Mikoto Uchiha

Konoha streets.

Uzumaki Menma had already parted ways with his friends and was preparing to head back to Root alone.

All of a sudden.

A figure much taller than Uzumaki Menma blocked his path.

Uzumaki Menma looked up and saw Itachi. "Brother Itachi? Sasuke already went home."

"Menma, Naruto and I are here too!"

Sasuke and Naruto stepped out from behind Itachi Uchiha.

Uzumaki Menma asked in confusion, "Hm? What's going on?"

Itachi invited Uzumaki Menma, "Father would like to invite you and Naruto to the Uchiha Clan as guests."

Uzumaki Menma scratched his head in puzzlement. "Guests? But I don't know your father."

Itachi explained, "Father wants to thank you."

Uzumaki Menma immediately understood and raised an eyebrow at Itachi. "Could it be about that?"

Itachi looked at Uzumaki Menma in surprise. That expression of his meant his father, Fugaku Uchiha, had been right about everything he had guessed before.

At first, Itachi had been doubtful, but now he completely believed it.

Itachi smiled and nodded. "Yes."

Uzumaki Menma's smile was exceptionally bright. So it had worked!

Sasuke and Naruto looked blankly at the exchange between Itachi and Uzumaki Menma, asking in confusion, "What are you talking about?"

Uzumaki Menma said smugly to Sasuke and Naruto, "Sasuke, Naruto, you're still too young. It's not time for you to know!"

When Uzumaki Menma refused to tell them, Sasuke and Naruto pestered Itachi, wanting him to tell them.

But Itachi did not know whether he could say it either, so he kept his mouth shut.

In the end, Sasuke and Naruto learned nothing and sulked with their little mouths pouted.

After arriving at the Uchiha Compound, at Sasuke's home.

Sasuke saw that the front door was open, and his mother, Mikoto Uchiha, was busy preparing dinner.

"Mom!"

Sasuke called out to Mikoto Uchiha. When she turned around and saw Uzumaki Menma and Naruto behind Sasuke, the plate in her hands fell to the floor.

Mikoto Uchiha covered her mouth, her expression extremely agitated. Without even bothering to put on her shoes, she ran forward.

Sasuke was utterly confused.

Why was his mother so excited to see him today?

She was never like this normally.

Just as Mikoto Uchiha was about to reach Sasuke, he opened his arms and waited for her to hug him.

But Mikoto Uchiha brushed past Sasuke.

Sasuke was completely dumbfounded now. What was going on?

Mikoto Uchiha rushed in front of Uzumaki Menma and Naruto, wrapped them both in her arms, and held them tightly against her chest as she softly sobbed.

"Menma... Naruto..."

Held in Mikoto Uchiha's arms, Uzumaki Menma and Naruto exchanged bewildered looks.

What was happening now?

Why was Sasuke's mother hugging them like this?

At that moment, Fugaku Uchiha emerged from the room.

Itachi came to Fugaku Uchiha's side and quietly asked, "Father, does Mother know Menma and Naruto?"

Fugaku Uchiha answered somewhat wistfully, "You should know about Kushina Uzumaki, your mother's close friend. Do not tell anyone about this. Those two do not know their parents' identities."

Itachi recalled seeing Kushina Uzumaki when he had been around Sasuke's age.

Kushina Uzumaki had even held him before. After all, that head of red hair was impossible to forget.

Itachi had not expected Uzumaki Menma and Naruto to be the sons of his mother's close friend.

At the dinner table.

Mikoto Uchiha kept placing food into Uzumaki Menma and Naruto's bowls, her face full of affection and pity.

Looking at their bowls piled high with food, Uzumaki Menma and Naruto asked Sasuke with blank expressions, "Sasuke, what's going on?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes at them. He wanted to know too!

Sasuke now felt as though his mother had been taken away from him.

And after merely saying, "I'm Itachi and Sasuke's father," Fugaku Uchiha had barely spoken another word.

The dinner continued in this strange atmosphere.

By the end, Uzumaki Menma and Naruto truly could not eat another bite. Their little bellies were practically bursting before they finally stopped.

Then a voice came from outside. "Young Master Menma, Naruto, it's time to go home."

Itachi opened the door, and the person outside was Yamanaka Fu.

Uzumaki Menma was uncomfortably full. "Uncle Yamanaka, I ate too much. I can't walk. Give me a hand."

Without caring whether Fugaku Uchiha had invited him inside, Yamanaka Fu directly used the Body Flicker Technique and appeared behind Uzumaki Menma and Naruto, then picked one up in each hand.

Yamanaka Fu raised an eyebrow.

These two seemed to have eaten quite a lot. They actually had some weight to them.

Then, without even offering a greeting or waiting for Uzumaki Menma and Naruto to say goodbye to Sasuke and the others, Yamanaka Fu directly used the Body Flicker Technique and left the Uchiha Compound.

Sasuke and Itachi looked at Fugaku Uchiha in confusion. Their father had no reaction even to that?

Fugaku Uchiha felt no dissatisfaction whatsoever. He told Sasuke to return to his room to sleep and had Mikoto Uchiha clean up the dishes.

Only Itachi and Fugaku Uchiha remained in the room.

"Itachi, you're wondering why I had no reaction at all, aren't you?"

Itachi nodded silently.

"That is because I already knew he was in our Uchiha Compound. He merely waited outside and did not stop Uzumaki Menma and Naruto from dining with us. I believe you understand now, don't you?"

Itachi said thoughtfully, "That man called Menma 'Young Master Menma,' which means he is a Root ninja. Since he did not interrupt our meal with Menma and Naruto, that means Root's attitude toward the Uchiha Clan has begun to soften."

Fugaku Uchiha revealed a pleased smile.

In Fugaku Uchiha's eyes, Itachi was the next clan head, so naturally he had to be properly trained.

"Good. It's good that you understand. Go rest."

After Itachi left the room, Mikoto Uchiha appeared beside Fugaku Uchiha. "Fugaku, can I visit Menma and Naruto often in the future?"

Fugaku Uchiha nodded slightly. "Do not see them before we move to central Konoha. Today, we invited them mainly to express our gratitude to Lord Danzo. They are Jinchuriki, after all, so we Uchiha must avoid suspicion.

Once the Uchiha Clan moves to central Konoha, you can see them. Lord Hokage knows that you and Kushina are friends, so he probably will not stop you from visiting them. But remember one thing: you must never reveal Menma and Naruto's origins! That was an order personally given by Lord Hokage back then!"

Ever since Kushina Uzumaki's accident, Mikoto Uchiha had wanted to visit Uzumaki Menma and Naruto, but because relations between the Uchiha Clan and Konoha had been tense, she had never been able to.

Mikoto Uchiha tightly clasped her hands together.

"In the future, I'll finally be able to see Menma and Naruto often..."