Menma said, "She's only a Kazekage, and she was that hard to put down! If we hadn't been strong enough, we could've been in real trouble!"
Naruto shook his head. "I really don't know how I'm going to explain this to Gaara."
"What's there to explain?" Menma paused, then said, "It was either us killing her or her killing us!"
Just then, the voice of a communications-nin came through Naruto's earpiece. "Please don't worry. These shinobi were already dead the moment the Overlord took control of them. You were only fighting a 'Human Puppet.' Sunagakure won't blame you!"
Naruto said nothing, only staring silently at the battered corpse of the Fifth Kazekage on the ground.
Menma floated over beside Naruto and spoke into his earpiece. "How are things at the other nodes?"
The communications-nin replied, "All nine key nodes are under our control!"
Menma smiled. "Everyone's doing a great job!"
But Naruto looked up at the sky. "For some reason, I've got a bad feeling about this!"
Menma's smile faded, and he, too, looked toward the sky.
The sky had grown even darker than before. From within the clouds hanging overhead came the faint rumble of thunder, weighing heavily on their hearts!
Naruto murmured, "Menma, do you think this could be the Doomsday the Great Toad Sage prophesied?"
"How should I know?" Menma paused, then said coldly, "All I know is that the node I'm responsible for can't fall. The rest is his problem."
At the mention of Shinji, Naruto suddenly felt more confident. "Shinji won't lose. He's never lost, not since I met him!"
Suddenly, a mocking chuckle came from nearby. "Naruto, I didn't know you had such blind faith in him!"
Naruto and Menma both started and turned toward the sound.
A figure shrouded in dark purple smoke