Konohagakure.
In a park, Menma, who was busy building a snowman with Hinata and Naruto, suddenly paused for a brief second.
His shadow clone had just placed several items in his home via the Flying Thunder God Jutsu before dispelling itself. A massive influx of memories and information flooded Menma's mind.
"Menma?" Little Hinata, ever perceptive, noticed his brief lapse. Her pale lavender eyes shimmered with concern.
Naruto, however, remained completely oblivious, busily trying to jam a twig into the snowman's face to serve as a nose.
"It's nothing. Let's keep playing," Menma said with a reassuring nod, signaling to Hinata that everything was fine.
By now, Menma had become the undisputed "king" of the park's children. The other kids either avoided him out of fear or followed him like a leader. Because of this, even Naruto was occasionally treated with a semblance of kindness by his peers—at least when their parents weren't around. It provided Naruto with a childhood that wasn't defined by total isolation.
In a few years, when they enter the Academy, Shikamaru and Choji won't discriminate against him either, Menma thought. He'll have more friends soon.
"Menma-niichan! Look at this!" Naruto shouted.
Menma and Hinata looked over to see that Naruto had taken off his bright red scarf and wrapped it around the snowman's neck.
"You're going to get it dirty. If you wash it now, it'll take days to dry in this weather," Menma remarked. He vaguely remembered that this specific scarf had been knitted for Naruto by Kushina.
"It's okay! I have another one at home, though the color is a bit darker," Naruto grinned, seemingly unbothered.
Menma froze. "Another one?"
"Mm-hm!" Naruto nodded, thinking for a moment. "Actually, it's not just the scarf. I have some clothes and hats too—there's always one set in a darker color. I don't really know why."
Menma's heart skipped a beat.
So... Kushina and Minato really did prepare for two children? He clenched his teeth, looking down at the snow.
He didn't know why the Third Hokage hadn't searched for the Fourth's missing child, or why no one investigated the "extra" orphan from the night of the Nine-Tails' attack. But it was clear now: Kushina was indeed pregnant with twins, and she had prepared everything for two babies.
I didn't just manifest in the Limited Tsukuyomi world, he realized. I had a body. I was carried by Kushina, born, and then... taken? Was it Obito's doing after all?
After parting ways with Naruto and Hinata, Menma returned home to retrieve the Iburi Clan samples.
Using the Flying Thunder God Jutsu, he vanished and reappeared at a secret outpost in the Land of Rice Fields.
His black cloak brushed against the fresh snow at the village entrance. By the time Menma arrived at Otogakure, masked in his white, three-eyed fox persona, the sky had turned pitch black.
The village was now firmly under Orochimaru's thumb. The residents relied entirely on his power to survive. In such a volatile era, a village protected by a powerful shinobi was a rarity, even if that shinobi viewed the civilians as nothing more than a labor force for basic supplies.
"Lord Shura."
A red-haired young girl had been waiting at the gate. Seeing the masked figure emerge from the darkness, she approached him with a mix of awe and nervousness.
"Lead the way," Menma said, glancing down at Tayuya. Like many of Orochimaru's subordinates, she already wore the thick, purple shimenawa rope around her waist.
Many of Orochimaru's followers were orphans or "problem children" who viewed the Sannin with a cult-like devotion, often willing to offer their very bodies as his next vessel. This psychological conditioning was the bedrock of Otogakure.
"Yes, my Lord!" Tayuya bowed and led him inward.
Compared to the previous year, the village had expanded significantly. The entrance to Orochimaru's underground laboratory had been rebuilt into a large wooden structure. Descending through a series of winding corridors, Menma stepped once more into the heart of the base.
The air was heavy with the metallic scent of blood and the sharp tang of disinfectant. In the shadows, various experimental subjects peered out from their iron cages.
Menma frowned beneath his mask.
"So, you truly were in the Land of Bears," a feminine version of Orochimaru remarked, stepping out from a lab. The Sannin looked quite pleased with his own deduction.
"The results?" Menma asked, crossing his arms and tilting his head slightly to meet Orochimaru's gaze.
Orochimaru gave a low, raspy chuckle and gestured for Menma to enter the laboratory.
"Thanks to the White Zetsu you provided," Orochimaru began, "I've managed to use its cellular tissue to neutralize the volatile nature of the Iburi Clan's genes. It allows for the controlled stabilization of their smoke transformation."
He paused, a glint in his eye. "However, this has only been tested on tissue samples. I haven't moved to human trials yet. If you could provide a few Iburi clansmen..."
"Human trials are out of the question for now," Menma interrupted coldly.
Orochimaru's brow twitched. "Shura... are you perhaps a bit too concerned with the lives of those weaklings?"
His golden, slitted pupils narrowed. He couldn't fathom why a powerhouse capable of terrorizing Konoha and Kumo would care so deeply for a dying, insignificant clan.
"Orochimaru, do you know the primary difference between you and the Second Hokage, Tobirama Senju?" Menma turned his head slightly toward the Sannin.
"While I may not yet match his raw power, I refuse to believe my scientific mind is inferior to the Second's," Orochimaru replied, his tongue flicking out to lick his cheek.
"It's the bottom line, Orochimaru."
The words were spoken softly, yet they hit the Sannin like a physical blow.
Orochimaru's pupils vibrated. He thought of Tobirama—a man who was also a master of research and forbidden jutsu, yet... he had never used living humans for his experiments. Even in his treatment of the Uchiha, Tobirama had taken one as a disciple, arguably trying to guide the clan toward change in his own stern way.
"Let's not dwell on that," Orochimaru smiled suddenly, walking over to a cabinet. He pulled out a scroll and tossed it to Menma.
"Have you considered my proposal regarding the meteorite and Hell Valley?"
"As I said before, I've allocated a lab for your people in my base in the Land of Bears. There's no need for a separate outpost," Menma said, scanning the data in the scroll. He nodded; the research aligned with his own theories, though Orochimaru's progress was significantly faster.
Menma stowed the scroll and tossed a storage container back to Orochimaru.
"Fair enough. My interest in the toxic gases and the star is purely academic for now," Orochimaru caught the container and, in typical fashion, swallowed it whole.
"So then," Orochimaru's tongue flicked across his lips once more. "What about the trip to the Hidden Mist? Will you join me?"