While Menma slept, he heard a voice whispering in his mind, "It is a pleasure to meet you, chosen one."
Startled, Menma turned around to see a man with red skin and a fedora coat, the same figure he had seen earlier. The man stroked his beard with a contented smile.
"Who are you? Where am I?" Menma asked.
"Forgive my rudeness." The man replied. "I am Yama, the God of Death and guardian of the South, also known as the region of death."
"So I died again?" Menma asked.
"Not exactly," Yama said. "You are neither dead nor alive. It is a condition called the Lazarus syndrome, where your heart fails temporarily before experiencing resuscitation."
Menma nodded and asked, "So why have you summoned me to your domain?"
"It is to give you the knowledge of the future that Odin promised." Yama replied.
'So his name was Odin...'
Menma then crossed his arms and scoffed, "About damn time."
"I apologize on his behalf, but he was worried that your soul would-" Yama started to say.
Menma interrupted, "Yeah, yeah. I don't care, so just hurry up and do it."
Yama sighed and beckoned Menma over, placing his hand on Menma's forehead. At first, Menma received basic knowledge of the world, including the different clans, ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu, and other jutsu.
Then, he saw significant events in the future, such as the death of the Third Hokage, Jiraiya, the destruction and rebirth of Konoha, the death of the Akatsuki, and more. However, he only saw memories that had a significant impact on the world.
As Menma continued to receive memories of the future, he saw a man with long white spiky hair and rippling purple eyes, dressed in a white robe, floating in crimson moonlight with a staff and a black orb. The moon appeared to have been used as a medium for a genjutsu called Project Mugen Tsukuyomi.
But Menma flinched when he saw the lifeless body of his brother lying on the ground, with a pink-haired girl trying to revive him, failing continuously until even her life was snuffed out. The ground was littered with corpses, and some people who were still alive were trapped in a cocoon by a large tree whose roots engulfed the earth, absorbing its life force. Menma gritted his teeth and turned to Yama.
"What the hell is this?" Menma exclaimed.
Yama sighed and replied, "That is the future this world was destined to experience."
Suddenly, Menma started emitting a dark reddish chakra from his body as he tried to contain his anger.
Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Menma turned to Yama and spoke through gritted teeth.
"Send me back." He demanded, barely containing his anger.
Yama looked at Menma with concern, thinking to himself, 'I hope Odin didn't make a mistake in his evaluation of this child.'
He then sighed and said, "I shall now send you back. But know this, it is easier to succumb to darkness than it is to follow the light."
Menma nodded, understanding the warning. He took another deep breath, centering himself before adding, "I will do my best to prevent that future from happening."
Yama smiled and placed his hand on Menma's forehead once more. As Menma felt his body being pulled back to the living world, the world around him began to fade.
When Menma opened his eyes, he found himself on his apartment floor, with Naruto lazily looking at him. Naruto asked, "Menma, are you alright? What happened?"
Menma slowly sat up and looked around, taking in his surroundings. Although everything felt familiar, it also felt different. He now had knowledge of the future that was yet to come.
Taking a deep breath, Menma stood up and replied, "I'm fine, Naruto. I just had a weird dream." He knew he couldn't tell Naruto about what had just transpired. It was too much for him to handle.
As he went back to bed, Menma felt a sense of responsibility weighing on him. He now knew what was to come, and it was up to him to prevent it from happening.
Following that day, Menma devoted himself to becoming stronger not just for his own benefit, but for the betterment of the world and the people he cherished. He was determined to take any measures necessary to ensure that the bleak future he had witnessed did not come to pass.
