"Let's skip the pleasantries. Orochimaru sent you here for more than just a friendly greeting, right? Get to the point. Stop wasting time; this is Konoha, after all."
Menma stared at Kabuto with a deliberate look of impatience and cold hostility.
"Heh, it seems you're quite the impatient one, Menma," Kabuto replied, maintaining his fake smile. "My goal here is simple: on behalf of Lord Orochimaru, I'm formally inviting you to join our plan. So, what do you say?"
Though Menma's face remained impassive at those softly spoken words, his heart gave a sudden jolt.
"Plan? What plan?" Menma furrowed his brow, feigning annoyance. "All this cloak-and-dagger stuff... are you trying to play guessing games with me?"
As he spoke, he let a sliver of the Nine-Tails' chakra leak out.
Sensing the ominous aura permeating the air, Kabuto felt a shiver run through him.
"My apologies. It's just as you told Lord Orochimaru before—he didn't come back to catch up with old friends. He came back to destroy the Hidden Leaf. You've held a grudge against the village for a long time, haven't you, Menma? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
Kabuto looked straight into Menma's eyes, enunciating every word clearly.
Even though he had anticipated this, actually hearing it from Kabuto caused a tremor in Menma's heart. His pupils constricted instinctively.
"What did you say? Destroy the Hidden Leaf?"
In that instant, Menma's gaze became sharper than ever before.
"Yes. Destroy the Leaf. That is Lord Orochimaru's true intention for returning to the village this time," Kabuto answered with a smile. "Well? This should be exactly what you want to achieve, isn't it?"
The confirmation made Menma's expression shift unpredictably.
As a transmigrator, Menma obviously knew about the "Konoha Crush" plan. What he didn't understand was why Orochimaru was inviting him. Especially at such a delicate time.
However, the confusion lasted only a second. Menma quickly realized that the moment he actively sought out Orochimaru for a deal and exposed his own intentions, he had effectively stepped onto the same dangerous path as the Sannin.
It was actually only logical for them to "invite" him to participate in the destruction of the village.
"It's true, I am quite interested in seeing the Leaf burn. However..." Menma slanted his eyebrows, deliberately adopting a look of blatant distrust. "And no offense to Orochimaru, but while the village has declined over the years, and Jiraiya and Tsunade aren't around, a sleeping lion is still a lion. From what I know, Orochimaru defected only a little over a decade ago. Frankly, I find it hard to believe he's built up enough power and influence in that short time to actually destroy the village."
Menma quickly composed himself. He knew the truth of the plot, but saying he knew and acting like he knew were two different things. He needed to probe for Orochimaru's true intentions here.
"Heh, your concern is noted, but unnecessary, Menma. Since you've fought Lord Orochimaru personally, you should know his strength. Over the years, the forces under his command have grown beyond your expectations. But more importantly, we have a powerful ally: one of the Five Great Ninja Villages, the Hidden Sand!"
"So? With that kind of firepower, do you think it's enough to destroy the Leaf?" Kabuto pushed up his glasses, looking at Menma with a hint of smugness.
"The Hidden Sand? That is a bold move," Menma conceded, though his gaze turned aggressive. "But I have another question: how do you plan to make your move? Others might not know the depth of Konoha's reserves, but Orochimaru was a high-ranking official and the Third Hokage's student—he should know better. The number of active ninja here far exceeds any other village. Even if most are scattered at border posts or out on missions, there are still thousands of ninja in the village itself."
Menma pressed on, staring Kabuto down.
"Even with the Sand's help, just how many troops can you actually get into the outskirts of Konoha? Too few, and it's meaningless. Too many... well, are you treating the border guards like they're blind? Or is Orochimaru's so-called 'destruction' just going to be a raid on the border? If so, I'd be thoroughly unimpressed."
In the original story, the exact number of Sound and Sand ninja deployed for the invasion was never clear. It always seemed like a massive plot hole: how did they bypass the border scouts and sneak an army all the way to Konoha?
Launching a surprise attack on the day of the exams required proximity. If Konoha's border defenses were truly that weak, the village would have been wiped out ages ago.
Menma had his own guesses, but asking these questions openly was the most rational move for his character. He needed Orochimaru's help, but as he had said before, he was a collaborator, not a subordinate. There was a fundamental difference.
Since Kabuto brought up the plan, Menma was going to grill him on the details.
"You really are cautious and detail-oriented, aren't you, Menma?"
Kabuto paused, his expression stiffening slightly. He looked at Menma with a strange mix of emotions. After all, this level of tactical interrogation didn't seem like it should be coming from a twelve-year-old boy.
"If I weren't this cautious, do you think I'd still be alive right now, Kabuto?" Menma retorted with a mocking sneer.
"Fair enough. Then let me fill you in," Kabuto smiled softly. "It's simple: we have the means to bypass the border guards. We can sneak a thousand elite troops into the outskirts of Konoha by the designated time. If we're going to destroy the Leaf, we naturally have to strike at its heart."
"Of course, marching a massive army in is impossible. But a thousand elites? That we can do. As you said, Lord Orochimaru was once high command here. There are countless spies like me within the village, and even people in much higher positions who belong to Lord Orochimaru. They will be our leverage."