Gazing at the hundreds-of-meters-long chasm before him, and the Hidden Stone ninja who had vanished without a trace—not even a drop of blood or a tattered scrap of clothing—Minato's heart swelled with pride.
He was also deeply grateful that he had left behind his chakra when he died.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have witnessed this scene that filled him with such joy!
"One sword strike took out the Tsuchikage and all the Hidden Stone ninja!"
"Even the First Hokage, hailed as the God of Shinobi, or Madara Uchiha, couldn't have done this!"
With an uncontrollable smile, Minato looked at Menma's godlike figure, his joy growing ever stronger.
If only there were no one else around, he would have definitely gone up and boasted, This is my descendant!
Menma saw through Minato's unspoken thoughts at a glance.
However, he said nothing.
After all, over the past year or two, he had gradually accepted his parents—people who had changed him so much and had given him their whole hearts.
Still, Menma felt a little awkward addressing them with the same affection Naruto used, sticking to respectful titles instead.
"Father, now that things here are settled, I'll head over there."
"Tell Mother I'm on my way, so she doesn't worry."
Menma had already used the Kagura's Mind's Eye to sense that Kushina and the others, separated by the sea of trees, were not in danger.
He also sensed two lucky Hidden Stone ninjas fleeing rapidly.
Menma didn't bother chasing them; they were insignificant anyway.
"Alright." Minato nodded with a bright smile. "I'll handle things here, so you can go without worry."
"That's the main battlefield. It's best to finish it off quickly so your sister and the others don't get hurt."
Thinking of his two children—a son and a daughter—Minato couldn't stop smiling.
He couldn't help but sigh inwardly: If only he and Kushina hadn't died.
"Right." Menma nodded, reaching out to replenish Minato's chakra—which was nearly depleted—with some Nine-Tails chakra.
Then, he sensed the Flying Thunder God mark on Naruto and vanished.
Seeing Menma leave, Minato glanced at the forest formed by the birth of the sea of trees behind him, sensed his direction, and also used Flying Thunder God to leave.
Just as Minato left, four figures appeared.
It was Hashirama, Tobirama, Jiraiya, who had rushed from the Wind Void.
"Nobody's here? Looks like the battle here is over."
Tobirama said, squatting down in front of the hundreds-of-meters-long rift created by Menma.
He picked up a clump of scorching black soil from the rift wall and kneaded it between his fingers.
"This mixed chakra residue must have been caused by Menma."
Hashirama glanced at the small grove of trees not far away, then at the bottomless rift before him.
He couldn't help but scratch the back of his head and burst into laughter.
"Hahaha… Menma is getting more and more powerful now."
"Not only does he know Madara's Mangekyou Sharingan, but now he's also learned my Wood Release. He truly lives up to his title as the Child of Prophecy!"
"…" Tobirama sighed, utterly speechless.
If Hashirama weren't his older brother, he'd really like to crack open his skull to see if it was filled with mush!
"That forest was probably created by Yamato, who has your cells in it," Tobirama explained. "If it were Menma, given his chakra, this whole area should be covered by now, not just this small spot!"
"Huh?" Hashirama looked disappointed and muttered dejectedly, "Why is it Yamato again? Why couldn't it be Menma…?"
Hashirama had even planned to teach all his Wood Release techniques to Menma to build a closer relationship.
But this forest wasn't created by Menma; it was Yamato, that cell-human again!
"What an… idiot." Tobirama sighed and rubbed his forehead.
While the two brothers were talking, Jiraiya noticed Minato's strange behavior.
Seeing his puzzled expression, Jiraiya asked, "Minato, what's wrong?"
Minato withdrew his gaze from the forest and frowned. "Something's strange here."
"I'm sensing many Flying Thunder God seals, even though I didn't set them up here."
"Flying Thunder God seals?" Jiraiya was taken aback, then seemed to realize something. "Could it be chakra clones you left behind?"
"I left behind chakra clones?" Minato was equally confused. He didn't remember leaving any Shadow Clones.
Besides, even if he did, after so many years, his chakra should have been exhausted long ago.
"It's Naruto—no, it's the chakra you left behind sealed within Menma!"
Upon hearing Jiraiya's words, Minato remembered, his expression turning strange.
"Could it be that when Hiruzen Sarutobi's crimes were revealed, it was really my chakra clone who did it, and not someone else impersonating him?"
Jiraiya nodded. "It's true. You even came to talk to me, and then disappeared… pretended to disappear."
Jiraiya now understood. Minato had meant to Naruto that there was still a chance to meet.
It seems that he only pretended to disappear then and actually went to the Wind Void!
Damn it, he's a real failure as a master, deceived by his disciple and then killed by him!
"Menma actually extracted the chakra I left in the seal and even created a Shadow Clone to help him!"
Edo Tensei Minato hadn't expected that a Shadow Clone with the same personality and thoughts as himself would help Menma destroy the Hidden Leaf instead of trying to persuade him!
Is there some hidden story I don't know about?
Minato frowned and immediately followed the direction of the mark.
"Minato!" Jiraiya was startled when Minato suddenly reappeared on the other side.
Then, shrugging, he shouted, "I didn't get on the train!"
"I haven't gotten on the train yet!" he yelled as he ran towards Minato, who was relentlessly pursuing the Flying Thunder God mark.
"What's going on with the Fourth and Fifth Hokage?"
Watching the two recede into the distance, Tobirama turned to Hashirama and asked.
"Big brother, let's go check it out too."
"Okay."
The two quickly followed Minato and Jiraiya, who were disappearing into the distance.
Soon they passed through the forest created by the birth of the Wood Release: Sea of Trees.
They also saw a familiar, enormous figure.
"That's… the Nine-Tails!!!"
Hashirama rubbed his eyes, somewhat incredulous.
"Menma released it from its seal?"
"That's too dangerous!"
"Hashirama Senju!!!" Kurama also saw Hashirama and Tobirama rushing towards them.
It immediately looked like it had seen a ghost: "Menma released you from your seal?"
"That's too dangerous!"
"…" Hearing the strangely similar conversation between the human and the beast, Tobirama's lips twitched.
However, he also gleaned some information from Kurama's tone.
This fearless Kurama, who had always hated humans, had been subdued by Menma.
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