"You… uh…"
A torrent of blood erupted from the ANBU agent's chest. His hand, which had been pointing accusingly at Menma, dropped limp to the ground. Disbelief and regret lingered beneath his mask.
Thud!
A golden-red chakra tail casually tossed the corpse aside, a lingering smile frozen on the dead man's lips. Beneath the hand stroking his face, cold eyes with crimson vertical pupils peeked out. They swept over the surrounding ANBU with chilling killing intent.
"Dare to threaten me?" Menma's voice was soft, yet it sent a shiver down the spines of every elite around him. "Have you forgotten what happened two months ago?"
"Since you've all forgotten," he continued, a cruel smile playing on his lips, "let me help you remember properly."
Although some hadn't witnessed the events firsthand, they had all read the reports. The mission gone wrong, the frame-up on Root, the ten ANBU agents burned to death by Nine-Tails chakra, including a Jōnin. It was a massacre.
Inside the sealed space, Naruto realized what was happening and frantically begged for mercy.
"Menma, don't kill them! They only misspoke! Their crime doesn't deserve death!"
Zō, who hadn't spoken previously, quickly stepped forward and bowed. "Lord Menma, they didn't threaten you. They were just anxious to save the Hokage!"
Seeing that Menma didn't answer, but his killing intent only intensified, Zō shouted to the surrounding ANBU, "Get out of here! All of you, go to the interrogation department and receive your punishment!"
Relieved to have an order, the ANBU rushed out of the arena. But one or two remained, shouting as they ran.
"As long as Lord Menma is willing to rescue us, we are willing to accept severe punishment!"
"Heh." Menma chuckled darkly and shook his head.
The ground suddenly shattered and collapsed, air howling and buzzing. Menma's figure flashed, disappearing from the spot. Immediately afterward, a golden-red phantom, like a streak of lightning, flashed past the numerous ANBU members.
The next moment, Menma returned to his original position, standing in front of Zō. His once golden-red fox tail was now stained crimson, dripping continuously. He tilted his head, looking at the elephant-masked agent, his mocking words echoing throughout the arena.
"The dead don't speak."
"What dead?" Menma's voice snapped the stunned crowd out of their daze. They all looked at the ANBU members standing motionless in place.
"What just happened? Why aren't these ANBU running away?"
Faced with everyone's questions, Zō smelled the strong stench of blood and felt a wave of sorrow and helplessness wash over him. "Dead. All dead. They're all dead…"
As if in response to Zō's words, a series of strange sounds rang out.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The ANBU who had been standing motionless now had faint lines of blood appearing on their bodies. Then, these lines became more pronounced, and their bodies slowly shifted like loose building blocks.
Finally, they slid to the ground with heavy thuds, chunks of flesh hitting the earth.
"Ugh… Ah!!!"
"Crack, it cracked!!!"
"They… they've all cracked!!!"
This horrific scene caused the chunin maintaining order in the arena to collapse to the ground in terror. The few surviving ANBU members who hadn't spoken were drenched in cold sweat, their bodies stiff with fear. Their faces beneath their masks were completely covered in terror.
Not only them, but the Daimyo in the stands were already vomiting uncontrollably. Danzo Shimura, standing before them, remained expressionless, but his trembling white hand gripping his cane spoke volumes about his inner turmoil.
Even Hiruzen Sarutobi and Orochimaru, fighting within the Four Purple Flame Formation, stared in horror at the scene outside, momentarily forgetting they were still locked in combat.
After a long while, Orochimaru finally licked his dry lips, looking at Hiruzen Sarutobi with a mocking expression.
"So this is the confidence you have, Teacher. Truly terrifying. So many chunin, and quite a few Elite Jōnin—even I couldn't kill them this quickly."
"It's a pity your brainwashing methods don't seem to have worked. The imprisoned demon fox is about to eat people. Hehehe…"
Mocked by Orochimaru, Hiruzen Sarutobi—already injured—was consumed by rage. A mouthful of blood rose to his throat and spilled from his mouth.
He knew that it wasn't just the Hidden Leaf present. There were Daimyo from various Nations and ninjas from other villages watching from the sidelines. He had truly lost face internationally.
If he had known this would happen, he would have preferred not to send Menma and instead taken Orochimaru down with him. That way, at least he would have left with a better reputation.
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and Hiruzen Sarutobi roared at Menma.
"Menma! How dare you slaughter your own people in broad daylight without restraint! You can forget about ever coming out again!"
"Naruto! If you still consider me your grandfather and want to be a Hidden Leaf ninja, come out right now! As the Third Hokage, I order you: you are never allowed to let this alternate personality emerge again, or you will be punished for treason! Naruto!!! Did you hear me!!!"
Looking at the enraged Hiruzen Sarutobi, the smile on Menma's face vanished completely. The Naruto within his consciousness had completely turned the world upside down. If it weren't for the previous promise and Menma's assurance that he would save Hiruzen Sarutobi, Naruto would have already regained control of his body.
"No need to shout. He's not going to stay hidden."
Menma took a step forward, directly outside the Four Purple Flame Formation. The next second, whoosh! whoosh! whoosh! The nine fox tails behind him shot out like sharp swords. The purple flame barrier blocking the numerous ninjas was instantly pierced.
Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!
An intense scorching sound rang out. But this temperature, said to be able to melt steel, did not cause any damage to the fox tails. With a tearing sound, a passage as tall as a person was ripped open.
"He actually broke through the Four Purple Flame Formation so easily?"
"This kind of strength far surpasses that of an ordinary Kage!"
Under Orochimaru's astonished gaze, Menma appeared directly in front of Hiruzen Sarutobi.
"You! What do you want to do?"
Staring at Menma before him, Hiruzen Sarutobi appeared fierce but was actually cowardly. "Now, if you eliminate the rogue ninja Orochimaru, I can give you a chance to reform… Ah!!!"
But before Hiruzen could finish speaking, countless hands composed of golden and red chakra swiftly reached out from in front of Menma. The injured Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was too caught off guard to react, and the Vajra Staff that Enma had transformed into were instantly bound tightly.
Then, the nine sharp, blade-like fox tails followed closely behind, stabbing downwards without the slightest hesitation, piercing through Hiruzen Sarutobi's limbs.
Menma's voice rang out quietly after this series of actions.
"What am I going to do?"
"To save your dog's life, of course…"
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