"Kakashi, forget it. It looks like Sasuke has made up his mind. You won't be able to convince him."
Yamato patted Kakashi on the shoulder as he spoke.
"Sasuke! Kakashi will be very sad if you betray the village!"
Guy frowned, looking at Sasuke with clear disapproval.
Tonight, the three of them were supposed to be out celebrating.
After all, the new Hokage had just taken over, and the village was entering a new era.
For Elite Jōnin like them, this meant significant changes in their lives.
But just as they left the yakiniku restaurant, Kakashi noticed Sasuke sprinting through the night.
Then, Kakashi had brought Yamato and Guy along to follow him as he was curious.
And now, here they were.
"Alright, now that the goodbyes are done, let's go."
Menma's voice was calm and emotionless as he spoke to Sasuke.
Sasuke nodded, turning to leave.
"Stop!"
Kakashi, Guy, and Yamato moved to block their path.
"As Elite Jōnin of the village, we can't just let you take Sasuke!"
Kakashi reached up and pushed his forehead protector aside, revealing his Sharingan.
Behind Menma, Tobi observed Kakashi, and his lone visible eye darkened slightly.
Seeing Kakashi reveal the Sharingan, the very eye he had once gifted him, Obito felt a sharp pang in his heart.
A past memory resurfaced.
"Kakashi, I haven't given you a gift to celebrate your promotion to Jōnin yet, have I?"
"This eye… I'll give it to you as a gift. You must use it to survive… and protect Rin!"
The words echoed in his mind.
But Rin had died at Kakashi's hands.
Kakashi…
You failed me.
You have disappointed me far too much!
Obito's eye burned with hatred.
At this moment!
"Tobi, take Sasuke and go first."
"I'll keep these Konoha ninjas entertained for a while."
Menma's indifferent voice snapped Obito out of his thoughts.
"Oh~! You're not even going to ask me for help, senpai?"
Tobi teased, but quickly shrugged.
"Well, I suppose you're right. There are only a few Konoha ninjas. With your strength, you could crush them with one hand."
With that, he grabbed Sasuke's shoulder and disappeared instantly.
The two figures darted toward the outskirts of the village.
"Stop!"
Kakashi and the others rushed forward to intercept them.
But suddenly!
Whoosh!
A wind blade cut through the air in front of them, nearly slicing them in half.
Boom!!!
In the distance, a massive gash tore through the forest, splitting the ground open.
Kakashi and the others turned back towards Menma, and their expressions became grave.
Kakashi asked, "Who are you? Why are you taking Sasuke? What's your goal?"
Menma asked, "You don't even know who I am?"
Menma rose into the air, lifted by a swirling mass of sand beneath his feet. He looked down at them with a cold gaze.
"My name is Uchiha Menma."
A strange red light flickered in his eyes, staring down at them.
"Uchiha Menma?! So it's you! The mysterious figure from the Chūnin Exams!"
Kakashi narrowed his eyes.
He had heard of Uchiha Menma.
This was the man who had broken through the Four Violet Flames Formation, injured the Third Hokage with genjutsu, and slaughtered a dozen Anbu.
He had also appeared during the fight between Naruto and Gaara, single-handedly defeating both the full-powered One-Tail Shukaku and Naruto in his Three-Tails state.
His strength was terrifying.
A Kage-level powerhouse!
Against such an opponent, even they, three Elite Jōnins felt pressure.
But it was three against one. They still had a chance!
Menma sneered, "Oh? Looks like you have some confidence in your abilities."
Kakashi shouted, "Guy, Yamato, work with me!"
Guy cracked his knuckles and nodded.
In an instant, Yamato used Wood release, while Guy surged forward—both launching a coordinated attack.
"Pathetic."
Menma smirked.
In the next second
Boom!
Guy's Konoha Whirlwind suddenly veered towards Yamato.
Yamato countered by attempting to bind Guy with Wood release: Tree Bind Eternal Burial.
"You two?!"
Kakashi's eyes widened.
The plan had been simple.
Yamato and Guy would keep Menma busy, while he would use Raikiri to deliver a fatal strike.
But before they even got close, both were caught in his genjutsu.
"Wake up!"
Kakashi darted forward, but...
Clang!
A sharp kunai intercepted him, slicing a shallow wound across his cheek.
Menma casually stood before him and flicked his fingers.
Whoosh!
A storm of kunai shot towards Kakashi, forcing him to retreat.
"Wood release? Hah! What a disgrace to Senju Hashirama."
Menma scoffed at Yamato's abilities.
"Damn it!"
Kakashi gritted his teeth, but he was pinned down, unable to help.
Menma sneered, "You're just rubbish and not even half as good as me."
At this moment!
"Syrange Strength!"
"Fire release: Flame Bullet!"
Whoosh!
A sand barrier rose behind Menma, blocking the attacks.
Tsunade's punch shattered the sand wall.
Jiraiya's fireball erupted, and the flames rained down like a meteor storm.
"Wild Lion's Mane Technique!"
Long, white hair lashed out, slicing through the kunai in mid-air.
Whoosh!
Jiraiya landed beside Kakashi.
He asked, "Kakashi, are you alright?"
Kakashi shook his head.
"What's going on?"
Jiraiya frowned.
He had been drinking at an izakaya when he heard an explosion.
While rushing over, he met Tsunade, who had also sensed the commotion.
Whoosh!
Tsunade appeared between Yamato and Guy, forcing them apart.
Boom!
She used one punch each to instantly wake them up.
Kakashi said, "Jiraiya-sama, this is Uchiha Menma. He appeared in the Chūnin Exams before."
"I don't know how he lured Sasuke, but now Sasuke wants to leave the village with him."
Jiraiya exclaimed, "It's him!"
Jiraiya didn't care much about Sasuke.
Instead, his expression darkened when he heard that the person in front of him was the same Uchiha who had appeared in the Chūnin Exam before.
This is not an easy enemy to deal with.
On the other side
After Tsunade woke up Guy and Yamato with a single punch, the three of them regrouped.
Tsunade seriously said, "Jiraiya, this guy is too strong. Even with both of us, we can't handle him."
Tsunade's face was more serious than ever.
Jiraiya asked with surprise, "Have you fought him before?"
Jiraiya saw her expression and immediately realized that Tsunade must have encountered this Uchiha Menma before.
And sure enough, Tsunade nodded.
Then, she briefly recounted her previous battle with Menma.
"A Susanoo taller than a mountain?!"
Jiraiya was stunned.
"He split a mountain ten thousand meters away with a single slash?! Tsunade, are you serious?"
Tsunade gravely said, "Do I look like I'm joking?"
Tsunade's face remained solemn.
Jiraiya fell silent.
It wasn't that he didn't trust Tsunade, but wasn't this too exaggerated?
Does such power really exist in the world?
Even Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara, the legendary figures who ended the Sengoku Period might not be on this level.
Or could it be that they weren't even as strong as this?
Jiraiya had never witnessed the full power of Senju Hashirama and Madara.
To him, the Tailed Beasts were already the most destructive entities in the world.
But now, Tsunade was telling him that someone possessed more destructive power than a Tailed Beast?!
And a Susanoo taller than a mountain?
How do they even fight against that?
"What do we do now?" Jiraiya asked.
Tsunade asked, "What do you think?"
Tsunade shot him a look as if he were an idiot.
The situation was already like this.
What else could they do?
Fight!
Jiraiya admitted, "Yeah! That was a dumb question."
Jiraiya wrily smiled.
Tsunade's description had genuinely unsettled him.
Jiraiya said, "Tsunade, hold him off for a while."
Tsunade reminded, "Come with me. And remember to not look into his eyes!"
Tsunade nodded and relayed the warning to Kakashi and the others.
Meanwhile, Menma remained floating in mid-air, watching them like a god.
'Why isn't the real body here yet?' He thought to himself.
At this moment!
Tsunade, Kakashi, and the others charged in.
They went all out from the start without any hesitation.
Seeing this, Menma sighed.
Well, let's deal with these small troubles first.
Even though he was just a Wood Clone, his power was still above Kage-level.
In fact, ever since Ryosuke had awakened the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, the strength of his Wood Clone had increased even further.
Now, even his Wood Clone had reached the peak of Super Kage-level.
His strength was only slightly below that of Madara without the Rinnegan.
He was just missing a Nine Tails. Otherwise, he would basically be equal to Madara.
Speaking of which, the Tailed Beast Chakra stored inside Ryosuke's sealed space had already formed two small Tailed Beasts.
One Nine Tails and one One Tail.
But they were much smaller than the real Nine Tails and Shukaku.
They were only six or seven meters tall but the Chakra inside them far surpassed an average Kage-level ninja.
So, if Ryosuke lent his Tailed Beast Chakra to the Wood Clone, even the Wood Clone could unleash Complete Body Susanoo.
Though it wouldn't be as powerful as Madara's, it would still be terrifying.
Actually!
At their peak, Madara and Senju Hashirama were at quasi Six Paths level, nearly Six Paths level.
Even though they didn't possess Six Paths Chakra, their strength was almost at that level.
Especially Senju Hashirama.
He didn't even rely on external power.
With just Sage Mode alone, he could completely crush Madara's Complete Body Susanoo.
A true powerhouse!
"Summoning Technique!"
While Tsunade held off Menma, Jiraiya immediately summoned Fukasaku and Shima.
"Little Jiraiya, you need our help again?"
The two old toads perched on Jiraiya's shoulders, looking at the battlefield.
Jiraiya said, "I'm going to trouble you two again. This enemy is extremely strong. I need to enter Sage Mode!"
"No problem, leave it to us!"
The two toads nodded without hesitation.
Because Jiraiya hadn't perfected Sage Mode, he needed their support to maintain it properly.
That was why he had Tsunade and the others were holding off Menma.
They were buying him enough time to activate Sage Mode.
Once he enters Sage Mode, his strength will skyrocket.
Only then will he have a real chance of defeating Menma.
"Eight Inner Gates: Sixth Gate… Open!"
"Morning Peacock!!!"
Green energy flared around Guy as he leaped into the air, his fists blurring.
The sheer speed of his punch ignited the air, forming a storm of fireballs that rained down on Menma.
"Magnet release: Iron Sand Roar!"
Menma casually waved his hand.
A massive wave of iron sand surged forward, transforming into a roaring dragon that effortlessly countered Guy's attack.
And it also simultaneously crushed Yamato's Wood release attack.
"Take this!"
Tsunade's kick came from behind, aimed directly at Menma's back.
But—
Clang!
Her leg was blocked by Menma's fist.
Tsunade's eyes widened.
"This is… my Strange Strength?!"
She was stunned.
"I learned it from you last time."
Menma smirked.