Chương 85: Brutal Killing

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Naruto felt as though he'd plunged into an icy abyss.

He turned to the lead ANBU with disbelief, his voice breaking as he shouted, "Impossible! Granny Tsunade would never give an order like that—no matter what! She would never say 'kill without mercy'! You must be mistaken!"

Beside him, Shikamaru's expression hardened, his mind racing. He had received orders directly from Tsunade herself, and he knew her stance well. But the ANBU reported directly to the Hokage, and the inconsistency between the orders he'd received and the ANBU's actions left him deeply unsettled.

At his level, Shikamaru couldn't yet see the full picture. He didn't know about Root—a secret division answering only to Danzo Shimura, operating outside the Hokage's authority. His father, Shikaku, had chosen not to burden him with the knowledge of Konoha's darker secrets.

Among them, only Menma understood the situation clearly.

These ANBU weren't Tsunade's. They were Root—Danzo's elite. Though Menma had a sense of Tsunade's character, he wasn't above using this confusion to his advantage.

"See now, Naruto?" Menma sneered, his voice laced with mockery. "This is the 'justice' of the ninja village. You want things to go back to how they were? Don't be ridiculous. You're still clinging to naive dreams."

Menma's smirk widened as he looked at Naruto and the Root operatives.

"Kill us?" he challenged, his voice cold. "Go ahead and try."

The Root shinobi didn't bother with words. They moved in unison, their approach swift and deadly.

Whoosh!

With a single gesture from their leader, the Root operatives launched their assault on Menma and Sasuke.

"Stop!" Naruto yelled, his voice desperate.

But his plea fell on deaf ears. These shinobi were Root—a unit trained to suppress emotions, obeying orders alone.

"What a fool," Menma scoffed. "Sasuke, keep Naruto and Shikamaru busy. Leave these guys to me."

With a sudden surge of chakra, the Nine-Tails' chakra cloak flared around Menma, its crimson energy swirling menacingly. Menma remained composed, but he knew these Root shinobi weren't to be taken lightly. Even the weakest among them were at least elite chunin.

"Whatever," Sasuke muttered, though he couldn't suppress a slight twitch as he felt the oppressive chakra from Menma. Despite his growth under Orochimaru's cursed seal, he couldn't shake a feeling of unease.

Compared to their fight half a month ago, Sasuke sensed that the gap between him and Menma was even wider.

Sensing the rising tension, Tayuya stepped forward. "Sasuke-sama, I'll handle the one with the ponytail," she offered, her eyes narrowing on Shikamaru.

Without waiting for a response, she launched herself toward Shikamaru.

Sasuke's gaze turned to Naruto. With a quick burst of speed, he sprang forward, air rushing around him as he charged.

Once again, fate had led them to clash.

Menma's smirk deepened as the Root operatives closed in on him.

Boom!

In a burst of chakra, Menma lunged toward the advancing shinobi, his gaze sharp and calculating.

"Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!" he roared, weaving a rapid series of hand seals. A fierce jet of flames erupted from his mouth, rushing toward the attackers.

"Water Style: Water Wall!" one of the Root shinobi countered, forming his own seals.

Boom!

A towering wall of water surged upward, colliding with the flames. Steam blanketed the battlefield, clouding visibility.

Whoosh!

Through the haze, several shuriken shot forward, hurtling toward the Root shinobi.

"Ninja Art: Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Menma's hands flashed in another seal.

Buzz!

The shuriken multiplied midair, transforming into a storm of sharp projectiles targeting the Root shinobi.

"Earth Style: Earth Wall!" another Root ninja quickly responded, slamming his palms to the ground. A thick stone wall erupted before him, blocking the incoming shuriken.

But the foremost Root shinobi wasn't as lucky. The shuriken tore into him, blood spraying as he crumpled to the ground.

In a single exchange, Menma had already taken down one of Danzo's elite.

Hidden behind his mask, the Root squad leader watched Menma intently. His strategy to divide and capture Menma and Sasuke was unraveling. Capturing even one of them seemed nearly impossible.

What the leader didn't realize was that he had overestimated Menma—and Menma had underestimated himself.

Whoosh!

A Root shinobi lunged at Menma from behind, his blade gleaming. Menma sidestepped with ease, grabbing a kunai and thrusting it toward the assailant.

Clang!

Another Root operative, wearing a monkey mask, intercepted, blocking Menma's kunai. But the force of the strike made his arm tremble.

Even trained to suppress emotions, the Root operative couldn't mask the flicker of shock in his eyes. Could this boy really be only twelve years old?

Root operatives moved in from all directions, intent on cornering him.

Menma's smirk widened.

With a sudden surge of Nine-Tails' chakra, the ground trembled beneath him.

Boom!

Menma's right leg lashed out, crashing into the nearest Root shinobi's abdomen. The sheer power of the blow sent him hurtling back, his body flying like a cannonball through the battlefield.

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Unmatched power.

A fierce aura radiated from Menma as he tapped deeper into the Nine-Tails' chakra. With each passing moment, his strength approached that of an elite Jōnin, a fact his enemies hadn't anticipated.

"Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere!"

He unleashed a series of compressed air blasts, green orbs streaking through the air with deadly speed.

"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"

One of the shinobi quickly formed a series of hand seals, summoning a massive water dragon that surged forward to counter the wind projectiles.

*Boom!*

The water dragon collided with Menma's wind attack, stopping the orbs mid-flight. Meanwhile, another Root operative moved to Menma's right, electricity crackling in his hand.

"Lightning Release: Lightning Arc!"

The man's voice rang out as he launched a whip-like surge of lightning toward Menma, the energy snapping with lethal intent.

With a deep breath, Menma growled, allowing the Nine-Tails' chakra to explode around him. In a split second, two fiery tails manifested behind him, amplifying his power.

*Snap!*

Without flinching, Menma extended his hand, catching the lightning arc as if it were nothing, his expression filled with icy confidence.

The Root operative's eyes widened. *He… caught it?*

Not giving the man a chance to react, Menma suppressed the lightning's force, ignoring the sharp sting that pulsed through his arm. With a powerful flick of his wrist, he sent the operative flying backward, straight into another Root member wearing a cat-masked ANBU visor.

*Zzzzz!*

The lightning whip, still active, coiled around the two Root shinobi, discharging its remaining power.

"Ahhhhh!"

The two operatives screamed as the electricity surged through their bodies, convulsing in pain.

Without wasting a second, Menma surged forward.

*Shing!*

His kunai gleamed as he closed the distance.

*Slash!*

His kunai sliced through the throats of both lightning-stricken operatives, ending their suffering with brutal efficiency.

"Menma, stop!"

A voice rang out across the clearing, cutting through the chaos.

Menma didn't hesitate, his kunai completing its deadly arc as his final targets fell into the lake below, their bodies causing ripples as they sank.

Standing a few meters away was none other than Kakashi Hatake, his expression somber.

Within ten minutes, Menma had reduced the Root squad by half, including their leader, a shinobi who had likely rivaled a Special Jōnin. Now, with only four Root operatives left—two of whom were injured—the power difference was clear.

Menma's ruthless intent was clearer still.

"Menma," Kakashi called out again, his tone firm yet laced with sorrow. "Why are you doing this? You're Minato-sensei's son, raised in Konoha. Is this truly the path you want?"

Kakashi's lone Sharingan eye met Menma's with a mixture of regret and concern, memories of Minato and Kushina flickering in his mind.

Menma let out a harsh laugh, filled with bitterness.

"Kakashi, you call this a dark path?" he spat. "I call it reality. Konoha cast me aside, so I'm carving my own future. Just like your father, right? No one understood him either. He followed his own way even if it looked foolish."

Kakashi winced as Menma's words struck a painful nerve.

"And you," Menma continued, his voice cold and unyielding. "You think you can stand there, pretending to care? Just because you're looking after Naruto doesn't make up for the years you ignored me. Don't start lecturing me now, Kakashi. You don't have the right. And don't tell me Konoha is worth protecting—Danzo alone has done enough to rot this village from the inside out. And Hiruzen Sarutobi? He knew. He allowed it. What kind of leader does that?"

Kakashi faltered, the weight of Menma's accusations pressing down on him. As a former ANBU, he knew the depths of Danzo's scheming and the Third Hokage's tolerance of his methods.

Menma scoffed, his expression one of disgust.

"Let's end this, Kakashi," he said, his voice steely with determination. "Only one of us leaves here alive."

In Menma's eyes, Kakashi could see it—years of resentment and betrayal. This was the reality of the Will of Fire, a broken ideal shrouded in hypocrisy.

*Boom!*

Another surge of chakra erupted from Menma as he prepared for the final strike.

*Whoosh!*

Without another word, Menma lunged forward, targeting the remaining Root operatives.

If Danzo wanted him erased, Menma would start by eliminating every last one of his pawns.

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