"This… I don't quite understand either…"
Minato looked up at the darkening sky and said gently, "It's getting late. I still have work to do. You two should go home early too, don't make your mother worry."
"Got it, goodbye Dad!"
The brothers answered in unison.
After Minato left, Naruto immediately grabbed Menma's sleeve, his eyes sparkling: "Big brother! Teach me a few more Wind Release Ninjutsu!"
"Alright," Menma nodded and formed hand signs: "Shadow Clone Technique!"
With a soft 'bang', an identical Menma appeared in place.
"Huh?" Naruto stared at the Shadow Clone in front of him, muttering discontentedly, "This trick again!"
"My foolish little brother~" The Shadow Clone Menma chuckled as he ruffled Naruto's golden hair. The real Menma had already used a Body Flicker Technique to leave, heading towards where Tenzo and the others lived.
Tenzo, Sai, and Shin were sitting around a table eating ramen when Menma suddenly appeared. They immediately put down their bowls and chopsticks and stood up.
"Keep eating, don't mind me." Menma waved his hand casually, his gaze sweeping over the simple but cozy dwelling: "Are you comfortable living here?"
"Yes," the three nodded in unison.
Ever since learning Menma's true identity and strength, Tenzo no longer regarded this golden-haired youth as an ordinary child.
"Big Brother Tenzo, I came to ask for guidance on Wood Release Ninjutsu." Menma stated his purpose directly.
Tenzo was slightly startled, then respectfully replied, "Yes, Young Master Menma!"
They arrived at a secluded training ground—this used to be a secret base of the "Root" organization.
"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!" As Tenzo completed his hand signs, the ground began to tremble, and a dense forest burst forth from the earth, covering the entire training ground in an instant.
"So this is Wood Release Ninjutsu…" Menma narrowed his eyes slightly, feeling that its power was far from what was said of the First Hokage. He turned to look at the panting Tenzo and considerately said, "Big Brother Tenzo, you should rest for a bit."
"Yes, Young Master Menma." Tenzo wiped the sweat from his forehead, his chest still heaving violently.
"Just call me Menma." The young man showed a sunny smile, his warm demeanor making Tenzo momentarily see the shadow of the Fourth Hokage.
"Okay… Menma." A sincere smile appeared on Tenzo's face, and he pulled out an ancient scroll from his in arms: "This was given to me by Danzo, and it records all of the Wood Release Ninjutsu of Shodai(1st)-sama."
He paused, a hint of regret in his tone: "Unfortunately, my abilities are limited, and I cannot unleash the true power of Wood Release… And performing Wood Release requires integrating Shodai(1st)-sama's cells…"
"You've worked hard, Big Brother Tenzo." Menma took the scroll, merely glanced at it, and then put it away. He clasped his hands together, and the surging Wood Release power within him instantly surged.
"Wood Release: Deep Forest Emergence!" In the shocked gazes of Tenzo and the other two, the earth began to tremble violently.
Countless towering trees burst forth from the ground, their thick roots writhing like giant dragons, and their dense canopies blocked out the sun. In just a few breaths, the entire training ground transformed into a primeval forest.
Even more astonishing was that Menma could clearly sense every tree and every leaf in the forest.
They all seemed to be extensions of his body, which he could manipulate at will—either transforming into the strongest shields or becoming the sharpest spears.
"This time…" A sharp glint flashed in Menma's eyes: "You won't be able to escape so easily again."
A breeze swept through, and the newly formed forest rustled, as if responding to its master's will.
Tenzo and the other two stood dumbfounded, gazing at the young man who had created a miracle, unable to speak for a long time.
"This… How is this possible…" Tenzo's eyes were wide open, his jaw almost dropping to the ground.
As the only Ninja in Konoha currently capable of Wood Release, he understood better than anyone what this scene meant—that vast, sky-obscuring forest, that surging vitality, it was almost as if… "Shodai(1st)-sama… has reappeared in the world…"
He mumbled to himself, his voice trembling almost imperceptibly.
In the shadows, the Anbu responsible for protection were also in a state of immense shock.
These usually well-trained elite Ninja were all frozen in place, their faces beneath their masks filled with disbelief.
"I must be dreaming…" One Anbu pinched his thigh, "This really is… Shodai(1st)-sama's Wood Release…"
The newly transferred Yūgao Uzuki was even more shaken to her core.
The purple-haired Kunoichi clenched her fists tightly, her knuckles turning white from the effort. Just half an hour ago, she was complaining internally that this protection mission was overkill—although she had heard of Menma's genius, Konoha had no shortage of so-called geniuses.
But now… looking at the primeval forest that had appeared out of nowhere, Yūgao finally understood where the respectful tone of her colleagues came from when they mentioned "Young Master Menma."
"Um… Big sister?" A clear and youthful voice suddenly sounded in her ear.
Yūgao trembled all over, only then realizing that the golden-haired young man had appeared in front of her at some point, his azure eyes smiling as he looked at her.
"You just… were peeking, weren't you?" Menma tilted his head, a mischievous smile playing on his lips.
Yūgao's face immediately flushed red. Although the cat mask covered most of her face, her hot ear tips still betrayed her embarrassment.
She took a deep breath and knelt on one knee in a bow:
"Your subordinate is an Anbu ordered to protect you."
"Protect?" Menma repeated the word with a half-smile, his gaze pointedly sweeping over the surrounding towering trees.
Yūgao felt her cheeks grow even hotter—for such a monster to need protection? This mission was ridiculously absurd.
"Yes… Yes, it is." She answered, steeling herself, "This is Hokage-sama's order."
Menma nodded knowingly. He waved to Tenzo and the others, who were still in a daze, and turned to Yūgao with a brilliant smile:
"Big sister, you don't have to be so formal~"
Yūgao remained standing there in a daze until the small figure disappeared into the distance.
It wasn't until her companion came and patted her shoulder that she snapped out of her trance.
"Hey, what are you spacing out for? Time to catch up."
"Ah… Yes!" Yūgao hurriedly followed, but accidentally stumbled as she stepped forward.
She bit her lip and touched her hot cheek, silently cursing herself for being useless—to be so flustered by a child.
Inside the Sarutobi residence, a wisp of smoke slowly rose from the pipe in Hiruzen Sarutobi's hand.
He gazed at the intelligence scroll on the table, a complex expression appearing on his wrinkled face.
"Even Wood Release…" The old man's calloused fingers gently caressed the words on the report, as if to confirm the authenticity of every single word.
"Its power and scale far surpass Tenzo's…" The fire in the pipe gradually extinguished, but the Third Hokage didn't notice.
He looked out the window, his gaze piercing through Konoha's rooftops, as if seeing the towering figure from decades ago—the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama, standing proudly at the peak of the forest.
"If he continues to grow…" The old man's fingers unconsciously tapped on the table, making a dull sound.
Suddenly, the solemnity on the old man's face melted like ice and snow, replaced by a relieved smile.
"I never thought that in my lifetime, I would witness a descendant surpass the ancestors…" Hiruzen Sarutobi looked in the direction of the training ground, the brilliant afterglow reflected in his cloudy eyes: "Konoha's future will be even more dazzling than imagined…"
At the same time—
In the office of the Fourth Hokage, the scroll in Minato's hand dropped onto the table with a "clatter."
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