Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
The five Rasengan impacts echoed through the devastated terrain. As the echoes faded, Naruto's Nine-Tails chakra completely receded into his body. He remained kneeling before the five fallen figures, resembling a soulless puppet.
Deep within the sealed space, a familiar notification rang in Menma's mind.
[Corruption Points +200,000]
[Current Corruption Points: 315,000]
[Main Personality Trust Dependence Value: 79% (Floor: 89%)]
[Primary personality emotional collapse. Host can perform personality switch at any time.]
'79% and 89%?'
Menma understood instantly. He had to intervene and force Naruto to admit the truth himself.
"Everything is set. It's time for my final act."
Taking a single step, Menma exited the sealed space and entered the mindscape.
In the center of the gray-white mental realm, Naruto was curled into a ball, hugging his knees. His usually bright eyes were empty, filled only with a dull, deathly stillness.
Menma looked down at him with a complex expression, then appeared directly in front of him.
Naruto sensed his presence and raised his head numbly.
"You… my brother?"
He was only slightly shocked for a moment before the numbness returned. He buried his head in his legs and ignored the figure, assuming it was just a hallucination caused by his grief.
Menma shook his head and grabbed Naruto, yanking him to his feet.
"Naruto, you really messed this up."
The familiar voice and touch shattered Naruto's denial. Shock and disbelief twisted his face.
"You… you're really here? You're really my brother?"
Naruto's voice trembled uncontrollably. He clung to Menma's arm like a child.
"But you were sealed! The white-clad Shinigami! Reaper Death Seal swallowed you whole!"
Feeling the tangible reality of Menma's grip, Naruto's expression crumbled again. The grief returned, ten times stronger.
"You weren't sealed! You weren't sealed!"
He screamed hysterically, clawing at Menma's arm.
"Why?! Why didn't you show up?! Why did you just watch?!"
"Jiraiya, Sasuke, Sakura, Guy-sensei… Iruka… why did you let them die?!"
"You had the power to stop it! You could have killed them all!"
"Answer me! Why didn't you do anything?!"
Naruto raged like a storm, grabbing and scratching, his tears falling hot against Menma's skin — a child screaming at a parent who failed him.
Menma remained indifferent, releasing his grip and letting Naruto drop to the ground.
"You look pathetic, Naruto."
Naruto froze. He looked up, trembling.
"Blaming your weakness on others? Is that what you learned while I was gone?"
"Disappointing."
"I didn't!" Naruto howled hoarsely. "You were the one who stood by! You watched them die! You had the power, but you did nothing!"
"It was you! It was you! It was you! Waaaah!"
Naruto pounded the ground with his fists, sobbing uncontrollably.
Under Menma's cold gaze, Naruto cried for a long time until his rage slowly shifted into self-loathing.
"I'm sorry… I'm sorry…"
"I know I shouldn't blame you… I just…"
"I'm a bastard… a useless piece of trash…"
"I couldn't protect anyone… waaaah…"
Naruto had seen Menma get sealed and assumed he had only just broken free.
"Yes," Menma crouched close to Naruto's ear. "It's all your fault, Naruto."
"My fault…?" Naruto looked up, eyes wide with disbelief. He expected comfort, not confirmation.
Menma chuckled, lifting Naruto's chin to force eye contact.
"Do you know, Naruto? All the misfortunes in this world are caused by the inadequacy of the people involved."
"If you hadn't been so weak… if you hadn't been so easily bullied… Sakura wouldn't have been kidnapped. The enemies wouldn't have dared touch you."
"Jiraiya, Sasuke… they wouldn't have died at your feet."
"It's all because you're weak. It's all your fault, isn't it?"
"It's my fault…" Images of the five deaths flashed through Naruto's mind. The suffocating grief washed over him again.
"If I were strong… if I were as strong as my brother…"
"If I weren't the primary personality…"
"That's right," Menma's lips curled into a cruel smile. "If you had just relinquished your spot from the beginning, the sealing would never have happened."
"Jiraiya and the others would have been safe with me. But because of your selfishness, they died."
"They were killed by the guilty, pathetic Naruto."
"It's all my fault… I killed them…" The light faded from Naruto's eyes.
"I shouldn't be the primary personality… I'm too selfish."
"Brother should be the primary personality… It should be Menma… It has to be Menma…"
An aura of despair saturated the air. The gray and white mindscape turned pitch black, swallowing all light.
Simultaneously, a pleasant chime rang in Menma's mind.
[Corruption Points +100,000]
[Current Corruption Points: 315,000]
[Main Personality Trust Dependence Value: 89% (Floor: 89%)]
[System Notification: Trust Level exceeded 80%. Host detected. Does the host wish to swap identities with the primary personality?]
"Finally…"
Menma released Naruto's chin, throwing his head back and laughing maniacally.
"Agree! Swap! Now!"
Whoosh!
A blinding light erupted behind Menma.
In the blink of an eye, half the mindscape turned snow-white, corresponding to the absolute darkness behind Naruto.
The identity swap annihilated the torment swelling in Menma's chest. It felt like shackles breaking, like a burning fire being extinguished.
Outside, in the real world.
Pain, the Deva Path, pulled the upper half of his body from the ground.
He looked at Naruto, kneeling and devoid of Nine-Tails chakra, and a rare flicker of joy crossed his face.
Just then, a figure fell from the sky. It was the Fūma clansman Pain had designated as the Animal Path earlier.
The moment the Animal Path landed, it slammed a hand onto the ground.
Thud.
The original Five Paths of Pain stood there once more.
The five bodies Naruto had destroyed were hastily created prototypes. The originals had been waiting outside the Hidden Leaf.
With the plan succeeding, it was time to deploy the real deal.
But just as they moved to take Naruto away, Menma finally made his move, stepping forward to block their path.
"The first phase of the plan is a success."
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Before he could finish, Zabuza and his three companions—who had been blocking the village ninjas—appeared behind Menma.
Menma instantly revealed eight massive fox tails and removed the mask he had worn for so long.
"Unfortunately, Nagato… you won't be part of the second phase."
---
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