The days that followed settled into a rhythm, and Fujimoto Tōma's life grew unexpectedly full.
He continued refining the Wind Release Rasenshuriken, though progress was slow. The technique devoured chakra at an unreasonable rate, and even with soldier pills, he could only attempt it a handful of times before calling it quits. Tōma wasn't in a hurry. Some things simply couldn't be rushed.
Most of his time was spent moving between different teams.
With Yūhi Kurenai's squad, he mainly consulted her on genjutsu. Not because he wanted to specialize in illusions, but because he wanted to understand them deeply enough to break them cleanly. After a few sessions, Kurenai saw through him and scolded him for wasting talent. From her perspective, someone with Tōma's mental strength not diving into genjutsu was a tragedy. Still, she couldn't force the issue. Tōma wasn't her student, his strength rivaled her own, and the Third Hokage had already told her to indulge his questions when reasonable. So Kurenai, a genjutsu expert, ended up teaching him how to dismantle illusions more efficiently.
Tōma could use genjutsu himself now. He just wasn't particularly refined at it.
He also frequently dropped by Sarutobi Asuma's team, though not to ask Asuma anything. Most of the time, he was there to visit Yamanaka Ino and shamelessly show affection. In terms of techniques, Asuma didn't really have anything Tōma didn't already understand. When it came to Wind Release, it wasn't even clear who was better. The real gap was physical constitution, and that wasn't something Tōma could bridge overnight.
For taijutsu, he sought out Might Guy. As for Hatake Kakashi's team, he hadn't gone out of his way to visit. Naruto and Sasuke already crossed paths often enough.
Among the Rookie Nine, Tōma had only directly helped Naruto and Sasuke.
With them, he knew exactly where to intervene. He taught both tree-walking and water-walking. For Sasuke, once the Sharingan awakened, Tōma finally passed on the Lightning Release stimulation method. It wasn't useful to Tōma anymore, but for Sasuke, it still had value. He hadn't taught it earlier out of concern that Sasuke, driven by revenge, would push himself too hard and burn himself out. Now, with the Sharingan as a reference and safety net, that risk was much lower.
Sasuke's foundations were solid enough to handle it.
Naruto's foundations, on the other hand, were a mess. But Naruto had Shadow Clones. Quantity made up for quality.
As for the others, Tōma had thought about helping, then gave up.
With Ino, the best path was still fundamentals. Master the Yamanaka clan techniques first, then transition naturally into medical ninjutsu later. Her clan techniques demanded fine chakra control and involved direct mental contact. That also meant backlash was a real risk. Tōma had briefly considered more aggressive mental applications, but Ino wasn't ready. Suggesting it now would only tempt her into hurting herself. That conversation could wait.
Shikamaru and Chōji were the same. Follow the paths their families laid out. Pig-Deer-Butterfly existed for a reason.
The reconnaissance types were even more straightforward. Aburame Shino's insects alone were enough to make Tōma mildly uncomfortable. He had no intention of offering advice there.
As for Inuzuka Kiba… his strength would always be capped by his ninken. That was the nature of his style, and not something Tōma could "fix."
Then there was Hyūga Hinata.
Tōma had mixed thoughts. Her talent was hard to judge. She eventually learned the Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms, but the question was how. If she learned it on her own, she was decent. If it had been drilled into her by the clan and she still struggled, that was another matter entirely. Given that she had already lost her position as heir by the time she joined Kurenai's team, Tōma leaned toward the former. The Hyūga elders weren't exactly known for generosity, and Hyūga Hiashi's attention was likely consumed by preventing the Caged Bird Seal. Teaching main family techniques under those circumstances would've been difficult.
More importantly, Tōma didn't think Hinata was suited to being a front-line combatant at all. Wanting to be a ninja didn't mean wanting to fight. Not every shinobi needed to.
Still, their relationship wasn't close enough for him to say anything. If needed, he'd mention it to Naruto later.
With Guy's team, things were clearer.
Hyūga Neji clearly saw Tōma as a benchmark. Not resentment, but rivalry. Neji had grown up hearing about him. The "demon," the early graduate, the prodigy. Even being a year ahead hadn't changed that.
Rock Lee… Lee was already pushing himself past reasonable limits. There wasn't much Tōma could do beyond easing the damage with Lightning Release stimulation and medical ninjutsu.
Tenten was a mystery. Even in Tōma's memories, she barely stood out. Though judging by her arsenal, she was probably well-off.
In the end, Tōma sighed. Outside of Naruto and Sasuke, there simply wasn't enough time. Even if he tried to help everyone seriously, the results would be limited. And he wasn't going to sacrifice his own growth for it. He helped when he could, nothing more.
That was his life lately.
It felt relaxed. Almost idle.
Yet when he actually counted things out, he realized he'd been busy nonstop. He'd even gone to Mount Myōboku to explain a few things. So why did it feel like he was resting?
Tōma tapped his temple and sighed. Probably withdrawal. After too many consecutive missions, not cutting anyone down felt… strange. Maybe this was what post-war fatigue looked like.
That day, as usual, he was heading to see Ino when an ANBU operative stepped into his path.
"Fujimoto-sama," the masked ninja said respectfully.
"Yes?"
"The Third Hokage requests your presence."
"…Alright."
Curious, Tōma headed to the Hokage's office. He sensed two Flying Thunder God marks already inside. Naruto and Sasuke, then.
When he entered, he found Team Seven assembled, along with Umino Iruka and a drunken old man. That told him everything he needed to know.
"TŌMA!" Naruto lit up. "You're finally here! The old man keeps making us take cat-and-dog missions! If you come with us, we can finally take a real one!"
"Naruto!" Iruka snapped. "No shouting in the Hokage's office!"
He immediately apologized after realizing where he was.
The Third Hokage chuckled. "It's fine. Well, Fujimoto Tōma? What's your answer?"
Naruto stared at him with open anticipation. Sasuke didn't say anything, but he was clearly listening.
Kakashi, for his part, looked far more awake than usual. His gaze lingered on Tōma, complicated and thoughtful.
Tōma's identity wasn't exactly a secret among jōnin anymore. Someone had connected the dots. ANBU's former "Ink Shadow." Once that idea surfaced, all doubt vanished. If it was him, then the rank made sense. The only shock left was his age.
Kakashi studied him quietly. Young. Calm. And unmistakably strong.
Under all those looks, Tōma simply nodded.
"Sure," he said casually. "I've been pretty free lately."