"Ryoma!"
A low shout fell.
Whoosh!
To the side.
A tall and straight figure flashed into view.
Kneeling on one knee before Danzo.
"Take two squads to the Land of Spring personally. Bring Shen and Hai along too. Persuasion is best, but if that doesn't work, the methods don't matter. This old man just wants to see the Six-Tails brought back smoothly. Understood!?"
Danzo looked at the Jonin who appeared before him—the one he trusted most and currently the strongest in Root—and spoke in an extremely cold tone.
How strong a Tailed Beast was...
Danzo was certainly clear.
If he had misjudged Menma before...
Now, facing this Six-Tails Jinchuriki who defected from the Hidden Mist Village, Danzo wouldn't make such a low-level error in judgment.
With a Jonin whose strength almost reached the top tier of Jonin, plus two most elite Root squads, and special talents proficient in sealing jutsu, Danzo believed that even if the Six-Tails fully transformed, they should have the power to fight.
Moreover, they could completely play the oriole stalking the mantis, not rushing to act.
Danzo believed his subordinate would understand his meaning.
"Yes, Danzo-sama. Please rest assured!"
The man named Ryoma replied in the steadiest voice.
"Mhm, then I leave everything to you, Ryoma!"
Danzo nodded with satisfaction.
Since Ryoma joined Root, he had never disappointed Danzo in any mission. This time, Danzo also believed he would bring back good news.
"Yes!"
After bowing abruptly in response...
Ryoma flickered and disappeared directly from the spot.
Just a few minutes later.
Whoosh
Whoosh
Whoosh
Whoosh
In the eastern wilderness of the ninja village.
More than ten figures dressed entirely in standard Anbu black attire sped out from here, heading straight south.
Not long after these people left the Hidden Leaf Village...
At the Hokage Building.
Tsunade received the news.
"Sure enough, this old thing couldn't hold back!"
Tsunade sat in her Hokage seat, listening to the information sent by the defense personnel. A look of "as expected" appeared in her beautiful eyes.
The current Hidden Leaf Village couldn't be compared to before at all.
Tsunade knew her own affairs.
Even though she was the Hokage...
While the people below might not be clear about every order she issued, Homura Mitokado, Koharu Utatane, and Danzo Shimura would definitely know.
They were all elders who had held power in the ninja village for decades.
Every corner of the village, every department bore their imprint. Tsunade couldn't stop this at all unless she forcibly removed the three from their positions, imprisoned them all, and then conducted a major purge of various departments in the Hidden Leaf Village. Otherwise, Tsunade couldn't control the village's power 100%.
But if she did that...
The entire ninja village would inevitably fall into chaos. This was a situation Tsunade absolutely didn't want to see and couldn't accept.
She didn't have the ability or prestige to suppress everything.
Even taking a step back, if she could really make up her mind, even her staunchest supporters like Jiraiya and Shikaku might not necessarily support her.
She wasn't Hiruzen Sarutobi, after all.
That Third Hokage was unwilling to do it.
Tsunade couldn't do it.
The stability of the ninja village was the key point above all else.
"Tsunade-sama, what should we do now? Send someone to intercept directly?"
Shizune on the side asked with a look of worry.
"No, sending someone to intercept is meaningless. Leaving aside other things, that guy Danzo definitely sent out the most elite group from Root this time. We can't spare the necessary strength to intercept them now. Shizune, pass the news to Jiraiya. Let Jiraiya judge on the spot!"
Tsunade frowned in thought for a while, but ultimately shook her head slowly.
This wasn't the issue of Menma and Sasuke, after all. It was just the Six-Tails Jinchuriki. Although it would involve the Hidden Mist Village, in Tsunade's view, this wasn't a particularly big problem; there was no need to really clash head-on with Danzo.
And most importantly, Tsunade had already received feedback that Jiraiya was heading south to the "Land of Spring." With her close friend there, Tsunade didn't think these Root people could stir up any waves.
"Yes, Tsunade-sama!"
Shizune nodded understandingly, then strode away to convey Tsunade's order.
Forces converging from all sides.
This development had clearly exceeded the expectations of a large portion of people.
Including Menma, who couldn't have predicted it.
Heading south all the way, he completely avoided the main roads. Even if it consumed more chakra, Menma traveled as much as possible during the day with a changed appearance, ultimately guarding against possible unexpected situations.
Throughout the journey, he spread his sensory perception.
Monitoring his surroundings at all times.
He wasn't very worried about others, but for those elusive White Zetsu, Menma had to be 10,000% alert. Currently, he absolutely wouldn't allow these White Zetsu to detect his tracks at any time.
The agreed location should be here, right?
After spending a full day or so...
Menma crossed almost half the continent, arriving directly at a coastal location in the southernmost part of the Land of Fire.
This was also the shortest route among the selected ones that avoided the main roads.
Looking around, not a single person was visible at this moment.
But with just a slight sensing, Menma easily locked onto a shadowed position in the woods to the right of the coast.
"Heh, Menma-kun is still so sharp, discovering my position so quickly."
Almost at the instant Menma's gaze fixed...
A familiar chuckle came from behind the woods.
The next second.
Kabuto Yakushi's familiar slender figure stepped out from within.
"Don't forget my surname, Kabuto-san. Within my sensory range, no one can escape my lock."
Menma looked at Kabuto with a faint expression. The words were clearly deliberately laced with a warning tone.
That evident chill...
Made Kabuto's face change slightly as well.
To be honest, his concealment just now was indeed intentional. Kabuto wanted to see how high Menma's strength had grown, and he could tell a bit from perception and reconnaissance aspects.
Not Orochimaru's instruction, but Kabuto's unilateral action.
But he hadn't expected Menma not only to have sharper perception than before but also to see through his intention at a glance. This made Kabuto's heart tighten a bit, but only for a second or two. Kabuto adjusted back immediately.
Still wearing that smiling expression, he said, "Worthy of Menma-kun indeed!"
As if he hadn't heard the underlying meaning in Menma's words at all.
This ability to switch masks and mindsets easily anytime, anywhere... honestly speaking, worthy of a top-tier spy. No wonder Orochimaru valued Kabuto so much; this guy was simply too outstanding.
Excellent espionage reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance abilities, top-notch medical jutsu standards, outstanding auxiliary experimental capabilities.
Taking any one out alone would make an excellent ninja, let alone combining all three in one person.
Menma increasingly wanted to obtain Kabuto.
Of course, this thought was just for a moment.
Menma was very self-aware. He absolutely couldn't subdue Kabuto. Don't look at this guy's kindly face; he was equally proud in his bones.
Such a person wouldn't easily submit to others.
The reason Orochimaru could do it was that he picked a suitable node. In fact, Kabuto might not even be perfectly obedient to Orochimaru in the truest sense.
At least compared to Kimimaro, Guren, and the Sound Four, he was definitely lacking a bit.
Only Danzo Shimura truly had the chance to make this unique genius submit to him completely back then. But unfortunately, Danzo chose the wrong method, and Nonoyu Yakushi's death made Kabuto's heart die completely.
However, if Danzo didn't do that, he wouldn't be Danzo.
"Alright, enough nonsense. Can Utakata's position still be locked in the Land of Spring?"
Menma waved his hand, skipping the topic directly and cutting to the main point.
"Currently, yes. Just that the specific location can't be determined yet."
Kabuto pushed up his glasses and replied softly.
"What about that Mist ninja squad? In the previous battle, did anyone die?"
Although he had the plot of the original story as a reference...
Menma still needed to grasp as much firsthand information as possible.
"Judging from the traces at the scene, only people on the Mist ninja side were injured; no one died. This can also be seen from the subsequent pursuit. There was no deviation in numbers, and there were no signs of the Hidden Mist Village sending additional reinforcements."
Kabuto knew very well what Menma's questioning meant.
He smiled lightly and answered immediately.
"Hmph, then it seems it's about the same as expected. Rogue ninja? Not particularly thorough, huh? Or perhaps there's someone with a special relationship to this Utakata-san in this pursuit squad."
Menma snorted lightly.
"Then, what is Menma-kun's plan?"
Kabuto still spoke with that smiling expression.
"Plan? That has to wait until I see this Utakata-san first. Let's go, Kabuto-san. Next, I'll leave it to you."
Menma raised his eyebrows, looking at Kabuto with an indifferent gaze.
"Please rest assured, Menma-kun. Leave the rest to me!"
Kabuto responded immediately.