"Then take a good look," Fu said. At the same time, she clasped her hands together, and a powerful surge of chakra burst from her body. Fortunately, it wasn't directed at Ye Wuji; otherwise, he would surely have been blown away.
"What a powerful chakra wave!" Ye Wuji watched, stunned. The earth beneath Fu's feet was swept away, and the water nearby began to churn into towering waves. The trees on the other side swayed wildly in the wind. Ye Wuji's position was affected too, but only slightly.
A burst of light flared from Fu's body. Ye Wuji shut his eyes, and when he opened them again, Fu looked completely different.
Three pairs of green wings had appeared along both sides of Fu's body, and a green tail had grown behind her. Ye Wuji was standing so close that he could clearly see the scales covering the wings and the distinct patterns across them.
At the sight of Fu, Ye Wuji's eyes went wide. A Jinchuriki—she's the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki! So that's why Fu seemed familiar. She's one of the Jinchuriki who appeared least in Naruto.
The Seven-Tails Jinchuriki's capture—and who had captured her—had barely been mentioned. In the anime, she had appeared only briefly during the Impure World Reincarnation. That was why it hadn't occurred to Ye Wuji earlier that Fu was the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki. In Naruto, the Nine Tailed Beasts had all been in the Five Great Nations. The Three-Tails seemed to have wandered off on its own.
So Ye Wuji had never expected the Seven-Tails to be in Takigakure. Even Zetsu had needed a long time to dig up a few clues, and in the end, they still needed Kakuzu to confirm them.
Once he was sure that the beast before him was indeed the Seven-Tails, Ye Wuji grew excited. In Naruto, the Nine Tailed Beasts could practically be considered the main characters. The whole story revolved around them. And the Tailed Beasts were some of the most tragic characters in the series. They all had immense power and could cause massive destruction, but throughout Naruto, they hadn't actually done anything wrong. Whenever a Tailed Beast destroyed something, it was always because a person had made it do so. How many people had the Tailed Beasts really killed of their own accord? Even the Nine-Tails' attack on Konoha had been controlled by someone. Ye Wuji couldn't help feeling sympathy for them. At first, he had thought they were just powerful beasts with little intelligence. But when Naruto faced Masked Obito and met several of the Tailed Beasts, he saw that they were just as intelligent as humans.
A Jinchuriki's Tailed Beast Transformation could be incredibly cool. Just think of Naruto's transformation: his whole body glowing gold. It looked unbelievably awesome. Naruto wasn't exactly handsome to begin with, but after transforming, he went from a loser to a rich, handsome guy. He even looked incredibly imposing.
I can't believe I'm seeing a Tailed Beast with my own eyes, Ye Wuji thought excitedly. And he was close enough to get a good look.
Fu had finished transforming. She saw Ye Wuji staring at her with wide eyes and trembling legs, looking ready to run at any moment. Her heart sank.
Even the Takikage and the Anbu watching from the side sighed. The Takikage looked especially saddened.
Fu held back her tears and looked at Ye Wuji. "This is what I really look like." After she said it, she braced herself for Ye Wuji to run away in fear. If he did, she would knock him out and have the Takikage seal away his memory of this.
Ye Wuji's legs began to tremble, and his expression gradually returned to normal. Before Fu could react, he rushed over to her wings. Stroking one, he exclaimed, "So cool! They're beautiful!"
Fu, the Takikage, and the Anbu nearly fell over at his words. Fortunately, Fu and the Takikage quickly regained their balance.
Fu had prepared herself for anything, but she had never expected Ye Wuji's first words to be that. For a moment, she didn't know what to do.
"Hey, Sister Fu, how did you do that? That's amazing! Can you fly with them? This is so cool!" Ye Wuji kept praising her.
Ye Wuji genuinely wanted to get a better look at her wings. But after touching them, he also thought of something else. People in this world seemed to be terrified of Jinchuriki, while all Jinchuriki wanted was acceptance. Ye Wuji had already felt sympathy for Naruto's Jinchuriki. And now that he'd learned that the Fu he'd spent a month with was one too, he'd immediately figured out how to respond. Almost no one who crossed over into the Naruto world was afraid of Tailed Beasts.
Fu stared blankly at Ye Wuji as he held her hand and asked if she could fly. It took her a long moment to react.
"Aren't you afraid?" Fu asked.
"Afraid of what?" Ye Wuji tilted his head, then added, "Sister Fu, can you fly? Tell me!"
Hearing Ye Wuji ask, "Afraid of what?" and then immediately ask again, "Can you fly?", Fu tilted her head back. A tear slipped from the corner of her eye. Then she lowered her head and smiled at Ye Wuji. "I can fly."
"Really?" Ye Wuji looked astonished. He took Fu's hand and pleaded, "Then take me flying, okay? You're so amazing, Sister Fu. You can definitely take me up!"
"You really want me to take you flying?"
"Of course." Ye Wuji nodded emphatically.
"Then let's go." Fu picked Ye Wuji up and flew into the air. In her arms, Ye Wuji happily clapped his hands. This was his first time flying. In his previous life, he could have taken a plane, but he hadn't even been able to afford a train ticket. He could have managed a train, but there was no need to take one.
Fu carried Ye Wuji through the sky, soaring back and forth. From above, Takigakure looked like a basin surrounded by high mountains on three sides. Far in the distance, Ye Wuji could see the sea stretching to the horizon. That must have been the side of Takigakure that faced the coast.
Hearing Ye Wuji's excited shouts and Fu's happy laughter, the Takikage shed a tear. If Ye Wuji had been afraid when he saw Fu's Tailed Beast Transformation, the Takikage might have lost his temper and killed him on the spot.
"Hehe, what an interesting kid, Takikage-sama. Now you don't have to worry so much about Lady Fu," an Anbu member beside the Takikage said with a smile.
"That's right. What happened back then hit Fu hard. I've always worried about her future. I never expected this kid to have so much character. Hahaha!" The Takikage laughed more heartily than anyone had ever seen.
Given the abilities of the Takikage, the Anbu member, and Fu, they could easily tell whether Ye Wuji was being sincere. For people of their caliber, lying was difficult. That was why they were so happy: they had finally met someone who wasn't afraid of a Tailed Beast, and that someone was a child. That made him all the more convincing. Children didn't lie. If he wasn't afraid, he wasn't afraid. It never occurred to them that Ye Wuji had crossed over from another world—and knew so much about Naruto.
After flying for a while, Fu and Ye Wuji landed together. "All right, it's about time for me to go. Goodbye, kid." Fu kissed Ye Wuji on the forehead, then turned away with a smile and disappeared from his sight.
Fu hurried toward the outskirts of Takigakure. As she ran, she smiled. He's certainly an interesting kid, a voice said in her heart.
Yeah, I think so too, Fu replied.
Over the years, we've had all kinds of Jinchuriki. Some said we were the source of the world's wars; others pitied us. But this is the first time anyone has said we're beautiful.
"Chomei, let's work hard together from now on. I need to get stronger. I can't lose to that kid."
No problem. You really do need to put in the effort. I have a feeling that kid's going to be something special. But Fu, you two are a few years apart, aren't you? Among humans, it's not good for a girl to be older than a boy.
"Hahaha, I never thought you, Chomei, would know about human affairs. But you're not human, after all. I think of him as my little brother."
I've been sealed away for so long that I needed something to occupy myself. It's not like Shukaku, who's always looking for a fight. He seems pretty unhappy about having the lowest ranking.
"Shukaku will be at our destination this time. Do you think he'll challenge you?"
I'll just stay out of his way. I'm the Tailed Beast least interested in fighting.
Fu arrived at a wooded area. As soon as she reached it, eight masked Anbu surrounded her. Based on a standard assignment, they were two Anbu squads. One of them stepped forward. "Lady Fu, is that you? Can we set out now?"
Fu nodded, glanced at the people around her, and nodded again. Then the nine of them, Fu included, set off.
Fu's sudden attack had left Ye Wuji blushing bright red. An ordinary child wouldn't have reacted much to a kiss like that, but Ye Wuji had the mind of an adult. More importantly, even in his previous life, he had never kissed a girl—or even held a girl's hand.
After Fu kissed him, Ye Wuji had no idea how to react. He just stood there, stunned.
The Takikage looked at Ye Wuji standing frozen in place, then turned to the Anbu member beside her. "Take some people and follow Fu and the others. Don't come back until he's met his father."
"Yes," the Anbu member replied, then disappeared.
The Takikage glanced at Ye Wuji again and was just about to leave when another Anbu member appeared in front of her. "What is it?"
"Takikage-sama, Doctor Shennong has been brought back. He's already gone to the Daimyo Mansion. I came to inform you."
"He got here quickly. All right, I know. You may go."
"Yes." Then both of them disappeared.
Before you continue