Naruto brought Menma along to explore the Hokage Building. The two brothers roamed the halls like little princes on a tour—no one dared to stop them wherever they went.
After wandering around for a while, Naruto yawned, clearly bored.
"Brother, this place isn't fun."
"Then let's go," Menma said, taking Naruto's hand as they exited the Hokage Building.
Just as they stepped outside, Naruto was drawn to a birdsong and looked up—only to spot a massive stone monument to the right. It was Hokage Rock, carved with four large human heads.
"Brother, look at those heads!" Naruto shouted excitedly, as if he'd discovered something incredible.
"Do you know who they are?" Menma asked.
Naruto immediately grabbed his brother's sleeve and shook it.
"Tell me, tell me, brother!"
In Naruto's eyes, his brother was all-knowing and all-powerful.
"The first one on the left is named Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage of Konoha Village. Next to him is his younger brother, Tobirama Senju, who became the Second Hokage after Hashirama died. As for the third one... skip it."
Elsewhere in the Hokage Building, the Third Hokage was observing them through a crystal ball.
Kakashi, train Menma well!
Then he turned back to the crystal ball, curious to see how Menma would introduce his father—and just how much he truly knew.
"And the fourth," Menma continued, "he's both a great hero... and a great idiot."
Naruto blinked in confusion.
"His name is Minato Namikaze, known as the Yellow Flash. He was gentle and calm, a sunny, handsome, and kind man. He was shy, but serious and cautious in battle. A little quirky—and he liked giving his techniques ridiculously long names."
"He was the Fourth Hokage. Four years ago, he and his wife sacrificed themselves to protect the village."
Menma stopped there.
He looked at Naruto and gently stroked his head.
"Naruto, remember—don't argue with him in the future. He was a great man... but also a complete fool."
With that, Menma took Naruto by the hand and headed home.
Not long after they left, a masked man stepped out from the alley. He had overheard everything Menma had said. The image of Team 7 surfaced in his mind.
Those good old days are gone... now, I'm the only one left.
He looked up at the Hokage Rock.
"Sensei, don't worry... I'll take good care of your sons."
Especially that little brat, Menma.
Back home, as soon as Menma walked through the door, his body tensed.
He rushed into the bathroom.
Moments later... the aroma filled the room.
"Brother, it stinks!" Naruto cried, unable to hold back. He ran straight out of the house.
Menma (from the bathroom): "..."
What do you mean it stinks? It doesn't smell that bad...
That night, once Naruto had fallen asleep, Menma entered his mindscape.
Inside the iron-barred prison, he greeted the beast within.
"Good evening, Nine Tails."
The Nine Tails didn't respond. It just turned its massive head to look at him.
Menma was used to this by now. He sat down calmly and began that evening's storytelling session. Audience: One tailed beast.
"Tonight, I'll be telling you about a classic tale—Romance of the Three Kingdoms."
"At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperors Huan and Ling favored eunuchs, corrupting the court and plunging the people into misery. During Emperor Ling's reign, chaos erupted. Warlords began fighting across the land..."
"The Zhang brothers—Zhang Jiao, Zhang Bao, and Zhang Liang—from Julu County used their healing techniques to gather followers during a plague. Eventually, they led a massive uprising. Their army, known for wearing yellow scarves, became known as the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Their numbers grew to fifty million, overwhelming and unstoppable..."
As Menma continued, the Nine Tails silently listened, surprisingly focused.
Tonight's session lasted over an hour.
Suddenly, Menma stopped.
"Oi, brat, don't stop now!" the Nine Tails grumbled. It had gotten invested in the story.
But Menma simply stood up.
"That's enough for tonight. I'm heading out. Goodnight, Nine Tails."
With that, he vanished.
"Come back here, brat! Don't leave me hanging!"
The mighty Nine Tails sulked behind the bars.
The next morning, Naruto woke up early and peeked at his brother, who was still fast asleep.
I'll sneak out to play first, then come back to do housework and study.
But as soon as he opened the door—he froze.
A man stood just outside, with silver hair, a ninja headband covering his left eye, and a mask over his face. Only one eye was visible.
To Naruto, this definitely looked like a bad guy.
What should he do? Simple—go get his brother!
He turned and bolted back inside, short legs racing.
"Brother! Brother! Bad guy! Bad guy!"
"Huh? Bad guy?" Menma sat up groggily, rubbing his eyes.
"Who?"
"Brother, there's a bad guy standing at the door!" Naruto cried.
"..."
Menma blinked. No way. Does he not know Anbu is a thing?
He'd never worried about their safety—after all, they had bodyguards watching 24/7.
"What does the bad guy look like?" Menma asked while scratching his red hair.
"He wears a mask, only has one eye, and has silver hair!"
That description was more than enough.
Hatake Kakashi. Why is he here so early? Coming over for breakfast? Well, we didn't make anything for him.
"Don't worry. Your brother will handle it."
Naruto nodded. If the sky fell, his brother would hold it up.
Menma ignored Kakashi for now and went about brushing his teeth.
Once he'd finished freshening up, he stepped outside with Naruto following closely behind, eyes still wary.
"Kakashi, why are you here so early? We didn't prepare your meal today," Menma said casually.
Having just gotten more money from the Third Hokage, Menma wasn't about to spend extra.
"I already ate," Kakashi replied, rolling his eye. Do I really look like someone who needs food from a kid's pantry? I'm a Jonin, thank you very much.
"Oh, I see. Well, Naruto and I haven't eaten yet. As our teacher, shouldn't you treat us to breakfast?" Menma asked with a perfectly straight face.
Kakashi stared at him.
He had never been so thoroughly played in his life.
(End Of Chapter)
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