Awkward Crowd

The group fell silent, watching Jiraiya laugh heartily, unsure of what to say.

Kakashi flipped the book over to check the front cover, only to find a small note stuck to it that read, "For Teacher Kakashi."

Kakashi was momentarily stunned, and seeing this, the others cast strange looks his way.

Suddenly, a small card slipped out from the book. Might Guy spotted it and picked it up, drawing everyone's gaze to the card in his hand.

It was a light blue birthday card with "Happy 18th Birthday, Teacher Kakashi" written on the front, and "From Uzumaki Menma" signed at the bottom.

A warmth welled up in Kakashi's heart; his 18th birthday was less than a month away, while Naruto and Menma's birthdays were still nearly two months off.

As if suddenly snapping back to reality, Kakashi hurriedly snatched the birthday card from Might Guy, tucked it back into the book, and returned the book to its original spot.

"Alright, alright, it's not right to enter someone's room without permission. Let's all head out." As Kakashi spoke, he ushered everyone toward the door, then restored the room to its original state before stepping out himself.

The group felt a bit embarrassed; after all, entering the room without the owner's consent was indeed improper, so they all remained silent.

"Everyone, let's just pretend nothing happened just now," Kakashi said, looking at them with a serious expression.

Snap. Naruto's bedroom door opened.

"Huh? Pretend what didn't happen?" Naruto asked, looking at the group standing on the second-floor landing, speaking so solemnly.

"Ah? ...Naruto, you're awake." Kakashi looked at Naruto with a guilty conscience.

The others looked at Naruto, stunned, like thieves caught red-handed by the homeowner.

"What's wrong with you guys? Why are you sweating so much? Eh? Who is this white-haired old man?" Naruto asked curiously, looking at Jiraiya.

"Oh... oh! Good question! I am none other than the Sage Toad Master of Mount Myoboku, also known as the Toad Sage, Jiraiya-sama!" Jiraiya introduced himself with great gravity.

"Sage? Sage?" Naruto still didn't quite grasp who the person before him was.

"So, what exactly are you all doing?" Naruto looked at the group and asked again.

"Ah, this... oh! Right! Might Guy is currently instructing us in taijutsu," Asuma blurted out, making up a story with a straight face.

Hearing this, the group immediately sprang into action—some started doing squats, some push-ups, some sit-ups, and others stood on their hands.

"Oh? You're training? I want to join too!" With that, Naruto looked eager to participate.

"What are you all shouting about?" Menma stood at the doorway of Naruto's room, rubbing his eyes, looking as if he had just been woken up and was still groggy.

"Ah... Menma, you're awake too." Kakashi increased the speed of his push-ups.

Seeing this, the others followed suit and picked up their pace as well.

Didn't the doctor say it would take a day or two for them to wake up? What is going on? Seeing both Naruto and Menma awake, the group couldn't help but silently criticize the doctor for being unreliable.

Seeing them like this, Naruto felt his blood boil with excitement and insisted on joining in.

"Wait a second, brother, have you mastered the Rasengan yet?" Menma called out to stop Naruto.

"Not... not yet." Naruto scratched his head awkwardly.

"Then let's head downstairs." With that, Menma waited at the top of the stairs for Naruto to come over.

"Coming." Naruto jogged over and prepared to head down.

"I have to say, your acting is really terrible, I'm afraid you can only..." Before Menma could finish his sentence, Naruto's foot slipped, his body swayed, and he looked like he was about to fall.

Menma was still standing with his arms crossed, mocking the group's poor acting skills, and before he could finish his thought, he felt a sudden tug.

Off-balance, Naruto grabbed onto the nearest thing like a drowning man clutching a straw, refusing to let go. He had grabbed the hem of Menma's clothes, and at this rate, an accident was inevitable.

Sure enough, the two of them tumbled straight down the stairs together. The group on the second floor was startled and immediately rushed to the railing to look down.

"Naruto! Menma!" They shouted and immediately ran down. Might Guy, moving in a hurry, suddenly slipped as well.

As expected, another accident was bound to happen. Since Might Guy was at the very back, his slip was like knocking over a row of dominoes; everyone in front of him pitched forward, tumbling down the stairs just like Naruto and Menma.

By this time, Naruto and Menma had just climbed to their feet. Naruto clutched his head and shouted, "Ah, that hurts like hell!"

Menma also sat up, rubbing his chin, and said, "Sss~ No, brother, you..." Before Menma could finish, a commotion suddenly erupted from the stairs.

"Get out of the way!" Kakashi yelled.

Naruto and Menma hadn't even recovered their senses when they saw the others tumbling down the stairs just like they had. The two were horrified, but it was too late to react, and the group crashed into a pile.

"Ah~ that hurts! Teacher Kakashi, what are you guys doing?" Naruto complained.

"Sss~ what is this mess? Tell me, is there any other bad luck I haven't encountered today?" Menma muttered to himself.

Suddenly, as if in response to Menma, the broom leaning against the wall tipped over directly toward him, but Menma didn't notice.

Bang! Without surprise, the broom smacked right onto Menma's head.

"Ah!" Menma clutched his head again, and the group burst into laughter at the sight.

"Ah! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!" Menma cried out in pain.

Hiruzen Sarutobi hadn't expected to see this scene through his crystal ball. He had intended to check on Naruto and Menma's condition, but the moment he opened the view, he saw Naruto slip, pull Menma down with him, followed by the panicked group rushing down, Might Guy slipping, and everyone tumbling down together.

Finally, the seven of them were in a heap, and now only Menma was rubbing his head while everyone else was laughing.

"Idiots." Seeing this, Hiruzen Sarutobi almost couldn't help but laugh out loud.

By evening, Jiraiya, Kakashi, Might Guy, Asuma, and Kurenai left after confirming that Naruto and Menma were fine.

The group spent the entire afternoon together, with Jiraiya taking the opportunity to guide Naruto through the second stage of his Rasengan training.

After bidding the others farewell, the two went upstairs and collapsed onto their beds, exhausted, once they reached their respective rooms.

Menma lay on his bed, closed his eyes, and entered the Sealing Space.

"Hello, Kurama, I'm back again." Menma greeted him while walking toward where Kurama was.

"Hmph, brat, you were quite a mess today." Kurama looked at Menma with a mocking expression.

Menma's mouth twitched. "You really know how to hit a sore spot." He pouted and muttered under his breath.

After saying that, Menma walked inside the cage and sat down in front of Kurama.

"By the way, Kurama, this is the first time we've been this close, right?" Menma said with a smile.

"Brat, I didn't invite you in. Get out." Kurama made a gesture as if to shoo him away.

"No, no, no. Kurama, I came here to ask: if Naruto wanted to be like us, would it be very difficult?" Menma asked, getting straight to the point.

"Like us? In my opinion, my other half isn't as easy to talk to as I am. That brat Naruto is clumsy with his words, unlike your glib tongue; he'll likely suffer quite a bit." Kurama replied.

"I see. I understand now." Menma said after a moment of thought.

"Tell me, brat, you didn't just come to ask me about that, did you? Is there something you want to ask of me?" Nine-Tails looked at him as if he had seen right through Menma.

"Ah, you saw right through me." Menma scratched his head, looking as awkward as someone caught doing something wrong.

"Hmph! What is it? Let's hear it." Nine-Tails lay back down and closed his eyes to rest, seemingly waiting for Menma to speak.

"Hehehe, it's actually nothing much. I just wanted to ask you for some chakra, Kurama." Menma grinned, scratching his head with one hand, looking embarrassed.

"Borrowing chakra from me? What are you going to do?" Kurama suddenly grew curious and stood back up to ask.

"I wanted to keep it a secret, but I promised not to lie to a friend, so I'll tell you the truth: I want to steal the Scroll of Seals to resurrect my mother." Menma explained.

"What? Using my chakra to steal something? Hey, brat, have you lost your mind! I have no interest in such petty thievery." Kurama looked down at Menma from his high-and-mighty position.

"Oh, come on, Kurama, you're the best. I'm just going to take a look, not steal it away. Please, please, just this once, I beg you, Kurama." Menma began to act like a rascal in front of Kurama.

"Hmph! There's really no helping you, brat. Only this once." With that, Kurama gave his chakra to Menma.

"Great! I knew Kurama was the best." Menma ran out excitedly, but stopped halfway. He turned back, bowed to Kurama, and then ran out.

"This brat... he's getting more and more interesting." Kurama grinned as he watched this scene.

At that moment, Menma suddenly opened his eyes. He got out of bed, quietly slipped out of his room, and tiptoed to the door of Naruto's room, cracking it open to peek inside.

Naruto was already fast asleep and did not notice Menma's movements.

Excellent, operation start! Menma thought excitedly to himself.