Avengers of the Whirlpool Family

Menma also shook his head helplessly in his heart.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 98 Separation and Visit (First Order)

PS: I just hope the first order can be two or three hundred. Thank you all my book friends.

In other words, he wouldn't encounter this kind of creature under normal circumstances. Otherwise, Menma would have a headache just thinking about having to fight against such a 'beast'-like guy in the main competition.

No one objected.

After Moonlight Gale emphasized the rules of the final competition once again, he let Menma and the others disperse.

As soon as the group left the Forest of Death, they saw Kakashi waving at them with a smile at the exit.

"Oh? Brother Kakashi, see, we have all entered the final round!"

Naruto also held his head high and said with a very proud expression.

"Haha, of course I believe you can do this, otherwise why would I recommend you to participate in this Chunin Exam?"

Kakashi said with a smile.

As he spoke, he glanced at Sasuke casually, but neither Naruto nor Sakura noticed.

But he couldn't escape Menma's gaze.

He also knew that Kakashi was worried about the curse seal on Sasuke's neck. After they arrived at the tower yesterday, Kakashi appeared once. When he heard that a special mark appeared on the neck of the second pillar, Kakashi took Sasuke away with a serious face. Sakura and Naruto just thought that they were going to do a routine check-up or treatment, but only Menma knew that with the current level of Konoha, it was impossible to break the curse seal specially engraved by Orochimaru. With Kakashi's level, he could only temporarily seal the leakage of the curse power. It still depended on Sasuke's own willpower.

Once Sasuke himself actively desires this power.

Any seal is of no use at all.

Kakashi knew very well what kind of personality Sasuke had, so it was natural for him to be concerned and worried.

And it is impossible for Sakura and Naruto to know these things at the moment.

Neither Kakashi nor Sasuke would tell the other party on their own initiative, and Menma, the only one who knew about it, would just pretend not to know.

"Hehe, then Brother Kakashi, shouldn't you express your congratulations to celebrate the fact that all of us have entered the final competition?"

Naruto walked closer and said to Kakashi with a grin.

"Haha, you guys, of course there is no problem. You can eat and drink as much as you want today. This is a celebration and also a reward!"

Kakashi said as he patted Naruto's head amusedly.

"Great! You said it, so I will not be polite today, Brother Kakashi!"

Naruto shouted with a happy expression on his face.

"Yeah, that's what I said."

When Kakashi saw that Sasuke still had his usual cold expression and there was no special change, he felt much more relaxed.

"Haha, then you better be prepared, Brother Kakashi. Um, you all are all right, right? Sakura? Menma? Sasuke?"

Naruto couldn't wait to turn around and look at his three teammates.

"Ok!"

"Humph"

Sakura and Sasuke also replied one after another.

Menma, who was sitting in the back, also nodded slightly with a faint smile.

This seems to be a very harmonious scene.

But the others did not notice that there was a complete crack separating the two.

"Yoshi, let's go!"

This is the familiar loud voice of Naruto that fell.

The setting sun, the elongated shadows, the five people walking side by side, but at this moment, Kakashi, Naruto, and Sakura could not realize that this might be the last group activity of their Team 7.

This may not be called a false friendship, but in Menma's opinion, it is an empty bond that is meaningless.

Be it Sakura or Kakashi.

There is no place for you in Menma's heart underneath that fake smile.

The same is true for Naruto.

They are simply related by blood.

Unlike Minato and Kushina, who at least gave him life in this life, this so-called younger brother is destined to be his enemy in the future.

After that night in Wave Country.

Menma has already completely separated himself from these people in his heart. Only Sasuke is slightly different. However, what the future will be like still depends on the choices made by each other.

It is impossible to make a decision now.

After ending this so-called reward banquet with false gentleness, Menma returned to his residence, only to be greeted by a special guest.

"Humph, now that we're here, why do we need to hide aside?"

To Menma, this was a chakra fluctuation as obvious as a light in the dark night. Almost at the moment the person approached his area, Menma detected the breath of the person.

"Oh my, it seems that Lord Orochimaru really didn't overestimate you, Menma-kun. You are only 12 years old, but you can have such a sense. Is this also the power of the Nine-Tails? Or is it the ability of you as a member of the Uzumaki clan?"

At the end of the corridor.

At first glance, there was no figure in the dark corner, but as these words fell, a straight figure appeared in Menma's eyes.

Silver hair, black frame glasses.

And that familiar fake smile.

This figure was none other than Orochimaru's right-hand man - Kabuto Yakushi.

"Hmm? A forehead protector from Konoha? And there's Orochimaru-san's scent. Oh, it seems like you're a spy that Orochimaru-san specially placed in Konoha?"

Menma looked at Kabuto Yakushi with a scrutinizing look and indifferent eyes, with a hint of sharpness in his pupils.

The moment Yakushi Kabuto's eyes met Menma's, his heart couldn't help but tighten.

It felt like I was being stared at by something extremely dangerous.

Originally, when he received the order from his lord Orochimaru, Kabuto Yakushi became extremely curious about Menma. As the highest person in charge of Orochimaru, Kabuto Yakushi might not know Menma's situation 100%, but he knew a certain part of it. He really didn't expect that a young man who seemed to have completely accepted Konoha's education would have such a big change at this stage.

He even dared to meet with their Lord Orochimaru alone, and even proposed to leave Konoha and cooperate with their Lord Orochimaru.

It’s not that I don’t trust my own Lord Orochimaru.

It's simply human nature. Before you see it with your own eyes, you'll always have some doubts.

But now it seems.

It was just such a brief contact.

Kabuto Yakushi could tell that the Uzumaki Menma-kun in front of him was definitely not a good person.

"Yes, just as you said, I am a spy under Lord Orochimaru. My name is Kabuto Yakushi. I will ask for your guidance from now on."

Pharmacist Dou bowed slightly and smiled.

(End of this chapter)

Chapter 99 An unexpected invitation

"Forget the polite words. Orochimaru-san sent you to see me. It shouldn't be just to say hello, right? Just say it directly. Don't waste time. This is Konoha after all."

Menma also deliberately looked at Yakushi Kabuto with an impatient and cold expression and said.

"Haha, it seems that Menma-kun is still impatient. My purpose in coming here is very simple, that is, on behalf of Lord Orochimaru, to invite Menma-kun to formally join our plan. I wonder what you think, Menma-kun?"

Yakushi Kabuto still looked at Menma with his fake smile.

These words were spoken softly.

Although Menma seemed to show no emotion, he was actually shocked inside.

"Plan? What plan? You are playing a guessing game with me?"

Menma deliberately frowned and looked at Kabuto Yakushi with a very dissatisfied expression, at the gradually emitting a little bit of Nine-Tails chakra.

As it spreads.

Pharmacist Kabuto on the opposite side was also shocked.

"I am sorry for my impoliteness. Just as Menma-kun said to Orochimaru before, Orochimaru came back this time not to reminisce with the old people, but to destroy Konoha. Hasn't Menma-kun been holding a grudge against Konoha for a long time? This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!"

Yakushi Kabuto looked directly into Menma's pupils and spoke word by word.

Even if it was expected.

But the moment I actually heard it from Kabuto Yakushi.

Menma still couldn't control the shock in his heart, and his pupils shrank suddenly subconsciously.

"What did you say? Destroy Konoha?"

At this moment, Menma's eyes became sharper than ever before.

"Yes, it is to destroy Konoha. This is the real intention of Lord Orochimaru returning to Konoha this time."

Pharmacist Kabuto replied with a smile.

"How is it? Menma-kun, this should be something you want to do, right?"

Second confirmation of words.

It also made Menma's expression become uncertain.

As a time traveler, Menma is of course well aware of Konoha's collapse plan, but what he doesn't know is why Orochimaru invited him?

It's at such a slightly delicate time point.

However, this doubt only lasted for a moment before Menma realized that from the moment he took the initiative to seek a deal with Orochimaru and exposed his intentions, he was already on the same dangerous road as Orochimaru.

It would be a natural thing for someone to "invite" me to participate in the Konoha collapse plan.

"Indeed, I am also very interested in destroying Konoha, but this does not mean that I look down on Orochimaru-san. Although Konoha has been weakening over the years, and Jiraiya and Tsunade are no longer in the village, a lean camel is still bigger than a horse. As far as I know, Orochimaru-san has only been defecting from Konoha for more than ten years, right? Excuse me, in such a short period of time, it is said that Orochimaru-san has the power and influence to destroy Konoha. Haha, I really don't believe it."

Menma quickly calmed down his emotions, raised his eyebrows, and said to Yakushi Kabuto with a very obvious look of distrust.

Knowing it yourself is one thing, but how to say it is another. Menma must be trying to find out what Orochimaru's real intention is here.

"Haha, Menma-kun's worry is not a problem. Since Menma-kun has already fought against Orochimaru-sama personally, he should be clear about Orochimaru's strength. Over the years, the strength of the forces under Orochimaru's command will definitely exceed your expectations. And the most important point is that we have a more powerful ally, that is the Sand Village, which is also one of the five major ninja villages!"

"How is it? Menma-kun, this kind of combat power configuration should be enough to destroy Konoha, right?"

Pharmacist Kabuto pushed his black-framed glasses and asked Menma with a somewhat complacent look on his face.

"The Sand Village? That's indeed a big deal, but I still have a question, how are you going to do it then? Others don't know the background of the Hidden Leaf Village, but Orochimaru-san, as one of the former high-ranking officials and a direct disciple of Sarutobi Hiruzen, should know that the number of active ninjas in the village far exceeds that of any other ninja village. Even if most of the ninjas are scattered in various garrison points on the border or are on missions outside, there are definitely thousands of ninjas left in the village."

At this moment, Menma's gaze seemed a little aggressive as he looked at Kabuto Yakushi.

"Even with the assistance of the Sand Village, how many troops can the Sand Village send into the suburbs of the Hidden Leaf Village? If the number is too small, it will be meaningless. If the number is too large, do you think the Konoha ninjas guarding the border are blind? Or is the destruction of Konoha by Orochimaru-san just a surprise attack on the border? That really shocks me."

In the original work, there is no accurate number of how many ninjas were dispatched by the Sound and Sand ninjas for the Konoha collapse plan. In fact, there is a big BUG problem here, which is how these Sound and Sand ninjas bypassed the detection of Konoha border guard ninjas and sneaked all the way into the vicinity of Konoha.

Launch a surprise attack directly on the day of the Chunin Exam.

If Konoha's garrison at the border was so weak and incompetent, Konoha would have been destroyed countless times.

Although Menma had some guesses in his heart, the most reasonable approach here was to ask directly and openly.

He needed Orochimaru's help, but as I said before, he made a deal with Orochimaru as a partner, not surrendering to Orochimaru and obeying his orders as his subordinate. There is a fundamental difference between the two.

It would have been fine if Orochimaru hadn't mentioned it, but since he proposed the plan to destroy Konoha, Menma naturally wanted to question him to the end.

"Menma-kun, you are really cautious and meticulous..."

When Yakushi Kabuto heard Menma's words, his expression froze.

There was also a hint of weirdness in the look he gave Menma.

After all, Menma's performance doesn't look like that of a 12-year-old boy at all.

"Without this caution, do you think I would have survived until now, Dou-sang?"