Deep within the Sea of Death, in the northern Land of Wind.
The time was noon the next day. The sun beat down mercilessly, heating the endless sands to a blistering temperature, making the air shimmer with heat haze.
In this lifeless forbidden zone, a scene beyond mortal comprehension was unfolding.
In the distance, the terrifying hundred-meter tall Ten-Tails was pinned in the desert, emitting low, guttural roars of pain and frustration.
Its ten massive tails were held fast by glowing golden chains and dark chakra rods. Its colossal form shuddered violently but could not break free.
And the dark red Nine-Tailed Demon Fox, like a grotesque parasite, lay sprawled across the Ten-Tails' back, voraciously devouring the vast, visible rivers of chakra flowing from its captive.
The Dark Nine-Tails' form seemed more solid, more massive than the day before, the aura of destruction around it growing ever more intense.
Menma stood atop the highest remnant of the Sand City's ruins, the broken walls casting long shadows below him.
His arms were crossed as he observed the absorption process from afar, a faint, almost imperceptible frown on his face.
Within his mind, he communicated with the Dark Nine-Tails.
'What's the hold-up, Kyu-chan? This is taking longer than expected.'
In his memory, even when the Dark Nine-Tails had consumed the other Tailed Beasts in the Limited Tsukuyomi World, it had never taken this long.
'Menma, this thing's Chakra... it's immense! And the quality is strange. It has a... hmm, a weird feeling to it,' The fox's voice echoed in her consciousness, tinged with effort and a hint of excitement. 'Hey, Menma! Are you sure this is just a juvenile? It feels like its Chakra Volume dwarfs the total of all the Tailed Beasts I've eaten before!'
Menma understood. The Tailed Beasts of the Limited Tsukuyomi World were born from hatred and Chakra, fundamentally different from the Ten-Tails, which was the seedling of the God Tree.
'Yes, it's a juvenile. The true, complete Ten-Tails requires absorbing the entire planet's Natural Energy to form,' He explained. His thoughts raced, recalling how Obito and Madara had attained Six Paths power with an incomplete Ten-Tails.
'What kind of transformation would the Dark Nine-Tails undergo, having fused with eight Tailed Beasts and now consuming this juvenile Ten-Tails?'
'Could it possibly help me reach the threshold of the Six Paths-level?'
The sound of light footsteps on sand came from behind.
Tsunade's figure appeared at the edge of the ruins, her golden ponytail shifting slightly in the hot, dry wind.
She stared at the two monstrous beings locked in their grotesque embrace, her expression deeply troubled. She took a steadying breath and walked over to stand beside Menma.
"You..." She began, her voice heavy with unspoken dread. "What is it you're actually trying to accomplish?"
She had not slept, the question turning over and over in her mind all night.
Tailed Beasts fighting was one thing. But one Tailed Beast systematically, greedily draining another... it overturned everything she knew.
A terrifying thought occurred to her: if all the Tailed Beasts' power were gathered into one being... what kind of entity would be born?
She dared not imagine the consequences for the Ninja World.
Menma glanced at her, taking in the confusion and wariness in her eyes. He considered for a moment.
"Telling you won't hurt," He said, his tone casual, as if discussing the weather, "Though it involves the Otsutsuki and levels of power you might not fully grasp. Simply put, the power I seek is... on the level of the Sage of Six Paths."
"The Sage of... Six Paths?" Tsunade repeated the mythical name, her beautiful eyes wide with disbelief. "That's... an ancient legend. The founder of Ninshu..."
A faint, mocking smile touched Menma's lips. "Legend? No. The Sage of Six Paths is no legend. In a certain sense, he's still 'alive' even now."
'Though as a vestige of soul and Chakra,' He added mentally.
Tsunade stood frozen, as if struck by lightning.
'A figure from a thousand-year-old myth, still extant?'
'If that were true...'
Her mind reeled, struggling to process the implication.
Just as Tsunade was grappling with this seismic shock, Menma's eyebrow twitched. The Byakugan in his left eye activated instantly, veins bulging around it. His vision pierced through the rolling sand dunes, focusing on a point in the far distance.
His senses detected a large group of Chakra Signatures, moving fast and heading directly their way.
"Hmm?" Tsunade noticed his sudden alertness and the faint vibrations coming through the sand. She snapped out of her stupor and followed his gaze.
Soon, on the horizon, a cloud of dust resolved into the forms of a significant Ninja Force.
"It's Sunagakure," Tsunade identified, her eyes sharpening as she recognized the leaders. "The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa. And the elders, Chiyo and Ebizo... It seems your little show has drawn attention." She looked back at Menma, her tone complex. "What's your move?"
Menma brushed a non-existent speck of dust from his robe, his demeanor utterly relaxed, as if a Kage-led elite squad was nothing more than a minor nuisance.
"My move?" He let out a soft chuckle, but his eyes turned cold. "I'm going to make these pests... get lost."
With those words, his form vanished from the spot, leaving Tsunade alone on the broken tower.
…
On the outskirts of the Sea of Death, the Sunagakure's force ground to a halt.
Thirty-six Ninja, led by Rasa, Chiyo, and Ebizo, fanned out in a defensive formation. Every single one of them was struck dumb by the horrific, otherworldly scene before them.
"Is that... the Nine-Tails?! Did Konoha's Jinchuriki lose control?! What's it doing here?!"
"No! The color's wrong! It's dark red!"
"What... what is it doing? It's sucking the Chakra out of that thing?!"
"Ten tails... A Ten-Tails actually exists?!"
Cries of shock and disbelief rippled through the ranks. Even these hardened veterans found their composure shaken by the sight that defied all known logic.
Rasa forcibly suppressed his own shock. As Kazekage, he had to project calm.
He opened his mouth to order a reconnaissance and plan their approach.
At that exact moment!
"Look out! On the dune! One o'clock!" Ebizo's sharp voice cut through the murmurs, a warning cry.
Every head snapped toward the indicated sand dune.
A black-haired youth stood silently at its peak, his black robe with red trim whipping violently in the fierce, dry wind.
But it was his eyes that stole their breath.
His right eye was a bloody scarlet, three tomoes floating within. His left was a stark, vein-lined white.
His gaze swept over them, cold and filled with undisguised contempt and a promise of violence.
"His eyes!"
"What are those?!"
"Sharingan and... Byakugan?"
"Impossible!"
A collective chill ran through the Sunagakure's Ninja.
"How can such a combination exist?!" Chiyo muttered, her old eyes wide with decades of baffled experience.
"Since you've come looking for death," The youth's voice, though not loud, carried clearly to each of them, laced with a cold threat.
"I'll oblige you."
"Battle formations!" Rasa roared, his instincts screaming.
But his command was still hanging in the air-
Whoosh!
The youth on the dune disappeared.
In the next fraction of a second, Rasa felt a violent displacement of air.
Menma materialized directly in front of him. A seemingly casual, yet impossibly fast, spinning kick sliced through the air with a sharp crack, aimed directly at Rasa's midsection.
"What?!" Rasa had no time to react.
Bang-!!!
A sickeningly solid impact echoed.
Rasa felt like his internal organs had been pulverized.
Agony exploded through his body. He was hurled backward like a ragdoll, a spray of blood erupting from his mouth as he flew over ten meters before crashing heavily into the sand, sending a plume of dust into the air.
"Kazekage-sama!!"
"Protect the Kazekage!!"
The Sunagakure's Ninjas reacted with trained speed. A storm of kunai and shuriken converged on the spot where Menma had just appeared.
But Menma, having landed his blow, simply took a single, graceful step backward, evading the entire volley with effortless ease.
He was back on the dune in an instant, looking down on the disarray below as if he had never moved.
"So... fast!" Chiyo gasped, her aged face a mask of sheer horror.
She hadn't even been able to track his movement!
This speed transcended any known Body Flicker Technique!
"Medic! Now!" Baki was at Rasa's side in an instant, helping the coughing Kazekage to his feet. Blood streaked Rasa's chin.
Rasa angrily tore away the torn white outer robe of his office, revealing the combat gear beneath. Grains of golden sand swirled around him, forming a protective shroud.
His eyes burned with humiliation and raw fury.
"Damn it... a cheap shot!" He snarled, glaring up at Menma, his voice trembling with rage.
"But it's clear now! He's the one controlling those beasts! We cannot let him succeed!"
Ebizo's expression was granite. "Whatever his goal, we must stop him here! The alternative is unthinkable!"
Rasa took a sharp breath, forcing his pain and anger down. The golden sand around him glowed brighter. "All units! Defensive perimeter! Puppet teams, forward! Sealing Team, stand ready! He's fast! Don't let him isolate anyone!"
He refused to believe that, prepared and guarded, he could be struck so easily again.
The order had just left his lips-
Whoosh!
Menma vanished again.
"He's behind you!" Chiyo shrieked.
Rasa whirled around in terror. Menma was already there, beside him, the same devastatingly simple kick already in motion.
"Gold Dust Wall!" Rasa bellowed. The sand around him surged, solidifying into a thick, gleaming shield of solid gold.
His ultimate defense.
Boom-!!!
Menma's leg connected with the shield.
An explosive force detonated on impact.
The formidable Gold Dust Wall shattered into glittering fragments, scattering like broken glass.
Menma's kick barely slowed, passing through the disintegrating defense and striking the exact same spot on Rasa's abdomen with brutal precision.
Pfft-!!!
Rasa vomited a torrent of blood. His body was flung back even more violently than before, crashing through several of his own Ninja before finally slumping to the ground.
A dead, stunned silence fell over the entire Sunagakure's force.
Every single Ninja stared, their faces frozen in a rictus of pure, uncomprehending terror.
Twice.
The Fourth Kazekage, fully prepared and guarded by his entire elite force, had been effortlessly floored by the same move. Twice.
They couldn't even properly see their enemy move.
Chiyo and Ebizo locked eyes, seeing the same unprecedented shock and a dawning, cold fear reflected back at them.
'This youth...'
'What kind of monster was he?'