Tale of the Setting Sun
Chapter 15: "The Promise to a Dream"
Following Naruto's victory, the fight between Fū and the remaining Suna genin – an older boy named Kankurō – was short and decisive. Dressed in white with a dark skin-tone, she'd physically stood out starkly besides Kankurō, who was light-skinned and wore all black. And once the match begun, the difference in their skills was made clear as well.
Though he handled his puppet with clear talent, it was no match for the destructive cloud of termite-like insects that emerged from the red tube on Fū's back. Seeing the insects rapidly swarm across the ground towards him, Kankurō barely managed to get out of their way; as he did so, realizing that the insects could climb across chakra threads, he was forced to detach himself from his puppet. In a matter of seconds, they completely covered and stripped away the puppet's exterior, leaving behind only a wooden carcass which then collapsed in on itself. Apparently having sated their appetite, the insects then returned to Fū's tube. However, with his weapon gone, and clearly shaken by the ordeal, Kankurō soon surrendered, and to the groans of his watching Suna countrymen, he sheepishly plodded off the arena.
After dusting herself off, Fū nonchalantly stretched backwards. Then, with glittering baleful eyes, she locked gazes with Naruto, who'd been blankly observing the battle. He stared back, and after a moment, she looked away.
As the jōnin proctor told the audience there would be a brief intermission before the final match, Naruto noticed that a masked jōnin had just emerged form the infirmary building. Though he gave the man no further indication of his recognition, the man soon came and sat down next to him.
"Hey," Kakashi greeted him. When Naruto didn't say anything in respond, he let out a small cough. "I'm sorry I missed your match against the Hyūga kid. I got caught up with medical paperwork...hm...so, do you feel ready for the final match?"
Naruto shrugged noncommittally.
Rubbing the back of his neck, Kakashi sighed. "I won't push you, Naruto. Just know that you're not alone in this. I'm here, and your teammates are here to support you... At least in spirit."
"Spare me the sentimentality, sensei," Naruto finally said, getting up. "There's no need for this. I'm perfectly aware of my current situation."
Kakashi looked taken aback. "And what situation is that?"
Naruto spread his arms wide in a sweeping motion. "This exam is a farce. Whether I win it or not, it'll make little difference in the way everyone looks at me. Even Mayu and Rai would turn their backs on me if they knew, and you know it."
Kakashi paused. "I haven't turned my back on you."
"...You're different, sensei." Nonetheless, Naruto fell back in his seat. The tendril of unfamiliar anger that had flared up inside him just a moment ago had already faded away, leaving behind only a crushing weariness. "But nobody else will think that way. Nobody will ever acknowledge me. What's the point in trying?"
"So you're saying your efforts were all to get people to acknowledge you? That doesn't sound like the Naruto I know."
Naruto didn't respond. After several minutes of taut silence, Kakashi moved away.
Looking out over the dusty, sand-filled arena and the rowdy crowd that filled the seats around them, Naruto cast his thoughts back to a time when he hadn't even been tall enough to open the window.
It was back when Naruto still hadn't known what chakra was. His caretaker at the time always refused to open the window for him, saying that if he fell out and died, she would be blamed for it. So, in the summer when the nights were hottest and he found it difficult to breathe, Naruto would pile his wooden blocks on top of his tattered book of folk tales and carefully clamber on top of the teetering stack. Balancing his weight, he pushed up against the firmly closed window, and more often than not, he would lose his balance and fall over, the stack crashing painfully on top of him. But sometimes, the window budged open just slightly enough for a thin cool breeze to enter the room, and he would be able to breathe again. On those days, his dreams were always pleasant. Sometimes, he'd even dreamed that his parents – though always faceless – were alive and lived with him.
Who'd have thought that in reality, it had been his own father who had sealed away a monster inside of him and sealed his fate forever?
Closing his eyes tightly, Naruto shook his head, trying to clear away the memory.
He'd once watched the sun set from that very window, hoping beyond hope that he would one day be accepted. He'd sworn that he would own the hearts of Konoha and that he would become Hokage. He'd fantasized about how people would regard him with awe as he walked down the village streets, looking at him with trust and respect in their eyes.
He hadn't realized then that he was a wolf in human skin, but they'd known all along. They must have been laughing as he studied and practiced for hours every night in a vain effort to become one of them. Laughing as they sealed his memories, watching him lose himself piece by piece until he was only an empty shell. He could tell that even Kakashi-sensei's concern stemmed from the pity one reserved for the most pathetic of creatures – the ones that tried to become what they were not.
A bitter smile stretched itself across his face.
The worst part of it all was that even knowing the truth, somewhere deep inside of him... he still craved their acceptance.
"As the final match of the Chūnin exam, the victor will be decided only by killing or incapacitating his opponent," the proctor informed the watching audience. "And in this battle, we have Uzumaki Naruto from Konohagakure and Fū from Takigakure!"
Waiting for the signal to start, Naruto took in his opponent. As she had done with the Suna genin, her figure also made an odd contrast to his own, with his black tracksuit, and his red hair and blue eyes. Noticing his gaze, Fū looked back at him and crossing her arms, smiled darkly.
His eyes narrowed; her stance screamed of confidence. Was she going to use her jinchūriki powers?
He thought it unlikely. If jinchūriki truly were taboo – as it seemed to be – then Fū would likely be under strict orders from her village to not reveal her jinchūriki status. As it was so far, she hadn't shown any signs of it, but that could simply have been because she had not been pushed enough. Whatever the case, one thing was clear – she was dangerous, and he knew next to nothing about her, making the situation doubly dangerous.
He stopped. Unconsciously, he'd begun analyzing her out of pure habit. But...
...did it really matter? As he'd told Kakashi-sensei, the outcome of this match meant nothing.
"Begin!"
Unlike with his match against Neji, Naruto made the first move. Gathering his lightning chakra to his feet, he drew a kunai and sprang at her. The proctor's words were still reverberating through the arena when Naruto appeared in a flash behind her. Without hesitating, he slashed downwards at her exposed neck.
But to his alarm, the blade did not pierce her as expected, but instead, bounced off.
"Hiden: Rinpungakure no Jutsu (Secret: Hiding in Scale Powder Technique)!" Fū shouted just as – despite his surprise – he flashed away; nevertheless, several particles ended up in his eyes, filling his vision with bright painful spots.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique)!" To buy time, Naruto blindly summoned several clones into the arena. Jumping backwards, he let them siege the Taki genin as he recovered and processed the newest addition to his mental profile of her. Her skin had felt oddly thick and stiff, almost like armor...or a shell. A simple blade obviously would not be enough.
Just as the last clone burst into smoke, his vision returned to functioning level. Fū had been driven back by his clones, but now, was quickly advancing on him headfirst. In a single fluid motion, Naruto drew his tantō from his back. Furrowing his brow in concentration, he ran two fingers down it's blade, running a current of wind chakra down its edge. Next, he ran back up, layering another current of chakra above it. He could sense the two opposing currents grounding against each other, finely sharpening the blade.
Eyeing his opponent, he stepped backwards, shaping and directing his chakra towards the heel of his foot as he ground it into the sand. Fū tensed and began to slow down; Naruto exploded towards her, holding the tantō with both hands. With no time for her to react, his blade struck her abdomen. Once again, he met the strange shell-like barrier on her skin – but this time, he felt something give way, and with a loud breaking sound, several cracks appeared on her skin.
Grimacing in pain, Fū jumped back; a thin line of red blood was trickling down her front. In another flash, Naruto was behind her again with his tantō, slamming the blade ruthlessly this time against her back. Even as it crushed through her shell, to his surprise, she reached out with a hand and grabbed the blade. Opening her mouth, she turned her head and silently screamed, unleashing a gale of scale powders at his face.
Forced to abandon his tantō, Naruto flashed away to the opposite side of the arena where he was just out of her reach. He watched as, with a hiss of pain, Fū wrenched the blade out from where it was wedged in between the cracks of her arm and threw it on the ground. Then, putting her hands together to make a sign, the top of the red tube on her back flew open and a black cloud of clicking insects emerged.
They were different from the termite-insects she had used previously; these looked more like beetles, but with a row of several wicked-looking pincers. As one, they headed straight for him, their hard shells gleaming brilliantly.
"Fūton: Kyōfu (Wind Release: Gale)!" He blew out a gale of strong wind, throwing most them off course as they flapped their scaly wings rapidly in a struggle to stay in the air. Meanwhile, following her beetles, Fū lunged towards him and making the signs rapidly, she began to exhale her signature scale powder at him.
Before they fully escaped her mouth, however, Naruto kicked out with his feet, hitting her in the side. She fell to the ground several feet away, her powder exuding uselessly by her side.
Using that time, Naruto ran to where Fū had flung down his tantō, and picked it back up. Running his wind chakra down its length, he flashed behind the dark-skinned genin, slashing at her once more. Leaving behind a dark long line of blood, he quickly flashed away before her beetles – which were regrouping around her – could catch him.
As she spat out a globule of blood and spit, Naruto dug his heel into the sandy ground in preparation for his next move – but stopped with a sudden yelp, as he felt numerous and tiny feet begin to crawl their way up his leg.
Looking down in alarm, Naruto realized belatedly that several columns of Fū's termite had burrowed out from below ground – without his noticing, they must have mixed with the swarm of beetles before disappearing underground. In his mind's eye, he recalled the eaten carcass of Kankurō's puppet. Already, he could feel them chewing through the leg of his tracksuit.
Sending another wave of lightning chakra down his leg, Naruto flashed away, slapping down at his leg as he did so. Turning his hand up, he saw the smeared bodies of the insects across his palm. Thankfully, the remaining insects had fallen off as he escaped.
However, this presented a new dilemma. Either Naruto would have to keep moving around to avoid them, or he would have to deal with them somehow – and with the beetles and Fū already chasing him around, that would make this even more difficult.
Making up his mind, he cut off the current of wind chakra he was sending down his tantō, and instead began channeling lightning chakra down it. With a crackle, the blade began to hum as the chakra ran along its length.
Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the swarm of beetles diving towards him once more. Fū remained in her position, seemingly concentrating on manipulating her insects all at once. The termites were nowhere to be seen, but were likely making a beeline towards him underground once more. Readying his tantō with both hands, Naruto took a step back, burrowing his heel into the ground. He felt a droplet of sweat begin to ease down the side of his face. The beetles were almost on top of him – something tiny was popping out of the ground's surface, and –
Thrusting the tantō down into the sandy earth, Naruto simultaneously flashed away. As the blade broke through the surface, crackles of bright blue electricity from its tip broke the ground into chunks around it, surging through the emerging termites. At the same time, a current of electricity surged up through the blade into the air directly above it, electrocuting the swarm of air-borne beetles.
As one, the twitching, blackened insect bodies all dropped down on the ground. A final current of electricity crackled across the ground, before everything was still.
Breathing heavily, Naruto fell on one knee to rest. Wearily, he looked in Fū's direction – and recoiled.
She glared at him balefully, her face contorted into anger at the sight of her insects' demise. The sudden dark intensity of it inadvertently made him want to take a step back. Naruto hesitated; his every nerve was urging him with growing intensity to escape. Even as he watched, something red and ominous began to emanate off of her in waves – somehow, her chakra had made itself visible. The pupils of her orange eyes grew narrow and sharp. White fog was steaming off of the cracks in her skin, and before his very eyes, they faded away, leaving her skin behind as good as new. The malicious red chakra shivered around her, before suddenly seeping to her back and splitting into two long shapes.
Insect wings, Naruto realized, as they began fluttering behind her. His eyes wide, he regarded the girl that now took off into the air before him. Even at a distance, he could tell that she was somehow much faster and stronger now. Was she using the power of the tailed beast?
Naruto glanced at the stands filled with the watching audience – though most of them looked taken aback or confused, he noted that the Kazekage's face had not changed at all. Rather, the man looked attentively – almost eagerly – down at them, as if collecting information.
Returning his attention to the match, Naruto blinked in shock. In that split second, Fū had flown across the entire length of the arena. Without his lightning chakra, he would have been done for already – as it was, he barely had enough time to lift up his arms to brace himself as she dove straight down at him. Her fingers had sharpened into what could only be called claws, and they dug painfully into the sides of his arms. The impact was so powerful, even as Naruto braced himself, he was blown off of his feet and sent tumbling across the sand. Before he could gain his bearings, he felt her claws settle around his legs, and suddenly, there was nothing below him, as she lifted him clear off the ground.
"Fūton: Kyōfu (Wind Release: Gale)!" Rapidly making the signs, he arched up and blew out at the winged girl; struggling not to be swept away by the strong wind, Fū was forced to release him. Landing on the ground, Naruto somersaulted back to his feet and immediately made the hand seals for his next move. Instantly, several clones materialized beside him, each panting along with him as they looked up at the flying, glittering figure above them.
"You can't beat me," Fū called out from above. A cruel, eager smile played at the edges of her lips. "You may have noticed by now, but my 'teammates' fear me for a reason."
Lunging for his tantō, he turned just in time to raise it protectively before him. Reaching out with a claw, Fū grabbed the blade, heedless of it digging into her shell-like skin. For a second, the two struggled, each pushing against the tantō with all of their strength. With frustration, he saw as his clones tried to strike the jinchūriki girl; however, her chakra insect wings lashed out through them and in an instant, they were all gone.
Thinking quickly, Naruto loosened his hold on the tantō enough to catch Fū off guard; slackening her push just enough, he managed to yank the blade out of her reach and flash away. Appearing behind her in an instant, he raised the tantō high above his head. As exhausted as he was, as Naruto pushed the remainder of his chakra into its length, he did not have the time or the focus to shape it into one of his elements as he usually did. Simply willing it to spin as uncontrollably and powerfully as possible at the blade's tip, he brought down the tantō through the air with a sharp splitting sound.
The sand exploded at his feet and chunks of earth flew through the air; with a shattering sound, Naruto felt the metal blade crack in two from the impact. Behind it, his body jarringly hit the ground; his eyeballs rolled around in his rattled skull, and he tumbled across the ground several times before finally coming to a stop.
For the first time in a long time, Naruto felt completely spent. Panting heavily, he remained still on the ground, waiting for sand to settle down.
He had lost.
He'd known, the moment he struck down. Her reaction speed honed by the red tailed-beast chakra, Fū had managed to dodge that final blow, with all of his remaining strength in it.
Sure enough, a collective gasp swept across the mesmerized audience, as a grimy but perfectly fine Fū emerged from the dissipating dust clouds. Landing on the ground and folding her wings behind her, she threw a victorious smile in his direction. Leisurely, she began to walk toward him, like a prayer mantis slowly creeping up on its prey. It was completely silent.
Turning away, Naruto let his head fall back. He looked up; there was not a single cloud in the blue sky. The sun's rays dazzled his eyes, and he let them close shut. The sudden blackness was soothing, and he felt his consciousness circle around his body. His heartbeat, which had been palpitating rapidly, slowed down.
Off-handedly, Naruto wondered if he was going to die.
Nobody was going to stop the match. Perhaps it was for the better. He was tired of trying. No matter what he did, it hadn't, and wouldn't make a difference. All those years, what had he been trying to prove? The moment the Nine-tails had been sealed inside of him, his fate had been sealed along with it. He was forever meant to –
"Naruto!" A high voice cut through his hazy thoughts.
Caught off guard at the sound of his name, he automatically opened his eyes. The sunlight beat down on his eyes once more, and wincing, he craned his head up – and froze. Looking fiercely down at him, a girl with long brown hair stood determinedly on top of the stands.
"Mayu...?" Naruto said out loud incredulously at the sight of his teammate. From the corner of his eye, he saw that even Fū had temporarily paused; with her head cocked, she regarded the girl with puzzled eyes.
"Is that all you've got, Naruto?!" Mayu shouted down at him, cupping her hands around her mouth to magnify her voice. "You're going to become Hokage aren't you?!"
He looked back up at the stands. His eyes felt hot; the watching crowd was growing blurry. Only the pale, worried faces of his teammate and his sensei stood out in sharp focus.
Suddenly, as something white and red shot towards him, Mayu cried out in alarm, "Naruto!"
Tumbling over, Naruto was back on his feet; the sand where he had just been lying down on burst apart from the impact of Fū's sudden blow.
Dredging for the very last of his chakra, he flashed farther away to safety. Across the arena, Fū glared warily at him. She was back in the air, hesitating about what her next move should be.
Rapidly, Naruto's mind raced through his available options. The only way out of this would be to take her out in a blow strong enough to kill, or knock her unconscious. However, he was out of chakra and was physically exhausted, while his opponent was currently high on tailed-beast chakra and quite possibly the strongest person he had ever faced before.
But his vision was clearer than it had been in a long time.
As always, whenever in a tight bind – Naruto withdrew into the sanctuary of his mind. But this time, he realized for the first time that the giant block that had been restricting it before had been moved to one side. There was just enough room to squeeze past it, and when he did, he saw that there was a long, watery corridor that led off into the darkness. Hesitantly, he took a step forward and suddenly –
He stood before a tall metal gate. He could feel something huge and dark lurking behind it, but a single seal on the gate doors blocked its escape.
"Come closer..." A terrible voice filled his head. It was raw and brutal, as if it had been screaming for days on end until blood ran down its throat.
"You must be Nine Tails," Naruto said quietly. In response, a massive clawed paw suddenly swiped through the bars of its prison, just barely falling short of tearing straight through him. He didn't move, calmly looking into the blackness. Just beyond the bars, he could make out the shadowy shape of something white and bloodshot glaring balefully back at him.
"What do you want?" It snarled gutturally.
"Lend me your chakra," he said.
It was clear to everyone watching that somehow, in that split second, a sudden change had come over the Konoha genin. Fū, the Taki genin, noticed as well – looking alarmed, she had stopped her approach.
"Ah...my tantō broke," the redheaded boy said, looking put out at the sight of his broken weapon. "I guess I'll have to do without it this time."
"What's going on?" said Fū, cocking her head. "Just a second ago, you were completely out of chakra." The boy thought about it for a second.
"I collected some rent," he said.
With a scowl, looking as if she deeply regretted taking her time, Fū shot forwards at him with her arms outstretched. It was clear she meant to finish him at last, with one blow.
In response, Naruto crouched down, holding one hand over the other; something chaotic and destructive spun wildly between them. Meeting his opponent's hard gaze, he leapt forward.
The two met each other head on with an explosive bang that rocked the stadium, and a shockwave of dust and sand swept through the arena. When it had cleared, only one silhouette remained standing.
2/16/17: edited