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

Chapter 285 Menma's Talk-no-Jutsu

On the other side, in the ruins of the sand city, hot winds swirled sand through the broken walls, making a mournful sound.

Tsunade stood on the edge of a relatively intact platform, her golden ponytail swaying slightly in the dry wind.

She crossed her arms and gazed solemnly at the distant battlefield, which resembled a living hell.

When she saw the One-Tailed Shukaku, covered in purple cursed markings, appear, her heroic eyebrows involuntarily rose.

"Sunagakure... they even brought the One-Tailed Jinchuriki." Her voice carried a hint of surprise: "It seems that Rasa has gone all out this time, even using his last 'weapon'."

Shizune, holding the trembling Tonton, quickly came to Tsunade's side, her face also full of surprise.

Even from this distance, the hatred and tyranny chakra emanating from Shukaku made her feel breathless.

This was the first time she had ever seen a fully-formed tailed beast in person. Compared to the two even more terrifying tailed beasts in the distance, Shukaku was closer to them and the sense of oppression was even stronger!

"Lady Tsunade... Is that the One-Tailed Beast from Sunagakure? Such... such terrifying chakra..." Shizune's voice trembled slightly, and she subconsciously tightened her grip on Ton-Ton, who also made uneasy "Ton-Ton" sounds.

"That Shura... will he be in trouble facing the One-Tailed Beast? Although I've heard that the One-Tailed Beast isn't the strongest among the tailed beasts, it's still a tailed beast after all..."

Upon hearing this, Tsunade gave a soft hum, but her gaze involuntarily drifted to the distant Nine-Tails, which was still clinging to the Ten-Tails and frantically devouring its vast chakra.

Her eyes were deep, carrying a hint of reminiscence and complex emotions.

"Troublesome?" Tsunade shook her head, her tone certain: "The other tailed beasts are simply not comparable to Kurama. They are on completely different levels."

She paused, pointed in the direction of Dark Nine-Tails, and continued, "Look over there. If that guy can subdue and control even the Nine-Tails in that state and that ten-tailed tailed beast... then what about Shukaku, the mere One-Tailed Beast..."

Before she could finish speaking, Shizune beside her suddenly widened her eyes and exclaimed in disbelief, "Lady Tsunade! Look!"

Tsunade immediately turned her attention back to the main battlefield.

In the distance, sand and dust filled the sky, and the once fierce Shukaku now looked extremely disheveled!
On its enormous body made of sand, a huge hole suddenly appeared, as if a piece had been forcibly scooped out by some terrifying force!
The once complete head was now missing half of its head, and grains of sand were constantly peeling off and flying from the wound as if gravity had been lost.

Around Shukaku's broken body, a black figure wreathed in pale green light was flashing wildly at a speed too fast for the naked eye to follow!

Each flash was accompanied by a dull thud and Shukaku's even more shrill and painful howl.

Fists covered in green light rained down like raindrops, each blow shattering a large chunk of Shukaku's body, sending dust flying and almost completely engulfing the area.

That was not a close battle at all, but a one-sided, brutal crushing defeat!

"This...this..." Shizune stared in disbelief, while the little pig in her arms buried its head even deeper.

"I can't believe it... that a tailed beast... is being used as a punching bag..."

Tsunade watched this scene in silence, her heart filled with turmoil.

To be able to fight a tailed beast bare-handed and beat it to a pulp is a feat that surpasses the capabilities of an ordinary Kage-level shinobi.

She instinctively reached for her waist, picked up the wine jug she always carried, uncorked it, and took a big gulp.

The spicy liquid slid down her throat, but it couldn't completely suppress the shock in her heart.

"That guy..." Tsunade put down the sake bottle, wiped her mouth with her sleeve, her gaze fixed on the figure, and muttered to herself, "I feel... a strange sense of familiarity about him. Where exactly is he..."

Her whispers were drowned out by Shukaku's final roar, filled with fear and frustration, in the distance.

The massive, tattered body instantly disintegrated, turning into a shower of quicksand that receded rapidly like a receding tide, clearly resealing itself back into the Jinchūriki's body.

The battle came to an abrupt end in a way that surprised everyone.

Before long, a black figure emerged from the gradually calming sandstorm and landed lightly on the high platform of the ruins.

It was the face of the enemy that ended the battle.

His divine robes remained impeccably clean, as if the fierce battle that had just taken place had never occurred.

In his arms lay a sleeping red-haired boy, Gaara.

Tsunade's gaze was immediately drawn to the child in Menma's arms.

She stepped forward and carefully examined Gaara's peaceful sleeping face. The heavy dark circles under his eyes contrasted sharply with his youthful appearance, causing her to frown slightly: "This is the Jinchuriki of the One-Tailed Beast? He's just a child after all."

There was a subtle, complex undertone in her voice.

She thought of Naruto, the same child whose tailed beast was sealed away, who grew up amidst discrimination and isolation from the villagers.

Although she had left the village many years before the Nine-Tails' attack, she knew something about Naruto's situation...

Menma didn't answer directly, but gestured to Shizune beside her and said, "Could you please bring me a blanket?"

"Huh? Oh! Okay!" Shizune responded quickly, carefully placing Tun Tun on the ground and swiftly taking out a clean wool blanket from her bag and laying it on a relatively flat stone slab in the corner.

Menma gently placed Gaara on the blanket and covered him up.

The little boy unconsciously curled up in his sleep and hugged the tattered teddy bear toy in his arms.

"Miss Shizune, could you please boil some more water?" Menma continued, his tone calm, as if he were dealing with a trivial matter.

"Yes, I'll go right away." Jingyin didn't dare to delay and immediately took action, taking out some firewood and a jar from her storage scroll to prepare for starting a fire.

Ton-ton obediently squatted to the side, its little eyes curiously observing the sleeping Gaara.

After arranging these things, Menma turned to Tsunade and answered her previous question: "It's probably because the commotion caused by the Ten-Tails and Kyuubi here was too great, making it difficult to avoid attracting the attention of Sunagakure. The chakra fluctuations at the level of a Tailed Beast are the highest level of alarm for any ninja village. So it's not surprising that Rasa not only led the team personally, but also brought along the Jinchuriki, who is the ultimate weapon."

Tsunade stood to the side, arms crossed, watching Menma's composed and seemingly in control manner. Suddenly, she chuckled, a hint of coldness in her smile.

"Heh... That's easy for you to say." Her sharp gaze fell on Menma, her tone becoming aggressive: "You've almost crippled Sunagakure's elite forces, even the Fourth Kazekage had to flee in disarray, and you even managed to kidnap the One-Tailed Jinchuriki. Sunagakure has suffered a significant blow this time, but they certainly won't let it go. What are you planning to do next?"

Her voice rose a few decibels, carrying a questioning tone: "Are you planning to take this opportunity to formally provoke a war against the Land of Wind? Just like when you annexed the small countries of the Land of Bears and the Land of Darkness, will you also slaughter the nobles and daimyo of the Land of Wind?"

Faced with Tsunade's sharp gaze and pointed questions, Menma's face remained expressionless, as if he were listening to something that had nothing to do with him.

He even shook his head slightly, a hint of melancholy in his voice:

"As the granddaughter of Hashirama Senju, the God of Shinobi, and having traveled the ninja world for so many years, witnessing countless life-and-death situations and darkness... it's truly disappointing that she would ask such a naive and shallow question."

"What did you say?!" Tsunade's brows furrowed instantly, a surge of anger rising within her.

No one has ever dared to describe her like that before!
Ignoring her anger, Menma continued in his calm yet piercing tone, "So-called nobles and daimyo are nothing but parasites that live off ordinary people, sucking their marrow from their bones."

"Lady Tsunade, you are no longer that little girl living in the greenhouse of Konoha. Tell me, in all your years of traveling the ninja world, how many of the nobles and daimyo you have met have clean hands? How many of them have not wantonly exploited and bullied the common people at the bottom? Every single penny of their mountain of wealth was taken from the blood, sweat, and suffering of countless ordinary people?"

He stared coldly into Tsunade's eyes: "What is the meaning of their existence? Apart from maintaining their lofty privileges and perpetuating their corrupt and decadent bloodline, have they ever made the slightest contribution to the vast majority of people in this world?" Tsunade opened her mouth, wanting to refute, but found her throat was a little dry.

Countless images flashed through her mind.

Those images she deliberately used alcohol and gambling to numb herself and try to forget.

The arrogance of noblemen galloping through the streets, trampling commoners before speeding away; the proclamation of a daimyo forcibly increasing taxes to build a luxurious palace, leading to the bankruptcy of countless families; the desperate eyes of a young girl discarded like trash after being used by nobles… Commoners who rose up in rebellion due to unbearable taxes were brutally suppressed by samurai and ninjas hired by the nobles…

She had indeed seen too much, but she always chose to turn away, not to look, not to think, as if as long as she closed her eyes, those sufferings would cease to exist.

Just then, Shizune carefully walked over, carrying a kettle of boiling water.

Tun Tun followed at her feet.

They sensed the tense and oppressive atmosphere between Tsunade and Menma, and their movements became much quieter, not daring to make the slightest sound.

Menma glanced at the timid Shizune and the intelligent little pig, then turned his gaze back to Tsunade, whose expression was constantly changing, and continued, his tone tinged with sarcasm: "You say that without the rule and management of nobles and daimyo, the world would become chaotic?"

Before Tsunade could answer, he asked and answered himself: "Then tell me, in the Land of Stars, there are no longer any nobles or daimyo. Have you heard that it has become chaotic and the people are suffering? On the contrary, what kind of hellish scene is the Land of Rain under the 'wise' rule of nobles and daimyo that you have seen? Aren't the sufferings of those people who struggle to survive in war and oppressive government the best proof?"

Tsunade instinctively wanted to refute it, saying that it was a system, an order formed over thousands of years!

She blurted out, "But...but this kind of ruling structure has existed for over a thousand years! It..."

"Thousands of years?" Menma interrupted her: "Then, what about a thousand years ago? In ancient times, before the concept of a nation was born, before words like 'noble' and 'daimyo' appeared, how did humans live and organize their societies? Did the world fall into perpetual chaos and slaughter because of them?"

"..." Tsunade was completely stunned.

She opened her mouth, but no sound came out.

She received ninja training from a young age, learning ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu. Her mission was paramount, and she embodied the Will of Fire.

They have never systematically studied history, nor have they thought about the origin and evolution of social structures.

The problem of facial numbness was like a crack that had been carved into her solid cognitive barrier, a crack she had never imagined before.

Menma, seeing Tsunade speechless, knew that his words had had an effect.

He stopped pressing, instead turning his gaze to the dilapidated, sand-and-stone staircase in the adjacent room, his tone softening, carrying a guiding implication:

“Those who divide people into different classes based on blood ties, power, and wealth, like nobles and daimyo, are high and mighty beings. I call them ‘classes’.”

"Class?" Tsunade repeated the unfamiliar word unconsciously, her gaze involuntarily following Menma's gaze to the dilapidated staircase.

“That’s right, class.” Menma used a vivid analogy: “Look, it’s like this staircase. At the bottom, in the largest number, are ordinary people. They are the cornerstone of society, bearing the heaviest labor, yet enjoying the fewest resources and dignity.”

His gaze slowly moved upwards: "Above are the ninja class. They possess power, serve their employers, and make a living through missions and battles. Those who hire them are usually nobles, daimyo, or other powerful figures. Ordinary people simply don't have the wealth to hire ninjas."

"Above that is the merchant class, who accumulate wealth through trade and exploitation."

"Then there was the aristocratic class, who, through blood ties and hereditary status, controlled land, power, and a portion of the military force."

"At the very top, in the fewest numbers, is the daimyo class, the nominal rulers of a country, who possess the highest power and the greatest wealth."

His gaze finally settled on the non-existent top of the stairs, his voice icy: "Each class, the higher up, has fewer people, but the resources and wealth they possess are more concentrated. Ultimately, this forms a stable... pyramid structure."

Tsunade stared at the staircase that symbolized the hierarchy, and a thunderclap seemed to explode in her mind!

She murmured to herself, "You mean... those most numerous ordinary people... are actually the... foundation stones that support the entire pyramid?"

Suddenly, she remembered some of the seemingly illogical actions of her grandfather, Hashirama Senju, who made the powerful Senju clan members in the ninja world at the time hide their surnames, disperse and integrate into Konoha Village, and blur the boundaries between clans... She had only vaguely thought that this was for the sake of village unity before, but now she seemed to have touched on a deeper reason.

Menma seemed to see through her thoughts and spoke at the right moment, his tone tinged with regret: "Hashirama Senju... back then, he did indeed vaguely see some of the cruel truths of this world with his extraordinary vision and intuition. In a way, aren't the so-called ninja clans another 'class' standing above ordinary people? Ninjas, by virtue of their strength, also occupy more resources and social status."

"Ninjas don't fight with ordinary people for anything!" Tsunade retorted almost instinctively, upholding the dignity of ninjas: "Ninjas have their own way of life and rules! We are hired on missions..."

"So, what has the battle between ninjas brought to this world?" Menma's voice suddenly turned cold, piercing Tsunade's heart like an ice pick: "You saw it with your own eyes, you experienced it firsthand in the Land of Rain! During the Second Shinobi World War, the Land of Rain became a battlefield for the great powers to compete. The three great nations of Fire, Wind, and Earth, and even other ninja villages, were drawn into it. What kind of hell did it become? Countless civilians were torn apart by the war, their families were destroyed, and corpses littered the fields... Aren't all of this caused by the battles between ninjas?"

Tsunade shuddered violently, her face turning deathly pale.

Those memories she had deliberately buried surged forth.

A shattered village, crying children, the pervasive smell of gunpowder and blood, and... the endless sorrow and despair when Duan and Shengshu died.

She staggered, almost losing her balance.

Tsunade, forcing herself to speak, said with all her might, "So...so that's why my grandfather ended the Warring States period and established the ninja village system! He brought peace to the ninja world! Yes, I admit that wars between major powers are much larger in scale, but at least...at least within the major powers, apart from the three Shinobi World Wars, they also enjoyed nearly fifty years of peace in total! Isn't that progress?"

She tried to cling to this last belief, to defend her grandfather’s great achievements and to justify her own long-held beliefs.

Menma watched her quietly, observing the struggle and pain, and a glimmer of hope, in her eyes. After a moment of silence, he finally let out a long sigh:

"This...is exactly what I regret."

"Regret?" Tsunade was stunned, not understanding what she meant: "What are you regretting?"

Menma raised his head, with a heavy heart that seemed to see through history: "What I regret is that back then, Hashirama Senju clearly possessed the absolute power to sweep across the entire ninja world and crush all other countries and ninja villages, yet he failed... or rather, was unwilling to take that last, and most crucial step."

"Why destroy other countries and ninja villages?!" Tsunade shouted excitedly. "Isn't that still war? Going to war with the Five Great Nations? That goes against the peace that my grandfather pursued!"

Menma remained unmoved by her agitation. He slowly turned his head, his heterochromatic eyes fixed on Tsunade, and asked a question she had never considered, or rather, dared not ponder:

"Then, Lady Tsunade, please think about this calmly."

"Just like Hashirama Senju ended the internal ninja conflicts in the Land of Fire, bringing decades of peace to the Land of Fire."

"If, back then, Hashirama Senju, with his unparalleled power, had truly unified the entire ninja world, integrating all countries and all ninja villages into one, so that the whole world had only one country, one ninja village, and one unified will..."

His voice wasn't loud, but it resonated deeply in Tsunade's mind:
"Then, through the efforts of two or three generations, time will be used to smooth over and dissolve the hatred and estrangement accumulated between the various ninja clans and countries. So, please tell me."

"Will those three subsequent Shinobi World Wars, which swept across the entire shinobi world, causing countless deaths and injuries, and inflicting unforgettable pain on countless people, including you... ever happen again?"

"A country, a... ninja village?" Tsunade was completely stunned, her pupils trembling violently.

This simple yet unprecedented concept instantly swept through her mind, shattering her decades of knowledge.

She stared blankly at Mianma, her mind a complete blank, with only that resounding question echoing in her mind.

Will war still break out?

(End of this chapter)