Menma's words struck Sasuke harder than any ninjutsu ever could.
His expression darkened to an unprecedented degree.
Sasuke had never been stupid.
He had merely been young.
Inexperienced.
For years, his hatred had been guided along a single path the one Itachi had carefully prepared for him.
He had always believed that the truth was exactly as his brother had shown him.
But now…
Menma had shattered that belief with a few simple questions.
If Sasuke still couldn't understand after that, then he truly would deserve to be called a fool.
Itachi was only one man.
How could one person exterminate an entire shinobi clan?
His father, Uchiha Fugaku, had been one of Konoha's strongest shinobi.
The clan itself possessed numerous elite jōnin, many of whom had awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan.
Even if Itachi possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan, could he really slaughter the entire Uchiha Clan overnight without anyone escaping… without anyone raising the alarm… without the village noticing anything?
Was such a feat truly possible?
Now that Sasuke himself had awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan and mastered Cursed Seal Level 2, he no longer believed it.
The Mangekyō Sharingan was indeed the Uchiha Clan's supreme dōjutsu.
Its power was extraordinary.
But…
Could it truly reach such an impossible level?
In the past…
Sasuke would have answered yes.
Now…
His heart was filled with doubt.
"If you still don't believe me…"
Menma calmly continued,
"…then ask Orochimaru-sama."
"Or ask Jiraiya-san standing right in front of you."
"They both lived through that era."
"They know exactly what happened."
His crimson eyes shifted toward Jiraiya.
A faint smile appeared on his lips.
"Isn't that right…"
"Jiraiya-san?"
"Or are you planning to deny the past?"
The atmosphere instantly became heavy.
Jiraiya's expression grew increasingly bitter.
Deny it?
He couldn't.
Admit it?
He couldn't do that either.
Jiraiya was not the kind of man who could casually lie.
Nor was he willing to expose Konoha's darkest secrets with his own mouth.
In the end…
Silence became his only answer.
Unfortunately for him
Silence itself was already an answer.
Sasuke understood immediately.
"Konoha…"
His face twisted with rage.
Combined with the sinister appearance of Cursed Seal Level 2, he resembled a demon consumed entirely by hatred.
The air around him seemed to grow colder.
Naruto, however, remained completely bewildered.
He knew nothing.
No one had ever told him about the Hyūga Affair.
Or the truth behind the Uchiha Clan Massacre.
Everything Menma had said was completely foreign to him.
He looked anxiously toward Jiraiya.
"Gramps Jiraiya…"
"The Hyūga Clan?"
"The Uchiha Clan?"
"What is Menma talking about?"
"Were those things really connected to the village?"
His voice carried nothing but confusion.
Jiraiya slowly closed his eyes.
After a long sigh, he finally spoke.
"Why…"
"Why must you keep dwelling on the past?"
He looked first at Menma.
Then at Sasuke.
"There are mistakes that can never be erased."
"But people shouldn't remain trapped by them forever."
"You should look toward the future."
"Everything we're doing…"
"…is for your own sake."
There was no deception in his words.
Only sincerity.
Almost pleading.
Unfortunately…
Those words only made Menma feel even more disgusted.
Sasuke's killing intent also intensified.
If one had to evaluate Jiraiya fairly…
He truly was one of the better men in the shinobi world.
Kind.
Compassionate.
Righteous.
Yet…
Sometimes…
Such people were the cruelest of all.
Because they genuinely believed that the suffering they imposed upon others was for their own good.
"For our own sake?"
Menma laughed softly.
The smile contained no warmth whatsoever.
"Jiraiya…"
"Do you know what disgusts me the most about you?"
"You inherited Sarutobi Hiruzen's greatest talent."
"Hypocrisy."
"You wrap everything in noble ideals."
"You call injustice sacrifice."
"You call compromise kindness."
"And then you convince yourselves that everything was necessary."
His eyes gradually became blood-red.
His pupils transformed once again into the unmistakable slit pupils of a fox.
"I truly think…"
"People like you shouldn't exist."
BOOM!!
A terrifying torrent of chakra erupted from Menma's body.
Crimson chakra surged violently into the sky.
The surrounding earth cracked beneath the overwhelming pressure.
The dense chakra quickly condensed into four enormous tails behind him.
Four fox tails danced wildly.
The atmosphere instantly became suffocating.
Even Manda's enormous pupils narrowed.
The ancient serpent instinctively recognized that chakra.
It was the chakra of the Nine-Tails.
An existence feared even by summon beasts that had lived for centuries.
For the first time…
Manda felt secretly relieved that he had accepted Menma's compromise earlier.
Otherwise…
The situation might have become troublesome even for him.
Across the battlefield
Jiraiya's expression changed dramatically.
He had expected Menma to use the Nine-Tails' chakra eventually.
But not so suddenly.
Nor so decisively.
The amount of chakra released already exceeded what Naruto could currently control.
"Menma, wait "
Before he could finish
BOOM!
The violent chakra shockwave exploded outward.
His words were swallowed by the roaring pressure.
Menma's gaze shifted briefly toward Sasuke.
His voice remained calm.
"Sasuke."
"Naruto is yours."
The words had barely fallen
Whoosh!
Menma disappeared.
Using the explosive speed granted by the Nine-Tails' chakra, he instantly crossed the battlefield.
His four chakra tails swept through the air.
Like gigantic crimson whips
They smashed directly toward Jiraiya.
There was no hesitation.
No mercy.
Only absolute force.
Jiraiya's face filled with helplessness.
And sorrow.
But regardless of his feelings…
His resolve never wavered.
He was one of Konoha's Legendary Sannin.
He would never allow anyone to threaten the village he had sworn to protect.
Forgive me…
Menma.
He silently apologized in his heart.
Then his hands came together.
"Ninja Art: Needle Jizō!"
His long white hair instantly expanded.
The strands hardened like countless steel needles before wrapping around his body to form an impenetrable defensive barrier.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
The four chakra tails crashed repeatedly against the hardened white hair.
The tremendous collisions echoed throughout the valley.
Despite the overwhelming force behind the attacks…
Needle Jizō held.
Menma narrowed his eyes.
Without pausing, he gathered an even denser mass of Nine-Tails chakra.
The crimson chakra rapidly condensed into a gigantic fox-shaped fist.
"Break."
WHOOM!!
The enormous chakra fist slammed sideways into Jiraiya's defensive stance.
The overwhelming impact shattered the balance beneath him.
Jiraiya was blasted backward.
The ground beneath his feet cracked apart as he was forced several dozen meters away.
At almost the exact same moment
Sasuke acted.
"Manda!"
Without another word, the giant serpent immediately understood.
With a thunderous roar, Manda lunged toward Gamabunta.
"Hmph!"
"You think you're the only one who can fight?"
Gamabunta snorted.
Drawing his gigantic tantō, the chief toad leapt forward without the slightest hesitation.
"I've been waiting for this, snake!"
The two legendary summon beasts charged directly at one another.
The battlefield trembled beneath their enormous bodies.
"I understand, Boss!"
Naruto responded loudly.
Flipping through the air, he landed on Gamabunta's head before drawing a kunai.
His eyes locked firmly onto Sasuke.
No matter what secrets had just been revealed…
No matter how shaken he felt…
There was only one thing he intended to do.
Bring Sasuke home.
BOOM!!
The collision between Manda and Gamabunta erupted like an earthquake.
Violent shockwaves swept across the battlefield.
The legendary summons had finally begun their clash.
Meanwhile…
Yakushi Kabuto quietly disappeared from Manda's side.
His attention shifted toward the remaining battlefield.
Orochimaru's subordinates were still being overwhelmed by Root's numerical superiority.
Most of them had already suffered severe casualties.
Although these shinobi were hardly Orochimaru's strongest followers…
They were still loyal assets.
If he could preserve even a few of them, it would benefit Orochimaru's future plans.
After all…
Even seemingly insignificant pieces could become indispensable when placed on the proper square of the board.
With that thought, Kabuto adjusted his glasses.
Then vanished into the chaos of battle.
WE ARE CURRENTLY ON CHAPTER 321 ON PATREON.
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