Author's Note: Against my expectations, the Byakugan Princess arc was a success. I'm glad you guys liked it so much. Hell, some of you were even disappointed that it ended after just three chapters. I'll try to make sure all the future original arcs are just as good as this one.
So now, let's start a new arc with a returning fan favorite (and personal favorite): Fu! Who didn't appear since...chapter 31? She's been absent for almost 30 chapters? Damn, that's almost half the story so far! Good thing this arc will fix such thing. Enjoy :
Chapter 59:
The Fall of Taki
or
Clipped Wings
Takigakure
"It's not fair!" Fu whined to no one in particular.
The green haired jinchuriki was lying on a large branch of the village's Great Tree, looking at the sky through the small gaps left between the tree's leaves. She let out a loud snort, as if that somehow would relieve if her boredom.
She went through all the troubles of taking an S-Rank mission so she could get a several days permit afterwards, that she was planning to use to travel to Konoha, and get to see her friends again, and most importantly, her boyfriend. It's been three months since the last time she saw him, and while she enjoyed reading his letters, it was just not the same.
But then Shibuki said: "No, it's too risky letting you leave the village alone. And I can't afford an escort right now."
"Why don't you make up a reason to justify me sending me there?" Fu had suggested.
But Shibuki denied her request, saying along the lines of "I'm not going to make that mistake again", and that, since no Taki Genin team made it to the finals, there was no reason for any Taki ninja to be in Konoha. Meaning goodbye seeing the Chunin Exams, goodbye laughing with her friends, and goodbye making out with Shino.
She thought that earning a promotion to Jonin would show Shibuki her strength and thus result in more freedom, but how wrong she was. Despite her rank, she was never allowed to leave the village alone, not even for missions, which she always had to do under the watch of her babysitters –or "escorts", as Shibuki called them– despite the fact that she had grown way more powerful than most of the ninjas the village leader assigned as her squadmates.
What was the point of being a Jonin then? Sure, the Jonin paycheck was sweet, and allowed her to buy anything she wanted, but that's about it. No matter what she did, it would never stop Shibuki from treating her as a delicate porcelain doll that has to be protected at all time.
"I might as well ask Shibuki for a mission," she concluded. "Free days are rather boring if you have no friends to spend with."
Yes, that should do. Prefirably, a mission that involved going to the Land of Fire. Maybe that way, she could take a small detour to Konoha, and pay a brief visit to her friends, and her boyfriend.
Little did she knew that her wishes were going to come true, and the price she had to pay for them.
Deciding to stop wasting more time, Fu jumped to her feet, spread her wings, and flew towards Shibuki's office. She didn't pay attention to the buildings and people below her – while watching the village from the sky was incredible the first few times, it ended up losing its awe. That's it, until several screams caught her attention.
"Huh?" she said, as she uncosnciously moved towards the source of the commotion. She narrowed eyes. "Is that...a fight?"
Flying closer, Fu realized that she was right. There were several ninja invaders attacking her comrades, while others escorted the civilians to a safer place. She was unable to see where the invaders came from, since she was too high in the air to properly see their forehead protectors. At least, of those who carried them.
"Where did those guys came from?" she asked.
She got her answer when she saw that the enemy ninjas were coming from the lake, where one of the entrances to the village was.
"But said entrances are top secret, and only Takigakure ninjas know about them..." Fu thought, as distress started to manifest within her. She forced herself to stop wondering about how such thing could happen. She could care about that later. Now she needed to put a stop to it. "I think I should help them...no, wait, I should tell Shibuki first! Then he can alert the village of the attack!"
Flying as fast as he could, the green haired girl zoomed into the center of the village, and in a few seconds, she burst through Shibuku's office's –thankfully– open window.
"WHOA!" the young leader of Taki shouted, startled by Fu's sudden entrance. "Fu, what the hell!?"
"Sorry, but there's no time! We are under attack!" an alarmed Fu told him. "Come on, you have to mobilize everybody!"
"Shibuki-sama!" a Taki ninja burst into the office, kunai in hand, ready to attack anybody who would dare to harm his leader. "What was that noise? Are you alri- oh, it was Fu."
"Calm down, Fu!" Shibuki told her. "What are you saying about being attacked?"
"What does it need to be said? Enemy ninja are entering the village! They found about the secret passageways! Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on!" Fu urged, jumping up and down.
What Fu said was beyond unlikely. But she looked really distressed and frantic. And, eccentric as she was, she wouldn't lie about something so serious as an invasion for the sake of playing a prank. Shibuki's eyes rested on the ninja who had burst into the office shortly after Fu, who was still in the door.
"It seems that an enemy force had found one of the secret entrances to the village, and we're being invaded. Spread the news and make sure everybody's ready to defend the village. I'll join you shortly," Shibuki calmly ordered.
"Yes, Shibuki-sama!" the ninja obediently replied as he left the room, slamming the door behind him.
"Fu, how many enemies did you see?" Shibuki asked the mint haired girl.
"I didn't have time to count them, but they were a bunch! And more were coming from the lake, so there might be even more right now!" Fu stated.
"Okay. Knowing you, I was afraid that you'd rush into battle, but I'm glad you did the right thing, and came here to warn me first. Now, while we fight, find a safe place to-"
"NO!" Fu yelled, interrupting his leader. "Don't even dare to finish that sentence! Taki is my home, and I want to help to protect it!"
Shibuki sighed wearily. "Fu, we talked about this. You're too important for the village. If what you said is right, thing are going to get dangerous, and you may die."
"I know that! But I'm a ninja, for Kami's sake! A jonin! Hell, I'm sure I'm even stronger than you! What's the point of letting me be one in the first place, if you aren't going to put my abilities to use?" the jinchuriki protested.
Shibuki sighed again. He had no time to waste arguing with Fu. And if he made her relent, deep down he knew she'd disobey him anyway and join the fight. Besides, she wasn't entirely wrong when she talked about her strength and skill.
"Alright, but make sure you stay at my side at all times, understood? I don't want you to go on your own and get killed," Shibuki warned her.
The green haired girl's previous outrage disappeared, replaced by her usual sunny disposition. She flashed him a confident grin as she gave him a thumbs up.
"You got it, Shibuki! We'll cover each other's backs!" Fu happily said. "Now, to battle!"
Shibuki didn't share Fu's almost careless enthusiasm and optimism. For some reason, the young Taki leader had a very bad feeling about this.
…
Kakuzu had disappeared to do some "intelligence gathering", as he called it, leaving Hidan in charge of leading the initial assault. Kunai and shuriken flew through the air, some of them hitting thin air, but most of them finding their marks. Invaders and defenders traded elemental ninjutsu while others engaged their opponents in hand to hand combat.
From what Kakuzu had told him, Takigakure was a very small village, but they managed to stay afloat thanks to the quality of the ninjas they produced, which were almost as skilled as those that came from the Great Villages, but could be hired at an overall considerably cheaper price. The downside, however, was that due their low number of ninjas they couldn't take as many missions as other more populated villages.
And so far, such thing was proving to be true. Despite the rabble Kakuzu had gathered, plus Hidan's own cultists outnumbering the Taki ninjas, they were having a very hard time pressing their advance.
"Come on, you weak-ass shitheads! Fight a bit harder! Janshin-sama demands it!" Hidan hollered, as he skewered a Takigakure Chunin with his three bladed scythe.
His commands fell into deaf ears, and Kakuzu's fools kept dying. Oh well, it's not that he cared about their fate. Kakuzu himself admitted that these thugs were mostly fodder whose purpose was to wear down Takigakure's defenses. Until Kakuzu returned, he had to make sure the plan went as followed. Hidan rushed forward, and leaped into the air. Several shuriken flew towards him, but he skillfully parried them using his scythe. He landed in the middle of a cluster of enemies, as he started to cut them down.
"Those cloaks...Akatsuki!" a Taki ninja pointed out in fear.
"They must have come for our jinchuriki!" another one cried.
"Then we won't let them! Come on, attack, all at once!" a third one, braver than the first two, stated, as he charged forward.
"Yes, come and attack me, you fucking heathens! Jashin-sama is thirsty for the blood of the nonbelievers!" Hidan shouted, as he laughed maniacally while skewering more Taki ninja coming at him. "Let's step up our game! Brothers, summon the Sons of Janshin!"
"Yes, Hidan-sama!" the Jashin cultists chorused at once.
Hidan's acolytes spread in groups of three and four, focusing on a single Taki ninja each, and isolated them, before ganging on them. But the cultists didn't kill them. They only hurt them enough so they wouldn't be able to defend themselves. However, those poor Taki ninjas would wish they were given a quick death instead, since once they could no longer fight, they were placed on their backs on the ground, and the cultist would use their own blood to draw demonic symbols around them in a circle. And finally, the cultist would weave the same chain of hand signs, completing the process.
"Demonic Summoning: Sons of Janshin!"
Suddenly, the ninjas used for the strange rituals were invaded by a nauseating feeling. As if something appeared inside them, and started to quickly grow. A massive pain got hold of them as whatever was eating their bodies from the inside out grew bigger, until they burst from their chests, killing them almost instantly.
The other Taki ninjas watched in horror how creatures that they've never seen before emerged from their deceased comrades' bodies, like a macabre childbirth. The creatures were of many sizes, ranging from a small as a housecat to as big as a tall person. Each of them had a different number of limbs, all of them ending in long, sharp claws. Some of them didn't have eyes, while others had mutliple eyes all over their bodies. The only thing they had in common were their inky, dark blue skin, and their huge mouths full of razor sharp teeth.
"Behold, heathens, the Sons of our mighty lord, Janshin-sama!" a cultist screamed. "Let them fill your hearts with pain and terror, and rejoice!"
Without needing to be ordered, the demonic aberrations lunged in disorderly fashion at the Taki ninjas, who tried to protect themselves as good as they could. But between the numerical advantage of the invaders and the damage these abominations were doing, soon they found themselves forced to fall back.
"Yes! Now you'll see Janshin-sama in all his glo-" Hidan gloated, before he was being interrupted by a Taki ninja impaling his chest with a large sword. He shot the attacker an annoyed look. "Didn't your bitch of a mother teach you that interrupting someone who's speaking is rude as fuck?"
"H-How...? I impaled your heart!" the Taki ninja stammered.
"BECAUSE I'M FUCKING IMMORTAL!" Hidan yelled, as he pulled the sword out of his chest, an stabbed it into the Taki ninja's gut. "This knife's yours, by the way, I don't want it!"
"It seems you're having quite the time here," a deep, monotone voice said. Hidan turned around, and noticed Kakuzu standing besides him. "However, your fun has to end. I've located the jinchuriki."
"Oh well. As long as I get to use my ritual with something worthy of sacrifice, it will almost make up for the pain in the ass that it's not to kill the jinchuriki," Hidan replied.
"I'd suggest the leader of the village, but I need him alive, since the reward for his head is greater that way. However, I'm sure that god of yours will find any of his bodyguards worthy. From what I know, despite being the leader, Shibuki isn't a particularly strong ninja," Kakuzu told him. Hidan's unnerving grin was all the answer he needed. "Meaning that I'll take care of both him and the jinchuriki. You take care of the rest."
"Whatever. Can we go now?" Hidan impatiently asked.
With that last warning, both Akatsuki vanished in a blur, like two predators ready to hunt their preys.
…
Meanwhile, not far away from there, Shibuki, Fu, and other Taki ninjas –most of them Shibuki's bodyguards–, were fighting with all they had against the mercenaries, thugs and cultists that were swarming the small village.
"Water Release: Water Blade Jutsu!"
A sword made of pure water appeared in the young Taki leader's hand, as he engaged a couple missing-nin in melee combat, who were easily pushed back. "These thugs are nothing but rabble! There must be somebody leading the attack! If we take him down, we'll win half the battle!"
"Yes, Shibuki-sama!" his escorts chorused in unison.
"More enemies incoming!" one of the Jonin, a middle aged broad man with a thick moustache warned, pointing to a group of thugs coming towards them. "Ninjas and...what the hell is that!?"
Along with the enemy ninjas, there were what appeared to be some kind of near skeletal, inhuman inky creatures with sharp teeth, claws and either lots of eyes across their bodies, or no eyes at all.
"I'll take care of it!" Fu happily said as she leaped into the air, while wounding her fist back. "Takigakure Whirlwind!"
Fu landed in the middle of the arriving group, her fist slamming into the ground. The force of the impact alone produced a shockwave in every direction, which in turn created a powerful tornado around her, hurling the enemy ninjas and monsters away in every direction.
Unlike the human opponents, the inhuman monstrosities recovered rather quickly from Fu's initial assault, and quickly stood back to their feet, and charged at the jinchuriki, letting out high pitched, inhuman screeches.
"Want for more? Suit yourself!" a small tornado enveloped Fu's fists. "Hurricane Punch!"
Fu punched the first of the Sons of Janshin with such force, it was literally vaporized, producing a loud booming noise. The Wind Chakra, as well as the force of the punch created quick but powerful bursts of wind that knocked the other demons back. Undeterred by their siblings' death, the rest of the demons charged again, with predictable results.
"Whoa, that bitch's strong!" a loud voice said.
"Indeed she is. So you better get ready, since that's the jinchuriki," a deeper voice replied.
Everybody froze when the newcomers revealed Fu's jinchuriki status so casually. Suddenly, two men wearing Akatsuki cloaks landed in front of them. Remembering Naruto's words about the organization, Fu instinctively took a few step backwards, closer to Shibuki and his group.
"I mean..." the Akatsuki with the red scythe narrowd his eyes at Fu. "That's a girl, right? Because damn, she's so fucking jacked, she almost looks like a dude."
"Look like a dude? I'll show you-!" Fu snarled as she stomped forward, but she was grabbed by the shoulder by a fellow Taki ninja.
"Remember, Hidan, leave the Jinchuriki and Shibuki to me. Do with the others whatever you please," the masked Akatsuki reminded his partner.
"Hey, I think I know you...you're Kakuzu, our village's most infamous missing-nin!" Fu said, pointing a finger at him.
"K-Kakuzu? It can't be!" Shibuki cried, as fear started to creep into his body. If Kakuzu was the leader of this attack, then things would get way harder than Shibuki had expected.
"After you failed to assassinate the First Hokage, you murdered the village elders and stole Taki's secret kinjutsu!" Fu recalled, sounding oddly excited. "There's only one reason you came back here!"
Kakuzu chuckled under his mask. "So, it seems today's youth still know about me. I should feel flattered. That's right, girl, I'm back, and that's because-"
"You regret your past crimes and want to ask for the village's forgiveness!" Fu finished.
A moment of silence followed Fu's optimistic statement. Kakuzu blinked a few times, not knowing how to answer that.
"Kakuzu...is she mentally retarded?" Hidan asked.
This seemed to snap Kakuzu back to reality. "No, girl, none of that it's true. This village betrayed me, all what I did next was a fair retribution. And my reason to be here is to capture you and extract the Tailed Beast sealed inside you."
"Of course, if Akatsuki lead the attack, they're clearly after Fu," Shibuki thought. "But they're smart. They brought a large attack force so we're forced to divert our ninjas to defend the village, and they have an easier time capturing Fu. It also explains how do they know how to access the village."
"Kakuzu? Impossible! Somebody that old can't still be a ninja!" a Taki ninja with red short hair cried.
"He can, thanks to the forbidden jutsu he stole when he left the village," Shibuki explained. "I don't know exactly what it does, but he can harvest the heart of his defeated enemies to both prolong his lifespan, stay in his prime, and acquire their strenght."
"I see that you're well informed, Shibuki-kun," Kakuzu replied.
"Shibuki-sama, you need to take Fu to a safe place. We'll hold the Akatsuki as much as we can," one of the Jonin, a woman holding a large sword with blond hair tied in a short ponytail told Shibuki.
"I can't ask you to do that! Kakuzu is by far the strongest ninja this village has ever produced! And we don't even know what his partner can do!" Shibuki protested.
However, his warnings fell on deaf ears as one of his Jonin, a man in his thirties with a buzzcut, dashed forward. "Go now! I'll create an opening!" the man said, tossing a shruiken, and making several hand seals. "Shadow Shuriken Clone Jutsu!"
The lone shuriken turned into several dozens. Hidan, however, smirked, and tossed his scythe forward. Using the thick cable it was attached to, he made it maneuver and spin so it would easily deflect all the shuriken away.
"Damn, now I have no choice!" Shibuki cursed inwardly as he grabbed Fu by the forearm, and started to run, pulling her. "Come on Fu, we need to leave!"
"Whoa, wait!" Fu protested, as she allowed herself to be dragged by her leader. "Aren't we going to fight?"
"They're after you! We need to take you to a safe place!" Shibuki told her.
"You're open right now!" the woman with the large sword said, dahsing forward. Her sword started to glow with a blue light as chakra was channeled through it, before she made an slashing motion. "Flying Chakra Blades!"
The released chakra took the shape of crescent shaped energy blades that flew at the Akatsuki. However, Hidan merely smirked, as he easily jumped above the incoming attack, while pulling the cable down. His scythe came down towards her, however, she was able to parry it with her long sword.
"Himiko!" the Taki ninja with the buzzcut replied.
"I'm okay, Tadashi!" Himiko replied, as she struggled against the scythe. "Quickly, attack him now!"
The redheaded Jonin was about to do so, until he noticed something. "Hey, where did Kakuzu go?"
Meanwhile, not far away from there, Shibuki was taking Fu to one of the secret emergency exits the village had for evacuations. The fact that no enemies were coming from that direction meant that the Akatsuki weren't aware about it. They managed to make it out of the village, and were heading the edge of the island lake.
"Shibuki, we should stay and fight! If we help the others, we can-" Fu protested.
"No, it's too risky!" Shibuki replied. "We cannot allow them to get their hands on you! You're too important! I need to protect you at all costs!"
Unfortunately, their escape was cut short by Kakuzu violently landing in front of them, opening a crater, and raising a large cloud of dirt and dust when his feet hit the ground.
"Protect her? Please. From what I know about you two, she's the one who needs to protect you," Kakuzu said in a condescending tone, as he walked towards them.
"Fu, stay behind me!" Shibuki insisted, as he took a step forward.
"No!" Fu protested once again. "He's right! You're no rival for him! But if we fight together, we might have a chance!"
"If I'm allowed to give my opinion, you should listen to her, Shibuki-kun," Kakuzu interjected. "Not that it will change the result of this fight, but it's indeed the most intelligent way of dealing with me."
Suddenly, much to Kakuzu's surprise, Fu vanished behind his very eyes. The Akatsuki barely had time to jump away before Fu's fist came down, hitting the ground, opening a large crater that send chunks of rock and dirt everywhere.
"You are...ridicuously strong," Kakuzu observed.
"You have no idea!" Fu replied, as she sank her other fist inside the former Taki ninja's gut. However, Kakuzu burst into smoke, leaving a log in his place, which instantly shattered upon receiving the brunt of Fu's attack. "Shit!"
The ground beneath her fist cracked, and Kakuzu burst from below just as fast, hitting Fu's lower jaw with a powerful punch. The mint haired girl was sent flying backwards in an arc, before landing with a thud.
"But I'm still stronger," Kakuzu cofidently stated.
"FU!" Shibuki cried, as he dashed towards Kakuzu, his water sword above his head. He brought his sword down upon the unmoving ninja in a vertical slash, but much to his shock, Kakuzu caught his makeshift weapon with just one hand. "What?"
Kakuzu's hand darkened, and squeezed the water sword with greater force, making it burst into dozens of water droplets that splashed both Shibuki and the ground below.
"You should know that Earth beats Water. Though with the gap between us, elemental advantages become irrelevant," Kakuzu said, as he delivered a brutal kick to Shibuki's gut, sending him flying a few meters backwards. "This was even easier than-"
The masked Akatsuki was interruped mid sentence by another equally brutal kick, this time to the side of his head, which also send him flying a few meters, before painfully landing on the ground. After getting on his feet, Kakuzu saw that it was Fu who had attacked him.
"You are even stronger than I had intially assessed," Kakuzu admitted.
"I'm even stronger than that," Fu said, as she rubbed her pained jaw.
"I find that doubtful. But then again, I do not seek to kill you, and beating an enemy while holding back makes the fight complicated. However, I wouldn't be the best bounty hunter in the elemental nations if I lacked skill," Kakuzu said, as he made several hand seals. "Earth Release: Earth Dragon Bullets!"
Mud started to gather in front of Kakuzu, and it took the shape of a dragon head. The dragon opened its jaws, and fired a quick barrage of mud bullets. Fu then deployed her wings, and flew high in the air. The dragon head continued firing mud bullets at her, but her flight gave her more room to dodge than an earthbound target.
"And she can fly too. This task is becoming more complicated by the moment..." Kakuzu groaned.
Meanwhile, Shibuki managed to get back on his feet. Despite the brutal kick, he could still fight, even if he was sure he had a broken rib.
"One hit...that's all what he needed to take me out," Shibuki moaned in pain, as his hand reached his ninja tool pouch. "He's right. The difference between him and me is too big. Fortunately, I have the means to bridge that gap!"
In his hand there was a vial with a glowing blue liquid.
"The boost from this amount of Hero Water should be enough to deal with Kakuzu, with the backlash not being so big as not to survive it..." Shibuki said to himself, as he downed the contents of the vial in one go.
The effect were almost instant. He felt all the pain disappearing from his body, being replaced by a powerful wave of energy. He felt his bones strengthening, and his mucles swealling up a little. His chakra became so strong, it manifested in the from a blue aura all around his body. Yes, with this power, he and Fu would be able to take down Akatsuki.
"KAKUZU!" Shibuki yelled as he dashed towards the Akatsuki. While some might think it was stupid to waste the surprise factor like that, the young leader wanted to draw his attention away from Fu.
"Oh? You're still alive?" Kakuzu nonchalantly deadpanned, as he moved his body a little, so his back pointed to neither Fu nor Shibuki. However, he was forced to focus on Shibuki the moment the young man assaulted him with a flurry of punches and kicks. While unrefined and not that hard to block or dodge, they moved much faster and packed far more power than before. "What? How did you become so strong all of sudden, kid?"
"With the only thing you weren't able to steal before you defected!" Shibuki replied, as he delivered a high kick to Kakuzu's head.
The Akatsuki blocked the kick with his forearms, but it had enough force to push him sideways. He had barely time to notice a shadow falling over him.
"Takigakure Whirlwind!"
Kakuzu jumped back before a green haired meteor could crush him. Like it did before, Fu's punch opened a crater the moment it hit the ground.
"Now is my chance!" Shibuki thought, as he moved backwards, closer to the edge of the lake as his hands flied through hand seals. "Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu!"
A massive, serpentine dragon made of water rose from the lake's surface. It let out a distorted growl, before it lunged at Kakuzu. Fu deployed her wings once again, anf flew into the air to avoid thw attack. Kakuzu replied by making hand seals of his own.
"Earth Release: Earth Dome Jutsu!"
Dirt and stones gathered around the Akatsuki, quickly forming a dome around him, which was finished just in time the water dragon found its mark, collapsing into a massive torrent that left the entire area wet and full of puddles. The dome, however, was left untouched.
"Damn, not even with the Hero Water I can overcome the elemental disadvantage..." Shibuki cursed.
"Let's bring you out of your shell, shall we?" Fu shouted from above, as she slammed the rock dome with both feet, shattering it into a multitude of peebles. However, rather than Kakuzu, she only found a hole. "Dammit! He escaped underground again!"
"I have an idea! Fu, let's force him out by flooding the tunnel he just dug!" Shibuku suggested, as he ran towards the hole.
Fu nodded, and the two of them started weaving hand seals as well.
"Water Release: Water Gun!"
The two Taki ninjas expelled a stream of water from of each of their mouths, quickly flooding the tunnel Kakuzu had dig. If he didn't come out, he'd drown.
Suddenly, the earth started to shake. That definitely wasn't the effect the two Taki ninjas were expecting. Suddenly, powerful streams of water burst from underground as if they were geysers, startling them into stopping.
"What...what the hell is going on?" Fu asked in shock, as she took a step back.
The jinchuriki noticed too late the ground trembling under her feet, and she was hurled into the air by a powerful stream of water.
"FU!" Shibuki yelled.
The mint haired girl deployed her wings once more, and managed to escape the stream of water. She panted a little, spitting the water that had flooded her respiratory system. And that moment was all what Kakuzu needed to strike. Fu didn't even see the Akatsuki appearing besides her, and found herself at the receiving end of a rather savage punch that send her flying against the ground. But when she hit the ground, she didn't stop there. The force of the punch keep pushing her towards the edge of the island, leaving a furrow behind.
"Fu! Are you okay?" Shibuki asked, as he rushed towards her. However, he was stopped in his tracks when several kunai with explosive tags attached to them landed in front of him. "What?"
The young Taki leader managed to jump back in time before the tags detonated, producing a chain of loud explosions. When the smoke of the explosions dispelled, there were several missing-nin of several villages.
"Kakuzu-sama, we came here to help!" a missing-nin from Ame said.
"Yeah, the situation in the village is pretty much under control!" anoter one from Kumo confidently added.
"What do you want us to do?" an Iwa missing-nin asked.
"Good job. It seems the money I spend on you was a good investment. Keep that man busy, but make sure he lives. Meanwhile, I'll secure the girl," Kakuzu said in a deadpan tone, as he walked towards the bruised Fu, who was trying to get back on her feet. "Stand down, jinchuriki. You've already lost."
"That's...that's the best you have?" Fu laughed weakly as she got back on her feet. She wiped a trickle of blood that came from her mouth.
"Girl, you only experienced a fraction of my true power. I recognize that you're strong, but my experience as a ninja far outstrips yours. Don't make this harder than it should be," Kakuzu said, as he continued walking forwards.
"Fu! You have to flee!" Shibuki shouted, as the various hired misssing-nin engaged him at once.
"There's...there's no way I'm going to do that! Taki is my home, and I'll defend it!" Fu stubbornly shouted back.
"And you will defend it, but not this way! Don't let Akatsuki get their hands on your power! Go and look for help!" Shibuki pleaded, as he felt the effects of the Hero Water slowly banishing.
"I'm not going to abandon you, Shibuki!" Fu yelled, as she tried to fight back the tears.
"You won't," Shibuki replied, as he parried a kunai blow from the Ame missing nin. "Fu, you're a ninja. You know what you have to do."
Fu didn't reply. Her sight shifted back and forth between Shibuki and three approaching Kakuzu. He was right, she did know what to do, even if deep down she didn't want to admit it. She wiped the tears from her eyes, and her face reflected a look of determination, looking as if she was ready to fight.
"A last stand against me? Brave, but foolish," Kakuzu observed.
Fu clapped her hands together. "I will fight against you, and I will beat you," she said, as her hands formed a single seal. "But it won't be today. Hiding in the Scale Powder Jutsu!"
Fu released a huge cloud of glittering power that blinded Kakuzu and all the missing-nin in the area. Taking advantage of the distraction, Fu turned back, deployed her wings, and flew away. At that moment, the effect of the Hero Water vanished, and Shibuki fell on his knees, not being able to fight anymore. He was quickly aprehended by two missing-nin.
"Lock Shibuki up in a safe place. The rest of of us, come with me. We have to catch that girl," Kakuzu ordered.
"But, Kakuzu-sama...she's flying," the Kumo missing-nin weakly protested.
"I can see that," Kakuzu deadpanned in return. "But she won't be able to fly forever, especially with those wounds and bruises. Now keep your mouths shut and come with me! I pay you to follow my orders, not to question them."
"Y-Yes, Kakuzu-sama!" the present missing-nin chorused, as they all ran after their employer, ready to hunt the fleeing jinchuriki.
…
As Fu flew, she didn't look back. She knew that if she did, she'd turn back and try to help Shibuki and the rest of her comrades. She hated everything so much. Feeling so impotent, the Akatsuki bringing her village to its knees so easily, what would happen to Shibuki...
She pushed those thoughts out of her mind, and focused on her mission: reach Konoha. Once there, she could ask her friends for help in driving the Akatsuki away. She had to cover a lot of distance, but with her wings and natural speed, it would be no problem.
"Fu," a voice said in her head. A voice she hadn't heard in quite some time. "What are you doing?"
"What do you think I'm doing? I'm going to Konoha and get some help!" Fu answered the Seven Tails.
"You know, you could have used my power. That way, you could have defeated those Akatsuki," the Seven Tails replied.
"Not falling for that one again. I still remember what happened the last time I tried to do that," Fu bitterly replied.
"It's the only way. You won't reach Konoha in your current state. Besides, they're chasing you," the Seven Tails pointed out.
"Unless those guys learn to fly in the next hours, I don't see them catching me," Fu replied.
"No, but they will wait until you get tired and can't fly anymore. I'm trying to heal you, but I will take some time. There's not enough luck in the world that can take you out of this," the Seven Tails insisted.
"Why do you care about me so much all of sudden?" the mint haired girl snapped.
"Because I know what will happen to me if those Akatsuki get their hands of you. I felt what happened to Isobou and Kokuo. I wasn't sure myself, but Shukaku confirmed it. I don't plan to get sealed back into the Demonic Statue," the Seven Tails replied, sounding almost scared.
"Demonic Statue? What are you talking about?" Fu asked.
"There's no time to explain. If you're foolish enough not to use my power in such dire situation, guess that I have no option but do the next best thing," the Tailed Beast cryptically said.
"And that would be?" Fu asked.
But she got no answer.
...
Konoha Stadium
Like two and a half years ago, a good chunk of Konoha's population, as well as many foreigners, were gathered in the village's stadium to watch the finals of the Chunin Exams. This time, however, instead of a tournament of one on one fights, the Hokage decided to break the mold, and make team fights instead. Most of the teams were from Konoha, but there were a couple from Suna, and another two from Kiri, participating in an Exam hosted by Konoha for the first time in more than two decades.
Currently, the second fight of the tournament, between two Konoha teams, came to an end as the last member of one of the teams fell to the ground, unable to continue fighting.
"All members of Team Masaru are no longer able to fight!" the proctor, Anko Mitarashi, declared. "Team Yamato moves to the semifinals!"
"We did it, guys!" Kaida happily said as she high fived both her brother and Hanabi.
"I can already feel that Chunin Vest around my body," Hanabi gushed.
"We're doing good so far, but we better not get overconfident," Hagane wisely noted. "The best way to ensure a promotion is to win this tournament."
"Yeah. Besides, mom will bet a lot of money on us, and if we lose just like Naruto-niisan did during his exams..." Kaida shivered upon thinking what her mother's reaction would be.
"We may have to become missing-nins," Hagane solemnly noted.
"Come on, Tsunade-sama may have a gambling problem, but he wouldn't do anything too bad if we lose after she bets on us, right?" Hanabi asked. The Hyuga grew nervous upon seeing the look her teammates were giving her. "...right?"
…
"Those children better win their remaining fights, or they shouldn't even bother to return back home," Tsunade stated, as she gripped her many betting tickets on both hands.
Alongside Tsunade was Shizune, with Shiro and Shizuka respectively sitting on their laps. Naruto and Hinata were also with them, watching and enjoying the fights. Many Hyugas were sitting on previous rows.
"I wouldn't worry about them losing, Tsunade-sama. They were already strong before, and now that Hanabi has a Tenseigan, I find doubtful that they will find any team that will give them a challenge. Not even veteran ones," Hinata said in an assuring tone.
"How can you be so sure? You only started training with it for a couple weeks, right?" Shizune asked. "Hanabi didn't look that different to me."
"It might not be obvious to the naked eye, but her new power it's still there. It manifests in a more subtle way. You'll probably noticed that her blows pack more power than they did before," Hinata explained.
Naruto was ildly following the conversation, until he felt something. A pull. Knowing what it was, he let himself be pulled in, and soon he found himself inside the Nine Tail's seal.
…
"Do you want something?" Naruto asked. "Because I'm having a good time watching the Chunin Exams with my family."
"Your entertainment will have to wait, brat. I've received a distress call," the Nine Tails began. "From the Seven Tails."
Naruto's bored expression immediately changed into one of shock. "Fu!"
"Yes. It was short but from what the bug told me, Akatsuki is after her. They invaded her village, and is currently on the run. You better hurry. You got lucky you were able to save the tanuki's host, but you might not be so lucky this time," the fox warned him.
Naruto nodded. "I will. Thanks a lot for telling me."
The Nine Tails snorted dismissively. "Keep your gratitude for somebody who might appreciate it. I only warned you because it's of my interest that the Akatsuki don't capture anymore of my siblings."
"Whatever you say, you furball," Naruto replied with a cheeky smile, before leaving the seal.
…
The moment Naruto returned to the real world, he found his girlfriend staring at him in concern.
"Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked, mildly worried. "Are you okay? You look tense."
"It's the Nine Tails. He told me Fu is in danger. The Akatsuki are after her. We have to save her!" Naruto stated.
Hinata emphatically nodded. "Okay, let's fetch Haku. By the way, do you know where Fu is?"
"The fox didn't tell me. Somewhere between Taki and Konoha, I think."
"That's...a lot of ground to cover. We'll need a tracking team to find her. Is Kakashi-sensei's team in Konoha?" Hinata asked.
"If they are, they should be in their usual training ground. I'll go fetch them, you get Haku," Naruto replied. He stood up and looked at Tsunade and Shizune. "Mom, Shizune-neechan, we need to go. Akatsuki is on the move again, and another jinchuriki is in danger."
"I understand. Take care," Tsunade said. "Before you go, you should warn your father about it."
"I will," Naruto said, as he made a Shadow Clone.
…
Meanwhile, in the Kage Box, three Kages were watching the fights. The first was Rasa, looking a bit bored, since so far none of the Suna Genin had fought yet. Just like the other time he was in Konoha, he brought Baki and Maki as his escorts. Sitting in the middle was Jiraiya, escorted by Shisui Uchiha and Neji Hyuga. And lastly, to the left of Jiraiya was Mei Terumi, escorted by Chojuro and Ameyuri.
"Your children are truly a sight to behold, Hokage-dono," Mei praised.
Mei hadn't changed that much since the last time Jiraiya had seen her, when she came to Konoha to hire some ninjas to boost her rebel forces. That's it, unless one ignored the rather large round belly that she now sported.
"Wonder if mine will be just half as good as those three are," Mei said, as she lightly patted her pregnant belly.
"With you and Zabuza as their parents, I doubt they'll be a weakling," Jiraiya said with a light chuckle. "Speaking of which, where is Zabuza? I thought you'd bring him with you."
"I planned to, but I had a better idea," Mei replied, her outh forming a slighly malicious smirk. "You see, Zabuza-kun wants to become Mizukage after me, so I decided it would be a good idea to let him get acquainted with the job while I'm out."
...
Meanwhile, in Kirigakure, Zabuza was trying to make sense of the loads of paperwork that occupied most of Mei's desk. One of Mei's assistants entered the office, carrying another large stacks of paper.
"Zabuza-sama, here are the mission solicitudes that need to be approved or rejected," the assitant said, as he added the papers to the growing pile. "And don't forget that you have a meeting with the ANBU commander regarding the upgrade of equipment. And after that, there's the the meeting with the Guild of Merchants regarding the safety of the trade routes..."
As the assistant droned all the duties that awaited Zabuza, the swordsman stopped what he was doing, and let his head hit the desk.
"No more paperwork and meetings...no more paperworks and meetings..." Zabuza cried, as tears of despair streamed from his eyes.
…
"Yes, I'm completely sure Zabuza-kun is adapting perfectly to the job," Mei stated, almost repressing a laugh. "By the way, Hokage-dono, given the outstanding abilities your children possess, didn't your clan or your wife's clan pressure you to have more?"
Jiraiya shook his head. "I have no clan, and before we had Hagane and Kaida, Tsunade was the last Senju alive. Besides, Tsunade had them at a rather late age, so we decided it was for the best not to have more. And between those two and Naruto, we had our hands full."
"So lucky," Mei said, letting out a longing sigh. "People think that having a Bloodline Limit is a gift, and in a way it is, but they're unaware of everything that it entails, such as the need to pass it to the next generation. Do you know that the only reason I exist is because my three older siblings failed to inherit both my parents' Bloodline Limits? My oldest brother only has Steam Release, while my older sister and second older brother only have Lava Release."
"Yes. Some research shows that very few human beings have the proper physical condition to handle two Bloodline Limits," Jiraiya replied.
"And now, they expect me to do the same. You have no idea how much pressure my clansmen put on me to get married as soon as possible. 'When are you going to marry, Mei-chan, you're already pushing thirty', 'You know, Mei-chan, if you marry too old, you won't be able to have children', 'Mei-chan, when your older siblings were your age, they already had at least one kid'," Mei said in a mocking tone, before her face turned red. "Well, sorry for not marrying and having children as soon as you wanted, mom, but I was busy leading a FUCKING REBELLION!" Mei yelled, as she slammed both fists on her chair's armrests, earning a few looks from Jiraiya, Rasa and their escorts. Mei's face reddened, this time of embarrasment rather than anger. "Uh, sorry. I'm usually not this emotional. The pregnancy and all that..."
Rasa scoffed, and rolled his eyes. Jiraiya let out a hearty chuckle. "Don't worry. You should have seen Tsunade-hime when she was pregnant. Between that and not being allowed to drink...looking back, I'm amazed our house managed to survive her with such little damage."
"Dad!" a loud voice yelled.
Naruto Body Flickered into the Kage Box, startling all those present not from Konoha.
"What's the meaning of this?" Rasa asked, outraged. "Your father my be the Hokage, but you can't be here!"
"Sorry, Kazekage-san, but this is important. I need to talk with dad about the Akatsuki," Naruto quickly replied.
"Akatsuki? Where?" Mei asked.
"In the Land of Waterfall. They're after Taki's Jinchuriki," Naruto explained.
"Naruto, how do you know about this?" Jiraiya questioned.
"The Nine Tails told me. By the way, I'm a clone. My team and I are going to see if the Animal Squad is here so we can track and rescue Fu before Akatsuki does," Naruto stated.
Jiraiya let out a sigh in resignation. "If they are not, at least one tracking team should be available. I made sure to leave one in standby in case something like this happen. Alright then, consider this an official Konoha mission sanctioned by the Hokage. Take care. I'll try to send you reinforcements as soon as I can."
The Naruto clone nodded, before dispelling a burst of white smoke.
…
An Hour Later, Forests of the Land of Fire
Fortunately for them, Kakashi's Animal Squad was on Training Ground Seven, doing their morning routine training. Since none of them had any friend or relative taking part in the Chunin Exams, they had no interest in seeing them.
The moment Naruto explained the situation, they were immediately on board. Kiba, Tamaki and specially Shino were really close with the Taki Kunoichi, and weren't going to let anything bad happen to her. Using the scent of one of the letters she had sent to Shino over the past years, Kiba and Akamaru managed to track her scent. As expected, they were heading northwest, to Takigakure.
"Kiba, how long until we reach Fu?" Kakashi asked.
"A few hours. Maybe more. She's too far away!" Kiba shouted, as he tried to go faster.
"Naruto, did you got any more messages from Fu's Tailed Beast?" Tamaki asked.
Naruto shook his head. "Not even one. I hope we aren't too late."
"Fu's strong. She will resist until we can lend her a hand," Shino confidently said.
Naruto couldn't help but admire Shino's ability to remain calm in such situation, as well as mantaining a positive attitude. The blond didn't know what he'd do if Hinata was in such situation. In fact, he did remember when Hagane and Kaida were kidnapped by Orochimaru's minions almost three years ago, and despair had been eating him from the inside out.
Maybe Shino was also feeling that way, except that he was much better than Naruto at hiding it. Aburames were known for being almost impossible to read.
"Alright, I know Fu is a friend of yours and you're rather tense, but I need you to keep a cool head," Kakashi advised. "We've never faced an Akatsuki before, so be careful."
"Hey, Naruto's squad killed one and drove his partner away. They can't be that tough," Kiba mentioned.
"Underestimating them wouldn't be wise, Kiba-kun. The two our team fought were rather powerful, and we needed a lot of help to take them down," Hinata recalled.
"Besides, you guys are a tracking squad. You didn't see as much combat as we did," Naruto added.
"We'll see that once the fight begins!" Kiba heatedly replied.
"Will you stop you two? Why don't we focus on saving Fu?" Tamaki interjected.
"Tamaki-san is right. Our priority is to help her, not to beat the Akatsuki," Shino continued. Despite he sounded in his usual monotone, his words were coated in some harshness.
Neither Naruto nor Kiba said anything. Following Tamaki's advice, they decided that it would be better if they focused on rescuing Fu. But in order to do so, a clash with the Akatsuki would be inevitable.
"I don't care how many of them are, or what kind of strength they do possess," Naruto decided with determination. "I won't let Akatsuki harm another jinchuriki ever again."
Unfortunately for the blond, he wouldn't be able to keep that promise for long.
Author's Note: Dun dun duuuuuun! Fu is being chased by the Akatsuki and Naruto and his friends rush to save her! Will Fu survive, or will she join the ranks of Han and Yagura? The answer to that question is within the chapter itself, meaning that if you paid attention, you should know already.
Besides Fu, I was also dying to get to this arc because of Hidan and Kakuzu, two of the most interesting Akatsuki members in both powers, personalities and dynamics. I hope my writing can make them justice. Unlike other arcs like Kazekage Resuce or Sasuke and Sai, the original Hidan and Kakuzu arc was pretty good, and making it better is going to be an uphill battle.
As you can see, Fu wasn't the only familiar face to make a return. Even if her presence is going to be pretty small, Mei is back, with an "expansion pack". Yeah, Mei and Zabuza are an item now. You know, I always found Mei being unable to get married ridiculous, not only because given that being super hot, smart, skilled and holding a big position should make men to fight to death to be her husband, but as I highlighted here, Mei has TWO Bloodline Limits, and thus her clan would pressure her to get married and have as many kids as possible in order to pass said Bloodlimits. So in this story, Mei's lack of romance is due her dedication to overthrowing Yagura's regime, and later being busy both leading and rebuilding her village. I hope you find my interpretation better than what we got in canon.
Thanks a lot for grimlock987 for betareading this chapter.
Next time, while not the conclusion of the arc (this one is going to be longer than the Byakugan Princess Arc) we'll see if Fu is captured or not. In the meantime, don't forget to review! Reviews make me really, really, really happy!