Standing atop a giant cedar, Menma's short black hair fluttered in the wind. The hem of his long robe snapped sharply, and the cloak across his back—emblazoned with the Nine Masked Shina (Kumen Suvaka) patterns—billowed behind him.
He closed his eyes. His vast perception surged outward like an invisible tide, sweeping across the boundless forests, trickling streams, and human settlements. With Kagura Shingan fully active, the world lost its physical form in his mind, leaving only countless flickering dots of chakra.
He was searching. Amidst the chaos of traces, he precisely filtered and captured that familiar flicker of chakra: the Explosion Style user of the Hidden Stone, Gari.
Found you.
Finally, Menma's Kagura Shingan tracked the signature to a desolate mountain range covered in jagged, lifeless rocks. Gari's chakra was as weak as a candle flickering in the wind.
A faint smirk played on Menma's lips. His silhouette blurred instantly, turning into a phantom streak as he lunged toward the locked coordinates.
Meanwhile, Hiruko was in a fine mood.
He rode atop his Chimera synthesis beast, carrying the unconscious Gari along a mountain path cloaked in giant shadows. To Hiruko, the Explosion Style Bloodline Limit within Gari was a succulent bait, triggering a ravenous hunger within his Chimera Technique.
Soon, this power would be his—another cornerstone in his ascension toward becoming the "Perfect Immortal Ninja."
As he rounded a rock pillar shaped like a predator's fang, the beast beneath him suddenly jolted to a halt. On a jagged rock ahead, a figure stood silhouetted against the rising wind.
A black robe rippled. A white, three-eyed fox mask concealed the face, revealing only short black hair. The stranger stood with absolute stillness, as if he had been part of the rock since antiquity—silent, yet radiating a pressure that seemed to freeze the very air. He was precisely blocking Hiruko's path.
Hiruko's heart skipped a beat. A chill raced up his spine. Caution instantly replaced his previous ease as he scrutinized the interloper.
That iconic black robe... the white, three-eyed fox mask...
A name that had stirred a whirlwind of blood and terror across the shinobi world over the last two years flashed through his mind.
"Shura?" Hiruko's voice was dry, his crimson pupils constricting with a trace of tension.
Though he spent his days buried in his base researching the Chimera Technique, he was not deaf to the world. Shura's raids on Konoha and Kumogakure—and the seventy-million-ryō bounty placed on his head by the Cloud—were the biggest news in the shinobi world!
Hiruko's mind raced. Why was this monster here? Shura had walked through Great Nations as if they were open fields. Hiruko's own Chimera Technique was still incomplete; he had only absorbed Storm Style and Dark Style. If they fought now...
Opposite him, Menma's gaze felt like a physical weight piercing through the mask. He didn't bother with pleasantries. In a flat, matter-of-fact tone, he stated his purpose:
"The Chimera Technique—the one that allows for the fusion of Bloodline Limits. I find myself quite interested in it."
His voice wasn't loud, but it carried an undeniable weight that hammered against Hiruko's eardrums.
Hiruko's pupils shrank to pinpricks. A mixture of icy dread and explosive fury seized him. The Chimera Technique was his greatest secret, the core of his ambition! How could Shura possibly know?
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Hiruko shrieked, his voice cracking with a panic he couldn't hide.
The instinct for survival overrode everything. He didn't hesitate.
"Tear him apart!" Hiruko bellowed. Even as he gave the order, he leaped backward with Gari, desperate to put distance between himself and the masked man.
"ROAR—!"
With a deafening howl, the Chimera's massive form lunged forward like a mountain of flesh. It brought with it a stench of rot and the force of a landslide. Faced with an assault that would have shattered the spirit of an average Jonin, Menma's expression didn't flicker. He simply wove a single hand seal.
"Nine Masked Shina—"
His voice was a low chant. A dark red seal flared to life beside him, forming an intricate array. The character for Gen (Black/North) shimmered, bringing with it the briny scent of the deep sea and a crushing, mountain-like weight.
"Genbu!"
"MOOO—!"
A long, ancient roar from the abyssal depths echoed through the valley. A figure far more gargantuan than the Chimera—a terrifying, mountain-backed turtle—erupted from the seal. Its shell was as jagged as a reef, its head held high, cold vertical pupils locking onto the charging beast.
The Chimera's avian claws slashed at Genbu's head, whistling through the air. Genbu didn't dodge. It swung its massive, thick neck, slamming its head into the claws with the force of a falling star.
BOOM!
The impact sounded like a war drum. A shockwave erupted, sending sand and stone flying. The Chimera let out a shriek of pain as its claws were knocked aside. Seizing the opening, the Chimera's hound head unhinged its jaws. A torrent of molten fire breath erupted, a lava-like stream aimed at Genbu's flank.
Genbu hunkered down, its four limbs rooting into the earth. Facing the inferno, it opened its own massive maw. A high-pressure jet of cold, viscous water—dense with terrifying kinetic force—erupted like a burst dam. It took the shape of a water dragon, roaring as it slammed into the flames.
Water Style: Water Dragon Triple—!
Sizzle—!!!
Extreme heat met bone-chilling cold. A deafening hiss of steam exploded, and a scalding white mist billowed outward, instantly swallowing everything within dozens of meters. Inside the swirling white void, one could only see flashes of blue and red light, punctuated by the dull thud of collisions and the pained roars of monsters.
In the moment the clash began, Hiruko had already used the mist as cover, darting toward a narrow mountain crevice in a desperate bid for escape.
He had only one thought: Run!
However, he had barely taken two steps when the world blurred. Like a ghost manifesting from nothing, the masked figure appeared directly in his path, perfectly blocking the entrance to the crevice. Hiruko felt those cold eyes through the fox mask, pinning him like a specimen under glass.
"Don't be in such a hurry to leave," Menma said. His voice was calm, yet it dripped with a lethal chill. "You haven't given me what I want yet."