A Talk with Hiruzen Sarutobi

The two were chatting when a sudden voice broke the peaceful silence.

"Sorry to interrupt." A figure slowly approached. He was an elderly man with a lined face, and though his steps were a little sluggish, he carried himself with a steady air. He walked right up to the brothers.

Naruto looked at the old man, whom he had never seen before, and asked, "Who are you, old man?"

At first glance, Menma recognized him. The newcomer was the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"I'm just an old man passing by." Hiruzen looked at Naruto's puzzled expression and Menma's silence as he answered.

Then Hiruzen caught the aroma of grilled fish, and his stomach began to growl. Naruto burst out laughing at the sound, and Hiruzen gave an awkward laugh too.

Naruto picked up a grilled fish and held it out to Hiruzen. "Here, old man, you can have this. I caught it today, and it's the first one, so you can have it!"

Looking at Naruto's beaming smile, Hiruzen glanced at Menma beside him and said, "Really? Thank you. This fish looks delicious."

Hearing that, Naruto immediately looked smug, as if to say, "Well, look who caught it."

"What? I'm the one who caught the most fish," Menma muttered, watching Naruto's smug expression.

Naruto picked up another grilled fish and handed it to Menma. Just as he was about to grab one for himself, Menma, sitting beside him, spoke up.

"Big brother, how about you go get two more fish from the pond?" Menma looked at Naruto expectantly.

"Honestly... Fine." Naruto slowly got to his feet and headed toward the pond.

Menma took a bite of grilled fish. Once Naruto was far enough away, he turned to Hiruzen and said, "Lord Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, did you run out of money for food and come here to steal our fish?"

At those words, Hiruzen seemed to choke violently on a fish bone. His body jolted, and he began coughing hard, his face turning slightly red. It took him a while to catch his breath. Then, surprise in his eyes, he looked at Menma.

"So you already know who I am?" Hiruzen asked curiously.

"Your face is carved so big on Kage Rock. Only Naruto wouldn't recognize you," Menma replied, sounding as if he were teasing him.

Hiruzen awkwardly scratched his head and smiled. "Is that so? I see."

Seeing Hiruzen like this, Menma couldn't help studying him.

Hiruzen noticed Menma staring at him and asked, "Is there something on my face?"

"No. I'm just checking whether you look guilty." Menma took a bite of grilled fish and answered calmly.

"Guilty?" Hiruzen looked at Menma with surprise and curiosity, wanting to know why he had said that.

"Don't you know, Lord Third? What my mother, Kushina Uzumaki, said to you."

"You..." Hiruzen was speechless, staring at Menma in disbelief.

"Hard to believe, isn't it? I find it hard to believe too. I remember everything from the moment I was born. Maybe it's because of the Nine-Tails inside me." Menma took a bite of fish and rubbed his stomach with one hand.

Hiruzen was even more astonished. He sighed as he looked at Menma. "I truly am sorry about what happened to your parents. I..." Before Hiruzen could finish, Menma cut him off.

"You don't need to apologize to me. If you want to apologize, apologize to our parents. You didn't keep your promise to them!" Menma set down his grilled fish and spoke angrily.

"I know. I was wrong about that," Hiruzen replied guiltily.

"That's not all you did wrong. If you'd acted sooner, our parents wouldn't have died. If you'd been firmer, those rumors wouldn't have spread all over Konoha. And if you'd paid even a little attention to Naruto and me, we wouldn't have ended up so poor that we had to catch fish ourselves just to eat." Menma's eyes reddened slightly, as if he were standing up for Naruto.

Hiruzen looked at Menma, then at the direction Naruto had gone, and sighed. "You're right. I was wrong, and I made life so difficult for you. What kind of compensation do you want? I'll do everything I can to provide it."

Seeing that Hiruzen had finally gotten to the point, Menma's eyes lit up. He said at once, "We're not asking for much. We just want our parents' inheritance, their house, and my father's Ninja Book." His gaze was firm, as if he had given this request a great deal of thought.

Hiruzen looked at Menma's earnest expression and took a bite of fish. After a long pause, he answered, "All right. I agree. I'll have everything arranged within two days."

When Menma saw that Hiruzen had agreed, a happy smile bloomed across his face. "Big brother was right. Lord Third really is a good Hokage." To Menma, Hiruzen agreeing to their request was proof that he deserved to be recognized as Hokage. Then Menma laughed heartily.

Hiruzen awkwardly joined in, laughing along with Menma.

After a while, Menma turned serious and leaned toward Hiruzen. "Lord Third, about my name. My mother named me Menma Namikaze. Why was it changed to Uzumaki Menma? Was it so no one would figure out we were the Fourth Hokage's sons?"

Hiruzen didn't seem surprised that Menma knew. He answered slowly, "That's right. The Yellow Flash was too famous. To keep our enemies from coming after you, we had to change your name to Uzumaki Menma."

"I thought as much." Menma lowered his head slightly, as if considering something deeper.

After a while, he looked up at Hiruzen and said earnestly, "Lord Third, I hope you won't tell Naruto about our conversation. The reason is simple: I don't want Mom to find out what our life is like now. I doubt you want to face the blazing fury of the Red Hot Habanero, either." Menma's lips curled as he teased the Third Hokage, thinking, Sweating bullets now, Old Third Hokage?

Hiruzen sighed as he looked at Menma. "All right. I won't tell Naruto."

"What aren't you supposed to tell me?" Naruto asked curiously as he returned.

Hiruzen froze for a moment and quickly glanced at Menma, his mind racing as he tried to come up with an excuse. A moment later, he smiled at Naruto. "Well, Naruto, Menma just said he was planning to sneak one of your fish, and he asked me not to tell you."

Hearing Hiruzen's explanation, Menma wasn't sure whether to praise or curse him. That really is one wily old fox. What a shame you never became a Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

Seeing Menma fall silent, and knowing what he was like, Naruto immediately grew angry. "Menma, how could you sneak my fish while I was gone?"

Menma looked at Naruto's furious face, unsure what to say. He could only grit his teeth and admit it. What else could he do—tell Naruto the truth?

That wouldn't do. Back then, Mizuki's words had nearly pushed Naruto to the brink of darkness. If Iruka hadn't appeared in time to trust and support him, Naruto might really have fallen into darkness.

"I didn't eat any, did I? I was only joking. Do you really have to take it so seriously?" Menma turned away, pretending to be angry too.

Seeing this, Hiruzen couldn't help laughing. "All right, you two don't need to fight over one fish. Didn't you say you had plenty? What's one more?"

Naruto sat down, simply prepared the two fish he'd brought back, skewered them on a stick, and set them by the fire to roast.

After a while, the three sat on the ground, satisfied. Hiruzen used the time to teach them about the Will of Fire. Naruto listened with great interest, but Menma wasn't taken by it. His purpose was simple: to stay by Naruto's side as his younger brother.

The sky gradually darkened, and night slowly draped itself over Konoha like a black silk cloth. After saying goodbye to Hiruzen, Naruto took Menma back to their cramped home.

A faint chill lingered in the room, and a small bed took up nearly all the space. Naruto soon fell asleep, breathing evenly and peacefully. Menma rested both hands behind his head and silently gazed at the cold moon outside. Moonlight streamed through the window and fell across his face, as if frosting it with silver.

"Kaguya Otsutsuki, huh? I really should start preparing. I need to find a way to get my hands on the Scroll of Seals and take a look." Menma thought this over. He had considered using Edo Tensei on Kushina and Minato. He didn't think it would be difficult to obtain the flesh and blood, but robbing his own parents' graves felt a little strange.

"I'm going to be Hokage someday! ... Zzz..." Naruto suddenly shouted. Menma seemed used to it. He glanced at Naruto, then closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.