That night, Naruto and Menma were sleeping together, something they rarely did. Naruto didn't mind sharing a bed with Menma, but Menma was very reluctant.
It wasn't that Menma disliked Naruto. The problem was that Naruto was terribly restless in his sleep. A poor sleeper who occasionally kicked people was one thing—the bed was big enough—but Naruto also sleepwalked from time to time. That was what gave Menma the biggest headache.
Naruto had worn himself out practicing the Rasengan. On the night he learned it, Menma was also exhausted from training with Shadow Clones, so he made do with sleeping on the first-floor sofa. Naruto was too tired to climb the stairs and slept on the sofa as well.
But Menma hadn't expected Naruto to sleepwalk that very night. He'd nearly been hit by Naruto's Rasengan, but fortunately Naruto had stopped in time. Otherwise, the whole house would have been a mess.
Menma had reached a conclusion, though: whenever Naruto was especially tired during the day, there was a good chance he'd sleepwalk that night. Otherwise, it didn't happen.
So that day, Menma had insisted Naruto sleep in his room. He had another reason, too: when he got home, he noticed some unusual marks on the windows of both his and Naruto's rooms.
Someone had clearly tried to wipe them away, but a few traces remained. They might have been in too much of a hurry to clean up properly when they left.
The one sleeping beside Naruto was Menma's Shadow Clone, while Menma himself lay on the bed in Naruto's room.
He had a vague feeling that someone would come that night, which was why he'd decided to wait. If anything was missing from the room, then they might have been robbed. But if everything was still there, the situation would be much more serious.
Time passed slowly, and it was already the middle of the night. Menma was so sleepy his eyes kept drooping, and he began to wonder if he'd imagined the whole thing.
Just then, the window moved. Menma was facing away from it, but he immediately sensed something was wrong. He didn't move, though, and continued pretending to sleep.
Two people quietly climbed in through the window.
"This is definitely Naruto Uzumaki's room, right?" one of them whispered.
"That's right. Uzumaki Menma's room is next door," the other whispered back.
"We've been watching for ages. Hurry up while we have the chance, or we'll be discovered." As soon as he finished speaking, he moved, lifting Menma straight off the bed.
Menma was just about to fight back when the man suddenly cast a genjutsu. Before Menma could react, the illusion took hold and knocked him unconscious.
"We have to get Naruto Uzumaki back quickly. Once we're done, we still have to bring him back here," said the man carrying Menma, as he ran out.
"Yeah. We can't keep Lord Danzo waiting," the other man agreed, following him.
The two raced across the rooftops, moving swiftly, but a figure suddenly blocked their way.
"Ah, I see. So Root is making a move against us," the figure said.
"You're... Uzumaki Menma? No! That can't be! We used Hypnotic Incense in your room. There's no way you could have woken up this quickly!" said the man carrying Menma.
"Huh? You mean that stuff? You guys left in such a hurry that you didn't even wipe away the traces. So Naruto and I switched rooms," Menma explained.
"Then who am I carrying...?" The Root Ninja carrying Menma took a closer look at him.
"The real me," said Menma, still in his arms.
"How is that possible?" Before he could react, Menma vanished. When he reappeared, he was beside his Shadow Clone.
"Why did you come over here instead of sleeping?" the real Menma asked his clone.
"I couldn't sit still, so I came to take a look," the clone replied.
"Shouldn't my genjutsu have taken control of you?" the Root Ninja asked.
"It did. I really was caught in your genjutsu at first. I hadn't thought things through. But I'm a Jinchuriki. I don't have to worry about genjutsu of your caliber. I may not be a Perfect Jinchuriki yet, but Kurama and I have been friends for a long time." As Menma spoke, he dispelled his Shadow Clone.
"Since Root has decided to come after us, you'd better be prepared for me to wipe you out." Menma pressed his right fist against the palm of his left hand. Powerful dark golden chakra instantly enveloped his body, and he entered Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.
"By the way, I'd already marked you with a Flying Thunder God Mark while you were carrying me." As he spoke, Menma vanished.
"How is that possible?" The Root Ninja hadn't even finished reacting before Menma appeared behind him and grabbed him. A dark golden chakra arm emerged from Menma's back and seized the other man. Then all three of them vanished.
When they reappeared, they were in an open clearing where Menma used to train. There were Flying Thunder God Marks on the ground; whenever he trained his clones, he'd used Flying Thunder God to bring them there.
Menma released the two men and spoke to himself:
"I could've killed you in an instant just now, but I didn't. I wanted to see how strong I'd gotten after all this training." With that, Menma dispelled Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.
"Kid, you don't really think you can beat us without using the Nine-Tails' power, do you?" said the other Anbu Ninja.
"First, let me see what you look like." Menma took out two Flying Thunder God Kunai and threw them at the pair.
When the two saw the Flying Thunder God Kunai coming, they immediately dodged. They knew enough about Flying Thunder God to realize that blocking the kunai would be pointless. Dodging to either side was their best option.
Just then, Menma vanished and appeared in front of the Root Ninja who had carried him earlier.
"How is that possible?" Before the man could finish speaking, Menma slashed down with a kunai.
"Snap!" The man's mask shattered. Menma immediately jumped back.
"I told you there was a Flying Thunder God Mark on you. I only just said it, and you've already forgotten? The mark doesn't disappear." Menma toyed with the Flying Thunder God Kunai in his hand as he spoke with a smile.
Menma studied the man in front of him and recognized him immediately. "Yamanaka Fu? I didn't expect it to be you. If I'm not mistaken, then you must be Aburame Torune, right?" Menma asked, looking at the other Root Ninja.
"Now that our identities have been exposed, there's no point wearing masks. I don't know how you found out our names, but since you know who we are, we can't afford to go easy on you." Torune removed his mask, and his entire body turned purple in an instant.
"Nano-sized Poisonous Insects covering his whole body? Looks like I can't let him touch me even once," Menma thought, considering his options.
With that, Menma created four Shadow Clones, and the five of them charged at Fu and Torune to fight hand-to-hand.
Menma was careful when fighting Torune, focusing mostly on defense. Getting hit even once would be trouble.
As they fought, Menma also planted Flying Thunder God Kunai around them, forming a pentagon that trapped the two men inside.
In their purely hand-to-hand fight, Menma could clearly feel himself struggling. After all, his opponents were from Root. Without using the Nine-Tails' chakra, it would be difficult to decide the outcome anytime soon.
"You think you can wear us down with a war of attrition? Don't underestimate me!" Torune said. He took off his shirt and tied it around his waist. A thick purple haze suddenly appeared around him. Anyone who could see it would realize that it was made up of countless Nano-sized Poisonous Insects.
The insects spread out, and Fu could only leap away to avoid being caught in them.
"You're too dangerous. I have to take you out first." Nine-Tails chakra surged around Menma, and he immediately entered Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.
"Didn't you say you wouldn't use the Nine-Tails' chakra?" Torune cried in shock.
"I had to make sure my life wasn't in danger first." As he spoke, Menma activated Flying Thunder God and appeared beside the nearest Flying Thunder God Kunai.
A dark golden chakra arm emerged from Menma's back, forming a Rasengan that slammed toward Torune.
"I can't risk using you for Impure World Reincarnation. What if your Nano-sized Poisonous Insects infected Naruto while he was holding Kushina? So I'll have to kill you." Menma looked at Torune, who lay lifeless on the ground.
"But I have another use for your body: presenting evidence of Root's crimes." Menma continued speaking, glancing at Fu out of the corner of his eye.
"Don't worry, I won't kill you. You'll get to see the new jutsu I've developed." Menma used Multi-Shadow Clone, and four Shadow Clones appeared behind him.
In an instant, all five of them vanished and reappeared where they'd planted the Flying Thunder God Kunai.
"I only use this technique against huge numbers of enemies. Don't worry—I'll avoid your vitals, so you can experience every hit." All five Menmas spoke at once, each holding six Flying Thunder God Kunai in both hands.
"Super-Rasengan Flash Super-Dance Howl Type Three!" All five of them threw their Flying Thunder God Kunai at Fu at once.
Five people using Spiral Flash Super Round Dance Howl Style Three at the same time didn't simply double its effectiveness. The actual effect was greater than the sum of its parts.
All five of them could use Flying Thunder God with every kunai, so the technique covered a wider area and eliminated enemies faster.
Within the pentagonal area, Menma kept flashing from place to place. Each time he appeared, another cut opened on Fu's body.
After a while, Fu was covered in wounds and collapsed to his knees. Under that rapid assault, there had been barely a millisecond between each attack.
"Did he lose consciousness? Good. That saves me the trouble of controlling him." Menma walked up to Fu and took a Sealing Scroll from his pocket.
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