Because the failure of these people meant they had completely lost track of the Six-Tails Jinchuriki—Utakata. Previously, they had barely managed to lock onto Utakata's location by trailing behind these Mist ninja.
Now, whether Utakata was still within the Land of Spring was a big question mark. Of course, what Kabuto Yakushi didn't know was that precisely because of his trackers, the Mist ninja chasing Utakata had also temporarily given up their pursuit, creating a momentary gap.
Instead, this led to the Cloud ninja engaging in a great battle with Utakata.
These Mist ninja found it hard to catch up immediately. After all, initially, the Mist ninja didn't know who was tracking them, how many there were, or what their strength was. It was absolutely impossible to split up. In their view, those capable of searching for their approximate location and daring to track them were highly likely special forces from the other four major ninja villages. If they weren't cautious enough, it would be easy for the whole army to be wiped out.
Therefore, under this back-and-forth time drag...
The Leaf Anbu arrived at the scene of the battle between the Cloud ninja and Utakata even earlier than the Mist ninja.
Now, it was directly entering a three-way, or possibly even four-way or five-way battle royale mode.
"Is it completely impossible to determine Utakata-san's location now? Kabuto-san?"
Menma, standing to the side, looked at Kabuto calmly and asked.
"I am very sorry, Menma-kun. The trackers have been discovered by the Mist ninja side. Now we can only rely on the last information to search. Why don't you wait another day or two, Menma-kun? Once the personnel dispatched by Lord Orochimaru arrive, I will definitely find Utakata-san's location again in the shortest possible time!"
Kabuto took a deep breath, forcing a smile to meet Menma's condescending, scrutinizing gaze, and replied in a deep voice.
"Wait another day or two?"
A noncommittal expression appeared on Menma's face. Logically speaking, without precise intelligence, temporarily giving up this operation and letting Kabuto arrange personnel to collect information further was the correct approach.
If Utakata's location could be reacquired, then take action.
If not...
It would be best for everyone to go home.
After all, wandering around the ninja world for too long right now could easily lead to problems. He wasn't yet sure if he could withstand the Nine-Tails' chakra 100%. The Flying Thunder God Technique was currently stuck at theoretical understanding on paper, without actual training started. The advanced training of the Rasenringu wasn't completed either, and the potential of his Uzumaki bloodline wasn't fully developed or excavated.
Once he encountered a particularly strong enemy or a large number of enemies, the risk would be very high.
However, Utakata's existence held significant meaning and function for Menma's upcoming plans. The most direct point was support in terms of combat power, not to mention other hidden benefits. Menma estimated that with his current strength, while there were indeed a few people in the ninja world who could defeat him, killing or capturing him alive would be extremely difficult.
After pondering in his heart for just a moment...
"Let's go. Don't wait for anyone. Go directly to the place where Utakata-san's tracks were last learned and where he fought the Mist ninja. We will search personally. If we wait any longer, I'm afraid this effort will be wasted!"
Menma jumped down from the giant rock on the left, arriving directly beside Kabuto, and spoke with an unquestionable look.
"Ah? Menma-kun, wouldn't that be..."
Hearing Menma's words, Kabuto subconsciously wanted to retort directly.
But before he could finish...
"Let's go, Kabuto-san."
Menma waved his hand directly, interrupting Kabuto.
Whoosh
Exploding chakra from the soles of his feet...
He sped rapidly toward the east.
That was the direction where Orochimaru's tracking subordinates last lost the intelligence. The specific location was still quite a distance from where they were now. If they rushed there quickly, they might still be able to gather more intelligence.
Menma wouldn't allow himself to return empty-handed this time.
"This?"
Watching Menma's figure speeding away...
After his expression changed two or three times, Kabuto could only flicker and follow closely.
Even setting aside his Lord Orochimaru's orders, just the dangerous aura faintly revealed under Menma's calm words forced Kabuto to brace himself and act with Menma.
Otherwise, Kabuto truly suspected that if Menma were in a bad mood, he might just cut him down directly. Never think this is impossible.
How old was Menma!?
13!
Kabuto felt it would be perfectly normal for a boy of this age to do anything.
Two figures flashing rapidly.
Along the way, they made no stops, heading straight for Utakata's last tracked location.
But after speeding for less than twenty minutes...
Suddenly.
In the northeast direction ahead...
Menma's massive sensory perception, which was spread out, suddenly detected an extremely majestic but very weak chakra aura.
This feeling!?
This wasn't chakra an ordinary human could possess.
In less than a second...
Menma judged that the owner of this chakra aura rapidly approaching his direction was 99% likely a Jinchuriki.
And at this moment.
In the Land of Spring.
Who else could it be!?
It was almost certainly that Utakata-san.
Of course, this Utakata-san couldn't sense Menma's existence. The difference in perception levels between the two was immense.
Currently, this was almost the maximum range of Menma's sensory radius.
Hoh hoh? There are others behind? Mist ninja pursuers? But do those people have the strength to heavily injure Utakata?
After a short while, Menma further sensed another group of chakra auras following behind Utakata.
Connecting the dots, Menma could solidly make the most accurate judgment.
"Ah? Menma-kun? Why stop suddenly? Did you discover something?"
Kabuto, following closely behind Menma, saw Menma stop abruptly and remain in place, looking in a certain direction with a look of surprise on his face. He immediately guessed that Menma might have sensed something.
Regarding Menma's perception...
Kabuto had experienced it several times.
His Lord Orochimaru had also said that Menma perfectly inherited the Uzumaki bloodline, possibly even possessing the ability to sense the aura and chakra fluctuations of all living beings within a very exaggerated range, just like Mito Uzumaki back then.
"Heh, it truly takes no effort to get what one looks for. Once luck arrives, nothing can stop it. Let's go, Kabuto-san. We can go meet this Utakata-san!"
Menma chuckled lightly, joy clearly evident in his words.
Whoosh
Tapping his toes lightly, he changed direction rapidly, speeding toward the direction Utakata came from.
"Hmm!?"
Kabuto was stunned at first.
While subconsciously stepping to follow, he reacted a second or two later, a look of surprise also appearing on his face.
Could there really be such a coincidence!?
A distance of ten or twenty kilometers might take an ordinary person an hour or two to walk, but for a ninja, it was a journey that could be crossed in less than a few minutes.
Utakata, who couldn't sense Menma before...
With Menma actively closing the distance, detected Menma's chakra fluctuations once he entered a certain range.
Pursuers behind, interception ahead.
More importantly, the terrifying chakra fluctuations emitted by Menma...
Made Utakata's expression unprecedentedly ugly.
But this was obviously already a very close distance; avoiding it was impossible. Utakata revealed a rare look of determination.
Even if both jade and stone burned together, he absolutely wouldn't let these people hunting him have it easy!
However, the next second.
When Menma's clear and immature face entered Utakata's view, this Six-Tails Jinchuriki was directly stunned for a second or two.
Anyone who wasn't blind could see that Menma was absolutely just a boy in his early teens.
But such a massive wave of chakra...
In that moment, Utakata seemed a bit unable to process it. But just a few seconds later...
Looking at Menma's red hair, the amount of chakra impossible for a human to possess, and this overly young face...
Utakata reacted.
Associating it directly with the major event that happened last year concerning the safety of the Hidden Leaf Village.
Although Utakata was a rogue ninja without much free time, he had more or less heard of major events related to the Leaf, a top existence in the ninja world.
Not to mention the fueling by the Hidden Sand and other ninja villages.
It would be strange if others didn't know this news.
This was an obviously guessable identity.
"Heh, this should be Utakata-san, right? Nice to meet you, I am Menma Uzumaki."
The next second.
Menma smiled and introduced himself.
It really is that Nine-Tails Jinchuriki!
Hearing Menma's words...
Utakata's expression shook instantly.
Running into this famous rogue ninja of the Hidden Leaf under such circumstances, Utakata really couldn't describe his mood at the moment.
Because looking at Menma Uzumaki's posture, he was clearly coming for him.
"Menma Uzumaki, Nine-Tails Jinchuriki? I wonder what your purpose is in coming here!?"
Being hunted, and forced to injure himself heavily...
The current Utakata was like a wounded beast, facing everything with a hostile attitude.
Even though Menma looked devoid of hostility and very amiable right now, Utakata still faced him with the most vigilant posture. Not to mention Kabuto standing beside Menma didn't look like a good person no matter how you looked at it.
Menma didn't mind Utakata's vigilance. If it were him being hunted and suddenly blocked by a stranger, he would definitely be 100% on guard.
"Heh, naturally, I have important matters to discuss with Utakata-san. Of course, I won't coerce Utakata-san in any way. However, no rush for now. Let's deal with that group of flies behind first, then we can have a good talk."
Menma chuckled lightly. The words spoken afterward...
The current Utakata naturally didn't believe a word, but when the second half of the sentence was spoken...
Utakata's mind couldn't help but shudder.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
The next second.
In the direction Utakata just came from...
Four or five figures flashed into view.
And upon seeing the face of the leader, a look of faint surprise appeared in Menma's pupils.
Cloud ninja!? And the leader is that future Fifth Raikage?
The ones pursuing Utakata were actually Cloud ninja.
Before seeing it with his own eyes...
Menma really hadn't expected it.
There was no such plot in the original story, but considering the style of that Fourth Raikage, such an occurrence seemed very normal.
Didn't that Fourth Raikage hope to obtain everything that could strengthen his ninja village's power!?
No ninja village would complain about having too many Tailed Beasts.
Back then, if the Hidden Sand hadn't been too poor to afford two Tailed Beasts, the Seven-Tails would never have fallen into the Hidden Waterfall's hands.
The First Hokage's initial meaning was to keep the Nine-Tails for themselves and sell the other eight Tailed Beasts equally to the four major ninja villages.
The Hidden Cloud profited slightly, as the Eight-Tails was obviously stronger than the other seven Tailed Beasts.
"Menma Uzumaki!?"
Opposite him, Darui's pupils contracted abruptly upon seeing Menma. As a confidant of the Fourth Raikage and the recognized heir to the next Raikage in the Hidden Cloud, Darui couldn't possibly be unaware of any intelligence in the ninja world known to his village.
Menma Uzumaki, a Tailed Beast Jinchuriki his Raikage desired greatly...
Even seeing him for the first time, Darui was absolutely familiar with him.
Why is this guy here?
If he met Menma on another occasion, Darui would feel very happy because he could capture this Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. But now it was different. His side had suffered heavy losses, there was a Six-Tails Jinchuriki below, and now he encountered a Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.
And Kabuto Yakushi following closely beside Menma didn't look like an easily dealt with good person either.
"I'll handle those guys. Kabuto-san, please trouble yourself to treat Utakata-san. Utakata-san, please wait a moment; I have no malicious intent!"
Menma smiled lightly. After saying the second half to Utakata...
Boom!
Chakra vented directly.
Covered by the crimson Nine-Tails chakra cloak.
Whoosh!
With a leap...
He assaulted Darui and the other Cloud ninja not far away directly and rapidly.
Ravaging chakra.
Berserk posture.
Just the simplest chakra cloak.
But the aura Menma emitted at this moment was enough to make Darui opposite him tense up.
He wasn't in his prime right now.
In the previous battle with Utakata, he had suffered some degree of damage. Most importantly, chakra consumption. Darui wasn't a human Tailed Beast like Kisame Hoshigaki.
His current chakra was only one-third of his total.
The surrounding three or four Cloud ninja were all injured.
"Damn it, retreat!"
After weighing the situation for a moment...
Darui issued the retreat order directly.
"Want to leave!? Not that easy!"
"Summoning Jutsu!"
Menma sneered coldly, bit his finger directly, and pressed into the void.
Poof!
A huge cloud of white smoke appeared out of thin air.
The next second.
A giant dark green lizard appeared accordingly.
"Urushi, stop those guys!"
"Yes, Lord Menma!"
The summoned Urushi intercepted strongly on the Cloud ninja's retreat path immediately.
That massive body.
The terrifying aura permeating from head to toe.
With just a glance...
Darui could judge that this summon beast's strength was absolutely not much weaker than his prime state.
Even in a one-on-one in perfect form, dealing with this summon beast wouldn't be a simple matter.
Let alone now.
"Lightning Style: Ground Runner!"
"Lightning Style: False Darkness!"
The two Cloud ninja at the very front formed seals rapidly at the same time.
Bursting lightning...
Assaulted Urushi the lizard directly and wildly.
Rumble!!
Visible thick and long lightning bolts.
Urushi the lizard leaped up, dodging one of the assaults.
Chakra erupted accordingly.
The ground shook.
Layers of earth surface were lifted one after another, rolling toward the Cloud ninja's positions. Although slightly disadvantaged in chakra attribute...
The gap in strength.
The gap in jutsu scale.
Was enough to make up for the gap brought by attribute disadvantage, and even suppress them back.
Rolling rocks and soil pressed down like a giant wave.
While neutralizing the Lightning Style jutsu...
It further forced the positions of Darui and the few Cloud ninja.
Just these few critical seconds of obstruction.
Menma had already closed in.
"Ninja Art: Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Seals formed rapidly.
Whoosh!
Shuriken thrown violently.
As the jutsu was completed...
Hundreds and thousands of shadows appeared in mid-air.
The area covered...
Included almost all those Cloud ninja. As Menma's strength improved, his mastery of this jutsu became increasingly proficient.
Whether speed or range.
It was no longer what it used to be!
"Earth Style: Mud Wall."
Except for Darui, who reacted very quickly to dodge, and another Cloud ninja with fast seal speed and lighter injuries who formed seals rapidly to create a wall perfectly shielding himself...
The remaining three Cloud ninja had no time to evade at all.