From his mid-air leap...
Clap.
He slammed his hands together.
"Wind Style: Storm Blade Technique."
The hand seals were completed in a flash.
From all four directions...
Winds roared and converged.
Since choosing to leave with Orochimaru and temporarily stay with him, Menma had no need to worry about the quantity of standard Five Nature Transformation jutsu he could learn.
S-rank forbidden jutsu and secret techniques required negotiation and trading with Orochimaru, or other means to acquire. But for Five Nature Transformation jutsu below A-rank, including some genjutsu and slightly more advanced taijutsu training, Orochimaru didn't care at all. If Menma mentioned it even slightly, Orochimaru would wave his hand and directly give Menma countless ninjutsu scrolls.
And with his naturally strong talent for jutsu, plus the cheat that was the Shadow Clone Technique...
Menma's speed in learning ninjutsu far exceeded that of almost all other ninja.
Jutsu unleashed with practiced ease.
As the bombardment rained down...
The remaining few Root members dodged rapidly, one by one, yet they still charged forward relentlessly, launching their fiercest attacks at Menma.
In the orders of Root, there was no option for retreat.
Even if all their comrades died in battle, they had to fall on the path to completing the mission.
"Damn it!"
Witnessing the clash before him...
Kakashi knew very well that he, too, had no room for choice.
With a leap...
He also pressed forward urgently toward Menma's position. Even if they were Root members under Danzo, they were still Leaf ninja.
Kakashi couldn't just stand by and watch Menma kill these Root ninja right in front of him.
Facing Kakashi, who was closing in for a pincer attack...
Menma's expression remained unchanged.
"Shadow Clone Technique."
Shadow clones were released directly.
Poof.
Poof.
Poof.
He didn't need many.
Just three or four clones.
Fanning out to surround and attack...
In the very first moment, they suppressed the four incoming Root members.
Meanwhile, Menma's main body turned and moved directly into close range with Kakashi.
Swish!
From top to bottom.
His arm smashed down fiercely.
Kakashi's gaze focused sharply.
He raised both arms to block directly.
Bang!
After a heavy thud...
The shockwave of power rippled out.
Causing Kakashi's expression to change involuntarily.
In just half a month...
Kakashi could clearly feel that the current Menma seemed even stronger than during the Chunin Exams.
Especially that swirling cloak of crimson chakra surging all over his body.
It was so blinding, so majestic, so heart-palpitating.
The Sharingan spinning in Kakashi's eye met the gaze, attempting to suppress Menma through its power.
This blatant, completely transparent intention.
"Kakashi, your Sharingan isn't qualified yet."
Menma stared back recklessly.
A trace of ridicule appeared in the corner of his eye.
Boom!
Applying further pressure.
His arm hammered down with force.
"Ugh!?"
The moment he felt that massive power transfer...
Kakashi's body flew backward uncontrollably at high speed.
Toward the water surface below.
Swish!
Thud!
Just as he was about to crash in...
Kakashi stabilized himself in mid-air, adjusted, and landed smoothly on the water's surface.
Out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed...
The remaining four Root members were already completely bogged down in a bitter struggle.
Danzo had, after all, underestimated the strength of Menma and Sasuke far too much.
The strength of the Root members he dispatched was based solely on the standard level of a rogue Jonin.
A special squad of one Jonin leading several Chunin stood absolutely no chance against Menma.
Of course, this special squad might not have been specifically targeting Menma, but upon encountering him...
Their fate was sealed.
And on the other side, whether it was Shikamaru or Naruto, they were being firmly suppressed as well.
Especially on Naruto's side.
Sasuke, whose strength had increased further...
Facing Naruto without the Nine-Tails chakra, truly achieved an all-around advantage in suppression. His Sharingan, now successfully evolved to the three-tomoe stage, perfectly predicted every one of Naruto's moves.
In just over ten minutes of fighting, Naruto was already wounded.
This caused Kakashi, who witnessed the scene, to reveal a look of anxiety.
Menma's ruthlessness.
Sasuke's resolve.
These things made Kakashi's heart sink completely to rock bottom. The current Kakashi no longer held any delusions; he felt even more strongly that if given the chance, Menma and Sasuke would one hundred percent go for the kill.
But the current Kakashi had no spare energy to worry about Naruto's side.
Just as he landed...
Whoosh!
From above...
Menma was already upon him.
Swish!
Swish!
Swish!
Swish!
Countless shuriken flew at him, blotting out the sky.
"Water Style: Water Shockwave Technique." [Note: "Water Shockwave" or similar names are common. Given context, it's a defensive/offensive wave jutsu. "Water Colliding Wave" is another potential translation depending on the exact kanji, but "Water Shockwave" fits well.]
Kakashi was forced to form hand seals immediately.
Water surged up directly.
Splash!
Forcibly scattering the incoming shuriken.
Immediately following...
"Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Technique."
Again, hand seals completed at extreme speed.
A giant dragon roared to life.
Compared to the water dragon formed by that Root member earlier, not only was it half again as large, but its rushing speed was several degrees faster.
Whoosh!
Roar!
Charging in head-on...
Crack!
Menma showed no intention of retreating.
Surging Nine-Tails chakra.
Demon fox tails swinging to the extreme.
Bang!
In the moment they grew suddenly...
They lashed heavily against the incoming water dragon.
Under a pincer attack from above and below...
The water dragon was forcibly snapped.
Splash!
In an instant, it turned directly into a sky-full of rain, pouring down.
The powerful suppressive posture...
Made Kakashi's expression more solemn than ever before.
He truly hadn't expected that at just 12 years old, Menma could be this strong, even if it was relying on the power boost from the Nine-Tails chakra.
But this battlefield reaction, these jutsu released in succession...
Those were Menma's solid personal strength.
Not to mention, wasn't it only natural for a Jinchūriki to use the Tailed Beast's power!?
Boom!
Steps pounding forward.
A figure exposed within the Sharingan's vision.
Swish!
Bang!
With a heavy swing downward...
Although Kakashi could still keep up with Menma's speed and react quickly...
Swish!
Whoosh!!!
The immense force transmitted...
Was not something Kakashi could easily block or deflect.
His figure was forced to pull back again.
The next moment.
Menma bent forward, pressing in. With a twist of his right hand, a kunai appeared, stabbing fiercely straight for Kakashi's chest—his vital point.
A sharp and decisive attack.
Kakashi's pupils contracted.
Drawing a kunai simultaneously...
Clang!
While precisely blocking Menma's strike, a look of sorrow and guilt surfaced deep within his eyes.