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Menma, far away in the Land of Grass, was naturally unaware that he had likely dodged an early confrontation with Obito for the time being.
When Menma took Kakashi's Sharingan, he was, of course, prepared for the corresponding risks. This was a calculated result after careful deliberation. Obito's Kamui was ultimately a very "bugged" existence. It wasn't that there were no other ways to crack it, but currently, the optimal solution was to seize the other Mangekyo Sharingan Obito had transplanted into Kakashi.
The two Mangekyo Sharingan connected to the same Kamui dimension. As long as he could exploit this point, Obito's intangibility would become a joke to Menma.
And setting aside the buffs brought by Kamui, what else did Obito have?
At best, he was at the Elite Jonin to Quasi-Kage level.
Without both eyes, an Obito unable to activate Susanoo really couldn't be considered exceptionally strong. In the original story, the fact that Minato could analyze part of Kamui's characteristics mid-battle and severely injure Obito was proof enough.
His later battle against Konan was another example.
Even Obito's most glorious achievement—defeating the perfect Jinchuriki Yagura and subsequently controlling his will with ease—was built on the premise that Nagato and Konan were with him.
Judging from Obito's performance in those battles, it could almost be confirmed that Nagato was the one who defeated Yagura. Only after Yagura was critically injured could Obito easily control him with a single Mangekyo Sharingan.
Otherwise, it simply couldn't explain the disparity in combat power Obito displayed before and after.
If Obito could really handle Yagura—a perfect Jinchuriki and the Fourth Mizukage, who was Kage-level himself—alone and with ease, would he have needed to use Izanagi against a mere Konan? Would he have given Konan the chance to use her paper ocean technique later? Shouldn't he have just controlled Konan with genjutsu the moment their eyes met?
A single Mangekyo Sharingan, even with the boost of Hashirama cells, was ultimately not eternal, nor did it possess the power of "Creation of All Things." If this could suppress a perfect Jinchuriki effortlessly, then Itachi Uchiha's combat power being hyped to the heavens would actually be reasonable.
In other words, Menma, who could now use Nine-Tails chakra up to the four-tail or even five-tail level, could already be said to possess Kage-level power. If nothing else, contending with Obito wouldn't be too difficult.
With the advantage in intelligence and holding Obito's Mangekyo Sharingan, if used properly in a surprise attack, defeating or even killing Obito wasn't entirely impossible.
In ninja battles, when the difference in strength wasn't overwhelming, the gap in intelligence was enough to determine victory.
At the very least, at this stage, Menma belonged to the "dark" side, while Obito, who prided himself on controlling everything from behind the scenes, belonged to the "light."
From this perspective, Menma held the advantage. Even if Obito was truly strong, as long as there wasn't a substantial disparity in power, Menma wasn't afraid of an early clash.
There were risks, but the potential gains were visible too. The outcome would ultimately depend on their judgment in the moment.
Of course, these were just Menma's own speculations. It was possible Obito really was that strong, and his lackluster performances were just due to carelessness.
But so what?
Whether pursuing high-risk choices at every turn or blindly seeking stability, both were extremes.
What Menma had to do was choose the option with the greatest benefit in every decision. Since Obito's Mangekyo Sharingan was right in front of him, he had no reason not to take it.
Because the reward outweighed the risk.
Being decisive might lead to failure, but hesitation would definitely lead to defeat.
He had already refused to stay in the "safe" environment of the Leaf and follow the original storyline to become a successor. There was no reason to get cold feet now.
Striking aggressively—that was Menma's way.
And just as Menma was conducting his experiments while remaining vigilant against a potential raid from Obito, three days passed quickly.
The time for the meeting arrived.
"Is the location there? I thought Orochimaru-san would arrange it directly near the base."
Stepping out of the secret hideout with Orochimaru, Menma looked at him with slight surprise.
Of course, this surprise wasn't just based on that. It was also because the meeting place was very close to Kannabi Bridge—a location most familiar to fans of the original story.
After all, one of the big bosses, Obito Uchiha, had "sacrificed" himself there. Kakashi's Sharingan had also been inherited there.
"Heh, since the Third Tsuchikage showed sincerity, shouldn't we show some too? Or does Menma-kun feel it would be more appropriate near the base? If so, it's not impossible to change. I believe the Third Tsuchikage would likely agree."
Orochimaru spoke raspily, wearing that familiar, eerie smile.
"Oh, no need for that. Just saying it casually."
Menma raised an eyebrow, looking at Orochimaru's still-familiar face, and spoke indifferently.
Speaking of which, Orochimaru seemed to "care" a bit about his original appearance. Even though it wasn't his first time changing bodies, he ultimately always reverted to his former look.
This was probably some kind of special obsession.
"Mm, that's fine then. Let's set off. We can't keep our 'guest' waiting."
Orochimaru chuckled lightly, deliberately emphasizing the word "guest."
"Haha, indeed. Let's go then, Orochimaru-san."
Menma acted as if he completely missed the deeper meaning in Orochimaru's words. After a laugh, he leaped forward, speeding away.
Orochimaru paused slightly, then shook his head with a smile, his figure flickering as he followed close behind.
Moving at the speed of Menma and Orochimaru, it would take less than half a day to reach the agreed location.
Onoki, who was slightly further away, set off at roughly the same time.
The reason was simple.
The old man could fly.
It was a pure straight-line distance. Even carrying a person was no pressure at all. As the longest-reigning Kage, Onoki's chakra reserves might not compare to true chakra monsters or Jinchuriki, but they were terrifyingly vast compared to ordinary ninja.
The chakra consumption for flying this distance was nothing to him.
Just a few hours later, Onoki and his son Kitsuchi crossed the long border of the Land of Earth and entered the Land of Grass.
Before reaching the agreed location, Onoki could already faintly see two figures standing there.
'Is that Menma Uzumaki?'
Glancing past the slender figure on the left, Onoki's gaze fixed directly on the red-haired boy on the right.