Menma's expression did not change.
Kakashi knelt before him, blood loss heavy, chakra nearly depleted.
"Menma…" Kakashi began faintly.
He never finished.
"Whoosh."
Menma's right hand shot forward.
There was no hesitation.
His fingers pierced directly into Kakashi's left eye socket.
"Pfft."
The motion was precise.
Efficient.
Brutal.
The pain detonated through Kakashi's nervous system before he could even form a seal.
"Ah!"
The cry tore from his throat involuntarily.
Blood streamed down his cheek as Menma's fingers closed firmly around the Sharingan. With a single merciless twist, he removed it.
The eye came free in a slick rush of crimson.
Kakashi's body trembled violently. Already critically wounded, the additional trauma pushed him to the brink of collapse.
Menma stepped back, examining the eye in his palm.
At close range, the chakra resonance was unmistakable.
Even inactive, it radiated density beyond that of an ordinary three-tomoe Sharingan.
The tomoe pattern slowly rotated before settling.
Menma's gaze sharpened.
He withdrew a small preservation vial standard storage fluid used for dōjutsu transplantation and placed the eye within it carefully.
This Sharingan was more than a battlefield trophy.
It had evolved beyond its original state.
Though Kakashi had rarely revealed its full capacity, Menma understood the implications. The eye carried dormant potential power that did not belong to Kakashi originally.
And in the future
Such research material would be invaluable.
As for whether removing it would draw attention from its true origin?
Menma's eyes narrowed faintly.
If forces in the shadows were already moving, this action would change nothing.
Power was never obtained without risk.
He looked down at Kakashi again.
"You were never my enemy, Kakashi," Menma said calmly. "Nor did I resent you."
His voice remained steady.
"But we stand on different sides of this world."
A kunai flipped into his hand.
"If there is someone to blame, blame Konoha. Blame the system that created this outcome."
He thrust forward toward Kakashi's throat.
Cold steel descended.
Kakashi did not resist.
His remaining eye softened.
In his final moment, it was not the Fourth Hokage he saw.
Not Rin.
Not his father.
It was the teammate who had once stood beside him beneath a shattered sky.
Obito.
His eyelid lowered slowly.
Then "Menma! Stop it!!!"
The roar split the valley.
A golden blur surged forward across the river's surface.
In Naruto's palm
A fully formed Rasengan churned violently.
The air pressure alone scattered dust and mist.
When he saw Kakashi's mutilated eye socket
Something inside Naruto snapped.
Menma might be his blood.
But Kakashi had been there in the emptiness of his childhood.
Training.
Guidance.
Protection.
This was not abstract loyalty.
This was personal.
Naruto drove forward, fury no longer restrained.
Menma saw him.
And his expression grew even colder.
He did not withdraw the kunai.
Even if he took the Rasengan head-on
Kakashi would die first.
But at that instant
From the left flank
"Partial Expansion Technique!"
A deep voice thundered.
A massive arm expanded mid-charge, swelling to colossal size as it slammed downward.
"Boom!"
The ground fractured.
The dual assault
Naruto from the front, the expanded limb from the side forced Menma to disengage.
He pivoted sharply and leapt backward.
"Crash!"
Both attacks struck the earth where he had stood, pulverizing stone and sending debris skyward.
When the dust settled
Two figures stood over Kakashi's fallen body.
Naruto.
And Akimichi Choza.
Chōza's imposing frame remained partially expanded, chakra surging steadily. As a core member of the former Ino–Shika–Chō formation and an elite jōnin of Konoha, his combat ability was unquestionable. When utilizing clan techniques properly, his battlefield suppression capacity rivaled the strongest frontline commanders.
Menma assessed him immediately.
Troublesome.
On the far ridge
Hyuga Neji and Aburame Shino appeared.
It was their coordinated interference that had allowed Naruto to momentarily break past Sasuke's interception.
Without assistance
Naruto would not have escaped.
Even with improved fundamentals, Naruto without Nine-Tails amplification could not decisively overcome Sasuke in his current state especially if Sasuke activated Curse Mark Stage Two.
Naruto dropped to one knee beside Kakashi.
"Brother Kakashi! Can you hear me?!"
His voice shook.
Kakashi's breathing was shallow.
"A… ahem… I'm fine, Naruto…" he whispered weakly.
The attempt at reassurance triggered another cough.
Blood stained his mask.
His condition was critical.
If untreated immediately
He would not survive long.
Fortunately, Chōza had not arrived alone.
Several masked figures flickered into formation around them.
ANBU.
Not Root.
These bore the insignia and chakra signature of those directly under the Fifth Hokage's command.
One medical-ninjutsu specialist knelt instantly beside Kakashi.
Green chakra illuminated both hands.
Mystical Palm Technique activated.
The wound at his abdomen began stabilizing first; the eye socket was addressed second to prevent further hemorrhaging.
Naruto stood slowly.
His Rasengan had dissipated but his chakra continued to surge erratically.
Across the fractured valley
Menma observed the reinforcements.
The battlefield had shifted.
This was no longer a contained engagement.
And the cost had already been paid.
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