In the 54th year of Konoha, the era of leadership under the Third Hokage came to an end. With boldness and decisiveness, the newly appointed Fifth Hokage—Tsunade—ushered in a new dawn for the village. She appointed Nara Shikaku, Hyuga Hiashi, and Uchiha Fugaku as new village advisors, alongside Jiraiya, one of the Sannin, as her right-hand assistant.
It was as if Konoha had transformed from the setting sun to the rising dawn overnight.
On the day of the Hokage inauguration ceremony, Naruto took his group of friends to join the celebration—along with a "squad" of bodyguards in tow.
After playing around all day, Naruto still wasn't satisfied.
"Come over to my place!" he said cheerfully. "My house is huge, and my brother cooks amazing food!"
Menma, who overheard him, instantly frowned.
Naruto… you're selling your brother out again? Haven't I taught you anything?!
Tomorrow? Double the homework. Double the chores. You've got way too much free time.
Sasuke, Shikamaru, Kiba, Choji, and the others didn't respond right away. Instead, they all turned to look at Menma. If the boss didn't agree, none of them dared move.
Naruto picked up on this immediately. He ran over to Menma, grabbed his arm, and gave him puppy-dog eyes.
"Please, nii-san~? Can we?"
Sigh... how can I say no to that face?
Menma reached out and ruffled Naruto's hair with a soft smile. "Alright, alright."
"Yay! Thanks, brother!!" Naruto cheered, jumping up with joy.
Honestly... I can't say no to you.
So Naruto led his friends back home. Except for Sasuke, it was everyone's first time visiting the Uzumaki household. Upon seeing the grand, luxurious home, their jaws dropped.
"Whoa... Naruto, are your parents super rich?" Shikamaru asked, wide-eyed.
Naruto's cheerful expression faltered a bit. "Me and my brother… don't have parents."
Shikamaru looked stunned. "S-Sorry, I didn't mean to bring that up…"
Naruto shook his head. "It's fine. I've got my brother."
At that, Naruto smiled again.
Even though he'd never had parents, Menma had always been by his side—protecting him, supporting him, working hard to provide for him, even taking him out for Ichiraku ramen. Every little memory was etched in his heart.
Standing in the kitchen, Menma heard it all. His lips curled into a warm smile.
It's time Naruto knew about Mom and Dad.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu."
Two Menma clones appeared instantly.
"You two handle dinner," Menma said, pointing at them. "I'm not cooking tonight."
Clones: "…"
After dinner, Menma had his clones escort the guests home, then stopped Naruto in the living room.
"Hey, Naruto. Do you want to know about our mom and dad?"
To Menma's surprise, Naruto shook his head.
"…Why not?" Menma asked, puzzled.
Naruto lowered his gaze. "When I was younger, I used to get so jealous seeing other kids with parents. People bullied us… and I was so mad. I hated that our parents weren't there. Where did they go? Why did they leave us?"
"But now… I don't care anymore. I only need you, brother," Naruto said, tears welling up in his eyes.
Menma couldn't help but pull him into a hug. "Naruto… Mom and Dad loved us. So much."
"Dad's name was Minato Namikaze. He was gentle, strong, and brilliant. People called him the Yellow Flash of the Leaf. He dreamed of becoming Hokage since he was a kid—and he made it happen."
"During the Third Shinobi War, he rose to fame with lightning speed. His strength was unmatched. With unanimous support from the Land of Fire's daimyō, he became the Fourth Hokage of Konoha."
Naruto's eyes widened. "W-What?! Our dad… was Hokage?!"
Menma ruffled his hair. "Surprised?"
Naruto nodded like crazy.
"Want to hear more?"
"Yeah! Please!"
Menma smirked. "I thought you didn't want to know?"
"Brother, I was wrong! Tell me, quick!"
With a chuckle, Menma continued, "Our mom's name was Kushina Uzumaki. She had beautiful, long red hair. On the left side, she always wore a hairpin, and she had a wristband on her left arm. She was fiery, fierce, kind, and full of life."
Naruto suddenly asked, "Red hair? Like you?"
"Exactly," Menma nodded. "It's because she was from the Uzumaki clan. Everyone from that clan has red hair. But when she joined the Ninja Academy, people made fun of it."
Naruto clenched his fists. "What?! They laughed at her hair? And yours too?! I'll beat them all up!"
"Haha, no need. Mom already beat them up. After that, no one dared mock her again."
Naruto laughed. "Mom sounds awesome!"
"She was. That's actually what caught Dad's attention. Though Mom used to think Dad was weak and too 'cute'—like a girl."
Naruto: "Pfft—seriously?"
"But then one day, Mom got kidnapped by enemies. She left a trail with her red hair, and Dad was the only one who noticed. He tracked her down, beat the enemies, and saved her."
"That moment changed everything. Mom realized Dad wasn't just gentle—he was reliable, courageous. She fell in love with him, and eventually, they got married and had... us."
Naruto was completely drawn in. "And then? What happened after that?"
Menma's expression turned somber.
"The night you were born… a masked man appeared. He took control of Kurama and made it attack the village. He kidnapped you."
"Dad had to leave Mom to go rescue you. He succeeded... but Mom was also a Jinchuriki, and once Kurama was extracted, she wouldn't survive."
"Dad used a forbidden sealing jutsu to split Kurama into two. One half was sealed inside me—The other half... he sealed into you."
"They both gave their lives that night... to save you. Then, they went to the stars... to watch over us."
Menma pulled Naruto into another hug, and whispered, "So remember, Naruto... Mom and Dad loved us."
Tears spilled from Naruto's eyes as he nodded fiercely.
After a while, he wiped his face and asked, "Brother… who was the man in the mask? I want to avenge our parents."
Menma's eyes turned sharp. "Don't worry. One day, I'll catch him myself."
Uchiha Obito.
(End of Chapter)
Gimme Powerstones :)))
Also Check out my Patreon at [Patreon.com/GGFanfiction]