Birthday Party

October 10th, the 52nd year of Konoha, is a special day—it is the fourth birthday of Naruto and Menma.

The sunlight of Konoha Village spilled gently over the streets and alleys, as if adding a festive touch to this special day. The entire village was enveloped in a joyful and warm atmosphere.

Kushina had been busy since early morning, meticulously preparing everything for the birthday party. She had hung colorful paper streamers all over the house, which looked like brilliant rainbows stretching across the rooms.

The courtyard was filled with many colorful balloons; as the breeze blew, they swayed gently, as if dancing with joy.

The table was piled high with all kinds of delicacies, emitting an enticing aroma. Naruto's favorite ramen was served in exquisite bowls, the rich broth and chewy noodles making one's mouth water; the pan-fried dumplings that Menma liked were arranged neatly, their golden, crispy skins seemingly telling a story of deliciousness.

Of course, the birthday cake, essential for any birthday party, was placed in the most prominent position. The cake had been specially ordered by Kushina; the white cream was like the first snow of winter, with the names of Naruto and Menma written on it in colored cream, surrounded by various cute ninja patterns, as if little ninjas were guarding them.

Naruto was as excited as a little monkey, running around the house with bright light flickering in his eyes. He would lean toward the food, sniffing the enticing aroma with effort, then run over to the balloons, tapping them gently with his small hands, all the while muttering, "Today is my birthday! Today is my birthday!"

Menma was immersed in this atmosphere, and looking at everything before him, he felt an unprecedented sense of relaxation.

Menma went over to Kushina to help her arrange the tableware in an orderly fashion, carefully setting up the venue to ensure that every corner was filled with the spirit of the birthday.

Before long, the guests began to arrive one after another.

The first to arrive was the family of Fugaku Uchiha. Mikoto's face was beaming with a gentle smile, and she held two meticulously crafted forehead protectors in her hands.

The material of the forehead protectors looked very high-quality; there were no markings on the front, but the Uchiha clan crest was on the back. She walked up to Naruto and Menma and said gently, "These are birthday gifts for you. I hope you can become excellent ninjas soon!"

Sasuke followed behind, a hint of stubbornness and unwillingness to lose in his eyes. Although he still looked a bit unconvinced, he handed over two small kunai he had made himself. The small kunai were crafted very delicately, and it was clear that Sasuke had put a lot of thought into them.

Naruto took the kunai, his eyes full of surprise, and said happily, "Sasuke, thank you!" Menma also nodded at Sasuke, expressing his sincere gratitude.

Itachi walked silently to Menma's side, his eyes deep and calm. Itachi said softly, "Happy birthday, Menma. I hope you can hold fast to your beliefs and continue to move forward on the path of a ninja."

Next, Shikamaru, Ino, and Kiba arrived. Shikamaru held an exquisite chessboard; the wood grain of the board looked very fine, and the pieces were polished smooth and round. He said to Naruto and Menma, "This chessboard will let us play when we are resting. Playing chess is quite fun, and it can exercise your thinking."

Ino, like a flower fairy, held two beautiful bouquets of fresh flowers. The flowers were dewy and emitted a faint fragrance. She handed the flowers to Menma and Naruto, her eyes full of blessings: "I hope you grow up strong like these flowers and are always full of vitality."

Kiba walked over in his usual boisterous manner, patted Naruto and Menma on the shoulders, and said, "Happy birthday, you brats!" He then shoved the gifts in his hands toward the two.

Afterward, Asuma and Kurenai Yuhi arrived as well. Asuma wore his signature smile, holding two specially made ninja tool kits.

He said to Naruto and Menma, "This is a gift that Kurenai and I prepared together. I hope you can use it during your training." Kurenai stood to the side, looking at the two children gently, and said, "Happy birthday to you both. I hope you are happy every day."

Kakashi and Might Guy arrived together. Kakashi had his hands in his pockets, looking relaxed.

He took two ninjutsu manuals from behind his back, handed them to Naruto and Menma, and said, "These are the ninjutsu manuals I selected. They contain some very practical ninjutsu techniques; I hope you will study them well."

Might Guy, full of energy, said loudly, "Youth! Today is your birthday, so you must be as full of vitality as a burning flame!" He gave Naruto and Menma each a set of special training suits; the material was light and breathable, very suitable for ninja training, and he did not forget to strike his signature pose.

Naruto's eyes lit up, and he followed suit by giving a thumbs-up, his white teeth shining.

When Menma saw the green spandex suit, he was resistant to it from the bottom of his heart; if he wore that, he would definitely look tacky.

Choji also walked over slowly, holding a large bag of his favorite potato chips in his arms. He walked up to Naruto and Menma somewhat shyly and said, "These are the potato chips I brought for you. They are delicious. Happy birthday."

At this moment, the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi also appeared. His arrival caused the scene to quiet down for a moment, after all, everyone greeted him enthusiastically.

Hiruzen Sarutobi wore a kind smile and brought a special gift: two small pieces of ninjutsu training equipment.

The equipment looked very delicate and had various adjustment devices, which could help Naruto and Menma better practice ninjutsu according to different stages of training.

"Naruto, Menma, you are both the hope of Konoha. I hope you grow up healthy and become powerful ninjas soon," Hiruzen Sarutobi said with great expectation.

Everyone sat around the table filled with food and began to enjoy the meal. The food on the table was dazzling, with all kinds of fresh fruits and delicious grilled meat, much of which was made by Kushina herself.

After all, Kushina's culinary skills had improved by leaps and bounds during this period; she had improved quite a bit, and Naruto and Menma were greedy for food every day, running faster than anyone else whenever it was time to eat.

Naruto began to recount some of his recent interesting experiences, gesturing wildly: "Let me tell you, I accidentally tripped during training last time, and guess what? I discovered a very new way to climb trees." Everyone couldn't help but laugh when they heard this.

Menma shared his new understanding of ninjutsu, saying earnestly, "I have been researching the Rasengan recently—to be precise, I am developing a new technique. I want to add chakra nature transformation to the Rasengan; perhaps it can make the ninjutsu even more powerful." His words made Itachi nod slightly in approval.

"Injecting chakra nature transformation into the Rasengan is something even Minato-sensei didn't accomplish. Menma, I believe in you; one day you will surpass Minato-sensei!" Kakashi first expressed his admiration, then encouraged Menma.

"I will, Kakashi-sensei!" Menma replied very seriously.

Nonsense, if he couldn't even pull that off, Menma might as well give up, because the opponents in the future would be stronger than the last, and each one more monstrous than the last.

After the meal, it was the long-awaited cake-cutting segment. Naruto and Menma stood in front of the cake, closed their eyes, put their hands together, and made a silent wish.

Then they picked up the knife together and carefully cut the cake into many pieces, distributing them to everyone present. Everyone tasted the delicious cake, and laughter echoed throughout the courtyard.

At this time, Kiba wiped some cream on his hand and came up behind Naruto and Menma.

"Hey, Naruto! Menma! Look behind you!" Kiba's voice came from behind them.

The two turned their heads in unison, and Kiba, quick as a flash, smeared the cream in his hand onto their faces.

Everyone burst into laughter at the sight.

"Kiba! You stay right there!" Naruto also grabbed some cream and chased after Kiba.

Menma wiped the cream off his face, took a cream gun from the house, and ran in front of Kiba.

Kiba was now caught in a pincer attack by Naruto and Menma; Naruto tackled Kiba from behind and smeared cream on his face, while Menma rushed up and squeezed cream onto Kiba's face.

Kiba's face was covered in cream, and everyone laughed out loud. Just as Sasuke was laughing, a ball of cream flew over and landed squarely on his face.

The person who threw the cream was none other than Naruto. Sasuke wiped the cream off his face and shouted, "Naruto!"

Sasuke also picked up a ball of cream and chased after Naruto. The scene gradually became chaotic, turning into a cream war.

Kakashi and the others quickly retreated to the side, eating cake while watching the group of children having a cream war, chatting and laughing from time to time.

The birthday party continued in such a joyful and harmonious atmosphere. Naruto and Menma were immersed in this overflowing happiness, and this birthday would become a beautiful memory in their hearts.