The Two in Dire Straits

The air hung heavy with sorrow and gravity, the lingering echoes of a brutal battle still refusing to dissipate.

A ninja followed in the footsteps of Hiruzen Sarutobi as he entered this grief-stricken area. His gaze fell upon the two infants still wrapped in swaddling clothes on the ground, and after a moment of hesitation, he asked softly, "Lord Third, what should be done with these two children?"

"Take these two children back to the village to be settled first; I will arrange for their care," Hiruzen Sarutobi replied, slowly standing up to face the ninja.

Upon hearing Hiruzen Sarutobi's response, the jonin nodded and said, "I understand, Lord Third." He and another jonin then picked up Naruto and Menma and headed toward Konoha.

Just as they were about to leave, several more jonin arrived. Seeing the scene before them, they couldn't help but be struck with shock: "Lord Fourth... Lady Kushina..." A wave of sorrow washed over everyone present.

"Bring Minato and Kushina back to the village; they are the heroes of our Konoha!" With that, Hiruzen Sarutobi let out a slow sigh and returned to the village with the remains of Minato and Kushina.

Three years passed like flowing water, yet the atmosphere inside the Hokage's office remained as stifling as the air before a storm. A look of unquestionable hardness shone in Danzo's eyes as he slammed his hand onto the Hokage's desk with a loud "Bang!", causing the documents on the table to tremble.

He roared at Hiruzen Sarutobi, "Hiruzen! Regardless of anything else, one of these two jinchuriki should be handed over to Root for training. That shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat before his desk, puffing on his pipe. After exhaling a ring of smoke, he said to Danzo, "Danzo, these two children are the sons of Minato and Kushina. I do not wish for them to be tainted by darkness; I only want to fulfill Kushina's final request and let them grow up happily."

A cold sneer curled the corner of Danzo's mouth, his expression filled with ruthlessness and disdain. He spoke slowly, his voice laced with cold, calculating logic: "Grow up happily? Hmph! Once they became jinchuriki, a carefree life became impossible. The way the village treats them, you..."

Before Danzo could finish, Hiruzen Sarutobi slammed his hand on the desk, cutting him off: "You know full well who is spreading those rumors!" Hiruzen Sarutobi took a puff of his pipe and added, "Give it up. I will not hand either of the children over to your Root."

At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi exuded the true authority of the Hokage. Seeing him like this, Danzo had no choice but to relent: "Then, I will arrange for a few Root members to protect them from the shadows. That shouldn't be a problem, right?" Danzo seemed to be making a concession, watching Hiruzen Sarutobi closely.

Hiruzen Sarutobi said nothing, continuing to puff on his pipe as he slowly turned his head away.

"Since you aren't speaking, I'll take that as your consent," Danzo said, gritting his teeth as he watched Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"I have already arranged for the Anbu directly under the Hokage to protect them from the shadows. There is no need to trouble your Root," Hiruzen Sarutobi said slowly, without looking back.

"Hiruzen! You... Hmph!" Danzo turned and stormed out in a rage, slamming the door shut behind him.

The moment the door closed, another "Bang!" echoed, and the documents on the desk shook once more.

Watching Danzo storm out, Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help but sigh, returning to his pipe in silence.

On the streets of Konoha, two boys with yellow hair and blue eyes walked together—one with three whisker marks on each cheek, the other with two. Everywhere they went, they were met with pointing fingers and whispers.

Naruto looked at the people around them, then glanced at Menma, asking in confusion, "Menma, why do they treat us like this?"

Menma had his hands behind his head, a blade of grass dangling loosely from his mouth. His eyes were narrowed slightly, as if shielding himself from the strange gazes of the crowd.

He replied with indifference, "Who cares about them? The gossip of those people is just like the wind—let it blow however it wants. It doesn't change anything anyway. We just need to be ourselves."

Naruto looked thoughtful after hearing this, then dug into his pocket to check his remaining money, asking, "Menma, how much money do you have left?"

Menma lowered his hands and patted his pockets, sighing, "Sigh, my dear brother, can you stop buying so much candy in the future? They don't even want to eat your candy, so why buy so much? Now we have to survive on candy every day."

Seeing Menma's troubled face, Naruto gave an embarrassed smile: "Alright, I won't do it again. How about we go eat out today?"

Watching Naruto's excitement, Menma agreed helplessly: "Sigh, looks like it's fish again." With that, Menma followed Naruto toward a small stream near the forest.

"Great! Let's catch some fish and have a feast today!" Naruto clenched his fists in excitement and pulled out a homemade fishing rod. Menma looked at the neurotic Naruto, feeling too exhausted to even complain.

"Sigh, if only we had Minato and Kushina's inheritance, we wouldn't have to be here fishing," Menma muttered to himself.

"What did you say, Menma? What inheritance?" Naruto asked, his eyes wide with curiosity.

Menma felt a jolt in his heart. He knew it wasn't the time to bring up that topic, especially since his knowledge of this so-called 'inheritance' was merely a guess.

He quickly covered up, "Nothing... nothing at all. I was just thinking of a new way to catch fish." Menma gave an awkward laugh, trying to divert Naruto's attention.

"A new way? What new way?" Naruto looked at Menma with starry, expectant eyes.

"Well... my method might not necessarily catch fish. You should stick to fishing; if I fail, we'll go hungry," Menma said, looking at the situation helplessly.

Naruto's expectant gaze dimmed slightly, and he replied, "Fine, let's see who can catch more fish."

"Deal!" Menma replied, then began searching for stones.

Before long, a pile of stones of various sizes sat by the stream. Menma took off his shoes, picked up a fist-sized rock, and stepped into the water.

Menma used the stones to build a small fish trap along the bank, wide at the entrance and narrow at the back. Looking at his completed trap, he felt a sense of accomplishment.

He had watched plenty of wilderness survival videos in the past, and actually putting it into practice made him feel like a survival expert.

"Uh, Menma... are you just playing with rocks? Didn't you say you were going to catch fish?" Naruto asked, standing on the bank and looking at the trap in confusion.

"Hehe, just watch. I'm going to win for sure." Menma placed some earthworms into the trap and walked over to sit next to Naruto.

Naruto looked at the confident Menma, instinctively gripping his fishing rod tighter. He stared fixedly at the water, shouting with fighting spirit, "Just you wait! I'm definitely going to be the winner!" No sooner had he spoken than the rod vibrated. Naruto's eyes lit up; he knew a fish had taken the bait.

Naruto pulled the rod up with force, and a fish was hauled out: "See? That's my second fish already!" Naruto looked at Menma, showing off.

Menma shook his head helplessly and turned his gaze toward the distance.

At that very moment, this scene was being observed by Hiruzen Sarutobi, who had been watching the two brothers for a while through a crystal ball in the Hokage's office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi was startled. "Have I been discovered? Is this child's sensory ability really that sharp?" he said in shock.

In truth, it wasn't Menma's sensory ability that was strong; it was just that a strangely shaped cloud happened to be drifting by in that direction.

"That cloud... it looks like... a head-pat emoji..." Menma looked at the oddly shaped cloud, which resembled a head-patting expression, and couldn't help but mutter to himself.

But this casual glance acted like a key, instantly unlocking the doors to his memories.

The image of that mysterious man from three years ago, endlessly sending head-pat emojis, flashed through his mind, followed immediately by the image of the powerful and dangerous Madara.

At the thought of potentially facing a formidable enemy like Madara in the future, Menma's heart trembled violently, and his face turned pale.

"Menma, are you not feeling well? Why is your face so pale?" Naruto noticed Menma's abnormality and asked with concern.

"It's... it's nothing, just a bit cold," Menma replied, snapping out of his daze as he turned to look at Naruto.

"The water is indeed quite chilly. If you're cold, let's start a fire," Naruto said. With that, he set down his fishing rod, reached out to pull Menma up, and the two went to the side to build a fire.

Watching this scene, a complex wave of emotions welled up in Menma's heart, and he sighed to himself, He is clearly just a child himself, yet he still takes care of me, who looks just as young. Even though I am the younger brother, this feeling of being taken care of is truly quite strange.

In the blink of an eye, dusk arrived. Menma came to the small fishpond and, seeing several fish inside, felt a surge of joy and immediately called Naruto over to help catch them.

"So amazing! As expected of my little brother!" Naruto said happily as he looked at the fish in the pond.

Hearing Naruto say this, Menma felt that strange sensation once again.

In the evening, Naruto and Menma sat by the fire roasting fish. The fire crackled and popped, and the aroma of the grilled fish constantly wafted into their noses.

"There are still several fish left in the pond, so we won't have to worry about food for the next two or three days," Naruto said happily.

"Yeah, and with this time, I can also do some training," Menma sighed, looking up at the starry sky.

"By the way, Menma, what kind of people do you think our mom and dad were?" Naruto looked at Menma, then back at the starry sky, and asked.

"Mom and dad, huh? Who knows? They must have been extraordinary people; maybe they were even Hokage," Menma said slowly, still gazing at the stars.

"Hokage, you say? Sooner or later, I will become Hokage and gain everyone's recognition!" Naruto declared with conviction.

Watching Naruto still hold onto becoming Hokage as his dream, Menma couldn't help but sigh in his heart.