October 10th, Year 51 of Konoha, inside a secret room.
Yuwen Jun's vision was blurry, and he was horrified to find himself transformed into a baby.
"System, are you sure you didn't make a mistake?"
He questioned it in his mind, but could only let out a baby's cry.
"Respected host, the system does not make mistakes. This is indeed the cultivation world."
A cold, mechanical voice echoed in his mind.
He tried to roll his eyes, but his vision was blurry. Fortunately, his soul could see.
Next to him lay another baby, identical to him, crying loudly. The six whisker-like marks on that child's cheeks were particularly striking in the dim candlelight.
"This place is a cultivation world?"
He stared at the nurses in white coats, the midwife, and the yellow-haired man wiping away tears in excitement. No matter how he looked at it, it didn't seem like a cultivation world.
Suddenly, he was picked up by a pair of large hands.
The midwife held him and the whiskered baby in front of the yellow-haired man: "Congratulations, Minato, it's two healthy baby boys."
"Menma, Naruto..."
The yellow-haired man choked, his cerulean eyes brimming with tears.
Menma? Is that what they're calling me?
Yuwen Jun's body stiffened, and he suddenly looked at the baby next to him.
Those familiar whisker marks were incredibly clear from his soul's perspective, like a bolt of lightning striking his mind.
"Wait! Naruto?"
"System! Don't think I haven't watched Naruto! This is clearly Naruto Uzumaki!"
These iconic whiskers couldn't be mistaken.
Although he hadn't watched much, he knew Naruto.
"The system does not make mistakes."
The mechanical voice remained unperturbed.
"Refund!"
The current Menma Uzumaki was practically howling in his consciousness, "You promised to take me to the cultivation world to seek immortality, but you threw me into the world of Naruto instead!"
"Don't touch them!"
The midwife slapped away the yellow-haired man's hand, "Let them see their mother first."
When he was carried to the red-haired woman's side, all of Menma Uzumaki's complaints caught in his throat.
Her face was as pale as rice paper, but her lips held a faint pink hue. Her emerald eyes, like the gentlest lake in early spring, were filled with an unyielding tenderness.
"Menma... Naruto..."
Her voice was barely a whisper.
A cool yet incredibly soft finger, still carrying the warmth of life, gently brushed his cheek, like the lightest feather.
This touch... it suddenly struck a corner deep within his memory.
An indescribable pang of sorrow instantly surged into his nasal cavity—this red-haired woman, on the brink of death, was his blood-related mother in this life!
Subconsciously, with all the strength a baby could muster, he tried to grasp the finger that was about to slip away, but he was picked up again by the midwife.
"Warning! Detecting an attack from a sect traitor, an ancient demonic beast is about to go berserk! The sect leader and his wife are in danger! Please prepare as soon as possible, host."
"Mission: Repel the invading enemy, reward: Innate Wind Spirit Root!"
"Holy crap!"
Menma couldn't help but curse.
Is this system insane?
What the hell is a sect traitor?!
"Putting aside who's in danger right now, with this baby body that can't even lift its head, how am I supposed to repel enemies?"
Before he could finish cursing the system to hell and back in his mind, a bone-chilling coldness suddenly swept over him.
A black shadow wearing a tiger-skin mask flashed by, and the nurses and midwife instantly fell to the ground.
That person's fingers were already clasped around his tender neck. Menma could even feel the strength in their fingertips; a slight squeeze would be enough to take his tiny life.
"Fourth Hokage, get away from the Jinchuriki immediately!"
The masked man's voice was cold, "Otherwise, these two brats' lifespans... will only be one minute."
"No, big brother..."
Menma cursed in his mind: "Using two newborn babies as hostages, your tactics are too low!"
"Ah—!!!"
Suddenly, his mother's scream came.
He struggled to look through his soul's perspective, only to see her emotional breakdown from extreme worry. The seal on her abdomen was breaking inch by inch, and terrifying red chakra surged out like lava.
Oh no! It's the Nine-Tails!
Before Menma could react, his body suddenly lost all sense of weight—he and Naruto were thrown high into the air by the masked man.
"Menma! Naruto!"
His mother's cries came.
Just as the kunai was about to pierce him, a golden flash streaked past.
Menma fell into a pair of warm and powerful arms, and familiar yellow hair flashed before his eyes.
It's Dad!
He let out a long sigh of relief in his heart, the relief of surviving making his soul tremble slightly.
Is this the power of the Fourth Hokage? So much security!
"As expected of the Yellow Flash!"
The masked man's chilling voice held a hint of admiration, his tiger-striped mask looking particularly sinister in the firelight.
He formed a single hand seal, and Menma Uzumaki suddenly felt a scorching heat on his back, as if someone had lit a fire behind him.
"Not good!"
An alarm bell rang in Menma's heart.
"Menma! Naruto!"
His mother's piercing cries almost burst his eardrums. The next second, his father Minato tore open the swaddling clothes like lightning, but it was too late—Boom! In the deafening explosion, the three were blown away by the shockwave.
Menma felt the world spinning.
Fortunately, his father used his body as a human shield for them, and the two babies remained unharmed.
"System! Quickly use your invincible intelligence to think of a solution!"
Menma shouted in his consciousness.
He was now a helpless infant, unable to even turn over. This feeling of powerlessness drove him mad.
The system was silent as death.
The scene before him suddenly flickered, and when his vision returned, Minato had already teleported them to another warm room, holding them.
He gently placed Menma and Naruto down, and the golden flash vanished instantly.
"This teleportation technique is truly impressive."
As soon as Menma finished marveling, the system's notification blared in his mind:
"Ding! The Nine-Tailed Fox demon is about to break free, and the sect leader's wife is in imminent danger. Please rescue her immediately, host!"
"Come on, come on!"
Menma was so angry he wanted to bite someone, "You tell me, what can a baby who can't even hold a pacifier do? Kill the Nine-Tails with a diaper?"
"Ding! Destiny awakened, host is both chosen and unique!"
"Ultimate Mission: Annihilate the foolish twin brother, achieve unique supremacy. Mission Reward: Immaculate Immortal Body, Ancient Divine Beast Jade-Faced Flying Dragon."
"How much hatred?"
Menma was a little speechless, gazing at his sleeping younger brother Naruto, whose face, almost identical to his own, looked exceptionally peaceful.
A hint of helplessness flashed in his eyes: "System, are there any other options?"
The system was silent.
"Heh..."
Menma chuckled, "If this is what you call destiny... then I'd rather not have it."
"Detecting host's clear Dao Heart, unlocking hidden options—"
"Option One: Slay kin to achieve Dao (Reward unchanged)"
"Option Two: Uphold Dao Heart (Unlock Xuan Vortex Immortal Body)"
"Isn't this better?"
"I choose two..."
"Ding! Congratulations on acquiring the bloodline power, Xuan Vortex Immortal Body. Your Qi Sea and meridians are enhanced a hundredfold, and you have awakened divine abilities: Adamantine Sealing Chains, and Revival."
"You're not even pretending anymore!"
Menma felt the sudden surge of chakra within him, and memories of the Adamantine Sealing Chains and other abilities surfaced. But then he despaired—his stubby little legs, like lotus root segments, couldn't even straighten, let alone help!
"This..."
Menma looked at his chubby little hands and fell into thought: "How am I going to deal with the Nine-Tails now?"
Just then, the golden flash lit up again, and his father appeared in the room, holding his weakened mother...