Naruto - The Wind Calamity

Chapter 150 : The Importance of Socializing

Takao saw Hiruzen. He wondered, 'What did Lord Hokage realize for him to be so surprised?'

Hiruzen thought, 'No wonder Fujin never did any mission. He never joined a team. From what Genki had said, Fujin stayed alone and never interacted much with others. Renjiro noted the same thing and said that Fujin preferred being and acting alone.

So Fujin has no contacts outside his small bubble of friends. And most of those friends are still in their genin squad or in the academy. He shouldn't be in touch with any chunins other than maybe his academy teachers.

And since he is an orphan, no one arranged for him to enter a squad. And with both his teammates being from big clans who were arranged in squads by their families, he was left with no one to make a team with.'

Hiruzen said, "Takao, call Sarutobi Tamotsu to my office."
Takao nodded and left the office.

Hiruzen sighed, 'Renjiro didn't teach that kid to socialize! And Fujin didn't even approach anyone about it. If he had visited the Mission Center a few times and let others know about his Wind Release Capabilities, lots of teams would have extended an invitation to him. Even if no one invited him, at least he could have improved his leadership skills by clearing out the rank C missions. Instead, he just chose to not do any missions at all.'

Hiruzen analyzed a few more things. In the end, he decided, 'I need to keep checking on Fujin's progress every month. While he isn't as talented as Minato or Orochimaru, he is still good. It'll be a waste if he loses interest due to not doing any missions and only training.'

Back to the present, Ryota led Fujin to Yakiniku.
Fujin asked, "Shouldn't we be going to the mission center?"
Ryota replied, "Not really. Meet up with the team first. We will accept the mission officially tomorrow."
Fujin wasn't sure what Ryota was up to. But he followed him in. Ryota led him to a table where 3 other people and a dog were sitting.

Fujin observed them. One of them was overdressed. Fujin noticed some bugs buzzing around him. Fujin concluded that he was from the Aburame clan.

Another was a definite Inuzuka. He was in his late teens as well. A huge ferocious-looking dog lay behind him. The dog noticed Fujin's gaze and stared back at him.

The last person looked to be in his mid-20s. His face had a large burn mark. There were multiple scars on his arms as well. Of the four people in this team, his chakra was the highest.

The scar-faced guy looked at Fujin and smiled. He said, "So you are Fujin. I have heard a lot of good things about you. Come sit."

Fujin sat down and said, "Hmm, I wonder who spoke about me."
He chuckled, "It was Lord Hokage."

Fujin wondered, 'Hmm… What is that old fox up to?'
The scar-faced guy said, "Let us introduce ourselves properly. I am Sarutobi Tamotsu. I am an Elite Chunin and the leader of this group. I specialize in Fire Release."

The other members of the group began introducing themselves.
Ryota said, "As I said, I'm Hatake Ryota. I am a Chunin. And I specialize in Earth Release."
The man sitting with the dog said, "I am Inuzuka Tadashi. This is my partner Kenta. I am a chunin too. I am responsible for scouting, tracking and smelling danger. I specialize in Taijutsu and I can use a few Fire jutsus as well."
Kenta barked at Fujin as if to say hello.
The last member, who was very quiet, said in a neutral tone, "I am Aburame Katsumi. I am a Chunin. I am responsible for scouting, tracking and trapping enemies. I can use some Water jutsus."

Fujin heard them carefully and remembered their specialities.

Tamotsu said, "Our team lacks explosive power. So we were looking for someone who specialized in Wind Release. That way, we could use a Fire-Wind combination jutsu. Unfortunately, ninjas with good control over wind manipulation are very rare in Konoha. That's why, when Lord Hokage recommended you, I agreed. So Fujin, would you like to join our squad?"