Uzumaki Menma played with Naruto, Shikamaru, and Choji until evening.
When it was time to part ways.
Uzumaki Menma waved goodbye. "I'm heading home first, then. See you tomorrow!"
"See you tomorrow!"
After Uzumaki Menma returned to his room in the Root, he wolfed down a few bites of food and went straight to bed, falling into a deep sleep.
The morning's training and the afternoon's play had already exhausted Uzumaki Menma. He fell asleep the moment he hit the bed.
Nara Clan.
Shikamaru sat cross-legged on the floor with his father, Shikaku, a shogi board placed between them.
The two were playing shogi.
After moving a piece, Shikamaru said, "Dad, Choji and I met two really interesting friends today."
Shikaku asked with a smile, "Oh? It's rare for you to call someone interesting. What made them so interesting?"
"Other than their hair color, they looked almost exactly alike. Even their names were very similar—one was Uzumaki Menma, and the other was Naruto Uzumaki. But they weren't even biological brothers. That surprised me for a long time."
Upon hearing Shikamaru's description, Shikaku's hand froze in midair just as he was about to place his piece.
Seeing that his father had not made his move for a while, Shikamaru called out in confusion, "Dad?"
Shikaku set down his piece and said to Shikamaru with a smile, "Since you've become friends, then be good friends."
Shikamaru's little brows furrowed slightly. He felt that his father might know Menma and Naruto, and a few faint suspicions rose in his heart.
Shikamaru directly voiced his guess. "Dad, judging by your reaction, you know Menma and Naruto, right? And they're biological brothers, aren't they?"
Shikaku looked at Shikamaru in surprise. He had not expected his reaction to let Shikamaru guess that he knew Uzumaki Menma and Naruto.
Still, Shikaku found it perfectly reasonable. After all, his son had inherited his intelligence.
Shikaku did not say it outright, only answering vaguely, "Some things don't need to be said even if you know them. You'll definitely learn the truth in the future. Let's continue playing."
Shikamaru was now certain that Uzumaki Menma and Naruto were brothers. His father definitely knew some of the details, and he did not want Shikamaru to tell anyone.
But judging from his father's expression, he clearly would not say more. Shikamaru stopped asking and focused on the game.
The next day.
The Root training ground.
Uzumaki Menma's pig-slaughtering screams echoed throughout the entire training ground.
Uzumaki Menma lay sprawled on the ground, tremblingly pointing at Yamanaka Fu. "Uncle Yamanaka, you're a demon! You have to be a demon!"
Yamanaka Fu said calmly, "Lord Danzo said that every time you slack off, your training time will be extended. You've slacked off so many times already that it has been extended by an hour. You still have a total of an hour and a half left to train. If I were you, I wouldn't lie on the ground complaining, because that will also extend your training time."
Uzumaki Menma hurriedly got to his feet, tugging at Yamanaka Fu's sleeve as he pleaded, "Uncle Yamanaka, please, just waive the extra time."
Yamanaka Fu said "considerately," "The time you're spending pulling on my sleeve right now does not count as slacking off. The time already added cannot be reduced. Start training immediately, or it will keep being extended."
Uzumaki Menma quickly started running, grumbling as he ran.
"Lord Danzo, Lord Danzo, you can't go three sentences without mentioning Lord Danzo. Is he training, or am I?!"
A whip-like stream of water struck the ground beside Uzumaki Menma, and Yamanaka Fu's demonic voice reached his ears. "Being too slow also counts as slacking off!"
"Uncle Yamanaka, you really are a demon!"
Uzumaki Menma could only vent with his mouth now, so he had no choice but to pick up his pace.
After training ended.
Uzumaki Menma practically crawled back to his room.
Today's training had been much more intense than yesterday's. He could not squeeze out a single bit of strength now, much less leave the Root to play.
Meanwhile, on the streets of Konoha.
Naruto, Shikamaru, and Choji had already met up and were waiting for Uzumaki Menma.
Yet after waiting for nearly two hours, Uzumaki Menma still had not appeared.
Shikamaru guessed, "Maybe Menma isn't coming out to play today?"
Choji thought Shikamaru's words made sense, because everything Shikamaru said made sense.
Naruto declared with certainty, "I believe Menma will definitely come, because he said, 'See you tomorrow,' yesterday!"
Another hour passed.
Even Naruto, who had been so certain before, began to waver.
Shikamaru suggested, "Waiting like this won't solve anything. Naruto, do you know where Menma lives? We could go find him."
Naruto's eyes lit up. That was a great idea. Why had he not thought of it?
But when he thought of Danzo's stern face, Naruto felt a little intimidated.
Then again, Menma's home was so large that they might not run into Danzo at all.
Besides, he knew where Uzumaki Menma's room was. Once they got in, they could head straight there.
Naruto raised his little fist and announced, "All right, we're going to Menma's house now! Let's go!"
Naruto led Shikamaru and Choji to the entrance of the Root.
The enormous gates of the Root were wrapped in massive tree roots. The sunlight was blocked by the roots and could not reach the gates, making the place look eerie and sinister.
Shikamaru asked in surprise, "This is Menma's home?"
Naruto nodded his little head. "Yeah, this is Menma's home. I've been here before."
Choji finally lowered the bag of chips in his hand. Looking at the gloomy gates of the Root, he began to feel like backing out. "How about we come find Menma tomorrow instead?"
Naruto reassured him, "It's fine. The people inside are all pretty nice. The last time I came, they even prepared lots of delicious food for me."
Naruto walked up to the Root ninja guarding the gates. "Mister, we want to go inside and find Menma. Can you open the gate and let us in?"
The Root ninja guarding the gates were the same ones who had seen Uzumaki Menma bring Naruto to the Root two days ago.
The Root ninja looked at Naruto, Shikamaru, and Choji, and felt his scalp tingle. Why did troublesome situations always happen when it was their turn to guard the gate?
As the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, could he not have a little awareness of his status?
And this time, he had even brought two more brats with him. One look was enough to tell that they were kids from the Nara Clan and the Akimichi Clan.
What kind of place was this?! This was the Root!
The Root ninja could not simply chase them away. Naruto was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki; what if Lord Danzo had plans for him?
But they could not simply let them in, either. The last time they let Uzumaki Menma and Naruto enter the Root, their superiors had chewed them out for ages.
So they could only ask Danzo for instructions.
One of the Root ninja entered the Root and went to Danzo's office.
"Lord Danzo, Naruto Uzumaki and two children from the Nara Clan and the Akimichi Clan are outside the Root. They want to come in and say they're looking for Young Master Menma."
Danzo rubbed his temples. His head was throbbing now.
What was this?
What did they take the Root for? A place they could come and go from whenever they pleased?
Before you continue