The next morning, sunlight streamed through the small window and spilled into the shabby room. Naruto slowly rubbed his eyes and sleepily realized that the spot beside him, where Menma should have been sleeping, was empty.
Still half-asleep, Naruto called out, "Menma, are you home?" Just then, Menma poked his head out from the kitchen, a faint smile on his face. "Hey! Naruto's up? There's ramen on the table, just the way you like it. Go ahead and eat. I've already eaten."
Naruto looked at Menma and thought he seemed like a completely different person today. Menma never got up this early. Usually, he slept in and then stayed in bed even longer.
A hint of suspicion stirred in Naruto, but the moment he heard there was ramen to eat, the thought vanished. His eyes lit up, and he leaped out of bed. "That's great! Ramen again!"
Then Naruto suddenly seemed to realize something and asked Menma, "Weren't we out of money? Where did the ramen come from?"
When Menma saw Naruto asking that, he called him over. As soon as Naruto came over and saw what was on the table, he was stunned.
"Th-this much stuff? Who gave it to us?" Naruto stared at the items covering the table and asked Menma in shock.
"It's nothing. The Third gave it to us. He said it was our parents' inheritance or something. There's also a house, so we can finally move out of this rundown little place," Menma explained.
Naruto seemed to have latched onto the important part. "The Third gave us our parents' inheritance?" He stared at Menma in disbelief.
"Yeah. Let's go take a look at the house Mom and Dad used to live in later. We'll be living there from now on," Menma replied, looking at Naruto's incredulous face.
Menma had originally thought they would have to wait a little longer, since Hiruzen Sarutobi had said it would take two days. After all, handling an inheritance was probably rather complicated. But to his surprise, when he got up early the next morning, he found that everything had already been delivered.
Menma couldn't help feeling a little surprised by Hiruzen Sarutobi's efficiency. At the same time, he felt a touch of gratitude for the care Hiruzen had shown them.
"I counted some of it. Our parents left quite a lot. There's ten million ryo here alone—enough to support us for a long time." Menma pointed at the money neatly arranged on the table, unable to hide his astonishment.
"Um... Brother, if you're done, hurry up and finish breakfast, then come help me sort through this. I want to look at Dad's Ninja Book." Menma spoke to Naruto, who was still standing there in a daze.
"Ah... okay." Naruto hurried off to wash up, then ate his ramen.
Menma opened Minato's Ninja Book and began leafing through it. "I knew it... I can't read it?"
Menma felt as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water over him. He had eagerly opened Minato's Ninja Book, only to find that aside from a few characters, he didn't recognize any of the writing.
Like a deflated balloon, Menma slumped helplessly over the table.
"Menma, what's wrong?" Naruto came up beside him, gave him a shake, and asked.
"I'm fine. I just realized that I barely recognize any of the writing in Dad's Ninja Book," Menma replied, spreading his hands helplessly.
Naruto glanced at Minato's Ninja Book and realized he couldn't recognize a single character either. Only then did he realize that neither he nor Menma had ever been taught to read.
Menma was deeply troubled. He thought to himself that it would be nice if the writing were Chinese, but this was the writing of the Naruto world, and he couldn't understand it at all. Their only option was to find someone to teach them to read. But who would be willing to teach them? Their circumstances were special—they were Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails, and their lives in the village weren't easy.
Menma thought it over. It seemed they had no other option but to ask the Third for help. With that in mind, he hopped down from his chair and walked to the door.
"Brother, I'm going to the Hokage Office Building. Are you coming?" Menma asked Naruto.
"Of course! You know we've hardly ever been apart since we were little. Besides, I've wanted to visit the Hokage Office Building for ages." Naruto looked a little excited.
"Then let's go." Menma put on his shoes and, once Naruto was ready, headed for the Hokage Office.
As the Naruto brothers made their way along Konoha's streets, the villagers around them cast strange looks their way. Their gazes were mixed with fear, disgust, and curiosity. Wherever the boys went, people whispered and pointed. Some even avoided them from a distance, as if they were a plague.
Naruto kept his head down, watching the road beneath his feet. Each time he felt those gazes, his spirits sank further. His heart filled with confusion and sadness. He couldn't understand why everyone looked at them that way.
Menma walked ahead as if nothing were wrong. His eyes seemed not to focus on the villagers, but he kept track of everything around them from the corner of his eye.
Every so often, he glanced at Naruto. Seeing Naruto's dejected expression made his own heart heavy, as though a great stone weighed it down.
Before long, they arrived at the entrance to the Hokage Building. The two of them stopped in front of the two Chunin standing guard.
"Um... hello, sir. Could we see Lord Hokage? We have something important to tell him," Menma said, a little awkwardly.
Menma was a rather introverted person to begin with, and he got nervous when talking to people he didn't know well.
The two Chunin looked at Menma, then at Naruto. They had recognized the brothers from far away. After all, they were Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails. Aside from the village's younger children, nearly everyone knew who they were.
"Lord Hokage told us that if you came, you could go straight in and see him," one of the Chunin said, clearly reluctant.
"Okay, thank you, sir." Menma then motioned for Naruto to follow him upstairs to see the Third, Hiruzen Sarutobi.
The two Chunin watched the brothers walk away, feeling a pang of sorrow. "Sigh... They're still just children. Why blame two innocent kids for what happened?" the Chunin who had answered Menma murmured to himself.
"Sigh, there's nothing we can do. They're Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails. It can't be helped." Watching Naruto and Menma walk away, the other Chunin also began to feel sympathy for the brothers.
A little while later, the two arrived at the door to the Hokage Office. Menma knocked, and Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice came from inside. "Come in."
With Hiruzen Sarutobi's permission, the two pushed open the door. Inside, they saw the Third, Hiruzen Sarutobi, sitting behind his desk, and an Anbu Ninja with white hair and a mask standing to one side.
"Ah! You're the old grandpa who ate fish with us yesterday!" Naruto exclaimed, pointing at Hiruzen Sarutobi in surprise.
Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled, then looked at Menma beside him and said with a smile, "Little Naruto recognized me. That's right, I'm the Third." After speaking, Hiruzen Sarutobi smiled again.
"Dummy," Menma muttered under his breath, his mouth curling slightly. "Menma, who are you calling a dummy?" Naruto glared at Menma, irritation in his eyes. "Whoever just recognized the Third is a dummy." Menma turned his head aside and folded his arms, looking utterly self-righteous.
The Anbu Ninja standing nearby seemed moved by the sight, as if it had brought back a memory.
Hiruzen Sarutobi keenly noticed Kakashi's slight movement. He turned his eyes toward Kakashi, his gaze calm and meaningful, then gave him a subtle look that seemed to contain a silent order.
Kakashi understood at once and walked out by himself. Menma had recognized Kakashi as soon as he came in. He hadn't expected to run into him here.
"So, what did you come to see me about?" Hiruzen Sarutobi walked over to the brothers and asked like a kind, elderly relative.
"Lord Hokage, I'd like you to find a teacher to teach us how to read," Menma replied directly.
"Oh, I see. I did overlook that. Don't worry—I'll find someone to teach you to read in a little while," Hiruzen Sarutobi said, as if the thought had just occurred to him.
"Do you have any requirements for the teacher?" Hiruzen Sarutobi asked again. He was mainly asking Menma; after investigating for a while, he had found that Menma was usually the one making decisions for the brothers.
"Um... We don't have many requirements. They just have to be able to read. It's fine if they're young; they don't have to be a teacher at the Academy. Even an Academy student could teach us. As for why... Lord Hokage, you understand." Menma looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi as he answered.
Hiruzen Sarutobi understood what Menma meant. Menma wanted someone who was genuinely willing to teach them and didn't care about their Jinchuriki status—or didn't know they were Jinchuriki.
It would certainly be difficult to find someone like that. Children might be more innocent and less prejudiced against them for being Jinchuriki, but the children of Konoha had all been influenced to some extent by the things adults said. Many of them disliked Naruto and Menma too.
Minato and Kushina must have had some friends while they were alive. Although the village hadn't officially announced that Naruto and Menma were their children, those who had known Minato and Kushina well had probably already guessed the truth. For some reason, they simply hadn't brought it up.
So finding someone who was willing to teach them to read and either didn't care that they were Jinchuriki or didn't know about it wouldn't be easy.
"It'll be a little difficult, but it's not impossible. I'll make arrangements as soon as I can, then have that person come to your home," Hiruzen Sarutobi said.
"Okay. We'll wait at our home. You know which one I mean," Menma said, looking at Hiruzen Sarutobi.
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded. He naturally knew Menma meant the house where Minato and Kushina had lived.
After speaking with Hiruzen Sarutobi, Menma and Naruto left the Hokage Building and headed for the place where Minato and Kushina had once lived.
It was some distance from the busy downtown area, making it very quiet.
"Is this the place?" Naruto asked, looking at the villa in front of them.
"Why not try opening the door and see?" Menma took a key from his pocket, went to the door, and tried to unlock it.
"Click!" The door opened, and a cloud of dust greeted them as soon as it swung wide.
They hadn't expected there to be so much dust. The two began coughing, then looked inside and walked into the house.
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