aircannonsinc Chapter 528 Menma and Shikamaru
Chapter 528 Menma and Shikamaru
Chapter 528 Menma and Shikamaru
As Ya watched the other person disappear without even catching a glimpse of their shadow, he couldn't help but exclaim in amazement, "Wow—that's incredibly fast!"
Haku walked over to Ino and Sakura, knelt down, and placed his hands on Sasuke's chest. A burst of emerald light emanated from between his hands, causing Sakura and Ino to be slightly stunned.
Bai said to the two of them, "It's alright, it's just a minor injury. Senior Zuo Yun is very considerate. I'll use the Palm Healing Technique to heal Sasuke for a while. You can go now."
The Palm Healing Technique can not only quickly heal wounds by inputting chakra, but also stimulate the cells in the injured person's body to accelerate recovery and eliminate cellular fatigue.
At this time, Sakura had not yet learned medical ninjutsu. She stared blankly at Sasuke, whose breathing gradually calmed down and whose brows relaxed under Haku's Healing Palm Technique, and felt a pang of heartache in her heart.
After graduating from the Ninja Academy, her theoretical achievements, which she was so proud of, were utterly insignificant compared to her ninja talent and the secret techniques passed down through her ninja clan.
Most of his peers were from ninja clans, and even his teammates Kiba and Shino had their own clan secret techniques. As for himself—besides basic ninjutsu like the Three Body Technique and a little bit of ninja tool throwing techniques, he didn't have any special skills at all, and he even dragged his teammates down in the Chunin Exams.
Seeing the person she admired growing stronger and getting hurt, while she herself could do nothing, Sakura felt a deep sense of self-blame and powerlessness.
Shikamaru seemed to notice Sakura's change in mood and said to Ino, "Ino, why don't you take Sakura to get Sasuke something to eat to fill his stomach?"
Ino noticed her best friend's unusual mood and hesitated, instead of yelling at her, she pulled Sakura up.
"Come on, Broad Forehead, you can't do anything here. Let's go find Sasuke something to eat. I remember there's a lot of milk in the fridge." With that, Ino called out to Kimimaro, who was still pondering a game of Go on the veranda, "Kimimaro! You don't mind, do you?"
Kimimaro replied without looking up, "There are plenty of nutritional supplements in the refrigerator, take more."
"Hehe, thanks!" Ino thanked Sakura and led her to the kitchen, saying as they walked, "Kimimaro and the others seem aloof, but they're actually quite gentle. If we weren't in different countries, I'd really like to be friends with them."
A short while later, the two returned to the courtyard with some milk cartons and a box of nutritional supplements in a foil container, which they fed to Sasuke.
"Hello everyone!" Just as the two were watching Sasuke drink the nutritional supplement with concern, and his complexion gradually improved, a strong voice suddenly descended from the sky.
Mianma's figure landed straight in the yard, stirring up a gust of wind that flattened the surrounding grass and scattered fallen leaves everywhere.
And under the armpit of the man with the pockmarked face, there was a figure tucked away.
Naruto shakily lifted his tired face and greeted everyone, "Good evening, everyone—hiss—Menma-san, be gentle!"
Naruto was thrown to the ground by Menma, but he immediately sprang to his feet with a thud.
Compared to Sasuke, who couldn't even walk, Naruto was in much better condition.
"This guy—" Shikamaru scratched his neck, noticing that Naruto's acrobatic leap was much smoother than before. Moreover, judging from his tattered clothes and the injuries on his face and exposed skin, he must have trained very hard, yet he still looked energetic. This reminded him of the special physique of the Uzumaki clan that he had heard about before.
After complaining to Menma for a while, Naruto happily ran off to see Sasuke get his injuries treated.
When Sasuke saw Naruto jumping around, his competitive spirit kicked in again, and he struggled to get up from the ground, not wanting to appear weak in front of Naruto.
Before long, the sky darkened completely, and a bright moon hung in the sky.
Two long grills were set up in the courtyard, and everyone gathered around them to grill meat outdoors, chatting and laughing.
Even Haku and Kimimaro were thanked by Shikamaru, Choji, and the others with drinks instead of alcohol for their efforts over the past few days.
After eating and drinking to their hearts' content, everyone gathered in twos and threes to chat, looking at the dimming starry sky, counting the stars, and reflecting on the experiences of the past few days.
Menma sat by the veranda, leaning against a pillar, leisurely watching Naruto, Kiba, Choji, and Lee compete to see who could eat the most grilled meat. Sasuke, who could now move freely, sat next to Naruto, drinking milk and watching them play with a somewhat aloof air.
Shino had a particular fondness for the grilled grasshoppers and cicada pupae here, and quietly grilled and ate them by herself.
Sakura, Ino, Tenten, and Yakumo huddled together, grilling vegetables and whispering girly secrets.
Shikamaru, holding two cans of pineapple beer, leisurely walked over to Menma, leaned against the other side of the pillar, and handed Menma one can.
Menma knew that with Shikamaru's intelligence, he would definitely come to say something to her at this farewell dinner.
He took the pineapple beer from the other person and started a conversation by asking, "How is it? It tastes alright, doesn't it?"
"It has absolutely no alcohol content, yet it mimics the taste of alcohol. Why did you only tell me about something this good sooner?" Shikamaru opened the tab, took a sip, and complained to Masami about the stimulating taste in his mouth.
According to the rules of ninjas, those under the age of eighteen cannot drink alcohol, but as ninjas, they start carrying out killing missions at the age of twelve or thirteen, so precociousness is perfectly normal.
Rules are rules, but in private, many underage ninjas will do anything.
"There used to be alcohol-based ones, but the manufacturers improved the technology, and it unexpectedly became very popular among minors." Menma also pulled the tab, took a small sip, and felt the refreshing coolness as it went from his mouth to his stomach.
After this topic came up, the two remained silent for a while.
The two of them just stood there watching everyone in the courtyard.
Shikamaru took another sip of pineapple beer before slowly saying, "When we get back, we'll definitely be questioned. While Choji and the others won't be in much trouble, it's hard to say what will happen to Sakura and Tenten."
Mianma nodded.
Among the Konoha 11, only Sakura and Tenten are from commoner backgrounds, and they will definitely be questioned by ANBU or even Root ninjas when they return.
As for Xiao Li?
He was the personal disciple of the elite Jonin Might Guy, treated like his own son. If Danzo dared to touch Rock Lee, Might Guy would dare to perform the Eight Gates at the Root base.
"It's okay, just tell them the truth when they ask." Menma squeezed the can of pineapple beer and said something surprising: "The war won't last long."
"Speaking of which, you've been keeping this from us for a long time." Shikamaru turned to look at Menma, feeling that he had never really seen through this guy. From the first day he met him at the Ninja Academy, his sixth sense told him that this guy must have some secret.
However, over the years, this guy had managed to hide himself perfectly until he was exposed during the Chunin Exams more than half a month ago.
Shikamaru didn't want to press the issue of the other party's motives, but instead expressed his concern about the war: "The Fourth Shinobi World War? Will we meet on the battlefield?"
"I don't know." Menma shook his head.
"If the plan goes smoothly, it should be finished within a few days."
Hearing the other party's confidence, even the usually calm Shikamaru was filled with disbelief, and his hand unconsciously tightened around the soda can.
"Hey, this time almost the entire ninja world has joined forces! Do you think you can conquer the entire ninja world in just a few days? Even the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, wasn't this arrogant!"
"Hahahaha!" Menma laughed heartily.
He didn't explain anything, but simply raised his pineapple beer to Shikamaru and said, "If it weren't for Hashirama Senju stopping him back then, Madara Uchiha could have single-handedly defeated the other four ninja villages."
"That was the first opportunity in a thousand years for the ninja world to come close to unification, but unfortunately it was missed."
"Besides, I'm not alone now."
Looking at Menma, who was brimming with confidence, Shikamaru didn't think about Menma's terrifying strength.
Rather, it was what I saw and heard in the Star Kingdom during this period.
Those star ninjas who followed Menma, and those ordinary people whose lives were getting better and better under the rule of the Star Country.
Just as he was certain that when war broke out, the Konoha ninja would fight bravely to protect the village, he also believed that the Star Ninja and civilians would support the war without hesitation when it broke out.
"Oh, right." Menma took a sip of his drink, tilted his head slightly, and said to Shikamaru meaningfully, "Actually, the Fourth Shinobi World War was not our main target, whether it was Konoha, Kumogakure, or any other ninja village."
"Those lurking in the shadows of the ninja world are our main enemies."
Shikamaru was stunned when he heard this.
He couldn't help but recall the two mysterious flying enemies who suddenly appeared from the sky during the Chunin Exams.
Their strength far exceeded any Jonin, or even a Kage, that Shikamaru had ever known!
He also remembered Menma's declaration to them when he reigned supreme: the true enemy of the ninja world—