"Absurd! The order of the ninja world will not be overturned by a coward hiding behind a mask!"
The Raikage's roar was like a clap of thunder. His lightning armor suddenly flared, and the ground under his feet cracked from the leaking chakra.
At the same time, the Third Hokage's voice rang out. "Masked man, you say you want to stop war?"
"But your actions right now, are they not the very act of starting a war? Do you realize that with your words just now, you have declared war on the entire world!"
Menma's fox mask tilted slightly, as if in a sneer. "I told you—I will become 'war itself'."
His black robe whipped around in the churning chakra, the inky black Spiraling Ring rotating in his palm, exuding a suffocating pressure.
"You're right. This is my war against the entire world."
The Third Hokage's brow furrowed deeply. He suddenly raised his voice. "Wait! Your Space-Time Ninjutsu—it's the Flying Thunder God, isn't it?! Where did you learn such a jutsu—"
But before he could finish, Menma had already made his move.
The Spiraling Ring, which had been charging for some time, was suddenly thrown backward. The black energy sphere cut through the sky and fell straight into the distant forest.
The moment of the explosion, the world went silent.
BOOM—!!
Then, a blinding white light swallowed their vision. A shockwave spread out in a ring, and the towering trees were instantly turned to dust. A scorching fireball expanded and rose, dyeing half the sky crimson. The blast wave swept towards them, making everyone's robes flap wildly. Even the Third Hokage and the Raikage had to raise their arms to shield their faces from the heat.
When the light faded, a cataclysmic scar was left on the distant forest. A hundred-meter radius of the forest had been obliterated, replaced by a giant, charred crater nearly a hundred meters in diameter. The edges of the crater were still smoking, and the acrid smell of burning filled the air.
"An enemy of the world?"
Menma's voice was terrifyingly calm, as if that devastating attack was just a casual flick of his wrist. "If such words came from an ordinary ninja, he would just be dismissed as a madman. But if the one speaking—"
His gaze from under the fox mask swept over the drastically changed faces of the Third Hokage and the Raikage. "—possesses the power to turn such 'boasts' into reality?"
The expressions of the two "Kage" turned grim. The man before them, calling himself "Menma," was not bluffing. When a person's power was great enough to single-handedly threaten the entire ninja world order, "being an enemy of the world" was no longer a mad rant, but a chilling—reality.
"Come. I do not wish to harm the innocent."
Menma's voice was exceptionally clear in the aftershock of the explosion. He raised his hand and pointed at the still-burning ruins of the forest in the distance.
"My only targets are the fools deluded by ambition—Raikage, I will be waiting for you there."
The next moment, his figure vanished without a trace, as if erased.
The Raikage's muscles tensed like steel. His breathing was heavy and hot. This level of power... this kind of wish... I must eliminate him here!
Without a moment's hesitation, the Raikage's figure transformed into a blue-white streak of lightning, the ground collapsing under his explosive start. He was so fast he left an afterimage in the air, leaving only a scorched lightning trail and flying dust in his wake.
After the death of Minato Namikaze—the true worth of the fastest ninja in the world was on full display.
"Lord Raikage!" C and Darui both took a step forward, wanting to follow, however.
ROAR—!!
The Nine Masked Beasts roared, their bodies blocking their path. The corner of Darui's mouth twitched, his lazy expression long replaced by a solemn one. He once again drew the ninja sword from his back.
"Looks like we can't..." he muttered, his gaze sweeping over the menacing summoning beasts. "These guys' mission seems to be to hold us here..."
C's sensory ninjutsu was at its maximum, his fingers rapidly forming seals, cold sweat trickling down. "Chakra readings... every single one is stronger than me!"
On the other side, the Third Hokage's gaze returned from the direction the Raikage had left. "All ANBU, on my command! Defeat these summoning beasts, and then—provide support for the Raikage!"
Swoosh—!
The Konoha ANBU surged forward like a black tide, their eyes under their masks cold and focused. The glint of kunai formed a solid line, and Kakashi's figure quietly appeared at the forefront of the group, his Sharingan slowly spinning as he locked onto his targets.
The battle was about to begin.
Far away, on a high rooftop somewhere in Konoha, a small, golden-haired figure looked at the dusty, chaotic battlefield in the distance with a helpless expression. The three-year-old Naruto Uzumaki couldn't help but facepalm and sigh.
Is my inner self... really this chuunibyou?
Naruto's eyes were filled with exasperation. That's right—the "Menma" currently facing off against the Raikage and the Third Hokage was a Shadow Clone using the [Menma Uzumaki Trial Card]. The one standing here was his real body.
Becoming "war itself"... declaring war on "the entire world"...
Naruto ruffled his hair. Thinking back on his own grandiloquent speech, his toes nearly carved out a three-bedroom apartment on the ground. It was too embarrassing! Although the lines were certainly effective, looking back on it was cringe-inducingly awkward.
His real goal wasn't nearly that lofty!
His plan was actually simple. First, create a villainous alter ego, making it easier to recruit powerful but morally ambiguous rogue ninja in the future, like...
Deidara, who was always yelling that "art is an explosion."
Kakuzu, who was only interested in money.
Zabuza, who failed to assassinate the Mizukage but was instead idolized by the Hidden Mist ninja.
Second, stage a crisis to make "Menma" a threat feared by all nations, while he himself would rise as a "genius of Konoha" and the "guardian" who opposed this threat. This way—he could justifiably obtain more training resources, max out his system points, and even integrate forces at critical moments.
Third, prepare for future threats. Although he didn't know how strong the so-called Otsutsuki aliens were, if the people of Earth were always fighting amongst themselves, they would be done for when the real enemy arrived.
Internal conflicts... it's best to avoid them if possible.
"Naruto!"
An urgent shout suddenly sounded in his ear. Naruto jumped, nearly sliding off the roof. He whipped his head around, and a familiar figure came into view—long black hair slightly messy from running, cheeks flushed, chest heaving. She had clearly run all the way here.
"Sa... Satsuki?"
Naruto's eyes widened, completely surprised to see her here. Why is Satsuki Uchiha here? Shouldn't she be in the shelter with the other villagers?
Before he could react, Satsuki had already dashed forward and grabbed his ear, pinching it hard.
"Wait! Ow, ow, ow! What are you doing?"
Naruto struggled in pain, but froze when he met Satsuki's eyes—those usually proud, dark eyes were now filled with fear, the corners slightly red, her lashes still damp.
"What do you think?!" Satsuki's voice trembled noticeably. "The village is being invaded! Everyone went to the shelters! Do you have any idea how dangerous it is out here?!"
Naruto opened his mouth, but the words of defense he had been about to say got stuck in his throat. Only then did he realize that Satsuki had specifically run out to find him.
What had just happened?
A moment ago, when the alarm sounded, Satsuki had evacuated with the women and children of the Uchiha clan. Fugaku was leading the Uchiha ninja in evacuating the civilians, and Itachi was away on a mission. Not counting the Nine-Tails Rampage, which she didn't remember, this was Satsuki's first experience with an invasion.
And when the chaos in the shelter had subsided a little, the first thing Satsuki did was look around for that golden-haired figure. When she didn't find Naruto, she anxiously asked the ninja in charge of the evacuation, only to receive a cold reply.
"That demon fox kid? Who knows where he is."
For some reason, no one cared if he was alive or dead.
That realization felt like an invisible hand squeezing Satsuki's heart. Without even explaining to her mother, she had run out of the shelter, running through the almost empty village, just to confirm he was safe.
That flash of white light that lit up the whole sky...
Remembering that world-ending explosion, Satsuki's fingers unconsciously tightened. Even Father and Sister couldn't do a jutsu of that level, could they? No... is that something a human can even do? If that had landed in the village...
"Satsuki... are you crying?" Naruto asked softly.
"I'm not crying!" Satsuki whipped her head away. "Forget about that! Let's go! You big idiot! If that jutsu had exploded in the village, you would have died!"
She grabbed Naruto's hand without another word, her grip surprisingly strong. Naruto could feel the cold sweat and slight tremble in her palm.
She's scared... for me?
A complex emotion he had never felt before spread through his chest, sour yet warm. He let Satsuki pull him towards the shelter.
-------
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