Therefore, choosing a target was inevitable.
Just like before, the number of individuals who could be selected by Menma was extremely limited. Once additional constraints were taken into account—timing, risk, feasibility, and long-term benefit—the list was reduced even further, leaving at most one or two viable options.
But even then—
Was acting immediately truly the correct choice?
Menma needed to consider this carefully.
A plan, after all, was nothing more than a general direction established at the beginning. It was never something that had to be executed with absolute rigidity. In many cases, plans failed to keep pace with rapidly changing circumstances. That was especially true for Menma in his current state—far from the point where he could calmly ignore external interference, whether it was the imminent pursuit from Konoha or unresolved issues within his own body.
Everything required time to整理 itself.
Three years was an extremely tight window.
But every step still had to be taken steadily.
After obtaining the materials and supplies he needed from Orochimaru, Menma immediately immersed himself in his own experimental plans. His objective was simple and uncompromising—to grow stronger in the shortest possible time. Reaching Kage-level strength, or even surpassing it, was not optional. Aside from relying on his own training and foundation, he would inevitably need external methods to accelerate the process.
Let's start from this angle first. At the very least, I need a preliminary grasp of it.
From the pile of prepared materials, Menma selected the most crucial components and placed them on the experimental table. Without hesitation, he began his first round of experimentation and research. In his mind, this was the most necessary step at the moment.
Because—
Even the Nine-Tails' chakra, which could be considered a natural cheat, was not something that could be used freely.
Before Menma's body fully matured and adapted to the immense erosion caused by the Kyūbi's chakra, it was impossible for him to utilize that power at one hundred percent. Naruto in the later stages of the original story appeared capable of wielding the Nine-Tails' chakra with ease, even overpowering it and entering what was known as Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.
But that level of control was achieved only after Naruto's body had been tempered repeatedly—through countless life-and-death battles—and refined to an extreme degree.
Without that foundation, the corrosive nature of tailed beast chakra would easily injure the jinchūriki instead.
This had already been demonstrated many times throughout the shinobi world.
Menma was unwilling to wait for slow, natural growth. He wanted to compress that process as much as possible. By advancing Uzumaki bloodline potential through cell activation research and physical enhancement experiments, he aimed to unlock his clan's latent vitality ahead of time.
Only then could he unleash the Kyūbi's power at its strongest state in the shortest possible period.
There was also the matter of the Four Symbols Seal (Shishō Fūin) within his body, which severely restricted the outflow of the Nine-Tails' chakra. Without the so-called "key," Menma would eventually need to find a way to resolve the seal's limitations on his own.
Of course, that was an issue for later.
At present, his relationship with the Kyūbi was nowhere near what it would become in the future.
At best, the Nine-Tails was merely curious about Menma and mildly attentive to his existence.
Acceptance was impossible.
Trust was even more so.
Therefore, while Kyūbi chakra was one path to power, Menma needed to strengthen himself through other avenues as well. That was the most fundamental principle.
And experimentation was one of the most efficient methods available.
Naturally, when it came to experimentation, Menma was a complete novice. He had no prior experience in shinobi biological research. Fortunately, with the data and records provided by Orochimaru, he did not need to start entirely from scratch. Even so, numerous difficulties still lay ahead.
Menma could have chosen the easier route—handing over all experimental requirements to Orochimaru and simply reaping the results. Orochimaru was an expert and could undoubtedly produce成果 in the shortest time possible.
But that was never Menma's intention.
This wasn't merely a matter of safety.
Doing so would place him completely under Orochimaru's control and permanently deprive him of growth in this field.
Menma's ambition ran deep.
He did not intend to stop at being strong—he intended to stand above others.
To achieve that, he needed to improve in multiple dimensions.
Conducting experiments personally was a necessary choice.
No matter how tedious, exhausting, or dangerous it might be, he had to persist.
At this stage—
He could rely only on himself.
Immersed in his research, Menma began to dissect Orochimaru's experimental data and results in his own way, absorbing the fundamentals bit by bit. These were only basic research materials, lacking direct applicability for now, but there was one advantage.
In his previous life, Menma had been a science student.
Even if he had only reached an intermediate level, he had still undergone extensive foundational training in physics and chemistry. That background gave him a minimal but valuable framework for understanding experimental logic.
At least—
It wasn't completely foreign territory.
So cell activation works like this…
The preparation process needs to be adjusted here…
This part might be reproducible later…
And this variable…
Interest was clearly sparked.
Menma's first experimental attempts progressed more smoothly than he had anticipated.
During these days, Karin remained constantly by Menma's side. This was not only because she did not want to leave him, but also because Menma intended to train her as his experimental assistant—much like Yakushi Kabuto was to Orochimaru.
Whether she truly possessed talent in this area was secondary.
As a pure-blooded Uzumaki, Karin's sensory abilities far exceeded Menma's, even without factoring in the malicious perception granted by Kyūbi chakra. In certain experiments, especially those involving cellular activity, her perception was capable of providing crucial assistance.
At this stage, Karin was also the only person Menma could fully trust.
As experiments grew increasingly complex, handling everything alone would become impossible. An assistant was a necessity.
Karin was somewhat resistant to these experiments at first, but she understood better than anyone that this was what Menma needed. More importantly, she was now more afraid of being abandoned by Menma than of facing things she disliked.
Those emotions—
Were far stronger than her attachment to Sasori in the original timeline.
With Karin's assistance, Menma's experiments proceeded even more smoothly.
Until—
Several days later.
On one particular morning.
Orochimaru suddenly arrived outside the building where Menma was conducting his experiments, accompanied by Yakushi Kabuto.
Menma, having already sensed the approach of their chakra signatures, stepped outside in advance.
"It seems Orochimaru-sama is preparing to leave for a while?"
Menma looked at Orochimaru and Kabuto and spoke calmly.
"Well," Orochimaru replied in his familiar hoarse tone, "just as Menma-kun has guessed. Kabuto and I need to head out to locate someone. I wonder… would Menma-kun be interested in coming along?"