As Menma finished speaking, countless crimson chakras, mixed with a few streaks of blue, rapidly condensed at the center of his fingertips and tail. In the blink of an eye, a dark red chakra sphere the size of a basketball appeared. The next second, the sphere throbbed, mimicking a heartbeat. A terrifying shockwave swept outward, creating a ring of air that forcibly cleared the fog within a radius of several dozen meters.
The sphere then began to shrink rapidly, instantly becoming the size of a marble. Its color shifted from dark red to a chilling black. An aura of annihilation filled the surroundings.
"What is that!?" Kakashi, who hadn't gone far, frowned deeply. A strong sense of panic rose within him, driving him to flee quickly.
Behind the massive waterfall, Zabuza sensed the impending doom. Even the crazed rage on his face froze for a moment before he swiftly retreated.
"Trying to escape now?" Menma's voice was calm. "Too late."
The moment he uttered those words, he threw Haku forward. Simultaneously, a Tailed Beast Ball shot from his fingertip like a bullet, following closely behind the unconscious girl.
Whoosh—!
In an instant, all was silent, and the world changed color. The black sphere created a terrifying channel of air currents. The ground below shattered layer by layer, spraying outwards.
Hiss!
The moment the black sphere touched the waterfall's curtain, the water's momentum froze, as if a pause button had been pressed. Then, like hot oil hitting cold water, it exploded with a deafening roar. Countless plumes of steam billowed into the sky. The blasted water surged in both directions, like fleeing soldiers.
The cracked black sphere continued its relentless charge, carrying Haku's body as it chased straight after the fleeing Zabuza.
"Damn it, I still have unfulfilled wishes! I still need to revive Hidden Mist! I can't die!" Due to excessive chakra and stamina depletion, Zabuza began to despair of his speed.
Before he could despair for long, he felt a touch from behind. The black sphere, carrying Haku, had crashed into his back!
"It's Haku!" The familiar scent made Zabuza quickly turn and pull Haku into his arms. His initial panic, regret, and resentment all vanished into calm. Being able to die alongside Haku was probably that blond brat's final act of mercy towards him.
With Zabuza's final thought, the cracks in the black sphere behind him suddenly widened, revealing terrifying golden-red energy within. The next second, this golden-red energy erupted violently, finally bursting forth from the cracks.
In an instant, the violently expanding golden-red energy engulfed the entire land within a radius of several hundred meters. The ground was ripped apart, trees felled, and rivers flowed backward! From afar, it looked like a monstrous golden-red sun blooming on the earth, capable of destroying everything! Like divine punishment descending from the heavens!
The explosion lasted for a full ten seconds before dissipating. The original forest and lake had all vanished! Only a bottomless crater, hundreds of meters deep, remained! Haku, Zabuza, and everything within it were reduced to nothingness under that monstrous sun.
"This power..." Staring at the massive crater hundreds of meters in front of him, Kakashi broke out in a cold sweat. Then he turned to look at the ethereal figure of Menma, his back swirling with chakra fox tails. He felt a mixture of helplessness and terror.
"It seems the Third Hokage's plan is doomed. Trying to control this power, relying solely on Naruto to suppress it is like playing with fire..." Kakashi wouldn't share these thoughts with Hiruzen Sarutobi; he could only describe what he saw. "And Zabuza, in the face of true power, not even a corpse remains..."
Kakashi shook his head with a sigh. He tried to put himself in Zabuza's shoes. If he were Zabuza, with such immense energy expenditure, he certainly wouldn't have escaped the blast radius. And it's only been less than two months! Yet Menma's control over the Nine-Tails' chakra has increased two levels from One-Tail to Three-Tail! If he were truly facing him, he might only be able to unleash the uncontrollable power of his Sharingan...
Lost in thought, Kakashi hadn't even noticed Menma approaching after he withdrew the Nine-Tails chakra. It wasn't until Menma tossed the unconscious Sasuke and Sakura over that he snapped out of his daze.
"Sasuke? And Sakura! What happened to them?" Kakashi quickly went to check on them. Although their appearance suggested they were injured and near death, a closer look revealed no wounds, and their breathing was perfectly steady, as if they were asleep.
"They looked so bad, yet they have no injuries at all! Could it be..." Kakashi looked up at Menma.
Menma chuckled, clearly in a good mood. "Their injuries were severe, but I healed them. However, their mental fatigue needs to be replenished through sleep."
Just as Menma finished speaking, a system message arrived.
[Corruption Points +12,000]
[Current Corruption Points: 40,000]
[Trust Level: 60% (Cannot be Lost: 40%)]
Seeing that Sasuke and Sakura had been saved by Menma and were not dead, Naruto in his mindscape was overjoyed. This was reflected on the character panel as an increase of 12,000 Corruption Points and a 5% increase in the non-droppable Trust Level.
Furthermore, Menma clearly sensed Naruto's current thoughts. These thoughts were roughly about why he had been so stubborn and caused his comrades to get injured, and whether Menma would have done a better job if he had control of the body—complex emotions like these. Most importantly, Naruto didn't want to come out and was afraid to face the still-unawakened Sasuke and Sakura.
Menma was also happy to temporarily control the body and didn't intend to say anything more to Naruto that would benefit him. Too much of a good thing is bad; as long as Naruto followed his previous thoughts, there wouldn't be a big problem.
"Thanks for your hard work this time." Kakashi hugged Sasuke and Sakura tightly, one in each arm, finally acknowledging Menma's abilities. Although compared to Naruto, Menma was incredibly ruthless and bloodthirsty, that was only towards enemies! He was incredibly caring towards his teammates, Team 7, and had saved them from numerous life-or-death situations.
Menma raised an eyebrow, just about to question Kakashi's suggestive gaze, when Tazuna came stumbling over, his face filled with terror.
"Ninjas, sirs! Gato and his men are here!"
In the distance, Gato, his arm in a cast, led a large troop of chunin and samurai.
"Pah! Zabuza and that brat are dead, what a bunch of trash! But to make such a commotion, you must have been in a life-or-death battle, both badly injured, right?" Gato grinned maliciously and beckoned forward. "Hehehe... All of you, attack! Kakashi, you're in my hands."
Kakashi yawned, uninterested in the clown opposite him. Hearing this, Kakashi handed Sasuke and Sakura to Tazuna. He drew his kunai with a disgruntled expression. "I'm supposed to be your mentor, yet you order people around like this..."