October 10th, Konoha Year 51, in a secret room.
Uzumaki Menma's vision was blurry, and he was horrified to find that he had become a baby.
"System, are you sure you didn't make a mistake?"
He questioned in his mind, but could only let out a baby's cry.
"[Respected host, the system does not make mistakes. This is indeed the cultivation world.]"
A cold, mechanical voice echoed in his mind.
He tried to roll his eyeballs, but his vision was blurry. Fortunately, his soul could see.
Lying next to him was a baby identical to him, crying loudly. The six whisker-like marks on that child's cheeks were particularly striking in the dim candlelight.
"This place is a cultivation world?"
He stared at the nurses in white coats and the midwife in the delivery room, as well as the yellow-haired man who was so excited he was wiping away tears. It didn't look like a cultivation world at all.
Suddenly, he was picked up by a pair of large hands.
The midwife held him and the whiskered baby in front of the yellow-haired man: "Congratulations, Minato, it's two healthy baby boys."
"Menma, Naruto..."
The yellow-haired man choked up, his azure eyes filled with tears.
Menma? Is he calling me?
Uzumaki Menma stiffened, looking sharply at the baby beside him.
Those familiar whisker marks were incredibly clear from his soul's perspective, like a bolt of lightning striking his mind.
"Wait! Naruto?"
"System! Don't think I haven't watched Naruto! This is clearly Uzumaki Naruto!"
These iconic whiskers couldn't be mistaken.
Even though he hadn't watched much, he still knew Naruto.
"[The system does not make mistakes.]"
The mechanical voice remained unperturbed.
"Refund!"
Uzumaki Menma was practically screaming in his consciousness, "You said you'd take me to the cultivation world to seek immortality, but you threw me into the Naruto world instead!"
"Don't touch them carelessly!"
The midwife slapped away the yellow-haired man's hand, "Let them see their mother first."
When he was carried to the red-haired woman, all of Uzumaki Menma's complaints got stuck in his throat.
Her face was as pale as rice paper, but her lips were a delicate pink. Her emerald eyes, like the gentlest lake in early spring, were filled with an unyielding, intense affection.
"Menma... Naruto..."
Her voice was barely a whisper.
A cool yet unusually soft finger, carrying the lingering warmth of life, gently brushed his cheek, like the lightest feather.
This sensation... it suddenly struck a corner deep in his memory.
An indescribable pang of sorrow instantly rushed to his nose—this dying red-haired woman before him was his blood-related mother in this life!
Subconsciously, with all the strength a baby could muster, he tried to grasp the finger that was about to slip away, but he was picked up again by the midwife.
"[Warning! Detecting sect traitors attacking, ancient demonic beast about to go berserk! Sect Leader and Sect Leader's wife are in danger! Host, please prepare as soon as possible.]"
"[Task: Repel the invading enemies. Reward: Innate Wind Spirit Root!]"
"Holy crap!"
Menma couldn't help but curse.
Is this system crazy?
What the hell is a sect traitor!
"Putting aside who's in danger right now, with this baby body that can't even lift its head, how am I supposed to repel enemies?"
Before he could finish cursing the system in his mind, a bone-chilling cold suddenly struck.
A black figure wearing a tiger-skin mask flashed by, and the nurses and midwife instantly fell to the ground.
That person's fingers had already gripped his tender neck. Menma could even feel the strength in the other party's fingertips; a gentle squeeze could take his life.
"Fourth Hokage, immediately distance yourself from the Jinchuriki!"
The masked man's voice was cold, "Otherwise, these two brats' lifespans... will only have one minute left."
"No, big brother..."
Menma cursed in his mind: "Using two newborn babies as hostages, your methods are too shameless!"
"Ah—!!!"
Suddenly, his mother's scream came.
He struggled to look through his soul's perspective and saw that she, in extreme worry and emotional distress, had her abdominal seal breaking apart inch by inch. Terrifying red Chakra gushed out like lava.
Oh no! It's the Nine-Tailed!
Before Menma could react, his body suddenly lost gravity—he and Naruto were thrown high into the air by the masked man.
"Menma! Naruto!"
His mother's cries came.
Just as the kunai was about to pierce him, a golden flash swept past.
Menma fell into a pair of warm and strong arms, familiar yellow hair flashing before his eyes.
It's Dad!
He let out a long sigh of relief in his heart, the relief of surviving a disaster making his soul tremble slightly.
Is this the strength of the Fourth Hokage? The sense of security is overwhelming!
"As expected of the Yellow Flash!"
The masked man's cold voice carried a hint of admiration, his tiger-striped mask appearing particularly sinister in the firelight.
He saw him form a hand seal with one hand, and Uzumaki Menma suddenly felt a burning sensation on his back, as if someone had lit a fire behind him.
"Not good!"
Menma's alarm bells went off.
"Menma! Naruto!"
His mother's shrill cries almost pierced his eardrums. The next second, his father, Minato, lightning-fast, tore open the swaddling clothes, but it was too late—Boom! In a deafening explosion, the three of them were blown away by the shockwave.
Menma felt the world spinning.
Fortunately, his father used his body as a human shield for them, and the two babies were unharmed.
"System! Quickly use your invincible intelligence to think of a solution!"
Menma shouted in his consciousness.
He was now a helpless baby who couldn't even turn over. This feeling of powerlessness drove him crazy.
The system was silent as death.
The scene before him suddenly flickered, and when his vision returned, Minato had already teleported them to another warm room, holding them.
He gently put down Menma and Naruto, and the golden flash vanished in an instant.
"This teleportation technique is truly amazing."
As soon as Menma finished marveling, the system prompt blasted in his mind:
"[Ding! The Nine-Tailed Fox Demon is about to break its seal, and the Sect Leader's wife is in critical danger. Host, please rescue her immediately!]"
"Come on!"
Menma was so angry he wanted to bite someone, "You tell me, what can a baby who can't even hold a pacifier do? Kill the Nine-Tailed with a diaper?"
"[Ding! Destiny awakened, host is both the chosen and the only one!]"
"[Ultimate Task: Annihilate the foolish twin brother, achieve unique supremacy. Task Reward: Immaculate Immortal Body, Ancient Divine Beast Jade-Faced Flying Dragon.]"
"How much hatred is there?"
Menma was somewhat speechless, gazing at his sleeping younger brother, Naruto. That face, almost identical to his own, looked exceptionally peaceful.
A hint of helplessness flashed in his eyes: "System, are there any other options?"
The system was silent.
"Heh..."
Menma chuckled, "If this is the so-called destiny... then I'd rather not have it."
"[Detecting host's clear Dao Heart, unlocking hidden option—]"
"[Option One: Slay kin to prove Dao (reward unchanged)]"
"[Option Two: Uphold Dao Heart (unlock Profound Vortex Immortal Body)]"
"Wouldn't it have been better to do this earlier?"
"I choose two..."
"[Ding! Congratulations on obtaining the bloodline power Profound Vortex Immortal Body, greatly enhancing your Qi Sea and meridians by a hundredfold, and awakening divine abilities: Adamantine Sealing Chains, and Resurrection.]"
"You're not even pretending anymore!"
Menma felt the Chakra in his body suddenly surge, and memories of Adamantine Sealing Chains and other things surfaced. But then he despaired—his short, lotus-root-like legs couldn't even straighten, let alone help!
"This..."
Menma looked at his chubby little hands, lost in thought: "How am I going to deal with the Nine-Tailed now?"
Just then, the golden flash lit up again, and his father appeared in the room, holding his weak mother..