In Menma's office on the top floor of Star City's administrative building, the atmosphere was solemn.
A large map of the Ninja World hung on the dark-colored wall, with the territory of the Land of Stars prominently marked.
Menma stood quietly by the window, the hem of his black robe unmoving. He looked out at the city gradually sinking into twilight, his gaze profound.
Kisame stood silently not far behind him, the bandage-wrapped Samehada strapped to his back. His shark-like face showed no emotion, but his slightly tense posture indicated he was in a state of constant readiness.
The office door was gently knocked on, then pushed open.
Minato entered first, his gray eyes holding their usual gentleness but also a settled gravity.
Following closely was Kanon, holding a stack of documents, her red hair tied back, her expression efficient.
Then came Hikari and Shisui, their steps carrying a trace of dust.
"Something so urgent, has something happened in the Wind County?" Minato asked, his voice carrying concern.
Even as an Edo Tensei, his sharpness as a father and former Hokage hadn't diminished.
Menma turned around, his gaze sweeping over everyone, nodding slightly.
"Everyone is here. Kanon, report the details of the puppet factory situation."
Kanon stepped forward, spreading the documents on Menma's large desk, her finger pointing to the location of the Wind County on the map.
"Sir, the No. 2 Puppet Production and R&D Workshop located in Sand City, the former Sunagakure, exploded at noon today. Preliminary judgment: sabotage. A Chunin puppeteer registered under the name 'Mukade' took advantage of the chaos to steal the cores of at least three of the latest model combat puppets, as well as some confidential technical blueprints involving joint linkage and Chakra Conduction. He has now defected."
She paused, continuing her report with clear enunciation. "Sand City is currently jointly garrisoned by troops led by Uchiha Izumi and Gotta. Previously, no abnormal movements from Mukade were detected. This person's ability rating during his Sunagakure days was only Chunin. His personality was introverted, not good at socializing. The motive for his defection is still unclear. The direct losses to the factory are significant, but more importantly is the risk of technological leakage."
Kisame's low voice sounded, adding, "Upon receiving the report, Anbu Squad 3 stationed in Sand City has been ordered to deploy, tracking and eliminating along the escape route."
Menma listened quietly, not uttering a word until Kanon finished her report, and the office fell into brief silence.
He suddenly looked up, his gaze turning to Minato. "Father, do you remember a person named 'Mukade'?"
This abrupt question made everyone slightly startled, their eyes instantly focusing on Minato.
Minato frowned, searching hard in his sealed memories. After a moment, he slowly shook his head, his face showing some confusion. "Mukade? I'm sorry, I have no impression at all. This name... is very unfamiliar."
Menma didn't shift his gaze, continuing to ask in a steady yet guiding tone. "Then, what about 'the ancient city of Roran'?"
"Roran... ancient city?" Minato subconsciously repeated the name. A flash of confusion passed through his gray eyes, then, as if touching something, a faint ripple appeared.
"This name... sounds a bit familiar. It was recorded when establishing the Wind County, during the census of settlements in the desert... a tribe named Roran, said their ancestors once established an ancient desert kingdom... No..."
His voice gradually lowered, his brow furrowing as if fighting some invisible obstruction. "I think... I really did go to Roran? Was it before the Third Great Ninja War?"
"A mission... to protect the new queen? Teammates included Shibi and Choza, and... Kakashi?" Minato's tone became uncertain. He raised a hand, lightly pressing his temple.
"But... why... can't I remember the specific mission process at all? It's like shrouded in thick fog."
This kind of memory gap appearing on an Elite Jonin renowned for memory was extremely unusual.
Shisui suddenly spoke, breaking the slightly stagnant atmosphere. "I've heard of Roran, a tribe in the Land of Wind's desert that suddenly rose and then rapidly vanished. Legend says it's connected to some powerful energy. If Minato-sama you have an impression, it must have been a high-level village secret mission. I was still young then and hadn't been exposed to it."
Menma nodded at Shisui, having made a judgment in his heart.
'It seemed that even after Edo Tensei, the memory processed by sealing techniques after Father's Roran mission couldn't be restored.'
He stopped questioning Minato and turned to Uzumaki Kanon. "Mark the specific location of the ancient kingdom of Roran on the map."
Since Mukade had appeared, his target was undoubtedly the Ryumyaku beneath Roran.
This suited Menma's intentions.
He wanted to personally verify whether the other end connected by the Ryumyaku was a parallel world or the same world in a different timeline.
If it was the former...
A thought quietly surfaced: Could he go to that world's Amegakure again, find Isshiki, and steal his Ten-Tails?
Kanon immediately bent over, carefully outlining an area on the map.
"Sir, after establishing the Wind County, we surveyed and marked all known ruins and tribal settlements in the desert. The ruins of the ancient city of Roran are roughly in this area, near the border of the Land of Rivers. Previously, we also dispatched reconnaissance teams, but reports all claimed no abnormal energy reactions or signs of large ruins were found, only some weathered ruins and broken walls."
Menma's gaze lingered on the map for a moment, confirming the location.
Then, he looked at Kisame and issued an order. "Notify the pursuing Anbu Squad, mission cancelled, all withdraw. I will handle the ancient city of Roran personally."
As soon as these words were spoken, the air in the office seemed to freeze.
'Handle personally?'
Ever since Pain attacked the Land of Stars three years ago and Menma personally intervened to repel him, whether it was annexing the Land of Wind or the war with the Land of Earth, he had sat firmly behind the scenes, never personally intervening in specific battles again.
Now, for an unknown Chunin traitor and a legendary desert ruin, he actually wanted to go personally?
The implications were self-evident.
'This Mukade and ancient city of Roran must hide secrets that even Shura-sama highly valued!'
"I'm going with you!" Hikari almost immediately stepped forward, her cool voice carrying determination.
Last time Menma went alone to Amegakure to fight Kinshiki, she couldn't accompany him. This time, she absolutely couldn't let him face danger alone again.
However, Menma shook his head, politely declining in a calm tone. "Hikari, Roran's situation is special, possibly involving Space-Time Ninjutsu Sealing. You were once sealed by an Uzumaki Clan's technique. Two sealing powers in close proximity might produce unpredictable interference or even conflict. It's too dangerous."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone, finally returning to Hikari. His words became particularly solemn. "Moreover, if something unexpected happens to me on this trip, Father and Mother's Edo Tensei bodies might be affected. The Land of Stars needs someone to hold the fort. You are the person I trust most."
Then Menma looked at Shisui, Kisame, and Kanon. "The Land of Stars' military and administrative systems are now on track. Handle all affairs according to procedures. I might be temporarily away for a while during this operation, but no need to worry. I will definitely return."
"..." Hikari still wanted to say something, but facing Menma's eyes, she ultimately swallowed her words, just pursing her lips tightly, her nails quietly digging into her palms.
She understood, for both public and private reasons, staying in the Land of Stars to ensure everything remained intact upon his return was the more important responsibility.
"Understood, Sir." Shisui, Kisame, and Kanon responded in unison.
They had witnessed how this youth before them step by step built the Land of Stars to its current state. They held almost absolute trust in his judgment and decisions.
Since the decision was made, Menma delayed no longer.
He immediately formed hand seals. The thousands of shadow clones distributed throughout the Land of Stars, mainly responsible for education and scientific research, instantly turned into white smoke and dissipated. A massive flood of memories and experience returned to the main body.
Simultaneously, he strengthened the Chakra Maintenance of the shadow clone lurking in Konoha and issued a secret order to Kisame.
Once the shadow clone in Konoha dissipated, and the Anbu spies hidden in Konoha Village detected the anomaly, they would automatically execute a preset plan.
Kisame himself would lead an elite squad to launch a high-intensity surprise attack on Konoha.
This move aimed to create chaos, attract attention from all sides, and take advantage of the chaos to 'kidnap' a batch of targets with special value, such as young Ninjas from certain Kekkei Genkai clans, to cover the disappearance of the 'Menma' in Konoha.
With Hikari, this exceptionally strong military minister, holding the central command, with the current strong, well-equipped Star Ninja Army whose regular army alone numbered over three thousand, and with a complete national defense and early warning system, Menma had full confidence that even if the Land of Fire, Land of Lightning, and Land of Water attacked jointly for some reason, the Land of Stars was sufficient to cope, even achieve absolute victory.
With all arrangements settled, Menma hesitated no longer.
Flying Thunder God Technique activated.
The next moment, his figure appeared in an underground secret laboratory deep within Sand City.
The air here was cool, walls built from sturdy stone. A specially-made Flying Thunder God kunai hung from the ceiling in the center of the room, emitting faint Chakra Fluctuations.
This was one of several preset teleportation points he had in the Wind County.
Without a moment's pause, Menma sensed the direction and rushed out of the laboratory, heading towards the ruins of the ancient city of Roran at an astonishing speed.
The desert's scorching wind and sand rushed at him but couldn't get within three feet of his body, repelled by an invisible force field.
As he advanced deeper into the desert, the surroundings became more desolate.
Finally, on the horizon, amidst the drifting yellow sand, the outline of a massive ruin appeared indistinctly.
Broken stone pillars, collapsed walls, silently narrating past glory and lost time.
"This is the place..." Menma slowed his pace, his black robe fluttering in the desert hot wind.
He raised a hand, steadily placing that white three-eyed fox mask on his face, leaving only a pair of eyes exposed, and slowly stepped into this dead, silent ruin.
The moment he stepped into the core area of the ruins, a sudden change occurred!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!
Sharp sounds of something cutting through the air came from shadows all around!
Those were several ferocious-looking puppets. High-speed mechanisms modified onto their arms shot dense showers of kunai, each kunai's tail tied with sizzling explosive tags!
Menma's figure moved like a phantom, leaving an afterimage at the original spot, precisely avoiding all kunai trajectories.
Simultaneously, he casually waved his right hand. Several finger-thick, pitch-black Chakra Rods materialized out of thin air and shot out!
Thud, thud, thud!
The black rods accurately hit the chakra core nodes of those puppets. The powerful Yin-Yang Release interference instantly made their movements stiffen, the light in their eyes extinguishing. Like marionettes with their strings cut, they fell apart with a clatter, stirring up a cloud of dust.
Deep within the ruins, a man wearing a Land of Stars' standard dark blue vest, slender, with brown short hair, peeked out in panic from behind cover, just in time to see his carefully laid puppet ambush so effortlessly dismantled by the other.
His face drained of color, his eyes filled with fear and disbelief.
It was Mukade.
'Shu... Shura?! Why did he come personally?!' Mukade's heart pounded wildly, almost bursting from his chest.
He originally thought he'd attract at most some Anbu pursuers. Relying on his knowledge of the Roran's ruins and prior preparations, he had good chances of maneuvering or even counter-killing. He never, ever expected to directly attract this guy!
He dared not have the slightest hope anymore. He scrambled and crawled towards a broken wall deep in the ruins.
Mukade's trembling hands quickly formed a few seals and pressed on a certain spot on the wall surface.
A faint light flashed. The wall silently slid open, revealing a deep, dark hole leading downwards.
Mukade dove headfirst inside. The stone door rapidly closed behind him.
'Perfect to lead the way for me.' Menma walked unhurriedly to that wall, sensing the faint residual Chakra and spatial fluctuations behind the door.
He extended a finger. A half-meter-long Black Chakra Rod rapidly formed at his fingertip, then, as if piercing tofu, he easily stabbed it into the center of the stone door.
Crack...
Boom!
The hard stone door, with the black rod's insertion point as the center, instantly covered with spiderweb-like cracks, then exploded with a roar, turning into countless stone fragments, revealing a dust-covered stairway leading downwards behind it.
Menma walked with steady steps down the stairway.
The passage wasn't long. The end opened into a vast, cylindrical underground space.
It was empty and silent.
A narrow stone corridor connected the entrance to a circular altar at the center of the space.
The altar was built from some kind of stone. At its four corners stood strange humanoid stone statues, emanating an ancient, weathered aura.
In the center of the altar was a complex sealing array. At the very center of the array, on a raised circular stone platform, was inserted a kunai of ancient design.
Mukade stood right beside that stone platform, back to the entrance, his body trembling slightly from fear and excitement.
Hearing the unhurried footsteps approaching from behind, he whirled around. His face, distorted from extreme emotional turmoil, stared fixedly at the black figure wearing a fox mask, approaching step by step. He shouted hoarsely, "You... you also know the legend of the Ryumyaku! Right!"
Menma stopped several meters away from the altar, silently observing Mukade, his gaze beneath the mask like observing an experimental specimen.
Menma's silence seemed like contempt to Mukade, completely igniting the accumulated fear and madness in his heart.
A grotesque expression mixing despair and ambition appeared on his face. His voice grew sharp with excitement. "But, it's too late! I've already found it! The power of the Ryumyaku is right beneath our feet!"
He spread his arms as if to embrace the entire altar, his fanatical eyes fixed on the kunai in the center. "As long as I obtain it... obtain this infinite energy! Even you, the so-called [Shura of the Ninja World]! You absolutely cannot be my match! As long as I defeat you, I can prove my worth to the entire Ninja World! I can rule everything! Hahahaha!"
Mad laughter echoed in the empty underground space.
Mukade hesitated no longer. His hands rapidly formed a series of complex hand seals. He shouted, "Release!"
The sealing runes on the altar suddenly emitted a blinding light, then rapidly dimmed, as if some restraint was forcibly removed.
With a fanatical, twisted smile on his face, Mukade's hands fiercely grasped the hilt of the kunai inserted into the stone platform. With all his strength, he pulled it out!
Hum—!
The moment the kunai was pulled out, a purple energy torrent of immense, heart-stopping magnitude, like a slumbering ancient beast awakened, violently erupted from beneath the stone platform!
The violent energy transformed into visible purple light streams, like countless writhing giant pythons, instantly wrapping around Mukade who was right there!
"Ahhh—!" Mukade let out a piercing scream. His body began to irregularly expand and twist under the Ryumyaku energy's impact, strange purple patterns appearing on his skin surface, his chakra skyrocketing at an alarming rate.
Simultaneously, from within the fur collar of Menma's robe, a dark red small head cautiously peeked out.
In her small fox girl form, Kokyu, her lively fox eyes fixed tightly on the soaring purple light pillar, a rare gravity appearing on her little face.
"So immense... Natural Energy..." Kokyu's voice carried a trace of alertness as she turned to look at Menma. "Is this the [Ryumyaku] you've been looking for all this time?"
"Mm." Menma responded briefly, his gaze never leaving the core of the violent dragon vein energy.
In the [Limited Tsukuyomi] World, he indeed spent great effort searching for information on the Ryumyaku, but always found nothing.
Coming to this real world for many years, the related memories had somewhat blurred. Only now, seeing it with his own eyes, did that memory originating from the depths of his soul become clear again.
The purple Ryumyaku energy light pillar grew thicker and thicker, the light more and more blinding, almost filling the entire underground space, and beginning to uncontrollably expand outward, devouring.
Mukade, the first to be affected, his body deformed violently within the light, his screams already drowned by the energy's roar.
Menma stood where he was. Not only did he not retreat, but facing the destructive energy torrent, he slowly raised his right hand.
He wasn't trying to resist, but rather...
To make contact, to sense.
Just before his fingertip was about to touch the violent purple energy, a dazzling pure white light suddenly erupted, instantly swallowing his vision, swallowing the screaming Mukade, swallowing the entire altar, also swallowing all his perception.
After the white light, the underground space returned to dead silence.
The runes at the altar's center had also vanished, as if nothing had ever happened.