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

Chapter 277 I've found you, Ten-Tails!
In the desolate alternate dimension, the massive body of Dark Nine-Tails stood like a mountain, exuding an aura that was completely out of place among all the tailed beasts.

Cixian hovered in mid-air, his usually confident and composed expression now even more somber.

He was 100% certain that the so-called "Nine-Tails" in front of him had absolutely no connection with the two Ten-Tails he had brought from the Otsutsuki clan to plant the Divine Tree!

Even more so, it is completely different from the nine tailed beasts on this planet that were split off from the Ten-Tails' chakra.

The opponent's chakra carried an indescribable sense of "emptiness," as if it did not originate from this world, but from some unknown world with completely different rules.

Recalling the strange ninjutsu that couldn't be absorbed by the "Karma" before, an extremely uneasy feeling quietly spread through Jigen's heart, which he considered to be that of a god.

Menma stood atop the Dark Nine-Tails' head, which pulsated like flames, his dark red chakra cloak fluttering behind him.

“I’ve already said it,” he said, looking at Jigen’s ever-changing expression, his tone still carrying that unfathomable calm: “I’m just a passing ninja.”

He paused slightly, his gaze seemingly piercing through this alternate dimension, directed towards some distant place, his voice carrying a subtle, profound meaning: "If I had to give you a reason... perhaps it's to protect this planet beneath my feet, that's why I came here."

"Protect this planet?" Cixian seemed to have heard the most absurd joke in the world, and a smile of undisguised sarcasm and contempt curled at the corner of his mouth.

"Utterly foolish! Planets are merely nurseries to nourish the Divine Tree, cradles for nurturing chakra fruits! We, the Otsutsuki clan, traverse the stars, harvesting life and energy for our own use—this is the true nature of the universe! To protect? It's nothing but the pathetic self-indulgence of inferior beings!"

His gaze was fixed on Menma's peculiar eyes.

The crimson Mangekyou Sharingan, and the Byakugan that emitted a faint green glow, seemingly connected to an unknown power.

The next step after the Mangekyou Sharingan is the Rinnegan, and even among the Otsutsuki clan, not everyone can awaken the Rinnegan.

The power contained in that white eye made him feel vaguely uneasy.

So far, apart from their amazing insight, these two eyes have not shown any other special abilities, which only makes Isshiki more vigilant.

The unknown often means the greatest danger.

"I really want to see how satisfying it would be to trample a self-proclaimed god like you under my feet." Menma smiled, too lazy to waste any more words on this Otsutsuki who regarded all things as straw dogs.

"Let's go, Nine-Tailed Fox!" He then gently tapped the head of Dark Nine-Tailed Fox with his foot, calling out to his companion in a relaxed tone.

"Roar--!!!"

Dark Nine-Tailed Fox let out a roar that shook the entire alternate dimension, a voice filled with a desire for destruction and excitement for battle!

Its massive body suddenly moved, seemingly clumsy, but its speed was astonishing!
Nine tails, formed entirely from dark red chakra and resembling giant tentacles, pierced towards Jigen, who was suspended in the air, from different angles with a shriek that tore through space!
Cixian's pupils contracted slightly. After entering "Wedge - State Two", his speed was already extremely fast, and his figure left a series of afterimages in the air as he tried to dodge.

However, the Dark Nine-Tails' attack range was too large, and its speed far exceeded his expectations!
This is no ordinary tailed beast!

In desperation, he had no choice but to use his trump card once again!

His name is Bikanna!
His body shrank to a microscopic level in an instant, narrowly missing the gap between several tails!

At the same time, he waved his hands, and countless chakra rods, shrunk to an extreme size, were silently scattered across every corner of the battlefield like invisible dust, setting up a death trap.

Standing atop the Dark Nine-Tailed Fox, Menma's right eye flickered slightly with white light. The vast power of his pupils, linked to the giant Reincarnation Eye of the Moon, allowed him to clearly "see" the "point" moving rapidly in the microscopic world.

He snorted coldly, and several specially made kunai instantly appeared in his hand. He then swung his arm out violently!
call out!call out!call out!
The kunai shot towards the path of Jigen's movement like meteors, with several of them having sizzling explosive tags attached to their handles!

boom! boom! boom!
The detonation tag exploded violently at the designated location, but it did not cause direct damage to Cixian in his microscopic state. However, the shock wave and chaotic energy flow generated by the explosion effectively interfered with and slowed down his movement!

"Now! Xiao Jiu, 30 degrees to the upper left!" Mianma shouted in the mental link.

The Dark Nine-Tailed Fox suddenly raised its enormous head, its gaping maw opening wide!

A highly compressed, dark red Tailed Beast Ball containing destructive energy instantly condensed in its mouth!
Without the slightest hesitation, Dark Nine-Tails aimed at the direction indicated by Menma and suddenly unleashed its Tailed Beast Ball!

The Tailed Beast Ball, carrying an aura of annihilation, ripped through the dark purple sky and hurtled straight in that direction!

Cixian sensed a deadly threat at the microscopic level!
He immediately tried to absorb it using the power of the "Wedge," but that familiar, incompatible, alien energy sensation returned once again.

Absorption failed!

'Damn it!' he cursed inwardly. A black and red vortex portal opened behind him instantly, and his figure quickly disappeared into it.

boom! ! !
The Tailed Beast Ball exploded violently at the spot where Jigen disappeared!
A dark red energy storm swept out, turning everything in that area into nothingness; even space itself seemed to wail and tremble!
The shockwave from the explosion even caused the massive body of the Dark Nine-Tails in the distance to sway slightly.

The next moment, Cixian staggered out of another portal, his face even paler and his breathing more disordered.

He conjured a black chakra rod in his hand, pointing it at Mianma, his voice filled with suppressed rage: "Your tailed beast is indeed troublesome... but soon, it and your strange chakra will become nourishment for me to advance to a higher level!"

"Roar!" The Dark Nine-Tailed Fox seemed to be enraged, roaring as it charged towards Jigen once more, its enormous claws slamming down with immense force!

Cixian's eyes sharpened.

Mahakala!
On the path of Dark Nine-Tails' charge, several black chakra rods that he had previously scattered and which suddenly enlarged emerged from the cracked earth like spikes!

These black rods pierced the ends of the nine wildly waving tails of the Dark Nine-Tailed Fox with unparalleled precision, pinning it firmly to the ground like nails!
The Dark Nine-Tailed Fox's forward momentum suddenly halted, its massive body tilting forward due to inertia, letting out an angry roar.

It's now!

Cixian's eyes flashed with cold light as he swiftly lunged forward, bypassing the claws swung by the Dark Nine-Tailed Fox, his target aimed directly at the face above his head!
His body spun rapidly in the air, delivering a powerful flying kick that slammed into Mianma's chest!
"Got it!" Just as this thought arose in Jigen's mind, he saw that Ma neither dodged nor avoided the kick. He simply lowered his center of gravity slightly and took the kick head-on with his chest covered in dark red chakra!
boom!
A dull thud was heard, and Mianma's body swayed slightly, but his feet remained rooted to the spot!
Instead, Cixian felt as if he had kicked an ancient mountain, the force of the impact making his ankle go numb!
"What?!" Cixian exclaimed in shock.

Meanwhile, his numb right hand shot out like lightning, grabbing Cixian's ankle tightly like an iron clamp!

"Got you." Mianma's icy voice rang out, and in his left hand, a chilling "small spiral wheel" instantly took shape, quickly pressing towards Cixian who was right in front of him!

boom! ! !
At such close range, Cixian had no time to open a portal, let alone escape!

The small spiral wheel slammed solidly into his body, and the dark red destructive energy instantly engulfed him!
The violent explosion sent him flying like a rag doll, spraying a large amount of blood in the air. The black patterns on his body dimmed, and his newly repaired feather robe became tattered once again.

"Cough cough... Pfft!" Cixian barely managed to steady himself in mid-air, coughing up another mouthful of blood, feeling as if his internal organs had shifted.

However, before he could catch his breath, an even more terrifying sense of oppression came from ahead!

He looked up in horror and saw that the Dark Nine-Tailed Fox, whose tail should have been pinned down by the black rod, had somehow broken free of its restraints. Its enormous body was rushing towards him at a speed completely disproportionate to its size, as if it had teleported!
Two dark red claws, as large as small mountains, came crashing down on him from the left and right with a fierce wind that seemed to tear everything apart!
It's like swatting a pesky fly!

'Impossible! How did it break free?!' Cixian was horrified; those black rods were clearly still pinned there!
In his haste, he could only forcefully activate the portal again, teleporting himself away just before the black claws closed.

Jigen staggered out of another portal, panting heavily, and looked with surprise and uncertainty at the spot where Dark Nine-Tails had been pinned down.

The nine black chakra rods remained firmly pinned to the spot, but the Dark Nine-Tails' tail was completely unharmed, as if being pierced and pinned down was just an illusion.

His gaze swept across the seemingly chaotic array of kunai thrown out by Menma on the battlefield, and a thought flashed through his mind like lightning!

“I see…” Jigen stared intently at the mask on the head of Dark Nine-Tails, his voice tinged with realization and gravity: “Your Mangekyou Sharingan… its ability is spatial! Is it a kind of displacement ability? No… it’s more like a higher-level spatial coordinate replacement!”

He himself is the controller of the spatial ability "Daheitian" and knows all too well how troublesome and unpredictable spatial abilities are.

"Whether in Amegakure outside or here, you've scattered a large number of kunai... It seems your spatial movement requires these kunai as coordinates." Jigen's mind raced, analyzing: "In that case..."

A fierce glint flashed in his eyes; he absolutely could not give the other party the opportunity to use spatial abilities at will!

Great Heavenly Box!
Cixian suddenly raised both hands to the sky!

In an instant, the entire dark purple sky seemed to distort!

Dozens of enormous black cubes with ominous red edges—the “Great Box Heaven”—as if summoned from another dimension by an invisible hand, densely filled the sky!
Each of these cubes was larger than the Dark Nine-Tailed Fox, emanating a chaotic aura that disrupted spatial fluctuations and a heavy force capable of crushing mountains. Like an apocalyptic meteor shower, they indiscriminately and violently crashed down on Menma and the Dark Nine-Tailed Fox below!

boom! boom! boom! boom!
The massive mortal box continued to crash down, causing the entire alternate dimension to tremble violently and groan as if it could not bear the weight!

The Dark Nine-Tailed Fox roared in anger, its massive body struggling to dodge the meteor shower of attacks, but more cubes crashed around it, creating a deafening roar and billowing dust.

However, amidst this devastating bombardment, the Dark Nine-Tailed Fox opened its blood-red maw once more!

A dark red Tailed Beast Ball began to rapidly condense and expanded wildly at a speed visible to the naked eye!

In the blink of an eye, its size exceeded that of the Dark Nine-Tailed Fox, emitting destructive energy that caused the entire alternate dimension to begin to tremble and become unstable!
Huge Tailed Beast Ball!
Looking at that enormous, despair-inducing dark red energy sphere that seemed capable of devouring everything, Cixian's expression finally changed completely.

If he can't absorb it and has to tough it out, even with his second-stage body, he will definitely suffer severe damage in this closed alternate dimension!
However, the opponent has spatial abilities and could easily avoid the center of the explosion.

This alternate dimension, which he originally used to trap and kill his opponent, has now become a cage that restricts him!
The opponent's chakra reserves were enormous, almost monstrous, coupled with their unpredictable spatial abilities...

In a flash, Cixian made a decision!

Just as the Dark Nine-Tails unleashed its colossal, world-destroying Tailed Beast Ball, hurtling towards him with an aura of annihilation, Jigen unhesitatingly opened the black and red portal once more, his figure instantly disappearing into it.

boom! ! !
The enormous Tailed Beast Ball lost its target and crashed heavily into the ground in the distance!

A horrific, world-destroying explosion has occurred!

A dark red energy storm swept through the entire alternate dimension like a tsunami!
The earth was lifted up and annihilated layer by layer, and the dark purple sky seemed to be torn apart, revealing the chaotic void behind it!
The intense light from the explosion even briefly illuminated this perpetually dark world!

Menma had already used the Flying Thunder God Technique to move himself and the Dark Nine-Tails beneath his feet to the edge of the explosion, and the Dark Nine-Tails blocked all the aftershocks of the explosion.

His white eyes slowly swept across the space, which had become even more devastated by the explosion and resembled a purgatory, but he could no longer detect any trace of Cixian.

But Mianma wasn't in a hurry.

He slowly closed his eyes, sensing the Flying Thunder God mark that had been left on Cixian.

Sure enough, the mark pointed to a distant spatial coordinate.

The alternate dimension where that coordinate was located emitted a massive, violent chakra fluctuation filled with the aura of life plundering, its magnitude even comparable to the Dark Nine-Tails beneath his feet!

A confident smile slowly crept onto the corners of his numb lips.

"Found you... Ten-Tails!"

The next moment, he activated the Flying Thunder God Technique!
The figure, along with the Dark Nine-Tailed Fox beneath its feet, vanished instantly from this ravaged alternate dimension. ………………

On the battlefield of Amegakure, as Jigen and Menma disappeared one after another, the suffocating and terrifying aura of pressure finally subsided.

All that remains are devastated ruins, crisscrossing deep ravines, and the lingering energy in the air, a mixture of burnt and bloody smells.

The rain continued to relentlessly wash over the land, attempting to erase the traces of battle, but only adding to the desolation and ruin.

The core members of the Akatsuki organization did not let their guard down.

Xiao Nan flapped her pure white paper wings and flew higher into the sky. Countless tiny paper cranes separated from her body and, as if they had a life of their own, silently flew to every corner of the battlefield, expanding the reconnaissance range.

Her cool gaze swept over every piece of ruin, wary of any potential danger or the return of those two mysterious people.

Obito's Mangekyou Sharingan, hidden beneath his mask, slowly rotated, its crimson pupils reflecting the ruins.

He not only observed with his eyes, but also tried his best to perceive the subtle fluctuations in the surrounding space.

Whether it was the black-haired boy's elusive, seemingly Flying Thunder God technique, or the tattooed man's eerie spatial portal, both made him exceptionally sensitive to space.

He absolutely refused to believe that the two of them would leave so easily and completely.

Taking advantage of this rare respite, Pain of the Deva Path quickly summoned Pain of the Hell Path, who had not participated in the previous battle.

The figure of Pain, the Hell Path, appearing like a judge, quickly appeared at the edge of the battlefield, his hands forming a hand seal.

"Spiritual Communication Technique - Hell King!"

Accompanied by a chilling aura, a colossal, ferocious-looking head of Yama, bearing the character "王" (King) on ​​its head, slowly rose from the ground.

Yama opened his gaping maw, which seemed capable of devouring everything, and a strange, long, purple tongue shaped like a human hand slowly emerged from it.

Pain of the Deva Path carried the remains of Pain of the Asura Path, who was pinned to the wall with black rods and was already destroyed, as well as the remains of Pain of the Animal Path, who had been shattered by the Super Giant Rasengan, to the King of Hell.

The long, purple tongue deftly coiled up the damaged parts of Payne's body and sent them into the bottomless mouth of Yama.

A sickening chewing sound came from the King of Hell's mouth, as if he were devouring steel and flesh.

But soon, the unharmed Asura Path Pain and Animal Path Pain emerged from the mouth of Yama once again.

This is the power of Pain's Hell Path: to repair and revive other damaged Pains.

Just then, Zetsu's half-black, half-white, plant-like figure emerged from the ground beside Pain.

"Leader!" the White Zetsu half reported in his characteristic flippant tone, but the news was far from optimistic: "Something's not right in the village! We've lost contact with so many of the White Zetsu clones we've deployed! Especially those we planted inside Hanzo's tower for surveillance—almost all of them have been wiped out, vanished without a trace!"

Black Zetsu's hoarse voice followed up, tinged with seriousness: "There are quite a few of them, and they all lost contact in a very short time. It seems that the other side knows our plans inside and out."

A knowing glint flashed in Pain's cold Rinnegan eyes.

He recalled the black-haired boy's "Shinra Tensei" technique, which was exactly the same as "Shura's".

Furthermore, several years ago, when "Shura" first attacked Konoha, Zetsu also reported the disappearance of a large number of White Zetsu who were lurking in Konoha.

"No need to investigate further." Pain's voice was flat and indifferent: "That black-haired boy should be 'Shura'."

He slowly raised his head and looked in the direction where Menma and Jigen had disappeared: "He should now possess some kind of ability to accurately sense and locate the existence of White Zetsu. We have almost no secrets from him."

These words sent a chill down the spines of all the Akatsuki members present.

White Zetsu's ability to conceal itself is a crucial part of their intelligence network, but now it has been completely countered by the enemy.

Black Zetsu was far more shaken than the others.

If that "Shura" and that tattooed man were indeed beings from the same era as Kaguya Otsutsuki a thousand years ago, as revealed in their conversation, or even members of the Otsutsuki clan, then it would be reasonable for them to be able to see through the White Zetsu's disguise.

But what unsettled him even more was the tattooed man's hateful term of endearment for his mother, Kaguya, and the ambiguous stance of "Shura," which seemed to lean towards "protection."

'That tattooed man possesses such terrifying strength and is also my mother's enemy... So, could this 'Shura' be... my mother's ally? Or perhaps another contingency plan left by my mother back then?' Black Zetsu's mind raced, trying to unravel this intricate web of relationships. The millennia-long plan seemed to be forcibly disrupted by an uncontrollable external force, causing him unprecedented anxiety.

At this moment, Obito slowly walked over, his gaze sweeping over the newly repaired Asura Path and Animal Path Pain, finally settling on the Deva Path Pain.

"Regarding those two people from earlier, 'Madara'..." Pain spoke up, his voice still icy: "Do you know their specific origins? Especially that guy who can use black rods similar to the Rinnegan's power and calls the other one 'Isshiki'."

A cold, ambiguous snort came from beneath Obito's mask, without a direct reply.

But the slight clenching of his fist and the fleeting apprehension in his one-eyed Sharingan were enough to tell the story.

Even this guy who calls himself "Uchiha Madara" and is plotting the Eye of the Moon Project feels troubled and deeply wary of the power that the two people just displayed.

This raised Nagato's assessment of the threat posed by "Shura" and the mysterious tattooed man to the highest level once again.

Just then, Konan slowly descended from the sky, her paper wings folding. She walked to Pain's side and whispered, "Pain, Jiraiya-sensei... is missing. I searched the surrounding area but couldn't find any trace of him."

Pain remained silent for a moment.

He knew that Jiraiya possessed the reverse summoning technique of Mount Myōboku, and that it was highly likely that he had quietly escaped during the chaos while everyone's attention was drawn to the two mysterious powerful figures.

"It's alright." Pain's voice was unreadable. "We just escaped by luck. Our goal is what's in front of us."

His Rinnegan swept once more over the core area of ​​Amegakure, which was riddled with holes due to the multi-party battles.

With Hanzo the Salamander dead, the greatest threat, "Shura," and the mysterious tattooed man seem to have temporarily left the battlefield.

"Prepare to take over Amegakure." Pain issued the order: "From today onwards, this will be the new starting point for Akatsuki."

Obito coldly interjected, "Jiraiya has escaped. Next, I'm afraid Konoha will not sit idly by in the face of the upheaval in Amegakure. War may not be far off."

Pain slowly raised his hand, sensing the lingering raindrops and the stench of blood in the air. A cold glint flashed in his Rinnegan:

"No matter how many people come, if they dare to step into the Land of Rain... they will become the nourishment for the new world, and be buried here."

……

On the other side, north of Amegakure Village, lies a relatively remote port.

Jiraiya had already deactivated Sage Mode, and the toad-like eyeshadow on his face had faded. The two toad sages and Gamaken had also deactivated their summoning and returned to Mount Myōboku.

As the natural energy left the body, a strong feeling of weakness and intense pain instantly swept over the entire body.

Although the wound from Pain's black rods had been somewhat suppressed in Sage Mode, the lack of Sage Chakra caused blood to gush out again, staining his red robes even darker.

Jiraiya leaned against a damaged shipping container, breathing heavily, large beads of sweat mixed with rainwater sliding down his forehead.

He must leave here as soon as possible and return to Mount Myoboku for treatment.

He endured the excruciating pain and prepared to find a place to perform reverse psychic magic.

Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of a group of panicked Amegakure villagers in front of the port. They were carrying their families and simple belongings, and were being led by a few people who seemed to be organizers. They were hurriedly boarding a dilapidated cargo ship, clearly trying to escape the war zone that had just experienced a nightmare.

"That's over there..." Among the busy organizers, a figure caught Jiraiya's attention.

Her short, curly purple hair, distinctive bun, and that familiar purple Chinese-style martial arts uniform.

It was none other than the Hidden Rain Village genin girl, Ayaka, who had appeared with that black-haired boy at his disguised ramen shop!

At this moment, Ziyanghua is working hard to maintain order and help the elderly and children board the boat. Her delicate face is covered with mud and rainwater, but she carries a kind of perseverance and sense of responsibility that does not match her age.

Jiraiya's heart leaped into his throat, and he became extremely vigilant!
The other party is a ninja from Amegakure!
Moreover, he has a close relationship with that dangerous "Shura"!
Just as Jiraiya was on guard, Hydrangea, who was busy at work, seemed to have noticed the unusual activity in this corner.

She turned her head, her gaze passing through the sparse crowd, and saw Jiraiya leaning against a container in the corner, covered in blood and pale-faced.

She paused for a moment, seemingly recognizing the "strange uncle" she had met briefly at the ramen shop before, and then her face showed genuine worry and urgency.

She immediately gave a few instructions to the villagers and her companions beside her, and then ran quickly towards Jiraiya without hesitation!

Jiraiya tensed his muscles and instinctively assumed a defensive stance, despite his extremely poor condition.

"Uncle! How did you get so badly injured?!" Hydrangea ran over and looked at the several horrific wounds on Jiraiya's body that were still bleeding. Her eyes were filled with pure concern and anxiety.

She paid no attention to Jiraiya's wary gaze and quickly rummaged through her ninja tool pouch at her waist to find clean bandages and hemostatic powder.

"Quick! Apply this to stop the bleeding!" She shoved the medicine bottle at Jiraiya, her tone urgent and sincere: "Something terrible just happened in the village, and it's not safe here! Come with us, let's get out of the village by boat first!"

Looking into the girl's clear, pure eyes, and feeling the heartfelt worry and kindness in her words, Jiraiya's tense nerves and concentrated chakra unconsciously relaxed.

His hand, which was poised to lash out at any moment, slowly lowered.

At this moment, the image of Hydrangea bustling about in the rain, helping the weak and caring for others, slowly overlapped with the image of three thin but stubborn war orphans he had met more than twenty years ago on the border of the war-torn Land of Rain—Konan, Yahiko, and Nagato.

Both are lands of rain, both are ravaged by war, and both feature children who retain their kind hearts even amidst despair.

A complex mix of emotions welled up in Jiraiya's heart—a mix of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, deep feelings), 悲伤 (shāngbāo, sadness), and a sense of disorientation, as if he had traveled through time.

Looking at the girl named Ziyanghua in front of him, he seemed to see some kind of reincarnation, and also a small but precious glimmer of humanity that still stubbornly shone in the darkness and chaos.

He let the hydrangea frantically tend to his wounds, but his gaze was somewhat lost as he stared into the depths of the rain, at the place that had just experienced a terrifying battle.

Amegakure is currently being quietly taken over by the Akatsuki organization.

(End of this chapter)