The Legendary Boy

Menma gathered his thoughts, then looked up at the Six-Tails, held out his fist, and smiled. "I'm not good with words, so how about we bump fists instead?"

The Six-Tails was filled with doubt. This was a Chakra technique invented when the Sage of Six Paths founded the Ninja Sect, one that linked Chakra through a fist bump and conveyed the thoughts in each other's hearts.

But this method had long since been lost. How did this boy before it know about it?

After some hesitation, the Six-Tails finally separated a small bud of flesh from its head, shaped it into a fist, and lightly touched Menma's raised fist.

In an instant, the scene changed!

Menma instantly appeared in Utakata's mental world!

It was a dark, damp place, somewhat like a bottomless cavern. Stalactites hung overhead, dripping water with a steady patter.

Utakata knelt in the distance, his arms hanging behind him and his head tilted back. He had already lost consciousness.

A broken sealing formation lay in the distance, emitting a faint pale-blue glow.

Saiken, the Six-Tails, sat quietly at the center of the formation. From the looks of it, the formation was only minutes away from complete collapse.

"Who exactly are you?" Saiken's shrill voice rang out.

"Saiken, don't you recognize even me?" Menma released a little of the Chakra within him and slowly approached the Six-Tails, letting it sense it for itself.

This was a gamble. I'm betting that this world only went off the rails starting with Danzo, and that everything before then is still the same as the original plot! Menma felt uneasy.

Saiken's face was full of suspicion, but his intense curiosity still prompted him to touch Menma's Chakra with his feelers and carefully sense it.

"Th-this feeling is so familiar!

This is Ashura's Chakra?!" Saiken cried out in shock.

Whew—Menma let out a long breath. He had guessed right!

"It's impressive that you could recognize it. No wonder the old man said that among the nine Tailed Beasts, Kurama was the strongest, but you, Saiken, were the smartest!" Menma rattled off nonsense, taking the chance to flatter Saiken.

"Hmph, of course!" Saiken was quite pleased, but then he suddenly realized something. "No, that's not right. Didn't you die long ago? Who exactly are you?!"

"Don't be so tense, Saiken!

I really did die, but my Chakra has continued reincarnating through the cycle of life!

And this isn't even the first time we've met over the past thousand years!"

Menma continued using his knowledge of the plot to fool Saiken.

"Impossible. Why don't I remember?" Saiken asked suspiciously.

"Hahaha, the last time we met, I was called Hashirama Senju.

Did you forget? I even fought you and eventually gave you to the Hidden Mist Village!"

"Hashirama Senju?!" Saiken still did not believe him.

"That's right. But Hashirama's Chakra was too powerful at the time, so I could only lie dormant within his body and wasn't able to come out and meet you. Sorry, Saiken!"

"Hmph!" Saiken was only half-convinced.

"Oh, right, Saiken, how is Isobu doing? Does he still like playing with children like before?

You two had the best relationship back then, so I placed you in the same country."

"Hmph, he's still the same. The Jinchuriki he's found now also looks like a kid who never grew up!

No, who has a good relationship with that big turtle?!"

"I only occasionally talked to him because I saw that no one was willing to play with him and thought he was pitiful!" Saiken had finally believed that the boy before him was Ashura's reincarnation.

"Hahaha... All right, all right! Let's say you're right!" Menma continued bluffing. "Anyway, enough small talk. Time to discuss business!"

"Mm, I was just about to ask. What exactly did you want to talk to me about?" Saiken said seriously as well.

"I recently sensed some unusual activity on the moon. Grandma might be coming out!" Menma knew that if his words were not shocking, they would not get the job done, so he dropped a massive bombshell.

"What? Impossible!!!" Saiken's shrill voice echoed throughout the entire space.

"I hope I'm wrong." Menma sighed. "But Saiken, do you remember what the old man entrusted to you all before he died?"

"You mean..." Saiken trailed off.

"That's right—the prophecy Gamamaru made for the old man. In the future, there would be a blond, blue-eyed boy who would play alongside the Tailed Beasts. He would guide the power of the Tailed Beasts and bring tremendous change to the Shinobi World!"

"You..." Saiken carefully examined the boy's appearance, both shocked and delighted.

"That's right, just as you're thinking!" Knowing what Saiken wanted to say, Menma claimed the title first. "But on another note, I'll find some time to investigate the moon and see whether Grandma's seal has been damaged."

"I'll go with you. I don't want to stay inside this Jinchuriki anymore anyway. I might as well take this chance to move into your body!" Saiken said.

"No, no." Menma hurriedly stopped him.

If I let you move in and you discover the real Ashura, wouldn't my claim that I awakened Ashura's memories be exposed?

Though that was what he thought, Menma quickly came up with a reason to placate Saiken.

"Your current Jinchuriki is a Ninja from the Hidden Mist Village. If you suddenly appeared inside my body, it would definitely start a war."

"Once war breaks out, I'll surely be tied down and won't have time to investigate the moon!

Besides, we still don't know whether the disturbance in the moon's seal was caused by someone."

"So we need to hide ourselves even more carefully.

Saiken, you're the smartest among the Tailed Beasts. You should understand what I mean, right?"

Saiken suddenly understood. "Mm, all right, I'll listen to you!

So what should we do next?"

"Mm, in a moment, I'll pretend to seal you. Cooperate with me and take the opportunity to retreat into the Jinchuriki's body, then lie low in secret."

"When the time is right, I'll come find you again. Then we'll bring Isobu, Kurama, and the others along to deal with the enemy!"

"Mm-hmm!" Saiken nodded rapidly. "Oh, right, take this. Honestly, the Chakra reserves of this body you reincarnated into are way too low. They're nowhere near Hashirama Senju's!"

As he spoke, Saiken separated a small fragment of himself from his body and sent it into Menma's body. "This is a portion of my Chakra, about as much as one Shukaku's worth. Use it sparingly. Once it's gone, it's gone!"

Menma sensed the foreign Chakra within his body, and countless thoughts ran through his mind. This Chakra would inevitably bring him trouble, but that was a problem for later. First, he had to get through the current crisis!

Without changing expression, Menma thanked him. "Mm, then let's go out now. Remember to stay well hidden. Also, this Jinchuriki is a decent person, so don't kill him!"

"All right, all right, I know!" Saiken replied in his shrill voice.

Then the scene shifted, and Menma's consciousness instantly returned to his body.