Danzo's sudden question surprised Hiruzen. He looked at Danzo with suspicion and wondered, 'Was it a coincidence or did he specifically send them after Fujin?'
Even Fujin was surprised. He didn't expect Danzo to openly ask such a question. Fortunately, he was prepared just in case. He put up a confused expression and replied, "I didn't. In fact, I didn't come across any Konoha ninja during my time down south. Did something happen?"
While Fujin answered, Danzo observed him carefully. He analyzed, 'His chakra flow was calm as he answered. But he is an experienced sensor. It shouldn't be difficult for him to disguise it if he is lying.'
Danzo replied, "Yes. Two Root ninjas left around the same time that you left the village and were headed in the same direction. Both went missing immediately. I never heard back from either of them."
Fujin put up a thoughtful expression. Meanwhile, Hiruzen observed both Fujin and Danzo. Unfortunately, neither of their expressions gave any hint of the truth. Hiruzen speculated, 'Knowing Danzo, it is likely that he sent them to keep an eye on Fujin. The chances of it being a coincidence are very low. But what happened to them? Don't tell me Fujin really eliminated both of them.'
Hiruzen became serious. While he knew that there was some tension between Fujin and Danzo, he didn't want it to develop into an all-out battle. He immediately started feeling a headache.
Cutting his thoughts off, Fujin asked, "Did you find out whether they left the village before me or after me? Also, how strong were they?"
Fujin's questions confused both of them. Neither Danzo nor Hiruzen could understand the reason behind the questions. Danzo answered, "Both were Jounins. They left the village a few minutes after you."
Fujin replied, "No wonder I didn't sense them. I was travelling at a very fast speed. A normal Jounin wouldn't be able to catch up with me. Besides, I activated my chakra field several times while moving. Had they come close to me, I'd have detected them even if they hid their chakra.
That said, I did inspect the route I was travelling along. I didn't detect any ninja hiding along the route. Unless it was a rank S ninja or someone absurdly good at stealth, I'm confident that there was no one hidden along the path. The only possible explanations are that those two took a different route or someone crossed that encountered them long after I had already moved on.
Unfortunately, I am afraid that I can't help you in either of the cases. I'll recommend asking ninjas who left the village after them. If there was someone faster among them, maybe they might have seen something."
Fujin's reply left Hiruzen and Danzo speechless for a moment. Danzo thought, 'No Jounin can catch up with him? He stated that as if it was a fact without a shred of doubt in his voice. What arrogance! Even Minato wasn't this arrogant despite his power!'
Even Hiruzen had the same thought. He sighed internally while thinking, 'Now that I think about it, we were arrogant when we were young as well. That said, we never acted arrogant in front of Lord Second.'
However, even though they were irked by Fujin's arrogance, both understood that he was right. While Hiruzen had barely seen a glimpse of Fujin's battle and Danzo had only heard about his achievements, the reputation of the Spectral Swordsman was too high. Despite being inactive for quite some time, the minor villages still feared that name. He was known for appearing out of nowhere, killing his enemies at blinding speed and disappearing before anyone understood what was happening. An ordinary Jounin stood no chance against him.
Not to mention, since Danzo had no proof, he had to accept whatever Fujin said. He had no points to counter Fujin or interrogate him more. He could only reply, "Alright, I'll look into the matter more deeply."
Fujin nodded while thinking, 'Look as much as you want. Both of them are dead, cremated and even their ashes are buried deep under the ground somewhere in the Land of Rivers. Good luck finding them.'
Fujin quickly changed the topic and asked, "So, can you tell me how to create a stable Vacuum Core for wide-range Vacuum jutsu?"
Danzo shook his head and said, "It is impossible to do so. A jutsu like the Great Breakthrough jutsu works because winds can spread very easily with little to no resistance.
To be able to create a Vacuum core to support such a jutsu, your Vacuum core should be able to expand itself and spread along the jutsu. And the expansion wouldn't just be horizontal, but also vertical. It is impossible to create such a large Vacuum Core normally, let alone by making a smaller core expand."
A frown formed on Fujin's face. He had obviously thought of all the complications Danzo had stated. It was why he had failed to create the jutsu. However, he recalled Danzo using a jutsu to pierce Sasuke's Susanoo.
Though the jutsu wasn't as wide-scaled as a Great Breakthrough jutsu, it still was far better than the Vacuum Bullet or Vacuum Cannon. The only thing that Fujin wasn't clear on was how much of a factor Danzo's summon was in that attack.
Fujin said, "I have thought of it as well. So, how do we bypass these issues and create one?"
Hiruzen chuckled internally at Fujin's response. He thought, 'He directly ignored all the complications and demanded for the jutsu.'
He found the situation extremely amusing. For once, he wasn't the target of Fujin's demands. Instead, it was the guy who constantly gave him headaches. Danzo was surprised once again. He couldn't help but glance at Hiruzen. Having known Hiruzen for so long, he could easily recognize the amusement in his eyes.
He cursed internally, 'Now I understand. I wondered why Hiruzen pushed this boy to the council despite never attempting to do the same for Kakashi, whose background is considerably stronger and would have received a lot more support.
Hiruzen didn't get Fujin into the council because he was strong. He did it because this boy is as shameless as him!'
Danzo had no choice but to answer. Hiruzen's earlier words implied that Danzo was receiving a favor from Fujin. In addition, Fujin also cooperated in providing information regarding the missing Root ninjas. Not to mention, passing knowledge to the next generation was a part of the Will of Fire.
Even though Danzo had fallen into the Darkness, he still needed to keep up his image. So, even if Fujin didn't do him any favors, he would have still had to tell Fujin about it. After all, Danzo was no longer active on the frontlines while Fujin would be active for decades. If he declined, Hiruzen would find another reason to restrict whatever remained of his Root even more.
Danzo answered, "It's simple. Just reduce your goal. Though it won't be as wide or as strong as you want it to be, the jutsu will still be very strong. Observe this."
Danzo stretched his left arm forward. A Vacuum Core began forming in his hand. Fujin's eyes began glowing as he concentrated chakra in them. So did Hiruzen's eyes. As the core formed, both were surprised. While Danzo had created a Vacuum Core, it was very different. The Vacuum Core itself consisted of several Vacuum Cores. Fujin could see 9 Vacuum Cores inside it.
Danzo explained, "Create a Vacuum Core that can store multiple Vacuum Cores inside it. When you use it to attack, you can split the Vacuum Cores inside and send them in different directions, increasing the area your jutsu can cover.
You have two choices in this aspect. One, you can send the Vacuum Cores very far away from each other. This is helpful when you are facing several ninjas that are considerably weaker than you and close to each other. However, stronger ninjas can easily dodge the vacuum cores and endure the rest of the jutsu.
The other way is to have those Vacuum Cores move close to each other. The distance should be such that no one can slip in between any two Vacuum Cores. This way, the area the jutsu covers is far less than the first way. However, it is still greater than a normal Vacuum jutsu.
You can compare it to shooting multiple Vacuum Bullets very close to each other. To dodge them, your enemy would have to move out of the way entirely. However, since those are individual bullets, they aren't as impactful as this. If you do it by storing those Vacuum Cores in another Vacuum Core, sharp winds will naturally form between each individual Vacuum Core once they split up. As a result, they are far more dangerous.
In addition, there is a limit to how many Vacuum Cores for Vacuum Bullets or other techniques you can form at the same time. By comparison, it is easier to increase the number of cores stored inside this Vacuum Core. Of course, there are limits as well, but that limit is much higher. Creating over 50 Vacuum Cores inside it isn't difficult. Then, you can increase the range further without losing its power and threat."