The threat in his words was palpable and chilling.
As a wielder of the Mangekyo Sharingan and a Kage-level powerhouse who undeniably ranked high even within the original storyline, Itachi Uchiha certainly possessed the qualifications and power to threaten others. But whether that threat held any weight depended entirely on the target.
A year ago, Menma genuinely feared Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan.
He had been terrified that the man might just decide to pull a suicidal mutual destruction move on him.
But things were different now.
While Menma might still show a degree of caution out of respect for the Mangekyo's capabilities, that was the extent of it. Not to mention, the current Itachi was practically half-crippled. It wasn't that his combat power had regressed; his deteriorating physical condition simply could no longer sustain prolonged, high-intensity battles.
The original story had detailed this extensively.
And now...
Standing at point-blank range, Menma's terrifyingly acute sensory net effortlessly pierced through Itachi's physical state. Calling his body "riddled with holes" might be a slight exaggeration, but saying it was "on the verge of total collapse" was entirely accurate.
How much of a threat could an Itachi Uchiha in this state truly pose?
"Are you threatening me? Itachi Uchiha, I suggest you take a long, hard look at your current reality!"
Playing along as if genuinely enraged, Menma's eyes instantly shifted into the crimson slits of the demon fox.
Boom!
The moment an overwhelmingly oppressive wave of chakra erupted...
Itachi's expression shifted slightly.
His obsidian eyes instantly bled crimson, and three black tomoe slowly began to spin.
For the first time, Itachi's face grew unprecedentedly grave.
He had already tried to estimate Menma's power as highly as possible. Based on the boy's string of miraculous combat records, he had formulated a rough idea of how strong Menma had become.
But hearing about it was entirely different from experiencing it firsthand.
Now, physically feeling this suffocating, monstrous chakra...
Itachi could finally make an accurate assessment in his mind.
And it only further cemented the other thought burning in his chest.
Menma Uzumaki is incredibly dangerous. He is an existence that must be eliminated. Otherwise, he will absolutely become an existential threat to the Hidden Leaf's survival.
It always came back to the same core principle.
Deep in Itachi's heart...
His brother's future and the peace of the Hidden Leaf Village were the most important things in the world. They were equals—or perhaps, the former slightly outweighed the latter.
But regardless of the exact equation, if there was even a possibility of it, Itachi would never allow anyone to threaten the Hidden Leaf.
The fact that Itachi was even willing to use Shisui's eye to brainwash Sasuke was proof enough of that.
This was exactly why Menma had deduced that the village and Sasuke held equal weight in Itachi's twisted mind.
"You misunderstand, Menma-kun. It wasn't a threat. Merely a reminder," Itachi said, his tone remaining perfectly smooth despite facing a chakra pressure that would paralyze most ninja. "Much like yourself, I doubt you would appreciate outsiders interfering in the issues between you and Naruto-kun, would you? I'm simply asking for the same courtesy. Surely you can understand that, Menma-kun?"
It was an incredibly sound argument.
Hearing Itachi's reasoning, Menma instinctively raised an eyebrow.
"Heh. Let's hope that's all it is, Itachi-san. However, I have a piece of advice for you as well," Menma said, staring deeply at Itachi. "Focus on your own affairs first. Don't blindly assume everything will go the way you want it to. Whether it's the Leaf, the Akatsuki, or Sasuke's situation... Itachi-san, if a man fails to see himself clearly, he's destined for a massive, catastrophic fall."
As Menma slowly delivered the cryptic warning...
While Itachi's face remained impassive, his pupils imperceptibly constricted for a fraction of a second. It was a glaring sign of the profound shock rippling through his mind.
"What exactly do you mean by that, Menma-kun?"
His tone grew noticeably heavier.
His expression sharpened into something far more severe.
Yet Menma simply offered a light chuckle.
"Who knows? Well then, that's all I have to say. Excuse me, Itachi-san. I sincerely hope we don't have to meet under these circumstances again."
Shooting Itachi one final, apathetic glance and dropping that deeply profound parting remark...
Swoosh!
Menma kicked off the ground, vanishing instantly.
He accelerated straight north.
Watching Menma's rapidly shrinking silhouette, Itachi instinctively opened his mouth to stop him, but ultimately swallowed the words back down.
If he had to evaluate this encounter...
He hadn't achieved a single one of his actual objectives.
The only thing he could confirm with absolute certainty was that Menma harbored a colossal, undeniable malice toward the Hidden Leaf. It wasn't targeted at specific individuals; it was directed at the entire village. Most terrifyingly, Menma's malice was backed by the apocalyptic power to actually act on it.
Orochimaru alone had managed to launch the Konoha Crush, resulting in the Third Hokage's death in battle. What kind of destruction could Menma—who possessed vastly superior individual strength and commanded a far larger military force—unleash?
Itachi was forced to seriously consider the future of the Leaf.
However...
The explicit warning hidden within Menma's final words rang loud and clear in Itachi's ears.
It plunged Itachi into an agonizing dilemma. On one side stood the Leaf. On the other stood his brother.
Based on the myriad of expressions that had flickered across Menma's face, Itachi didn't doubt for a second that the boy possessed both the capability and the sheer audacity to follow through on whatever he was implying. Itachi couldn't help but let out a low, heavy sigh.
But the moment of weakness lasted less than a second.
Itachi's expression hardened once again.
This wasn't just sheer stubbornness; it was rooted in Itachi's absolute confidence in his own abilities. He had his own ultimate trump card.
'Sasuke... you absolutely cannot choose the wrong path!'
Whispering the prayer into the wind...
Swoosh!
Itachi flickered away, rapidly evacuating the area.
Chronologically speaking...
The current Itachi was barely twenty years old. Yet the 'maturity' of his thought process was unprecedented, and his sheer willpower was incredibly rare. Once Itachi had firmly decided on a course of action, absolutely no one could change his mind.
There used to be exactly one person who could.
But when that person died, Itachi's mind became permanently locked within an inescapable cage of his own convictions.
Everything he did became overwhelmingly fanatical.
Of course, from Itachi's perspective, everything he did was perfectly logical and undeniably the absolute 'correct' course of action. It just goes to show that true empathy is a myth.
No one can ever truly 'feel' exactly what another person is feeling.
The very concept is a paradox.
People who arrogantly claim they can completely understand and accept others usually aren't acting out of genuine kindness; they speak from a place of deep, internalized arrogance.
They just rarely realize it.
If that held true for normal people...
It went double for a 'lunatic' like Itachi.
No one could genuinely understand an existence like him. He was a fundamental 'anomaly' among humanity. At least, that was how Menma saw it.
Putting aside the fact that he needed to leave Itachi for Sasuke to deal with and shouldn't get too deeply involved, there was another pressing issue.
The Mangekyo Sharingan of Shisui Uchiha in Itachi's possession was more than enough reason for Menma to tread carefully.
Naturally, Menma didn't blindly believe the Kotoamatsukami was some omnipotent, reality-warping hack that could control literally anything. At its core, it was still just a Mangekyo Sharingan jutsu. If it could effortlessly brainwash anyone and rewrite any reality...
That would be utterly absurd.
In Menma's view, whether the Kotoamatsukami succeeded—and to what extent—depended not only on the caster's mental fortitude but also on the target's spiritual strength. Simply put, it still operated on the fundamental principles of genjutsu.
Whoever had the stronger willpower...
Would be the victor.
It wasn't as if a single Mangekyo Sharingan could suddenly mind-control Madara Uchiha, right?
That would completely violate the fundamental laws of 'jutsu.'
The core principle of any jutsu is 'the strong suppressing the weak'—referring both to the absolute power of the technique itself and the raw strength of the user.
In the original story, the Kotoamatsukami's only truly impressive feat was when Itachi used a transcription seal he had placed himself to break free from Kabuto's Edo Tensei control.
The sample size was simply too small.
It was impossible to gather truly conclusive data.
But the general deduction shouldn't be too far off the mark.
This was precisely why Menma remained wary. Right now, he was entirely focused on achieving ultimate physical enhancement; his spiritual evolution experiments hadn't officially begun. He genuinely wasn't certain if his current mental defenses could withstand the absolute invasion of the Kotoamatsukami.
Naturally, he had zero desire to unnecessarily provoke Itachi.
If they really had to throw down...
Menma had to guarantee he wouldn't give Itachi a single millisecond to cast it. Even if it was just an ocular jutsu and not the Kurama clan's utterly broken absolute five-sense manipulation, dodging a line-of-sight genjutsu was still entirely possible.
It wasn't impossible, but the risk was undeniably present.
Humans aren't machines; they can't execute every movement with flawless perfection. Not to mention, Itachi was a grandmaster of genjutsu and a hyper-perceptive genius at identifying the absolute perfect moment to strike.
Who could guarantee Itachi wouldn't find an opening?
And if the jutsu landed...
Menma would essentially be gambling his life.
Gambling on whether his mind was strong enough to resist the Kotoamatsukami's rewrite.
Why take that risk?!
He would steadily execute his own grand design. Once he reached the same physical and spiritual tier as Madara Uchiha and Hashirama Senju—or perhaps even the absolute apex of the Bloodline Snare—he would be truly invincible against anything in this world.
'I still need to pick up the pace. And things on Sasuke's end should be wrapping up soon...'
Speeding north, a razor-sharp light flashed in Menma's eyes as he organized his thoughts.
After that unexpected encounter...
The rest of the journey went perfectly smoothly.
Traveling day and night...
Menma finally returned to the Hidden Waterfall just before the start of the new year, covered in the dust of the road.
While the excursion had been flawlessly successful, the sheer distance traveled was immense. The round trip had eaten up over ten days.
The moment he arrived at the village gates...
Looking through the entrance and seeing the faint, bustling atmosphere of the approaching new year beginning to fill the streets, a subtle wave of emotion washed over him.
'This is my village.'
The Waterfall shinobi guarding the main gate instantly noticed him as he approached.
The highly familiar face. The chakra signature that effortlessly passed through the barrier's identification system.
The colossal, unmistakable reservoir of chakra.
Over a dozen guards instantly snapped to attention, bowing deeply with profound respect. "Welcome back, Lord Menma."
The youngest guards among them stared with eyes blazing with absolute fanaticism.
The younger they were, the easier it was to idolize a hero.
Especially someone like Menma—a teenager of their own generation who was already tearing across the ninja world and standing as one of the absolute strongest entities on the planet.
His personal charisma was utterly unparalleled.
Receiving their greetings, Menma offered a warm, charismatic smile and nodded.
Unlike before...
The Hidden Waterfall could now proudly stand toe-to-toe with any major ninja village. As he was about to officially ascend as the village's supreme leader, he needed to make frequent public appearances to ensure every single person recognized him.
He needed to constantly reinforce his presence and absolute authority within the village.
Never underestimate the importance of public perception among lower-ranking shinobi and ordinary civilians. Since Menma was walking the path of an orthodox leader, he had to manage every single aspect of his rule. In this specific regard, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was the absolute gold standard.
Among all the Kage in history, Hiruzen undeniably possessed the strongest foundational support from his people—or at least, he was tied for first.
That old fox knew exactly how to cultivate and weaponize his public image.
He was the perfect case study for Menma to learn from.
"Excellent work. I did a quick perimeter check on my way in; you've all been executing your guard duties flawlessly. But don't get complacent. Maintain this level of vigilance at all times," Menma said with a light, encouraging laugh.
"Yes, Lord Menma! Please rest assured!" the guards replied in powerful unison.
Giving a satisfied nod, Menma blurred into motion, heading straight for the administrative center of the village.
By the time he arrived at the central command hall...
Shibuki, Karin, and the others had already received word and were waiting for him.
"Menma!"
"Menma-kun!"
Even though Menma hadn't been gone for long...
And even though Shibuki and Karin had absolute faith in his strength... they still worried about the unexpected.
Furthermore...
Menma wasn't truly invincible across the entire ninja world just yet. If he had stumbled into a massive, heavily coordinated trap, there was still a very real possibility he could have been killed in action.
Of course, ever since he mastered the Flying Thunder God, that probability had dropped to near zero. Unless the enemy possessed a specialized space-locking jutsu or had their own Flying Thunder God user lying in ambush...
Otherwise...
While the vast ninja world certainly possessed methods capable of killing him...
Pulling them off was astronomically difficult.
"Mm. Shibuki-san, Karin. Perfect timing. I have a few things I need to discuss with both of you," Menma said with a bright smile.
"It looks like everything went perfectly smoothly on your trip, Menma-kun."
They had known each other for nearly two years now.
And they had been through hell and back together.
The formality between Shibuki and Menma had long since faded. Walking casually to Menma's side, Shibuki sat down and smiled warmly.
"Mm. I suppose you could say luck was on my side," Menma nodded, returning the smile.