For most people, this information would be meaningless—something no one would even believe. But to Orochimaru, it was priceless.
Years ago, he had researched the Byakugan.
If the Sharingan could evolve, why couldn't the Byakugan—the other so-called supreme dojutsu—do the same?
The problem was the lack of solid data to guide him. The Byakugan never seemed as impressive as the Sharingan, and it was far harder to obtain. Over time, Orochimaru had quietly abandoned the project.
That changed when Menma brought it up again and pointed him in a promising new direction. As a mad scientist, Orochimaru immediately restarted the research. For someone like him, difficulty was never the issue. What he feared was having no clear path or goal.
Now that he had a definite target, he pursued it relentlessly. The Byakugan project had finally reached a critical stage.
Through repeated hypothetical experiments, Orochimaru had proven that the Byakugan could indeed evolve.
And it wasn't just the simple tomoe progression like the Sharingan. It was a fundamental transformation on the level of the Mangekyo Sharingan.
This discovery ignited Orochimaru's deepest greed for this supreme ocular power.
In his view, only a Byakugan with this kind of potential deserved to stand beside the Sharingan as one of the ultimate dojutsu.
However, he was still only at the beginning.
To further prove his theory, he needed more Byakugan—and more Hyuga bloodline.
A main-branch Hyuga.
That had become Orochimaru's top priority for this operation.
After months of study, he had discovered that—just like the Sharingan's tomoe evolution—the key to the Byakugan's growth lay in its purity.
It was a purer manifestation of the bloodline's power, and the focus of his current research.
Could increasing the Byakugan's purity trigger its evolution? There weren't many methods, but cellular recombination and genetic adjustment were his primary tools.
If that failed, he had one last backup plan—thanks to a hint from Menma.
If the Mangekyo Sharingan could evolve further by fusing the origin of its ocular power, could the Byakugan do the same?
And if so, would it require two eyes like the Sharingan… or more?
These were the questions Orochimaru burned to answer. He had a strong intuition that unlocking the Byakugan's true origin might be one of the keys to understanding everything.
Only Orochimaru could have made this much progress in such a short time with so little concrete data. And only Orochimaru would have trusted Menma enough to pursue it.
That was why, in this operation, obtaining a main-branch Hyuga's Byakugan was non-negotiable for him.
"Mmm, excellent. Ideally, I'd like to get Hiashi's eyes. They should have exceptionally high purity within the Hyuga clan…"
Orochimaru gazed toward the direction of the Hidden Leaf Village. His narrow snake-like pupils gleamed with burning greed.
"Oh, right. There's one other piece of minor information, Lord Orochimaru. The Fourth Hokage's other son—Naruto—has secretly left the Hidden Leaf Village. And he did it under Tsunade's orders for twenty-four-hour ANBU surveillance. His whereabouts are still unknown."
Kabuto suddenly remembered something. The corner of his mouth curved into a faint smile as he looked at Orochimaru.
"Hm? That boy, Minato's other son? Heh… looks like he's in a hurry to find his big brother. Well, it's not particularly important, but it depends on who you ask. Go ahead and pass it along to Menma-kun. He should care at least a little about this younger brother of his."
Orochimaru raised an eyebrow, his expression playful and unconcerned.
"Yes, Lord Orochimaru."
Kabuto bowed slightly, still smiling.
"Oh, and don't forget to notify Sasuke-kun. He can proceed with that matter we discussed. Tell him time is running out."
Orochimaru smiled meaningfully.
Kabuto paused for a moment, then nodded with a grin. "Understood, Lord Orochimaru."
Different gazes converged on different targets.
Different people launched different actions.
In the midst of this storm, any prediction could change in an instant.
Far away in the Hidden Waterfall Village, Menma had no idea how far the situation in the ninja world had already spiraled beyond his expectations.
And he certainly didn't know just how stubborn his foolish little brother could be.
After leading the Waterfall shinobi to crush the Cloud army commanded by the Fourth Raikage, coordinating with the Grass shinobi to build a stronger defensive alliance, and deliberately spreading news of the Stone's attack on the Cloud, Menma's prestige within both villages skyrocketed.
Respect for the strong was instinct in this world—especially in one as cruel and bloody as the ninja world.
Only the strong could protect them and bring them greater benefits.
From this moment on, Menma had essentially become the core figure of both villages.
All that was missing now was the right title and the right moment.
In fact, if Menma wanted, he could claim the top position at any time.
But for now, he had to hold back.
The external threats hadn't been fully resolved yet. There was no need to stir up internal turmoil—even if it was controllable.
The current situation was clear: they needed stability, not movement.
They already held the initiative. Now they could simply watch how the other villages reacted and respond accordingly.
Taking advantage of this brief calm, Menma decided to handle a few more necessary preparations.
For example, the Two-Tails Jinchuriki they had captured from the Cloud.
It was time to deal with her properly.
Once something fell into his hands, Menma had no intention of giving it back—even if it meant becoming a prime target for Nagato and Obito later. After all, he was already the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki. Worrying about that was pointless.
Beyond the fact that the Two-Tails represented another Kage-level fighter, there was something far more important.
Menma's next major step—aside from Sage Mode—depended heavily on the chakra of the Tailed Beasts.
He hadn't been completely sure before, but now he was one hundred percent certain: he was not the reincarnation of Asura's chakra. That power still resided with his foolish little brother.
That meant even if he later mastered Sage Mode and perfectly fused it with Nine-Tails Chakra Mode to reach Sage of Six Paths Fox Chakra Mode, he would probably only reach the level Hashirama and Madara had achieved.
At best, he might be slightly stronger than them—the so-called tier above Kage but below Six Paths.
To truly break through that wall and reach the perfect Ōtsutsuki main-family level—like Kaguya after she consumed the Chakra Fruit and evolved into an almost immortal form—Menma would still need external help.
Collecting the chakra of all Nine Tailed Beasts was the path he had chosen.
Since he couldn't resurrect the Ten-Tails himself, Menma planned to gather the chakra of the Nine Tailed Beasts and see if he could artificially create a "mini-Ten-Tails."
Of course, this was only a theory for now.
And even if he succeeded, it probably still wouldn't be enough.
The Six Paths level wasn't something you could break through so easily. That was why it was called the chasm between "god" and "mortal."
And the height Menma aimed for wasn't the weakened version that Hagoromo had achieved. He wanted the true main-family Ōtsutsuki level—the same as Kaguya after she swallowed the Chakra Fruit and evolved into her perfect, near-immortal form.
Only then would he have the confidence to face every enemy that came his way.
Only then would he have the right to say he could one day roam the stars and chase that seemingly unreachable—but perhaps not entirely impossible—dream.
So the "mini-Ten-Tails" was only the first step.
But it was the most critical one.
Menma had to achieve it before any of his future plans could truly begin.
Or perhaps he could work on it in parallel.
It all depended on whether the right opportunity appeared.
"So… Isobu is actually quite easy to talk to? Can I take that to mean what I think it does, Kurama?"
Inside the Hidden Waterfall Village, in Menma's private underground experimental area, he walked through the dimly lit corridor and spoke inside his mind to the Nine-Tails.
"Hmph. Compared to that idiot Shukaku, Isobu is indeed easier to talk to. But that's only under normal circumstances. Right now?"
The Nine-Tails gave a light snort, his tone calm.
"Well, if he's better than Shukaku, that's good enough. I believe Isobu will make the right choice. Because what I'm doing isn't just for myself—it's for all of you too, Kurama."
Menma smiled lightly and spoke aloud.
The Nine-Tails fell silent for a moment after hearing those words.
"Menma… are you serious? Someone really wants to resurrect that thing!?"
In the quiet, the Nine-Tails' voice grew noticeably heavier.
But the unmistakable anger—and the faint trace of fear—perfectly revealed how he felt right now.
Tailed Beasts were collections of chakra.
They were immortal.
Even if their jinchuriki died and dragged them into oblivion, they would reappear somewhere in the ninja world within a few years. This had been proven countless times over the past thousand years.
A recent example was the Three-Tails in the Hidden Mist.
When the Fourth Mizukage Yagura died too suddenly, the Mist shinobi didn't have time to extract the beast. The Three-Tails vanished along with him. But only a few years later, it reappeared somewhere in the Land of Water.
Even Orochimaru had confirmed this and was currently conducting a full-scale search to locate the Three-Tails' exact position.
Tailed Beasts could not die.
That was common knowledge in the ninja world.
But the Ten-Tails was the one existence the Nine Tailed Beasts truly feared.
They had been split from the Ten-Tails.
If it was ever resurrected, it would mean the nine of them would be fused back together.
On the surface, it might seem like they were simply becoming whole again. But with their individual consciousnesses erased, that was true death.
And that was the one outcome none of them could accept.
That was why they hadn't been afraid before.
They knew they couldn't die.
Could humans really kill them? That was laughable.
Even if they were defeated or crushed, so what?
Humans lived less than a hundred years.
In the end, the Tailed Beasts would still be laughing at the corpses of those who had tried to control them.
They had near-eternal life.
But now everything was different.
The Ten-Tails.
It was the only thing the Nine Tailed Beasts truly feared.
If they were absorbed back into it, would they still have their own consciousness?
The answer was no.
And that was the one outcome they could never accept.
"Kurama, I have no reason to lie to you about this. In fact, it's no longer just a possibility. The plan is already in motion. The other side has reached the final preparation stage. Even the Ten-Tails' shell—the Gedo Statue—has already been summoned back from the moon. All that's left now is to seal you Tailed Beasts back into the Gedo Statue and resurrect the most terrifying existence of all—the Ten-Tails!"
Menma spoke with absolute seriousness.