Itachi and Sasuke

That day, Menma was training alone in the forest as usual.

Ever since he had collapsed from overtraining last time, he had never trained that recklessly again.

After all, his body was still that of a child, and neither his stamina nor his mental strength could withstand that kind of strain. Still, after practicing for a while, Menma's stamina had improved considerably.

"Wow, you're amazing, just like I'd expect from my big brother!" A slightly childish voice came from nearby.

Huh? There are other people here? Well, it's not like this forest is ever short on geniuses. Menma didn't find it strange.

With that thought, he headed toward the source of the voice.

Uchiha Itachi was demonstrating his shuriken-throwing skills to Uchiha Sasuke. Even the targets hidden in his blind spots couldn't escape a bull's-eye.

"Big brother, teach me," Sasuke asked eagerly.

Itachi crouched down, smiling warmly as he beckoned Sasuke over.

Sasuke happily ran to him.

"Forgive me, Sasuke. I'll teach you next time." Itachi lightly tapped Sasuke on the forehead.

"You always do this! You always say you'll teach me next time." Sasuke's face flushed red. Pouting, he glared at Itachi and complained.

"Pfft—hahaha... Cough, cough. Sorry, I couldn't help myself." Watching from a tree, Menma burst out laughing.

The two looked toward the sound. A blond, blue-eyed boy stood on a tree, grinning at them, with two whisker-like marks on each cheek.

"Who are you? What's so funny?" Sasuke asked first, glaring at Menma indignantly.

"Sorry, I wasn't deliberately spying on you. I'm Uzumaki Menma. Judging by your clan crest, you're from the Uchiha Clan, right?" Menma replied with a smile.

"Uzumaki Menma? You're the one who went berserk a while ago..." Sasuke hadn't finished speaking before Itachi covered his mouth.

"Sorry, Menma. My little brother's still young and doesn't know any better. I hope you won't hold it against him," Itachi explained.

"I'm still young too. Maybe I should be calling him big brother," Menma said casually.

Itachi smiled, as if suddenly remembering something. "Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Uchiha Itachi, and this is my younger brother, Uchiha Sasuke."

"Uchiha Itachi? You're that Uchiha prodigy. I've heard of you." Menma jumped down from the tree.

"Menma, are you playing here by yourself?" Itachi asked.

"I'm not playing. I was training over there, but I heard voices and got curious, so I came to take a look." Menma pointed in a direction as he spoke.

"I see. I was training with my younger brother," Itachi said with a smile.

"What's that supposed to mean? You only showed me how to do it, then said you'd teach me next time." Sasuke still looked dissatisfied, pouting indignantly.

"I see. But does training really have to be done with your big brother? I've never clung to mine." Menma teased Sasuke.

Itachi seemed to know something, but simply watched the two of them in silence.

"Then your big brother definitely isn't as strong as mine!" Sasuke stepped closer and said seriously.

"Yeah, that's true. My big brother isn't as strong as yours." Menma didn't think there was anything wrong with what Sasuke had said.

"But who knows what'll happen in the future," Menma added.

Sasuke gritted his teeth, wanting to argue, but unable to think of anything to say.

Sasuke's face turned bright red. After a long moment, he said, "How can you know what'll happen in the future?"

"Exactly. You can't know what'll happen in the future. My big brother can't beat yours right now, but that might not always be the case." Menma wore a mischievous grin, as if trying to lure Sasuke into a "trap" he had set.

Sasuke couldn't think of anything to say, so he could only look to Itachi for help.

Itachi still said nothing, simply watching the two of them.

"Always asking other people for help. If you keep that up, you'll never grow up." Menma looked at Sasuke and spoke with a hint of mockery.

"You... You..." Menma seemed to have struck a nerve. Sasuke glared at him.

For a moment, Menma didn't know what to say either. When Rin died, Obito had awakened the Mangekyō with two tomoe. Sasuke, meanwhile, only awakened the one-tomoe Sharingan after his clan was massacred.

"What, did I hit a nerve? You're just a baby who only knows how to depend on others. I'll tell you this: I'm different from you. I don't even have parents. I've lived with my twin brother since I was little," Menma continued, deliberately provoking Sasuke.

"You... You..." Sasuke's face grew even redder as he glared at Menma in anger.

"Good grief, the baby's angry. Itachi, shouldn't you comfort your little brother?" Menma teased Sasuke, then glanced at Itachi.

"You... I'm not a baby!" Sasuke shouted furiously and charged straight at Menma.

Menma stood still, watching Sasuke run toward him without moving.

"Ah!" Sasuke yelled as he raised his fist and swung at Menma.

"What an idiot." Menma caught Sasuke's fist with one hand, then flung it aside and kicked him in the knee. Sasuke cried out in pain and dropped to one knee.

Menma moved behind Sasuke and restrained him. "Charging at someone while yelling—is that how you work up your courage? You can't beat me like that, baby." Menma mocked him, then let go.

"Instead of clinging to your big brother all the time, you should spend that time training—unless you want me to keep calling you a baby." With that, Menma stood up and walked toward Itachi without looking back.

"Don't comfort him. If you really love him, how can he grow into a great tree without weathering a storm?" Menma said, hands behind his head, without turning around.

Itachi looked at Menma strangely. He couldn't sense any malice from him. It seemed Menma was deliberately provoking Sasuke.

Itachi glanced at Sasuke, who was kneeling on the ground. Sasuke faced the earth as large drops of tears fell.

He had never suffered such a humiliation before, and the worst part was that his big brother wasn't helping him.

"Hey, baby. Looks like I should call you crybaby instead." Menma drove the point home without looking back.

"You!" Sasuke looked up angrily at Menma's retreating back. His pupils turned bloodred, and a single tomoe quietly appeared. Then, for some reason, he toppled forward.

"This..." Itachi was stunned. He hadn't expected Sasuke to awaken his Sharingan just like that. Itachi's reaction caught Menma's attention. Menma turned around and saw that Sasuke had indeed awakened the One-Tomoe Sharingan.

He had thought he might need to provoke Sasuke several more times for it to work. He hadn't expected to succeed on the first try. Things had gone beyond what he'd anticipated.

"Good grief. Looks like he's even more talented than I expected. I thought I'd have to provoke him a few more times before he awakened it." Menma made no attempt to hide what he was thinking.

"Menma, why did you do that? It's too soon for Sasuke," Itachi said, a trace of anger in his voice.

"Itachi, you really are exceptional, but you're too conceited. You've planned your little brother's whole life for him. Have you ever asked whether he wants that? You might not understand what I mean, but sooner or later, you will." With a poof, Menma vanished from the spot.

"A Shadow Clone?" Itachi murmured, watching Menma disappear. Then he walked over to Sasuke.

"Thankfully, he only fainted. It might have been a little harsh, but the result was good." Itachi smiled, picked Sasuke up, and carried him home.

When he got home, Itachi told Fugaku everything that had happened.

"You're saying that someone named Uzumaki Menma deliberately provoked Sasuke into awakening his Sharingan, and it worked?" Fugaku looked at Itachi in disbelief.

"That's right, Father," Itachi replied firmly.

"This Nine-Tails Jinchuriki gives me a strange feeling, Mikoto," Fugaku muttered, then called toward the kitchen.

"What is it, dear? Do you need something?" Uchiha Mikoto came out and asked in confusion.

"We'll go visit Kushina's orphan later. Get ready," Fugaku told Mikoto.

"Hmm? Is that really all right? I don't know much about the situation, but people in the village say that we..." Mikoto was interrupted before she could finish.

"We have no choice. There are things we need to get to the bottom of," Fugaku said, sounding as if he were giving an order.

"All right, I understand. I'll get ready." With that, Mikoto went back to the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Naruto was playing with the other children in the park, while Menma sat on a swing watching them. Menma had been spending time playing with Naruto lately. After all, playing was a child's nature. But they couldn't neglect training either, so he had sent a clone to train.

"Menma, come play with us!" Inuzuka Kiba called to him.

"Menma, come on!" Naruto called too.

Naruto had made quite a few friends lately. Ever since the Nine-Tails had gone berserk that day, the villagers' attitudes had changed somewhat, and the rumors had fallen apart on their own.

The Root member who had been captured that day activated the Sealing Jutsu inside his body while being interrogated, so in the end, they got nothing out of him.

"Coming, coming." Menma jumped down and went over.

Sakura, Shikamaru, Ino, Choji, Kiba, and Naruto were all there.

"So, what are you planning to play?" Menma asked.

"Hide-and-seek," Kiba said confidently.

"Hey, wouldn't hide-and-seek be a little unfair, Kiba? You have that nose..." Menma looked at him.

"I just won't be the seeker, then," Kiba said.

"Fine, fine. So who's going to be the seeker?" Menma picked at his ear, looking unconcerned.

"You, Menma," everyone except Shikamaru said in perfect unison.

"Me?" Menma asked, pointing at himself in confusion.

Everyone nodded to confirm.

"Fine, fine. I'll count to twenty." With that, Menma covered his eyes and began counting.

"One... Two... Three... Twenty! Here I come!"

After counting, Menma lowered his hand and looked around.

"Is everyone hidden? I'm coming to find you." With that, Menma began searching.

Meanwhile, behind a bush...

"Hey, Naruto, don't hide with me," Shikamaru whispered to Naruto, who was hiding beside him.

"It's too late to say that now. Menma's already finished counting," Naruto said.

"Aha! I found you two, big brother and Shikamaru." Menma suddenly vaulted into the bush and looked at them.

"Two found. Four left."

Menma went to a tree and jumped up.

"Kiba, found you."

"Did you find me that fast? Damn it." Kiba looked a little frustrated.

From his perch in the tree, Menma spotted Ino sneaking around in the distance.

Menma immediately jumped down from the tree and went to the flower bed.

"Ino, I saw you from the tree," Menma said, looking toward the flowers.

"Ugh, you found me so quickly." Ino stood up and said dejectedly.

"Four found. Two left." Then his peripheral vision caught movement behind the flowerbed. "Ahem, Sakura, aren't you coming out?"

Hearing that, Sakura had no choice but to come out. "You found me so fast."

"That just leaves Choji." With that, Menma looked around and suddenly heard someone eating.

Menma walked over and looked behind a large rock. There was Choji, eating.

"Aha, found you, Choji." The others gathered around too.

"Looks like having Menma be the seeker wasn't such a good idea after all." Ino spread her hands helplessly.

"Weren't you the ones who wanted me to be the seeker?" Menma said helplessly.

"Whenever Menma's the seeker, he either finds us right away, or we can't find him at all," Kiba said, sounding rather dissatisfied.