Naruto: The Wind Calamity
chapter-626

Anko's eyes widened. Due to Orochimaru's interference, she stopped thinking about the exam. She exclaimed in shock, "What? It hasn't even been 2 hours since the exam started! How could someone pass so early? Which squad is it?"

The examiner reported, "It is a squad from Sunagakure. Actually…"

He paused before continuing with a serious expression, "They reached the tower 1 hour and 46 minutes after the exam began. It is the second fastest record in all the Chunin Exams.

However, what is even more surprising is the fact that one of the Genins from that team didn't have even a speck of dust on him."

Surprise and disbelief could be heard in his voice. Anko's eyes widened once again. Her eyes quickly turned towards Fujin as she remembered that Fujin had said that their squad was suspicious as well. At the same time, she recalled, 'Wait a minute, isn't Renjiro's squad the current record holders?'

Fujin chuckled and said, "Looks like they don't intend to hide how formidable they are. Oh well, let me see what those kids are made of."

His words surprised the ones in the room. Anko asked, "Do you intend to take action against them as well? Since they haven't done anything yet, acting against them could create problems for us."

Fujin shook his head and said, "Nothing like that. I'll just be talking with them."

Anko sighed in relief while thinking, 'Due to Orochimaru's actions, we already need to inform Kusagakure about their loss. Since they are a minor village, that won't be that troublesome, but Sunagakure won't be as easy to deal with.'

The examiner asked, "Should I call them here?"

Fujin shook his head and said, "No need, I already took care of it. Return to your post. You did well informing us about this. Let us know if you notice anything else that seems odd."

The examiner nodded and left. As Fujin said, Gaara, Temari and Kankuro were walking up the tower. Unlike Gaara, both Temari and Kankuro were very tense due to what they had seen a few seconds earlier.

They had just reached the tower and were told the meaning of the words in the wall scroll when a figure made of Wind suddenly appeared and asked them to come to the top floor of the tower.

As soon as they saw the Wind figure, they understood that Fujin was in the building. Temari and Kankuro exchanged glances in shock after the figure disappeared.

Both had just one thought running through their minds, 'How is he here? Wasn't he fighting against Orochimaru? Don't tell me that he won their fight…'

Despite having seen the deadly Wind Dragon, they couldn't believe that Orochimaru failed to kill Fujin. They immediately became tense thinking about why Fujin wanted to see them. If Orochimaru had leaked any details, then the three of them would be history! As they walked up the stairs, Kankuro and Temari could only pray that Gaara didn't act impulsively.

Soon, they reached the highest floor and entered the room Fujin was in. To their surprise, they saw Fujin and Renjiro looking at a Shogi board while Hoka and Anko were observing their game as well.

Without looking at them, Fujin said, "You guys took your sweet time coming here."

The Suna trio were surprised to hear the disappointment in Fujin's voice. Temari wondered, 'He is disappointed? Why? Also, why isn't he even a bit injured? Even though Orochimaru couldn't kill him, why did he fail to injure him even a bit?'

Before they could decide how to respond, Hoka chuckled and asked, "Why are you surprised? If they were fast, they would have reached the tower over an hour ago as you speculated."

Fujin sighed and tossed him a scroll while saying, "Alright, you win. It looks like the record won't be broken after all."

Kankuro finally couldn't endure their condescending tone and asked in annoyance, "What record are you talking about?"

Hoka glanced towards the Suna Genins and said, "The record for the lowest time taken to complete the second round of the Chunin Exams. What else can we talk about?

You guys did well. It's the second-best score. Unfortunately, you were too slow to have any shot for the record. You were over an hour late. Anyway…"

Hoka played with the scroll in his hand and said, "That's good too. Otherwise, I wouldn't have won so much from the bet, haha."

Hoka began laughing arrogantly. Both Temari and Kankuro became annoyed. They wondered, 'Were they seriously betting on us?'

Meanwhile, Anko's eyes twitched involuntarily as she thought, 'That scroll is empty. These two sure can act. If I hadn't heard their conversation, I would have thought that they were speaking the truth as well.'

Before Kankuro or Temari could express their displeasure, Fujin sighed again and muttered, "I expected the Kazekage's children to be much better."

Hoka chuckled again and said, "I already said that you overestimate others. Kids these days are too soft. Considering that they are the Kazekage's children, they'd be even softer."

Fujin shrugged and replied, "Oh well, nothing I can do. Though it's a disappointment that we won't see Lord Hokage rewarding anyone."

Temari asked, "What reward?"

Hoka answered, "Didn't you know? If someone breaks the record, Lord Hokage rewards that squad personally. The rewards are generally better than even becoming a Chunin."

Temari and Kankuro were stunned. Neither of them had heard about something so absurd. For a moment, both wondered whether what Hoka said was true. After thinking for a bit, both concluded that there was no reason for Hoka to lie.

Renjiro chuckled internally while thinking, 'Thankfully the old man isn't here. Otherwise, he might stop showing up to Chunin Exams entirely! I still vividly recall his expressions that day when Fujin asked him for a reward, hehehe.'

While his siblings were getting drawn in by the bullshit Fujin cooked up, Gaara's attention was entirely fixed on Fujin. He wondered, 'Was he the one who made me bleed that day?'

As far as Gaara could recall, that was the only time he bled. It had left a lasting impact on his young brain. For a few moments, bloodlust shot through his system and he almost attacked Fujin. Fortunately, he recalled Rasa's words and controlled himself.

Fujin sighed internally while thinking, 'What a shame…'

Even though it looked like Fujin's entire attention was on the game, in truth, he wasn't paying any attention to it. Instead, his senses were all entirely focused on Gaara. His words were actually to taunt Gaara into action. And, he was showing zero vigilance. He had nearly succeeded. Unfortunately, Gaara didn't act on his impulse.

Fujin thought, 'A shame. If he had attacked, I would have had a proper reason to act. Killing him now would have a massive impact on the future for sure. That change will likely not be good for Konoha.

However, if I can get Shukaku, I can test my new seal. If I succeed, my power will increase by a level. Even though I'll lose a considerable amount of my advantage of knowing the future events as Gaara plays a major role in the future, the gains would more than makeup for the losses.

The only major drawback is that I'll attract Akatsuki's attention. Pain and Obito are still a bit too strong for me to deal with. However, I am not afraid of them. Even though I can't defeat them, they can't kill me either. Hell, they wouldn't want to kill me anyway due to Shukaku.

Anyway, if I can't get my hands on Shukaku, I'll have to wait for the Fourth Mizukage to die and for Isobu to be reborn. That'll take a few years…'

For years, Fujin had been careful to not affect future events beyond a certain limit. Even though he had gone overboard a few times like when he created a mess in the Land of Wind, he hadn't ever purposely tried to do something that would irreparably change the future other than the time he went after Hidan.

The reason for that was twofold. The first thing he needed to consider was his strength. If he wasn't strong enough, there was no point in attempting to do anything like that. It would have been better to stay in the background and stay alive. It was only after he became a rank S ninja that he considered this option.

The second and most important reason was that there were certain incidents from which Fujin could profit heavily. If he acted recklessly and changed the future just for the sake of it, he would lose all those opportunities.

Hence, he needed to think over a hundred times before doing something that would forever change the course of the future. He had to be sure that his gains would make up for losing all those future opportunities!

Temari was oblivious to the trap Fujin had laid for her brother and complained, "Shouldn't you give us this information before the exam began?"

Anko joined in, "Where's the fun in that? Besides, if you need motivation to finish your mission most efficiently, then you aren't suited to be Chunins."

Temari frowned. Before she could complain, Fujin said, "Anyway, I just called you guys here to inform you that the next round will start in 5 days. Until then, you have to stay inside the tower. If you leave for any reason, you'll be disqualified. Feel free to use any facilities inside the tower that you fancy while you stay here. Also, remember that fighting isn't allowed here. Now shoo shoo."