With a haggard face, oily red hair, and dark circles under his eyes, this person was Menma.
Naruto was startled by the sudden appearance of Menma.
Menma: "..."
"I just stayed up all night and look a little worn out—what's with the overreaction? It's all that bastard Kurama's fault."
Truth be told, while Menma did look tired, it wasn't that exaggerated. But the truth was—he hadn't just stayed up one night. He had stayed up thirteen. After releasing twelve clones, all the fatigue rebounded onto the original body. It felt like he hadn't slept in thirteen days. So yeah, Menma looked like a ghost, and Naruto was shocked.
"It's me, idiot," Menma said casually before heading to the bathroom to shower, brush his teeth, and wash up.
Big Brother...?
Naruto worried about his brother. What happened to him? Unable to help himself, he walked to the bathroom door and waited outside.
Not long after, Menma came out, looking slightly refreshed.
Seeing his older brother in better shape after cleaning up, Naruto sighed in relief. At least his brother was still the same.
"Brother, I'm glad you're okay. What were you doing all night?" Naruto asked curiously.
"It's nothing. I spent the whole night writing the novel I owed Kurama. He wouldn't let me sleep until I finished it," Menma said while heading to eat the breakfast Naruto had made.
"Kurama is so annoying! Why didn't you come sleep with me, brother? My Kurama is way more well-behaved."
As soon as Naruto finished speaking, someone clearly had a problem with that.
Kurama immediately emerged from Menma's body, perched on his shoulder, and growled, "You little brat, what did you just say?!"
Naruto wasn't scared of Kurama at all. "It's your fault, stinky Kurama! Why didn't you let my brother sleep?!"
"Sleep is important, you know!" Naruto used his ultimate skill: Talk-no-Jutsu!
Kurama was so mad he looked like he wanted to slap Naruto into next week.
The Kurama inside Naruto was laughing hysterically, holding his belly. Finally, someone else had to taste what it's like. That loudmouth kid got a dose of his own medicine.
Just as Kurama was about to blow a fuse, Menma said, "Naruto, stop talking and eat your breakfast. You'll be late."
"Okay, brother." Naruto stuck out his tongue at Kurama and sat down to eat.
Kurama: "..."
"All right, Kurama. A new novel?"
Kurama: "Deal."
And just like that, the two reached an agreement. Kurama returned to Menma's body and resumed his comfy otaku life.
After breakfast, Menma created a clone and told Naruto, "This clone will walk you to school today. I'm going to catch up on sleep."
"Okay, brother! Sleep well." Naruto nodded. Honestly, to him, clone or not, his big brother was still his big brother.
Menma turned and walked to his room, flopped onto the bed, and fell asleep within seconds.
Meanwhile, Naruto and the clone walked to school hand in hand.
As for Jiraiya, he was still asleep in his room. Since Tsunade had taken over as Hokage, Jiraiya's workload had lightened significantly. No more waking up early to check in at the Hokage Building. He used to be out early and back late. Now? He could finally sleep in, and it felt great.
But not everyone was so happy.
Hokage's Office –
Crash!
The Hokage office desk split in half.
"Where's Jiraiya?!" Tsunade's face was filled with rage. A mountain of paperwork loomed before her, and she was getting a headache. She'd planned to shove all this work onto Jiraiya—but he was nowhere to be seen. She asked Shizune.
Shizune replied, "After finishing paperwork last night, Jiraiya-sama said he wouldn't be coming today. He wanted to catch up on sleep."
Sleep?!
Tsunade leapt from her chair. "Let's head to Menma's house!"
I'm already up and working, and that guy has the nerve to be sleeping?
She thought Jiraiya was obligated to help her—after all, this role was originally meant for him. Tsunade hadn't known until last night that Hiruzen-sensei had intended for Jiraiya to be Hokage. Jiraiya had been considering it too, given the lack of alternatives at the time.
After visiting Menma's house last night, Tsunade had gone to speak with Hiruzen. During their long talk, he let the truth slip.
So now, in her mind, this job absolutely belonged to Jiraiya. She felt no guilt whatsoever dumping it on him. Until she returned, Jiraiya had handled everything anyway.
Tsunade, dragging Shizune with her, arrived at Menma's house and kicked down the newly-repaired door. It slammed to the floor, waking the two sleeping men instantly.
"Damn it, who?!" Menma growled, glaring daggers as he leapt out of bed, forming Rasengans in both hands. He kicked open the bedroom door.
Room door: ┭┮﹏┭┮ crashed down
Menma stormed out.
Menma: "...It's you again!!!"
"Tsunade! You'd better give me an explanation or this means war!"
At the same time, Menma summoned Kurama again. Though Kurama initially ignored him, the temptation of a new novel was too much.
Kurama appeared without a word, transforming into a little fox perched on Menma's back.
Tsunade was immediately flustered seeing Menma calm down. ￣□￣｜｜ Then she spotted Kurama on his shoulder and said, "Menma! I'm here for Jiraiya. Why aren't you at school? Isn't it already class time?"
"And what's with the door?! First it was yesterday, now again today. Tsunade, do I look like someone you can push around?!"
He was furious—barely got any sleep, then got screamed awake. And now the newly-repaired door was destroyed again!
"This is all a misunderstanding!" Tsunade said quickly. "It's all Jiraiya's fault! I'll pay double—or triple—for the door repair. Shizune will handle it."
Back in the room, Jiraiya had heard that and looked utterly confused. What does this have to do with me...?
Menma calmed slightly at the mention of triple the repair cost. He wasn't actually going to fight Tsunade, but he had to show some resistance. Otherwise, it'd happen again.
"Leave the money on the table. And there better not be a third time. If it happens again, money won't fix it." Menma warned coldly. Then he looked at the other room. "Master Jiraiya, get out here. She's looking for you."
With that, Menma returned to bed and struck another deal with Kurama to ensure his sleep wouldn't be disturbed.
Deal!
Eventually, Jiraiya grudgingly emerged from his room. The moment he stepped out, Tsunade rushed over and twisted his ear, dragging him outside.
"Ahh! That hurts, Tsunade!!"
(End of Chapter)
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