The Root's Second Attack

Just as Kakashi and Kushina continued their idle chatter, a knock sounded at the door.

The afternoon sun spilled over the house, and the surroundings were so quiet that only the rustling of wind through the leaves could be heard. The atmosphere inside was relaxed and cozy, but this knocking shattered the tranquility.

"Excuse me, is Menma home?" a man's voice asked. Kushina found the voice very familiar, so she opened the door. Upon seeing who it was, she greeted him warmly.

"Oh, it's Fugaku! It's been such a long time. Please, come in, come in! Wait, didn't Mikoto come with you?" Kushina was all smiles at first, but after scanning the area and failing to find Mikoto, she couldn't help but ask.

Fugaku was stunned for a moment. He scrutinized the person before him, whom he had never seen before, and couldn't recall who she was. Uncertain, he asked, "Excuse me, Miss, do we know each other?" Fugaku truly couldn't remember who this person was, nor did he understand why she would be at Menma's house. If he hadn't checked the location repeatedly, he would have thought he had come to the wrong place.

"Oh my, even if it's been a while, you shouldn't have forgotten me, right? It's me, Kushina," she said with a giggle. Suddenly realizing something, she glanced around before pulling Fugaku into the house.

Hearing the person claim to be Kushina, Fugaku was visibly shocked. He looked at her with an incredulous expression, and before he could recover, he was pulled inside.

"Are you really Kushina?" Fugaku asked tentatively.

Kushina then dispelled the Transformation Technique, returning to her original appearance, and covered her mouth with a giggle: "Is it not me?"

Fugaku finally reacted, realizing that the person before him was indeed Kushina.

At this moment, Kakashi walked over and greeted Fugaku: "Hello, Clan Head Fugaku."

Fugaku turned to see Kakashi and nodded in acknowledgment.

"So, Kushina, you've been resurrected?" Fugaku asked.

"I wouldn't exactly call it a resurrection; I was brought back by Menma using Impure World Reincarnation," Kushina replied.

"What?" Fugaku looked at Kushina in disbelief, then turned to Kakashi. After receiving confirmation from him, he felt even more strongly that Menma was no simple person.

"Oh? By the way, Fugaku, are you here to see Menma? It's quite unfortunate, he just fell asleep not long ago," Kushina said.

"It seems I've come at a bad time," Fugaku said helplessly.

"Oh, what does that matter? It's been so long, let's sit down and chat. It won't be too late to talk once Menma wakes up," Kushina said as she pulled Fugaku into the living room.

"But..." Fugaku wanted to refuse, but he couldn't resist Kushina's warm invitation.

I do not know how much time passed before Menma walked out of his room.

The three people downstairs heard the movement above and looked up one after another.

"Oh? Uncle Fugaku is here too? Then consider this a witness," Menma said as he walked down the stairs.

"A witness?" Fugaku repeated in confusion, while Kushina and Kakashi also looked puzzled.

"Oh, you'll know in a moment. Come closer," Menma said, placing his hands on Kushina and Kakashi.

Kakashi understood immediately and placed his hand on Fugaku. With a "whoosh," the four figures vanished from the spot.

As for Naruto, he was playing hide-and-seek with Shikamaru and the others. In the surrounding woods, sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled shadows, and a gentle breeze blew by, bringing a touch of coolness. Suddenly, a gust of wind struck, and everyone felt their bodies grow heavy before they collapsed.

Clearly, they had fallen under a genjutsu. At this moment, several masked figures emerged, along with a man whose right eye was covered by bandages and whose right arm was in a sling as if broken—this man was none other than Danzo.

"Lord Danzo, it is done," a masked Root ninja said.

"Good. Take the jinchuriki and we withdraw," Danzo commanded.

A Root ninja hoisted Naruto up and prepared to leave.

Just then, with a "whoosh," four figures appeared before them.

"You want to take my brother away without even saying hello to me first?" a voice rang out. It was Menma, who had arrived using the Flying Thunder God Kunai.

Menma knew that after the first failed mission, Root would surely attempt a second, so he naturally wouldn't let Naruto go out alone. When Naruto left, Menma had created a shadow clone to follow him in secret, using the Flying Thunder God Kunai to arrive at his side.

"Mom, we can't let those who bullied us get away," Menma said.

"I understand that naturally," Kushina said, casting a barrier that enclosed the Root ninjas, Menma, and Kakashi.

"Then, facing so many people, that move is quite appropriate. Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!" With that, dozens of Menma's shadow clones surrounded the nine people, including Danzo.

"Hmph! Brat, don't think that just because you know the Flying Thunder God that you can look down on our Root!" Danzo said, ordering his subordinates to break through.

At this time, the numerous shadow clones of Menma clashed with the Root ninjas within the barrier. Although the taijutsu of Menma's shadow clones couldn't match the Root operatives, they managed to fight to a stalemate through sheer numbers.

Menma's original body sat on the ground, propping his head up with one hand and watching quietly.

I do not know how much time passed, but after Menma's last shadow clone was destroyed, the Root members were panting heavily. They gripped their weapons, staring daggers at Menma.

"Oh? Can you still fight?" Menma stood up and began to weave hand signs.

At this moment, four shadow clones appeared behind him, then instantly vanished, reappearing beside the Flying Thunder God Kunai he had already placed.

"So, after taking this hit, will you still be able to fight?" Menma provoked.

"Damn brat, what do you take us for?" a Root ninja roared viciously.

"Nothing more than Danzo's dogs," Menma replied.

"Damn brat, don't look down on us! Water Style! Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"

At that moment, a massive surge of water came crashing toward them.

Another Root ninja, quick to react, immediately began weaving hand signs.

"Lightning Style! Lightning Ball!" At this moment, the water inside the barrier instantly became electrified, flying straight toward Menma.

"A bit interesting! Flying Thunder God: Guiding Thunder." Menma placed a Flying Thunder God Kunai in front of his hands, and a magic circle suddenly appeared before him.

The electrified water drew closer and closer. Just as it was about to touch Menma, the water was sucked directly into the magic circle as if drawn by a black hole.

Meanwhile, by the seaside, an old man was preparing to set sail for fishing, the surface of the sea shimmering under the sunlight. Suddenly, the sea began to surge violently. Seeing this, the old man quickly retreated to a safe distance. Once the sea calmed down, he returned to the shore to take a look and suddenly discovered a large number of half-dead fish scattered along the beach and on the water's surface.

The old man thought this must be a gift from the Sea God, so he immediately knelt down and kowtowed piously.

"Thank you for the gift, Sea God!"

Back on Menma's side, the Anbu members were shocked, watching the scene with expressions of disbelief.

The people outside the barrier were also looking at Menma inside with equal disbelief.

Kakashi, however, was unfazed; after all, Menma had been taught by him personally, and he understood Menma's strength to some extent.

"Teacher Kakashi, are you ready? Here I come!" Menma asked.

"Mm! Let's go." Kakashi lifted his headband, revealing his Sharingan.

"Super-Rasengan Flash Super-Dance Howl Type Three!" five Menmas shouted simultaneously, throwing the Flying Thunder God Kunai in their hands.

Kakashi picked up a kunai and charged forward as well. At this point, the few members of Root were gradually losing ground under Menma's relentless attacks. However, Root was not entirely composed of incompetent people; three or four of them were still able to keep up with Menma's speed and prepare defenses in advance, though they could only hold out for a few moments before being scratched by Menma's kunai.

Seeing this, the Root ninja who had been carrying Naruto and standing with Danzo could no longer stand by. He set Naruto down and said to Danzo beside him:

"Lord Danzo, I must go and assist them."

After receiving Danzo's approval, he quickly formed hand seals: "Fire Style! Great Fireball Technique!" A massive fireball flew toward the crowd, and he immediately followed up with more hand seals: "Wind Style! Great Breakthrough!"

As the Wind Style made contact with the Fire Style, the fireball instantly grew significantly larger.

The seven Root ninjas who were fighting Menma saw this and used the Body Flicker Technique to leave their positions, retreating to Danzo's side.

Under the influence of the Wind Style, the Fire Style exploded and spread in all directions, shrouding the entire barrier in smoke and dust so that those outside could not see what was happening inside.

As the smoke and dust gradually cleared, it became apparent that the Root side had protected themselves with Earth Style, while a faint golden light began to emerge from Menma's side.

When the smoke and dust completely dissipated, a dark golden sphere was seen protecting Menma and Kakashi inside.

Clearly, at the critical moment, Thousand Jun had entered the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode and used the Nine-Tails chakra to shield himself and Kakashi.