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

Chapter 266 I've found you! Cixian!
Deep within Rain Village lies a secret base hidden in the core area of ​​a massive drainage system.

It was damp and dark here, with only a few dim lights providing a weak light source, reflecting off the twisted metal walls and the shimmering water on the ground.

In the center of the empty hall, Yahiko's modified Pain Rinnegan shimmered with cold purple ripples as he stared expressionlessly at Orochimaru, who had just officially joined the organization.

Xiao Nan stood quietly to one side.

“From this day forward, you shall be the ‘Three Platforms’ of Akatsuki.” Pain’s cold voice echoed in the empty underground space. He reached out and handed Orochimaru a ring engraved with the number “three”.

Due to Menma's intervention, Orochimaru joined the Akatsuki organization much later than in the original story. Therefore, the codename "Kujin" that might have belonged to him was already given to another member by Nagato.

Orochimaru extended his pale hand, marked with stitches, and accepted the ring that symbolized his status and constraints. His golden snake eyes gleamed with an unfathomable light.

He put it on his finger and felt its cool touch.

"Regarding your partner," Payne continued in a flat tone, "you will be working with Sasori of the Red Sand, codenamed 'Jade Maiden'."

"Sasori of the Red Sand?" Orochimaru's snake eyes narrowed slightly, revealing a hint of interest: "That genius puppeteer from Sunagakure? Heh, I didn't expect him to disappear for more than ten years, and even the disappearance of the Third Kazekage was related to him... Tsk tsk, he actually joined Akatsuki."

This was indeed unexpected intelligence. The Akatsuki had recruited a far more diverse group of people than he had anticipated, even managing to find and subdue a ninja like Sasori of the Red Sand.

Xiao Nan added from the side, "Scorpion is currently on a mission abroad. Once he returns, you will be able to meet him formally."

Just then, in a secret room, Nagato, who was remotely controlling Pain through black chakra rods, suddenly opened his eyes!
Through the "Rain Tiger Free Technique" that covered the entire Amegakure, he clearly sensed a familiar and powerful chakra.

'This chakra...is it Jiraiya-sensei?!' Nagato was shocked.

Why did Jiraiya suddenly reappear in Amegakure after more than a decade?

Is it because of the news of Orochimaru joining?

But he rejected the idea as soon as it arose.

Orochimaru had just joined; the news couldn't have leaked so quickly.

He immediately issued the command through Payne: "Decisive."

The ground rippled, and Jue's eerie, half-black, half-white body emerged.

"What are your orders, Chief?" Bai Jue asked with a grin on his other hand.

Pain's Rinnegan coldly stared at Zetsu: "Jiraiya has infiltrated Amegakure. Go, monitor his every move, and report back immediately."

"Jiraiya? That lecherous sage?" White Zetsu exclaimed dramatically.

"Shut up, idiot," Black Zetsu interrupted hoarsely, then respectfully replied to Payne, "Understood."

Immediately afterwards, Jue sank into the ground and disappeared.

"Jiraiya-sensei...is here?" Konan looked surprised upon hearing the news and instinctively glanced at Orochimaru beside her.

Orochimaru crossed his arms and let out a cryptic chuckle: "Heh... This has nothing to do with me. If I remember correctly, Jiraiya was after the three of you, wasn't he?"

Jiraiya's appearance brought back many memories for Orochimaru.

His gaze swept over Pain and Konan, a hint of amusement in his eyes: "During the Second Shinobi World War more than twenty years ago, after we 'Sannin' fought Hanzo, Jiraiya deliberately stayed behind for the sake of those three brats from the Land of Rain. So... it was you guys."

He paused, a hint of doubt flashing in his snake-like eyes, and looked at Pain: "However, I remember the child who possessed these legendary eyes back then was a boy with long red hair, named... Nagato? Why is he now..."

Orochimaru keenly sensed that although the "Pain" before him possessed the Rinnegan, his demeanor and the feeling of his chakra were different from those of Nagato in his memories.

"This is none of your business, Orochimaru." Pain coldly interrupted him, turning his Rinnegan towards Konan.

Payne's voice remained cold, carrying a resolute determination to sever ties with the past: "What happened in the past is no longer important. The path we have chosen now is completely different from what Jiraiya-sensei believed in."

"Konan, wait for Zetsu's news for now. If Jiraiya's target isn't us, and he's just passing by or investigating Hanzo, then let him be. But if... he's coming for the Akatsuki..."

A cold killing intent flashed in Payne's Rinnegan: "...Go and persuade him to leave. If he insists on investigating and interfering with our plans, then don't blame me for not considering our past teacher-student relationship."

Upon hearing this, Orochimaru couldn't help but lick his lips, his eyes gleaming with even greater excitement.

'Interesting... A drama of master and disciple turning against each other? How exciting!' He increasingly felt that joining Akatsuki was the right decision; not only did he have the Rinnegan he craved, but he could also witness such a wonderful drama.

……

On the other side, in the room that Menma rented.

He was fully focused on maintaining his "Kagura Mind's Eye," meticulously sensing the movements inside the "Regenerative Medicine Technology Company" opposite him.

Suddenly, he noticed an abnormal fluctuation in chakra within Amado's office.

Amado seemed to be talking to someone, but in his perception, apart from Amado's steady and calm chakra, there was nothing at all!
'What's going on?' Mianma was startled.

'Even my Kagura Mind's Eye couldn't sense the other party? Is it some kind of extremely sophisticated concealment technique, or...?'

A name instantly popped into his mind—Ci Xian!
Or rather, the Otsutsuki style!
Only beings of this level could completely block out chakra perception!

Inside a soundproof office deep underground at a regenerative medicine technology company.

Amado pushed up his orange glasses and looked at the uninvited "visitor" in front of him.

This is a tall young man wearing a white haori and black culottes. He has the Roman numeral "Ⅳ" tattooed below his left eye, and he wears a striking red neck brace and wristbands. He has a strange tuft of short hair and a ponytail on his head.

He was elegant in demeanor, spoke eloquently, and exuded gentlemanly charm.

It was Cixian who was parasitized by Yishiki and lived for a thousand years.

“Sorry to bother you again, Mr. Amado, the supplies you requested have been delivered.” Cixian’s tone was gentle and polite, full of gentlemanly manners: “It seems you have encountered another bottleneck.”

Amado remained outwardly calm, but inwardly he maintained the highest level of vigilance towards this mysterious man.

Cixian provided him with tremendous support in terms of research funding and equipment. His knowledge was terrifyingly extensive, especially in the field of the essence of life. Moreover... Amado, with his scientist's intuition, always felt that there was something wrong with the "person" in front of him, as if he were some kind of... more dangerous being disguised in human skin.

"Experimental failures are normal, Mr. Cixian." Amado lit a cigarette and said calmly, "Science progresses through repeated failures."

Cixian smiled elegantly, his gaze sweeping over the red data on the instrument screen beside him, which was not yet completely cleared and represented the cessation of the clone's life response: "But creating life... this has already touched the realm of 'Yin-Yang Release'. With your current understanding of the nature of chakra, especially life energy, even with the assistance of these sophisticated instruments, there is still a long way to go to successfully create stable clone life."

Amado remained silent for a moment.

Cixian has mentioned the concept of "Yin-Yang Escape" more than once.

"Could it be... that one really needs to become an existence like the legendary Sage of Six Paths to create something from nothing and create life?" he couldn't help but ask, his voice more like a sigh of frustration.

Cixian shook his head, like a patient mentor, guiding him gently: "There's no need to be so extreme. The Six Paths Sage's technique is to create something from nothing. If you're just using existing cells for cloning and cultivation, it's essentially a replication and reshaping of life forms. You only need a basic understanding and application of Yin-Yang Release to greatly increase the success rate."

Although Kaguya betrayed him, turning him into a 0.5 version, it must be admitted that the two sons born to Kaguya after consuming the fruit of the Divine Tree do indeed possess strength surpassing that of ordinary Otsutsuki clan members, especially that guy named Hagoromo.

This planet, after giving birth to a Chakra Fruit, has not completely dried up and may even have the potential to grow another Divine Tree.

Such a planet is extremely rare in the universe, and Ishiki also hopes that this planet will bring him more surprises.

Amado, who was opposite Cixian, did not speak, but silently noted down this information.

Although he was wary of Cixian, the ideas and knowledge she provided were exactly what he needed at the moment.

Cixian glanced at the wall clock and said politely, "It's getting late, I should take my leave. I look forward to good news next time."

He maintained his elegant manners, his heart as calm as still water.

A thousand years of forbearance taught him the ultimate patience.

Amado is an extremely talented person, but he is not in a hurry.

Just as Cixian was about to leave, a muffled explosion suddenly came from the ground!
The sound wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the relatively quiet underground space.

Cixian paused in his steps.

Amado frowned slightly, but did not panic.

He simply remarked, "The Land of Rain seems to be forever plagued by conflict."

In the Land of Rain, especially in Amegakure, internal power struggles and armed conflicts have never ceased, and explosions are not uncommon.

Soon, the communicator in Amado's laboratory rang, and a slightly tense voice came from the guard outside: "Mr. Amado! An unidentified explosion has occurred in the East District, and Lord Hanzo's secret service has been mobilized! Please rest assured, company security has been raised to the highest level!"

Amado turned on the communication switch and calmly replied, "Understood, stay on guard." After turning off the communication, he looked at Cixian.

Jigen's face still held that gentlemanly elegance and composure: "It seems that Amegakure is still not peaceful. Well then, I won't disturb you any longer, Mr. Amado, please take care."

After saying that, he nodded slightly, turned around and left the office with composed steps, his figure quickly disappearing at the end of the corridor.

Throughout, Tzu-hsien acted as a collaborator who happened to be visiting but was interrupted by an unexpected event.

Amado stared at the closed door, remaining silent for a long time.

He picked up a photo of his daughter Akabby from the table and gently ran his fingertips across the frame.

The frustration of failure surged back into his heart like a tidal wave, but he took a deep breath, suppressed his emotions, and turned his attention back to the complex experimental data.

After Jigen left, the strange feeling of "emptiness" in Amado's office disappeared in Menma's mind's eye perception.

'It really is him... Jigen.' Menma was even more certain.

'He was just here, and he had the ability to completely bypass my senses! This ability isn't just concealment, but a more advanced form of sensory shielding—is it the suppression from the Otsutsuki clan's bloodline...? Truly terrifying. It seems that keeping a close eye on Amado is a clear lead to finding him.'

The explosions coming from the distant East District, along with the deployment of the Amegakure ANBU, led Menma to speculate that the mysterious ninja who had infiltrated the village might have been discovered by the Amegakure ninja.

Menma withdrew the perception from Kagura's Mind's Eye.

The appearance of Jigen made him realize that Jigen's ability was not simply to hide, but probably to block chakra perception. Simply monitoring from a distance would probably not be enough to make a breakthrough.

'I must find a way to implant the Flying Thunder God mark in him...' Menma thought to himself.

'Could Uchiha Hikaru's 'Eight Thousand Spears' seal break through his shield?' Thinking of the Mangekyou Sharingan and Flying Thunder God Technique, which contained the power of space and time, he began to make plans.

If successful, Cixian's greatest reliance, the hidden space in another dimension, will become useless.

When Menma thought of Jigen's alternate dimension, he couldn't help but think of the second Ten-Tails that Isshiki had hidden in that dimension, and the remains of Otsutsuki Shibai, who was known as the 'God of Gods'.

Although the second Ten-Tails was merely a "sapling" that had not yet devoured the Otsutsuki offerings or absorbed planetary energy to grow into the God Tree, the amount of chakra it contained was enough to shake the ninja world.

In the original story, before his battle with Naruto and Sasuke, Jigen specifically came to absorb the Ten-Tails' chakra, which enabled him to activate the second stage of the "Karma" and suppress Sage Fox Naruto and Rinnegan Sasuke in one fell swoop.

'The second stage of the Karma... his strength is roughly at the peak of the Super Kage level, but still a bit short of the true Six Paths level. Moreover, Jigen's body doesn't seem to be able to withstand that kind of power for long; it's a kind of overdraft-type burst.' Menma calmly analyzed the strength of his potential opponent.

'Compared to Kaguya, who possessed power but lacked combat awareness, Jigen, who had been lurking in the ninja world for a thousand years, was clearly far more experienced in combat and strategic. While the 'Daikokuten's' interdimensional storage and projection, and 'Sunka Higana's' extreme shrinking abilities were troublesome, they were not insurmountable for someone like me who knew the information.'

'The most troublesome thing is that, seeing the situation was turning bad, he immediately hid in another dimension.'

"Furthermore, all the androids created by Amado possess the abilities of Otsutsuki Shibakai, meaning Isshiki holds the remains of Otsutsuki Shibakai. Clearly, Kaguya's attack on Isshiki was also intended to seize these remains, but he managed to escape."

"Over there... it seems like the fighting is getting even fiercer!" Just as Menma was immersed in strategic thinking, Ayaka exclaimed in alarm.

She leaned against the window, gazing anxiously in the direction of Dongcheng District.

Amidst the rain, a thick plume of black smoke rose up, mingling with the flames, and even from a considerable distance, the sounds of commotion could be faintly heard.

Hydrangea turned her head, her face filled with anxiety: "I have to go and see!"

As ninjas of Amegakure, maintaining order in the village is almost instinctive.

Before she finished speaking, she had already nimbly flipped over and leaped out of the window. Her purple figure made a few leaps on the slippery roof before quickly running towards the direction of the explosion.

Mianma shook his head slightly; this girl's kindness and naivety were truly...

He activated his Kagura Mind's Eye once more, aiming precisely at the epicenter of the explosion.

Chaotic chakra fluctuations, a panicked crowd, and ANBU ninjas rapidly approaching, carrying the chilling aura characteristic of Hanzo the Salamander's subordinates.

However, on the edge of his perception, the location of the explosion seemed to deviate somewhat from the direction of the mysterious intruder.
A hint of doubt surfaced in his mind, and he quickly formed hand seals.

"The art of shadow clone."

A wisp of white smoke flashed by, and a boy who looked exactly like Menma in his current disguise appeared in the corner of the room.

This was a backup plan left by Menma; this shadow clone would remain in this location to monitor the movements of "Regenerative Medicine Technology Company" for an extended period.

As long as we keep a close eye on Amado, we need not worry about Cixian not showing up.

"Main body, leave this to me!" the shadow clone said in a low voice, then walked to the window, used Kagura Mind's Eye to lock onto the building opposite.

Mianma grabbed a tattered gray raincoat from the side and put it on, pulling down the hood. His figure blended into the drizzling rain as he silently followed Ziyanghua.

The rain grew heavier, washing away the filth from the streets and further blurring visibility.

But the rain was blocked by an invisible umbrella just centimeters away from Mianma's head, and not a single drop of rain wet Mianma's raincoat.

Mianma hung far behind Ziyanghua, watching her nimbly navigate the narrow alleys and low rooftops, her familiarity with the terrain far exceeding that of outsiders.

Soon, the two approached the scene of the incident one after the other.

The explosion appeared to have originated from a shop facing the street, which was now a mess, with charred wood and broken bricks scattered all over the ground. Several members of the Rain Shadow operatives were sealing off the scene, and police tape had been put up around it to disperse the crowd of onlookers.

Menma's gaze swept across the scene and quickly landed on an izakaya that was still intact across the street.

The second-floor window of the izakaya was open, and a striking figure was sitting by the window.

The man had long, unruly white hair and wore a red jacket. Even through the rain, one could see that he was surrounded by women, chatting and laughing with several scantily clad hostesses, and holding a wine cup in his hand, clearly indulging in pleasure.

“Jiraiya…” Menma’s lips twitched slightly.

So it was this guy.

Sure enough, no matter where they go, they never forget to "source" and enjoy themselves.

Judging from his relaxed demeanor, the explosion just now was clearly unrelated to him.

Just then, several Rain Ninjas with their hands tied behind their backs and covered in wounds were dragged out by the Anbu and escorted to the center of the street.

A ninja who appeared to be a squad leader of the ANBU coldly read out their "crimes": plotting a rebellion and attacking the security forces under Lord Hanzo's command.

Immediately, a flash of light appeared, and several short screams were drowned out by the sound of rain. Blood instantly stained the wet ground, but it was quickly diluted and washed away by the rain.

The surrounding crowd looked terrified, lowered their heads, and hurried away, not daring to look any longer.

This is Amegakure, the normal state of affairs under the iron-fisted and tyrannical rule of Hanzo the Salamander.

Ziyanghua stood at the alley entrance not far away, witnessing this bloody scene. Her face turned pale, and she bit her lower lip tightly.

She seemed to want to step forward, but ultimately held back, silently watching the ANBU clean up the scene.

Mianma's attention was not entirely focused on this obvious "minor incident".

His Kagura Mind's Eye detected two more subtle chakra fluctuations rapidly approaching.

A chilling, ethereal aura, carrying the fishy smell of plants, spread silently like mold from the ground—it was absolutely terrifying.

The other chakra was more familiar, sharp and light, like countless pieces of paper fluttering in the air—it was Konan.

The surveillance equipment was hidden underground at the street corner, clearly carrying out a surveillance mission.

Xiao Nan, on the other hand, flew directly from the sky and landed lightly on the roof of the izakaya like a paper butterfly. Her gaze pierced through the rain and fell solemnly on the white-haired figure on the second floor who was still drinking and making merry without any awareness.

"They came for him..." Menma knew in his heart.

Jiraiya didn't know why he noticed the Akatsuki organization so many years ahead of schedule, and even infiltrated to investigate.

Nagato also discovered Jiraiya's infiltration, and Konan was probably sent to "persuade" him to leave.

He quietly stepped back a few paces, completely concealing himself in the shadows behind a building, like a true bystander, waiting to see how this impending reunion between master and disciple would unfold.

The rain was pouring down; there was going to be quite a show to watch.

[PS: It's almost the end of the month, could those who haven't voted yet give me some monthly tickets? *clamoring*]

(End of this chapter)