"Now before you say anything." Hiruzen started, taking a puff from his pipe, "Because I can see the denial on your face, Naruto-kun. And I can call you kun, since you're younger than me. After all you 'died' at around my eldest son's age." Hiruzen chuckled, honestly enjoying this fact more than Naruto thought he should. "It's fascinating to see how similar you are to Namikaze Naruto." The man paused yet again, appearing to mentally compare the two Naruto's in his mind for a moment before continuing. "Let me start by engaging in an old man's pass time, by telling you some stories from my youth."

Naruto relaxed a little and nodded, still choosing to keep silent.

"I remember the day my father Sarutobi Sasuke, the then clan head of the Sarutobi clan, received the invitation to join Konoha. Senju Tobirama was an imposing man, young, powerful and intelligent beyond his years. Worse still, he knew it." Hiruzen paused to chuckle. . . .

Hiruzen threw the shuriken, watching its path intently as it sailed towards the post. It was a hot day, the sun glinting off the metal, reflecting back at Hiruzen almost painfully. The sudden commotion by the compound gates caused him to look away and miss the shuriken's landing. He immediately started running towards the gates, eager to see what had the guards so noisy, training all but forgotten. He hadn't gone more than two feet before his father barked out "Hiruzen, stay out of it. This doesn't concern you." His father was sharper than most would give him credit for. He was a quiet shinobi, preferring to think first and act later. It was a trait that garnered him a lot of respect from the other clans. His judgements were often astoundingly accurate.

Hiruzen hunched his shoulders and pouted. His father ruffled his hair with a soft smile. "Go back to your training. The pout disappeared, turning into a mischievous grin. That hadn't been an order. He waited for his father to walk around the corner before scaling the wall and carefully working his way towards the gate, trying to be as quiet as possible. It was good training.

A lone Shinobi stood at the gate's entrance. He appeared patient, his posture one of a man born into high ranking. He couldn't have been more than twenty, yet towering over the shinobi guard who was pointing a tanto's blade in his direction. He didn't appear phased by the tanto, staring at the gates as he waited, perhaps for Sasuke to appear.

"Put the blade down, I will deal with this man." Sarutobi Hiruzen matched the man's posture, only there was a grace to the older Shinobi that the younger had yet to learn. "After all, Senju Tobirama is a man who should only be treated as a guest." Hiruzen's eyes widened. Senju Tobirama? No way? He'd only ever heard stories of the man. Looking at him now, comparing him to the stories he'd heard, Hiruzen couldn't help the excited glee bubbling in his chest.

That glee turned to ice the moment Tobirama's sharp gaze slid over to his spot on the roof. He would have ducked out of site, if his body were able to move past the shock. The gaze was piercing, seeing a world that Hiruzen could only imagine. Strangely, there was a measure of expectation as well. What the man could be expecting was anyone's guess. Hiruzen was hardly older than 7, still young by Sarutobi standards. However, by Senju standards one could say he was greatly lacking. Was that what Tobirama was looking for?

No, it was something else. Something more.

Then, just as suddenly as it had started, it was gone, leaving Hiruzen free to take a deep breath. Senju Tobirama. A fearsome shinobi indeed. Hiruzen watched as his father walked with Tobirama to the meeting room, not daring to follow this time. There were some things he wouldn't be able to sneak past his father and this was one of them.

"It was only later that I learned that we had received the invitation to join Konoha. We didn't accept right away. My father was a careful man. He was no fool to the dangers such a dream as Konoha would face. He waited, wanting to see how the newly formed village would fare against outside threats. He also wanted to see how it would affect the Warring Clan states. If two fated enemies could come together then perhaps there was hope." Hiruzen put his pipe down, eyes distant with the memory of his father. "A few months passed before my father made decision. And so we packed up and moved towards Konoha. The day we arrived, well that was quite a memorable experience."

Hiruzen's shirt was being pulled backwards by his father, to stop the boy from running ahead. They'd been travelling for weeks, slowly making their way from the Sarutobi compound to Konohagakure. To say that Hiruzen was excited would be an understatement. They'd finally spotted the village gates and Hirzen wanted nothing more than to drop the pack from his shoulders and run towards the awe-inspiring gates. Konoha had quite literally sprung up overnight, the prowess of Uzumaki Naruto known far and wide. That feat alone was enough to convince Sasuke to move the clan to join Konoha's ranks. The other major factor in his decision had been the village's defences.

That alone was the reason Sasuke stopped Hiruzen from dashing forwards. He didn't know if there were any security seals that would activate. They'd all heard the tales of the nigh impenetrable village walls, protected by an array of seals so complex that there had yet to be a secure way found to infiltrate. Not too many had tried, but enough had to garner the newly created village a deadly reputation. The village did not deal with intruders kindly.

Holding onto Hiruzen's shirt no longer became necessary as the boy was forced to spring backwards due to the sudden arrival of one very orange looking Shinobi. "Yo!"

Hiruzen gawked at the man in orange armour, with hair sunnier than the brightest day and eyes squeezed shut with the force of his large grin. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I'm so glad you decided to accept our invitation. The Sarutobi clan is most welcome in Konoha."

Sasuke was quicker to recover, keeping calm and bowing to Naruto with a soft greeting "We are honoured to have been considered. Standing with the prestigious clan such as those who founded Konohagakure is more than I could have asked for in my life time."

Naruto's grin widened, and as his eyes opened Hiruzen found himself lost at sea. This man was the feared Uzumaki Naruto?

"So you're Sarutobi Sasuke?" Naruto leaned in to examine the Sarutobi clan head, taking note of his appearance with a critical eye. After all to Naruto, this was the man who was Uchiha Sasuke's namesake. "I would love to spar with you. When you've settled of course." Naruto stated with a large grin while Sasuke felt himself grow nervous. He was no stranger to Uzumaki Naruto's reputation. The man was a monster of a Shinobi.

"This is my son, Hiruzen." Sasuke felt the change of topic was needed. He gestured to the star struck boy at his side, who had yet to close his mouth since Naruto's arrival. Naruto's face seemed to twitch slightly as his gaze moved to the young Sarutobi. He blinked, slowly raising a hand and placing it on Hiruzen's dark brown locks. Hiruzen held his breath and dared not move a muscle, not really sure what this all amazing Shinobi was doing.

"Jiji." Naruto suddenly snorted, moving his hand away from Hiruzen's head and towards his torso scarcely higher than what could be Naruto's navel where Hirzen now understood that Naruto had been measuring his height. Before anyone could ask why Naruto had called the small boy an old man, Uzumaki Naruto burst out laughing and kept on laughing for a full ten minutes. Every time it appeared he was finished, he simply had to look at the poor pouting Hiruzen and he'd burst into peals of laughter anew.

"Ah. That laughter. He did it for two whole weeks. Can't say I was a fan." Hiruzen chuckled. "I would be walking through the village and somewhere off in the distance I must have caught the Shodai's attention because suddenly all I would hear was his laughter. He never explained why and no one was brave enough to ask. He eventually stopped because Tobirama-sensei would smack him upside the head every time he started laughing."

"These are very interesting stories, but I don't see what they have to do with me being the Shodai." Naruto was careful in his wording. He was testing the waters. There were too many unknowns at this point for him to be sure that he could trust Hiruzen completely.

"Ah, but I'm only at the beginning. Patience." Hiruzen smiled chidingly, as though lecturing a small child. "My sensei, as you know, was Senju Tobirama. The Shodai would come visit my team often, watching us train while talking to Sensei. Their conversations were usually the Shodai asking Sensei for advice in some or other matter. But there were a few times, where the conversations didn't quite make sense. Not at first."

"Hashirama just finished sorting out a conflict towards Iwa. Izuna and Madara are starting to settle down and look for wives. Even if they haven't realised it yet. Nawaki is in the Academy. Tanaka has started his sealing master training. Mito is more than pleased that Kizuna is interested in Medical nin-jutsu, even at so young an age. All in all, the village is shaping up nicely." Naruto grinned widely while Tobirama watched his young genin work through katas. He'd spar with them as soon as Naruto left and their katas were essentially warm ups. Hiruzen knew this, yet he was eager to hear what news the Shodai would bring. To say he idolised the man would be an understatement.

"And how does this version measure up to the previous one?" Tobirama hummed, eyes never leaving his students. He was a careful man, and he didn't much agree with wastefulness. An injury meant wasted time. As a Senju that didn't sit well with him. They were far too used to be ready for the battle field at the drop of a hat.

"This is happening much faster. I can't say much for the other four villages. I'm assuming they'll start forming faster too, but if they end up taking pointers from our village, I don't know." Naruto scratched at forehead. "At the very least having the Academy sooner means that we've got a solid training system in place and will be able to strengthen our forces beyond that of what we had last time. It's likely that there won't be any Ninja wars this time."

"Whether or not that's a good thing remains to be seen." Tobirama hummed, analysing the pros and cons in his mind before his gaze suddenly sharpened. "HIRUZEN! You're slacking." The brown haired genin jumped, having been focusing more on the conversation than on the kata. He was confused though. The conversation made it seem as though they'd tried to unite the clans before and hadn't been successful. Surely he'd have heard about that?

"It wasn't only with Tobirama-sensei that these sorts of strange conversations were had." Hiruzen paused thoughtfully. "Being the student of someone as important as Senju Tobirama meant that a lot of important Shinobi wanted his attention. I was privy to many conversations I supposed I shouldn't have been. Uchiha Madara, Uchiha Izuna, Uzumaki Mito, Uzumaki Asuna, Senju Hashirama . . . and many, many others. Yet it was only with the founding five that these strange conversations happened. I didn't think much of them at first and honestly I didn't remember them either. You'd be surprised at what your brain picks up on. But we'll get back to that"

What more could Hiruzen have to say?

"I remember being taught the Rasengan, arguably a jutsu that was hardly my style. When the Shodai taught it to me I was in awe of being trusted with such a powerful technique. Looking back at that memory now, I realise that he had an agenda in mind. I looked at my students when the day came to pass on the technique and I remembered quite vividly what Naruto-sama wanted. The jutsu was only to be passed down to the most unruly of my students. There was no doubt that that could only mean Jiraiya. I must admit, there was a brief moment where I considered passing the jutsu to Orochimaru-kun. Yet the Shodai's words seemed to ring true when he said it only really worked for boisterous Shinobi. Jiraiya was able to learn the technique after many months. Perhaps even a year or two. He tried his best to add his own signature to it, but alas that task proved more difficult than what Jiraiya could complete. As far as I know he's still trying. We knew that the Shodai was able to add elements to his Rasengan, yet Jiraiya had trouble with it. He eventually passed the technique to Minato-kun. He wasn't the most boisterous student but he begged Jiraiya something fierce to be taught the technique. He has managed to come close to matching the Shodai with his mastery of the Rasengan. Still, his version of the Rasengan lacks something." Hiruzen paused to scratch at his chin.

Naruto, despite the stakes, was enjoying the stories. It gave him the insight he'd been craving all this time.

"The day Hashirama-sama returned to the village with news of the Shodai's death, the entire village seemed to lose its light. It took a long time to regain the former happiness and peace that had crept into our hearts upon arriving in Konoha. Hashirama was not to be outdone, and in many ways he was a better Hokage. But the same could be said of the Sandaime, Tobirama-sensei." Hiruzen smiled. "Each person who's worn the hat has managed to do better than the last in some way. Yet, it's important to note Uchiha Madara's reaction to the Shodai's death. There was an unsettled feeling in the way the remaining founding four interacted with each other after Naruto-sama's passing. It was troubling but there was nothing I could have done at the time. Madara was perhaps the most obvious about his discontent."

"Tobirama, where is your blasted brother?" Madara appeared angry, frustrated and hardly in the mood for small talk. The addressed Senju paused in his instructions to look towards the Uchiha. He remained calm, apparently used to the Uchiha's outbursts. "You know as much as I do, Madara, and you know that."

"Don't tell me you actually believe his story?" Madara's words seemed ripped from his very core, as though he'd spat them out before he could change his mind.

"Is this what troubles you?" Tobirama hummed, walking away from Danzou, perhaps the one change Naruto had implemented in Hiruzen's teammates. The rivalry would be better as teammates, perhaps preventing Danzou's dark future. Tobirama placed his hands on his hips as he considered Madara's question. "You've always had a healthy suspicious nature. After all, you did see something in your father's death that most chose to ignore."

Yet Madara wasn't happy with Tobirama's response. "Well? What do you think of things? I haven't been able to talk to your brother in weeks. I've scarcely been able to find him."

"Personally, what can we do? If you're right, and Hashirama sent Naruto back to his true time, what do we do about it?" Tobirama sighed, removing his hands from his waist to wave a hand in the air. "We can stop him from becoming the next Hokage! You can have that position for all I care. How do I trust someone who didn't trust us with a decision so important, so far reaching? He must have asked Mito for help. He's a fool at sealing and you know it. Another decision that wasn't his alone to make!" Madara had begun to pace, throwing his hands into the air before glaring at Tobirama as though daring him to disagree.

"Careful, Uchiha, you're dangerously close to insubordination." Tobirama's voice was low, a warning.

"You're a fool when it comes to your brother, Senju, and one day it'll be the end of you." Madara narrowed his gaze before walking away.

"That was the last time Madara was in the village. He left after that. I don't know if he spoke to Hashirama. Or if he confirmed his suspicions. I didn't understand his suspicions at the time. He left, leaving behind Uchiha Izuna, his beloved younger brother. Strangely the Uchiha Clan didn't seem bothered by his departure. Hashirama didn't even go after him. In fact it was hardly spoken about. Even stranger, was that Uchiha Madara was never heard from again. The remaining three founders never spoke of Uchiha Madara's departure, nor of the Shodai's untimely departure. It seemed to be a sore topic and so naturally it was avoided. It was only much later, when I was given the Yondaime Hokage position and I gained access to new information, that all these little oddities started coming back to me. I gained access to the Shodai's origin files, something that was strangely not taught in the Academy. I learned about how he was from a distant village, with a mother and a father who had sacrificed themselves for the village. I also knew that no such village existed at the time. The Sarutobi clan had an astute sense of history. We are excellent record keepers. Other reports and files began to highlight certain recurring facts. In the Shinobi world, especially the world of a Sealing Master, many things that seem impossible, suddenly become all too doable, wouldn't you say, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto considered the man silently for a moment. He wasn't known as the Professor for nothing. Now whether or not he was still known as the Professor in this time period didn't take away his potential to BE the Professor. He had pieced together the information from careless random titbits of information that the founding five hadn't thought to hide or protect. It would be a great disservice to the Yondaime to deny his carefully pieced together and wholly accurate guess, if his guess was what Hiruzen implied it was. He might not have all the details, yet how could he have gotten those details unless one of the other four told them to him. It would be up to Naruto to tell him the whole story. If he chose to do so. Hiruzen still might have more to tell him.

"Well, I'm still not sure what this all has to do with me, interesting as these stories have been–" Naruto began when a slight knock interrupted him. "Yes, Asuma-kun." Hiruzen called. The younger Sarutobi entered with a slight bow of apology at his interruption. "The ANBU are here. They wish to take Naruto-kun home." Naruto pouted. Had they left him for a while to enjoy his visit, or had they taken this long to find him.

"Another time then, Naruto-kun." Hiruzen smiled, winking at him. Was the wink a way of saying his secret, although unconfirmed for now, was safe with the older Sarutobi.

Naruto sighed and stood, bowing to the older Sarutobi before walking out of the room with Asuma. This protection detail was getting rather annoying. "So, how is Konohmaru doing?" Naruto asked, directing his attention towards Asuma who shrugged. "Better now, I guess. Still going to need to practice though."

"He's got the potential to surpass even you, Asuma-san." Naruto chuckled which prompted Asuma to laugh as well. "He's got to learn how to hit the post first."

As soon as they exited the compound an all-encompassing chill gripped at Naruto's very chakra core. All he could manage was to grip the material of the jacket by his heart. By the look on Asuma's face, he could only assume the Sarutobi felt it as well.

All over Konoha Shinobi and citizens alike stood frozen in their tasks. Minato was instantly alert, mind wondering if this was an invasion of some sort. He could barely raise a hand to signal the ANBU who were no doubt having trouble obeying the summons. This was disturbing. Konoha was supposed to be without equal when it came to village defences. What was this? It was almost like the most concentrated killing intent he'd ever had the displeasure of feeling.

Before he could do much more than summon his ANBU a deep, calm voice thundered in their minds. "I am Uchiha Madara and I will not be ignored. Before this day is done, you will hand Namikaze Naruto over to the Uchiha Clan Compound. If you do not, then I declare war on Konohagakure. May the Gods be merciful to those who defy me."

Naruto gasped for air the moment the iciness ebbed out of his system. Using the village sealing matrix in such a manner. It was unthinkable. What was that baka thinking? Never mind that, WAR?

Naruto knew he had mere seconds to act.

Two seconds after this realisation Namikaze Minato himself stood in front of Naruto. His face was grim as he gripped Naruto's shoulder. "We're not handing you over, Naruto-kun." He stated before they were suddenly standing in what Naruto could only assume was a safe house. "Stay here. I'm going to get your mother." The words had hardly left his mouth before Minato was gone again.

Naruto only had time to look around the room, taking note of the bareness, and the seals built into its foundations. This wasn't a safe house. This was a prison. Did Minato intend to lock him in here for his own safety? His father and mother returned before he could look around the room much more and Kushina immediately hugged him. Menma was still out on his mission.

"Tou-chan, I don't understand, what does Uchiha Madara want with me?" Naruto asked, playing dumb.

"I don't know Naruto, but more importantly, how do we know that really is Madara we're dealing with." Minato huffed in frustration, pacing as his thoughts raced. "I can't stay here for long, and neither can your mother. We need to be in the village, organising the clans. If this man is serious, if he truly intends to fight us, then we'll need to be ready."

"You can't leave me here?" Naruto blinked in confusion. He could help in the war.

"No. You're staying here. For whatever reason, they want you." Kushina pulled away from the hug, her eyes firm as she spoke. There was no arguing this one.

"But, I can't just sit here while everyone else fights a war over me." Naruto stammered. "It's unheard of. One person against a whole village. They'll ask you to retire over this." Naruto looked to his father.

"If things end badly, then perhaps." Minato agreed. "However I don't intend for things to go that badly. We are Konoha, Naruto. We will make it through this." His tone had softened. "And what if this is really Madara. He's one of us, a founder no less. We shouldn't fight him." Naruto was pleading now. A war over him? Ridiculous. Yet, the tailed beasts were that valuable and Madara knew it.

"A declaration of war doesn't sound like he feels the same way." Kushina's tone was sympathetic, more for Naruto than Madara. Naruto grit his teeth. His parents weren't going to be swayed. "What if I choose to go to him?" Naruto spat, "I'm old enough that it should be my choice to–"

Kushina sighed as Naruto spoke, her chakra building up. "Naruto-kun, I'm sorry." She whispered, interrupting Naruto's words. Naruto realised too late, jerking backwards and away from her grasp but not in time. The seal stuck and he hit the ground, fast asleep. Minato picked him up and placed him on the bed.

"You're sure he won't be able to leave?" Kushina asked and Minato nodded. "Not unless he's a sealing master."

"You know we never did find out the extent of his sealing knowledge." Kushina sounded unsure. "At the very least, by the time that sleeping seal wears off it'll be too late."

"Why do you think Madara wants him?" Minato was entirely frustrated with recent events. "He's got a peculiar chakra. Mito-sama has likened it to that of the Shodai's. There were many seals that the Shodai created which only he could open or control. Perhaps that's what Madara wants."

His motives were unclear, his objective all too transparent. The only problem Minato had now, was why had he bothered with the announcement in the first place? Why hadn't he just snuck into the village and kidnapped Naruto that way. Minato had no doubt in his mind that the man could have. Had it really been Madara.

"Let's go prepare for a war." Minato stated grimly, giving his son one final look before disappearing from the room.

.0.0.0.

When the next morning came, the village was deathly quiet. Somewhere during the night, every single Uchiha had vanished from the Uchiha clan compound. There weren't signs of a struggle, and they hadn't left through the village gates. They were merely gone.

Minato clenched his teeth in anger. Did this mean they had joined this so called Madara? Or had they been taken by force? Were they still alive?

Many of the clan heads had argued the pros of handing Naruto over to this maniac. They'd even had the audacity to point out Naruto's many failures, comparing him to Menma who by comparison was an invaluable asset. Some had blatantly implied that Minato should be glad to be rid of such a failure.

He was staring at the clan heads now, still trying to come to some sort of agreement. In the end, a debate wasn't needed. Minato had simply wanted to hear the opinions of those he intended to fight with. It had been a long night. One where he hadn't missed the absence of Fugaku. Upon sending an ANBU to fetch the man, the returning report detailing the missing clan had been hair raising.

"Enough! I will not hear one more word of sending my son to the slaughter." Kushina growled, banging a fist on the table. "Anyone here who wishes to send my son to that bastard best be willing to send one of their own children as well or so help me I'll take them from you myself. See how you like it."

"Kushina." Minato's tone was soft, a warning and a comfort. Yet Kushina's words had an effect, a loud one at that. Many of the more vocal clan members were suddenly shifting in their seats, unable to meet the red-haired kunoichi's gaze.

"Strategically speaking, sending the boy over to the enemy wouldn't be in our best interests." Nara Shikaku stated, using the lull in conversation to his advantage. "We know that they've previously tried to capture the boy. We know he's valuable to them, even if we don't know why. It's safe to assume that keeping Naruto here gives us the advantage. It also means the war won't start off with drastic measures, simply because if we're hiding the boy then they can't be wanton in their destruction of the village. It puts a cap on their efforts."

"You make a sound argument as always Nara-san." Minato inclined his head to the other Shinobi who inclined his own in acknowledgement. "Is there anyone here who disagrees with Nara-san?" They were greeted with stony silence. Shikaku's logic and Kushina's threat keeping all arguments silent for now. "At this moment in time we do not know how long we have before this so called Madara person in on our door step–" Minato's response was interrupted by the same icy feeling from before.

It was gripping, all consuming. It told them all hope was lost, that they shouldn't even try to fight against it.

A swirl of blue chakra rotated in the centre of the room. Slowly, an image began to form, two figures, hazy and crude. "Now, now Namikaze, I do respect you, but if you insist on carrying on like that we're going to have to get personal." The voice was the same as before, only now it took on a chiding edge to it.

Kushina choked on a scream as the chakra image snapped into clarity so suddenly it was hard to comprehend. "I'm afraid you've not met my deadline." Madara continued. His arm was stretched towards his right, a kunai pressed against Menma's throat. Menma who looked as though he'd been beaten repeatedly. The boy could barely stand, one eye swollen shut as blood ran free from several gashes and cuts. "I must commend you, Namikaze. The boy is annoyingly loyal. He, unfortunately cannot give me what I want. It has to be Naruto-kun."

"You bastard. I'll kill you." Minato could only manage a hoarse whisper. His statement was met with cruel laughter.

"Kill me? You don't even know how to find me. My, my, it's been so long since I've had such a good laugh. I think I'll keep this one. A little longer and he'll break. They all do. Different times we've grown up in, little Namikaze. Can you successfully lead a war?" Minato watched helplessly as the kunai was dragged to Menma's face, sharp edge digging into his cheek. The only sign of pain Menma gave was a sharp intake of breath. "I was bred for war, but you, you've been living so peacefully, confident in your village's protection. I have a secret for you, little Namikaze. I own those seals. I can manipulate them how and when I choose. There's only one other person in your entire village who can do that and you've tossed him aside, chosen to brand him a failure. You don't deserve your son, little Namikaze."

"Madara, you've gone too far." The quiet voice was one that Madara had not heard in many years.

"I can't believe you've managed to cling to your wretched life for so long Mito." Madara sneered. "You and I both know why I want the boy. Just give him to me." The kunai was removed from Menma's face and he collapsed to his knees, gasping for air.

Madara kicked Menma's side, forcing the boy to fall to the ground. He placed a foot on Menma's back. "Wasn't this one a prodigy?" Madara's tone had grown thoughtful, continuing as though Mito hadn't interrupted when it appeared Mito wasn't going to reply. "I'll trade this one for Naruto. A prodigy for a failure. I think that's more than fair."

"What do you want with my son?" Kushina had managed to fight off the chilling hopelessness enough to approach the chakra figures, her eyes on Menma.

"Why, little Kushina-chan, what I want is very simple. You see, I want to kill him." Madara stated so sweetly it was as though he was offering Kushina a slice of cake, waving the kunai about with a warm smile. He pressed his foot down, Menma yelling out in pain for the first time since appearing. How many times had he tried to call for Minato only to get no response? How many times had he cried out for his voice to sound so broken? How many hours had he been subjected to Madara's torture?

Minato tried to sense out the mark he had left on Menma's shirt but there was no signal responding. Had Madara removed it? Were they somewhere too far away? Was something blocking it?

"You have one week until the war begins. Graceful aren't I? Until then, I'll keep playing with this one." Madara smiled, before dropping the kunai from high enough for it to bury itself in Menma's back whose hoarse cry of pain ranging their ears long after the image disappeared from view.

.0.0.0.