Having finished his training for the day, Uzumaki Menma left Root and went to find Naruto.
After finding Naruto, he went on to find Shikamaru, Choji, and Ino.
Once the five had gathered, they headed to Hinata's house to find her.
Because Hyuga Hiashi had given advance notice, they did not need to climb over the wall this time and could enter directly through the gates of the Hyuga Compound.
However, when they arrived at Hinata's house, she had not finished training yet. She was only a little short of completing it.
So the group decided to wait for Hinata to finish her training.
Kumiko Hyuga thoughtfully brought out snacks and drinks for the five of them. Seeing so many children visiting the house made her happy as well.
Shikamaru looked at Uzumaki Menma, who held a book and kept muttering under his breath, then asked curiously, "Menma, what kind of book are you holding? Why do you keep reading it?"
Naruto also asked curiously, "Yeah, Menma. You were even reading while walking. Is what's inside really that interesting?"
"Interesting my ass!" Uzumaki Menma said miserably. "If I had any choice, would I be reading it? If I can't memorize it, I'm going to get bitten by bugs tomorrow!"
Ino asked in confusion, "They're only bugs. Do you really need to be that scared? I run into bugs now and then when I'm arranging flowers too."
Uzumaki Menma complained, "You're talking about one bug. I'm talking about a swarm of bugs. Have you ever had a whole swarm crawl over you, cover your entire body, and bite your skin?"
Ino imagined it and shuddered in disgust.
Choji silently put down the potato chips in his hand. Suddenly, they did not seem nearly as tasty anymore.
Shikamaru and Naruto placed their hands on Uzumaki Menma's shoulders and said sympathetically, "You're really pitiful."
Uzumaki Menma sighed. "Not only do I have to go through physical training that's practically abuse, I also have to memorize books. I wonder when these torturous days will finally end."
About half an hour later.
Hinata had finished her training. After returning to her room to change clothes, she jogged over to them.
"Sorry for making you wait so long."
Naruto said with his hands clasped behind his head, "It's fine. Let's hurry up and go, then."
The group left the Hyuga Clan and walked through the streets of Konoha.
"So what are we doing next? Ninja games?" Naruto asked.
Shikamaru agreed. "Ninja games, then. There are exactly six of us, so we can split evenly into two teams."
After making their decision, the group headed into the forest.
After the six split into two teams, the game began.
However, ninja games were completely out of place for Naruto, like a low-level player who had wandered into a high-level match.
There was no need to mention Uzumaki Menma. Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, and Hinata had all been born into Konoha ninja families and had already begun training, just like him.
Only Naruto had not started training yet. With their abilities so uneven, Naruto got absolutely no enjoyment out of the game.
As soon as the game began, the first person eliminated was Naruto, without any surprise at all.
Naruto sat on the ground with a miserable expression. "How come no matter where I hide, I always get found?"
Uzumaki Menma teased, "If you didn't leave half your butt sticking out when you hid in the bushes, we wouldn't have found you so easily."
Ino also mocked him, "Hinata spotted you several times and pretended not to see you because she thought you'd change hiding spots. Who knew you'd keep hiding in the same place?"
Naruto looked at Hinata.
Hinata's little face reddened as she explained, "That's not it. Actually, I... I really didn't see you."
As she continued, her voice grew softer and softer. Even she did not believe Naruto would accept that explanation.
Naruto pouted. "Can we change games? I want something I can actually take part in."
After thinking for a moment, Uzumaki Menma said, "How about hide-and-seek?"
Naruto immediately perked up. "I'm good at hide-and-seek! Let's play hide-and-seek!"
Ino sharply retorted, "Naruto, you can't even hide properly in ninja games. How could you possibly be good at hide-and-seek?"
Naruto flushed red and argued, "That's different! I can be the seeker. I'll definitely find every one of you!"
Uzumaki Menma explained, "The hide-and-seek I mean isn't the same as the one you're thinking of. You don't need to hide. You only need to search."
Choji stuffed a large handful of chips into his mouth and asked while chewing, "We only need to search? Search for who?"
Uzumaki Menma boasted proudly, "I learned a ninjutsu: the Summoning Technique. I'll summon my summoned beasts, and you can look for them!"
Shikamaru said in surprise, "The Summoning Technique? That's a C-rank ninjutsu, a technique at the Chunin level. You're not bluffing, are you?"
"Hmph. Just watch and you'll see!"
Seeing that Shikamaru and the others did not believe him, Uzumaki Menma had to show off a little.
He had finally learned a ninjutsu. How could he not flaunt it?!
Uzumaki Menma formed the Tiger hand seal with both hands.
"Nine Mask Svāhā! Azure? White? Vermilion? Black? Sky? South? North? Three? Jade! Nine Masked Beasts!"
In an incredibly cool fashion, Uzumaki Menma summoned the Nine Masked Beasts.
Shikamaru was somewhat puzzled. This was not quite like the Summoning Technique he remembered.
The hand seals for the Summoning Technique were Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey, Ram.
Yet Uzumaki Menma had performed the Summoning Technique after forming only a Tiger seal, and he had not even smeared his blood on his palm.
Was this really the Summoning Technique?
Naruto and Choji, Hinata and Ino, all stared at the Nine Masked Beasts with sparkling eyes.
Naruto and Choji said, "So cool!"
Hinata and Ino said, "So cute!"
Uzumaki Menma instructed the Nine Masked Beasts, "Go hide yourselves. Don't let anyone find you."
Having received Uzumaki Menma's order, the Nine Masked Beasts immediately entered the forest and concealed themselves.
Uzumaki Menma announced, "Then the hide-and-seek contest begins. I'll be the referee and see who finds the most!"
Naruto, Shikamaru, Choji, Hinata, and Ino immediately entered the forest to search for the Nine Masked Beasts.
Meanwhile, Uzumaki Menma sat on the ground and miserably flipped through the book in his hands.
He had already forgotten most of what he had just memorized. He needed to hurry and commit it to memory again.
Just as Uzumaki Menma concentrated fully and used every last brain cell to memorize it, he suddenly heard the sound of a branch snapping.
Uzumaki Menma stared intently at a large tree not far away.
For some reason, he could clearly sense that someone was hiding behind that tree.
Uzumaki Menma closed his book and crept toward the tree on tiptoe.
When Uzumaki Menma reached the tree behind which someone was hiding, he saw an unexpected person.
Hyuga Neji was crouching on the ground, the veins around his eyes bulging. He was clearly using his Byakugan to observe the situation in the forest.
Hyuga Neji was so focused that he had not even noticed Uzumaki Menma coming up behind him.
Before you continue