Parting with Fu (Part 2)

"Then watch closely," Fu said, and at the same time, she pressed her hands together. A powerful surge of chakra erupted from her body; fortunately, it wasn't directed at Ye Wuji, or he surely would have been blown away by the force.

"What intense chakra fluctuations," Ye Wuji remarked, watching the scene with a hint of shock. The soil beneath Fu's feet was stripped away in a layer, the water nearby began to churn into massive waves, and the trees on the other side were whipped about, swaying violently. Only the spot where Ye Wuji stood remained relatively unaffected, though he still felt the pressure.

Just then, a burst of light exploded from Fu's body. Ye Wuji closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, the Fu standing before him had completely transformed.

Now, Fu had three pairs of green wings sprouting from her sides, and a green tail had appeared behind her. Because Ye Wuji was standing quite close, he could clearly see that the green wings were covered in scales, and their intricate patterns were visible in vivid detail.

Seeing Fu in this state, Ye Wuji's eyes widened. At the same time, he thought to himself, A Jinchuriki—she's actually the Jinchuriki of the Seven-Tails. So that's it. No wonder I felt Fu was somewhat familiar; she's the Jinchuriki who appeared the least in Naruto.

The Seven-Tails Jinchuriki was never really shown being captured, nor was it clear who had captured her. In the anime, she only appeared briefly during the Impure World Reincarnation arc, so Ye Wuji hadn't realized earlier that Fu was the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki. In the Naruto world, the nine Tailed Beasts were supposed to be distributed among the Five Great Nations, and the Three-Tails seemed to have wandered off on its own.

Therefore, Ye Wuji never expected the Seven-Tails to be in Takigakure. Even Zetsu had spent a long time investigating before finding a lead, and ultimately, it required Kakuzu to confirm it.

Upon confirming that the person before him was indeed the Seven-Tails, Ye Wuji felt a surge of excitement. In Naruto, the nine Tailed Beasts could be considered the protagonists; the entire story revolved around them. Yet, the Tailed Beasts were also some of the most tragic characters in the series. People always claimed they possessed immense power and caused great destruction, but looking back at the series, the Tailed Beasts never actually did anything evil on their own. Whenever a Tailed Beast destroyed something, it was always because humans had provoked or controlled them. How many people were actually killed by a Tailed Beast acting of its own volition? Even the Nine-Tails' attack on Konoha was orchestrated by someone else. Ye Wuji felt a sense of sympathy for them. At first, he had thought they were just mindless beasts of immense power, but later, when Naruto met the Tailed Beasts while facing Masked Obito, he realized they were as intelligent as any human.

Furthermore, the Tailed Beast transformation of a Jinchuriki could be incredibly cool. Just think of Naruto's transformation—all golden and shimmering; it looked so awesome. Naruto wasn't exactly the "cool" type originally, but once he transformed, he went from a loser to a total stud, and it was incredibly imposing.

I never thought I'd be able to see a Tailed Beast with my own eyes, Ye Wuji thought excitedly, especially observing one from such close range.

By now, Fu had finished her transformation. She looked at Ye Wuji, who was staring at her with wide eyes and trembling legs, looking as if he were ready to bolt at any moment, and she felt a deep sense of sadness.

Even the Takikage and the Anbu watching from the side sighed, and there was a look of profound sorrow in the Takikage's eyes.

Fu held back her tears, looked at Ye Wuji, and said, "This is my true form." After speaking, she braced herself for Ye Wuji to run away in fear. If he did, she would knock him unconscious and have the Takikage seal his memory of this encounter.

Ye Wuji's legs were shaking, but his gaze began to steady. Before Fu could react, he lunged toward her wings, stroking them while exclaiming in admiration, "So cool! This is so beautiful!"

This single sentence nearly caused Fu, the Takikage, and the Anbu to trip over themselves, though Fu and the Takikage managed to steady their footing.

Fu had prepared for the worst, but she never imagined Ye Wuji's first words would be like that. For a moment, she didn't know how to respond.

"Hey, Big Sister Fu, how did you do this? It's amazing! Can you fly with these? This is so cool!" Ye Wuji continued to marvel at her.

Ye Wuji really wanted to see the wings, but after touching them, he also considered the situation. People in this world seemed terrified of Jinchuriki, and what a Jinchuriki craved most was acceptance. Ye Wuji had always sympathized with the Jinchuriki in Naruto, and upon realizing that the "Big Sister Fu" he had spent the last month with was one, he immediately came up with a way to handle it. After all, anyone who transmigrated into the Naruto world wouldn't be afraid of a Tailed Beast.

Fu stared blankly at Ye Wuji, who was still holding her hand and asking if she could fly, taking a long time to process what was happening.

"You're not afraid?" Fu asked.

"Afraid of what?" Ye Wuji tilted his head, then added, "Big Sister Fu, can you fly? Tell me, tell me!"

Hearing Ye Wuji ask "Afraid of what?" and then immediately follow up with "Can you fly?"

Fu tilted her head back, a single tear drifting from the corner of her eye, then looked down and smiled at Ye Wuji. "I can fly."

"Really?" Ye Wuji seemed shocked. He grabbed Fu's hand and insisted, "Then take me for a flight! Big Sister Fu is so amazing, you can definitely take me, right?"

"You really want me to take you flying?"

"Of course!" Ye Wuji nodded firmly.

"Then, let's fly." With that, Fu picked up Ye Wuji and took to the sky. In her arms, Ye Wuji clapped his hands in delight. This was his first time flying; in his previous life, although he knew planes existed, his circumstances meant he hadn't even ridden a train, let alone a plane.

Fu carried Ye Wuji through the air, circling back and forth. Looking down at Takigakure from above, it was a basin surrounded by high mountains on three sides, and on the other side, Ye Wuji saw a vast expanse of sea meeting the sky—that must have been the side of Takigakure facing the ocean.

Listening to Ye Wuji's occasional shouts of excitement and Fu's happy laughter, the Takikage actually shed a tear. If Ye Wuji had shown fear upon seeing Fu's Tailed Beast form, the Takikage might have been so enraged that he would have struck the boy down.

"Heh, what an interesting kid, Lord Takikage. With this, Lady Fu, you don't have to worry so much anymore," the Anbu beside the Takikage said with a smile.

"Indeed. That incident in the past hit Fu too hard; I've always been worried about her future. I never expected a kid like this to have such a unique personality. Hahahaha!" It was rare to see the Takikage laugh so heartily.

Given the strength of the Takikage, the Anbu, and Fu, they could easily tell if Ye Wuji was being sincere. For people of their caliber, it was very difficult to lie to them. That was why they were so happy—a person who wasn't afraid of a Tailed Beast had finally appeared, and he was just a kid. Because he was a kid, his reaction was all the more convincing. Children don't lie; if he wasn't afraid, he wasn't afraid. They couldn't have possibly guessed that Ye Wuji was a transmigrator who knew everything about the Naruto world.

After flying for a while, Fu landed with Ye Wuji. "Alright, it's about time. I have to go. Goodbye, little guy," Fu said, kissing Ye Wuji on the forehead before turning away with a smile and vanishing from his sight.

Fu dashed quickly toward the outskirts of Takigakure, a smile still on her face. What an interesting little guy, a voice echoed in her mind.

"Yeah, I think so too," Fu replied.

"In all these years, we've seen so many Jinchuriki. People have said all sorts of things about us—that we are the source of the world's wars, or that we are pitiful—but this is the first time I've heard someone call us beautiful."

"Chomei, let's work hard together from now on. I need to become even stronger; I can't lose to that kid."

"No problem. You really should step it up. I have a feeling that kid is going to be someone special. But Fu, there's a bit of an age gap between you two. In your human world, it's not great for the girl to be older than the boy."

"Haha, I never thought you, a Tailed Beast, would know about human affairs! But you aren't human, after all. I think of him as my little brother."

"After being sealed for so long, one has to find something to do. I'm not like that guy Shukaku, who always wants to fight. He seems very unhappy about being ranked last."

"The place I'm going to this time has Shukaku. Do you think he'll challenge you?"

"I'll just avoid him. Among the Tailed Beasts, I'm the one who hates fighting the most."

Fu arrived at a forest clearing. As soon as she reached it, she was surrounded by eight Anbu wearing masks—two standard squads. One of them stepped forward and said, "It's Lady Fu. Can we depart now?"

Fu nodded, looked at the people around her, and then the nine of them, including Fu, set off.

Ye Wuji was left blushing from the sudden surprise attack. If he had been a normal child, he might not have reacted at all, but Ye Wuji possessed the mind of an adult. More importantly, having lived two lives, he had never even held a girl's hand in his previous life, let alone been kissed.

So, caught off guard by Fu's gesture, Ye Wuji stood there in a daze, not knowing how to react.

The Takikage watched the stunned Ye Wuji and then said to the Anbu beside him, "Take some men and follow Fu and her group until he meets his father, then come back."

"Understood," the Anbu replied and vanished.

The Takikage looked at Ye Wuji again, and just as he was about to leave, another Anbu appeared before him. "What is it?"

"Lord Takikage, Doctor Shennong has been invited back and is currently on his way to the Daimyo Mansion. I came to inform you."

"That was fast. Very well, I understand. You may go."

"Yes." Then, both of them disappeared.