Thank you all for 20k hits – this milestone is quite small compared to some fics on the site, but it still means a lot to me. Here is the chapter I promised, albeit a bit shorter than the others. Seeing as there are no reviews for the most recent chapter, there will be no responses. Should any questions come up about it, please feel free to either private message me or post them as reviews, and I will respond to them as is most appropriate.

Most people would say that Kakashi Hatake is a calm man. Many who know him would describe his cool, nonchalant demeanor. Others would describe how difficult it was to get much of an emotional reaction of the man – his mental shields seemed to grow stronger with the more effort put into breaking them down. Of course, all these people had one thing in common – none of them had messed with his Icha Icha book.

As Kakashi read on about Kashika Haname's newest encounter with Maia Gaia and Panko Tirishame in the hot springs, he was surprised to see the return of several other Icha Icha women – Porridgeomaru and Shizume Natto, buxom co-owners of a breakfast café, and right as the scene was preparing for its climactic battle (read: perverted battle of hot springs and extremely intimate encounters), he saw a kunai rip through the pages. The instant Kakashi worked out what his blonde student's shadow clone had done, his fury knew no limit.

In various places around the universe, some forms of advice were listened to and understood well, such as "Don't fight Lu Bu", or "Stop chasing Singed". Among the many Do's and Don'ts of the universe, "Don't mess with Kakashi's Icha-Icha" was a more obscure saying, but as Naruto Uzumaki and Sasuke Uchiha fled from their sensei's forest-obliterating rampage, Lu Bu and poison trails seemed like a much more pleasant prospect.

Of course, a much more serious situation was ongoing in the village of Takigakure. Fuu, once so little and scared, had grown in both determination and skill. Her plan was quite simple – become a real kunoichi of great strength and find Kidomaru. For years, Fuu had missed her oldest friend, and while Takano was still a good friend, the mint-haired Jinchuriki would much rather have both of her friends with her.

As such, when Hiretsuna-sensei called their class inside for their final exam, Fuu was ready. Each day, her class would have hours of taijutsu and kenjutsu practice before wrapping the day up with ninjutsu and history. Today was filled with taijutsu sparring and the final test itself – producing a good old Mizukiri no Yaiba and taking part in a kenjutsu battle. As such, each student was given a soldier pill before their battle – normally Fuu would never take one, as her energy was high and her stubbornness higher, she took the little pill, not noting how its color was a bright scarlet as opposed to the dark red of the other pills.

Fuu's nerves caught up to her, but she was ready for her first step in the journey to bring Kidomaru back to Takigakure.

"First: Fuu versus Takano Hizen!" Fuu and Takano were surprised, but both consumed their soldier pill before they stepped up and prepared their Mizukiri no Yaiba.

"Begin!"

In terms of kenjutsu skill, Takano had a very clear advantage. His clan, the Hizen, were especially well known for strong katon affinities and kenjutsu prowess. In fact, one of the contested pieces of information about the founding of Takigakure and its culture was whether the Hizen's role in the founding of Taki led to the Mizukiri no Yaiba's prominence and importance in Takigakure. As such, Fuu rapidly found herself on the defensive.

Fuu had very distinct strengths – her taijutsu was incredibly strong due to the Nanabi's influence, and her ninjutsu was sprinkled with various techniques unique to the beetle's jinchuriki, but in terms of kenjutsu, she could at best play second fiddle to Takano. Of course, Fuu would never give up.

Tapping into her determination and frustration, she felt something unknown – a power she hadn't experienced before. Little did Fuu know, this was a consequence of the scarlet pill. While most major villages outranked Taki in just about every comparison, Takigakure was both extremely well hidden, and fairly ahead of the curve in terms of chemistry, something that only Konoha, Suna, and Kusa outranked them in. As such, creating a pill that would cause Fuu to automatically tap into her bijuu's power if a certain emotional stimulus was present was not exactly a difficult task.

As for Fuu, she had never talked to her beast before. She was more than aware of the Nanabi's presence in her, but had lived as much of a Bijuu-free life as possible. Shido-sama was generally in favor of letting Fuu live a normal enough childhood at the very least until her genin days, so her exposure to Bijuu chakra was a minimum, and therefore, didn't even notice the additional strength and corrosive power leaking out of her.

Smashing Takano's Mizukiri no Yaiba repeatedly, Fuu was unaware of the red chakra seeping into her blade as she slashed Takano's arm. The haze caused by bijuu chakra was only shattered by her only remaining friend's screams. Fuu was frozen, reminded of how Takano screamed only once before – when Kidomaru's flammable net ignited with the Hizen clan member beneath it. Before she could stop it, the memories of that day flashed before her eyes, and it was a good ten or fifteen seconds before she could snap out of that memory.

Feeling the eyes of her classmates upon her, Fuu did the only action that made sense to her panicked brain– running as far away as she could. Fleeing the central village for her forested home, Fuu started to realize that her dreams were crumbling around her – there was no way she could possibly be a normal Genin anymore.

She had left her genin exam.

She had used demonic power in front of her classmates.

She had given the hostile villagers and shinobi good reason to attack her.

She had betrayed Shido-sama's trust – she promised that no one would be harmed by her power.

She had hurt her only remaining friend by burning him with demonic chakra.

As Fuu entered her home and curled up into a ball beneath a blanket, she tried to figure out what she could do. There was no way she could see Takano – even if he wanted to see her, there was no way his family and the hospital staff would let her into his room. Perhaps she could go to Shido-sama and plead her case before him?

The nobles of Takigakure would be up in arms once they heard how a Hizen was injured. As Fuu left the comfort of her home in order to enter her leader's office, she put on a nondescript cloak in order to obscure her green hair, the feature that would get her recognized immediately.

Entering the government building of Taki, Fuu waited for a chance to knock on her leader's door before she overheard the conversation within.

"That boy is my grandnephew! I don't care about the politics of things – you do realize that Takataki's" Fuu noticed how he practically spit the word of the former Jinchuriki, "daughter is the next in line for the seat as clan head? Takano isn't some average Hizen – he's third in line to inherit the position of clan head!" Fuu suddenly knew who was talking – the one-eyed clan head of the Hizen, a man by the name of Motoyasu Hizen, but commonly went by the name Yuanan.

"Do you truly hate your brother's memory that much, Yuanan? Is this how far your hate of the Jinchuriki goes?" Yuanan laughed.

"I couldn't care less that he was a Jinchuriki, why should I care about that when even his death can't distract me from the fact that he was human trash? Despite having two Jinchuriki wrong me, I will not hold their duty against them. I will, however, hold them accountable for their actions." Shido paused before speaking.

"What kind of justice do you want, Yuanan?" The Hizen clan leader scoffed.

"I want her detained. I want her to be trained away from the normal shinobi, so we can remind Jinchuriki present and future to not attack the village of their birth." Fuu shivered. While Takigakure didn't have access to Hozuki-Jo, they had their own brutal prison complex, and the wardens were known for their sadism. The fact that Yuanan was the current warden of the prison in addition to his clan head duties made the prospect especially terrifying.

Now on edge, Fuu knew that if Shido agreed, she had no place in Takigakure.

"I agree, Jinchuriki should never attack the village of their birth." Fuu didn't need to hear the rest, as she turned around and left the administrative building before heading home at a break-neck pace.

Unfortunately, she would never hear Shido's following statement, where he not only refused Yuanan's statement, but said he would refuse to allow people to prosecute Fuu in any capacity until he could get her side of the story.

Quickly packing her bags, Fuu sealed everything she needed to take with her in a scroll within a large, red container she attached to her back.

As Fuu was about to leave, she felt a throbbing in her gut, and saw a seal emerge. Recognizing it as the seal that contained the Nanabi, Fuu was suspicious, but tried channeling chakra into it regardless. What Fuu didn't expect was to be dragged within her seal.

Within…

As Fuu opened her eyes and looked around, she noticed the dark, cavernous room, and two glowing, yellow orbs hovering in one section of the room. As she noticed the eyes, the room lit up, illuminating a massive, seven-tailed Kabutomushi. Instinctively knowing the identity of this beast, Fuu backed up ever so slightly.

"Greetings, little Fuu. I've been expecting you." Fuu looked up at the beast, wary.

"Were you the one responsible for my seal hurting?" The great beast nodded, and Fuu felt anger take over. "I bet you were the one responsible for hurting Takano too! Your chakra hurt him!" The great beetle sighed, eyes narrowing.

"I am not the one responsible for your friend's state. That pill you ate was different from the others – it caused your body to automatically draw on my powers if the right circumstances were met." Fuu looked at the Nanabi, still suspicious.

"Why should I trust you?" The beast laughed.

"Let's just say that your little Hizen is rather low on the list of people I'd willingly expose to my power." Fuu, rather confused, was ready to ask another question or five, but Nanabi cut her off.

"Listen, little Fuu. There is a reason I've called you, and it's quite important we finish up our conversation. Time moves more slowly within this seal, but we don't have forever. Is this acceptable?" The mint-haired girl nodded.

"Go on, Nanabi." The beast wasn't happy with her insolence, but he would forgive it this time. Additionally, should Fuu refuse to cooperate, the Nanabi could take a leaf out of its previous host's book.

"Some years ago, myself and the other Bijuu were dragged into a combined meeting – our creator, the RIkudo Sennin, believed there was a great conflict coming, and knew the only way that humanity could survive was with our power." Fuu was confused, but held her questions.

"As the meeting progressed, it became clear we needed a leader, and two of us were nominated – myself, and the Kyuubi. Whoever is more powerful will lead our forces to victory." Fuu still didn't understand how that impacted her.

"Which means that whichever Jinchuriki wins will have control over the loser. So it's your choice, Fuu – belong to some unknown Jinchirki who could be influenced by the arrogant fox, or take control for yourself, even if it's just for freedom?" Fuu didn't have to think twice.

"Freedom." The Nanabi nodded.

"Good choice, little Fuu. Do you have any questions about my plan?" Fuu had many.

"So, why does the Rikudo Sennin care about humanity? And what can I do about… about anything? Where should I go? How can I prepare myself for conflict with the Kyuubi?" The beast nodded before responding.

"Our creator, our father, was human. He is the closest thing this world will ever have to a god, and he was the only human worth calling perfect. His will is our will. As for what you can do, you can leave the village. I know this world well – you aren't my first Jinchuriki, and my old host was something of a roamer, especially in his youth." Fuu pondered this, while the Nanabi continued talking.

"As for where you should go, that doesn't particularly matter as long as you're at least a step ahead of this village. They consider you to be their greatest weapon, their greatest asset to fall back on… They will never exile you, but if they think you're too rebellious to be a good little weapon, they'll lock you down and break you until you're little more than a tool with Bijuu chakra." Fuu shivered – that fate sounded worse than death.

"And as for how you prepare yourself, train. Make yourself and your allies as strong as you can make them. If you prepare yourself and hold off on the inevitable conflict until you get the upper hand, you will succeed." Of course, Fuu was also less than happy about Nanabi's presence forcing her to either conquer or be controlled – it wasn't like Fuu wanted to live a normal or stable life…

"Now, we must go. I will contact you through your mind, just think what you want to tell me and I'll receive it." Fuu nodded, and the Nanabi forced her out of the seal.

Quickly moving, Fuu finished gathering her things and started heading towards the village's exit. Running through the twisting caves, following her Bijuu's instructions to leave, she heard the sounds of people behind her in the cave systems – they were far enough behind her, but she wasn't as familiar with these caves as veteran shinobi, and the dark pathways within the caves made visibility poor at best.

Several minutes later, Fuu escaped to the other side of the waterfall – blinking as she registered the bright sun, something that she rarely saw, living in a village with little access to the outside world.

"You can admire the sun later. Move!" Fuu didn't need to be told twice. Using chakra, Fuu ran along the river, using the momentum in the water to push her even faster. After several minutes of running, the Nanabi informed her that her pursuers had exited the waterfall. Panicking, Fuu created several Mizu Bunshin before commanding them to go in different directions – one would go left, back towards the river, one would continue going Fuu's path, into the forest, whereas Fuu herself would go right, heading closer to her pursuers, but taking a route fewer of them would expect her to use.

As her pursuers noticed her chakra splitting into three and heading separate ways, each followed one source – two retainers of Hizen Yuanan following the left and middle clones, while a Takigakure ANBU known by the name of Hizen Kuhana followed Fuu's real body.

Back in Takigakure, Shido had summoned Hizen Motoyasu to his office again, to talk about the past.

"You said Fuu was the second Jinchuriki to wrong you, yes? What did old Takataki do?" As Shido looked up into Yuanan's lone eye, he only saw darkness within his pupil.

"My cousin, the closest thing to a brother I had, will never see his baby girl again. He took her." Shido blinked.

"But the previous Jinchuriki was your brother, even though you cast him out…" Yuanan laughed.

"He was not. He was an old enemy who had to be kept close, kept bound, before he could ruin any more lives. Once I saw he was nothing but a broken down drunk, I cast him to the gutter, where he truly belongs." As he described this, the old Hizen leader crushed the handle of a kunai he held.

"My cousin's wife was kidnapped by that fiend. She wasn't given any choice in the matter. So, when I recognized him after those years we were deployed beyond the elemental nations, I knew I wouldn't be forgiving him. He abandoned our cause. Your predecessors gave us specific instructions about how to build a power base, and he abandoned our cause. He abandoned our cause, he kidnapped my honorary niece, and then he told his new friends about my cousin's weaknesses. He's the reason we lost so many of our forces, he's the reason we came home in failure, and he's the reason my cousin died on that kami-forsaken mountain." Shido listened attentively, but still had issues with this story – according to the reports from the Second Great Shinobi War, Takataki had been with his unit for the duration of their stay, before returning home to ensure their country remained safe from raiding parties sent by the Sandaime Tsuchikage and Sandaime Hokage.

"Why do the reports indicate differently, Yuanan?" The Hizen leader scoffed.

"Do you think the council would take action against their precious Jinchuriki? He was the strongest Jinchuriki we ever had, and probably the strongest we ever will have. None of the others were ever close enough to manifest a full transformation, and when he did, he held off an entire army with one roar. So of course the real story would never make it into the books, as long as he remained here and didn't leave again." Shido found this story intriguing, but it was ultimately more of a dead end than anything else – the old Jinchuriki was dead, his wife, according to reports, died while Takataki was gone for one of the expectations, and as such, the only man whose testimony Shido could get personally was right in front of him.

Sighing, Shido authorized Yuanan's retainers and grandniece to hunt down Fuu to bring her back. Of course, he expected Yuanan to leave in pursuit as well, but did not expect the force he brought with him minutes later.

Back in the pursuit of Fuu, the left retainer found his clone first, and as he threatened her, she dispelled, but not before a burst of flame appeared behind the retainer, shocking them both, and killing the shinobi instantly.

The retainer following the middle clone never made it to his target – she was dispelled by a ripping slash, and the retainer met his fate in a similar fashion, before his body was slashed open a few dozen times.

Fuu was rapidly running out of energy – the emotional toll this day had taken upon her in combination with the side effects of the modified pill were quickly making Fuu's life very difficult. As she took a minute to rest, and drink water from a nearby stream, she noticed the stoic figure sitting on a branch above her. Fuu's heart sank.

This ANBU was one who she knew – granted, not well, but knew nonetheless. This ANBU's name was Kuhana, and she was Takano's elder sister. After thinking for a few seconds, Fuu knew she had to somehow shake her Jonin-level pursuer, while not hurting her. "Of course", thought Fuu, "that implies that I can even hurt her, or somehow shake her off." Realizing her odds were not good, and feeling the side effects of the modified pill in full force, Fuu sat down. To her surprise, Kuhana left her position in one of the trees and sat down in front of her.

For a second, neither spoke.

"Fuu, by order of Shido-sama, you are to return to Takigakure at once." Fuu felt her heart sink. As the stress caused by her situation and her guilt started to overcome her, all of the young Jinchuriki's emotions were released.

"Ms. Kuhana, I swear I didn't mean to hurt Takano." Said Fuu, tears streaming down her face. "I swear, I swear, I swear!" the young Jinchuriki wailed. Kuhana was like a statue – not moving a single centimeter before breathing in, out, and responding.

"What happened?" And thus, Fuu explained everything – the scarlet pill, her reaction to seeing Takano screaming (although she didn't talk about why that particular sound was more or less traumatic), and what she had heard Shido and Yuanan talking about. Unfortunately, Kuhana was not the only one listening in.

"Not a bad story! Unfortunately, I'll have to cut you off there." Both ANBU and Jinchuriki looked up at the man with slicked-back silver hair, and an unusual black cloak with red clouds. While Fuu had no idea who this man was, Kuhana had a better idea. Standing up and pulling her tanto out, the Hizen woman placed herself firmly between Fuu and the man.

"Hidan, missing-nin of Yukagure, why are you in Takigakure territory?" The man smirked. Fuu didn't like it – his expression was both arrogant and predatory. However, what truly unnerved Fuu was the fact that he was looking at her, not Kuhana.

"I'm here to relieve Takigakure of its Jinchuriki. The organization I'm a part of has need of her, or rather, of what she contains." Kuhana was now even more on edge than before – Hidan was an S-ranked missing-nin, a sadist who tortured his victims for hours until they bled out, and now was after Fuu, for whatever reason. Kuhana was no fool – while many in Takigakure loved writing stories about hilariously powerful heroes taking down the legends of their times with no difficulty, she was more realistic.

Takigakure had only ever produced one S-ranked shinobi, and his legacy was one of carnage, betrayal, and later obscurity, as no one ever knew what happened to Kakuzu after a couple decades of bounty hunting.

"That cannot happen." Said Kuhana, sounding much more stoic than she felt. She had heard the legends of Hidan's immortality; the rumors spread stating his heart was stabbed through, and he just laughed as he ripped the attacker in two with his gleaming red scythe. Realizing the odds of her victory were null and void, Kuhana spoke to Fuu quietly.

"Fuu, run."

"But Kuhana-san-"

"Run. If you stay, I can't protect you. You need to flee." Fuu didn't need to be told twice, especially with the Nanabi encouraging escape as well.

As Fuu jumped into the forest, fleeing the battle, Hidan attempted to follow, but found himself blocked by a fire jutsu.

"What the hell!" Don't you see that I have a job here? It's not like I want to capture her!" Kuhana jumped up into one of the trees near Hidan, before responding.

"You will not pursue her while I am still alive." Hidan laughed boisterously before giving a dark chuckle.

"You'll wish you hadn't said that, girlie." Kuhana knew that while strong, Hidan could still be beaten. Takigakure had a philosophy of determination and making use of both momentum and arrogance – such was the logic behind sending Kakuzu to assassinate Senju Hashirama, unknowing of the fact that the Mokuton using God of Shinobi was neither arrogant nor swayed by battlefield momentum. Kuhana's mother, a veteran fighter and bold warrior in her own right, was also a fan of the bold, underdog mentality, something she had drilled into her daughter.

As Hidan slashed at Kuhana, she used her tanto to stop her blades before her weapon was shattered. While the Bingo Books said a lot about Hidan's immortality, they said very little about his monstrous physical strength. Quickly performing a Kawarimi to reposition herself, Kuhana knew she had only one shot to defeat Hidan, and that was going all-out before he got serious.

Activating a Mizukiri no Yaiba in her left hand and Hikiri no Yaiba in her right hand, Kuhana willed one of the Hizen family jutsu into effect, as great, burning hawk's wings sprouted beneath her shoulder blades. While these wings were only made of fire and were unable to fly, they amplified the speed and strength of the user. With her burning wings of fire and swords of both fire and water in her hands, Kuhana charged the S-rank missing-nin, slashing him across the chest.

As Hidan looked at the X-mark across his chest, he raised his scythe, as the immortal Jashinist and blazing Hiden ANBU clashed once again.

Not too far away, Yuanan found the corpse of his second retainer – after seeing the first one charred and this one mutilated, the veteran Shinobi wondered about the fate of his 'grandniece', if his chunin-level retainers were dispatched so easily, despite being strong relative to others of the same skill level.

"Motoyasu-dono!" One of his soldiers, a chunin in his mid-twenties under the protection of the clan, pointed towards the tree line. "Someone is approaching! I don't know who he is, but his chakra signature is monstrous!" The Hizen clan leader turned towards the tree line, as his single eye roved over the scenery, waiting for this shinobi to approach.

As he stood still, his retinue fanned out in a loose formation, placing themselves between the forest and their clan leader. Made up of Hizen members and shinobi associated with the clan for various reasons, the "Motoyasu Guard" were a well-known military unit within the village, known for their aggressive fighting style, devotion to their leader, and frugal lifestyle. Hizen Motoyasu was a man who lived with the barest minimal amount of funding, and was known for sending finances to the widows and families of those soldiers who died in his service. As such, his unit was loyal to the extreme to their gray-haired, one-eyed commander who lived like a soldier, rather than those clan heads who sat in their regal homes, drinking fine wine and eating like Daimyo until they were as stuffed as pigs.

Yuanan waited, and his eye narrowed as the sound of footsteps were heard, approaching the edge of the forest. As Yuanan pulled out his longsword, and his retinue pulled out the weapons and tools they used for battle, a man appeared at the edge of the forest. With a Hitai-ate attached to a piece of cloth that wrapped around the top and back of his head, few would recognize him, but Yuanan's memory was intact, and the slashed Takigakure headband in correlation with the green iris and red sclera made no doubt about this man's identity.

"Ohisashiburi des, Kakuzu." This put every Shinobi and Kunoichi in his guard on high alert – Kakuzu was a legend in his village in a similar way as Uchiha Madara in Konoha.

"That's Kakuzu, Motoyasu-dono?" The clan leader grunted as a single bead of sweat came down his face. Yuanan was a soldier through and through – he had fought through decades of battles, campaigns, and political intrigue, he was a man who killed another at the age of thirteen, and consumed his own eyeball on the battlefield. As such, the simple act of sweating told his retinue exactly what their leader thought about this man.

"Long time indeed, Hizen. Shame you haven't left your village much, your bounty was starting to deteriorate." Motoyasu didn't respond.

"Brothers, this man is a traitor to our village who should have died decades ago. No matter what happens, we end today as heroes – either dying for our village, or bringing this wretched man's head back with us. Charge!" With this, his shinobi charged into battle, with his strongest four – three shinobi and a kunoichi – staying back with their clan leader while he observed the bounty hunter's fighting style, seeing how the legends of Jiongnu matched up against the real deal.

Kakuzu's reputation as a monster and nightmare within Takigakure was well earned. Standing still as dozens of kunai and shuriken bounced off of him, the old heart stealer used his Doton: Domu in order to rip through most of his retinue with his bare hands in a matter of seconds. As the last of his standard soldiers fell, Yuanan felt rage build within him.

While this were his soldiers and he expected them to die against a near-godly foe, he couldn't help but mentally mourn not only the loss of his men, but the loss of decades' worth of politicking and power moves by the Hizen clan. If only Cousin could see me now… Chuckling, Yuanan readied his sword, as he charged, silver hair and beard whipping about. His retinue surrounded him, and the Hizen clan leader knew this battle was another life-defining moment, but removed unnecessary thoughts from his mind as he slashed at the S-ranked bounty hunter.

Those of you with some background in a certain language and a certain set of stories should understand who Takataki and Yuanan (Motoyasu) are, and should now understand the significance of Takano and his heritage. I updated Ch 6 (Fuu's Seal chapter), and have made the connections more clear. My previous name for the old Jinchuriki made issues convoluted, and gave literally no information about how to identify the old man. Once you've read this (and seen the minor changes I made to Ch 6), shoot me your guesses about the man's identity, whether through PMs, Reviews, or some other method. I'll confirm or deny your guesses as is appropriate to the method used to send them to me.

A/N 2: After finishing up this last scene with the Hizen retinue versus Kakuzu, I can safely say that even those who do not speak the specific language, or are familiar with the stories could discover this man's identity. References were also made to a more well-known, and more western-consumable form of media portraying these stories. If you know these particular sets of stories, you should have gotten a brief reminder of them earlier on in this chapter.

The next chapter will deal with Fuu, wrap up her escape, and send Naruto and co. down one of the most well-known and commonly depicted stories in various fics. Additionally, I understand that the family tree of the Hizen is rather complex as well, and so I will be more than happy to answer questions related to it. Should enough confusion arise, I will preface the upcoming chapter with the family tree of Takano.