Hashirama's thoughts were simple. Since the ordinary villagers who had bullied Naruto under Hiruzen Sarutobi's deception were doomed anyway, he had no choice but to abandon them. He would save the Konoha ninjas who hadn't targeted Naruto—those who had even shown him kindness. Having inherited the Will of Fire, they would surely bring those ideals back to life in Menma's new village, which lacked a strong ideological foundation.
Perhaps the reborn Will of Fire would be somewhat different, but this was the best a dead man could do. Hashirama had made peace with the fact that even if the will changed, there would always be bad apples like Hiruzen and Danzo.
Menma didn't respond to Hashirama's suggestion about joining him if he couldn't win. He simply waited, deep in thought, as the Adamantine Sealing Chains coiled and swirled, completely binding Hashirama into a mummy.
Finally, Menma spoke. "Those ninjas who have no grudge against me will naturally get a chance. You don't need to worry about it or intervene. Of course, this is all on the condition that they're sensible, don't provoke me, and can win my favor."
Menma wasn't a pushover who'd take in just anyone. As for taking his anger out on them? So what? It was their bad luck for being born in Konoha. If they really wanted to join him, it was simple: they had to pass a unique initiation. Killing a few members of Konoha's elite clans or ordinary villagers would secure them a spot.
He certainly wasn't a good person, but he wasn't a heartless demon either.
Hashirama, sealed away, seemed to have heard Menma's words and let out a faint sigh.
As Deidara and Sasori approached from the distance, Menma waved his hand, inscribing a Flying Thunder God seal on the Adamantine Sealing Chains. The chains teleported back to Four-Star Village and vanished from the spot. At the same time, he put his Four-Star Mask back on.
"Menma, I admit your art is superior to mine. From now on, I completely submit to you and will obey your orders!" Deidara declared, gesturing wildly toward the massive explosion that had just flattened a mountain range. His face was flushed, still high on the destruction. "However, you have to give me more Tailed Beast chakra. I want to reach your level of brilliance, hmm!"
Sasori frowned, looking at the empty ground. "Lord Menma, where did that Impure World Reincarnation puppet of the God of Shinobi go? Did you seal it away?" Completely intimidated by Menma's power, Sasori had changed his address to one of respect. If Menma hadn't insisted on staying with Akatsuki for now, he would have already called him "leader" or "boss."
"He couldn't be killed, so naturally, the wind sealed him," Deidara interrupted, answering for Menma.
Menma glanced at Sasori. "That's correct, but why do you ask?"
Sasori didn't hide anything. "I plan to go to Orochimaru's base to find the Impure World Reincarnation technique and try to control that powerful puppet as one of my treasures." As a puppeteer, Sasori had been envious ever since witnessing Orochimaru's Impure World Reincarnation. That was part of why he'd been hunting Orochimaru so relentlessly.
"I see," Menma said, knowing Sasori's true motive was to resurrect his parents. He didn't expose it. Instead, he continued, "I just came from Orochimaru's base. Everything inside has been moved. You won't find what you're looking for."
"Is that so?" Disappointment flashed in Sasori's eyes.
"That wretched snake must have known Konoha ninjas were coming, so he cleared out his hideout beforehand!" Sasori immediately understood the key point. Moreover, he suspected Orochimaru wasn't actually dead—he had escaped. After all, he'd been Orochimaru's partner for a long time and knew the snake's specialty was running away.
Seeing Sasori's resentful expression, Menma suddenly remembered something and chuckled softly. "While that base doesn't have it, I have a fragmented version of Impure World Reincarnation—the one Orochimaru never perfected."
The forbidden scroll from Konoha had already been taken to Four-Star Village by Minato, Kushina, and the others during the raid. It contained Tobirama's incomplete version of the technique. Tobirama's Impure World Reincarnation didn't use living sacrifices, but rather the dead. The resurrected ninjas had extremely low combat power, only good enough to be suicide bombers with Explosive Tags. Tobirama had used corpses for research—Hashirama would never have allowed human experiments like Orochimaru's.
"The very first version of Impure World Reincarnation!" The dramatic twist, like finding a new path after a dead end, brought excitement to Sasori's puppet-like face. If he could obtain the original Impure World Reincarnation, he was confident it wouldn't be inferior to Orochimaru's modified version. Then, all his treasured possessions would gain sentience, his art would be elevated, and he... would no longer be alone.
Without hesitation, he followed Deidara's lead and bowed. "Lord Menma, Sasori of the Red Sand also pledges his loyalty to you."
Menma chuckled and nodded. "The scroll is in Four-Star Village. I'll bring it to you later." He took out the white ring engraved with "emptiness" that he'd obtained after slicing Hashirama and slipped it onto his thumb. "The ring and Orochimaru's matter are resolved. Now Pain shouldn't be able to refuse my participation in the operation."
---
Konoha.
Clang!
The Hokage's Office door swung open. Jiraiya, looking troubled as he worked on documents, and Tsunade, sitting on the sofa with her legs crossed and drinking, both looked up.
"Second Hokage? Grand-uncle?!" Seeing only Tobirama, both were surprised.
"Why are you back so soon? Did you fail to catch Orochimaru?" Jiraiya asked, quickly changing his surprise to an "I knew it" expression. He was familiar with Orochimaru's escape abilities.
Tsunade's heart sank as she looked at Tobirama's grim face. Forcing his trembling hands to steady, he placed a bottle on the coffee table and asked with difficulty, "Grand-uncle, where's Big Brother?"
Faced with their questions, Tobirama suppressed the image of the black-armored, golden-red giant he'd seen while fleeing. He closed his eyes, sensing his surroundings, and after confirming no ANBU or other personnel were waiting nearby, he spoke in a low voice.
"What I'm about to say, you must all keep to yourselves. Don't tell anyone. Uzumaki Menma... we were all fooled by his disguise."
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