The 5 Taki ninjas stared at the Spectral Swordsman in front of them and gulped. His information began running through their mind. It was around 6 months ago when murmurs of a swordsman were being heard. It was said that he appeared and disappeared at will. It was said that his victims wouldn't even know when they were dead until they saw their headless bodies with their detached heads. According to the rumors, there were two features that were identified with the Spectral Swordsman. They were the Hawk mask he wore and two exquisite swords hanging on the right side of his waist.

The swordsman was soon called the 'Spectral Swordsman'. Among the minor villages, he was a menace! There were no records of anyone stopping him. Even against the major villages, his record was very good. He would eliminate his target and escape long before any reinforcements could arrive.

He was so efficient, that it took over 6 months for someone to actually see him in action! As soon as he was seen, rumors of his appearance spread quickly throughout the ninja world.

The ape-masked Anbu shouted, "Don't be shocked by his reputation! He is just one guy! Stay and fight together! Keep an eye out for his sneak attacks."

His words snapped everyone from their shock. They prepared themselves for an intense fight. Chakra flowed through the sword of the Spectral Swordsman as he swung it towards the 7 ninjas. A windstorm consisting of hundreds of sword slashes immediately engulfed the group.

The two Iwa Anbu ninjas immediately slammed their hands on the ground.

'Earth Release: Multiple Earth Walls Jutsu'

Immediately, dozens of walls of varying sizes appeared from the ground. They surrounded them from multiple sides. Having experienced the Vacuum Bullets, they didn't want to lock themselves in without any room for escaping.

The Windstorm hit the walls and left multiple slashes in the walls. But once again, the walls stood. Behind the wall, the Ape-masked Anbu shouted, "Keep an eye out for those wind bullets! And counterattack once these winds die down!"

Even without his warning, everyone was as alert as they could be.

The Spectral Swordsman noticed their defense. He opened his mouth and exhaled a horizontal wind wave. However, the core of this wind wave was made of vacuum!

The Vacuum Wave hit the walls and cut through them with ease. The enemy ninjas saw the wave and immediately jumped high up to dodge the wave. The wave safely passed from under them and cut off a bunch of trees before leaving a deep scar on the ground!

However, their troubles weren't over. As soon as they jumped to dodge the attack, the swordsman flickered next to them. They watched in horror as he swung his sword once again.

The one closest to him had no chance of dodging. His neck was sent flying in the air. Worse, the sword also sent a flying slash towards the rest of them. Three more Taki ninjas couldn't dodge or use any defensive jutsus and died to the slash. Only the Taki captain and the two Iwa Anbu were able to move out of the way.

The Iwa ninjas quickly got back on the ground while weaving hand signs. Elephant-masked Anbu slammed his hands on the ground.

'Earth Release: Mud River jutsu'

The ground in front of him turned into mud and flowed towards the Swordsman at a high speed. At the same time, the ape-masked Anbu completed his jutsu.

'Fire Release: Fire Dragon Jutsu'

He spat a fire dragon into the mud river. Both jutsus combined seamlessly and moved towards the swordsman ferociously. However, the swordsman just flickered out of the way and once again moved to their rear and attacked with his sword.

The Taki captain saw his actions. He thought, 'I can't let him swing his sword anymore. Or even I might die here!'

He weaved signs and spat a water jet at the swordsman to force him back. However, instead of dodging, the swordsman exhaled a Vacuum Cannon into the Water Jet. The jutsu overwhelmed the water jet and ripped straight through it at a rapid speed!

The Taki captain didn't expect such a response and was caught off guard. He barely managed to move to his right. Unfortunately, the jutsu was too fast and much larger than the earlier bullets. The cannon hit the left side of his chest and tore it from his body entirely! Even his heart was destroyed. He fell to the ground with his eyes wide open and full of terror and shock.

The sight sent a shiver down the spines of the Iwa Anbu. However, they didn't let it affect them and attacked the swordsman immediately. This time, his position was pelted by hundreds of sharp spikes. However, he still flickered away. The ape-masked Anbu cursed, "Slippery Bastard!"

However, suddenly their eyes widened. Both looked to their left. A blue arrow of Lightning was piercing through everything in its path and approaching them at an insane speed. They immediately tried to jump out of the way but tripped and fell down. In a panic, they looked at their feet.

They were shocked to see that their feet were stuck in the ground. Shock appeared on their faces as they couldn't believe that they were trapped using the element they were most proficient in! The Lightning Arrow reached them and exploded. Both their bodies were zapped mercilessly. A miserable scream exited their mouth!

After a few seconds, the Lightning dispersed. The scent of their burnt flesh could be smelled. However, they were still alive and barely stood on their feet. The Lightning had got rid of the trap under their feet. Unfortunately, the swordsman appeared behind them and beheaded them both with a single swing of his sword. All 14 ninjas were killed!

The swordsman looked at the dead ninjas and thought, 'It doesn't matter how many times it happens, your intelligence still shocks me, Shikaku!'

He looked up to see a turtle-masked Anbu appearing from the ground. He was the one who trapped their feet.

Turtle sighed and said, "Your speed keeps amazing me, Hawk! It's as if you get faster every day!"

The victory was overwhelming. And the major reason for such an overwhelming victory was his speed. He dodged every attack and always had the initiative whenever he decided to attack. At times, his enemies didn't even have the time to form a jutsu!

Hawk replied, "They were at most Chunins. Only these two were better. Still, they weren't strong enough."

Turtle muttered to himself, 'Do you have to keep saying that every time? Besides, you are also a Chunin!'

Soon after, a bear-masked and a fox-masked Anbu appeared from the direction from where the Lightning Arrow was shot.

Kuma observed the surroundings and said, "Great work as usual, Hawk."

Hawk nodded and asked, "I didn't sense anyone else other than these guys. So is this mission over?"

Kuma nodded, "We checked the perimeter and didn't find anyone else. There shouldn't be any more danger for Yuya. And if something does happen, he still has Yuto protecting him.

In any case, this was the only attack that the commander predicted. It isn't our job to keep protecting them until they reach their home."

Hawk nodded. Of course, the commander who Kuma referred to was Konoha's Jounin commander and not the Anbu commander. Shikaku had predicted that a move would be made against Ito Yuya, who had good relations with Konoha. Hence, Kuma's Anbu unit was sent to eliminate the attackers and push the blame on Iwagakure.

Kuma approached the dead bodies and instructed, "Turtle, crush them with Earth Release. Make it look like they were killed by Iwagakure ninjas instead of a sword."

Turtle nodded and got to work. In a few minutes, he changed how the wounds on everyone's bodies looked. He stabbed Earth Spears into the wounds made by the Air and Vacuum bullets. As for the ones that were beheaded, he crushed their bodies at the spot of the cut so that they wouldn't look like a clean cut. If anyone would see their bodies, it would be very unlikely that they could be traced back to the Spectral Swordsman.

Hawk inspected the bodies and nodded in satisfaction. The truth is that he had done many more killings than he was given credit for. However, most of them were hidden due to Turtle's methods. So he was looked at as more of a fable rather than a bloodthirsty killer.

After planting some fake evidence, Turtle buried all the bodies in the ground and they left without speaking another word and began returning to Konoha.

They returned back to their quarters in the Anbu. After removing their masks, Tsuyoshi said, "Great work as usual. The mission was completed without a hitch."

He looked at Fujin and said with a smile, "Fujin, over the last 20 months, your performance has been brilliant. Lord Hokage has acknowledged your performance and asked you to meet him tomorrow."

His praise for Fujin wasn't unjustified. Fujin had fit into the Anbu unit like a glove and seamlessly blended into the Anbu lifestyle. He was efficient, deadly and didn't seek fame or glory. Despite having a famous title, very few in Konoha knew that it was him.

Kaen and Teru's eyes widened as they realised what Tsuyoshi meant.

Fujin nodded and said with a smile, "Alright."

Teru immediately patted Fujin's shoulder and said in excitement, "Congrats, Fujin!"

[A/N: Finally a major timeskip. I initially didn't want to keep such a long timeskip in the story as the story is supposed to follow Fujin's life and progress. But unfortunately, I was running out of good ideas. I didn't want to keep extending the story by repeating similar missions or training sessions. So I decided to go for a longer timeskip to move the story forward to the more important events. I will slowly show everything that Fujin learnt during this period.]

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