"Hey! Shikamaru! Choji! Ino!" Naruto, with his sharp eyes, spotted them immediately and forgot his anxiety while waiting. He waved his arms excitedly and called out loudly.
"Over here! Come quick!"
"It's Naruto and the others!" Naruto's loud voice rang out Ino pulled a somewhat reluctant Shikamaru and Choji, who was engrossed in eating potato chips, over.
"Yo, good afternoon, Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino." Menma nodded slightly to them.
Hinata nervously followed Menma's movements, whispering, "Good afternoon, Shikamaru, Choji, Ino."
" Menma, Hinata, Naruto, good afternoon!" After greeting them, Ino looked curiously at the long queue and the brand-new store sign.
Shikamaru Earth Flow slowly, his eyelids drooping, and greeted him listlessly, "Oh. What a coincidence."
His dark blue shirt was open at the collar, revealing a gray undershirt underneath, and he looked rather languid.
Choji's chubby cheeks were stuffed with potato chips, and he mumbled "uh-huh" indistinctly.
Ino, dressed in a neat pale yellow skirt suit, her golden ponytail swaying playfully with her movements, asked, "When did this shop open? It's so popular, is it a new bubble tea shop? I didn't think it was there when I passed by yesterday."
"Yes," Menma nodded, explaining calmly, "Today is the first day of business. This is one of my family's properties."
" Menma, can your staff make ramen-flavored milk tea?" Naruto peered at the counter, then sat down to look inside.
The smiles on the faces of the busy shop assistants inside froze for a moment.
"This is a beverage shop, not a ramen shop. If you want ramen, I'll take you to Teuchi later." Menma gave Naruto a speechless, wary look, really wanting to punch him.
Then Menma turned to Shikamaru and the other two. "Perfect timing, it's our grand opening day, please try it out and give us your feedback."
He gestured slightly towards the store, and a smartly dressed, capable-looking manager immediately noticed them, quickly walked over, and respectfully Menma: "Young Master, what do you and your friend need? This way, please."
He led the six people to a reserved, relatively quiet spot to the side.
"A treat?!" Ino and Choji's eyes lit up at the same time.
Ino was curious about new flavors, while Choji was simply drawn by the delicious food.
"Huh? Really?" Choji immediately hugged the bag of potato chips even tighter, his eyes shining as he stared at the drink menu. "Then I'll have a super-sized, double-sweet Pudding Milk Tea! And double the pudding too!"
"That's great!" Ino exclaimed excitedly. "I want the signature fruit tea! Thank you Menma!"
Shikamaru glanced at this "privileged" treatment, then at Menma's calm expression. If it were any other child...
There must have been some barely concealed pride and smugness, but Shikamaru noticed Menma's expression, which even seemed a little annoyed.
She looks somewhat similar to him.
"Troublesome." Shikamaru muttered under his breath, but his eyes darted toward the most expensive items on the menu.
"Then lemon tea it is." He noticed the shop manager's attitude towards Menma, which was respectful but carried an indescribable sense of obedience, and was definitely not just that of the boss's son.
But being able to avoid the hassle of queuing and get a free large cup of a drink that doesn't look cheap seems pretty good, right?
He shrugged and lazily said thank you, "Thanks, Menma, you've really gone to a lot of trouble."
Soon, all six people had their own drinks.
Naruto held a "Full of Energy" special drink slurped up with loud slurping as he ate it, which was covered in Anko paste and glutinous rice balls; Choji slept contentedly with his rich milk tea, which was doubled in sugar and pudding; Ino gazed at the beautifully colored fruit tea with delight, carefully sipping it.
Hinata held a cup of warm Anko milk tea, sipping it slowly; the sweetness seemed to ease her tension.
Menma also had a cup of Anko milk tea, but she was also carrying a dessert.
Shikamaru took a sip of the lemon tea, which was supposed to be refreshing, but frowned after just one sip, finding it too sour.
Six boys and girls of similar age, each carrying their own drinks, walked slowly along the street, which was gradually bathed in the glow of the setting sun.
The group naturally split into three groups.
"This! This is so delicious!" Choji, holding his enormous cup of milk tea in one hand, excitedly pointed to a shop with a sign that read "Secret Recipe Barbecue" and enthusiastically recommended it to Naruto.
"The marbled pork belly, sizzling and dripping with oil, dipped in the special sauce! Ah!" He squinted his eyes in ecstasy, as if he could already taste it.
Naruto's mouth watered at the mention of it, his bright blue eyes widening in surprise. "Really? It's even better than Ichiraku Ramen?"
Because of his infamous " Demon Fox " reputation, many shops avoid him like the plague, and being able to eat at Ichiraku Ramen is his greatest happiness.
At this moment, Choji was reciting a list of Konoha's various delicacies with great familiarity: salt-grilled saury, Three-color Dango, pork bone ramen, Tempura...
Naruto's face was filled with longing and a hint of barely perceptible disappointment.
"Of course!" Choji nodded vigorously.
"And that old-established oden shop, the broth is especially delicious, and the radish inside is stewed until it melts in your mouth—" he went on and on.
"Wow! Choji, you know so much!" Naruto grabbed Choji's arm, his eyes sparkling.
"Of course! There will be another chance next Choji patted his chest, then suddenly remembered something, paused, and scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly.
"Next time you have the chance, I'll treat you to some!" He vaguely knew Naruto's situation, but being simple-minded, he chose to express his goodwill by sharing.
Menma and Shikamaru walked side by side in the middle, a stark contrast to the lively scene of Choji and Naruto in front.
Menma quietly sipped his seemingly ordinary Anko milk tea, occasionally responding to Naruto's excited questions.
Shikamaru, on the other hand, remained mostly silent. His eyes, which were always half-open, seemed to casually sweep over the shops lining both sides of the street, and over the villagers and ninjas hurrying by, but out of the corner of his eye, he always kept an eye on Menma beside him.
This war orphan was adopted by the merchant Gato...
Shikamaru Nara always felt that there was an incongruous calmness about him, a quality that couldn't be cultivated in the Konoha Orphanage.
The shop assistant was very respectful in the store just now...
"Hey, Menma," Shikamaru said casually, drawing out his words, "Your business—it's pretty big, isn't it?"
Menma glanced at him sideways, his deep blue eyes calm and unwavering. "Most of the Gato Company's businesses in Konoha are registered under my name. After all, I'm also a part of Konoha."
His answer was perfectly flawless.
"I see," Shikamaru drawled, then stopped asking questions.
He knew he wouldn't get any answers.
Behind them, Ino affectionately linked arms with Hinata, while the two girls lagged behind, whispering to each other.
"Hey, Hinata." Ino leaned close to Hinata's ear, grinning mischievously, her voice low, her gaze glancing at Menma ahead. "You and Menma... aren't you...?"
She deliberately drew out her words.
Hinata's face flushed bright red instantly, like a ripe tomato, even her small earlobes turned pink.
She waved her hands frantically, her voice barely audible, almost drowned out by the noise of the street. "N-no! Don't talk Ino!"
She quickly stole a glance Menma the man's tall, muscular back, her heart pounding, then quickly lowered her head and stared at her toes.
"Really?" Ino grinned mischievously, nudging Hinata lightly with her elbow. "Back when you declared at the start of the semester that you'd kill anyone who dared to seduce Menma, you weren't this shy."
"And just now in the store, you secretly glanced at him so many times! And your face was all red the whole time!"
She had an expression that said, "I saw right through you."
"That's because—" Hinata was so embarrassed she was practically fuming, her fingers nervously twisting the hem of her clothes, not daring to look up at all.
Big Sister Hinata's domineering declaration has left her unsure how to respond.
Ino giggled, stopped teasing her, and instead chatted enthusiastically about the newly opened jewelry store and Sakura's new hairstyle.
Hinata secretly breathed a sigh of relief, but the blush on her face lingered for a long time, and her gaze would still uncontrollably drift towards that figure.
The golden afterglow of the setting sun outlined the contours of his profile, and Hinata felt a warm, overflowing feeling in her heart, a bittersweet sensation quietly growing within her.
But when she thought of her older sister inside her body, Hinata felt a sense of shame and guilt for doing something wrong, and she buried her head even lower.
The setting sun cast long, long shadows of the six people, and the boys and girls with different personalities created a vivid and lively scene of everyday life in Konoha during this short weekend.
When they parted ways at the intersection, they waved goodbye and promised to meet again at school the next day.
After saying goodbye to his friends, Menma first escorted Hinata back to the gate of the Hyuga Compound.
After Hinata disappeared Hyuga the Hyuga gate, he turned around and went back to his house across the street.
"I'm going upstairs." After greeting the maid, Menma said this and went straight up the stairs.
Back in his room, he placed the exquisite pastry box bearing the " Wanxiang Sweet Drinks " logo on his desk. Immediately Menma, a faint popping sound came from between the strands of his black, spiky hair.
A tiny, furry head cautiously peeked out.
The Mini-Kurama, no bigger than a palm, wore a dark red kimono. Its two small fox ears twitched alertly, and its big red eyes stared intently at the exquisite confectionery box bearing the "All Things" mark that Menma was carrying.
" Menma! Menma!" Mini-Kurama's voice was clear and childlike, filled with undisguised excitement and craving.
The Mini-Kurama fox sniffed the sweet fragrance in the air with its tiny nose, and its nine fluffy, dark red tails swayed excitedly behind Menma's shoulders.
She wore a small, exquisite dark red kimono, her bare little feet gently tickling Menma's shoulders.
"It smells so good! Is it for me? Is it for me? Menma is the best person in the world!" she urged impatiently.
A hint of tenderness flashed across Menma's eyes as he placed the pastry box on the low table and opened it.
Inside were several delicate and small wagashi (Japanese sweets), including Anko paste, matcha flavor, and milk cake shaped like a little fox.
"Yay!" Mini-Kurama Fox cheered, transforming into a tiny red shadow and leaping from Menma's shoulder onto the table in an instant.
She carefully picked up a fox-shaped milk cake, opened her little mouth, and took a bite with a "ah-ming" sound. Her eyes narrowed into slits with happiness, her nine tails swayed happily, and she made a satisfied purring sound. Her little face was covered with crumbs of the cake.
"Delicious! So delicious!"
Seeing the adorable way the Mini-Kurama fox was enjoying its food, Menma's lips curled into a slight smile.
After settling the Mini-Kurama who was engrossed in the world of desserts, Menma turned and walked into the training room partitioned off on the inside of the small house.
Besides a bookshelf filled with historical books, a specially made Flying Thunder God Kunai hangs on the wall in the training room.
Menma arrived at the center of the practice room, sat cross-legged, and closed his eyes.
The vast chakra within his body began to circulate.
Unlike the usual path of refining chakra, he was now mobilizing a deeper, more fundamental power: Yin Release, representing spiritual energy, and Yang Release, representing life energy.
Time passed in silence.
Above the Menma, the air began to distort slightly, and the light seemed to be swallowed up as well.
Initially, only a tiny, extremely fine black substance, somewhere between reality and illusion, was struggling to condense, like a flickering candle in the wind, as if it might dissipate at any moment.
Fine beads of sweat trickled down his Menma forehead. He was completely focused, his mental energy highly concentrated, carefully maintaining that fragile balance.
Time slipped away in the silent struggle.
The black substance in his palm gradually stabilized, then began to slowly stretch and elongate, as if forged by an invisible, skillful hand.
Shaping.
Its shape became increasingly clear.
A short rod about thirty centimeters long, entirely black, with a smooth surface that shimmers with an ominous glow.
Metaphor!
An invisible wave quietly spread out from Menma, but was firmly contained within the training room.
A creation of Yin-Yang Release, Black Receiver imbued with the power of annihilation!
Menma's breathing became long and slow, sweat trickling down his sharply defined jawline, but his eyes were as sharp as a hawk's, fixed on the shaped Black Receiver in his palm.
Every subtle fluctuation of energy, every minute change in form, is under his absolute control.
That Black Receiver seemed to be an extension of his will, cold, pure, and containing the power to destroy all tangible things.
After an unknown amount of time, night quietly fell outside. The Black Receiver in Menma's hand remained intact, unlike the previous times when it only lasted a short time before collapsing.
"I see." Menma opened his eyes, and a sense of understanding and powerful strength arose in the depths of his azure eyes.
This marks that he has finally crossed the most crucial threshold on his path to mastering the Power of All Creation!
He's one step closer to the Six Paths level.
"I've fully mastered Yin-Yang Release. The next step is to refine it. With my current strength, I estimate I can hold my own against Nagato prime," Menma pondered.
Even though the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path has been absorbing Nagato's chakra for a long time, Nagato, who possesses Nagato Rinnegan, is still one of the top fighters in the current Shinobi World world.
Just as Menma was comprehending the Black Receiver generated by the Yin-Yang Release and studying its battlefield usage...
Menma Shadow Clone, which was stationed on the outskirts of Konoha to maintain a wide-area vigil, suddenly disappeared while Lazy Joy Mind's Eye continued to cover the entire village!
A massive amount of information flooded into the user's mind instantly.
Lazy Joy Mind's Eye, with its radar-like perception, clearly recorded the last scene captured before the Shadow Clone dissipated.
Two extremely unique, powerful, and unfamiliar chakra reactions appeared out of thin air, suddenly descending outside the Konoha barrier and heading Hyuga the direction of Hyuga Ichigoro's retreat, without even the village's protective barrier changing!
The feeling of that chakra was cool, ancient, and carried a sense of alienation from the earth, as if it came from beyond the distant heavens, and also carried a hint of...
Is it a similar aura to the Byakugan?
His Menma instantly turned serious.
Moon!
Otsutsuki Toneri!
And his relatives who are still alive at this time!
They've arrived!
The target is Hyuga, or rather, Hinata and Hanabi, who possess the pure Byakugan!
"It seems that some of Toneri's relatives have been eyeing Hyuga for a long time. Hanabi has only just turned one year old."
Without the slightest hesitation, Menma Hand Seals.
" Shadow Clone Technique!"
A cloud of smoke exploded, and a shadow Shadow Clone that looked exactly like him, but with a relatively weak aura, instantly materialized beside him.
"Follow the Toneri and find the passage to the moon," Menma's voice was deep.
"Understood!" The Shadow Clone nodded slightly, its eyes equally cold and sharp.
The next second, his figure vanished silently, like ink merging into water, leaving only a faint ripple in the air.
Inside the training room, the person with the Menma slowly stood up.
He opened his palm, and the Black Receiver that had just been successfully condensed floated silently. With a gentle clench of his hand, the Black Receiver solidified.