Support me and be 30 chapters ahead of webnovel:
patreon.com/Draco_
For every 5 Patreon memberships I receive, I'll release 15 chapters all at once. Your support means a lot to me.
*****
At the orphanage in the dead of night, when Menma Uzumaki opened his eyes again, he had returned from his spiritual world to reality.
Feeling the chakra flowing continuously through his meridians, Menma felt his entire body brimming with power.
With his Uzumaki physical constitution, it had taken him three years to accumulate enough chakra to manifest the tiny Nine-Tails. However, with the birth of the tiny Nine-Tails, Menma's chakra no longer had to be absorbed by that bottomless pit.
In fact, he could now demand chakra from the tiny Nine-Tails.
*Xiao Jiu, give me some chakra,* Menma communicated internally with the tiny Nine-Tails.
"I'll give you enough for one Tailed Beast Bomb first. I don't have much left either," the tiny Nine-Tails said somewhat reluctantly as she shared a portion of her limited chakra with Menma.
To a Tailed Beast in its normal state, the chakra for a single Tailed Beast Bomb was a mere drop in the bucket, but for the current tiny Nine-Tails, it was nearly half of her total volume.
However, this amount of chakra already exceeded the total reserves of most Jonin-level experts.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Menma's hands blurred as he wove several signs.
After a puff of smoke, a Shadow Clone Menma appeared beside the bed.
After locking eyes and nodding with the clone, Menma carefully climbed out of bed while the clone took his place under the covers.
Moving to the window, Menma didn't jump out immediately after opening it.
Instead, utilizing the tiny Nine-Tails' chakra, he activated Negative Emotion Sensing.
Coming from the "Limited Tsukuyomi world," the tiny Nine-Tails was also viewed by the people of that world as a collective of "hatred, malice, and betrayal." Her ability to perceive good and evil was extremely sharp.
Having obtained the tiny Nine-Tails' chakra, Menma was also very proficient in the use of "Malice Sensing."
Known: During the Fourth Shinobi World War, the Nine-Tails could sense malicious chakra across the entire main battlefield. Question: What is the range of "Malice Sensing"?
"Found you!" Without time to overthink, Menma detected a spike of malicious chakra hidden inside a large tree less than ten meters from the orphanage.
A White Zetsu was monitoring the orphanage.
To avoid disturbing the children or his foster mother, Nonō Yakushi, Menma slipped out and shut the window before rapidly closing the distance with a Body Flicker.
Purple lightning-natured chakra condensed in his palm, enveloping his right hand and forming a technique similar to a Chakra Scalpel.
This was one of the many ninjutsu Menma had researched in the "Limited Tsukuyomi world."
To leave that world, Menma Uzumaki had not only captured the Jinchūriki of various nations but had also collected numerous secret techniques and ninjutsu. His store of ninjutsu knowledge was incredibly vast.
*Chirp, chirp, chirp—*
The purple lightning on his right hand emitted a soft chirping sound as Menma's hand pierced straight through the tree.
"AAAGH!!!" A scream erupted from the tree, which was thick enough to require three people to link arms around it.
"You..." A pale white figure was dragged out of the tree by Menma. Its ghastly face was filled with terror.
This White Zetsu couldn't understand why the kid it had monitored for over two years had discovered it—or how he could use such a terrifying ninjutsu.
White Zetsu's combat strength was weak. Having been impaled in a single strike, it died on the spot, leaving behind only a white corpse.
"A pity I don't have any storage scrolls," Menma muttered as he hoisted the White Zetsu corpse onto his shoulder and moved quickly toward Konoha Village.
Speeding through the trees, Menma shouldered the corpse with one hand while forming a seal with the other. He cast a Transformation Jutsu on himself, reverting to his appearance from the "Limited Tsukuyomi" world.
Beneath his medium-short black hair, a white three-eyed fox mask covered his handsome face. He wore a long black robe with a white shoulder-length fur collar, with red bandages wrapped around his arms and feet, and fingerless sleeves on his hands.
The overall color palette was dark and somber, standing in stark contrast to Naruto Uzumaki's bright orange "sunshine" jumpsuit.
"Menma, what is this thing?" The tiny Nine-Tails perched on Menma's shoulder, her small head peeking out from the white fur collar.
Looking at the white creature Menma was carrying, she instinctively felt a sense of disgust.
She had never seen such a thing in the "Limited Tsukuyomi world."
"White Zetsu. Just tragic humans from the era of the God Tree who had their chakra and life force sucked dry."
As he spoke, Menma reached the outskirts of the village. Using Malice Sensing, he discovered another White Zetsu hiding inside a large tree, seemingly watching the direction of Konoha's main gate.
*It seems Black Zetsu has deployed quite a few White Zetsu around Konoha,* Menma recalled. Since Uchiha Madara's death, the blackened Obito had likely begun monitoring the village.
Aside from the Hyūga clan compound with its Byakugan, there were probably many White Zetsu hidden throughout the village—especially near the Uchiha compound.
While thinking, Menma rushed to the tree where the White Zetsu was hiding. A single chakra hand-blade sliced through the trunk, bisecting the Zetsu inside at the waist.
He took the corpse and continued forward.
He wanted to find a way to clear out the White Zetsu lurking around the orphanage to make his own movements easier. It wasn't pleasant being under constant surveillance.
However, he couldn't alert Uchiha Obito or Black Zetsu. Therefore, he had to "throw the pot" (shift the blame).
Inside Konoha, the night was quiet and peaceful.
Menma emerged from a ninja tool shop and leapt onto a roof. He looked toward the Hokage Rock, taking in the full night view of Konoha.
The White Zetsu corpses were gone from his hands, replaced by several storage scrolls.
He had also "borrowed" quite a few ninja tools from the shop—probably worth about one Asuma bounty head.
*I wonder if this tool shop belongs to Tenten's family,* Menma thought, feeling the location was somewhat familiar.
*Whatever, I'll pay them back if I get the chance later.* Putting such trifles aside, Menma turned his gaze toward the Hokage Rock.
*If I remember correctly, the Root base is located right beneath the Hokage Rock.*
Menma's feet blurred as he leaped across the rooftops of Konoha.
*I need to develop the 'Kumen Supaho' (Nine Masked Beasts) as soon as possible.*
Menma somewhat missed the flight capability provided by the "Tennyo" (Celestial Maiden) mask from the Nine Masked Beasts.
The original forms of the Nine Masks were all foxes, and the *Kumen Supaho* was a summoning technique developed based on Nine-Tails' chakra. Therefore, he could only develop those nine summoned beasts with the help of the tiny Nine-Tails.
Traversing the village with high mobility and Malice Sensing, Menma evaded the village's sensory-type ninja and cleared out two more White Zetsu hidden near the Hokage Rock.
However, he didn't clear all the White Zetsu he found. He only cleared the path from the Hokage Rock to the orphanage.
He figured that Lord "Pot Shadow" (Danzo) wouldn't mind having a few more "pots" (blame) placed on his head.
By the time Obito and Black Zetsu realized what was happening, Menma would likely already be living on his own.
Having finished his work, Menma felt hungry and decided to find something to eat.
He landed in a small alleyway, used a Transformation Jutsu to disguise himself as an ordinary black-haired youth, and stepped out onto the street. He walked into Ichiraku Ramen.
"Hey, I heard the war is ending. Peace is coming, right?"
"The Hidden Cloud envoys arrived yesterday. Lord Third is personally hosting a banquet for them. It's about time this war ended." Two shinobi were chatting while slurping their ramen.
*Cloud Village envoys?* Menma sat down nearby.
That's right. This was Konoha Year 54. The war between the Hidden Cloud and Hidden Leaf also came to a halt this year.
(End of Chapter)