Chapter 62
Chapter 62
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: Basement Breakthrough
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In the basement of Menma's house in the Hidden Leaf Village.
The Flying Thunder God kunai hung upside down as Menma lightly stroked the intricate seals engraved on its surface.
The shadow clones left behind in the Hidden Leaf Village reported the latest developments and research progress to Menma's main body out in the field by dispelling themselves.
There had been particularly breakthrough progress in the research on Yin-Yang Release, so Menma's main body returned directly to the Hidden Leaf Village via the Flying Thunder God Technique.
"Having this Flying Thunder God Technique sure is handy."
Menma toyed with the Flying Thunder God kunai in his hand.
In just two short months, he had established secret teleportation outposts in nine countries—including the Land of Fire, Land of Lightning, Land of Rice Fields, and Land of Hot Water—leaving behind his custom Flying Thunder God kunai at each.
He had even dispatched two shadow clones specifically to the Land of Water, Land of Wind, Land of Earth, and Land of Rainbows to set up hidden outposts and place custom Flying Thunder God kunai.
It wouldn't be long before the entire ninja world became his personal chessboard to traverse at will.
Up in the training room on the second floor, two shadow clones were still practicing precision control over chakra natures.
Menma approached the desk, his eyes rapidly scanning the data in the experiment logbook.
"This research direction should be correct, it's just..."
Menma stroked his chin, muttering under his breath before suddenly going silent.
He then raised his right hand, blending the Yin-attribute chakra and Yang-attribute chakra inside him in precise proportions. Gradually, it coalesced into a short black rod.
The rod was less than twenty centimeters long, no thicker than his pinky finger, and highly unstable.
Yet the Yin-Yang Release contained within it was becoming increasingly pronounced.
Ching—
With a crisp sound of disintegration, the black rod in Menma's hand instantly crumbled, dissolving into a swirl of chakra that scattered into the air.
Menma stared at his empty palm, reflecting on the sensations from moments ago.
His research into Yin-Yang Release had reached the threshold—he was just one final push away.
After leaving several shadow clones to continue their chakra nature variation experiments and precision drills, Menma's main body released the Transformation Technique, reverting to his childlike appearance.
His cover in Konoha was that of a young heir, so he naturally had to make regular appearances around the village. The grueling training? That was for the shadow clones.
It was all thanks to the Uzumaki Clan's vitality—and the vast chakra supplied by the Dark Nine-Tails—that he could maintain countless shadow clones. Whether practicing ninjutsu, honing taijutsu, or conducting research, he could handle it all simultaneously.
The downside came when those clones dispelled, flooding his mind with memories and flooding his muscles with soreness. Pure bliss.
Strolling along the streets of Konoha, Menma debated whether to seek out Naruto or Hinata today.
But on second thought, Hyuga training was notoriously rigorous—Hinata would come find him if she could slip away. Naruto's situation was delicate, with Anbu tailing him constantly. Even as a little kid, showing up too often at his door wouldn't fly.
Sigh, guess I'll just wander solo.
Menma laced his hands behind his head, sauntering aimlessly through the lively streets of Konoha.
As the ninja world's largest shinobi village, Konoha boasted a population of eighty to ninety thousand, with at least one in five able to refine chakra.
During the Fourth Great Ninja War, the allied nations mustered over eighty-seven thousand ninja. Averaging that across the five great nations meant over ten thousand per village, but Konoha had fought multi-front wars against multiple powers across several conflicts, so it likely fielded the largest forces.
Konoha's active ninja probably numbered over fifteen thousand.
With a shinobi village's all-conscript model and a 1:5 soldier-to-population ratio, that put Konoha's total at least seventy-five thousand strong.
Of course, those were the extraordinary circumstances of the Fourth Great Ninja War—many retired ninja and unregistered clan shinobi from various villages had joined the alliance, inflating the count.
Otherwise, by the canon claim that Konoha had produced just over thirteen thousand ninja total, no village's registered forces alone could have filled out an eighty-seven-thousand-strong alliance.
"Whoa! So cute!"
A delighted laugh rang out from a nearby shop, drawing Menma's attention.
He tilted his head slightly and spotted a familiar emblem.
The crest of the Uchiha Clan.