The Seven-Tails' Fu (Part 2)

By then, the kunoichi—the Seven-Tails' Jinchuriki—seemed to be reaching her limit after Kakuzu left. The wings behind her disappeared, and she was so exhausted that she sank to the ground.

The kunoichi slowly wiped the sweat from her face and thought, That was close. Luckily, I already knew a few things about Kakuzu, and he let his guard down. That's how I managed to hold him off with Tailed Beast Mode. If we'd kept fighting, I probably wouldn't have been able to keep the Seven-Tails under control. Good thing I can borrow some chakra from that beast. Otherwise, I'd have been done for today.

As she thought this, the kunoichi noticed that no one had come over yet. She silently called out, Hey, big guy, did you see that? I nearly died today. If I die, you're done for too. Sure, a Tailed Beast like you can reform, but who knows how many years that'll take? Are you still unwilling to work with me? You and I can only live better if we cooperate. I know you want freedom, but you saw how things are now. I'm in a pretty dangerous position.

After waiting a while without hearing a reply, the kunoichi asked again, "Hey, why aren't you saying anything?"

Then a voice reached her ears. "Fine. I'll teach you a few more things. In all these years, I've rarely met a Jinchuriki like you. Next time you come, I'll tell you more." The voice fell silent.

"Yeah!" The kunoichi made a victory sign and thought, I'd heard that the Seven-Tails was the craftiest and most timid of all the Tailed Beasts. I didn't think it was actually true. It gave in so much over just a little danger. Today was dangerous, but I gained quite a bit too.

Just then, a crowd of figures came running from the distance. They soon reached the kunoichi's side. "Lady Fu, are you all right?" one of the ninja asked.

"I'm fine. The people here have already retreated. How are things on your end? Is it all over?" the kunoichi asked.

"It's almost over. There's still a little resistance. The Takikage sensed something happening here and sent us to check. We didn't expect to find you here, Lady Fu. Who came here? Did you take care of them?"

"You think too highly of me. It was Kakuzu. I barely managed to hold him off. Then he seemed to have something else to do, so he left on his own," the kunoichi said modestly.

"What? It was that traitor! No wonder so many people managed to infiltrate the village before they were discovered. That must have been Kakuzu's doing. Lady Fu, please rest. We'll go after him. We might catch him! Attacking the village with his men is unforgivable!"

A man who looked like a leader spoke, then took several people with him in pursuit. Not one of them stayed behind.

Fu watched them chase after Kakuzu, but she didn't have time to stop them. Then she thought, Kakuzu should be long gone by now. Those people shouldn't be in any danger chasing after him, and if they can't catch him, they'll come back to the village.

Only then did Fu remember that someone had been left inside the Sacred Tree. Thinking of this, she hurried toward it.

Ye Wuji crouched on the ground, idly playing with a stone in his hand. "I wonder when that kunoichi will come back for me," he thought. After a while, he began to worry that Kakuzu might have killed her. But then he remembered how strong she seemed. She'd been able to hold Kakuzu off and had used nothing but secret techniques. Even if she couldn't beat him, she should have been able to escape.

"Kid, having fun? Did you forget that your big sister was fighting for her life against an enemy? You didn't even think to worry about me." A finger tapped Ye Wuji on the head. He looked up and saw the kunoichi.

"You're so strong, Big Sis. There's no way you'd be afraid of an enemy. Did you beat him?" Ye Wuji asked, while thinking, Did she actually kill Kakuzu? But Kakuzu has five lives. If he realized he couldn't win, why wouldn't he run? In the anime, Kakuzu had been killed by Naruto, which was such a waste. He still had three lives then. If he lost one or two more, he definitely would've run. Anyone who'd survived a fight with the First Hokage had to be good at escaping. But he'd been unlucky enough to face Naruto's Wind Release: Rasenshuriken. It was just too overpowered—it had taken out three of his lives in one hit.

"Of course I beat him. I'm an incredibly powerful ninja. If he hadn't run so fast, I'd have taken his life," Fu said, not the least bit modestly.

While Ye Wuji and Fu were talking, they'd already left the Sacred Tree. Fu was leading Ye Wuji toward the raised platform, presumably to hand him over to his friends.

"Lady Fu, you're here. The Takikage has summoned you," a ninja said as they approached the platform.

"Oh, I understand. Right, this kid needs to find his friends. He got caught in the fighting and I found him. Take him to them; I'll go see the Takikage."

"Yes, Lady Fu." The ninja agreed, then looked at Ye Wuji. His face lit up in surprise. "Are you Ye Wuji? Lord Ukyo was asking about you earlier. We were worried something had happened to you. I didn't expect you to be with Lady Fu."

"You know this kid?" Fu asked, surprised by what the ninja had said.

"Yes. This young gentleman was brought here by Lord Tachibana Ukyo of the Hidden God Style. He's been staying with Lord Ukyo, and I've met him before. Lady Rei and Lord Takanao were also asking where he was just now," the ninja replied respectfully.

"I didn't expect your friends to be so impressive," Fu said, tapping Ye Wuji on the head again. Then she told the ninja, "Since you know the situation, take him to them. I'll go see the Takikage."

"Yes, Lord Ye Wuji. This way, please. They've probably gone back, so I'll take you to where you're staying first."

"Mm. Big Sis, your name is Fu, right? You were amazing today. Thank you for saving me." Ye Wuji thanked the kunoichi, then left with the ninja beside him.

It was great to get away from there so smoothly. Ye Wuji felt tense as he walked. The ninja beside him saw that he wasn't speaking and didn't say anything either. He simply took Ye Wuji back to where he was staying, then left without a word. Ye Wuji didn't even get a chance to thank him.

When he returned to where he was staying, he found the house empty. He went back to his room and thought about the things in his pack. He didn't feel safe keeping them on him, and this didn't seem like the right time to figure out how to use them. He wanted to find somewhere to stash them, but then he remembered that ninja were experts at searching for things. Nowhere seemed safe.

Since that was the case, maybe he should just leave them out in the open. Besides, there were similar things in the house, so a search wouldn't be suspicious. Even if someone found them, no one would suspect that he'd stolen them. They'd most likely think someone else had left them there. The more Ye Wuji thought about it, the more sensible it seemed. Besides, this was Uncle Ukyo's place. No one would dare search it openly.

In truth, Ye Wuji was overthinking it. Although he'd been listed as a suspect, that was just a formality. The moment they put his name on the list, they'd already ruled him out.

By then, Fu had reached a secluded room. Several people were already inside. She addressed the person seated there. "Takikage, I heard you wanted to see me."

Before the Takikage could speak, a girl's clear voice rang out. "Big Sis, are you all right? I was worried about you, but Mother wouldn't let me go help. I'm already really strong!" A pretty, adorable girl of about ten, dressed in a bright red dress, appeared beside Fu and took her hand as she spoke. Although she was very cute, a red fan nearly as tall as she was strapped to her back. It looked rather out of place.

"It's you, Mai. Of course I'm fine. You know how capable your big sister is. It was only Kakuzu. If he hadn't run so fast, I'd have captured him," Fu said unconcernedly.

"So Kakuzu came. Then why didn't you call for help?" The Takikage, seated at the head of the room, spoke. Her voice was that of a woman. The Takikage was a woman.

"You were under attack over there, so I wanted to hold him off. But Kakuzu really has mastered Earth Grudge Fear. I destroyed one of his hearts, and he was still fine. A monster-like thing appeared instead. It was just like the description in the records about Earth Grudge Fear," Fu told the Takikage.

"You should thank me, though. If he'd gone over there to attack the Daimyo too, you might not have been able to handle him," Fu continued.

"So you used that?" The Takikage showed little reaction to what Fu had said. Only then did she sound concerned.

"Yeah. I definitely couldn't beat Kakuzu without it, so I had to use it," Fu said honestly.

"Then tell me what happened before Kakuzu appeared, and how he reacted after fighting you," the Takikage said to Fu.

After hearing Fu's account, the Takikage lowered her head and thought for a moment. "Based on what you've told me, Kakuzu probably wasn't after the Daimyo. He was after you—or rather, he was after the Seven-Tails," the Takikage said firmly.

"You mean Kakuzu came after me?" Fu asked when she heard the Takikage's words.

"Definitely. Although Kakuzu left the village many years ago, the village has always kept track of him. We planned to hunt him down and reclaim Earth Grudge Fear, a forbidden jutsu. But all these years, Kakuzu never came near the village or attacked anyone from it. Given his strength, he had no reason to get tangled up with you. Even if he thought he might lose to your Tailed Beast Mode, he should've left much sooner. He never does anything unless there's something in it for him. Since he stayed and fought you for so long, he must have been after you. No, he must have been after the Tailed Beast." The Takikage stood up from her seat.

"Then let him come. Next time, I won't let him off so easily." Fu seemed a little concerned, but she didn't want to show weakness in front of the Takikage, so her tone turned defiant.

"You little brat, do you think this is the time to act on a whim?" the Takikage said angrily.

"Hmph!" Fu snorted. "Am I acting on a whim? When you decided to seal the Seven-Tails inside me, why didn't anyone ask what I wanted? What's the point of bringing it up now, my dear mother? Maybe it'd be best if Kakuzu took me away. Then you wouldn't have to agonize over it anymore. Wouldn't that be better for everyone?"

It turned out that Fu was the Takikage's daughter. That meant the girl Mai must be the Takikage's daughter too.

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 baby suitable to become a Jinchuriki. Your father was the village leader, after all, so there was no other way. Even so, to keep you from ending up like the other Jinchuriki, your father had you stay here. No one here knows you're a Jinchuriki. That was to protect you." The Takikage trailed off, as if she didn't want to continue.

"Right, my dear father let his own daughter become a Jinchuriki for the sake of the village. That's exactly what you'd expect from the Third Kazekage," Fu said sarcastically. "And who would've thought that I, the Third Kazekage's daughter, was also the Third Takikage's daughter? You say you were doing it for my own good, and no one around here knows I'm a Jinchuriki. But I didn't have a single friend to play with."

"That's because you wouldn't make friends with them. You shut your heart away. I tried to persuade you so many times, but you were set in your ways. I couldn't do anything about it. Sometimes I really don't understand how you think."

"Ha! Make false friendships with those people, then watch them look at me with fear after they find out? If I knew that was what would happen, why would I bother making friends with them?" Fu shouted.

"That's just your own assumption. I remember you had a good friend, someone who didn't seem to care that you were a Jinchuriki. But in the end, you still distanced yourself from him," the Takikage said.

"Ha ha ha!" Fu laughed even louder this time, though her laughter was tinged with sadness. "Since you brought it up, I'll be honest. At first, I thought I was no different from ordinary people. Why should I have to go without a single friend? Then Yato came along, and we played together and pulled pranks on people. We had a lot of fun. I thought maybe I wasn't any different from everyone else, and that I'd only been frightened by the records of past Jinchuriki.

"Then I thought that friends should be honest with each other. So one day, I let Yato see me in Partial Tailed Beast Transformation. But what happened? I'll never forget the fear in his eyes. He looked at me like I was a monster. That was when I finally understood. I might be human—I believed that with all my heart—but in other people's eyes, I was a monster. Do you understand? A monster!" By then, tears were streaming down Fu's face.

"The next day, Yato came to see me again. I was so happy. Really, truly happy. I thought Yato didn't care about my monstrous appearance. But then I found out that it was all in my head. You, my dear mother, the Takikage, sealed away his memories after he went home. You even tampered with them. I was young and couldn't tell, but Mother, did you forget that I'm a Jinchuriki? The Seven-Tails is inside me. That little bit of Sealing Jutsu was nothing to the Seven-Tails."

"After that, I stopped playing with Yato and the other kids around me. None of them knew I was a Jinchuriki, but I did. It was all right most of the time, but when I thought about how they might look at me like a monster someday, I'd rather have no friends at all. It was better to let strangers think I was a monster than to have my friends think so, right? I'd rather be friends with a Tailed Beast. They didn't want to be sealed inside me either, so we were in the same boat." By now, Fu was sobbing.

"So you already knew. Why didn't you say so earlier?" the Takikage sighed as she looked at her daughter's tear-streaked face.

"What good would it have done? Besides, I gradually got used to it, and I get along well with the Tailed Beast. Just look at how strong I am now. I doubt any of the Jinchuriki throughout history were stronger than me. I'm a genius," Fu said with a tearful smile.

"Big Sis, Mother, what are you talking about? What's a Tailed Beast? What's a Jinchuriki?" Mai asked from the side, utterly confused. But when she saw her sister crying and her mother's blank expression, she felt sure the Tailed Beast couldn't be anything good.

"It's nothing." Fu then remembered that her little sister was right there watching. She quickly turned to Mai. "Your big sister and Mother are discussing something. It's about something else. Go play over there for now. But don't tell anyone what happened here today, understand? Don't tell anyone about any of this. It's confidential. My Mai is going to be an incredible ninja someday. You won't reveal any secrets, will you?"

"Of course not!" Mai said, holding the huge red fan on her back. "A ninja's first priority is the mission, and keeping secrets is one of the basic rules of being a ninja. I can definitely do that. I won't ask about it or tell anyone. But I'm not going to play. I'm going to train. I'll get stronger, and then I'll beat up that Tailed Beast and Jinchuriki. They made Big Sis cry. They're so mean."

"Mm, Mai's the best. From now on, anyone who dares bully your big sister is yours to beat up, okay?" Fu said with a smile.

"Of course! I have to protect my big sister. I'm off to train." With that, Mai dragged the huge red fan behind her and left.