Those words, cold, mechanical, devoid of hesitation
Struck Naruto like freezing steel.
It felt as though the air itself had turned to ice.
Naruto spun around abruptly, staring at the masked leader.
"That's impossible!" he shouted. "Granny Tsunade promised me! She said no matter what happens, she wouldn't issue a kill order on them! You've got it wrong!"
Even Shikamaru's brows tightened.
He had stood in the Hokage's office. He had heard Tsunade's instructions directly. Her objective had been retrieval not execution.
And yet
These masked shinobi had invoked lethal authority.
What Shikamaru did not know
What Naruto could not possibly understand
Was that not all masked operatives in Konoha answered solely to the Hokage.
Buried within the village's shadow structure existed Root (Ne) a covert branch once commanded by Shimura Danzō. An organization trained to sever emotion, erase identity, and operate outside conventional oversight.
They obeyed one man.
Not the Hokage.
Menma understood immediately.
These were not standard ANBU.
And that realization only sharpened the faint smile forming at the corner of his lips.
"How interesting," he murmured.
He glanced toward Naruto.
"Do you see now? This is the 'justice' of your village. Orders shift. Promises fracture. You're still clinging to illusions."
Naruto's fists trembled.
"Shut up!"
But the Root leader had already raised his hand.
"Engage."
No explanation.
No negotiation.
Six figures moved simultaneously.
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
They advanced in precise, synchronized formation two flanking, two suppressing, two closing for capture.
"Don't!" Naruto shouted instinctively.
But Root operatives were conditioned beyond emotional appeal.
Menma exhaled slowly.
"Fine."
His chakra surged.
A violent crimson aura erupted outward
Not a full transformation.
But the initial manifestation of the Nine-Tails' chakra cloak.
A dense, corrosive shroud formed around his body, bubbling and flickering like living flame.
The pressure in the valley shifted instantly.
Even Sasuke's eyes narrowed.
Though his Cursed Seal had evolved and he could now enter its second stage, the oppressive density of the Nine-Tails' chakra was unmistakable.
There was still distance between them.
"Handle Naruto," Menma said calmly. "I'll deal with these."
Sasuke did not argue.
"Do as you please."
His Sharingan spun once more three tomoe fully matured.
He launched forward toward Naruto.
Across the battlefield
Tayuya clicked her tongue.
"Then the lazy one is mine."
She leapt toward Shikamaru, flute already in hand.
The Valley fractured into four simultaneous confrontations.
Three Root operatives closed in on Menma.
The leader remained behind, assessing.
Menma's hands moved rapidly.
"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Jutsu!"
He expelled multiple concentrated streams of flame in rapid succession, each shaped into elongated arcs designed to restrict movement rather than simply burn.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
A Root shinobi countered instantly.
A vertical wall of churning water erupted upward, intercepting the flames.
Steam exploded outward in a violent hiss.
But
Through the thinning vapor
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu."
A single thrown shuriken multiplied mid-flight into dozens, descending at oblique angles.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
Stone barriers rose.
Two operatives evaded.
One
A fraction too slow.
"Puchi!"
Steel penetrated armor and flesh.
Blood sprayed across stone.
The body fell without a sound.
The battlefield stilled for half a breath.
The Root leader's eyes narrowed behind his mask.
This was not a genin-level threat.
The capture plan dissolved immediately.
Elimination became primary.
Another operative lunged in from Menma's blind angle.
Menma pivoted sharply.
A kunai flashed.
Steel met steel.
"Keng!"
The impact reverberated violently.
The Root shinobi's arm shook from the force.
This was not merely chakra amplification
It was raw kinetic output layered with Nine-Tails reinforcement.
Impossible physical strength for a twelve-year-old body.
Two more attacked simultaneously.
Front and rear.
Menma's cloak flared brighter.
He rotated mid-stance
His leg lashed out.
"Bang!"
The heel connected squarely with one attacker's abdomen.
The impact detonated with explosive force.
The operative launched backward like a projectile, smashing against the cliffside stone and collapsing unconscious.
Before the remaining two could reorient
Menma's chakra spiked again.
The cloak thickened.
A faint tail-like extension flickered into existence behind him.
Version One manifestation.
Not complete.
But enough.
The air trembled.
For the first time
A trace of hesitation rippled through the remaining Root operatives.
They had been trained to suppress fear.
But instinct
Was older than training.
Across the valley, Naruto and Sasuke clashed atop Hashirama's stone arm.
Below them, Tayuya's genjutsu melody began weaving through the air.
Above all
The statues of Madara and Hashirama watched silently.
History had once divided brothers here.
And once again
Blood was about to stain the stone.
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