Time passed slowly.
The wind roared endlessly through the Valley of the End, colliding against the towering stone effigies of Uchiha Madara and Senju Hashirama.
Menma remained seated atop Madara's stone head, eyes closed, posture steady, his chakra suppressed to a near-imperceptible degree.
Nearly an hour later
Two familiar chakra signatures approached rapidly from the east.
Menma's eyes opened.
Across the river gorge, a figure burst into view.
Tayuya.
Strapped across her back was the large cylindrical coffin containing Sasuke.
The moment she saw Menma, her expression shifted from alarm to visible relief.
"Menma-sama."
Though not native to Konohagakure, the shinobi of Otogakure adhered strictly to Orochimaru's hierarchy. Under both Orochimaru's and Kabuto's instructions, they afforded Menma formal respect. Not out of personal allegiance but because Orochimaru required it.
Menma tilted his head slightly.
"Sasuke is inside?"
Tayuya nodded immediately. "Yes. Kimimaro intercepted the pursuers long enough for me to reach here. Orochimaru-sama's appointed time is almost upon us. Please ensure Sasuke reaches him safely."
Her breathing was uneven.
She had clearly been forced to retreat under pressure.
From the forest behind her, faint but rapidly approaching chakra fluctuations were closing in again.
Menma remained composed.
"Don't rush," he replied lightly. "He is about to awaken."
Tayuya blinked.
Before she could respond
The coffin began to tremble violently.
A surge of dark, unstable chakra leaked outward.
Cracks spread across the surface.
"Boom!"
The container exploded outward in fragments.
A figure stepped forward through the settling dust.
Uchiha Sasuke.
His appearance had changed subtly. His skin was pale from prolonged confinement. Dark markings remnants of the Cursed Seal's maturation process faded slowly across his body.
His chakra was different.
Sharper.
Colder.
At that same moment—
Two figures landed atop Hashirama's statue opposite them.
Naruto.
Shikamaru.
Both froze briefly at the sight.
Naruto's eyes widened.
"Sasuke!?"
Then his gaze shifted.
"…Menma?"
Menma rose smoothly to his feet.
"It's been over half a month," he said calmly, looking at Sasuke. "Your chakra has stabilized. The Cursed Seal's evolution appears successful."
Sasuke's lips curved faintly.
"So you came as well," he replied, voice level. "Was this Orochimaru's arrangement?"
Menma gave a soft, dismissive laugh.
"Arrangement? No. Orochimaru and I have an agreement, not a command structure. I'm here to ensure nothing interferes prematurely. Whether you emerged successfully depended on you."
Sasuke studied him briefly, then gave a small nod.
He understood the implication.
Everything had been his own choice.
His gaze shifted toward Naruto.
Naruto stepped forward, fists clenched.
"Sasuke, this doesn't have to continue! Menma, too this is all a misunderstanding, right? I've already spoken with Granny Tsunade and Pervy Sage. If you come back now, everything can still be fixed! We can start over!"
The desperation in Naruto's voice was unmistakable.
Shikamaru remained silent beside him, but his eyes were calculating.
The atmosphere was wrong.
Too final.
Menma's expression did not change.
"Start over?" he echoed faintly. "Naruto, you still see the world in absolutes."
He turned his head slightly toward Sasuke.
"For some of us, returning isn't an option."
Sasuke's Sharingan activated instantly.
Three tomoe rotated clearly within crimson irises.
Fully matured.
No longer the incomplete two-tomoe state from before.
Naruto felt the difference immediately.
This was not the Sasuke he had trained beside.
"Sasuke…" Naruto whispered.
Sasuke's voice was calm.
"This is my path."
His chakra flared sharply.
The air grew heavier.
Menma's gaze sharpened as well not hostile, but observant.
He had no intention of interfering unless necessary.
Sasuke continued, eyes never leaving Naruto.
"If you stand in my way… I will cut you down."
Naruto's jaw tightened.
"Then I'll just drag you back!"
The moment crystallized
And then
Multiple presences erupted from the forest perimeter.
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
Six ANBU operatives of Konohagakure appeared in coordinated formation, black cloaks shifting as they landed behind Naruto and Shikamaru.
Animal-patterned masks concealed their identities.
The leader, wearing a cat-shaped mask, stepped forward.
His chakra presence was steady and controlled undoubtedly jōnin-class.
"Uzumaki Menma. Uchiha Sasuke."
His tone was devoid of emotion.
"Under direct authority of the Fifth Hokage, you are hereby classified as missing-nin of Konohagakure. You are ordered to surrender immediately and return without resistance."
A pause.
"If you refuse, we are authorized to use lethal force."
Naruto's eyes widened.
"ANBU…? Granny Tsunade sent them?"
Shikamaru's expression darkened slightly.
This had escalated beyond retrieval.
This was now official containment.
Across the gorge, Sasuke's expression hardened but he did not waver.
Menma merely exhaled softly.
"So that's how it is."
His chakra stirred faintly, though still contained.
The wind howled between the statues of Madara and Hashirama.
History had once split this valley apart.
And once again
The fracture line had appeared.
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