Chapter 596 : Anbu Captain! (Patreon)

Seeing Fujin's gaze, Anko became annoyed once again. She snorted and said, “First, you refuse to make any innovative changes to the Chunin exams. And now, you are acting like a pervert! Aren't you too young for this?”

After hearing all the rumors about Fujin, Anko was very curious about him. She had asked several people in her friend circle about him as his name kept coming up in conversations. However, no one knew much about him. Only Ibiki seemed to know a few things but he didn't say much. Unfortunately, she had only been disappointed due to her sky-high expectations.

Fujin raised his right eyebrow and turned his gaze towards Anko's eyes while saying, “Pervert? I'm not the one wearing a metal mesh and showing off. Besides, I was looking at the back of your neck. Or more specifically, that little tattoo.”

Anko was annoyed by his first sentence but was soon surprised. She wondered, ‘He is looking at my curse seal? But why? Wait, didn't the rumors also say that he is a Grandmaster?’

Fujin rested his right elbow on his left palm and massaged his chin with his right hand making him appear to be in deep thought. His gaze returned to her neck as he continued, “I initially thought it was just some sort of tattoo. However, on looking closely, it looks like an incredibly high-level seal.

And from the dark aura it gives, it definitely doesn't look like something that is beneficial for you. I wonder what it is…”

His gaze turned back to her eyes as he said, “As for your last question, I'm sixteen, not six. Grow up.”

Had it been his first life, Fujin would have definitely mentioned that her age was 50% higher than his, implying that she was too old. Thankfully, the experience of two lifetimes had made him smart enough to not make meaningless statements like that and needlessly invoke a lady's wrath.

Unlike Fujin, Anko's emotions were a mess. Even after a few seconds, she couldn't make up her mind as to what to think! She cursed, ‘This brat! Why is he so difficult to talk to? First, he implies that I'm a pervert. Then, he expresses concern about the curse seal. And finally, he says that he is sixteen and not six, implying that he is of the age to do something like that. Seriously, what the hell is up with this kid?’

The normally outspoken and brash Anko was lost for words. Fortunately for her, there wasn't anyone else in the room apart from Fujin to witness her in that state. Meanwhile, Fujin wondered, ‘Why does it look like she is going to experience a seizure? I asked her a rather simple question.’

Fujin asked again, “Well, what is that seal? Can I take a look at it?”

Fujin's question snapped Anko out of her complex thoughts. She shook her head and covered the seal while saying, “No. It is a memory of the past. Lord Hokage and Jiraiya-sama have sealed the seal. So, it isn't a worry.”

To her surprise, Fujin looked to be in deep thought once again. After a few seconds, he muttered, “Hmm? A seal that even Grandpa and the Toad Sage couldn't remove and had to resort to sealing… Now I'm even more curious about its origin.”

He looked back at Anko and said, “I have been studying quite a few weird seals lately. If you want to remove the seal, perhaps I can have a look at it. Who knows if you might get lucky.”

Despite Fujin's kind offer, Anko shook her head and answered, “Sorry. Some other time.”

Fujin sighed and replied, “Well, your choice. Let me know if you change your mind sometime in the future. Anyway, what else is left to learn about the second round?”

He thought, ‘Looks like she is uncomfortable talking about the curse seal. Understandable… Still, it's a shame that I can't study Orochimaru's curse seal. Oh well, there will be more opportunities in the future even if she doesn't agree.’

Anko was thankful that Fujin changed the subject. She quickly began informing him about the usual protocols. After explaining everything, she added, “Even though the Forest of Death can cause some deaths, we have to ensure that the deaths aren't too high.

If too many die, then other villages will refuse to send their talented Genins to Chunin exams. In addition, they might target our Genins when they visit their villages for Chunin Exams. While we don't need to do anything initially, if too many die, then we will need to act in the dark to prevent more deaths.”

Fujin was surprised and muttered, “Eh? That's surprising. But on second thought, it makes sense. Even more so this year when there are so many children of the clan leaders.”

Anko smirked and said, “Yes. They'll all be in your care, Proctor.”

Fujin just sighed like Hiruzen and said, “I guess so. I'll be counting on you to ensure that everything is fine. I'll see you later, Anko.”

Fujin turned around and disappeared from the tower, leaving a shocked Anko. She muttered in disbelief, “Did he push that work onto me as well?”

Fortunately or unfortunately, there was no one to listen to her. Unlike his fake sigh, Fujin wasn't worried. After all, he knew the future! As he flickered towards his house, he thought, ‘If I want to, I can just sit back and enjoy the show. Orochimaru won't attack the tower and no one of importance will die. That said, that would be a waste of a good opportunity… And opportunities like these are hard to come by!’

Fujin landed in front of his house. To his surprise, he saw two ninjas who wore Anbu masks sitting in front of his door. Both immediately looked towards Fujin. Fujin chuckled and said, “Well, now that's a pleasant surprise. Were you finally promoted?”

The two immediately got up and removed their masks. With a smile on his face, the first guy nodded and said, “Yup. Though I guess I need to be thankful to you for pulling the strings from behind.”

Fujin replied, “I wouldn't have pulled the strings if you weren't ready. So congrats. You should be proud of becoming an Anbu Captain at just 16. Not many have achieved that and almost all who did became Elite Jounins later.”

The second guy also smiled and said, “It's good to see you again after a long time, Fujin.”

Fujin nodded and said, “Nice to see you after as well, Tatsuya. Come on in. It's been a while since either of you visited.”

The two nodded and entered. Both were rather old acquaintances of Fujin. The one who became an Anbu Captain was Handa Bunjiro, an orphan whom Fujin had guided when he was still in the academy and later joined Fujin's Anbu squad.

The other person was Uzuki Tatsuya, someone who grew up in the same orphanage as Fujin. He had joined the Anbu as well, though he was still some distance away from becoming an Anbu Captain.

Fujin had been very impressed with Bunjiro's talent and work ethic. He was surprised to see him enter the Anbu just two years after he graduated. And now, he managed to become an Anbu Captain in less than three years after becoming an Anbu!

Even though Fujin had interfered and asked Eagle to give Bunjiro the Promotion mission earlier than he would have normally, Bunjiro's progress was still very fast. After all, the fact that Bunjiro had completed the promotion mission successfully proved his ability.

As they sat on the sofa, Bunjiro said, “I might have become an Anbu Captain, but I still can't compare with you, Captain. You became a Council Member and are now taking care of so many orphans. If we had an environment like this growing up, we would have aced the academy!”

Tatsuya chuckled and asked, “Are you forgetting that we still aced the graduation exams? Otherwise, we wouldn't have been assigned to Sensei.”

Bunjiro replied, “Ah, I almost forgot. But you know what I mean. You have seen how good these kids are. As expected of you, Captain!”

Tatsuya nodded. The orphans in Fujin's compound were abnormally good. Fujin just looked at them and wondered, ‘How Danzo would react if he learnt that all the credit for his hard work of finding talented children, making them orphans, kidnapping them and training them to build strong basics was being given to me?’

Though Fujin didn't think Danzo would show much of a reaction, he could imagine how offended Danzo would be internally! He replied, “I didn't do much. The kids are just too talented. Anyway, I'm sure two are curious why I asked you two to come here after Bunjiro gets promoted, right?”

The two immediately nodded. Fujin hadn't given them any explanation so far. They just followed his instructions as they owed and respected him a lot.