Rasengan

After nearly two months of study, Naruto and Menma were nearing the end of their literacy lessons. Menma could hardly wait to pull out Minato's shinobi journal.

While learning to read, he had already skimmed through it. Back then, he could only understand the general gist, but now he could make sense of almost everything. The journal recorded Minato's missions and detailed how he had developed the Rasengan.

"Gather chakra in your hand?" Menma sat on his bed and tried to form a Rasengan according to the journal. A pale blue, translucent sphere slowly appeared in his palm, but it vanished after only a short while.

"Am I putting in too little chakra, or am I not making it spin?" Menma pondered, then tried gathering chakra again. The result was the same: the sphere formed, then quickly disappeared.

"Still no good. Looks like I can only use that method." Menma got out of bed and ran to Naruto's room next door. He knocked on the door.

Naruto quickly opened it and asked in confusion, "Menma, what's up?"

"Let's go for a walk. We can buy some balloons," Menma replied.

"Balloons? What do we need those for? Do you want to play with them?" Naruto asked, puzzled.

"No, they're for training," Menma explained calmly.

Naruto heard only the word "training" and immediately grabbed Menma, pulling him downstairs without another word.

"If it's training, what are we waiting for?" Naruto said, dragging Menma to the entrance. They changed their shoes and headed out.

Since they were Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, many shopkeepers were unwilling to sell them anything. Luckily, they had learned the Transformation Technique. Aside from a few shops that accepted them, they had to disguise themselves as other people whenever they went shopping.

Menma bought a large number of balloons and rubber balls. Each boy carried two big bags as they headed home.

When they got back, they put everything in the courtyard. Menma placed Minato's shinobi journal on the table, took a balloon from one of the bags, and went to the tap to fill it with water. Naruto followed suit and filled a balloon of his own.

"We're going to learn the A-rank jutsu Dad developed, the Rasengan. It's very powerful, and it doesn't require Hand Seals. We just need to gather chakra."

As he spoke, Menma held out one hand and gathered chakra. Before long, a Rasengan formed in his palm, but the same problem remained: it disappeared after just a moment.

"I can't form a perfect Rasengan yet, so I can only practice this way for now," Menma explained.

"Then how do we practice?" Naruto asked curiously.

Menma began injecting chakra into the water balloon. Its surface started to "stir," and as the ripples grew stronger, the balloon burst with a loud pop.

Menma turned to Naruto and said, "First, you have to gather chakra and make it spin. But not all in the same direction—you need to make it spin irregularly. For the first step, inject chakra into the water balloon and feel the water inside swirling. Then make the balloon burst."

Menma glanced at the rubber balls nearby, walked over, and picked one up. "The second step is to make the rubber ball burst."

He injected chakra into the rubber ball, but nothing happened. It was as if he were simply holding it in his hand.

Seeing Menma work so hard at his training, Naruto didn't want to be outdone and started practicing too.

At that moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi was watching the brothers through a crystal ball.

"The Rasengan, huh? That's the jutsu the Fourth Hokage invented. I thought Jiraiya would teach it to them, but they started learning on their own. Maybe they're even more talented than I thought." Hiruzen smiled in satisfaction and continued watching.

Suddenly, Naruto's water balloon burst with a pop. Menma turned toward the sound.

"You did it? Let me see." Menma was a little surprised. Based on past experience, Naruto should have needed at least three days to manage it.

At Menma's request, Naruto took another balloon, filled it with water, and demonstrated. The balloon burst with another pop, but Menma spotted the problem.

"Brother, you aren't supposed to inject chakra into the balloon until it bursts. You need to make the water inside spin," Menma explained.

"Oh, I see." Naruto nodded and started practicing again.

Menma wasn't having any more luck. Each time, he either injected too much chakra or too little. He burst several rubber balls, and his hands were covered in cuts and bruises. Fortunately, he had Uzumaki blood and Nine-Tails Chakra, so his wounds healed at a visible rate.

The two of them kept practicing until evening. As the sky darkened, they went inside, heated some water, and each made a cup of instant noodles for dinner.

They had spent almost the entire day practicing the Rasengan in the courtyard, returning inside to eat instant noodles whenever they got hungry. After eating and resting for a while, they continued practicing in the living room.

They kept going until they were exhausted, then collapsed into bed.

The next day, after having instant noodles for breakfast, they went back outside to the courtyard and resumed their training.

Sunlight fell across the courtyard floor, scattered with burst balloons and rubber balls. In the corner, a small tree swayed gently in the breeze.

After nearly three days of hard practice, and with their supply of balloons and rubber balls almost gone, Naruto completed the first stage while Menma completed the second. Their hands were either sore or covered in cuts, but neither of them paid much attention to it.

After going out to buy more rubber balls, Naruto began the second stage of training, while Menma moved on to the final, third stage.

After a while, Naruto's palm began to hurt. The rubber ball was dozens of times harder than the water balloon, and his hand had also picked up a few cuts. Menma had improved the amount of time he could hold his chakra, but it was still unstable.

"I've been exhausted these past few days. If I eat any more instant noodles, I'm really going to throw up. Let's go out and get something else," Menma said, lowering his hand.

"Sure. Then let's get barbecue!" Naruto suggested with a nod.

"Anything but instant noodles or ramen. If I eat any more, I'll really throw up," Menma grumbled.

To avoid people pointing and staring, the two decided to use the Transformation Technique as they walked through Konoha.

They went to the Akimichi Clan's barbecue restaurant. A mouthwatering aroma filled the place, and smoke drifted above the blazing charcoal beneath the grill. The tables and chairs were neatly arranged, and the walls were decorated with items that were distinctive to Konoha.

As soon as they went in, they spotted some familiar faces. Looking more closely, they saw Kakashi, Might Guy, Kurenai Yuhi, and Asuma Sarutobi.

The two walked over to greet them. When the four saw two strangers saying hello, they were all confused.

It didn't take long for Naruto and Menma to realize what was going on. The four had also guessed that the two boys might be using the Transformation Technique.

"Come on, why use the Transformation Technique just to eat barbecue?" Kurenai teased.

Hearing that, Naruto and Menma had no choice but to release the Transformation Technique. Kakashi wasn't surprised when he saw who they were, but Asuma and Kurenai looked a little taken aback. Might Guy warmly invited the two to sit down.

Almost everyone in Konoha knew Naruto and Menma. Aside from a few children, most people knew who they were, and almost everyone knew they were Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

Might Guy pointed to the two beside him and introduced them to Naruto and Menma. "This is Asuma, the Third Hokage's son. And this is Kurenai Yuhi, a genjutsu expert."

"Nice to meet you!" Naruto greeted them with a smile.

Menma said nothing. Might Guy, as if he understood him well, patted him on the head and said, "What's there to be shy about, young man? Come on, be confident."

Kakashi added with a smile, "It's fine to call them big brother and big sister, you know." He knew Menma fairly well and understood that he wasn't shy; he simply always addressed people that way.

Asuma and Kurenai exchanged smiles. "Might Guy was just talking about you two. I didn't expect you to show up right after," Kurenai said with a smile. From her manner, it seemed she didn't dislike them for being Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

"Yeah, but why did you use the Transformation Technique?" Asuma asked from beside her.

At Asuma's question, Naruto's mind flashed to all the times shopkeepers had refused to serve them, and a pang of pain struck him. But he quickly thought of his dream of becoming Hokage. He told himself he couldn't let these setbacks defeat him, clenched his fists, and his eyes grew firm again.

Kurenai quickly noticed the change in Naruto and nudged Asuma with her elbow. Asuma noticed Naruto's mood too. He scratched his head and apologized awkwardly. "Sorry, I..."

Before he could finish, Menma cut in. "It's okay. My brother won't let this get him down. I'm sure you can guess why we used the Transformation Technique."

The four knew the reason. They, too, wondered why these two children had to be blamed for the Nine-Tails' actions.

Just then, Naruto rallied and said, "I'm going to become Hokage and earn everyone's recognition. That's been my dream for as long as I can remember." Seeing Naruto cheer up again, all four felt relieved.

"What a sweet boy." Kurenai called over a server and ordered some more meat. She picked up a freshly grilled piece and placed it in front of Naruto. "Have some more."

Naruto's eyes grew moist at the sight. The four were at a loss when they saw him crying again. Menma was also momentarily lost in thought. He knew why Naruto was crying.

Seeing Naruto cry, Kurenai's eyes filled with sympathy. She said softly, "Naruto, don't cry. The meat here is delicious. Hurry and try some."

Menma's eyes also welled up with tears. The four were even more at a loss when they saw Menma crying too. They didn't know if they had said something wrong again and made both boys cry.

Seeing everyone flustered by his and Naruto's reactions, Menma knew they meant no harm. Naruto's old wounds had simply been stirred up. But he didn't want them to worry too much, so he tried hard to keep his emotions under control.