Chapter 3
Shibuki and some other villagers, were waiting for them at the entrance of the village. When Kegon and Yoro, who was still on his back, showed up from the shadow, their families and friends rushed in their direction, followed by a group of medical ninjas assigned to check them up upon their arrival, leaving Fuu standing alone a couple of meters behind. Head hanging low, she didn't look up went Shibuki called her name. Shibuki frowned, something must have gone wrong. The group was expected to return hours ago and no message of an eventual matter that would have delayed their arrival had ever reached.
As soon as the small crowd formed around the two men, a shrill cry froze the already tense atmosphere. Shibuki turned his head to the group and made his way through the two men. When he assigned Kegon and Yoro the mission of join the Chunin to protect Fuu, he never expected such an accident to happen. They were two of the most powerful Jonin of the village and they were high above the level expected for the Chunin exam. But what came into sight was something he would have never imagined. Yoro had cuts all over his body and Kegon had his right arm. They were both pale and exhausted. On the other hand, Fuu seemed completely uninjured. They would need to settle the matter as soon as possible but first, Yoro and Kegon needed to recover. The medical ninjas preceded his thoughts and rushed both Yoro and Kegon inside the village's hospital. The crowed followed them inside the village, leaving Fuu and Shibuki alone at the gates. Something went wrong and he needed to now right away if it was an imminent danger or if the incident was a pure casualty. Fuu would have to answer for the three of them.
Kakuzu is alive.
Shibuki had a hard time to believe what he had just heard. He tried to remember the information his predecessors left about him. The official story was of course saying that his pride had backfired when he returned from the failed mission. He then directed his frustration on the elders and stole the Earth Grudge justu only to become a monster. Of course, for the sake of the village and the country's reputation, the previous generations preferred making this version of the story public, letting only a handful of people know about the whole story.
Everything could be brought back to the time him and his siblings had been sold as slaves to a rich family of the village who was close to the ruler. The elders had promised him to set his family free if he succeeded in the assassination of the First Hokage. Unfortunately for him, he had been chosen to play the role of a sacrificing pawn to get a retribution from the Land of Fire. He wasn't supposed to come back. And yet, he did. Archives mentioned he had been imprisoned and tortured for several years for being a traitor. The First Hokage gave the Seven-Tailed Beast Chomei to seal the end of the hostilities between the two countries. It was then sealed on Eren, Kakuzu's sister, which made her the first jinchuriki of the village. The seal would be transmitted for four generations by birth, making Fuu the fourth one. It wasn't mentioned on the archives how he escaped from jail, and neither how had he had learned the Forbidden Jutsu of the village. It was only said that he had killed and stolen the elders hearts after that. After leaving the village, he built up a reputation of bounty hunter but he had never put a foot on Takigakure again and after a couple of decades, no one ever heard of him again. He became a legend in the village, the kind of tales told to children to educate them to obey and act righteously, otherwise, a scarred man would come and harvest their their hearts for the Earth's grudge.
In some ways, Kakuzu had every right to hate his former village, but more than half a century passed and Shibuki couldn't understand why he would show up now.
Thinking back at the description that Fuu made, he realized he had passed over an important detail.
"You said he was wearing a black cloak with red clouds, and another man with the same wearing was with him".
"Yes, exactly! And he's the one who cut Kegon's arm... But I think his attack wasn't meant to hurt me that badly. It was because Kegon came from the back that the scythe cut his arm..."
"Stop talking nonesense! Of course Kegon intervened, I told him to protect you, but that's not the important thing. Now focus on what's important, would you?!" said Shibuki in a fit of anger, as Fuu quickly lowered her head. He knew she didn't mean to put the responsibility for what happened on Kegon, but the situation was overwhelming him and he needed to understand how much of a threat were those two men and if the village was in immediate danger. He needed to contact the Hokage as soon as possible. Perhaps they will be able provide some information about the matter, even send reinforcement if necessary. Moreover, they had a jinchuriki as well who could be hunted down by those same people, if it hadn't already happened.
He took a deep breath in and closed his eyes. According to Fuu, they probably knew she was a jinchuriki, and they wanted to take her alive, perhaps because they didn't have the means to extract the beast. The fact that they were wearing similar cloaks and working in pair could mean they were part of an organization. For the moment, he needed to mobilize the forces around the village in case they came to take Fuu once more. Also, he needed her to go back to her house in the outskirts of the village. He couldn't risk to have the Tailed Beast show up inside the village, it would only provoke more damage and he didn't want to risk his people's life. Having her outside would make it easier to move her if things went wrong. He was so absorbed by his thoughts he forgot that Fuu was still sitting in front of him.
She looked abashed, but it was nothing like the inner pain that was pounding on her chest. Shame was showering over her. The images of what happened were played continuously on her mind, only to prove her she'd been wrong all along.
"It's been all my fault from the beginning. Not only did I give both Kegon and Yoro a hard time during all the Chunin exam... I am the one who delayed our departure from Suna and insisted to stay a little more. If we didn't delay, we wouldn't have met them. If I didn't act so stupidly and was more careful, Kegon wouldn't have lost his arm. All this wouldn't have happened if I wasn't so stupid and selfish. Shibuki is right to be angry. I always make mistakes. I am incapable of doing the right things", she thought, carefully hiding her wet eyes from him.
Yet, she was careful to push aside the memory of when she invited the Rogue ninja to discuss over tea. If she could choose a memory to erase, it would be that one. At that very moment, she felt she deserved the capital sentence for her stupidity. Tears were coming up when she felt a hand on her head that took her away from her thoughts. It was Shibuki's, and he was just in front of her, offering her an apologetic smile. But it only made her feel worse.
"Sorry Fuu, I shouldn't have yelled on you. Things like this happen. Now we have to put you on safety, okay? I am going to call all the shinobi of the village, we are going to organize our defense in case they show up again. Everything will be alright Fuu. Now, can you please wait outside, I'll need you to be here to tell you how we're going to proceed after the meeting. I'll have someone to escort you back home when it will be done and I'll send more people later. When everything will be finished, you'll tell me how the Chunin exam went, uh?"
Shibuki made his best to reassure her but she could feel the burden of responsibilities that was put on him, although his words tried to be reassuring. She was desperate to make up for her mistakes and she was even more eager to make him happy. This is why she told herself she would obey him to the letter. As Shibuki accompanied her outside, the freshness of the breeze turned down the emotions that were boiling inside and allowed her to calm down. "Everything will be alright, she thought, as long as I believe it."