Chapter 39: First Meeting with Naruto

Deep within the Iburi clan's burrow, a ray of sunlight slanted through a tree hollow overhead, bringing life to the lush saplings within the cave.

Utata, along with Yukimi and a total of twenty-five members of the Iburi clan, had already packed their belongings and was preparing to move.

"This is our clan's resting place," Utata said in a low voice, crouching down and gently stroking a tender green sapling with his fingertips.

"Our clan's Bloodline Limit is extremely unstable. If we do not survive past the age of twenty-five, we vanish into thin air without leaving a corpse. Therefore, every time a clansman passes away, we plant a sapling here."

Menma stood silently behind them. As far as his eyes could see, a dense small forest had already grown within this underground space.

Looking at so many newly planted saplings, Yukimi slowly began to accept the fact that Amakura and the children had already passed away.

After paying respects to the deceased clansmen, Utata led the people to begin their move.

"This passage connects to another burrow; it is a backup base our clan has been excavating for a long time," Utata explained as he walked through the deep, dark tunnel.

Recalling the terrain of the surface, Menma deduced that they were advancing toward the heart of the mountain range.

"I will arrange for people to deliver food, medicine, and various supplies to you." Menma pondered for a moment. "The organization's base is still under construction. We will move there after some time has passed."

"Everything shall be done according to your arrangements, Lord!" Utata responded respectfully.

——————

In the Konoha Hidden Village, in the basement of Menma's private residence, a specially made Flying Thunder God kunai hung inverted in the air.

*Swish—*

Menma appeared out of thin air, releasing his Transformation Jutsu and returning to his original form as a child.

The first S-rank ninjutsu he had learned while in the "Limited Tsukuyomi" world was the Flying Thunder God Technique, which he had learned from Minato Namikaze.

Thanks to his Uzumaki physique, his massive chakra reserves allowed Menma to perform ultra-long-distance Flying Thunder God teleports.

"Territory... territory..." After returning home, Menma began to frown and think as he walked up the stairs out of the basement.

While in the "Limited Tsukuyomi" world, he had swept through the ninja world single-handedly, creating the myth of a man fighting an eighty-thousand-strong shinobi alliance alone. However, he had never thought about creating his own organization or managing a territory.

This was because he knew that world was fake; there was no threat from Uchiha Madara, Zetsu, or Kaguya Otsutsuki, and certainly no enemies from the depths of outer space.

Every moment, he felt the rejection of that world.

After returning to this world, although Menma still experienced some unreal illusions, his body was no longer being rejected.

He had subdued Kakuzu and Kado, and had the Iburi clan serve him. The prototype of his organization was beginning to take shape, and it was time to establish his own sphere of influence.

After all, this world was not like the "Limited Tsukuyomi world." Behind the Akatsuki here stood Obito and Zetsu; the deceased Uchiha Madara had left behind schemes to seek resurrection; and the sealed Kaguya Otsutsuki remained on the moon.

Deep in the universe, the Otsutsuki clan was searching all over for this planet.

Only by possessing a powerful organization and unifying the entire ninja world could he maximize the integration of the world's resources and chakra.

Furthermore, as a person from China in his previous life, the concept of a unified whole was deeply rooted in Menma's mind.

"Young Master." In the courtyard, two women, Kina and Yuka, were hanging laundry and sweeping fallen leaves.

"There is no need to prepare my dinner tonight." After giving his instructions, Menma walked straight toward the study.

"Yes, Young Master." The two women bowed slightly.

Young Master Menma occasionally wandered around the village to play or find delicious food outside; the two women were long accustomed to this, and it actually allowed them to return home earlier to reunite with their families.

Inside the study, Menma pulled out a map of the ninja world, spread it across the desk, and began to examine it closely.

'These few countries on the eastern part of the continent are not very suitable. Sandwiched between the Land of Fire, the Land of Lightning, and the Land of Water, they are small in territory and poor in resources. Most resources are controlled by the great nations. Any attempt at development would inevitably lead to intense conflict with these three countries, making it unsuitable for early development.'

'To the north of the continent is the Land of Iron, with year-round snow and a harsh environment...'

'The central part of the continent has many small and medium-sized countries, but they are squeezed between the Land of Fire, the Land of Wind, and the Land of Earth. The Land of Rain also houses the Akatsuki. It is the most chaotic region on the continent and is also unsuitable for development.'

'Then, there is only the west...'

Ultimately, his gaze locked onto the western part of the ninja world.

'The Land of Demons, the Land of Bears, the Land of Spirits, the Land of Snow, and the Land of Swamps—the territories of these countries combined are comparable to the Land of Lightning and the Land of Water. Moreover, the Land of Demons has monsters and demons, the Land of Bears has the Star Ninja Village, the Land of Snow has relatively developed heavy industry, and the Land of Spirits and the Land of Swamps have vast agricultural resources. Once their resources are integrated, they can compensate for each other's shortcomings.'

These were all medium-sized countries. Although their territory and population were scattered, they held integration value.

In the cracks between these nations, there were some very small countries—perhaps just an island or a single city with little population and small territory—which could be bypassed directly.

As Menma stared at the map, preparing to send orders to Kado, a small hand pressed down on the map.

"Hey, hey, Menma, let's go eat something delicious!" The tiny, exquisite Nine-Tails, looking like a porcelain doll, leaned over the map. She looked at Menma with eyes full of anticipation, her nine fox tails wagging happily like a puppy's.

"I really can't do anything with you. Let's go, we'll go eat Ichiraku Ramen." Menma patted the little Nine-Tails' head affectionately.

Folding the map,

"Yay!" The little Nine-Tails cheered and jumped onto Menma's shoulder.

Menma put the map away and took out a scarf to wrap around himself, so the little Nine-Tails could hide inside the scarf to observe the world.

——————

"Is that the guy?!"

"Yeah, it's him, that... that..."

"How disgusting... why do they let a monster like that stay in the village?!"

"He's the one who killed the Fourth..."

"Shh... keep your voice down..."

Three-year-old Naruto walked alone down the street. The waves of whispered gossip rising from the bustling crowds were like kunai, piercing his young heart deeply.

Every gaze was filled with hatred; every whisper carried malice.

Young Naruto did not know why everyone discriminated against him. From the moment he had memories, he had lived in isolation and malice.

No one wanted to play with him, no one wanted to talk to him, and even shopkeepers were unwilling to sell him things.

The women responsible for looking after Naruto had also changed several times due to their dislike of him. Eventually, at only three years old, Naruto had to begin living entirely on his own.

The surrounding stares and whispers made Naruto's heart increasingly painful, and he began to run quickly, wanting to escape this world.

*Thud!*

Running with his head down, Naruto didn't see what was in front of him and collided with a figure.

Having fallen on his butt from the impact, Naruto opened his eyes and saw a young boy of a similar age, leisurely eating dango.

"Hey, kid, didn't your mom tell you that you have to say sorry when you bump into someone?" Menma said with dango in his mouth, not expecting to encounter his "brother" in such a setting.

"S-sorry..." Naruto lifted his head and murmured, "I don't have a mom..."

"What a coincidence, I don't have a mom either." Menma casually uttered a piece of dark humor.

Naruto stared at him blankly, an inexplicable sense of kinship rising in his heart.

"Then, as an apology, treat me to ramen." Menma pointed toward the nearby Ichiraku Ramen shop.

Naruto's eyes widened. "Huh?"

(End of Chapter)