Seven-Tails Fu (Mid)

At this moment, the female ninja—the jinchuriki of the Seven-Tails—seemed unable to hold on any longer after Kakuzu's departure. The wings behind her vanished, and she collapsed to the ground, utterly exhausted.

The female ninja slowly wiped the sweat from her face, thinking to herself, That was close. It's fortunate I had some prior intelligence on Kakuzu, and that he was somewhat careless, or I never could have held him off with the Tailed Beast Mode. If the fight had dragged on, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to suppress the Seven-Tails. It's a good thing I can borrow some chakra from that creature; otherwise, I'd be finished today.

As she thought this, she noticed no one had arrived yet and muttered internally, "Hey, you big lug, did you see that? I almost died today. If I die, you're finished too. Although a tailed beast like you can eventually reform, who knows how many years that would take? Are you still refusing to cooperate with me? Only if we work together can we survive better. I know you want your freedom, but you can see the situation—I'm in a very dangerous position."

After waiting a while and hearing no response, the female ninja asked again, "Hey, why aren't you saying anything?"

A moment later, a voice echoed in her ear: "Very well. I will teach you a few things. In all these years, I have rarely encountered a jinchuriki like you. I shall tell you more when you come back next time." The voice then fell silent.

"Yes!" The female ninja made a victory gesture, thinking, I'd heard that the Seven-Tails was the most cunning and cowardly of the tailed beasts, but I never expected it to be true. To think it made such a concession over a little bit of danger. This was risky, but the harvest is not small.

Just then, several figures appeared in the distance, sprinting toward her. In a moment, they reached her side. "Lady Fu, are you alright?" one of the ninjas asked.

"I'm fine. The people on this side have retreated. How are things on your end? Is it over?" the female ninja asked.

"Almost. There is only some minor resistance left. Lord Takikage sensed something was wrong here and sent us to check. We didn't expect to find Lady Fu here. Who were the intruders? Have you already dealt with them?"

"You overestimate me. It was Kakuzu. I barely managed to hold him off before he seemed to have other business and retreated on his own," the female ninja said with a touch of humility.

"What? That traitor? No wonder so many people infiltrated the village before being detected; it must have been that guy Kakuzu who brought them in. Lady Fu, please rest. We will go in pursuit; we might be able to catch him. To bring people to attack the village—it is simply unforgivable."

A man who appeared to be the leader spoke, then led several others in pursuit. Not a single person remained behind.

Fu watched them chase after him, unable to stop them in time. However, she thought, Kakuzu should have already fled far away. Those few shouldn't be in any danger, and if they can't catch him, they'll just return to the village.

With that thought, Fu suddenly remembered that there was still a boy left inside the Sacred Tree. She hurriedly rushed toward it.

Ye Wuji was squatting on the ground, bored, playing with a stone in his hand. I wonder when that female ninja will come back to find me, he thought. He worried for a moment that she might have been killed by Kakuzu, but then reasoned that she seemed very powerful—she had even suppressed Kakuzu—and she used nothing but secret techniques. Even if she couldn't beat him, she should be able to save her own life.

"Little guy, are you having fun? Don't you know your big sister was fighting for her life against an enemy? You didn't even worry about me." A finger tapped Ye Wuji on the head. He looked up to see the female ninja.

"Big sister is so strong, surely you weren't afraid of the enemy. Did you defeat them?" Ye Wuji asked, while thinking, She couldn't have actually killed Kakuzu, could she? But Kakuzu has five lives; if he couldn't win, wouldn't he just run? In the anime, Kakuzu dying to Naruto was such a waste; he still had three lives left. If he'd lost one or two more, he definitely would have fled. A guy who survived the First Hokage must have a knack for escaping. He was just unlucky that Naruto's Wind Style: Rasenshuriken was too overpowered—it wiped out three of his lives in one go.

"Of course I defeated him! I'm a super-powerful ninja. If that guy hadn't run so fast, I definitely would have taken his life," Fu said, not humble in the slightest.

During their conversation, the two left the Sacred Tree. Fu led Ye Wuji toward the high platform, presumably intending to hand him over to his friends.

"Lady Fu, you're here. Lord Takikage has something to discuss with you," a ninja said as soon as they approached the platform.

"Oh, I see. By the way, take this kid to find his friends. He got caught in the crossfire earlier, and I happened to see him. I'm going to see the Takikage now."

"Yes, Lady Fu," the ninja replied. He then looked at Ye Wuji, his expression brightening. "Is this Ye Wuji? Lord Ukyo was just asking about you, worried something might have happened. I didn't expect you to be with Lady Fu."

"You know this kid?" Fu asked, surprised by the ninja's reaction.

"Yes, this guest was brought here by Lord Ukyo of the Hidden God Style and has been staying with him. I've seen him before. Just now, Lady Rei and Lord Takanao were also asking about his whereabouts," the ninja replied respectfully.

"I didn't expect your friends to be quite so capable." Fu tapped Ye Wuji's head again, then said to the ninja, "Since you know the situation, take him to them. I'm going to see the Takikage."

"Yes. Master Ye Wuji, please follow me. They should have returned by now; I will take you back to where you are staying."

"Thank you, Big Sister Fu. You were amazing today. Thank you for saving me," Ye Wuji said, then followed the ninja.

It was a relief to get out of there so smoothly. As he walked, Ye Wuji felt tense, though the ninja beside him said nothing, and Ye Wuji remained silent as well. The ninja escorted him directly to his quarters and left without a word, leaving Ye Wuji no time to even say goodbye.

Back in his room, he realized he was alone. He thought about the items in his bag and decided it wasn't safe to keep them on his person. Besides, now didn't seem like the right time to figure out how to use them. He looked for a place to hide them, but realized that ninjas were experts at searching; nowhere felt truly secure.

Since that's the case, I might as well leave them out in the open. There are similar items in the room, so it won't look suspicious. Even if they are found, no one will suspect I stole them; they'll just think someone else left them there. The more he thought about it, the more logical it seemed. Plus, this was Uncle Ukyo's place; no one would dare search it brazenly.

In reality, Ye Wuji was overthinking it. Although he was technically a person of interest, it was merely a formality, and he had already been cleared of suspicion.

Meanwhile, Fu arrived at a secluded room. Several people were already inside. Fu addressed the person sitting there: "Lord Takikage, I heard you were looking for me."

Before the Takikage could speak, a crisp, girlish voice rang out: "Big sister, are you alright? I was worried about you, but Mother wouldn't let me go out to help. I'm very strong, you know!" A girl of about ten, dressed in a fiery red dress and looking quite beautiful and cute, appeared by Fu's side, tugging at her hand. Despite her cute appearance, she carried a red fan nearly as tall as she was, which looked somewhat incongruous.

"It's Mai. Of course I'm fine. You know your big sister's skills, don't you? It was just Kakuzu. If he hadn't run so fast, I would have finished him," Fu said dismissively.

"So it was Kakuzu? Why didn't you call for backup?" the Takikage, sitting in the seat of honor, spoke. Her voice was that of a woman; the Takikage was a woman.

"Your side seemed to be under attack as well, so I wanted to hold him off. But that Kakuzu really has mastered the Earth Grudge Fear. I shattered one of his hearts, but he was fine—he just manifested some monster-like thing. It matches the descriptions of the Earth Grudge Fear perfectly," Fu explained to the Takikage.

"You should thank me, though. If he had gone to attack the Daimyo, you would have had a much harder time dealing with him," Fu added.

"So, you used that," the Takikage said, her reaction shifting from indifference to tension.

"Yes. I wouldn't have been a match for Kakuzu without it, so I had to," Fu admitted honestly.

"Tell me everything—what happened before and after Kakuzu appeared, and how he reacted during your fight," the Takikage commanded.

After listening to Fu's description, the Takikage lowered her head in thought. "Based on what you've said, I suspect Kakuzu wasn't targeting the Daimyo. He was targeting you. Or perhaps, he was targeting the Seven-Tails." The Takikage spoke with certainty.

"You mean Kakuzu came for me?" Fu asked.

"It must be. Although Kakuzu has been a traitor for many years, the village has kept tabs on him, intending to hunt him down and reclaim the forbidden Earth Grudge Fear. But he has never appeared near the village, nor has he ever moved against our people. Given his strength, he had no reason to tangle with you. Even if he couldn't beat your Tailed Beast Mode, he should have retreated long ago. He is a man who never takes a loss. If he stayed to fight you for so long, it must have been for you—or rather, for the tailed beast." The Takikage stood up.

"Then let him come. Next time, he won't get off so easily," Fu said, her tone defiant, unwilling to show weakness in front of the Takikage.

"You stubborn girl, is this a time for your whims?" the Takikage scolded, sounding angry.

"Hmph," Fu scoffed. "Am I being whimsical? When you decided to seal the Seven-Tails inside me, why didn't you call that whimsical? What's the point of saying this now, my dear Mother? Perhaps letting Kakuzu capture me would be a good decision. Then you wouldn't have to be so conflicted. It would be better for everyone, wouldn't it?"

It turned out Fu was the Takikage's daughter, which meant the girl, Mai, was her sister.

The Takikage took a deep breath; Fu's words had clearly struck a nerve. "There was no other choice at the time. You were the only infant suitable to be the jinchuriki, and since your father was the village leader, it had to be done. But even so, to ensure you wouldn't end up like other jinchuriki, your father kept you here, where no one knows your secret. It was to protect you." The Takikage trailed off, seemingly unable to continue.

"Yes, my dear father. He was willing to let his own daughter become a jinchuriki for the sake of the village. He truly is worthy of being the Third Kazekage," Fu said with biting sarcasm. "And who would have thought that I, the daughter of the Third Kazekage, would also be the daughter of the Third Takikage? You claim it was for my own good, and that no one here knows I'm a jinchuriki, but I have no friends to play with."

"That is because you refuse to make friends. You have locked your heart away. I have tried to talk to you many times, but you are just like this. There is nothing I can do. Sometimes, I truly cannot understand what you are thinking."

"Hahaha, to build fake friendships with those people, only to have them look at me with those terrified eyes once the truth is revealed? Knowing that's how it would end, why should I even bother making friends with them?" Fu shouted.

"That is merely your own wishful thinking. I recall you had a good friend; he didn't seem to care that you were a Jinchuriki, yet you were the one who distanced yourself from him in the end," Takikage said.

"Hahaha!" This time, Fu laughed even louder, though her laughter carried a hint of sorrow. "Since you put it that way, I'll be blunt. Back then, I also believed I was no different from ordinary people. Why shouldn't I have any friends? When Yato appeared before me, we played together and pulled pranks on others; it was truly happy. I thought perhaps I wasn't different from anyone else, and that I had simply been frightened by the records of past Jinchuriki."

"Thinking that friends should be honest, one day I let Yato see my partial Tailed Beast transformation. But what was the result? The look of terror in his eyes is something I will never forget. At that moment, he was looking at me as if I were a monster. It was then that I realized, even though I am human—and I firmly believe that—in the eyes of others, I am just a monster. Do you understand? Just a monster." As she said this, tears fell from Fu's eyes.

"The next day, Yato came to find me again. I was truly happy then, really, truly happy. I thought Yato didn't care about my monstrous form, but I later discovered that it was nothing more than my own wishful thinking. It was you, my dear mother, Lady Takikage. After Yato went home, you sealed his memories and tampered with them. Although I was young and couldn't tell, Mother seems to have forgotten that I am a Jinchuriki. The Seven-Tails resides within me, and that level of sealing jutsu is nothing to it."

"After that, I stopped playing with Yato and the other friends around me. Even though no one else knew I was a Jinchuriki, I knew. It was fine day-to-day, but the moment I thought about them looking at me like a monster in the future, I preferred to have no friends at all. Having strangers treat me like a monster is better than having friends treat me that way. Instead of that, I'd rather be friends with the Tailed Beast, because they don't want to be sealed inside me either. We are, in a sense, companions in misery." By this point, Fu was streaming with tears.

"So you knew all along. Why didn't you say anything sooner?" Takikage looked at her tear-streaked daughter and sighed.

"Would it have mattered? Besides, I've gradually gotten used to it, and I get along quite well with the Tailed Beast. You can tell by my current strength; I doubt there has ever been a Jinchuriki more powerful than me. I am a genius, after all." Fu smiled through her tears.

"Big sister, Mother, what are you talking about? What is a Tailed Beast? What is a Jinchuriki?" Mai, standing to the side, was completely confused. But seeing her sister crying and her mother's blank expression, she felt that this "Tailed Beast" must be something terrible.

"It's nothing." Fu only then remembered her younger sister was watching. She quickly turned to Mai: "Big sister is just discussing some things with Mother, just other matters. Go play somewhere else for now. But you must not let anyone know about what happened here today, do you understand? You cannot speak of these questions; these things are classified. My Mai will surely be a very powerful ninja in the future, and you wouldn't leak secrets, would you?"

"Of course not!" Mai said, holding her large red fan. "A ninja's first priority is their mission, and keeping secrets is a basic rule for any ninja. I can definitely do it. I won't ask, and I won't tell. But I'm not going to play; I'm going to train. I'll train hard, and when I'm strong enough, I'll definitely beat up that Tailed Beast and that Jinchuriki. They made big sister cry—they are truly the worst!"

"Mm, Mai is the best. In the future, anyone who dares to bully big sister, we'll leave them for Mai to beat up, okay?" Fu said to Mai with a smile.

"That goes without saying! I have to protect big sister, don't I? I'm going to train now." Having said that, Mai dragged her large red fan away.