The Avengers of the Uzumaki Family

"boom!"

The chakra exploded beneath his feet.

They launched a rapid attack on Menma, who was positioned opposite them.

After his initial moment of stunned silence, Naruto showed a hint of sadness and hesitation, but just a second later, it was replaced by a look of resolute determination.

"Shadow Clone Technique!"

That was yet another ninjutsu used immediately.

"puff"

"puff"

"puff"

"puff"

Countless shadow clones suddenly appeared and then dispersed, all rushing towards the location of the face numbness.

Looking at Naruto and Lee who were attacking from both sides.

Mianma still had that cold and stern expression.

The right hand was raised directly, just as it was about to act.

at that moment.

Directly above.

"Crack!"

"Boom!"

The giant purple barrier that had covered the entire roof of the high platform suddenly disappeared.

Upon witnessing this scene.

His face paled and his eyes narrowed.

He had no time to continue entangled with Lee and Naruto.

With a burst of chakra from the soles of his feet.

"Whoosh!"

With a speed far exceeding that of Xiao Li.

Completely avoiding the attacks of the two, he then flew away from his original spot and sped towards the rooftop.

next second.

Above, the four Sound Ninja who were maintaining the barrier quickly gathered together.

Inside, Orochimaru, looking disheveled and exhausted, jumped out.

Seeing Menma approaching, the four were about to launch a preemptive attack.

"stop."

However, Orochimaru stopped him directly.

"It seems the plan can't continue, Orochimaru-san."

Menma glanced at Orochimaru's arms, which were clearly in freefall and hanging limply at his sides, now completely dark purple, and said in a calm tone.

"Hehe, I'm sorry to disappoint you, Menma-kun, but it's not like we came away empty-handed. Let's call it a day."

Orochimaru gestured to Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was lying in a pool of blood, and forced a smile as he spoke.

Menma glanced at him indifferently, without any extra emotional fluctuation, and then nodded slightly: "Yes, there's plenty of time in the future. So, let's go together, Orochimaru-san."

"what."

Then.

Menma took one last look at Naruto and Lee, who were still rapidly chasing after him from below.

As the four-man group of Onimaru spat out a giant spider web from his mouth, blocking the pursuit of the ANBU members.

Orochimaru, Menma, and the others then retreated rapidly to the other side.

They completely ignored the Sand Ninja still fighting below, and the One-Tailed Shukaku still roaring not far away.

Ultimately, both Orochimaru and Menma only ever saw the Sand Village ninja as objects to be used.

The former even personally killed the Fourth Kazekage.

Now, abandoning the Sand Village and retreating alone, there's absolutely no pressure.

As for the other Sound Ninja, Orochimaru didn't care either; they were just cannon fodder, and he wasn't bothered by their loss.

The only valuable subordinate, Kabuto Yakushi, also quietly left from the other side the moment he saw the Four Purple Flame Formation dissipate, leaving the remaining rearguard work to the Sand Ninja.

"Menma!!!"

Naruto, who could no longer catch up, could only watch Menma's retreating figure helplessly and call out to him.

However, Menma, who had already gone far away, could not possibly respond to Naruto.

Lee, who was also unable to stop them in time, looked at Menma and Orochimaru, who had already completely disappeared, as he leaped to Naruto's side. Lee could only sigh silently. He had already prepared to break through his limits and fight to the death, even if it meant opening the Fifth Gate.

But Menma doesn't give that chance.

Lee could only pat Naruto on the shoulder silently before turning back to join the other battles.

The enemy hasn't been completely eliminated yet.

However, with Orochimaru and Menma's departure, this war will eventually come to an end.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 126 Epilogue (Third Update)

Traces of war.

Blood splattered everywhere.

The entire Hidden Leaf Village was in a state of utter devastation at that moment.

Even though the Sand and Sound Ninja didn't deploy many troops in this raid, the damage they caused to Konoha was still terrifying. A full fifth of Konoha was destroyed, and the number of Konoha ninja killed or wounded was only slightly less than that of the Sand and Sound Ninja. This was only because Jiraiya appeared at the village's main gate immediately and stopped the invasion of the giant summoning snakes.

Otherwise, these summoning giant snakes, combined with the Sand Ninja and Sound Ninja raiding forces, would only inflict a devastating blow on Konoha.

But it was also because Jiraiya appeared on the front lines of the battlefield.

They did not appear at the Chunin Exams venue.

This resulted in the direct death of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and nearly a hundred casualties among the Hokage's direct ANBU and other Konoha ninja. Not to mention the considerable number of civilian deaths and the incalculable direct economic losses.

We should thank Might Guy for holding off Shukaku during that time. He even opened the Eight Gates to the seventh gate—the Gate of Shock—and used the Daytime Tiger to forcefully defeat Shukaku, who had not yet fully unleashed its power. Otherwise, Shukaku, the One-Tailed Beast, could have caused even greater destruction to Konoha. After all, a Tailed Beast is a Tailed Beast. Even if the One-Tailed Beast is not as powerful as the Nine-Tailed Beast, it is still a power that cannot be measured by ordinary humans.

Therefore, Sunagakure became the biggest spender in this plan.

The Sand Ninja who were specially selected as the raiding force were almost all the elite ninjas in Sunagakure. More than half of them were killed or wounded, and a considerable number of the rest were captured. Very few Sand Ninja were able to escape successfully.

The Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, had already died in battle before the war even began.

The whereabouts of the Sand Village ninja are currently unknown.

As for Shukaku, the One-Tailed Beast, which was relied upon, it was easily captured by Gaara, who was also its jinchūriki, after being decisively defeated by Might Guy.

Kankuro and Temari, the siblings, were no exception.

Only Maki managed to break through the encirclement by relying on his own strength.

It can be said that this time, Sunagakure has truly lost the vast majority of its assets.

This is a risk that must be taken in war.

Sunagakure should have been used to it by now, but after this battle, the already weak Sunagakure will surely face an even more precarious situation.

It can be said that this was a war with no winners.

The Konoha faction was also heartbroken.

On the rooftop at the highest point of the venue.

The group of Konoha ninja who had gathered there stood at the very front, looking at the cold corpse of Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was now being held in Asuma's arms. This hero of Konoha sighed silently in his heart.

Even though he had some dissatisfaction with this teacher, he was still his mentor.

Not to mention that he died at the hands of Orochimaru, one of his former close friends and also a disciple of Hiruzen Sarutobi.

This is undoubtedly an extremely tragic thing.

However, compared to Hiruzen Sarutobi's death, there is another matter that is most important to Konoha right now.

"Did Menma really kill Genma, know his identity, and leave with Orochimaru!?"

Jiraiya looked at Kakashi with a serious and shocked expression and asked in a deep voice.

Spiral surface roughness.

As a mere Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails, he already played a crucial role in Konoha, a village that no longer had a powerful figure like the First Hokage to suppress it, not to mention that Menma was the son of the Fourth Hokage.

If news of Menma's defection were to spread throughout Konoha and even the entire ninja world, it would certainly cause a huge uproar.

"Yes, Jiraiya-sama."

Kakashi nodded with a heavy expression.

Everyone knows that Menma's defection is a heavy blow to Konoha.

But under the previous circumstances.

No one could stop Menma from leaving.

Not to mention that Jonin like Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai all had enemies in their way, or even if they didn't.

The power displayed by the hemp.

Even in a one-on-one situation, they wouldn't be able to stop him either, and Asuma and Kurenai would most likely be killed by Menma.

Genma's body is still covered with a white sheet underneath.