Naruto: I'm in Konoha, my name is Uzumaki Menma

Chapter 144 Hiruko ambushes Uchiha Hikaru!
Offer your loyalty and the art of Oni-Ya-Luo.

Every word seemed to be forced out of Hiruko's throat, carrying the taste of blood and foam.

Menma quietly watched Hiruko, and the corner of his mouth under the white three-eyed fox mask seemed to twitch slightly upwards, but it was gone in an instant.

The invisible, suffocating killing intent receded quietly like the tide, as if it had never existed.

"Very good." These two simple words signaled the end of the deal.

Hiruko collapsed to the ground, utterly exhausted, panting heavily. Cold sweat had completely soaked through the bandages under his restraints, clinging tightly to his icy skin.

Soon, Menma, along with Hiruko, returned to the Star Capital using the Flying Thunder God Technique.

Inside a heavily guarded underground prison constructed of solid rock.

The heavy iron gate opened with a dull, scraping sound.

Menma walked in, looking disheveled and still pale.

The prison was quite spacious, but it contained only simple stone beds and tables and chairs, and was dimly lit.

The air was filled with the earthy smell of rocks and a faint, almost imperceptible energy fluctuation of a sealing technique.

"Stay here for now." Menma's voice was devoid of emotion, as if he were stating something insignificant.

Hiruko lowered his head, but deep in his eyes flickered resentment and bitterness, as well as a faint, barely perceptible glimmer of renewed hope.

Surrender is merely a last resort...

Footsteps came from deep within the prison, and a slender figure slowly emerged from the shadows.

Hikaru Uchiha walked up to the two of them.

She wore the Uchiha clan's signature dark blue high-necked robe, with the family crest of a flame fan embroidered on the chest. Her long, black hair flowed smoothly over her shoulders, with a few strands falling beside her fair cheeks.

Her face was exquisite yet possessed an almost transparent aloofness; her dark eyes, like deep pools, gazed calmly at Hiruko.

"Where's Kakuzu?" Menma looked around but couldn't find Kakuzu's shadowy figure.

The prison is usually guarded by Kakuzu, the captain of the Dark Guard.

Uchiha Hikaru explained, "Gato is going to the Land of Water. It seems there's been some trouble at the company there, so I sent Kakuzu to accompany him."

"Hmm." Menma nodded. Although he had implanted the "Blood Pact Seal" into Kado, he still had little ability to resist some powerful ninjas.

When Kado travels to inspect commercial companies in various countries, Kakuzu is always responsible for his protection.

The two would also make some deals in private; Kado would hire Kakuzu to deal with some disobedient guys or rivals.

Kakuzu was happy to make a little money.

During their conversation, Hiruko looked up and saw Uchiha Hikaru. He was slightly taken aback at first, but then the glimmer of hope in his eyes instantly turned into a huge sense of absurdity and an uncontrollable contempt.

A... young girl from the Uchiha clan?

Even though they recognized the other party as a member of the Uchiha clan, they were somewhat surprised that a member of the Uchiha clan from Konoha would appear in the Land of Stars and under Shura's command.

But Hiruko still looked down on him somewhat.

The girl in front of him looked to be no more than fourteen or fifteen years old. Such a slender, even somewhat sickly girl, was she here to guard him?

Was Shura overconfident, or did he simply look down on him?

Hiruko, who lived during the same era as the Sannin, never witnessed Madara Uchiha's power or the Uchiha clan's glorious heyday. Her knowledge of the Uchiha clan was limited to the fact that they were the first major ninja clan possessing the Sharingan, a top-tier bloodline limit.

He quickly scanned the inside of the prison. There were guards at the door, but it didn't seem very secure.

He couldn't sense any powerful pressure from the girl in front of him. Perhaps it was because the Uchiha clan was all so arrogant?

Perhaps... his chance has come...

As long as we subdue this girl, we can exploit her identity!
This thought grew wildly in his mind like a poisonous ivy.

The humiliation of being crushed by the Asura and the resentment of being forced to submit have now become the motivation to take the risk.

He needs an opportunity, he needs to take control of his own destiny again!

Hiruko forced a humble smile, bent slightly, and took a small step forward without making a sound, getting closer to Uchiha Hikaru.

His eyes darted across Uchiha Hikaru like a venomous snake, searching for an opening and an opportunity to strike.

Menma seemed oblivious to his little scheme, and walked straight up to Uchiha Hikaru, handing him the ancient scroll that contained the core of the Oni-Garra Technique.

"Keep this safe and give it to the medical department later." Menma's voice remained calm: "Things over there haven't been resolved yet, I have to go out again."

“Okay.” Uchiha Hikaru extended her fair hand and silently accepted the scroll.

Her movements were very light, as if she were afraid of disturbing something, but her gaze never left Biljuk.

Just as Mianma handed over the scroll, seemingly momentarily distracted!

A fierce glint flashed in Hiruko's eyes!
It's now!

He suddenly raised his hands, which were hidden in his sleeves, and as the bandages shot out, his body lunged at Uchiha Hikaru like an arrow released from a bow!
It moved with ghostly speed, its target aimed directly at her neck!
He wanted to defeat the enemy in one fell swoop and take hostages!

However, the moment Hiruko made her move, Uchiha Hikaru's usually calm and deep black eyes suddenly changed!

Like the pitch-black night being torn apart by blood!
Three jet-black magatama spun wildly, stretched, and deformed within blood-red pupils!
It transformed into a pair of complex and eerie patterns—the Mangekyou Sharingan!
Those eyes, like a gaze from the abyss, instantly filled Hiruko's entire field of vision and crashed into the depths of his soul!

All of Hiruko's forward momentum, all of his condensed chakra, and all of his fierce thoughts were completely frozen the moment he met those eyes by an indescribable, vast, and terrifying eye power, as if it were a sea of ​​stars!
Time seemed to have stopped at this moment.

His mind went completely blank, his body remained frozen in mid-air in a forward-leaning posture, and the ferocity on his face was frozen into a comical astonishment.

There was no earth-shattering roar, no dazzling ninjutsu light.

Only silent crushing.

Uchiha Hikaru stood there quietly, the pattern in his Mangekyou Sharingan slowly rotating.

She didn't even make any extra movements, she just looked at Hiruko.

Although Hiruko's stiff body remained in the attacking posture, her eyes began to roll back, drool dripped from the corners of her mouth, and her body twitched slightly unconsciously. Her consciousness was completely lost in the boundless Tsukuyomi world formed by those two kaleidoscopes.

All ambitions and schemes are fragile and vulnerable in the face of the Mangekyou Sharingan's eye techniques.

Mianma then turned and walked out of the prison as if he had just finished dealing with a small matter.

His steps didn't falter at all, as if everything that happened behind him was perfectly natural, leaving only a light, fleeting remark:

"Don't get yourself killed."

The iron gate slowly closed, isolating the prison from all sounds.

(End of this chapter)