Menma and Hinata were walking on the flagstone path leading to the Hyuga Clan compound.
Suddenly, a familiar sound of playful shouting reached them—
"Hahaha, Sasuke, you're too slow!"
"Idiot, don't run!"
Naruto was seen wildly running ahead, brandishing a wooden shuriken, with Sasuke and a few other boys chasing after him.
"Bang!"
At a turn, Naruto solidly crashed into a "wall."
"Ouch, ouch, ouch!"
He fell to the ground, clutching his reddened forehead, and the wooden shuriken clattered to the ground.
"M-mister, I'm sorry..."
Naruto rubbed his head and looked up, his voice suddenly caught in his throat.
A giant man, easily two meters tall, lifted him like a chick. His bronze skin gleamed with a metallic luster in the setting sun, and the Kumogakure mark on his forehead was particularly dazzling.
"Brat..."
The giant man's voice sounded like it came from an iron barrel, "You hit me pretty hard."
Menma's pupils constricted slightly.
These people's attire clearly belonged to Kumogakure Ninja—how could they be on the streets of Konoha?
"Ding! Detected provocation from a hostile clan. Crushing their scheme will grant a reward: Body Flicker (Mastery)!"
The system's notification instantly enlightened Menma.
Given the system's nature, this so-called "Body Flicker" was most likely his father's signature technique, Flying Thunder God.
"Let go of Naruto!"
Sasuke had already assumed a standard starting stance, the wooden kunai trembling slightly in his hand. Although he usually fought with Naruto, at this moment, his obsidian-like eyes burned with anger.
"This is such a pain..."
Shikamaru scratched his pineapple-shaped hair at the back of his head but still stepped forward to stand shoulder to shoulder with Sasuke.
His narrowed eyes gleamed with shrewdness as he quickly analyzed the situation before him.
Choji also puffed out his cheeks and stood on Shikamaru's other side.
Normally self-conscious, his chubby little face was now filled with determination, even forgetting his beloved potato chips for the moment.
The most surprising was Neji—the veins around his pale white eyes bulged, and he silently joined the ranks of protectors.
Kumogakure Jonin Toroi bared his teeth, revealing their stark whiteness: "A bunch of brats..."
His thick arm muscles bulged, and it looked like he was about to violently throw Naruto—
If that throw landed, Naruto would surely be severely injured!
The Anbu Ninja in the shadows had already tensed their muscles, their fingers on their kunai.
But someone was faster than them—
"Rasengan!"
A dazzling blue orb of light tore through the twilight.
Menma's figure flashed like a ghost, his left hand steadily catching Naruto, and his right hand's Rasengan slammed into Toroi's chest.
"Boom—!"
The blast of air swept away the fallen leaves by the roadside. Toroi's two-meter-tall body flew backward like a rag doll, crashing through a wall ten meters away.
Blood gushed from his shattered armor, spreading a blinding red in the dust.
"B-big brother..."
Naruto looked up, his bright blue eyes filled with astonishment.
Although he already knew his brother was exceptionally gifted, witnessing such a thunderous display firsthand still greatly impacted his young mind.
The surrounding air seemed to solidify.
Sasuke's knuckles, clutching the kunai, turned white; Choji's potato chips fell to the ground; even the usually calm Shikamaru's eyes widened.
In the shadows, the Anbu Ninja responsible for protection broke out in a cold sweat on their foreheads, their lips trembling slightly beneath their masks: "To instantly use Rasengan at three years old... Is Young Master Menma really human?"
The Kumogakure delegation members' faces turned ashen.
They watched helplessly as Toroi—a Jonin who struck fear into enemies on the battlefield—now lay like a rag doll in the ruins, the bloodstain on his chest rapidly spreading.
"K-Kuromoi-sama..."
Someone in the delegation called out to their leader with a trembling voice.
The delegation leader Kuromoi's Adam's apple bobbed up and down. When his gaze met the cold eyes of the golden-haired child, he unconsciously took half a step back.
Then his face flushed—he was actually intimidated by the gaze of a three-year-old child; it was an utter disgrace!
With several "swish, swish" sounds, more than a dozen figures appeared from all directions. Konoha Ninja formed a surrounding encirclement, with several Anbu members' animal masks being particularly noticeable.
"Menma?"
Kakashi's silver hair stood on end, and he Body Flickered to stand in front of the children. "What happened?"
"Big Brother Kakashi."
Menma gently put Naruto down, lightly dusting off his younger brother's clothes. "They tried to harm Naruto."
Kakashi's exposed eye suddenly narrowed, and a sharp, palpable killing intent pierced towards the Kumogakure people. Kuromoi was pinned to the spot by this gaze, his back instantly drenched in cold sweat.
"Th-that brat bumped into someone first!"
Kuromoi forced himself to maintain his composure, but his voice involuntarily trembled. "We represent Hidden Cloud Village! You are trying to break the peace between our two countries!"
The Konoha Ninja were exasperated, and a look of absurdity appeared on their faces simultaneously.
Kakashi sneered, the kunai in his hand glinting coldly: "Those who would kill a three-year-old child dare to speak of peace?"
The air suddenly solidified, and Kakashi's pupils sharply contracted—a violent Chakra was approaching at an alarming speed.
"Boom!"
A deafening explosion erupted in the center of the crowd, sending dust flying.
As the dust settled, a dazzling crimson hair was seen wildly fluttering in the wind. Kushina's eyes glowed with a terrifying red light, and her Chakra formed a tangible scarlet cloak around her.
"Which blind idiot—dares to bully my son?!"
This roar of fury made the ground tremble.
The Kumogakure delegation members' faces were ashen, and they all took several steps back simultaneously; some even stumbled and fell to the ground.
"The N-Nine-Tailed Jinchuriki!"
Kuromoi's voice changed pitch, and his forehead was instantly covered in cold sweat.
Kakashi's face turned pale; he knew all too well how terrifying his furious sensei's wife could be. He quickly roared to the Anbu beside him: "Quick! Immediately summon Hokage-sama!"
"Mom! We're fine!"
Menma quickly stepped forward, pulling Naruto along.
Seeing her two children safe and sound, Kushina's Chakra cloak gradually dissipated.
She pulled both her sons into her embrace, her voice instantly becoming so gentle it could drip water: "It's good that you're safe... It's good that you're safe..."
This drastic change, as if she were two different people, made everyone present momentarily disoriented.
"What happened?"
Minato Namikaze's figure suddenly appeared in the scene, his Hokage cloak flapping in the turbulent Chakra. His gaze swept across the scene: his wife holding their children, the Kumogakure delegation in a panic, and Toroi's heavily injured and unconscious body embedded in the ruins—the wound caused by the Rasengan was all too familiar to him.
"Menma has improved again..."
A hint of satisfaction flashed in Minato's eyes; he had only demonstrated this Rasengan technique once.
"Kushina, are you two alright?"
He Body Flickered to his wife and children's side, his hand gently resting on his wife's shoulder.
Kushina shook her head, sparks of Chakra still faintly flickering in her red hair. She looked coldly at the Kumogakure people: "They tried to harm Naruto, and Menma stopped them."
When Minato turned to Kuromoi, his eyes had already become sharp: "Is this Kumogakure's sincerity for negotiations?"
"F-Fourth Hokage, this must be a misunderstanding!"
Kuromoi's voice trembled; he finally understood that Toroi had provoked the Fourth Hokage's children.
Looking at Toroi in the ruins, he knew this loss was inevitable. He quickly forced out a smile uglier than a cry: "We absolutely had no intention of harming this young master..."
-------------------------------------------
The plans are now available.
Chûnin-Rank Plan: Read 20 chapters in advance + free waifu.
Jônin-Rank Plan: Read 30 chapters in advance + 10 waifu
Hokage-Rank Plan: Read 40 Chapters in advence
Patreon.com/The_Regicide