"Brother! Brother! I'm finally going on a mission outside the village!"
Naruto burst through the front door, face lit with excitement as he shared the news with Menma. Shared joy is always greater, after all.
"That's great. What kind of mission is it?" Menma asked, pretending not to know. Why not send a clone to keep an eye on him? Well—Kakashi was about to be tied up by Zabuza anyway.
From inside, Kurama chimed in: Don't worry. I'm here. Naruto will be fine. Now hurry up and write my next novel!
Menma mentally sighed. Thanks for the reminder, Nine Tails.
Kurama: I don't want thanks. I want action.
Translation: More fiction.
Menma flatly refused. Seriously, Kurama's gotten good at milking favors from me lately... but I've got to protect what little energy I have left.
Though Menma wasn't short on money these days, he hadn't released a new novel in a long time. His readers were getting restless—sending him razor blades and angry letters to hurry up. Unfortunately, he was too deep in his lazy sage mode to care. Most of the drafts he did write had already been snatched up by Kurama.
Once in the Nine Trumpets' hands, a manuscript was as good as gone.
A tailed beast that loves novels more than life itself.
Nine Trumpets:Cheapskate.
Menma: "..."
You want me to write it with my brain or my fists?
"Escort mission. To the Land of Waves! Do you know where that is, Brother?" Naruto asked curiously.
The Land of Waves...? Honestly, Menma had no clue. But to maintain his all-knowing, cool older brother image, he made up a detailed story using the little he did know.
Naruto listened intently, wide-eyed. So that's what the Land of Waves is like...
Realizing he was running out of believable material, Menma quickly changed the subject.
"Naruto, since you're heading out tomorrow and won't be back for a while, you better clean the house thoroughly—inside and out."
"No problem, Brother!"
Naruto jumped up from the sofa, shouted, "Shadow Clone Technique!" and poofed into four extra copies of himself.
"The front yard is yours, the backyard is yours, the windows are yours, and the room's yours!" Naruto delegated like a pro, and the clones got to work alongside the main body.
Menma, naturally, went to the kitchen.
This might be the last time Naruto eats my cooking for a while, he thought.
Tonight's dinner needed to be extra rich.
"Make more than usual—Naruto's leaving tomorrow!" Menma called out as he lounged on the sofa, drink in one hand, book in the other.
The five kitchen clones completely ignored him.
[○｀Д○] We've been working non-stop, give us a break!
"By the way, what time are you meeting tomorrow?" Menma asked.
"Five o'clock!" Naruto replied while scrubbing the windows.
"Want me to pack you lunch? Something to eat on the road?"
"Of course! You're the best, Brother!" Naruto gave a thumbs-up.
"Oh, and I'll give you 50 ryo to carry—buy whatever you want on the road," Menma added.
Can't let my little brother go out into the world without cash. Maybe he'll bring me back a souvenir... and if he doesn't, I've got just the parenting lesson in store.
Menma sighed. He felt like a dad sending his son off for the first time.
Will he eat well? Will he run out of money?
"Thanks, Brother!" Naruto called, polishing the last window.
Just then, the front door opened. Another Naruto clone entered—with Sasuke in tow.
"Brother Menma," Sasuke greeted respectfully.
"Yo, Second Pillar," Menma said casually.
Sasuke: "..."
You're the Second Pillar! But he held it in and stayed polite.
Naruto greeted Sasuke in the yard and poured him some tea.
"Thanks. What are you doing?" Sasuke asked, Sharingan flashing as he scanned the clone. "Why're you cleaning?"
"Idiot, I'm obviously doing housework." Naruto huffed. Erzhuzi will always be Erzhuzi.
"I know that. I meant, shouldn't you be packing?" Sasuke clarified.
He had come to see what Naruto was preparing for the mission.
"I'll pack tonight. Since I'm leaving tomorrow, I'm cleaning the whole house so my brother can live comfortably."
From the sofa, Menma nodded in approval. That's my brother. Handles the chores while I bring home the bacon. Our roles are clear.
"I'll help." Sasuke offered.
"Wait! No, Sasuke—you just sit down," Naruto stopped him quickly.
Last time Sasuke tried to clean a window, his dark chakra shattered the glass.
"Too bad, I'm helping." Sasuke ignored him, summoned four shadow clones, and joined the housework war.
Five Narutos vs. five Sasukes. The competition was intense.
Soon, the entire house sparkled.
"Naruto, Sasuke—wash up and come eat!" Menma called out. He motioned to the kitchen clones, who began serving the food.
Ten dishes and one soup. An absolute feast.
Sasuke sat down and joined them without hesitation. Just as the three started eating, a voice called out from the door:
"Don't start without me!"
Menma didn't even need to look.
Of course—it was Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage, arriving right on time as always.
"Lady Tsunade! You came at just the right time," Naruto said cheerfully. The more people at dinner, the merrier!
"Of course I did."
What Naruto didn't know was that Tsunade had personally instructed her people to notify her the moment Menma started cooking. She waltzed into the kitchen, grabbed bowls and chopsticks like she lived there, and dug in without hesitation.
As far as she was concerned, this was her second home.
Honestly, Menma's place was nicer than her own—and if it were up to her, she'd move in.
Unfortunately, Menma had strongly objected.
"If you move in, I'll never have peace again," he'd said.
Still, the food was top tier.
"Delicious!" (^o^)/
"Delicious!" Ψ(￣￣)Ψ
"Delicious!" (≧∀≦)
The next morning
One of Menma's clones got up bright and early, packed Naruto's lunch, and double-checked his supplies.
"Brother, I'm heading out now," Naruto said at 4:50 a.m., slinging his large backpack over his shoulder.
He made his way to the village gate, where Sasuke and Sakura were already waiting.
"Good morning, Sasuke! Sakura!" Naruto greeted them.
"Good morning," they replied.
Sakura noticed Naruto's bulging backpack. "What did you pack in there?"
"My brother made me a lunch box," Naruto grinned.
At that, Sasuke perked up.
"Did you bring any for me?"
"Of course!"
Sasuke: Ψ(￣￣)Ψ
A few minutes later, Kakashi arrived, and the team of four finally stepped beyond the village gates.
At the highest point in Konoha, a red-haired boy stood quietly, watching the group as they disappeared into the distance.
He muttered to himself,
"Time to go back to sleep."
(End Of Chapter)
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