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

Chapter 320: Giving Yahiko and Nagato a Small Shock
Although he knew nothing about the two black-haired boy and red-haired girl who claimed to be "relatives," Yahiko clearly felt the kindness emanating from them. In particular, Vanilla's unhesitating act of helping him and exposing the robber's lies, as well as her kindness towards Nagato, made him feel even more favorably toward them.

Yahiko smiled warmly and said to Menma and Vanilla, "Since you are Nagato's relatives, then you are friends of our Akatsuki organization! Welcome to the Land of Rain!"

His voice was cheerful and had a natural infectious quality that dispelled some of the chill of the rainy night.

Yahiko warmly invited Menma and Vanilla to join him at their Akatsuki base in Amegakure.

On the other side, the caravan leader, still shaken, complained a few times about the high risk of the mission and dared not linger. He urged his guards and crew to hurry toward the safer Amegakure Village.

Vanilla Whirlpool didn't answer immediately, but instead cast a questioning look at Menma.

In her heart, Menma was not only her savior and mentor, but also the only person she could completely trust at this moment.

Menma met Xiangcao's gaze, nodded slightly, and said in a calm tone, "It's alright, my destination is also Amegakure, so it's on the way."

With Menma's consent, Vanilla smiled with relief and nodded to Yahiko.

Thus, Menma and Vanilla followed Yahiko, Konan, Nagato, and other members of the Akatsuki organization into Amegakure, a steel city shrouded in endless rain.

Towering metal pipes, like the skeleton of a giant beast, are scattered throughout the city. Cold rain pounds against the various metal surfaces, producing a continuous, irritating tinkling sound.

The streets were sparsely populated, and even those who were there were hurrying along, their faces mostly showing numbness or vigilance.

Along the way, Nagato couldn't help but glance at the whirlpool vanilla beside him from time to time.

The fiery red hair, so similar to his mother's, and those bright red eyes, gave him a strange sense of familiarity.

Vanilla was also observing Nagato with curiosity, this taciturn, gloomy red-haired boy.

Soon, she noticed that through the gaps in Nagato's wet red bangs, she could vaguely see not the Uzumaki clan's signature red pupils, but rather a purple eye with strange ripples that she had never seen before.

'Strange eyes…' A hint of doubt flashed through Vanilla's mind, but then she remembered that Menma-sama also had black hair and black eyes, yet he had also confirmed Nagato's Uzumaki clan identity.

'I suppose, like Master Menma, there are some special circumstances.' She quickly accepted this explanation without giving it much thought.

After traveling through the night in the rain, the caravan entered Rain Hidden Village.

After handing over the mission and receiving the remaining commission from the caravan leader, Yahiko handed the bag of not-so-generous money directly to Konan beside him without even looking at it.

"Konan, as usual, arrange for a few companions to go and purchase a batch of food and supplies," Yahiko instructed, his eyes filled with absolute trust in his companions.

Xiao Nan silently accepted the money bag, nodded, and glanced at the members of the group with her cool gaze before whispering a few instructions.

The members immediately accepted the order, turned around and disappeared into the rain, clearly going to carry out a procurement mission.

After making these arrangements, Yahiko turned around and looked apologetically at Menma and Vanilla, saying, "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. Please come with me; I'm sure you and Nagato have a lot to talk about."

His considerations were quite thorough.

Xiao Nan followed after arranging the procurement.

The group walked through damp, rusty, narrow alleyways and finally arrived at a rather hidden entrance located underground.

Once inside, walk down the stairs for a short while, and you will arrive at the current base of the Akatsuki organization.

The base has a fairly large interior space, but the facilities are extremely rudimentary. The walls are made of rough cement, and many places are mottled due to water seepage.

Several Akatsuki members who had returned earlier had already found places to sit down and rest. Their faces showed fatigue, but most of them had an idealistic gleam in their eyes.

Yahiko, along with Menma, Vanilla, Konan, and Nagato, entered a relatively secluded small room deep within the base.

This appears to be where their core members discuss matters, with a few old tables and chairs, but the conditions are equally worrying.

There was a noticeable crack in the corner of the roof, and cold rainwater was dripping down the crack, splashing small water droplets on the cement floor and making a regular "drip-drip" sound.

"Please have a seat, I'll find something to fill with water." Yahiko smiled a little embarrassedly and quickly searched the room with Konan and Nagato for a usable container.

They brought over several old buckets and half-broken earthenware pots, carefully placing them under the leak to catch the dripping rainwater.

With a nonchalant expression, Mianma walked to a wooden table covered in scratches, casually pulled over a chair and sat down, seemingly unconcerned about the shabby surroundings.

Vanilla sat down next to him, her big eyes curiously surveying the leaky "base." She couldn't help but lean close to Menma's ear and whisper, "Menma-sama... this Akatsuki organization... why does it look... so shabby?"

In her imagination, a ninja organization base should at least be dry, clean, and have some defensive facilities.

Upon hearing this, Menma smiled faintly and replied in a low voice, "Because they use most of the money they earn from missions to buy food and supplies and distribute them to the poor and refugees in the Land of Rain."

His gaze swept over Yahiko and the other two who were busy fetching water, a complex expression flashing in his eyes.

This almost ascetic idealism appears both precious and fragile in the cruel world of ninjas.

After arranging the water containers properly, Yahiko gestured to Konan to brew some tea.

Xiao Nan nodded silently, walked to a simple appliance in the corner of the room, and began to boil water.

Yahiko and Nagato then sat down opposite Menma and Kaori.

Yahiko scratched his orange, spiky hair and said apologetically, "I'm really sorry to have made you laugh. In Amegakure, only basement apartments like this are cheap to rent, but the downside is... they leak a bit."

He shrugged helplessly: "After all, it rains all year round in the Land of Rain. Living on higher ground is better because it's drier, but the housing prices there... are too expensive for us."

His words were simple and honest, without deliberately concealing the organization's predicament.

Yahiko's gaze swept between Menma, Vanilla, and Nagato beside him before finally settling on Menma. His tone became slightly more formal: "So, Menma-kun, Vanilla-san, have you come to Amegakure this time to find Nagato?"

He remembered very clearly that Menma had accurately said Nagato's mother's name, Uzumaki Fusō.

Nagato also raised his head, his Rinnegan hidden under his bangs looking at Menma with a sense of inquiry and curiosity.

For some reason, compared to Vanilla, who had the same hair color as him, Mianma, with his black hair, black eyes, and deep, calm aura, gave him a strange attraction and a subtle pressure.

At this moment, Xiao Nan came over carrying a tray with several cups of steaming coarse tea on it.

She placed the tea in front of each of them and said in a cool voice, "Please enjoy."

"Thank you," Vanilla quickly thanked her, holding the warm teacup in both hands.

Mianma nodded slightly in acknowledgment, took the teacup, but did not drink it; instead, he gently rubbed the rough cup wall with his fingertips.

He raised his eyes, looked at Yahiko and Nagato, and answered Yahiko's question: "That's not the case. I came to Amegakure for other purposes. Meeting you was just an unexpected coincidence."

This answer surprised both Yahiko and Nagato slightly.

Unable to contain her doubts any longer, Nagato blurted out, "Then...do you know my mother?"

Menma turned his gaze to Nagato, shook his head, and said in a completely calm tone, "I have never met your mother, Uzumaki Fusou. I only know her because of you."

"Because of me?" Nagato was even more confused, his purple Rinnegan eyes filled with bewilderment.

He was certain he had never seen the person in front of him before.

How could someone who has never seen himself or his mother know of her existence because of him?

It left him feeling confused.

A brief silence fell over the room, broken only by the rhythmic dripping of rainwater from the roof into the bucket, a sound that seemed particularly clear at that moment, striking a chord in everyone's hearts.

It was as if urging the answer to be revealed.

Menma's gaze calmly swept over the three people opposite him. If Yahiko, who harbored burning ideals, survived and possessed a certain level of strength, what kind of changes would he bring to the ninja world if he were to lead the Akatsuki organization together with Nagato and Konan?

Looking at these three teenagers whose ideals had not yet been completely crushed by cruel reality, he suddenly felt that it wouldn't be bad to try to completely rewrite this world.

Menma refocused his gaze on Nagato and slowly spoke, his voice exceptionally clear in the quiet room: "The most distinctive physical characteristic of the Uzumaki clan is their red hair, which is like burning flames, and their matching crimson pupils."

He tilted his head slightly and gestured to Vanilla beside him: "For example, Vanilla, she has a very typical Vortex appearance."

Vanilla subconsciously touched her bright red hair and nodded.

Mianma continued, "Of course, there are also cases of mixed race, which may mask these two characteristics."

He pointed to his black hair and eyes: "Like me."

"but……"

His tone suddenly turned serious, and his gaze locked onto Nagato's eyes hidden under his bangs like a torch: "Unless it is an extremely rare case of atavism, it is absolutely impossible for the Uzumaki clan's bloodline to naturally produce these Rinnegan, which is known as the 'Eyes of the Sage'."

"The Eye of the Immortal?!"

"Reincarnation Eye?!"

"It couldn't have been born naturally?!"

Menma's words were like a thunderclap, exploding in the hearts of Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan!

The three of them were instantly filled with shock and disbelief!

When Jiraiya recognized Nagato's eyes as the Rinnegan, they were already quite surprised, but Menma directly pointed out the fundamental contradiction between these eyes and the Uzumaki clan's bloodline!

Yahiko's face instantly darkened. He leaned forward slightly, his hands clenching unconsciously, his voice trembling slightly: "Menma-kun, you mean... Nagato's eyes..."

“That’s right,” Menma directly confirmed Yahiko’s unfinished guess: “These Rinnegan are not something Nagato was born with. They do not belong to Nagato.”

"No...not mine?" Nagato froze on the spot as if struck by lightning, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down with difficulty as he swallowed the saliva produced by shock.

He instinctively raised his hand, wanting to touch his eyes that brought him both power and endless pain, but his arm was too heavy to lift.

My mind was in chaos, countless fragments of memories surging, finally settling on the image of my parents lying in a pool of blood.

“These…these aren’t my eyes?” he murmured, his voice hoarse and broken.

Konan's usually cool expression showed confusion, and she urgently questioned, "But! Nagato has had these eyes ever since he was four years old and started wandering with us! Nagato's parents..."

Her words came to an abrupt halt as a terrible thought seized her instantly.

Menma's gaze shifted to Xiaonan, his eyes seemingly piercing through her fear. He calmly finished her sentence, his words as cold as a knife: "So, his parents are dead."

boom--!
These words struck Nagato's heart like a thunderbolt!
He shuddered violently, his already pale face turning deathly white, and his body leaned back uncontrollably against the chair, as if all his strength had been drained away.

Was it because of these eyes that her parents died so tragically?

He always believed that the invasion of Konoha ninjas had taken everything from him, and that hatred for Konoha, even after being enlightened by Jiraiya, remained buried deep in his heart like a smoldering fire.

But now, someone is telling him that behind that tragedy lies an even darker conspiracy!

A pair of eyes that didn't belong to him, a meticulously planned massacre...

Yahiko looked at Nagato, who was on the verge of collapse, his eyes filled with heartache and anger.

He abruptly turned to face the man, his teeth clenched, and he practically forced out the words: "Tell us! Who is the real culprit behind this?!"

His voice trembled slightly as he tried to suppress his anger.

Mianma did not answer immediately.

He leisurely picked up the cup of coarse tea in front of him, which had already cooled slightly, and took a small sip, as if he were savoring something.

He put down his teacup and looked up at Yahiko, his eyes filled with scrutiny and a hint of mockery: "So easily believed a stranger? Yahiko, making judgments based solely on intuition and goodwill is not a habit that a leader of an organization aspiring to change the world should have."

Yahiko and the others were stunned again, not expecting Menma to say such a thing at this critical moment.

Menma leaned forward slightly, his gaze sweeping over Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato. His tone was calm, yet carried an invisible pressure: "If I were to harbor murderous intent towards you now, given your current unprepared state and the distance between us, you would already be dead."

He paused, looking at Yahiko's increasingly grim expression, and continued, "Your naive and idealistic personality is somewhat similar to that of the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju. But unfortunately, you don't possess his absolute strength, enough to suppress an era and render all conspiracies and schemes pale in comparison."

Yahiko's expression changed, but he took a deep breath, met Menma's gaze, and insisted, "But it was precisely because of this that I sensed the goodwill rather than malice emanating from you that I invited you here! I trust my judgment!"

“Kindness can be faked.” Menma shook his head slightly. “Yahiko, let me ask you a question. If one day, your friend—”

His gaze lingered on Konan and Nagato for a moment: "One of them has been kidnapped by an enemy far more powerful than you, such as... your Amegakure hero, Hanzo of the Salamander. The other party is threatening your friend's life, demanding that you commit suicide. What would you do?"

"Impossible!" Yahiko retorted almost instinctively, his face filled with reverence for Hanzo: "Lord Hanzo is a hero of Amegakure, a demigod ninja dedicated to bringing peace to Amegakure! How could he possibly do such a despicable thing!"

He paused, then continued firmly, "If any other ninja had kidnapped Konan and Nagato, I would not hesitate to die for them, as long as it would give them a chance to live..."

"Yahiko!"

"do not want!"

Konan and Nagato interrupted him almost simultaneously, their faces filled with anxiety and opposition.

Looking at Yahiko's resolute and self-sacrificing expression, Menma suddenly smiled, a smile tinged with pity and helplessness: "Congratulations, Yahiko. You made the wrong choice." Before the bewildered Yahiko could retort, Menma continued, "First of all, the enemy, especially one that resorts to kidnapping and coercion, has no credibility whatsoever. They won't keep their promises and release prisoners just because you commit suicide. Believing the enemy's promises is the biggest and most fatal mistake in battle."

His gaze sharpened: "Even the First Five Kage, who established the Five Great Ninja Villages, managed to establish a relatively peaceful order under the pressure of the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju. But within a few years, faced with the prospect of self-interest, didn't they quickly tear up the alliance they had signed and fall into a continuous war?"

"By comparing this to the history of the ninja world, your actions are tantamount to courting death and will only push your friends into an even more dangerous and desperate situation! Your sacrifice is worthless and will only bring pain to your loved ones and joy to your enemies!"

Yahiko opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but found that Menma's words were like heavy shackles, using the bloody history of the ninja world as evidence, leaving him speechless for a moment.

Konan and Nagato also fell silent.

Yahiko clenched his fist, raised his head, and his eyes still shone with the unquenchable flame of his ideals. He stubbornly retorted, "But! If we can't even try to trust and understand our enemies, how can we expect everyone else in this world to understand each other? How can we truly lead this ninja world, filled with war and hatred, towards peace?!"

His voice trembled slightly, a testament to his instinctive steadfastness in the face of adversity.

Menma looked at the stubborn light in Yahiko's eyes and knew that simple verbal preaching would hardly shake his deeply rooted beliefs.

He said no more, but slowly took out a seemingly ordinary blank bamboo scroll from his bosom and gently placed it on the wooden table in front of him.

The scroll is ancient and exudes an indescribable sense of mystery.

"Want to see it for yourself?" Menma's voice deepened, carrying a strange allure: "It's not my conjecture, nor empty rhetoric. It's... your 'future'."

His gaze swept over Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato.

Without any hesitation, Yahiko took a deep breath, reached out first, and firmly pressed his hand on the blank scroll.

Konan and Nagato exchanged a glance, and at the same time, they both reached out and covered the scroll.

The instant the three hands simultaneously touched the scroll—

Om-!
A soft, pale red light suddenly emanated from the seemingly blank bamboo slip!
The light wasn't dazzling, but it instantly enveloped Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato!

Their bodies trembled slightly, their eyes instantly lost focus, as if their souls had been ripped away and they had entered an illusionary world constructed by Menma through the "Book of Crimson Moon," based on the "history" he knew.

In that world, Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato, from the perspective of bystanders, clearly "saw":
A mysterious man claiming to be "Uchiha Madara" and wearing a spiral mask took the initiative to seek cooperation, his words full of temptation and traps.

They witnessed how Hanzo of the Salamander, whom they deeply respected, secretly colluded with Danzo Shimura of Konoha to plot a conspiracy.

They saw Xiao Nan being kidnapped and used as a bargaining chip.

They witnessed the Akatsuki members being ambushed by a mysterious enemy and dying one by one.

They witnessed Yahiko resolutely crashing into a kunai and choosing to kill himself in order to save Konan's life.

They witnessed Hanzo coldly breaking his promise and issuing the order to "kill without mercy."

They witnessed Nagato, in his extreme grief and rage, summoning the terrifying Gedo Mazo, only to have his legs blown off by pre-placed explosive tags, emitting a piercing wail.

They witnessed the near annihilation of the first Akatsuki organization, leaving only Konan and the heavily wounded Nagato embracing and weeping amidst the ruins.

Finally, they saw Nagato, who had lost everything, dragging his broken body, accepting Madara Uchiha's cooperation and embarking on a path to collect the nine tailed beasts and create the ultimate weapon, the Ten-Tails, attempting to force "peace" by inflicting pain on the world through the terrifying power of "gods"...

These scenes, like the cruelest drama, were presented to them in various details.

The dying cries of his comrades, Yahiko's smile as he fell, Nagato's heart-wrenching roar, Konan's desperate tears...

Everything was so real, so unforgettable!

"Ugh—!"

The light faded, and the illusion ended.

Yahiko, Konan, and Nagato almost simultaneously pulled their hands back abruptly, as if they had been burned.

They were breathing heavily, their foreheads covered in cold sweat, their faces as pale as paper, and their eyes filled with lingering fear, grief, and disbelief.

Yahiko gripped the edge of the table tightly with both hands, his knuckles turning white from the force, and his body trembling slightly uncontrollably.

He was breathing heavily, as if he had just been rescued from drowning.

He couldn't have imagined that his choice would ultimately lead to such a tragic end!

So many like-minded comrades who shared the same ideals died tragically.

And then there's Nagato and Konan, who ultimately...

They embarked on a path filled with pain and destruction!
“The…future…that is…our future?” Yahiko’s voice was hoarse and dry, each word seeming to be squeezed out with difficulty from his throat.

When Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan struggled to lift their heads from that overly realistic and cruel illusion, they saw Menma calmly adding tea to Xiangcao's cup with a rough ceramic teapot.

Hot water was poured into the cup, and wisps of white steam rose up, completely out of place with the oppressive atmosphere in the room.

He gently placed the teapot back on the table, his gaze calmly meeting the three men's still-shaken, shocked, and pained eyes. His voice remained steady: "Don't get too caught up in it. It's just one of countless possibilities for the 'future.' Of course, you always have the right to choose on the road to the future, and different choices will lead to different detours."

Yahiko's breathing was still somewhat rapid. He shook his head forcefully, trying to dispel the images of his own death, the withering of his companions, and Nagato's fall from grace in the illusion from his mind.

He suppressed the turmoil in his heart, grasped the most crucial name from the illusion, and said in a slightly hoarse and urgent voice: "So... the mastermind behind all this is that person who calls himself 'Uchiha Madara'? He orchestrated all of this? Including Nagato's eyes and the deaths of his parents?"

He asked the last question while looking at Nagato, his eyes filled with anger and heartache over what had happened to his comrade.

“It’s him, but it’s not just him.” Menma nodded, then shook his head. His answer only deepened the mystery in the minds of the three of them, rather than solving it.

"The truth behind the ninja world is far more complex and cruel than what you just saw. For thousands of years, war and hatred have been cyclical on this land. The battles and schemes between the five great nations and the five great ninja villages, and even your Akatsuki organization, the pain you have experienced, the ideals you have cherished... are all just insignificant grains of sand on a huge chessboard in the face of the cruel truth of the ninja world."

“Even ‘Uchiha Madara,’ who manipulates your fate, is nothing more than a puppet player.” Menma chuckled.

"The cruel truth of the ninja world?"

"Even the Five Great Ninja Villages... are just sand and gravel?"

Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan looked at each other, their faces filled with confusion and disbelief.

Mianma's words seemed to lift a corner of a larger, darker veil before them, and what was hidden behind it was unimaginable!

They have always believed that the conflict of interests between nations and ninja villages, and the incomprehension between people, are the root causes of war and suffering.

But now, someone is telling them that there might be an even more terrifying manipulator behind this?
Just as the three were immersed in this astonishing information and their thoughts were in disarray, Menma suddenly put down his teacup, gently patted Vanilla's shoulder, and casually instructed, "Alright, Vanilla, get ready to do it."

Hands-on?

To whom?

Yahiko and the other two immediately became alert, instinctively adopting a defensive stance, thinking that Menma was about to harm them.

However, Menma's next move stunned them.

Then, Muma slowly extended his right hand, palm facing upwards.

The next moment, a dark red chakra, carrying a hint of violence yet firmly bound by some force, slowly condensed and swirled in his palm like leaping flames.

That chakra originated from the Dark Nine-Tails.

"Grab my hand." Menma's voice was firm, his gaze sweeping over the three bewildered individuals.

Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan exchanged glances. Although their hearts were filled with doubt and wariness, they ultimately chose to believe, recalling the powerful abilities that Menma had previously displayed, which far exceeded their understanding, and the despairing illusionary world they had witnessed.

Or rather, it's about choosing to verify.

Yahiko was the first to reach out and firmly grasp Menma's wrist, followed closely by Konan and Nagato.

The moment the three men's hands touched Menma, the dark red chakra, like a living stream, rapidly spread along Menma's arms, covering their palms and wrists, and continued upwards, like a thin energy membrane, completely covering their bodies.

This layer of chakra did not invade their bodies, nor did it cause any pain or discomfort; instead, it gave them a warm feeling.

However, just seconds after the dark red chakra layer was completed, a sudden change occurred!

"Uh!"

"What's this?!"

"It's so itchy!"

Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan exclaimed in surprise almost simultaneously!
They were horrified to see their arms, shoulders, back...

Even beneath the skin all over the body, something seemed to be disturbed and forced to begin wriggling and bulging uncontrollably!
Immediately afterwards, tiny, white bumps, the size of rice grains and resembling fungal spores, emerged from their pores at a visible speed, growing rapidly and larger!
"puff!"

"puff!"

"puff!"

With a chilling, soft sound like plants sprouting from the ground, the white spores grew wildly on their bodies, instantly transforming into six blurry, twisted, and not yet fully formed humanoid creatures!

They were deathly white, with no complete facial features, only a rough human outline, as if they were sculpted from rough clay.

"what--!"

"Pain! It hurts!"

"What kind of power is this?! Get out of my way!"

As soon as these white creatures detached from the three people's bodies, they let out shrill, piercing, and inhuman screams. They seemed to be suffering immense pain, twisting and rolling on the ground. The white threads that were still attached to Yahiko and the others' bodies, like plant roots, were rapidly withering and breaking under the influence of Menma's dark red chakra.

They struggled, all staring at Menma, their voices filled with extreme fear and resentment, screaming, "You! Who are you?! How did you find us?! What... what is this chakra?!"

At this moment, Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan were already ice-cold all over, with goosebumps standing on end!

They stared in horror at the six strange white creatures that had been "expelled" from their bodies, their stomachs churning, a wave of nausea and fear washing over them!

These things... had actually been lurking inside their bodies all along?!
They were completely unaware of this?!
"What are you?! Why are you inside our bodies?!" Yahiko was both shocked and furious. He stepped forward and questioned them sharply.

The thought that his and his companions' every move, every conversation, and every thought could be under the surveillance of these monsters sent chills down his spine!
However, the White Zetsu just rolled and howled in pain on the ground, ignoring Yahiko's questions and focusing all their attention on Menma, as if he were the only one worthy of fear.

Menma looked at the struggling White Zetsu on the ground and a smile appeared on his lips.

He gestured to the vanilla that had been prepared beside him.

"King Kong Blockade!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Vanilla Whirlpool raised her hands, and two dazzling golden chains shot out, like nimble and precise hunters, instantly binding the six struggling White Zetsu tightly and dragging them together, unable to move.

Menma then leisurely took out a blank storage scroll from his pocket, spread it on the ground, and then took out an ordinary kunai.

He walked up to the White Zetsu, who was bound together by golden chains and still emitting unintelligible hisses, his eyes indifferent.

“No need to waste your energy interrogating them, Yahiko. These guys are just expendable resources; they won’t say anything.” Menma said as he swiftly and skillfully wielded his knife.

The kunai flashed with a cold light, precisely slicing across the necks of each white Zetsu.

puff!

puff!

With a dull thud as a sharp blade sliced ​​through some strange tissue, the White Zetsu's wails abruptly ceased, their bodies rapidly losing their vitality and becoming as stiff as real withered plants.

Mianma then made a few simple marks and pressed them onto the scroll.

"seal up!"

With a flash of light, the corpses of the six White Zetsu were all sucked into the scroll and disappeared.

The scroll closes automatically, and the quilt cover is easily put away.

After doing all this, Menma raised his head and looked at Yahiko, Nagato, and Konan, whose faces were pale and whose eyes were filled with shock, anger, and a hint of confusion.

The room fell into a deathly silence.

Only the seemingly ceaseless sound of raindrops reminds them of the coldness of reality.

Yahiko looked at Menma's calm and expressionless face, and then at the place where he and his companions had just been parasitized. A chill ran from the soles of his feet to the top of his head.

He finally understood and completely believed everything Menma had said before.

All their actions, even their encounters and their ideals, have been under the surveillance and manipulation of some being, or some group of beings, hidden in the deeper darkness.

Their self-righteous struggles and efforts, their cherished dreams of peace, perhaps...

From the very beginning, it was just a few insignificant lines in a script that someone else had already written.

(End of this chapter)