A few hand seals formed in a flash, and hundreds of Naruto Uzumakis appeared instantly, surrounding Aburame Torune.
"That much chakra...just like the intel said."
Aburame Torune didn't show a hint of panic. Instead, he watched the sea of clones with keen interest.
They didn't waste time with threats, simply surging forward, burying him completely.
But the very next second—
Boom! Boom! Boom!
One by one, the Narutos vanished. Only Aburame Torune remained, kunai in hand with a shadow clone at his side.
When he faced the final Naruto, he didn't bother with a kunai strike. He simply grabbed the boy by the head and lifted him up.
From start to finish, Aburame Torune subdued all three targets in under a minute. This was the power of an Elite Jōnin—the pinnacle of strength within a village.
"I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"
The captured Naruto flailed his arms and legs wildly, but his Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu was useless now. He couldn't even touch the man before him.
Watching Naruto's violent emotional swings, Aburame Torune's expression shifted. He raised his other hand in a claw shape, blue chakra glowing on each finger.
"Could it be about to come out?"
"No, I have to act quickly, or else..."
Muttering to himself, he slammed all five fingers down onto the Eight Trigrams Seal on Naruto's abdomen.
The Five Elements Seal — a technique taught by Danzo to reinforce the seal and sever the Nine-Tails' chakra. Without it, Aburame Torune wouldn't be confident he could drag Naruto back under control in this short amount of time — especially when the kid could access the Nine-Tails' power.
"Ah!!!"
A sharp pain tore through Naruto's gut, making him scream.
But Aburame Torune's muttering had reminded him of Menma. He desperately called out in his mind.
Menma, get out here! I've been captured again!
He hurt Sasuke Uchiha and knocked Sakura Haruno out!
Come out and kill him, just like you killed Mizuki!
Menma didn't answer. Naruto's eyes darted to the fluctuating "Corruption Points" on the system panel, his desperate gaze locking onto Aburame Torune outside.
Not enough. Bring more power! If an Elite Jōnin is weaker than Mizuki, I'll look down on you!
Aburame Torune was reinforcing his Nine-Tails seal. What did that have to do with Menma's Nine-Tails? When he came out, Elite Jōnin taijutsu combined with the One-Tail Chakra Mode would still crush this guy.
Outside, Aburame Torune watched the Five Elements Seal emerge from Naruto's abdomen and finally relaxed. His wariness faded completely.
"Your alternate personality hasn't appeared yet. Guess you're too scared to show yourself without the Nine-Tails' power."
He shook his head, pulling out a rope to bind Naruto. Then, carrying the bound boy, he went over to Sasuke — who was still vomiting stomach acid — and tied him up too.
As for Sakura lying on the ground, he simply kicked her into the woods beside the road.
Sasuke, the last surviving Uchiha, was a hostage useful against Itachi — just as valuable as Naruto. Sakura, though, was just a civilian. Useless to Root.
Aburame Torune had only brought her along to lull the boys into a false sense of security.
"Sakura!"
Watching her get kicked away like a rag doll, Naruto's eyes turned bloodshot. His glare back at Aburame Torune burned with brutal killing intent.
This time, he didn't even need to ask. The system notification came automatically:
[Primary personality emotions have reached critical threshold. Personality switch?]
Menma didn't switch immediately. He glanced at the Corruption Points.
[Current Corruption Points: 5000]
"Nice. Up by 2800. Not worse than Mizuki."
This sudden plot twist, deviating from the original storyline, could happen a few more times. Ideally, I'd quickly exchange for half of the Nine-Tails' power and reach elite Kage-level strength.
[Exchange for Jōnin Taijutsu (Aburame Torune) -500]
[Current Corruption Points: 4500]
After conveniently spending his Corruption Points to acquire Aburame Torune's Elite Jōnin taijutsu, Menma spoke to the system.
"System, switch personalities."
Outside, Aburame Torune was carrying Naruto and Sasuke left and right, preparing to leave, when his expression suddenly changed.
The next second, he vanished from his spot, reappearing several meters away.
"Expected from an Elite Jōnin. Quick reaction."
Menma, now in control of the body, landed safely where Aburame Torune had been standing. He also caught Sasuke, who was still bound hand and foot.
"Naruto!?"
"No—you're not Naruto!"
Sasuke sensed the transformation instantly. The approachable, kind, pure feeling he once got from Naruto was gone. This version exuded only chilling indifference and terror.
"I am Naruto~"
Menma grinned, a laugh that made Sasuke's skin crawl.
Then, with a swift chop, he severed the ropes binding Sasuke and tossed him toward the woods where Sakura had fallen.
Watching this, Aburame Torune didn't strike. He asked cautiously, "Menma?"
"Naruto Uzumaki's alternate personality?"
Menma turned to face him, his smile widening.
"Bingo. You guessed right."
"As a reward, let's get you up close with the Nine-Tails' chakra you've been longing for."
The moment the words left his lips, pale red chakra erupted from his body. Instantly, it covered every inch of him.
A long, pale red chakra fox tail extended from his back, whipping wildly in the air. A violent, malevolent aura swept out afterward, a terrifying pressure crushing down on the world itself.
"Nine-Tails chakra?!"
"Impossible! I reinforced the seal and blocked the chakra from leaking out!"
Aburame Torune's face filled with disbelief. He stared at Menma like he was looking at a monster.
"Oh? How come I didn't know I was sealed?"
A cold voice, dripping with chilling evil, spoke from right behind him.
So fast!
Aburame Torune's eyes widened. The Naruto who'd been standing in front was just a slowly dissipating afterimage.
Whoosh!
At the same time, the piercing whistle of something cutting through the air rang out behind him.
No time to dodge.
Aburame Torune could only draw the kunai from his outer thighs and cross them in front of his chest to block.
Crack!
A sickening sound of something breaking echoed from Aburame Torune's body. The kunai he'd used to block were pressed tight against his chest by that massive, pale red tail.
A few drops of blood spilled from his mouth and nose.
Injured after a single exchange.
Without hesitation, Aburame Torune retreated rapidly before Menma could strike again. His eyes, when they locked back onto the fox-tailed shinobi, held even greater terror.
"No... you're not an alternate personality at all."
"You're the Nine-Tails from twelve years ago."