Fierce Battle with Cloud-Hidden Ninjas

Menma held a Flying Thunder God Kunai and hurled it toward the three approaching Kumogakure ninjas; the kunai whistled through the air, carving a golden trajectory.

The three Kumogakure ninjas shifted their forms, easily evading the attack of the Flying Thunder God Kunai.

Menma smiled and instantly activated the Flying Thunder God to appear beside the ninja skilled in Summoning Jutsu, his eyes sharp and hands quick as he slashed out with his kunai.

"Kid, is that all you've got?" The ninja skilled in Lightning Style and Water Style sneered, his hands moving in a rapid sequence of seals. "Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!" A massive torrent of water erupted from his mouth, rapidly condensing into the shape of a dragon in mid-air, which lunged toward Menma with bared fangs and claws.

Seeing this, Menma had no choice but to retreat; he kicked the ninja skilled in Summoning Jutsu away and quickly formed his own seals. "Earth Style: Earth-Style Wall!" A thick wall of earth rose from the ground, blocking the Water Dragon Jutsu. The water dragon slammed into the wall, splashing a massive wave of water that instantly turned the surrounding ground into a muddy mess.

At this moment, the ninja skilled in Summoning Jutsu quickly put some distance between them and pressed his palms together. "Summoning Jutsu!" In an instant, several highly venomous spiders appeared around him, and these spiders scurried rapidly toward Menma.

Menma felt a jolt of alarm; his body instinctively wanted to retreat, but he forcibly suppressed the fear in his heart.

Menma unleashed his taijutsu, his form moving like lightning as he wove through the spiders, simultaneously forming seals with his hands. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!" A massive fireball flew toward the spiders; wherever the fireball passed, several small spiders were instantly consumed by the flames, emitting a pungent, charred odor.

"Interesting, kid." The ninja skilled in Lightning Style let out a cold snort, his body vanishing from the spot. The next moment, he appeared behind Menma, his hand wreathed in intense lightning chakra as he struck at Menma's back.

Sensing the attack from behind, Menma remained calm; he tossed his Flying Thunder God Kunai straight up into the air and then vanished from the spot.

"Menma!" Naruto shouted from the side, struggling to break free from the spider silk, but the silk only tightened as he fought; he let out a sigh of relief upon seeing Menma disappear.

Menma arrived beside a Flying Thunder God Kunai not far away, seized the opportunity, and activated the Flying Thunder God again to return behind the man.

Suddenly, the ninja skilled in Lightning Style seemed to sense something and launched another attack; his speed was immense, and a barrage of lightning attacks poured down toward Menma like raindrops.

Menma could only dodge continuously, sustaining several gashes on his body from the lightning strikes.

The ninja skilled in Summoning Jutsu performed his technique once more; this time, a giant spider appeared, its legs thick and powerful, causing the ground to tremble with every step. The spider spat out one strand of tough silk after another toward Menma. While dodging the lightning attacks, Menma also had to evade the entangling silk, appearing quite disheveled.

Knowing this could not go on, Menma decided to use the Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu. In an instant, over a dozen Menma clones appeared in the surroundings and charged toward the three Kumogakure ninjas.

The ninja skilled in Lightning Style and Water Style formed seals. "Lightning Style: False Darkness!" An intense beam of lightning shot toward Menma's clones, instantly obliterating several of them.

Taking advantage of this opening, Menma's original body charged toward the ninja skilled in Summoning Jutsu, determined to eliminate the source of the constant spider summons.

He unleashed Wind Style: Air Palm, and a powerful blade of wind flew toward the ninja. The ninja hurriedly summoned several small spiders to block in front of him, but the spiders were struck by the wind blade and sliced into fragments.

However, just as Menma prepared to continue his assault, the giant spider suddenly appeared above his head, its massive fangs snapping down toward him. Menma felt a jolt of alarm and rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the lethal strike.

At this point, the three Kumogakure ninjas formed a perimeter, trapping Menma in the center. They wore triumphant smiles, seemingly convinced that Menma had no way to escape.

Menma wiped the blood from his face, knowing he could no longer hold anything back. He took a deep breath and activated the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.

Powerful chakra surged from within him, and a layer of dark golden light enveloped his body.

The three Kumogakure ninjas felt the sudden surge in Menma's presence, and the smiles on their faces vanished, replaced by expressions of gravity.

Menma launched the first attack; his speed was several times faster than before, and he appeared before the ninja skilled in Summoning Jutsu in a near-instant.

He threw a punch imbued with immense power, sending the ninja flying and crashing heavily into a large tree, which was uprooted by the impact.

Seeing its master attacked, the giant spider lunged at Menma in a rage. Menma remained calm and formed seals. "Lightning Style: Lightning Ball!"

A massive ball of lightning appeared in his hands, which he hurled at the spider. Upon impact, the lightning ball detonated in a massive explosion, shattering the spider into pieces.

Seeing this, the ninja skilled in Lightning Style gritted his teeth and unleashed his strongest lightning technique. "Lightning Style: Lightning Piercing!" His body transformed into a bolt of lightning as he charged at Menma.

Menma let out a cold snort and unleashed a Rasengan of his own; dark golden chakra swirled around the Rasengan as he met the bolt of lightning head-on.

The Rasengan collided with the man's outer layer of chakra, erupting in a flash of intense light and a deafening roar.

Powerful shockwaves rippled outward, causing the surrounding trees to sway and buckle under the force.

In the clash of power, Menma's Rasengan gradually gained the upper hand; the ninja was pushed back by the force of the Rasengan, sliding several meters across the ground before spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Seeing his two companions defeated, the ninja skilled in Lightning Style and Water Style knew he had no chance of winning, but he decided to make one final, desperate stand. He formed seals, simultaneously channeling Lightning and Water Style. "Lightning Style: Flash Lightning Arrow! Water Style: Great Shark Bullet Technique!" A massive attack in the shape of a shark, composed of a mixture of lightning and water chakra, flew toward Menma.

Menma stood his ground, his gaze resolute. He concentrated the Nine-Tails chakra into his hands and pushed them forward, sending a powerful wave of golden chakra to meet the lightning-water shark.

The golden chakra wave easily shattered the lightning-water shark attack and continued toward the ninja. The ninja had no time to dodge; struck by the chakra wave, his body was sent flying like a kite with a broken string.

"Hmph! How pathetic, Menma brat. If you had used my power earlier, this would have been over long ago," Kurama said from within the Sealing Space.

"I can't just rely on you forever, Kurama, right?" Menma said to Kurama with a smile.

"Hmph! Stubborn brat. Don't come crying to me when you need saving again." Kurama finished speaking and laid his head down, appearing ready to sleep.

Menma just smiled and opened his eyes.

Looking at the three defeated Kumogakure ninjas, Menma deactivated the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode. He walked over to his companions and used his kunai, infused with wind-attribute chakra, to slice through the spider silk binding them.

"Menma, you're so amazing!" Ino said, looking at Menma.

Naruto, however, punched Menma directly in the face, causing Menma to sit on the ground, clutching his cheek.

"What are you doing, Naruto! Why did you hit him all of a sudden?" Kiba exclaimed.

"If you had been faster—if you had finished them off sooner, Yota wouldn't... he wouldn't have died!" Naruto looked at Menma, tears streaming down his face.

Menma stood up, his expression complex; he didn't know what to say. The others began to cry as well upon hearing this.

"I... I... sigh, forget it, it's my fault." Menma stammered, ultimately unable to find the right words.

"If we're going to point fingers, shouldn't we blame you too, Naruto?" Shikamaru spoke up, then added, "If you hadn't insisted on going out exploring or whatever, how could we have ended up in this situation!" Shikamaru said, crying as he spoke.

"I... I didn't think it would turn out like this," Naruto said, filled with self-reproach.

"So, Menma knew it would turn out like this?" Ino asked, tears flowing down her cheeks.

"Alright, everyone, stop arguing. I don't think Yota would want to see us fighting," Choji said, sobbing from the side.

"Everything that went wrong is ultimately the fault of the Cloud Village. Let's take their bodies back to the village and let Grandpa Hokage handle it," Menma said, then pulled out a Sealing Scroll to seal the three bodies away.

"Let's go, it's time to head back," Menma said, walking over to the others.

The group remained silent, following Menma one after another.

Along the way, Kurama teased Menma from time to time, asking why he wasn't acting so tough anymore, or mocking how he had reacted when he first saw the spiders, laughing heartily as he described the look on Menma's face at the time.

Menma was speechless at this version of Kurama; this usually tsundere fox had actually started mocking people. Menma had often chatted with Kurama before, but the fox had always maintained a haughty, superior attitude. This was the first time Menma had ever seen Kurama like this.

Before long, the group caught sight of the main gate of Konoha. Izumo Kamizuki and Kotetsu Hagane saw the children approaching from afar and, upon closer inspection, recognized them.

Kotetsu Hagane was startled, wondering when these kids had slipped out, and the two quickly hurried over to them.

Seeing the group looking dejected and still crying incessantly, their expressions turned grave.

"Can you tell me what exactly happened?" Kotetsu Hagane asked.

"It's a bit serious. We were attacked by Cloud Village ninja. Please, Uncle Kotetsu Hagane, call our parents and the Hokage. I have something important to report," Menma said to Kotetsu Hagane.

"I understand. Izumo, take care of the children; I'm going to report this." Kotetsu Hagane was curious about how Menma knew his name, but compared to that, what Menma had said was far more urgent.

"Don't worry, leave the children to me. Go quickly!" Izumo Kamizuki said.

Kotetsu Hagane then used the Body Flicker Technique to leave the spot. He first went to find others to notify the parents, then headed off to report to Hiruzen Sarutobi himself.

Izumo Kamizuki led the group to the guard station at the Konoha gate, where the sound of weeping echoed from within as he continued to comfort them.