Flashback -

Team Renjiro was about to press on the attack, when Fujin said, "Formation nine!"

The eyes of Renjiro, Mieko and Hoka widened. Formation nine was a code word for a battle tactic that Renjiro had taught them.

It was a tactic used under a specific condition. The condition was that they are facing adversity so strong that they have no chance of victory and a high chance of death!

Renjiro's eyes widened, but he completed his jutsu. Fujin made one shadow clone and poured around 70% of his chakra into it.

Renjiro made three clones and poured 60% chakra into one clone and 5% chakra into each of his remaining 2 clones. The weaker clones used the Transformation jutsu to transform into Hoka and Mieko as neither of them knew the Shadow Clone jutsu.

He followed up with the summoning jutsu to summon the Sloth. All this was done in under 2 seconds while Kakuzu and Kaminari were hiding under the dome. The clones stayed behind while the real ones escaped by flickering continuously.

After escaping for a kilometer, Renjiro made 3 more clones while Fujin made another. A couple of clones transformed into Mieko and Hoka once again and continued escaping forward. While the real team took a different and longer path and left behind no tracks at all!

After splitting, Fujin was breathing hard. He had lost most of his chakra to the clones. Since he planned to end with Shadow Explosion jutsu, his clones won't return any chakra.

After moving for a bit, Mieko asked seriously, "Why did you say formation nine? Who were those guys?"

Fujin didn't reply and tapped one of the pockets of his flak jacket. A scroll dropped. Fujin opened it and summoned a bottle.

Everyone watched as a bottle of Soldier pills appeared in Fujin's hands. Fujin opened and consumed a pill. He looked at Renjiro and asked, "Do you want one as well, Sensei?"

Renjiro nodded and took a pill. Fujin kept the bottle back and answered, "The masked man is Kakuzu. I read his information in the Bingo book. He is, or rather was, an S rank ninja!"

This information surprised them. Especially Renjiro who knew the information of all S rank ninjas. Renjiro asked, "What do you mean by 'was'?"

Fujin answered, "According to the information, he was sent by Takigakure to assassinate Lord First Hokage. But he failed and was presumed dead. However, somehow, he managed to make it alive and returned to his village. After returning, he revolted against his village and became a rogue ninja. He was never seen again. I guess everyone assumed that he died and hence he isn't put in the shorter Bingo books."

The explanation shocked them. But soon, they became skeptical. Mieko said, "The first Hokage lived a looooonnnnnggg time ago! How would that guy still be alive if he fought back then?"

Mieko purposefully stretched the word 'long' while speaking to tease Fujin.

Even Renjiro was doubtful of this information. How could someone that old look so young?

Fujin shrugged and said, "We will get the information when our clones are dispelled. If you have the bigger Bingo book, you are free to check."

He looked at Mieko with a smirk on his face and said, "If you want to go back to check with your own eyes, then good luck. I'll be sure to offer flowers to your grave, haha."

Renjiro instantly shut him up, "Don't joke about such things. Anyways, fighting them wasn't a part of our mission. So there is no need to risk our lives against enemies we don't have information about."

Fujin looked at Hoka and asked, "Hoka, you said his body was disgusting. What did you see?"

Hoka answered, "Instead of nerves and blood vessels, his body seems to be made of threads. And he had 5 hearts in his body!"

Mieko was shocked. She asked, "5 hearts? How can something like that be possible?"

Hoka replied, "I have no idea."

They both looked at Renjiro. So did Fujin. Renjiro shook his head and said, "I have never heard about any such technique. But, if we assume that having just 1 heart would keep him alive, it could mean that he just faked his death against Lord First."

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Fujin, Mieko and Hoka nodded. They all analyzed the information.

After some time, Fujin asked, "Sensei, who was the other guy?"

Renjiro looked at Fujin and asked, "You didn't see him in the Bingo book?"

Fujin answered, "The Bingo book has way too many names. I probably forgot. I only read the S ranked ninjas in detail."

Renjiro understood. The Bingo books had a lot of names. It was impractical to remember everything. He said, "The other guy is Kaminari. He was an Elite Jounin in Kumogakure. He is strong, and very close to being ranked S. He was deployed against Kirigakure in the 3rd war. So I never fought him before."

Fujin was surprised. He thought, 'Akatsuki recruits ninjas who aren't S ranked? I guess none of Kakuzu's previous partners was S ranked. That's why they died at his hands. This guy will be killed by him as well.'

Fujin asked Renjiro, "Why did he go rogue?"

Renjiro answered, "We don't have much information regarding that. He went missing after the 3rd war. We speculated that the 3rd Raikage passed the secrets of his Lightning Release : Chakra Mode to his son and not to him.

That is why he couldn't master the Lightning Release : Chakra Mode and hence didn't have any chance at becoming the 4th Raikage. Seeing that he has gone rogue, it looks like this is indeed the case."

Fujin was surprised. He thought, 'Oh well, no matter the world, nepotism exists everywhere!'

Fujin replied, "I see. That seems dumb."

Renjiro nodded, "Yeah, it is."

Fujin said, "Did you notice their cloaks Sensei?"

Renjiro nodded.

Fujin said, "They are both rogue ninjas. And both are very strong. Seeing that they both wore the same cloak, they probably have some organization behind them."

Renjiro agreed, "Yes. It is disturbing. I'll ask Lord Hokage to look into this. If there are more ninjas at this level in this organization, then they could pose a threat to even Konoha."

They moved alongside the longer path for around 10 minutes while discussing more. Mieko and Hoka complained about missing out and decided to learn the Shadow Clone jutsu after returning to the village.

Team Renjiro flickered numerous times in order to ensure that they can't be chased. Mieko and Hoka also consumed a soldier pill each.

While moving, Fujin wondered, 'Renjiro was never mentioned in the original story. Could it be because he was killed by Kakuzu? Then again, he is getting old. He could have just retired and stepped aside. And he probably became one of the thousands of nameless ninjas who participated in the 4th war. Not much point thinking about it.'

Finally, Renjiro and Fujin received memories of their clones.

Sweat immediately formed on Renjiro's face. He said in a shocked voice, "You were right Fujin. Kakuzu is strong. Very strong. If we had stayed back, the most probable result would have been our death!"

Mieko and Hoka were shocked. Hoka asked, "He is stronger than even you, Sensei?"

Renjiro nodded. He answered, "Don't overestimate me. There are many who are stronger than me. While killing my clone, Kakuzu said something about taking my heart. I guess his longevity secrets have some relation with his multiple hearts.

Also, he probably went a bit easier on my clone as he didn't want to damage my heart. If he was serious about killing me, my clone wouldn't have lasted that long."

Mieko and Hoka were stunned by Renjiro's admission. Fujin wasn't surprised. He was well aware of how strong Kakuzu was.

Renjiro looked at Fujin and said, "You did great. If it was known that you managed to injure Kaminari, your reputation would explode."

Mieko and Hoka looked at Fujin with envy. Knowing their thoughts, Fujin looked at them with an innocent smile on his face and said, "I probably burnt his right forearm with the clone explosion too."

They immediately snorted and looked away. They both hated looking at Fujin's smug face!

Fujin looked at Renjiro and said, "Keep it a secret if you can, Sensei. I don't want a bounty so soon."

Renjiro nodded. Getting attention wasn't always a good thing. He said, "I'll report it to Lord Hokage secretly. Mieko, Hoka, don't talk about this to anyone."

Both nodded. As a ninja, keeping secrets was critical. The lesser others knew about you, the higher your chances of victory would be. Kaminari was much stronger than Fujin. The reason that Fujin managed to injure him was that he got overconfident and wasn't aware of Fujin's skill with the Wind Vacuum Technique.

Fujin looked at Renjiro and said, "Using long and wide range Ninjutsu is very useful. Especially when fighting against someone stronger."

Renjiro nodded and said, "It's especially true for Wind Element. Facing Sunagakure in the desert is a nightmare. Even more so when they mixed poison with it.

But, don't get overconfident. Kaminari didn't go all out as your chakra would eventually run out. If you are outmatched, then this tactic is only good for wasting time."

Fujin nodded. He had sensed that Kaminari stalled only because his fighting tactic was unsustainable.

Fujin said, "I wonder if they will chase or not."

Renjiro analyzed and said, "Probably no. They took 10 minutes to dispel our clones. Tracking would be tougher and they would have to move a lot faster."

Fujin nodded. Chasing would be rather pointless now. But, they were both wrong. A bit later, both received the memories of their clones again.

Fujin said, "That was impulsive."

Renjiro nodded, "Yes, it was."

Mieko and Hoka asked, "What happened, Sensei?"

Renjiro answered, "They tracked our clones. Kaminari attacked recklessly. All four clones surrounded him and exploded. He should be injured, but his life won't be in danger. I guess he was just annoyed at getting fooled."

Mieko chuckled, "That would teach him a good lesson for chasing after us."

Renjiro replied, "Don't take it too lightly. This time we were saved due to Fujin reading the Bingo books. When we return, you and Hoka should read it too. Also, this tactic worked perfectly this time. Next time, it won't work so well. So work hard and become stronger."

His students nodded. Though they got away without any injuries, the experience was very scary. After travelling for a bit, they finally reached the borders of the Land of Fire.