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.