Chapter 227: Swords!
Hiruzen lifted a couple of boxes from under his desk and placed them on his desk and said, "This arrived yesterday evening. I called you as I believed that you would want it right away."
Fujin observed the boxes. His attention was immediately drawn to their ornate designs. Their lids were carved with intricate patterns of Dragons and Tigers. And it was made from a wood that had an ancient feeling to it.
Fujin realized and quickly exclaimed, "My swords are here?"
Hiruzen nodded and said, "Fuji arrived here from the Land of Iron yesterday."
Fujin moved forward and lifted one of the lids to see a soft, plush lining that cradled his sword. He grabbed the sheath and picked up his sword.
The sheath was an art in itself. Swirling designs were etched into its glossy black lacquer. As Fujin ran his fingers along the sheath, he felt the satisfying smoothness of the fine craftsmanship.
Finally, he drew out the sword. The blade was long and thin with a very slight curve to it. Both its edges were very sharp. When the light fell on it, it shimmered with a greenish hue that caught Fujin's eye. The hilt was made of polished green jade that fit comfortably in Fujin's hands.
Fujin moved the sword around. It felt very light and almost as if it was an extension of his arm. A smile appeared on his face as chakra began flowing along the blade. He muttered, "The chakra flow along this blade is so smooth!"
Fujin's chakra flowed through the blade without any obstruction. It was charged with wind chakra almost instantaneously. Fujin had no doubts that if he swung his sword, the entire Hokage building would collapse!
Hiruzen smiled and said, "The sword has some chakra metal that assists in Wind chakra flow. Very few will be able to stop your sword in the future. Of course, do be careful about them. The swords are very expensive and could get some unwanted attention."
Fujin replied, "If they are greedy, they might try to get my head first. But I will keep it in mind, grandpa."
Fujin immediately began checking his other sword leaving Hiruzen a bit awkward as he recalled that Fujin's head was worth more than those swords.
The second sword was just as good as the first one. Fujin kept his sword back in the sheaths. Hiruzen instructed, "Keep the sheaths and boxes properly. The blacksmiths attach a lot of importance to making them. So destroying them or throwing them away is seen as an insult by them.
Also, the sheath is made of special materials which help preserve the chakra metal properties in the sword. So when you don't use them, keep them in their sheaths."
Fujin replied, "I didn't know about that. But seeing how well the sheath and the box are made, I guess it makes sense. I'll store them properly."
Hiruzen smiled and said, "That is all. There is still some time before I invite you to Anbu. Use it to master Mystical Palm and create a bond and develop teamwork with your summons."
Fujin nodded and left the room. He thought, 'I guess Ryu wasn't kidding when he said that the younger ones hadn't ever seen a human. It should have been a long time since they had a summoner. Kinda sucks. I was hoping that Hiruzen knew how impressive they were and used that fact to get some Wind crystals…
Anyways, since he doesn't know, I doubt he could warn me about their plans. On the plus side, I will be able to keep my sage training a secret. If I do master it, my strength will grow phenomenally. And since there is no way to sense it unless I use it, it will become my strongest Ace in the hole!'
A smile formed on his face as he wondered who would fall prey to this hidden card. Of course, that would be a long time away and would need a lot of hard work and perhaps some luck to achieve.
Fujin returned home. Two symbols glowed on his bracers and his old swords appeared. Fujin calculated, 'Hiruzen asked me to keep the new swords in their sheaths. I will have to modify the storage seal so that my new swords fit. That isn't an issue.
The problem is that I have to store them with their sheaths. So when I summon the sword, I will get the sword with the sheath instead of just the sword. And while that may look cool, it will be very inefficient. So what to do?'
Fujin analyzed a lot and began recalling all the seals he had learnt. After a few minutes, he prepared a plan that would allow him to store the swords in the sheaths but summon just the swords. However, before he could work on it, he had an idea.
Fujin thought, 'Wait a minute! Though Anbu ninjas wear a mask to hide their identity, I doubt that it would be a hundred percent effective. After all, every ninja has unique features. Someone like Kakashi is very easy to identify despite his anbu mask.
So it's safe to assume that every village will try to keep information about the Anbu ninjas of enemy villages. If that is the case, then I should give them something to identify me with myself instead of them figuring out something I can't change and don't know.'
A mischievous smile appeared on Fujin's face as he thought of a plan to mess with the minds of the ones that might want to target him in the future. He stored the new swords in a scroll and kept the old swords back in his bracers.
He left his house and went to the Training ground. He bit his thumb and weaved a few hand signs and slammed his right palm on the ground.
'Summoning Jutsu!'
Smoke appeared in front of Fujin. In the smoke, the silhouette of a 3-meter-tall Sabertooth was visible. Meanwhile, Fujin's breath became heavy. He was alarmed, 'Damn! A single summoning jutsu exhausted more than 40% of my chakra!'
The smoke dispersed showing Goro. He looked at Fujin and exclaimed in joy, "I knew it!!! I knew it!!! I dared my brothers to make a bet with me that you would summon me first! They didn't even dare to accept my bet! Hahahahaha."
Fujin watched with a deadpan expression. He sighed in his mind, 'Looks like this jutsu is a waste until I can summon his brothers.'
Goro asked, "So, why did you summon me? Tell me whose ass you want to be bitten? You can rely on me one hundred percent!"
Fujin replied, "Sure I can. But I am not facing any enemy. I just want to see how a great winged sabertooth like you fights. And I want to build good teamwork between us."
Goro answered with a bit less excitement in his voice, "Oh, that sounds boring. But since you can see how great I am, I will show you!"
Fujin said, "I am not sure how much we can fly here. Can you summon me to your mountain? We can experiment there."
Goro nodded, "Alright alright, I will see you in a minute."
He disappeared. Fujin sighed, 'Did he fall on his head as a child or did Ryu spoil him rotten for him to develop such a personality? I hope he fights well. Otherwise, it'd be completely hopeless.'
Fujin suddenly disappeared from the training ground and appeared at Mount Muteki in front of Goro. Fujin's sudden appearance was noticed by a few Winged Sabertooths but they ignored him.
Goro asked, "So, what do you want to see first?"
Fujin looked around him. He was in a small cave with just Goro. He said, "I want to see how a Winged Sabertooth fights. Then, I can see how we can work together."
Goro said, "Alright, climb on my back."
Fujin climbed on his back.
Goro said, "Hold tight."
He spread his wings and jumped out of the cave. He flapped his wings a few times and began flying at a very fast speed. Chakra gathered in Fujin's eyes to keep them safe from the strong winds.
Goro said with pride, "The first thing you should know about us is that we fly very fast! Even most of the birds can't keep up with us. That is especially true for Kaito. He loves flying. He can fly as fast as Lightning and can keep that speed up for days!"
Fujin was surprised. He analyzed, 'Speed of Lightning is unrealistic. But if I assume that he flies twice as fast as Goro and can maintain that speed for hours, then he would be a very good aid in escaping.'