Pot Kage Won't Mind Carrying a Few More Pots

At night in the Orphanage, when Uzumaki Menma opened his eyes again, he had already returned from the spiritual world to reality.

Feeling the chakra continuously flowing through his meridians, Uzumaki Menma felt power filling his entire body.

Even with the physical constitution of an Uzumaki clansman, it had taken him three years to accumulate Mini-Kurama's chakra. But with Mini-Kurama's birth, Menma's chakra no longer had to be absorbed by that bottomless pit.

He could even ask Mini-Kurama for chakra.

"Mini-Kurama, give me some chakra." Menma communicated with Mini-Kurama in his mind.

"I'll give you enough chakra for one Tailed Beast Bomb first. I don't have much left either." Mini-Kurama reluctantly shared some of her remaining chakra with Menma.

For a Tailed Beast in its normal state, the chakra for one Tailed Beast Bomb was merely a drop in the bucket. But for the current Mini-Kurama, it was nearly half her total reserves.

However, the amount of chakra needed for that one Tailed Beast Bomb already exceeded the total chakra reserves of most elite jonin.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Menma formed several hand seals.

Poof!

After a puff of smoke, a shadow clone of Menma appeared beside the bed.

After exchanging glances and nodding, Menma carefully climbed out of bed while the shadow clone took his place beneath the covers.

Menma then went to the window. After opening it, however, he did not jump out immediately.

Instead, he used Mini-Kurama's chakra to activate Malice Sense.

Mini-Kurama, who had come from the Limited Tsukuyomi World, had been regarded by the people there as the embodiment of "hatred, loathing, and betrayal." Her ability to sense good and evil was exceptionally sharp.

Having obtained Mini-Kurama's chakra, Menma was also highly proficient in Malice Sense.

Given that during the Fourth Shinobi World War, the Nine-Tails could sense malicious chakra across the entire main battlefield, determine the range of Malice Sense?

"Found you!" Before he could think further, Menma detected malicious chakra within a large tree less than ten meters from the Orphanage through Malice Sense.

A White Zetsu was monitoring the Orphanage.

To avoid alarming the children in the Orphanage and his adoptive mother, Yakushi Nonō, Menma climbed out the window, closed it behind him, then swiftly flashed forward.

Purple lightning-nature chakra gathered in his palm, wrapping around his right hand and forming a ninjutsu similar to a Chakra Scalpel.

This was one of the many ninjutsu Menma had researched in the Limited Tsukuyomi World.

To leave the Limited Tsukuyomi World, Uzumaki Menma had not only captured the Jinchuriki of Tailed Beasts from every nation, but had also collected numerous secret techniques and ninjutsu. His knowledge of ninjutsu was exceedingly extensive.

Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—

The purple lightning on his right hand let out a soft hum as Menma thrust it straight through the tree.

"Aah!!!" A scream rang out from within the massive tree, which would have taken at least three people to encircle.

"You..." Menma dragged a completely white figure out of the tree. Terror covered its pale face.

This White Zetsu could not understand why the brat it had monitored for over two years had discovered it—and possessed such terrifying ninjutsu.

White Zetsu had weak combat ability. Pierced through in a single blow, it died on the spot, leaving behind only a white corpse.

"What a pity I don't have a Storage Scroll." Menma hoisted the White Zetsu corpse onto his shoulder and sped toward Konoha.

As Menma raced through the trees with the White Zetsu corpse over one shoulder, he formed seals with his free hand and used a Transformation Technique to restore his appearance from the Limited Tsukuyomi World.

Beneath his short, medium-length black hair, a white Three-Eyed Fox Mask concealed his handsome face. He wore a black robe with a white fur mantle over his shoulders, red bandages wrapped around his arms and feet, and fingerless gloves on both hands.

The overall color scheme was dark and muted, standing in stark contrast to Uzumaki Naruto's bright orange outfit.

"Menma, what is this thing?" Mini-Kurama lay on Menma's shoulder, poking her little head out from between the white fur collar.

Looking at the white creature Menma carried in one hand, she instinctively felt a trace of disgust.

She had never seen anything like it in the Limited Tsukuyomi World.

"White Zetsu. Just tragic people whose chakra and life force were drained during the era of the God Tree."

As he spoke, Menma reached the outskirts of the village. Through Malice Sense, he discovered another White Zetsu hiding inside a large tree, apparently watching the gate of Konoha.

"Looks like Black Zetsu planted quite a few White Zetsu in Konoha." Menma recalled that after Uchiha Madara's death, the corrupted Obito had likely begun watching Konoha.

Aside from the Hyuga Clan compound, which possessed the Byakugan, there should have been quite a few White Zetsu hidden throughout the village—especially around the Uchiha Clan compound.

While pondering this, Menma had already rushed to the tree concealing the White Zetsu. With a chakra hand blade, he cleaved through the tree, cutting the White Zetsu inside in half at the waist as well.

He took the corpse and continued onward.

He needed to find a way to clear out the White Zetsu lurking around the Orphanage before he could act freely. Being watched by White Zetsu all the time would be unbearable.

But he could not alert Uchiha Obito and Black Zetsu either, so he had to shift the blame elsewhere.

Konoha at night was quiet and peaceful.

Uzumaki Menma emerged from a ninja tool shop, leaped onto a rooftop, and gazed toward Hokage Rock, taking in Konoha's nightscape at a glance.

The White Zetsu corpses were no longer in his hands. In their place were several Storage Scrolls.

He had also helped himself to quite a few ninja tools from the shop, probably worth about one Asuma head.

"This ninja tool shop isn't Tenten's family shop, is it?" Menma felt that the location seemed somewhat familiar.

"Forget it. I'll pay them later if I get the chance." No longer dwelling on such trivial matters, Menma turned his gaze toward Hokage Rock.

"If I remember correctly, Root's base is beneath Hokage Rock."

Menma sprang from rooftop to rooftop across Konoha.

"Looks like I need to develop Nine Mask Svāhā as soon as possible."

Menma somewhat missed the ability to fly granted by the Celestial Maiden in Nine Mask Svāhā.

The original forms of Nine Faces were all foxes, while Nine Mask Svāhā was a Summoning Jutsu developed based on Nine-Tails chakra.

Therefore, he could only develop those nine Summoned Beasts with Mini-Kurama's help.

Menma moved through Konoha with extraordinary mobility and Malice Sense, avoiding several highly perceptive shinobi in the village as he cleared out two White Zetsu hidden beneath Hokage Rock.

However, he did not clear out every White Zetsu he found. He merely cleaned up the route from Hokage Rock to the Orphanage.

Surely Pot Kage wouldn't mind carrying a few more pots.

By the time Obito and Black Zetsu reacted, Menma should already have been living on his own.

After finishing his work, Menma felt hungry and decided to find something to eat.

Menma landed in an alley. After disguising himself as an ordinary black-haired boy with a Transformation Technique, he stepped out of the alley and entered Ichiraku Ramen.

"Hey, hey, I heard the war is about to end. Peace is coming, right?"

"Kumogakure's envoys arrived yesterday. The Third Hokage personally held a banquet to receive them. This war should be ending soon," two shinobi said as they slurped their ramen.

"Kumogakure's envoys?" Menma sat down beside them.

Right. This was Konoha's Year 54, the year the war between Kumogakure and the Hidden Leaf Village came to an end.