Whoosh! Whoosh!
"Hmm."
With a soft acknowledgment, Konan's body dissolved into thousands of fluttering sheets of paper that filled the air.
Dance of Paper!
The sudden flurry of white paper snapped Kakashi and Yamato out of their shock, but they barely had time to react. The sheets automatically folded into kunai and short blades, slicing through the air and shooting straight for Yamato on the right.
Yamato leaped backward, hands flashing through hand signs before his chest. "Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"
An earthen rampart surged from the ground, barely intercepting the rain of paper projectiles. Before Yamato could catch his breath, small balls of fire ignited on the rising wall.
BOOM!
Explosions erupted in sequence. Tags embedded in the paper instantly shattered the earthen barrier, sending shrapnel flying over the rubble and peppering Yamato's body.
Boom!
A puff of smoke swept over his position. When it cleared, a wooden dummy stood in his place, bearing only a passing resemblance to Yamato.
Wood Release: Wood Clone!
Realizing it was a diversion, the white paper swiftly veered away, sweeping toward Yamato's true location in the distance. Seeing Yamato was unharmed—and had even drawn an enemy away—Kakashi exhaled.
He glanced at Menma. His body vanished instantly as he dashed toward Naruto on the opposite side of the clearing.
But Kakashi barely took one step before Menma blocked his path again.
"Don't bother them," the familiar voice echoed from behind the mask. "I've got a show to show you."
Kakashi slid his hands casually behind his back. "A show? Is this what Akatsuki is planning? Grabbing Naruto?"
"You don't have to answer. But haven't we met before?"
Menma's voice carried a strange familiarity. "Your voice, your stance... it feels incredibly familiar."
"Heh." The mask muffled Menma's laughter. "You're sharp."
Whoosh!
Before Menma could finish, Kakashi lashed out from behind his back. A kunai crackling with bluish lightning—Lightning Blade—streaked through the air, aimed directly at the mask. Simultaneously, Kakashi lunged forward, intending to bypass Menma and extract Naruto.
The next second, he froze.
Menma had caught the Lightning Blade kunai between two fingers and was simultaneously choking Kakashi mid-air.
So fast...
We're not even in the same league.
Kakashi's mind raced. The strength, the fighting style... it was just like Menma's. If Naruto weren't there, he might have thought this masked man was Menma.
As that thought crossed his mind, Menma leaned in close, his whisper chillingly clear in Kakashi's ear.
"Tch. You're really pissing me off..." Menma tilted his head forward. "Kakashi-sensei~"
"You are—!"
Before Kakashi could finish the name, a crimson light flashed beneath Menma's mask. Kakashi's mouth clamped shut, leaving him only able to grunt incoherently.
"Watch the show, or I'll kill you," Menma stated calmly. "Choose."
Menma released his grip, and Kakashi dropped to the ground. Rubbing his neck, he stood up, his expression complicated. After a moment of hesitation, he moved to stand obediently beside Menma.
"What are you planning?" Kakashi asked, keeping his voice low. "And what about Sasuke and Sakura?"
Menma glanced at him. "Just watch. You'll know soon enough."
---
Elsewhere, Naruto stared at the five familiar faces before him, a sharp pain stabbing through his heart. He kept shouting questions, his face a mask of despair and grief.
Pain frowned as he watched Naruto's state. "You think this is a betrayal by your comrades? How naive." He paused, his gaze shifting slightly. "But if that's the case, maybe we don't need to follow Menma's plan. We can just capture them directly."
Pain's gaze shifted. From the sleeves of the other five bodies, slender black rods slid out, which they grasped in their hands. They charged the crying Naruto.
Naruto dodged the attacks, quickly regaining his composure, and his expression hardened. "Perverted Sage, Sasuke, Sakura, Uncle Teuchi, Iruka Umino... I'll defeat you all and bring you back to the right path!"
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Naruto barely finished speaking before the Animal Path's "Sakura" caught him off guard, kicking him to the ground. The other four Paths descended, pinning his hands and feet with black receivers.
"Too easy?" Pain muttered. "He didn't even use the Nine-Tails' power. This is completely different from the plan. Is Menma plotting something?"
Having easily subdued Naruto, Pain turned his wary gaze toward Menma, who, seeing Pain look over, shook his head and retreated a considerable distance with Kakashi.
"They deliberately moved away..." Pain wondered aloud.
Suddenly, a powerful chakra fluctuation erupted.
He turned to see Naruto, pinned to the ground, surging with crimson Nine-Tails chakra. Tails appeared one after another at a visible speed.
"Finally using the Nine-Tails' power," Pain breathed a sigh of relief. It was exactly as Menma had predicted; no unexpected changes.
Meanwhile, in Naruto's mindscape, the Nine-Tails' voice echoed. "Hahaha... Useless brat. Now that Menma is gone, you've come to me?"
"How pathetic. You don't even have the power to protect yourself and your friends."
"It's a good thing you're the primary personality of this body. If it were Menma, I wouldn't get to see such a good show!"
"However... seeing how sincerely you requested it, I'll lend you some power, useless main personality~"
"Hahaha..."
---