"No way~"
Naruto replied indistinctly, his mouth full of food.
After the meal, Kushina helped the two children get dressed.
She squatted down, carefully smoothing out the wrinkles in Naruto's collar, her long red hair falling over her shoulders: "You must be polite at Grandpa Sarutobi's house and not be naughty, understand?"
"Got it!"
The twins answered in unison.
As she watched the two children leave, Kushina leaned against the doorframe, the morning breeze ruffling her hair: "Remember to come back early!"
"Got it!"
Menma turned and waved, the sunlight dancing in his golden hair. Naruto had already run far ahead, then doubled back to add, "Bye, Mom!"
After turning the corner, Menma's expression instantly became serious.
When the brothers arrived at the Sarutobi residence, they happened to see Asuma pushing the door open.
His face was somewhat gloomy, and the cigarette between his fingers had burned down to the filter.
"Uncle Asuma!"
Menma and Naruto shouted energetically.
Asuma looked up at the sound, and the gloom on his face instantly vanished.
He casually snuffed out the cigarette butt, revealing a gentle smile: "It's Menma and Naruto."
Menma keenly noticed the wrinkles on Asuma's sleeve, clearly indicating he had just experienced a fierce argument.
He asked politely: "Are you going out, Uncle?"
"Ah, I have something to do."
Asuma ruffled Naruto's head, his gaze sweeping over the gift boxes in their hands, "Coming to see the Old Man? He might not be in a good mood today..."
He swallowed the rest of his words halfway through, waving his hand and saying: "You two have fun."
Menma watched Asuma's departing back, deep in thought.
Pushing open the courtyard gate, he saw Third Hokage sitting alone on a stone bench, the wisps of smoke from his pipe circling his wrinkled face. Hearing footsteps, the Old Man looked up, the gloom in his eyes immediately replaced by affection.
"Grandpa Sarutobi!"
Naruto had already bounced over.
"Good, good, let me see you."
Hiruzen smiled and ruffled the two children's heads. When he saw the beautifully packaged tea in Menma's hand, his eyes welled up slightly, "You still remember Grandpa likes this..."
In the living room, Menma sat upright, discussing Ninjutsu insights with Third Hokage.
After a while, Naruto couldn't sit still, feeling itchy all over, his bottom wiggling on the cushion.
Just as he peeked at the door for the countless time, he suddenly met a pair of round eyes behind the door crack.
It was a chubby-cheeked little kid, peeking around the doorframe.
Naruto recognized him as Konohamaru, who had been in swaddling clothes three years agohe was only a month old when his father sacrificed himself.
"Pfft~"
Naruto suddenly stuck out his tongue and made a funny face. Konohamaru flinched back in fright, then glared back angrily, his small fists clenched tightly.
Menma secretly kicked Naruto under the table, but Naruto was already in high spirits and, taking advantage of their distraction, winked at Konohamaru.
Hiruzen saw all of this, a bitter yet relieved smile playing on his lips.
He cleared his throat: "Menma, are you still getting used to school these days?"
"Yes, my classmates are all very friendly."
Menma placed his hands on his knees, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the creases of his pant seam.
Hiruzen narrowed his eyes, the smoke rising from his pipe blurring his expression: "With your abilities, you could apply for early graduation, couldn't you?"
He recalled the Anbu report; this young man was already capable of simultaneously performing Ninjutsu of five Chakra natures, far exceeding the strength of an average Jonin.
Menma's lips twitched slightly: "Mom doesn't agree..."
His voice carried a hint of helplessness.
"Hahahaha!"
Hiruzen suddenly burst into laughter, ash shaking from his pipe, "That Kushina girl..."
His laughter held both nostalgia and apprehension.
Menma looked out the window; the sun was gradually setting. Naruto had long since run off to play with Konohamaru.
He clenched his fists, his knuckles slightly white: "And... I cherish my current comrades."
His voice was so soft it was almost inaudible, "I want to protect this bond."
Hiruzen's smile froze on his face.
Through the curling smoke, he seemed to see Minato's figure years ago, standing on the Hokage Rock, making his vow.
The setting sun dyed the Old Man's white hair orange-red, and the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes smoothed out: "Good child..."
"You are the future of Konoha."
Hiruzen's voice suddenly became solemn, "The will to protect the Village needs to be passed down by you..."
Menma straightened his back, his gaze devout and firm.
The clouds outside the window gradually darkened, and the last ray of sunlight swept across his slightly trembling eyelashes.
From an angle the Old Man couldn't see, his peripheral vision constantly followed the setting sun.
That evening, the streets of Konoha were enveloped in an unusual silence.
The Ninja figures usually seen everywhere had vanished, with only a few civilians passing through.
Within the Uchiha clan compound, young Sasuke tightly clutched his mother's skirt.
The footsteps of fully armed clan members echoed on the stone path, and the figure of his father, Uchiha Fugaku, appeared exceptionally grim in the torchlight.
Mikoto's fingers unconsciously stroked her son's black hair, the worry in her eyes like an unyielding dark ink.
"Mom..."
Sasuke's voice carried a slight tremor, and an unknown fear made him bury his face deeply into his mother's warm embrace.
Mikoto didn't answer, only held the child tighter, as the wind chimes under the eaves of the clan leader's mansion tinkled in the night breeze.
At the top of the Hokage Building, the night wind lifted the corner of Minato's Hokage robe.
He stood alone under the starry sky, his clear blue eyes reflecting the lights of countless homes.
Not far behind him, Nara Shikaku was speaking in a low voice with an Anbu captain, dozens of Anbu stood motionless in the shadows like statues, their breathing barely audible beneath their masks.
At the same time, deep within the Root Organization base, Danzo's cane suddenly struck the ground heavily.
"Someone!"
His gloomy voice echoed between the stone walls, "Go immediately and invite Third Hokage!"
Before his words finished, a deafening explosion suddenly tore through the night sky.
Danzo abruptly stood up, his cane cracking the bluestone floor.
"What happened!" he roared.
"The Uchiha have revolted!"
A Root Ninja stumbled in, his mask covered in ash, "They are attacking us!"
A cold light flashed in Danzo's single eye, but a sinister smile appeared on his lips: "A self-destructive Uchiha indeed..."
He turned and waved at his waiting subordinates: "Deliver my order, all units deploy. Furthermore"
His cane pointed at two elites, "You two personally inform Third Hokage and Fourth Hokage."
When the last subordinate left with the order, Danzo slowly paced to the window.
Looking at the distant flames, he caressed the Sharingan beneath his bandages, muttering to himself: "It saves this Old Man a lot of trouble..."
Root Ninja scattered like arrows from a bow, moving through the dense forest.
The leading captain suddenly stopped, seeing a sky full of crows descending like a dark cloud. His pupils constricted, and before he could warn, a pair of crimson Three-Tomoe Sharingan were branded into his vision.
Uchiha Itachi's figure emerged from the tree shadows like a ghost, the kunai at his fingertips glinting coldly in the moonlight.
Several Root elites still maintained their running posture, but were frozen in place like puppets, their eyes vacant.
At the same time, another small squad was blocked by a sudden green figure.
Dozens of afterimages of "Shunshin Shisui" crisscrossed through the forest, and after the whistling sound of kunai cutting through the air, only a few corpses of Root Ninja remained.
Shisui sheathed his sword, his crimson Mangekyo gradually fading into the dark night...
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