Inside the central building of Four-Star Village, Kushina Uzumaki rested her chin on her hand, watching Minato Namikaze work on documents while Menma Uzumaki rested with his eyes closed beside her. The atmosphere was peaceful and warm.
If only she and Minato hadn't died, perhaps this scene would be playing out in Konoha instead? It was a shame Naruto wasn't here—otherwise, it would be perfect.
Just as she thought this, a faint rumble echoed from the distance.
Minato looked up from his papers, and Menma's eyes snapped open.
"What happened?" Minato asked.
"I don't know, let me check," Kushina replied, quickly forming hand seals and closing her eyes tightly.
She activated Kagura's Mind's Eye.
With this sensory ninjutsu spanning tens of kilometers, Kushina instantly saw what was happening at the village gates.
"Hmm... it's Kurama," she reported. "He's fighting a group of ninjas. No, 'fighting' isn't right—he's just toying with them. That twisted, despicable fox!"
Minato frowned. "Can you sense where those ninjas are from?"
Before Kushina could answer, Menma spoke up, his voice cold. "Cloud Village ninjas. They were turned away but tried to force their way in anyway. Annoying pests."
He stood and started toward the exit.
"Menma, wait! Where are you going?" Minato asked, rising quickly to follow.
Menma paused to slide his mask back on. "Uninvited trash should be eliminated as a warning."
He added without looking back, "Cut the rice seedling orders to the Land of Lightning in half. Tell their Daimyo to keep his dogs on a leash."
His focus was already on Akatsuki and Konoha; he couldn't be bothered with other villages. Otherwise, he wouldn't have settled for a mere warning—he would have crushed them already.
"Exactly!" Kushina agreed immediately, her anger flaring. "If they can't control their dogs, we shouldn't sell them anything at all! Let them learn their lesson!"
Minato sighed. "It's not about master and dog. We need an equal relationship between governments."
He turned to Menma. "Menma, calm down. Let me handle this. Those Cloud ninjas aren't invaders—they probably just want to continue diplomatic talks. Pulling back on trade shows our stance without bloodshed. Killing them will cause unnecessary conflict. Our priority is gathering strength to destroy Konoha. We shouldn't make new enemies."
As the Fourth Hokage, Minato knew the Fourth Raikage's temper. If Menma killed those ninjas, Cloud Village forces would be at their doorstep by tomorrow.
But Menma wasn't listening.
In a flash, he appeared on the horizon, then vanished completely.
Minato sighed again. He knew this would happen.
That despicable Third Hokage and Danzo—using that horrific experience to twist such a good kid into this.
He shook his head, wondering if Menma would ever return to being the innocent, carefree boy like Naruto after destroying Konoha.
Closing his eyes, Minato focused on sensing the Flying Thunder God seals he'd left at Four-Star Village's entrance.
His expression turned serious an instant later.
"Why are there two seals?" he muttered. "Could someone from the Cloud group have my seal? Is it Killer Bee?"
Minato remembered leaving his mark only on Killer Bee's tailed beast tentacles during the Third War.
Rather than choosing the outer seal, he teleported directly to the entrance.
He arrived to hear Kurama's arrogant voice.
"Is this all you can do? Just worthless pebbles!"
Cloud Village ninjas lay scattered around the nine-tails. The ground and gates of Four-Star Village were shattered from the recent battle.
Minato's sudden appearance made Samui—who lay wounded on the ground—cry out in shock.
"This... you're the Yellow Flash? How is this possible?! Were the First and Second Hokage resurrected too? And the Fourth?!"
Minato ignored her, his gaze fixed on a Cloud ninja lying behind her, and his expression darkened.
The masked Kage appeared from behind, surveying the chaos. Upon seeing him, Kurama immediately withdrew its Susanoo and scurried over to Menma.
"Menma! I took care of all the invaders, pretty good right?" the fox whined, practically begging for praise.
Menma started to raise his hand but paused when he saw that absurdly incongruous face. After a moment's thought, he lowered it and looked at the fallen Cloud ninjas instead.
Samui noticed Menma being fawned over by Kurama and immediately understood who the real leader was. Ignoring Minato, she shouted to Menma.
"Sir, we mean no harm! We brought gifts from the Raikage to congratulate you and discuss an alliance!"
Menma didn't respond. Instead, he locked his gaze onto the ninja Minato had been watching.
Blood-red eyes with three tomoe appeared in his own—his Sharingan activated. The scene before him warped instantly.
The fallen Cloud ninja vanished in a puff of smoke.
In his place stood Obito Uchiha, wearing his orange swirl mask.
"Interesting," Menma said coolly. "So you finally decided to show yourself."
Obito's heart pounded. His genjutsu had been seen through instantly. The Sharingan? The leader of Four-Star Village has the Sharingan? What exactly is this place?
He activated Kamui immediately, preparing to escape.
"That mask has space-time ninjutsu too!" Minato shouted the moment the genjutsu broke. "You're that masked man from before!"
His body moved faster than his thoughts. He had barely spoken the words when he used Flying Thunder God Technique to appear above Obito's head. A glowing blue chakra claw slammed down.
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