Chapter 33 – The Masked Man
Elite ninjas stared at the unknown man appearing in the sky. Everyone went on alert. "Who are you? How dare you use a genjutsu on everyone?" Hiruzen spoke.
"I'm Menma. And the reason I'm here?" His eyes fell on Hiruzen. "To eradicate the darkness from Konoha."
Everyone stared at him in confusion. The masked man clapped, and a massive scroll on his back released countless documents.
Hiashi activated his Byakugan. "They are normal papers." At his confirmation, everyone eased slightly.
Some picked up the papers. "Th-this…?" The ninjas who read them froze. "This… this is impossible…"
A chunin staggered back, the paper slipping from his fingers. His legs gave out as if the ground itself had betrayed him.
"No… no, this is forged! It has to be!" another shouted, but his voice lacked conviction. His eyes kept darting back to the document, rereading the same lines as if they might change.
Others grew curious and started picking up the documents. Everyone who read them froze in disbelief.
Hiashi's grip tightened as he read one that landed in front of him. It showed Danzo's orders to Root to ensure the Kumo ninja successfully kidnapped Hinata—and to let Hiashi kill him.
What made him even angrier was the orders for ANBU to leave the patrol area to Root under Hiruzen's command. His Byakugan activated in rage.
Was Hizashi's sacrifice pointless? The thought made him even more furious. Others were in a similar state. Even Shikaku, usually calm, was trembling with anger.
The documents had everything—the schemes of the past, Danzo's actions, and Hiruzen's involvement.
Root recruiting children, brutal training, Wood Release experiments, the truth behind the Uchiha massacre, and even the planned decline of the Senju.
Guy looked at Kakashi's back. "Kakashi?" He didn't respond.
In his hands were orders from Danzo to leak Sakumo's mission details to enemies and manipulate civilians to disgrace the White Fang of Konoha.
Hiruzen's face went pale. "Fa-fake… everything is fake!"
The masked man laughed. "Then can you explain this?" Everyone looked at him as he pointed toward a screen.
The screen flickered, displaying a detailed report. "The property of the elders and Hokage—before they gained power and now. Almost all Senju, Uchiha, and Uzumaki property has been seized by those four."
"This…?" Shikaku froze, staring at the numbers. The other clan heads were equally shocked.
Menma disappeared and reappeared in front of Gaara.
Gaara's sand attacked instantly, but Menma placed fuinjutsu tags on the ground. The sand collapsed as he slammed a Five Elements Seal, cutting off Gaara's chakra and access to the One-Tail.
His eyes turned to Rasa, who had been quietly enjoying the chaos. But the moment Menma moved, his expression changed, and he rushed forward.
It was too late. The seal was already placed. Rasa looked at Gaara lying unconscious. He had lost the One-Tail.
"Orochimaru is already dead. The Konoha Crush plan is doomed. So fuck off," Menma said coldly.
Rasa glared at him. "Who are you?"
The masked man spread his arms. "Me? I'm Uzumaki Menma—or you could say Senju Menma. I'm here to make sure those bastards pay for corrupting the Will of Fire of Senju Hashirama."
"Woow, you are also an Uzumaki?" Naruto shouted, looking at Menma. Ino and Hinata's mouths twitched.
Others might not know, but they did. The Naruto fighting earlier was a shadow clone, and Menma was obviously Naruto.
{Oi, stop overacting. Someone might notice something,} Ino said through the telepathy seal.
{Inooo!} Hinata shouted mentally.
Ino turned to her in confusion. {You dumb blondie, check which channel you're shouting in!}
Hinata glared at her, switching to a private telepathy channel. Ino froze as her head snapped toward Temari, who was looking at both Naruto and Menma.
{I fucked up, didn't I?} Ino muttered.
{Well, whatever,} Naruto sighed.
{But—} Ino started.
{Don't worry, it's fine,} Naruto cut her off, not wanting her to blame herself.
{Ahem, Temari-chan, how about you keep this between us?} Naruto asked.
"There are more," Menma said from above, ignoring the clone.
Temari composed herself, a small grin appearing on her face. {Ahem, why should I?} she asked.
{You wouldn't want Gaara to go back to his sleepless nights, would you?} Naruto replied. He wasn't bluffing.
He liked Temari, but Ino was his, and Temari was still just a friend. Suna couldn't offer him anything—his only reason to help them was her.
{Yo-you—} Temari choked on her words.
{Don't worry, just kidding. But I'm serious. And now that you know everything, let me show you something.}
{Wha—} before she could respond, Menma in the sky addressed everyone again.
"This is the darkness of Konoha. And I am a victim of this darkness too."
Everyone looked at him. Since he called himself an Uzumaki and Senju, they believed he truly was one.
All eyes slowly turned toward Hiruzen, whose face had already gone pale.
Just then, a cloud of smoke erupted.