Fugaku's Decision

"If we relinquish the power of the Konoha Military Police Force, wouldn't the Uchiha Clan be left with nothing? Once that happens, won't the other clans start targeting us?" Fugaku asked.

"No, Uncle, you are only looking at the surface. In reality, the very thing causing the decline of the Uchiha Clan is the Konoha Military Police Force. At first, others were indeed wary of the Uchiha Clan, but as time passed, that wariness turned into hostility. Because of this, other clans became even less willing to interact with the Uchiha Clan. With less interaction, they naturally began to distance themselves, and the Uchiha Clan was continuously marginalized." Menma looked at the two of them and explained.

Itachi seemed to understand; after careful consideration, he realized it was indeed the case. "Father, Menma is right. The method he proposed is currently the best course of action," Itachi said.

"It seems there is no other choice," Fugaku sighed helplessly. At the moment, there didn't seem to be a better solution.

"Since you approve of this plan, I will tell you that secret," Menma said as he stood up.

"Back when my father sealed the Nine-Tails, he left his chakra on the seal. The last time the seal loosened, I met my father." As Menma spoke, he glanced at Minato's Hokage cloak.

The two were shocked, staring at Menma with utter disbelief. If that were the case, many things could be explained.

"Now, what you need to do, Uncle, is to purge the radicals within the clan as soon as possible, and then resign from all positions in the Konoha Military Police Force," Menma said.

"Hmm, I understand," Fugaku nodded.

"As for Danzo, in my eyes, he is already a dead man. Now, we just need a reasonable excuse." Menma's face remained calm, as if he were speaking of a trivial matter.

"Understood. If you need any help, just let us know," Fugaku said.

"Let's go, let's head down; they might be getting impatient." With that, Menma left the room.

Fugaku glanced at Minato's Hokage cloak and couldn't help but think: Minato, you have a truly exceptional child. This child's future is limitless.

The three people downstairs heard the commotion from above. After Menma came down, he sat directly next to Naruto.

"Your name is Menma, right? We haven't settled our score from this morning yet. I will prove to you that I'm not a little baby!" Sasuke stood up, looking at Menma angrily, gritting his teeth.

"Alright, Sasuke, Menma is still someone you should call 'older brother'," Mikoto said, pulling Sasuke back and looking at Menma.

"Although I don't know how Menma provoked you, as his brother, I will absolutely not let you bully my younger brother," Naruto stood up and blocked Menma.

"Tch! You guy!" Sasuke raised his fist, ready to fight Naruto.

The other three saw this and were about to intervene.

"Don't bother, you can't beat my brother," Menma said calmly, sitting on the sofa while looking at Sasuke.

"Hmph! Stop looking down on me!" Sasuke jumped up suddenly and swung a punch at Naruto.

"Sasuke, stop!" Mikoto shouted.

"Sasuke!" Fugaku also shouted with authority.

"Whoosh!" In an instant, Menma activated the Flying Thunder God technique, teleporting Naruto directly to his room. Sasuke's punch swung at empty air.

Sasuke looked at the suddenly vanished Naruto, scanning his surroundings, but saw no one, so he turned his target toward Menma.

Just as he was about to move, Itachi blocked Sasuke's path, hoisted him up, and walked toward the door.

"I'm truly sorry, Menma, for the trouble," Mikoto said to Menma, looking embarrassed.

At this moment, Naruto ran out of Menma's room, asking with a confused expression, "What just happened?"

The group looked back toward the second floor, and Naruto ran down.

"Eh? Are you guys leaving already?" Naruto asked, looking at the group by the door.

"Yes, we'll come to see you again another day," Mikoto walked up to Naruto, crouched down, and patted his head.

At this time, Menma rose from the sofa and walked toward the group. "You haven't eaten yet, right?" Menma asked, looking at them.

It was true; Naruto and Menma had intended to just have instant noodles. Fugaku's party had arrived around 3:00 PM and waited for nearly an hour at the door before they returned.

"Ah, we haven't eaten yet. Would you like to join us?" Mikoto asked, smiling at Menma.

Menma nodded, then put his hands behind his head, looking quite relaxed as he said, "Let's go then. Anything but ramen is fine."

"Eh, no ramen?" Naruto looked disappointed.

Mikoto chuckled to herself, while Fugaku looked at Menma, lost in thought.

"Aha! Let's go have hot pot," Mikoto said, as if she had just had an idea, looking at the group.

"Hmm, that works too," Fugaku agreed.

"OK! Let's go!" Naruto once again walked up to Menma in his usual carefree manner, draping his arm over Menma's shoulder, chatting and laughing.

"Sasuke, go join them," Itachi said, putting Sasuke down and looking at him with a smile.

"I don't want to." Sasuke was still sulking, glancing at Itachi, then at the two brothers.

Seeing this, Itachi pulled Sasuke directly in front of Naruto and Menma. After the four exchanged a few words, Naruto burst into loud laughter, but Sasuke seemed even angrier and started chasing after Naruto.

Fugaku and Mikoto saw this and smiled at each other.

"I've decided. I believe in that child, Menma," Fugaku said to Mikoto.

Although Mikoto didn't know the content of the conversation between Menma and Fugaku, she still smiled at him and said, "Even though I don't know what you talked about, I will always support you."

The sun was setting, and the backs of the four children playing ahead were reflected in the eyes of Fugaku and Mikoto. They watched quietly as they followed behind them.

The next day, with only one day left until Kakashi's 18th birthday, Menma had a rare chance to sleep in.

"Yosh! Today, no matter what, I must defeat that guy Kiba!" Naruto shouted loudly from his room.

Hearing the noise from next door, Menma pulled the blanket over his head and went back to sleep.

Suddenly, with a "pop," the door was flung open. "Uzumaki Menma, get up! I have to go teach Kiba that guy a lesson today, and you absolutely have to come watch," Naruto shouted.

"So noisy, let me sleep a little longer." Uzumaki Menma didn't even budge, continuing to sleep.

"Hey! Uzumaki Menma!" Naruto ripped the blanket right off him.

Only then did Uzumaki Menma get up with a look of reluctance. Uzumaki Menma had wanted to give himself a day off today; after over a month of high-intensity training, his body was reaching its limit.

"Right, tomorrow is Kakashi's birthday. Have you prepared a birthday gift?" Uzumaki Menma asked, looking at Naruto as if he had suddenly remembered something.

"I think... I forgot." Naruto scratched his head sheepishly.

"Sigh, didn't I tell you a week ago? Oh, forget it, let's hurry up and get it ready today."

"But..." Naruto seemed to want to say something else.

"It won't be too late to go after you've prepared the birthday gift," Uzumaki Menma said, looking at Naruto helplessly.

"Fine, I guess that's the only way." Naruto walked out, still pondering what kind of gift to give Kakashi.

Uzumaki Menma rolled out of bed, changed his clothes, washed up, and went downstairs.

At this moment, Naruto was still struggling with what gift to give; he really couldn't think of anything suitable.

"Let's go, we'll grab some breakfast and walk around. Maybe you'll figure out what to give him."

The two arrived at a dango shop and each ordered a serving. Just as they were eating their dango, a very familiar figure walked in.

"Uchiha Itachi." Seeing the person arrive, Naruto greeted Uchiha Itachi.

Uchiha Itachi walked over after seeing them, followed by another person—that person was none other than Shisui.

Uchiha Itachi walked over to Naruto and Uzumaki Menma's side and sat down with Shisui.

"Let me introduce you. This is Shisui, my good friend. Shisui, this is Naruto, and this is Uzumaki Menma," Uchiha Itachi introduced them to each other.

"Hello, Shisui-gege, I'm Naruto. I'm the one who's going to become Hokage, and I will gain everyone's recognition." As Naruto spoke, he didn't forget to emphasize his dream.

Uzumaki Menma, on the other hand, remained silent, quietly eating his dango.

"Ah, Shisui-gege, don't mind Uzumaki Menma too much. He just has that kind of personality. Sometimes he doesn't know what he's thinking, and he won't respond no matter how much you call him." Naruto looked at Shisui, then at Uzumaki Menma.

"Is that so? They are truly two cute children. Looking at their age, they should be about the same age as your younger brother, right?" Shisui asked, looking at Uchiha Itachi.

"That's right, they're the same age. In two more years, they can go to the Ninja Academy together," Uchiha Itachi replied with a smile.

At this moment, Uzumaki Menma also snapped back to reality. The mere thought of having to attend the Ninja Academy in two years gave him a headache. Although he really wanted to graduate early to become a genin and then rely on his absolute strength to be promoted to chunin and jonin, he also wanted to stay by Naruto's side. At this moment, he was extremely conflicted.

"Hello, Shisui-gege. Sorry for spacing out just now." Uzumaki Menma scratched his head and apologized to Shisui with a smile.

"It's alright. To be able to focus on one thing so intently, it must be something very important," Shisui said, looking at Uzumaki Menma with a smile.

"I wouldn't say it's very important, I'm just very conflicted," Uzumaki Menma said.

"Oh? Conflicted about what? Can you tell us? Maybe we can offer you some advice," Shisui continued, looking at Uzumaki Menma.

"How should I put it? I'm torn between personal honor and my friends and family, and I don't know what to do," Uzumaki Menma said vaguely, without pointing it out directly.

"As for that, it's something only you can decide. We can't give you much advice, but you just need to follow your own heart," Shisui said.

"Follow my own heart? I understand." Uzumaki Menma repeated the words, then fell into deep thought again, wondering what he was thinking about.