A Year and the Clan Massacre

Naruto failed to notice that as he turned around and refocused his attention on Iruka and the other students.

Menma, seated farther back, cast a profound look at his retreating figure.

Envy, jealousy, even a trace of resentment?

Perhaps all of those were there.

But just as Naruto had felt a fleeting sense of familiarity toward Menma.

Menma, who was one hundred percent certain that they were biological brothers, had even more complicated feelings toward Naruto. None of his suffering had anything to do with Naruto, and Naruto could not possibly have been like him, arriving in this world with such a strong sense of self-awareness from the very beginning.

Naruto was merely someone Sarutobi Hiruzen had half-talked into believing things.

Menma truly envied Naruto's current living environment.

There were even times when he could not help but feel resentment.

Why, when they had been born to the same parents, were they treated so vastly differently? Yet in the end, the bond of blood restrained Menma's negative emotions. He could hate everyone else, but when it came to Naruto, Menma simply could not do it!

This was his own biological younger brother!

Even if Naruto had only been born a little later than him, Menma was the older brother and Naruto was the younger brother. That was something Menma could be certain of.

Another important reason was that Menma had also had a younger brother in his previous life. He had been just as carefree and just as optimistic, and somehow, that made him feel as though Naruto overlapped with him a little.

It made Menma's feelings toward Naruto even more unusual.

Naruto, I hope your future won't take a path completely opposite to mine.

After taking one deep look at Naruto's back, Menma silently thought to himself.

"Very good. Now that everyone has gained a preliminary understanding of one another, from the moment you stepped into the Ninja Academy, you could already be considered apprentice ninja. How far you go in the future depends partly on talent and partly on effort. Those with lazy attitudes should not even dream of becoming outstanding ninja in the future—you may not even be able to graduate. I assume none of you want to watch your companions graduate one after another while you are held back year after year, right? That will depend on how hard you work! If the foundation is unstable, the whole structure will collapse. I hope you will all keep those words firmly in mind!"

Iruka looked sternly at the dozens of Little Ones below and spoke in a low voice.

Whether they could take it in.

Whether they could fully understand it.

That was not important for now, but they had to make their attitude clear from the start!

As a homeroom teacher.

Iruka did not want any of his students to fall too far behind over the next six years.

That was his duty as a teacher.

"Yes, Teacher Iruka!"

At least on the surface, the children were quite cooperative with their homeroom teacher, answering in unison.

"Mm! Very good. Next, let us begin our first lesson: what is a ninja, and what is the essence of a ninja..."

The first day at the Ninja Academy.

Passed just that peacefully and steadily.

Although Menma's enrollment had caused quite a stir within certain circles, it ultimately did not lead to any major uproar. In the current Konohagakure, Sarutobi Hiruzen still possessed absolute prestige and authority.

It was simply that the older he became, the more indecisive he grew.

Otherwise, let alone anyone else, even Shimura Danzō would not have been able to stir up any trouble as long as Sarutobi Hiruzen did not permit it.

In the end, half of Danzo's misdeeds were his own fault, while the other half resulted from Sarutobi Hiruzen's indulgence.

Thus, as long as Sarutobi Hiruzen remained firm.

There would be no major problems with Menma's daily life or education.

In fact.

On his first day at the Ninja Academy, Menma encountered plenty of strange looks from "ordinary people," but not a single person stepped forward to question him, because this was a "Hokage order"!

They could discuss it in private.

They could glare at Menma with naked hostility when few people were around.

But they absolutely could not show it in public.

Of course, that did not have much practical meaning.

But Menma was already satisfied. They were only a few looks. They could not make him lose a piece of flesh, so why bother caring!?

As the sun set.

Dusk fell.

The first day at the Ninja Academy came to an end.

Menma was the last to leave the academy. Standing at the main gate, he looked at the school building bathed in the afterglow.

He watched the children leaving in other directions beneath the light of the setting sun.

Menma's expression was somewhat cold. This was not where he belonged.

It was a cage that bound him.

One day, he would personally shatter this cage and obtain true freedom.

This is only the real first step! No one can bind my future!!

After Menma took a deep breath, he turned and walked down another path, gradually moving farther away as his figure slowly merged into the shadows.

Thus began his life as a Ninja Academy student.

In the days that followed.

Menma's life became far more regular than it had been over the previous five years, practically following a routine that revolved around three places.

Ninja Academy—home—his personal training ground in the forest.

While constantly strengthening his physical condition.

He also improved his control over Chakra bit by bit.

A few months after enrolling, Menma officially put stable Chakra control on his agenda.

Tree Climbing and Water Walking, the two most basic forms of Chakra control.

Were also added to his training plan.

Since he still had no way of learning Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, or Taijutsu.

These basic exercises became the focus of Menma's training for some time.

As Menma devoted himself wholeheartedly to them, time passed swiftly. In the blink of an eye, more than a year had gone by.

Konoha Year 55, June, arrived.

One morning.

After finishing his usual morning training, Menma headed toward the Ninja Academy.

Along the way, he came across several ninja hurrying past in succession.

Every one of them wore a grave expression.

On the main road he had to take.

The civilians he could see around him all wore expressions that seemed shocked, terrified, and incredulous.

Hm? What happened!?

As long as there was nothing wrong with one's eyes or brain.

Anyone could tell that something major must have happened in the village.

But Menma could not tell what it was.

However, that confusion lasted only until he reached the Ninja Academy. Class had already begun, yet one person still had not arrived.

Menma immediately understood.

So this is the Uchiha Clan massacre arc!

Looking at Sasuke Uchiha's empty seat.

Menma immediately recalled one of the most important plotlines from the Original Work.