young ninjas were inducted into the Anbu. Konoha's goal was to find over a thousand such ninjas and create an entirely new elite force over the next 5 to 7 years, much like what Kumogakure was doing.

However, Kumogakure was doing so to make up for the losses inflicted by Fujin and Akuro while Konoha was increasing its strength further. The difference between the two villages was apparent. So, Konoha wanted to patiently bide their time and increase the difference further instead of acting recklessly like Kumogakure.

Unfortunately for Konoha, Fujin didn't give a fuck about those plans. For him, everything apart from his strength was secondary. He shrugged and answered, “What else can we respond with? Simply decline our involvement and accuse them of trying to start hostilities if they cannot provide any proof for the claims in this report.”

He glanced at the report again, before adding, “As for whether Elder Danzo is involved or not, you'll need to do a thorough investigation. Him acting independently will harm our interests. Of course, we will have to deny his involvement even if he's involved. Just reply to them that Elder Danzo was always in the village and deny the existence of Root.”

Tsunade cursed internally, ‘This brat! He's clearly the one behind it and he wants me to investigate Danzo? That said, this might be a good opportunity. He has started acting up again since the surveillance on Root decreased. I can use this to cut his wings again…’

She snapped out of her thoughts as Fujin continued, “As for me, I was in the Land of Noodles for the last couple of weeks.”

Tsunade raised an eyebrow and asked, “So, if I write the Daimyo of Land of Noodles a letter, you want to say he'll acknowledge your presence there?”

Fujin nodded, “Of course he will. Just add that I loved his hospitality and their food and let him know I'll pay them a visit again in a few weeks.”

Once again, Tsunade's eyebrows twitched in annoyance as Shizune and the Anbu Guards wondered, ‘Is he saying he was there or is he threatening the Daimyo to provide an alibi?’

Needless to say, everyone in the room clearly understood that the Daimyo wouldn't have any choice but to accept it. Despite his inaction in recent times, the fear of the Spectral Swordsman hadn't decreased one bit. On the contrary, it had only increased due to Fujin's actions.

In the end, Tsunade sighed tiredly, “Leave, I'll take care of the situation.”
At the same time, she cursed internally, ‘Jiraiya… You better not return to the village any time soon!’
Fujin chuckled internally at her reaction, ‘Why didn't you simply do that? As if I'll acknowledge causing such a major issue. Even if everyone guesses it's me, what can they do as long as I refuse to accept responsibility?’

Fujin smiled and said, “Good luck, Lady Tsunade. Let me know if I can help. By the way, do you know where the old man is?”
Tsunade muttered, “He should be in the same training ground.”

Fujin thanked her, before disappearing from the office, leaving Tsunade to deal with the fallout of his actions. As he flickered across Konoha, Fujin thought, ‘I didn't expect Onoki to take the diplomatic route… To hold back his forces after such a humiliation, his patience is admirable. By comparison, Ay kept exposing his forces, eventually giving me an opportunity to steal a portion of Matatabi's chakra. That said, I wonder how Onoki would have reacted if I had used Wind jutsus?’

Fujin didn't believe Onoki would show similar restraint. Unfortunately, doing so would have escalated the issue beyond what Fujin wanted since he'd be forced to stay in the village to prepare for Iwagakure's counterattack.

“Hmm?” Fujin barely reached the training ground when he sensed a chakra fluctuation. Moments later, a black flame spread through the training ground. Fujin observed, ‘A near perfect combination of Yang and Fire Release… It still lacks compared to what he used against Orochimaru. He still hasn't reached his previous mastery of chakra control.’

Hiruzen, who was busy training, suddenly stopped and looked behind. Moments later, Fujin's figure appeared behind him. A smile appeared on his face, as he said, “Fujin, good to see you back.”

Fujin smiled, “Good to see you as well, Grandpa.”