Heading to Root

Uzumaki Menma played with Naruto, Shikamaru, and Choji until evening.

When it was time to part ways.

Uzumaki Menma waved goodbye, saying, "I'm heading home now, see you tomorrow!"

"See you tomorrow!"

After Uzumaki Menma returned to his room in Root, he scarfed down a couple of bites of food before collapsing into bed and falling fast asleep.

The morning's training combined with the afternoon's playtime had completely exhausted Uzumaki Menma; he fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.

The Nara Clan residence.

Shikamaru and his father, Shikaku, sat on the floor, a shogi board between them.

They were playing shogi.

After moving a piece, Shikamaru said, "Dad, Choji and I met two very interesting friends today."

Shikaku asked with a smile, "Oh? For you to call someone an interesting friend is rare. What's so interesting about them?"

"The two of them look almost exactly alike, except for their hair color. Even their names are similar, one is called Uzumaki Menma, and the other is called Uzumaki Naruto. But they're not even biological brothers, which surprised me for a long time."

Hearing Shikamaru's description, Shikaku, who was about to move a piece, paused with his hand in mid-air.

Seeing his dad not moving, Shikamaru called out in confusion, "Dad?"

Shikaku placed the piece down, smiling at Shikamaru, and said, "Since you've become friends, then you should be good friends."

Shikamaru frowned slightly, feeling that his dad might know Uzumaki Menma and Naruto, and he even had some vague guesses in his mind.

Shikamaru directly asked his guess, "Dad, judging by your reaction, you must know Menma and Naruto, and they should be biological brothers, right?"

Shikaku looked at Shikamaru in surprise, not expecting his reaction to make Shikamaru guess that he knew Uzumaki Menma and Naruto.

However, Shikaku thought it made sense, after all, his son's IQ was like his.

Shikaku didn't say it explicitly, but vaguely said, "Some things don't need to be said even if you know them. You'll definitely know them in the future. Let's continue playing shogi."

Shikamaru was now certain that Uzumaki Menma and Naruto were brothers, and his dad definitely knew some inside information and didn't want him to say it.

However, seeing his dad's expression, he definitely wouldn't say much, so Shikamaru didn't ask any further and focused on playing shogi.

The next day.

Root's training ground.

Uzumaki Menma's pig-slaughtering-like screams echoed throughout the entire training ground.

Uzumaki Menma lay on the ground, his fingers trembling as he pointed at Yamanaka Fu: "Uncle Yamanaka, you're a devil! You must be a devil!"

Yamanaka Fu said calmly, "Lord Danzo said that if you slack off even once, your training time will be extended. You've slacked off so many times now that it's been extended by an hour. You now have a total of one and a half hours left to train. If I were you, I wouldn't be lying on the ground complaining, because that will also extend the training time."

Uzumaki Menma hurriedly stood up, grabbing Yamanaka Fu's sleeve and begging, "Uncle Yamanaka, please, just waive the extended time."

Yamanaka Fu 'thoughtfully' said, "The time you're spending pulling on my sleeve doesn't count as you slacking off. The extended time can't be reduced. Start training immediately, or the time will continue to be extended."

Uzumaki Menma hurriedly ran, all the while complaining.

"Lord Danzo, Lord Danzo, it's always about Lord Danzo. Is he the one training or am I?!"

A whip of water struck the ground next to Uzumaki Menma, and Yamanaka Fu's devilish voice entered Uzumaki Menma's ears: "Being too slow also counts as slacking off!"

"Uncle Yamanaka, you're a demon!"

Uzumaki Menma, who could only vent his anger verbally, could only speed up and run.

After the training ended.

Uzumaki Menma practically crawled back to his room.

Today's training volume was much more than yesterday's. He couldn't squeeze out even a bit of strength now, let alone leave Root to play.

Meanwhile, on the streets of Konoha.

Naruto, Shikamaru, and Choji had already gathered together, waiting for Uzumaki Menma.

However, after waiting for nearly two hours, Uzumaki Menma still hadn't appeared.

Shikamaru guessed, "Maybe Menma won't be coming out to play today?"

Choji thought what Shikamaru said made sense, because whatever Shikamaru said always made sense.

Naruto said with certainty, "I believe Menma will definitely come, because he said 'see you tomorrow' yesterday!"

Another hour passed.

Naruto, who had been so certain before, also began to become uncertain.

Shikamaru suggested, "Waiting like this isn't a solution. Naruto, do you know where Menma lives? We can go look for him."

Naruto's eyes lit up, it was a good idea, how could he not have thought of it?

However, thinking of Danzo's stern face, Naruto felt a little apprehensive.

But then he thought about it, Uzumaki Menma's house was so big, he wouldn't necessarily run into Danzo.

Besides, he knew where Uzumaki Menma's room was, so he could just head straight there after entering.

Naruto raised his little fist and declared, "Alright, let's go to Menma's house now! Let's go!"

Naruto led Shikamaru and Choji to the entrance of Root.

The massive gate of Root was entwined with the huge roots of trees. The sunlight was blocked by the roots and couldn't reach the gate, making it look gloomy and eerie.

Shikamaru asked in surprise, "This is Menma's house?"

Naruto nodded his little head, "Yeah, this is Menma's house. I've been here before."

Choji also put down the potato chips in his hand at this time, looking at the gloomy Root gate, feeling a little hesitant, "How about we come back tomorrow to find Menma?"

Naruto reassured him, "It's okay, the people inside are all nice. Last time I came, they even prepared a lot of delicious food for me."

Naruto walked up to the Root ninja guarding the gate, "Uncle, we want to go in and find Menma. Can you open the gate and let us in?"

The Root ninja guarding the gate were the same ones from the last time Uzumaki Menma brought Naruto to Root.

The Root ninja looked at Naruto, Shikamaru, and Choji, feeling their scalps tingle. Why did this kind of troublesome thing always happen when it was their turn to guard the gate?

As the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, couldn't he have some self-awareness as a Jinchuriki?

And this time, he even brought two little brats with him. Just by looking at them, you could tell they were the Nara Clan and Akimichi Clan kids.

What kind of place was this! This was Root!

The Root ninja couldn't directly drive them away. After all, Naruto was the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, what if Lord Danzo had ideas about him?

But they couldn't directly let them in either. Last time they let Uzumaki Menma and Naruto into Root, they were criticized by their superiors for half a day.

So, they could only ask for Danzo's instructions.

One of the Root ninja entered Root and went to the office to find Danzo.

"Lord Danzo, Uzumaki Naruto, and the children from the Nara Clan and Akimichi Clan are outside Root and want to come in, saying they want to find Young Master Menma."

Danzo rubbed his temples, now he felt a throbbing pain in his brain.

What was going on?

What did they think Root was? Coming and going as they pleased?