Author's Note: Hellooooo everybody, how are you all doing today? I'm doing great, as today, I have finally finished the First Chapter of this story. Now I know this chapter may seem a little bit rushed, but I am trying to get the last of the Set-Up done. Now, so you guys know, this will be a Menma Focused story, with Naruto and crew popping in and out, with the one appearing the most often being Tenten. However Naruto will get his moments, but know that I will be solely focused on MenTen (Menma x Tenten) with NaruHina (Naruto x Hinata) being a secondary, whilst the rest is generally focused around the Uzumaki Clan and their relatives. I also need to inform you that, as of recently, I've refined my writing style quite a bit to figure out how I actually would like to present things as an author from now on.
To be brief, my writing style revolves around Time-Skips between important plot points, Drive-By Exposition, and Foci on a Limited number of characters to push the story forward. I've come to realize that worrying about every single person in the worlds that I narrate is just too taxing on my mind, and that if I take too long to work on a project, I end up losing interest and moving onto the next idea that pops into my head, and leaving the project unfinished, at least until I come back to it at a later date. Unfortunately, the "Later Date" usually ends up being months down the road if I remember it at all. So please excuse my bluntness, I will try to refine my chapters further, expand upon them, and fill in any plot holes later on, but right now, I'm working with my style as it is now, and if I find ways to make things more cohesive, I'll get out the Gorilla Glue and make up plot points to make things stick together better at a later date.
Also, I am sure you guys are wondering why I'm calling the Hand Seals "Mudras" right? Well that is the original name of Hand Seals in our world, and they are used for prayer and meditation normally, and there are such things as one-handed mudras in our world, it's just not many people know about them. It also makes sense, given the context of Naruto. Anyway, I hope you guys all like this chapter that I'm putting forward, and I really appreciate all the love the story is getting so far! Anyway, that's enough out of me, be sure to Follow, Favorite, Review, and Share this story with anyone you know who likes Naruto, especially Uzumaki-Focused Fics.
Also if any of you guys are authors yourselves, I am planning on posting a Challenge for a "What-If Uzushio Survived" story for you guys to try out. When I post the challenge, be sure to leave a Review on the Challenge if you guys are willing to undertake it, and when you make the stories, be sure to PM me with the name of your stories so I can read them myself! Also there is a character who is popping up in this chapter in which the chapter's name is a pun on his name! If you know you're Japanese Mythology, then you can guess what his name is! Catch ya on the Flipside! DATTEBAYO!
Chapter 1: Eels on a Cold Night
Uzushiogakure,
An Infant's screams are heard as the son of the 4th Shiokage is born, and his wife, Fuuten, smiles as she looks at her baby boy, his umbilical cord being cut, an the woman quickly feeding her son from her breast. Raiden walks into the room, tears in his eyes as he sees his son, and holds the baby wrapped in a swaddling cloth, laughing joyously as he looks at the baby. Deciding to name him after one of the two heroes from Jiraiya's recent book, Tales of the Gutsy Ninjas, he names the boy Menma, after the twin and rival to Naruto, who sought peace like his rival, though where his rival sought peace through cooperation and understanding, Menma sought peace through a display of force. The book revealed that Menma knew Naruto's ideals would not work without a catalyst to cause everyone to desire to cooperate and understand each other, at first. So Menma made himself the villain to focus everyone's hatred on him, acting as the catalyst that Naruto needed to unite the world against him, and after his death, the peace that Naruto sought was finally achieved, with Naruto and the rest of the world discovering they had been tricked decades later, but still remaining strong together after discovering the truth, in which Menma was later hailed as "Black-Hearted Hero" of their world.
The Infant Menma soon stops crying as he opens his eyes to look at his father for the first time, and, immediately, Raiden can see the potential in his son, smiling big as he looks to the boy. He hands the child to the doctors, and kisses his wife before allowing her to rest, thanking her for giving him a family with tears in his eyes. However, Raiden isn't allowed to enjoy his happiness just yet, for as the child is taken to the maternity ward, a message comes to him from his brother-in-law, the Fourth Hokage. The letter is a congratulatory one, and that Minato had left gifts for Menma at the Shiokage's mansion, courtesy of him and Kushina. Not only that, there is also a message of Confirmation that the Third World War is over, and that peace can finally begin. Minato also requests that Menma is actually placed in an Exchange Student Program with Konoha, allowing for Ninja of allied villages to work alongside their allies by sending them to other villages, whilst retaining their loyalty to their home village.
'Acting as a representative of our village in a foreign country, huh?' Raiden thinks, and smiles, looking at the Calendar, it being March 23rd. If his gut instincts were correct, his son's teammates, Yota Arashi and Princess Sana Namikaze, daughter of Queen Sara of the now fallen kingdom of Roran, are to be born on October 3rd and December 19th respectively. To review his thoughts Princess Sana's mother, the Former Queen of Roran named Sara, evacuated the Land of Wind with her people, having become indebted to the Namikaze Clan for her aid, and to a hero she had seen in a dream, and as such, Minato helped her and her people be transported to Uzushio, where they were readily accepted. Queen Sara eventually fell in love with and married Minato's cousin, the clan head, Haruto, who also shared her love. Now Queen Sara was pregnant, and her daughter, as confirmed by the doctors, is due to be born in December of this year, December 19th to be exact. As for Yota of the Arashi Clan, his father is a good friend of Raiden, having known him since childhood. Raiden had predicted that Yota would be the most powerful member of the Arashi Clan seen in the last few generations, and that he would get along well with Sana and Menma. Only time will tell…
About 1 year and 7 months later Later…
Menma begins crying in the middle of the night, and Raiden tries to settle his son down, not knowing what is distressing him so, but that is when he feels a powerful and foul presence on the wind and turns his head towards Konoha, his Kagura Shingan activating at hits highest power, and the color drains from his face. Taking his Horagai, Raiden calls the Jonin to Action, quickly explains the situation he is sensing with his Shingan, and, with the Namikaze Clan's combined efforts, they teleport to Konohagakure.
In Konoha…
Minato growls as he begins to weave the Mudras for the Hiraishin: Guiding Thunder Jutsu, however, unexpectedly, the Ninetails launches his attack a second too early. 'No!' Minato thinks as he tries to raise his hands, but, much to the shocker of the Fourth Hokage, a Guiding Thunder appears in front of the Hokage Monument, catching it. "Sheesh, do I always have to save your ass?" A voice complains as Minato looks up.
"Haruto!" Minato says, smiling. To which Minato looks to see the blonde with a spiky ponytail smile at him.
"MINATO! LOOK OUT!" Haruto says, his face filling with horror. Fortunately, Minato felt it too, swinging his Kunai, only for his had to get caught. "You get that one, we'll get this one!" Haruto says, flashing off as several Uzushio Shinobi dive down towards the village to help.
Raiden, rushing towards the scene, notices something that doesn't make sense. "Fugaku-dono!" Raiden says, rushing to the Uchiha, "Whats going on here? I thought you'd be on the frontlines!"
"That is what I want to know, Shiokage-sama!" Fugaku says, "Somebody from higher up gave us orders to stay here and guard the civilians, keeping us out of the fight."
"This smells of that damned bird's shenanigans…" Raiden says, "Anyway, I'll bring this up with Lord Forth, or Lord Third, depending on the situation, this stinks of treachery…!"
"I would appreciate it, Lord Shiokage…! We have our orders, but it is good to know that I'm not the only one who smells a firerat." Raiden nods as he rushes off to the battlefield, he and his men charging and joining the defenders in pushing back the Nine-Tails. The Battle goes on for a good while, and when the tailed beast fires off another Tailed Beast Bomb, Haruto uses Guiding Thunder to hit the tailed beast point blank with it's own attack, sending it flying backwards. However, before the fox can recover, a giant toad appears from the sky and pins the beast to the ground.
With a quick motion, Minato teleports himself and the Nine-Tails somewhere in the distance, in which Haruto teleports himself and Raiden to the location of where the fox landed. Once there, Raiden rushes to his weakening sister, who is dying of the Nine Tails being extracted, and once Minato reveals what his plan is, Raiden punches Minato in the face, shocking the Hokage. "You moron! There is no need to give up your soul to Jashin-sama like that!"
"But my-"
"You moron, let me take care of the Sealing, just give Kushina as much chakra as you can spare so she can hold the big brute down!" Raiden says, clapping his hands together and placing one hand on the infant Naruto's belly, and the second on Kushina's. "Like your plan entailed, I will split the Nine Tails in two… However, Kushina needs more power to keep herself alive, so I will be giving her the Yang Half… Naruto will get the Yin Half…" Minato nods and pours what chakra he has left into Kushina, who creates both a barrier and the Adamantine Sealing Chains to restrain the Fox. "Good now to make this a bit easier…" He forms the signature Mudras of the Uzumaki Clan's Ougi. "FUINJUTSU OUGI: DAI UZUMAKIIN! (Sealing Jutsu Secret Art: Grand Maelstrom Seal)" That is when a pattern erupts from Raiden's hand as he slams it onto the ground, and the formula travels across the grass and the Nine Tails is drawn into the formula as it tries to struggle, only in vain. With that, Raiden links the seal to Kushina and Naruto, "HAKKE-FUIN: SAISEI GYAKUTEN! (Eight Trigrams Seal: Reversed Rebirth)" That is when suddenly the red chakra erupts from the seal and charges towards Raiden, who draws a sword and slices the manifesting fox head in two, causing the chakra to rapidly flow into both Kushina and Naruto, in which Naruto is none the wiser, whilst Kushina gasps as she feels new life flowing into her veins, and her weariness leaves her. "Phew…"
"Minato…" Kushina says, turning to her husband, who chuckles only to fall unconscious.
"Poor thing, he's exhausted…" Haruto says, "Oh well, all's well that ends well!"
"Yeah…" Raiden says, and helps his sister lie down. "Take it easy for a bit, we'll watch over you… You can take the barrier down now."
"Right…" Kushina says, exhausted, taking down the barrier before she falls asleep.
12 years later…
Tying his Shinobi Shozoku to his body, and brushing his bangs out of his eyes, Menma smiles as he puts on a pair of goggles with accompanying ear protectors, a gift from his cousin, Naruto, on his previous birthday months ago. Menma smiles as he looks at himself, smiling big as the specially crafted lenses shift to a darker color whilst the prescription lenses clear out his sight, whilst the ear protectors muffle out the excess sound, allowing him to hear as any normal person would. Most people of his home village know this, but thanks to his Autism, Menma suffers from Sensory Hyperactivity, meaning that one or more of Menma's senses are several times stronger than that of most people, rivaling that of animals.
Thanks to a diagnosis from Tsunade, it is revealed that Menma's Eyes are hypersensitive to light, and suffer from Myopia, or Near-sightedness, meaning weapons like flash bombs wouldn't just temporarily blind him, but cause extreme pain, and his near-sightedness makes it difficult to see things clearly from a distance. His Hearing is also extremely sensitive, in which a busy street, to normal people is just a bit chaotic, hard to hear what other people say, to Menma it's deafening, as he the "white-noise" caused by the shuffling of feet, talking, and other sounds in the environment, especially echoes, make it impossible for Menma to hear anyone talking to him. Finally Menma's sense of smell is also hypersensitive, meaning he can pick up on the faintest scent of perfume from tens of meters away and it smells like it's right in front of him, along with all the other scents in the area which overload his nose with information.
Along with these problems come with several other issues, the biggest of them being his social skills are abysmal thanks to the fact that he has trouble expressing his emotions, has a lack of empathy for anyone and everyone, has quite repetitive behaviors, and has a limited number of interests that he absolutely obsesses over. For his trouble with his emotions, it's not that he doesn't have them, but actually expressing them is something that is difficult to do, as his mind is very literal and logical, as such emotions are something he isn't equipped to deal with. If Danzo had his hands on Menma, he'd be the perfect Root Anbu. However, Menma's ability to express his emotions are mostly due to the fact that he subconsciously bottles them up, and once that bottle gets too full, they explode out of him like a bomb, especially his anger. His lack of empathy for others is mostly due to the fact that he can't read social cues, like facial expressions or body language, very well, and couple that with his difficulty with his emotions, he finds it hard to empathize with anyone. However, if he is given a chance to experience what somebody is suffering through, he can understand and start to feel empathy for their situation. When it comes to his repetitive actions, it's mostly due to the fact that he likes to make sure everything goes according to plan, and when it doesn't he panics and his mind can't process his thoughts fast enough to regain his composure.
More than this, he has a very limited number of things that interest him, and when he finds something that does, he obsesses over it until he knows everything about it. When people talk about something he is interested in and he is asked for his opinion about it, he tends to talk and talk until somebody has to interrupt and stop him. It is annoying to Menma, but he knows that he does tend to run on about whatever he is interested in, so he doesn't mind it when somebody interrupts him.
However, these downsides do have their benefits for Menma, as his hypersensitive senses of sight, hearing, and smell have made him a prime candidate for being a Hunter-Ninja, his limited interests and repetitive behaviors allow him to focus solely on a task he is given and pick out patterns that most people would tend to miss, even other hunter-nins, like, for instance, picking up on the fact that a target had a sex-change operation to make a man look and smell like a woman, making impossible to find targets easier to track. His lack of empathy and trouble expressing his emotions often frustrates his opponents as Menma is able to bottle up his emotions during a fight, and then unleash them all at once, whilst his lack of empathy frustrates his opponents in turn, since the boy shows so little emotion or is able to sympathize or empathize with his opponents during a fight, and only once he defeats them can he allow them to know what he feels.
Not only that, his obsessive and repetitive behavior have made him a quite the perfectionist when it comes to mastering any jutsu shown to him, especially fuinjutsu. Initially, Menma had extremely bad handwriting and calligraphy skills, but his obsessive and repetitive behavior have lead to him becoming a 6th Dan Fuinjutsu master at age 12, beating his father's own record by a year. Not only this, his attuned senses sink up well with his Shingan, making it extremely hard to catch him off guard. Plus he has a knack for coming up with strategies and tactics, and solving complex problems in a short amount of time.
In any case, Menma smiles as he finishes trapping on his Shinobi Shozoku, the Goggles placed around his eyes and ears strapped tightly as the lenses shift color. He pulls up a mask over his lower face, smiling as he looks similar to Kakashi, but different from the now dubbed "Copy Ninja" he puts on a long haori coat over himself, in which the seals in it activate, making his body heavier, as these are Gravity Seals, which increase the weight of gravity on his body as his chakra reserves get bigger. Making his way downstairs, Menma smiles as he decides to make his way to the Training Fields, hoping to run into someone in specific.
Meanwhile...
Naruto smiles as he sits in one of the training fields… It has been only a month since his team has been forged, and today is a day off from team training and missions, and as such, the boy smiles as he sits in meditation, holding his hands slightly apart from each other, concentrating as he focuses his chakra. "That's it Naruto, take it nice and slow… Merging these two elements together is very dangerous, so the process mustn't be rushed, as it will only lead to you killing yourself…" A voice calls to Naruto in his head. However, what he doesn't know is that there is somebody nearby, watching from the treeline, her Byakugan active as she sees the chakra of the object of her affection and inspiration carefully mixing the energies together. "Remember the Rasengan Training you had with your father and that Perverted Sage… By focusing the chakras and making them spiral as the Rasengan does, then you will be able to mix the Wind and Fire Elements easier."
'Thanks Kurama!' Naruto thinks, smiling as he thinks the name of the Nine Tailed Fox. Unlike the Yang half of Kurama, the Yin Half is far kinder and more considerate, helpful even, causing Naruto to think that the complete fox is really a Tsundere with his feelings. In any case, as Naruto molds the chakra, he begins to make claw-like motions with one hand, causing the chakra to rotate far more easily. Hinata Hyuga watches as she sees the chakra beginning to rotate as Naruto's golden chakra takes on an orange coloration, and as his fingers rake at the energy, they form lines at his fingertips, causing spiralling currents to form, like a whirlpool. However Naruto does this in dozens of different directions at once, and when all is said and done, Hinata blushes as his chakra, while it would normally look like a spiralling mass of chakra, to her and her Byakugan, it appears to be that of a multi-faceted jewel that is constantly spinning, radiating a gentle and warm aura of heat...
Smiling as he looks at his hands, Naruto smirks as he beholds his first Shakuton (Scorch Release) technique in his hand, something akin to a Rasengan, but Naruto can tell it is anything but, thanks to the heat it is giving off. "This is my signature Shakuton Technique, Naruto… Shakuton: Hoshitama! (Star Jewel)" Kurama explains, "If push came to shove, I would use this jutsu as my long ranged option instead of my Bijuudama (Tailed Beast Ball)... The Bijuudama takes up much more chakra than the Hoshitama, but it requires less concentration… I can also use the Hoshitama as a means to use my other Shakuton Techniques as well…'
'Like what?' Naruto thinks.
"As an example, if I forme the Hoshitama in my mouth, I could actually turn it into a jet of Shakuton Energy that spread out over a wide area. This was the Kitsunebi (Fox Fire)... I had a few other applications as well…!" Kurama explains, but then he senses something. "Someone comes!" Naruto breaks his concentration over the jutsu, and the Hoshitama fizzles out to nothing, much to Hinata's disappointment. When Naruto raises his head, he turns around to see Menma approaching with a smile.
"Menma!" Naruto says, smiling at his cousin.
"Heyo, Naruto…" Menma says, smiling, grinning at his cousin, "How's it going?"
"It's going great! I think I got my first Shakuton Jutsu down!" Naruto says, smiling.
"Shakuton? Very dangerous, but considering your "condition"... I wouldn't be surprised that you get the hang of it soon!" Menma says.
"Yeah yeah, so… What's up?"
"I don't know, take a look and you'll see!" Menma says, pointing upwards as both he and Naruto laugh at the pun. Menma smiles as he looks at his cousin, who is rolling on the floor, laughing. Out of everyone in the Hidden Leaf, only Naruto really understands him, as, despite being the son of the Fourth Hokage, he is mistreated quite a lot by the villagers, in spite of Uncle Minato's Warnings and Aunt Kushina's threats. Still, despite this, Naruto managed to make a few friends, and this, in turn, helped Menma out a lot as he began to understand a few things over the year he has been in this village. "But in all seriousness, I wanted to see if you would help me train! I've finally finished with "that" seal!"
"What!?" Naruto says, his eyes sparkling, "Are you serious, you finished it!?"
"Say what!?" a set of voices come in, in which Team Guy and Menma's own team, Team Hiruko appear out of the woodwork.
"You really finished it?" Yota says, excitedly, "Amazing! You've created a Sealed Kekkei Genkai!"
"That's amazing, Menma-kun!" Sana says, smiling. "I'm so excited to see what you created!"
"You've always told me about how you were going to create a Kekkei Genkai with Fuinjutsu!" Tenten says, her eyes sparkling, "Please let me see it!"
"Yes! Menma's Flames of Youth have pushed him to create a new power all his own!" Rock Lee says, while Neji remains silent. Menma, internally, sweatdrops as he looks at the excited faces around him, though he thinks he can understand it, though he only wished to show it to Naruto.
"Alright…" Menma says, "Though I've yet to implement the seal into my weapon of choice, I think I can show you what it does…" Menma then draws a sword hidden on his belt, in which Tenten's eyes glow as she looks at the weapon. From Tenten's knowledge, the sword is a Dakoken, a double-edged sword with a serpentine blade, with a fuller going through the center of the blade that narrows as it reaches the tip. From what her father has told her, Uzushio uses ancient sword shapes and styles, as most everyone is used to fighting more modern swords, as such, the Ancient Style Swords made with modern materials are things few warriors expect to fight, giving them an edge in combat. Tenten remembers that Uzushio specializes in using Dakoken (Snake Swords), Shichishito (Seven Branched Swords), Tsurugi (Crane Swords), Chokuto (Single Edged Straight Swords), and Ken (Double Edged Straight Swords).
In Tenten's mind, she begins to list off each of the capabilities of the 5 types of swords in Uzushio, and here we go off on a tangent. The Swords of Uzushio are crafted from a particular chakra rich iron sand called Tamahagane and a special ore known as Hihiirokane, both of which can only be mined on Uzushio. The alloy of these two metals, when carefully alloyed and filtered through charcoal made from the natural energy rich trees of the Ancient Forest. The alloy that is created from the smelting is carefully examined and the best pieces picked to make these five types of special swords, in which they are carefully forged into thick blanks. The rest of the process Tenten doesn't know, but what she does know is that when the swords quenched in the blood of their future masters, the blade bonds with the iron, carbon, and the chakra of their masters and then take then they mold their material into the sword designated by their Primary affinity. There is also the fact that, in a few rare instances that Natural Energy enters the forging process, a sword that is forged will develop a sentience, and when their wielder dies without a successor to their weapon, or a child to inherit their blade, the sentience will die with it's master and the blade will break. Even if the blade is somehow restored, it loses all of it's power and becomes useless, incapable of streaming chakra ever again.
In terms of affinities, the most commonly seen sword in the Land of Whirlpools is the Dakoken, or Snake Sword, and it's affinity is that of Water, most notably since, in the mythos of the World, the Snake Tribe of Summons are known for utilizing Water Release Jutsus to counter the attacks of the Toads and the Acids of the Slugs, though they rarely use it do to their pride as fierce warriors. Dakoken Blades actually used their wielder's chakra to gather water vapor in the air and launch it from the blades at high pressure, increasing both their concussive forces and cutting power due to the pressure, and any blade that managed to survive that would be forced along the serpentine blade, causing powerful and extremely painful vibrations that rippled through the opposing swords and into the enemy's hands, ripping the swords from their grasp and causing extreme pain from the vibrations.
For Wind Affinity, the Tsurugi Blades, or Crane Swords, are the ones associated with it, and the most famous of these blades is the Kusanagi, the most powerful Tsurugi forged in history. Wind Release Blades used their master's chakra to call upon the wind to not only increase the blade's cutting power by constantly sharpening the blade's edges, but also increasing the range and concussive forces of the blades by launching the wind from the tip of the blade. Wind Release users, if they were crafty enough, could also generate powerful tornadoes or use existing wind currents to cast Wind Release jutsu from their swords, with the most famous of these attacks being the Kusanagi's Kaze no Kizu (Wind Scar) technique, which was known to be the sword's most powerful offensive technique. On a Side-Note, the Kusanagi was forged for Orochimaru's Ancestor, but when he was going to die, he had committed Seppuku using the Kusanagi, forcing all of his life-force and chakra into the blade, giving the sword's sentience the ability to survive past it's master's death and to choose it's master, whom would be able to use it's powerful Wind Release Techniques. This means that anyone can wield the Kusanagi, but only those who it chooses as it's actual master will be able to wield it's Wind Release abilities, and even if that master dies, it will just wait for the next one to come.
Lightning Affinity Blades are known as the Shichishito, or Seven Branched Swords. These weapons, as they are quenched, take in their owner's Lightning Affinity and branched out as they were actual lightning bolts. Thanks to this, when a little chakra is poured into the blades, they become highly conductive and use the friction in the air to generate a powerful static electrical charge, and as such they are known for being capable of producing enough electricity on their own that the wielders of these blades, rare as they are on Uzushio, don't need to use much chakra for their Lightning Release Jutsu. Furthermore, molding the natural lightning created by these blades is far simpler and far more readily available than turning their chakra into lightning or drawing upon natural lightning, as such the lightning only needs to be charged with chakra, amplified to the proper levels, and then molded into shape.
The Blades of Earth Affinity are the Chokuto Blades, and these Single Edged Straight Swords are known for being extremely tough. Chokuto, thanks to their Earth Affinity are known to gather the earthen elements naturally present in the air, and as such, the wielders of such blades are capable of changing entire battlefields at their whims. One well known user of a Chokuto Blade, known as Soujiro Seta, actually used his Chokuto's Earth Affinity, the Kikuichimonji Norimune, was what helped him create the technique known as Shukuchi, or Vanishing Earth. Not much is known about how his sword related to the jutsu, but a few theories popped up, but since Soujiro didn't have any living descendants and didn't choose a successor to his sword, the Sword's Earth Affinity and the Shukuchi have been lost to history.
Finally, there are the Ken, the double edge straight swords that are associated with Fire Release. Upon such a description, one would think that Kens are identical to Tsurugi Blades, and in the past, that was true, but it was discovered that Kens are actually have far broader blades than that of Tsurugi, and they were generally longer and heavier, require a power based fighting style rather than one meant for speed. However, don't believe that Ken are weaker than Tsurugi, because when their users channel chakra through the blades, they glow with heat, and with the sword being pure white whilst the outer edge of the blade glows with a color associated with the personality and philosophy of the wielder. Unfortunately, thanks to this, some morons have come to call them Plasma Blades or Lightsabers, due to how they glow with enough intensity to melt tungsten when enough chakra is poured into them. Many Uchiha, in the past, have attempted to prove themselves worthy of a Ken, but only one has ever proven himself worthy of such a sword, and his name was Itachi Uchiha… However, a little known fact is that if a Ken's owner ever loses sight of their "Inner Fire", the spiritual flame that fuels their beliefs, their swords will either cease to function, or turn on their owners.
Returning to the Present, Tenten looks at Menma's Dakoken, and finds the sword to be an extremely beautiful weapon, fitting for a young man who, in her mind, is just as beautiful to look at, despite the ridiculous headwear. The sword's hilt is beautiful to behold, it has a pure white wrapping with white rayskin and silver ornaments beneath the handle, whilst the pommel is made of silver and is etched with a sealing formula that Menma designed himself. This Pommel is the newest addition to the blade, as it is what Menma had custom made once he realized what his Sealed Kekkei Genkai is. Connected to the pommel is a wire tether that connects to a diamond cut into the shape of a magatama jewel. The Tsuba is an ancient styled Shitogi Tsuba made of silver. These kinds of Tsuba were made in the shape of a ceremonial rice cake that has been gently pressed between a pair of hands, and this one in particular is made of a beautiful silver with white gemstones set at the center. The rest of the fittings are also of silver, and have white jewels set into them as well, but the most beautiful part of the sword is the serpentine blade. The blade itself is forged of the Alloy that all Uzushio Blades that are made of, and like other swords, they take on different colors associated with the Primary Elemental Affinity of it's users, with Menma's being a beautiful icy pale blue.
Menma smiles as he draws his sword everyone looking at it with awe, save for Neji, in which Menma looks at his weapon, "My sword was finally finished, now that I have my Sealed Kekkei Genkai, and I can now use it in conjunction with Juuichi Yosamu! (Ten-Thousand Cold Nights)" He then walks a short distance away from the group and grips his weapon with one hand as he raises the tip skyward, forming mudras with one hand. "HYOTON: TENSOU JURIN! (Ice Release: Subjugation of the Heavens)" From Menma's sword, flows of frigid water fly high into the atmosphere, causing black clouds to form in the heavens above, and, without a sign of thunder, snow begins to fall over the training field, much to the surprise and delight of everyone present. Menma can't help but smile gently as they all see the snow gently drift down to earth.
"Beautiful…" Tenten says, looking towards Menma, seeing the young man's hair having turned white, and his navy blue eyes change to icy blue, whilst his normally tanned skin is now as white as snow.
"Whoa! Menma, what happened to you!?" Naruto asks, shocked.
"It's an after-effect of my Sealed Kekkei Genkai… As I cannot naturally produce this Kekkei Genkai without Fuinjutsu, my body isn't capable of unleashing it's full power without injuring myself, as such the seal on my sword grants me the ability to use Hyoton, but because I have to chill the chakra in my body to produce ice and snow, my physical features change in response to it, in order to better channel and safely use this Nature Transformation." Menma explains, "My hair turns white to allow the excess chakra that I can't properly channel to escape through my hair and sweat glands as frigid vapor and cold sweat. As the chakra is being channeled out, it affects my eye and skin color, preventing me from becoming snow-blind by my own jutsu and making more tolerant of the cold temperatures I produce."
"So there is a great deal of risk with this Sealed Kekkei Genkai…" Neji states, looking at Menma passively.
"Correct…" Menma says, "I minimized the risks as best I could when creating this seal and studying my Sealed Kekkei Genkai when Aunt Kushina could spare the time to help train me." He then smiles at the group, "But that is not all I discovered… I learned that I have another Sealed Kekkei Genkai…"
"What?" Naruto asks.
"I have the Boil Release Kekkei Genkai, but unlike most Boil Release Users, I actually use it passively. I didn't realize that I had it or that I was using it until Aunt Kushina tested my chakra a second time and found I had Fire Release as well, and when my chakra was tested, Uncle Minato discovered I was passively using Boil Release to minimize the effects of the Ice Release on my body, as well as to passively create the cold sweat and vapor on my body to increase the range and intensity of my Ice Release." Menma explains, "It was quite the startling discovery!"
"So are you going to get a second sword to take advantage of your Boil Release?" Tenten asks.
"I don't think so, I think I like my Ice Release enough as it is!" Menma says, smiling.
A few hours later…
"ACHOO!" Menma sneezes as he has his feet in a tub of warm water, is wrapped in a blanket, and is drinking a cup of warm tea in his Aunt's house.
"I told you not to be so reckless with your Ice Release, Menma!" Kushina scolds her nephew, "Your Passive Boil Release can only do so much to protect you from the effects!"
"S-Sorry, Auntie… I was just so excited to show off my new abilities that I got carried away." Menma says, shivering.
"Well now you know why we told you not to use your sword until we told you too…" His sensei, Hiruko, says, the pale man chuckling at his student. "In any case, we'll be taking a few days off so that you can recover, and then we'll be going on a C-Rank Mission…" Menma nods at his sensei and begins to relax as he sets himself up to recover, finishing his tea, then falling to sleep.
?...
Menma finds himself standing in a frozen wasteland as he looks around to see the seal he had implemented onto Juuichi Yosamu before him… The Seal is highly complex, as it is one composed of a Renkin (Alchemy) Formulae, with a traditional sealing array, and several other symbols and kanji that cause it to take the form of a giant hexagonal plate snowflake, with the sigil of the Uzumaki at it's center, and the kanji and diagram forming the array's core. Looking ahead of him, Menma sees something sitting before the sealing array, in which Menma cautiously approaches as cold vapor and snow begin to glow past Menma at high speeds. The young man groans as he feels the cold blow past him as he approaches the creature, the image of it being obscured by the blizzard and frigid mist, but he can see the outline of the creature as it stands up.
"You, who stand before me…" The creature says, "Are you willing to wield the power I provide you…"
"What the…?" Menma asks, able to hear the creature, but can barely hear his own voice. "Who are you…?"
"You must call out my name…! You know who I am, boy!" The creature shouts, in which Menma looks at the creature, squinting his eyes as his goggles aren't with him, so his sight is poor, made worse by the snow and cold vapor blowing past him, obscuring the creature. "Who am I!?"
"Your name…" Menma says, looking at the creature, but sees it's body shape, and remembers something, as he looks too his side, and sees himself as a child, holding a stuffed animal, sitting in his bedroom, playing with it. "You… Are…!" Tears are shed from his face as he remembers the younger version of himself getting lose and alone in the Ancient Forest, his poor eyesight making it hard to find his way home, the damp air making it difficult to find the scent of his father or mother, and the shrieking of birds deafening him… The boy only sat in the forest and cried as he held his stuffed animal, a dragon, in his arms, when suddenly… Everything goes silent, and Menma turns to see a great icy pale blue creature slither over to him, his poor eyesight seeing the shape of the creature, which he could see had a pair of horns, yet had the body of a serpent… "YOU… ARE…!" The creature nuzzled little Menma, as the crying boy raised his eyes, and Menma raises his eyes, braving the storm, his eyes glowing. "IKUCHIMARUUUUUU!"
Konoha, Uzumaki Household...
Menma shouts that name as he wakes up, breathing hard, in which he is gasping for breath as he looks around, and finds a scroll in front of him. Menma's Shingan activating as he glares at the scroll, he quickly opens it, bites his thumb, and with the strokes of a master calligrapher, writes his name in the contract scroll, then makes the proper mudras. Kushina, walking in, sees his hands and the scroll, "NO YOU IDIOT, NOT IN THE HOUSE!" Kushina shouts.
"SUMMONING JUTSU!" Menma shouts, slamming his hand down on the carpet, to which Kushina braces for a massive explosion of smoke, only to get a small amount, and a serpentine creature as large as a python.
"Heh, took you long enough… Aho…" The serpentine creature says.
"Sorry it took me so long… Ikuchimaru." Menma says, pulling the dragon in for a hug, to which the creature wraps his coils around the young man, as he cries tears that rapidly freeze. "I missed you so much… Dattebasa…"
"I did too, you fool… Now we're together again…"
"Uh, am I missing something?" Kushina asks.
"Oh, Aunt Kushina, this is my partner, Ikuchimaru!" Menma says.
"So this is Ikuchimaru? Funny, I thought he'd be bigger!"
"My size is adjustable, unlike other dragons, I don't need Mudras to perform jutsu, I actually use both Renkinjutsu and Breathing Techniques to mold my chakra!" The serpentine dragon says, "And thanks to an accident at birth, I can't breathe fire, but ice!"
"Awesome!" Menma says, "You're even cooler than I remember, pun definitely intended!" Menma chuckles as he then notices his aunt is giving him a look, "Why are you looking at me like that…" Kushina raises her fist, and Menma gulps seeing the vein on it. "Oh no…" Menma's screams are heard throughout the entirety of Konoha for the majority of the next hour…