There Once Was A Man

by Mighty Birdo

Following the sudden death of his mother, Namikaze Menma, sixteen, is now burdened with the task of finding his long absent father, Uzumaki Naruto. This cold and socially awkward teenager will encounter several hardships along his journey, as well as a plethora of colorful characters and several enlightening moments that will break his hard heart and instead give it warmth.

1. Incentive

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or anything associated with it. It is the property of Masashi Kishimoto.

I think that quite a few people will like this one.

There Once Was A Man...

---

Last Sunday my mother died. It was caused by some chronic heart disease that she had possessed since she was a child. She had always taken care not to overexert her body, lest she find herself sprawled on the floor, chest rising sporadically and breaths rudely escaping her body after only a second or two of inhabiting her. That is why she had chose to pursue a career in genjutsu, she told me once, and that was why her skin was so pale.

She had passed at 2:48 in the evening, and I had last seen her alive at 2:13 in the evening. I had just returned to the village after leading a squad of five chunin and two jonin on a mission in Haru no Kuni; a simple B rank that involved the disbanding of a company of bandits that had taken refuge just outside the former Yukigakure. It had passed relatively quickly, with absolutely no casualties on our side. We traveled overnight for my sake, and we reached the village in even less time than it took to travel from it.

Mother was sitting up by the time I arrived at the hospital. She had been facing the door for a few hours, a small white iced cake in her lap. She began to sing as soon as she saw me. Her voice was very hoarse, and her she looked in no condition to be using her breath in such a way, but I still loved the sound that escaped her lips.

"Happy birthday to you... Happy birthday to you," she sang. I did not smile though, because I never really could. The left corner of my mouth lifted a bit and my teeth showed a bit, but I did not smile. "Happy birthday, dear Menma... Happy birthday to you!"

I cut the cake and we ate some of it, and we talked for a while. "How was your mission?" she asked me. I told her a few details, nothing really about the mission itself, just about what I had seen and encountered. "It was over quickly. We didn't have much to worry about," I finished with.

"You look so much like your father," she had said suddenly. She said that with this wide grin on her face, beautiful despite the sweat and dark spots that covered it.

I said, "A lot of people say that, but I think that I resemble you a lot more."

"No," she said, "you definitely look more like your father. Our hair and eye color may be the same, but that's it. When it comes to your appearance, I only see your father."

I frowned. I crossed my arms and looked down. "Maybe."

We talked about other stuff a little while more, but I ended up leaving. I told her that I had come to the hospital right after my debriefing, and she shooed me away, saying, "You should go home, Menma. Go take a shower and rid yourself of stress, and then you can return. I won't go anywhere," she said with a smile.

I said, "Okay, Ma." I left her room at 2:13. I got home at 2:21. I was redressing myself at 2:48. I arrived at the hospital, at the door to her room at 2:59. A sheet was over her body. Haruno Sakura and one of her nurses stood close to her.

"Menma," she said, "I'm so sorry." Tears were budding from her eyes. The nurse was also very downtrodden.

I stared past her, at mother, for a little while. I frowned. I felt like crying, but I did not.

I said, "No need to be. I believe that she was expecting this to happen, and that she wanted it to happen on this day in particular." I crossed my arms and looked down. "Would you like me to tell her former students?"

I think that Sakura was a little shocked by my reaction. Only a little, because, after all, I am Menma. "If you wouldn't mind."

I nodded. "Alright." I turned and walked out the door of the room, and soon the entrance of the hospital.

I was prepared to confront each of my mother's old students after I left the hospital, but I did not. Not right away, anyway. As I walked though the village, I noticed a particular building. An apartment complex that went largely unused nowadays. I remembered that place. It was where my father had lived, my mother told me once. I remembered then that she had told me to go there when she died.

"There's something that I need you to retrieve from his old bedroom," she said. This was just a few weeks ago, so it was incredibly fresh in my mind.

I stood before his door, the one with the poster of Konoha's symbol tacked to it. The door was unlocked. I walked in and was not surprised to see a mostly barren room. The bed frame and a small nightstand were the only pieces of furniture left in that area.

I moved through the bedroom and into the hall, next the bathroom, and then the kitchen/dining room. Very little remained here. I returned to the bedroom and began to look around the area for anything that stood out of place. I lifted loose floorboards and ransacked the little nightstand and the area around the bed. I even punched holes into the walls and ceiling. I found nothing.

I stood in the middle of the room, absolutely peeved. "She said in his 'bedroom'," I muttered. I did a once over of the entire room. I walked in a circle and let my eyes capture everything. I snorted when they fell upon a little potted plant that sat just outside the bedroom, in the hallway on the floor, behind the door frame. I walked over and grabbed the pot. I subsequently smashed it on the floor. Clacking against the floor was a little orange cylinder.

"That wasn't inside the room, Ma," I said. I picked the object up and inspected it. I grabbed one end and began to pull and it soon gave out. A tiny roll of paper fell out of the cylinder and into my hand. I unfurled it and and was met with a small direction. This was written by my mother.

"Please return this to Uzumaki Naruto," was what she had written. Below that little piece was a symbol, one that was commonly seen on sealing scrolls. I pulled my thumb to my mouth and nipped it. I placed my bloody appendage against the seal and smoke filled my face, but something solid filled my hand. I held the black sphere up to my face and examined it. I rolled it around in my palm and felt the cool surface, the hard material.

"What is this?" Obviously this was not metal. It gleamed like it could be, but the texture was all wrong. It was much too heavy to be any other material that I have encountered, though. I squeezed it and hoped that it would shatter beneath my strength, but it did not. I attempted to focus my chakra into the sphere. That failed as well. It seemed like the sphere was actually rebounding my chakra.

I looked at the note again, now void of any odd seals, and narrowed my eyes. "Return this to Naruto?" I mumbled. "No one even knows where he is..."

I squeezed the sphere, again-this time because of frustration. I frowned. I stuffed the sphere into my pocket and left the apartment. I ignored the added weight now present in my steps.

I planned to ponder this new development later-much later. At that moment, I needed to visit the former members of Yūhi Kurenai's team eight.

---

Six days have passed since then, and I have since visited and spoken to the three of my mother's former students. Aburame Shino had the most pleasant reaction. He did not cry, not openly, but he had lost the ability to stand upon hearing what I had to say. I had to catch him, carry him to a fitting seat. He grieved silently and said, "Thank you, Menma." Even asked about my own condition. The other two were not as controlled or accommodating.

Inuzuka Kiba had wailed loudly, openly with his mouth agape. He swung his arms at the air, cursed himself for not visiting my mother more often. His partner, Akamaru, howled in a similar manner. They both collapsed on the ground, unable to bear their sorrow silently. I offered him a hand on his shoulder, but he shook it off.

Hyūga Hinata had nearly fainted. I too caught her, but she did nothing to pick herself up. She chose to lie on her side and weep as quietly as she could. She reached for me and asked for me to stay with her. She said, "You're a part of Kurenai-sensei. She may be gone, but a part of her is still around. Stay here and allow me to be just a little selfish." I did. I even allowed her to lay her head on my lap.

It was all rather disgusting, and I would have never permitted any of it to happen around me if I too had not been suffering.

Now we all stand before her grave, adorned in black, and we reminisce. I stand in front, next to the former team eight. Their spouses and children stand behind them, followed by anybody else who cared enough to show up. Behind me are two children that I only see occasionally. They are the twins that Uzumaki Naruto fathered at some point after the Fourth War. They are Uzumaki Saiseki and Arakumo, children of the current Tsuchikage, Kurotsuchi. They have come here for my sake-because their mother ordered them to do so.

Saiseki, the boy, and Arakumo, the girl, are two bratty kids. Not exactly prideful or egotistical, but stubborn and bratty. I see them twice a year, not counting occasions like the current one, and they cannot help but complain about every little thing. They can be very annoying at times. At present, they are silent, but they will probably complain about the atmosphere later.

Further back are the past members of the famous Rookie Nine and team Gai. Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura stand closest to me, their three children in front of them. Next are Akimichi Chōji and his wife and two kids. Yamanaka Ino was nearby, still single yet pregnant. Hyūga Neji with his wife and son. Tenten with Lee and their daughter. Nara Shikamaru was actually not far from me; the widower stood with his daughter in his arms.

The Rokudaime Hokage, Hatake Kakashi, stood off to the side of my mother's grave. He spoke solemnly. His right eye spoke volumes of his sorrow, his left eye, the eye of the deceased Green Beast, was alight with some strange flame, some would say. After he finished his speech, we all walked up to my mother's grave and sat a rose before her picture. I was first to do so.

It was a sunny day, so I made sure to stay behind even after everybody else had departed. To my surprise, the twins had also remained and had yet to mutter a word.

"I've kept you two here long enough," I say. I turn to my half siblings and pat each of their heads.

Saiseki, the redhead, says, "No problem."

Arakumo, the blonde, says, "We know how bad we would feel if our mom died."

"Sorry for causing you trouble earlier," they both say.

I had felt the urge to say, "When, not if," but I suppressed it for their sakes. "What would you two like to eat?"

They both grin. "Ramen!"

"Okay."

As we walk down the street, still in our funeral attire, Saiseki and Arakumo talk. Complain in some way.

"I have to admit, this village may be lacking in some areas, but the ramen here has no contest," Arakumo says.

"Yeah," Saiseki agrees. "The ramen in Iwa is good, but it tastes like shit when you compare it to Ichiraku."

"Watch your mouth," I say.

"Sorry." He pauses briefly. "The ramen in Kusa is probably the most disgusting thing I've ever tasted. Those people don't know what's good."

"Yeah, and they lack in aesthetics. Their villages look so ugly."

"And their clothing is so strange."

"Yeah..." They continue on in this fashion for quite a while.

When we reach Ichiraku, they finally quiet down (much to my gratitude). I let them order their food before I do the same.

Ayame's husband, Haruya, smiles at us as he jots down the order and hands it to the cook, his wife. He leans on the counter and smiles a bit more. "Mah," he says, "I enjoy seeing you three siblings together so much. It's so adorable how you all have those little whiskers." He runs a finger across his cheek.

Arakumo giggles and Saiseki shouts, "It's not adorable!"

Our whiskers are inherited from our father, and they are the biggest identifier that we are related, and that we are Naruto's children. Unlike me, Saiseki and Arakumo gravitate more towards their mother in facial appearance, so the whiskers are a must when identifying us as siblings.

"Yeah, they are," Ayame laughs as she prepares our food. Haruya's and her laughter only increases as Saiseki settles into a pout. "You kids all remind me so much of your father. I wish that he would bring his butt back home already."

The twins both turn somber. They smile a little. "Yeah," they say in unison, "me too."

"Can you tell us about him?" Arakumo asks. She's smiling very broadly, like Naruto in that one picture of him and mother.

"Ano," Ayame says, "he was a very cheery person. He loved talking about his friends-he treated people that he just met on the street like childhood friends! He loved his precious people." She turns around and smiles. "I'm sure he would love all of you kids! He'd probably never want to leave you guys once he comes back!"

If he comes back, you mean. And if he's even alive. Obviously I did not voice my thoughts.

"I want to meet daddy so much!"

"You make him sound so awesome!"

I doubt that he's such a good guy. He just fucked your mom and left. He probably doesn't even know that you exist. I stuffed my hands in my pocket and I felt the odd sphere. "Maybe," I mumbled. Maybe he really is such a good guy...

"Definitely." Ayame placed my bowl of salt ramen in front of me. She stared at me for good measure before a smile blossomed on her face. She ruffled my hair and laughed. "Menma! You remind me of Naruto the most, you know. You're so gloomy and more like his opposite, but when I talk to you, not even looking at you, all I can think of is Naruto."

They all were laughing, and I was blushing. I guess that she and her husband are doing a pretty good job trying to make me forget about my mother's death.

We all ate at different paces. I ate my salt ramen pretty slowly, because I always enjoyed savoring the taste of my food. Saiseki was a bit faster, but not by much. Arakumo was like a vacuum. The girl stuffed her cheeks full of ramen before taking one big gulp.

Saiseki snickered. He nudged me. "She eats like that because mom always tells us to eat formally. You know, like you do. Yeah, she always compares us to you." He smiled a bit wider.

Arakumo stopped the consumption of her noodles as well. "Yeah. Whenever we tell her about our training she always compares us to you."

"Like, 'Did you see how easily your brother hit those targets the last time he visited? You need to observe his method of throwing more closely; you'll learn a thing or two.'"

"No way! You sound exactly like her!" The twins could not contain their laughter.

My lip tugged upward in that terrible "smile" of mine. "That's nice."

"See how calm you are?" Saiseki pointed at me. "Mom always says that we need to be as well-mannered as you."

They continued laughing and soon resumed eating. Saiseki ate one more bowl of miso, while Arakumo ate twice as much. I had no trouble paying for it. I take many high ranking missions and I have a veritable fortune now, thanks to my mother.

We left the the restaurant and briefly went home for a change of clothes. We left as soon as we were all properly dressed and next traveled to the home of Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura. We were greeted at the door by the couple's eldest child, nine year old Uchiha Suigyuu.

"Hello, Menma-niisan, Arakumo-san, Saiseki-san." The boy chirped our names quietly.

I say, "Hello, Suigyuu." I nudge both my siblings shoulders to make them both give their greetings as well. Yes, they can be forgetful of the simpler things as well. "I was wondering if I could speak with your parents."

"Of course, Menma-niisan." He opened the door wider and stood to the side to allow me entrance. In the lounge room I see Sakura with her two younger children, Mugi, her youngest child, on her lap, giggling. Suisha, her daughter, sat next to her, also giggling.

"Menma," she said, "it's nice to see you so soon. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine." She has asked me every time we have come across each other and now it is becoming very annoying. "Is Sasuke here?"

"Yeah, he's in the kitchen." She pointed pointed behind me. I turned around and saw Suigyuu standing just a step to my right. "Sweetie, go get your father for me."

"Okay, kaa-san." He walked off just as she told him.

"Thank you," she said. She repositioned Mugi on her lap and wrapped an arm around her girl."So, Menma, why have you come over?"

"Just for a favor. I'll ask as soon as Sasuke arrives."

Sakura's face turned strangely serious for a moment. "If there's anything you need, we'll always be here for you. Okay? You don't have to worry about a thing as long me and Sasuke are here."

"Okay." Now she is really beginning to annoy me. "But it's not that serious. Just a small favor."

"Okay," a different voice said. "What do you need us to do, Menma?" Sasuke came out of an adjacent hall, rubbing his hands on the tan apron he wore. Not a strange sight, considering that Sasuke was the one who usually cooked for his family because of Sakura's role as the hospital's director. He was actually a rather docile man, contrary to popular belief.

I place my hands behind Saiseki and Arakumo and push them both forward. They stumble a bit, but they are fine. "I just need you to look after these two for a little while. I need to see Hokage-sama, and I don't plan on taking these two with me."

"What?"

"How come?"

"Sure," Sasuke smiles. "I've been waiting for you two to come over for a good while anyway." His smile seemed a bit mischievous. No matter.

"Come on, niisan!" They shouted in unison.

"Uncle's crazy!"

"You can't leave us here!"

I say, "It's only training. I enjoyed my training sessions with Sasuke quite a bit, and I'm confident that I would not have turned out as good as I am had I not trained with him."

"That's bull and you know it!"

"Liar!"

"Well, you don't have much of a choice right now." Sasuke scooped the twins up and was back on the other side of the room in less than a second. He was in the prime of his life at only twenty-nine years of age, and his speed was largely unmatched. "Your brother has something important to do, so you'll just have to wait until he's finished."

"Thank you." I turn my gaze to Sakura. "Both of you. I'll be back soon." I said this to the twins.

"Take your time," Sasuke said. "Take a stroll through the park and relax your mind if you want. We'll be fine." He jostled the twins a bit, made them squeak a little.

"I may do just that." I exit the house the way we came in.

"Come on!"

"Don't be like that!"

Sasuke swung the two back and forth just enough to shut them up. He made an about-face and stepped near the doorway leading to the hall. He stopped momentarily. "Sakura, take care of dinner, please."

She smiled at her husband. "I'd love to."

---

I encountered Kakashi a lot sooner than I expected. He had been standing at the entrance of the Hokage tower, reading a little black book. He just stood there reading, really looking as if he was attempting to hide against the building but obviously failing horribly at it.

"Hello, Hokage-sama."

"'Sup, Menma?" he says. He turns another page in his book and I decide to wait for him to give me his full attention.

He eventually closes the book and slips it inside of his robe. "Not as good as the old ones," he mutters. "How are you doing, kid? You must not feel well. Want a few more days off?"

"I'm fine. No need to ask about my status anymore," I respond. "And, well, close but not exactly. Could we perhaps speak in private?"

"We are speaking in private." He waves his arms around him, the large amount of empty space around him. "Why do you think no one has bothered me, the Hokage, about reading dirty books in broad daylight?"

I said nothing for a good while, but then I responded with the most logical answer. "Because you're the Hokage?"

He wagged a finger in my face. "The Hokage cannot do everything, Menma. I tried to get a law passed for 'mini-skirt Fridays' a few years ago... I don't want to talk about it..." He scratched the unmasked portion of his face. "Anyway, it's because I've placed a barrier around myself."

"Then how could I see you?"

"You have special eyes, Menma. There isn't much that you can't see."

"Oh," I say. "Right." I look at the ground, away from Kakashi. My "special eyes" are a byproduct of the sliver of demonic chakra that resides in me, courtesy of Naruto.

We stood there for a good while before Kakashi cleared his throat. "Well, what do you want to ask me?"

"Right," I say as I reach into my pocket. I pull out the odd sphere I had found in Naruto's old home and hold it out to Kakashi. He takes it and holds it up to his eyes with some effort. "Do you have any idea what that is?"

He rolls the sphere around in his palm, feeling the texture and examining the weight of it. "No. It's very strange, indeed." He looks back up at me. "Where did you find this? On your last mission?"

"No. If I had, I would have shown it to you by now." Kakashi nods. "I found it in Naruto's apartment. In a potted plant on the floor just outside his bedroom. It was sealed. It came with a note written by my mother," I pull said paper out from my pocket along with the orange tube, "in this." I give him both objects. He scrutinizes them for just a few seconds before he shakes his head.

"This is very odd," Kakashi whispers. He looks at me with one dull eye, the other very fiery. He whispers to me, "You think that he's still around?"

"I really don't care," I reply, "but my mother wanted that thing returned to him. If at all possible, I would like to look for him. Even if it's just to find his grave and bury it with his body."

Kakashi looks crestfallen upon hearing my words, but he returns his gaze to mine. "I've had many ninja searching for your father ever since he went missing. What makes you think that you could find him?" He places his free hand on the back of his neck and rubs. "Plus, I'm not sure that letting you join the chase would be beneficial for the village or yourself. You do a lot of good work, Menma."

"We share the same blood and the same chakra." I grimace a bit. The thought of having such a foul energy reside within me was rather disgusting. "There is no better choice than me. Everybody else you've assigned this mission to doesn't have the advantages that I do."

"Still, Menma..." He began to scratch his face again. Both his eyes fell to the ground now.

"Give me a year to find him," I say. "Just one year. If I don't find him in that amount of time, I'll come back, and I won't ever bring it up again."

His eyes remained on the ground. He continued to fool around with the sphere. I could hear his sigh, clear as day. "Give me some time to think about this. You can't just drop this kind of stuff on an old man, kid." He placed the sphere back into my hand.

"I need a confirmation now."

"Well, you're not getting one now," he says very cheerily. He reaches into his cloak for his little black book and begins to read again. He walks right past me. "Come back tomorrow morning and I'll have my answer then."

I feel his hand fall on my shoulder for a small moment before it vanishes. He's gone. Probably not in his office.

"Fine," I say. Like I have a choice.

I decide to go collect my siblings since it is getting pretty late. When I arrive at the Uchiha-Haruno household, I can only smell smoke. I knock and wait for the door to be opened. Suigyuu answers the door again.

"Hello, Menma-niisan," he chirps.

I stare at his forehead, noticing that the usually pale area is colored gray and black. "What happened?"

"Well..."

"I told you not to use so much gunpowder, moron!" I hear Arakumo shout.

"I told you not to set it off so close to the house, idiot!" I hear Saiseki.

"I told you both not to use it at all!" And of course Sakura.

Upon entering the house, I find the entrance to the courtyard covered covered in black soot. All around I see black and gray figures. Sasuke sits on the porch, laughing a bit too much, Suisha and Mugi next to him. Sakura stands in the middle of the room, half of her body black, the other as it should be. Saiseki and Arakumo stand a few steps away from her, pouting; their backs are all that remain clean.

Obviously the two put some kind of homemade smoke bomb to use, but it had a different result than desired.

Quite seriously I say, "Having a minstrel show?" Sakura and the twins are not amused, Suisha and Mugi have no idea what a minstrel show is, but Sasuke and Suigyuu cannot help but laugh. I find it rather hard to believe, even to this day, that Sasuke had been as bad a guy as he said he was.

Funny. I can't even fathom the thought of Sasuke being a bad guy, though he definitely was, but I can't help but think of Naruto as a bastard, despite all the good I've heard about him.

"Just get them out of here," Sakura says. She looks as if she would tear her own hair out in frustration at this point. "I can forgive them for this but right now I'm feeling very unstable." She pressed a hand against her temple. "Please. Just go."

"Come on." I usher the twins toward me, away from the seething Sakura, and we all exit the house after saying a quiet "Good night."

Sasuke continued to laugh even after all three siblings left his home. "Who uses a smoke bomb like that? You're not supposed to punch someone with it..." His chuckling was heard even after Sakura had sent their children to the washroom to get cleaned up.

Sakura was absolutely livid because of Sasuke's reaction toward the recent incident. It's times like these that I'm happy that I kept my family name. "Why are you laughing so much, dear? You're the one who's going to clean this mess up." She headed off toward the washroom as well.

Sasuke's laughter finally died down as he registered his wife's words. "What? Why? What did I do?"

---

The rest of the night passed rather innocently. After returning home, the three of us took a bath together, and then we each had a cup of tea. The twins began to complain about something trivial, but I can't remember what about (because I wasn't listening). We eventually went our separate ways when it came time for bed. The twins stalked off to their individual rooms, opposite each other, located at the end of the second floor's eastern hall. The room beside Arakumo belonged to our other sister, Mugen, but she rarely visited.

I went to bed thinking about the events that had occurred over the past week. I was not happy with them. I was feeling very angry, very violent, and I could feel the demonic chakra within me beginning to bubble up from beneath my own, but I suppressed it. I wanted to fight. I wanted to kill. But I could not, and I knew that I should not. Not anymore. Not without a cause, anyway.

Despite these tumultuous feelings, I slept very well. I even had a dream. My mother and siblings were in it. Mother sat in a chair, drinking one of her favorite drink, a blush on her face. Saiseki and Arakumo bickered with each other about some little tool they had made. Mugen sat nearby, her short pale hair shined, she smiled brightly, and she drew. There was someone else with them, but I cannot readily describe him. I think that it was Naruto, but I've only seen him up to sixteen years old. I know that it wasn't my grandfather, at least.

I woke up very early the next morning and dressed myself quickly. I left the twins a note on my bedroom door, just in case they woke up while I was gone, telling them that I had gone to see a friend and that I would be back soon.

I arrived at the tower in less than ten minutes. I knocked on the window of Kakashi's office and waited until he allowed me entrance. He swiveled around in his chair and shook his head. He stood up and opened the window enough for me to slip in.

He returned to his seat. "I should have known that you would show up so early," he says.

"If you had given me a specific time to be here then I would have arrived at the suggested time, but you didn't."

"I'll remember to do that next time." He raises two fingers and jerks them back, beckoning someone to him. "Sasuke, if you may."

Out from the shadows came Sasuke, his sharingan active. "Menma, I've been told about the discovery you've made." He sticks his hand out, palm upward. "Both Kakashi and I think that it would be a good idea if that item was examined by my eyes."

"Of course." I reach into my pocket and retrieve the sphere. I drop it into his hand and the tomoe in his eyes spin.

"Strange ball," Sasuke says aloud. He continues to fumble it, once palming it. "Very strange."

"How so?" Kakashi says. He steeples his hands and rest his eyes on Sasuke as he awaits an answer.

"Um," Sasuke sighed. "Well, for one, it's not even real." He rebuffs his statement before either of us can argue against it. "I mean, that it's not made of anything from this world. It's actually just chakra."

"What?" Kakashi says. "You're saying that ball is pure chakra? Nothing else?"

"Yeah. A pretty dense mass of it." Sasuke held it up before us. "Actually, it reminds me a lot of that Bijūdama thing that the Bijū did. Just a lot smaller and a lot less deadly."

I also try my best to make sense of what he's saying. "So how is the Bijūdama even stored in such a harmless state."

"It's not that though," Kakashi says. It seems like he's beginning to understand what the sphere is. "It was just created the same way-by compacting a huge mass of chakra. My guess is that Naruto created that ball."

"Definitely. I can see the fox's chakra in this thing easily. The question is, why did he create it?"

"And how did Kurenai get a hold of something like that? He certainly wasn't able to compact chakra like that before the war."

I sigh. I really do hate this week. "Those questions can only be answered by one person. Naruto." I frowned. I crossed my arms and looked down.

"Right," Kakashi says. "I will provide you with all the information that I have gathered concerning your father's whereabouts. If I come across any information that may lead to Naruto's discovery, you will be first to know. I wish you the best of luck in locating him, Menma." I looked up and Kakashi had already leveled his gaze on me. Both his eyes looked like they matched today.

"Thank you, Hokage-sama." I bowed. I was happy to be allowed to take this assignment, not because of Naruto, but for my mother's sake.

"No problem. But I have something that I need you to do first. Since you'll be gone for so long, I want you to do one final mission for me."

"Whatever you need, Hokage-sama."

"Good." He smiled. Even though I could not see it, I know that he's smiling right now. "Your mission will begin in three days. You will be transporting the children of the Yondaime Tsuchikage back to their home country. From there you will be on your own, doing your best to gather any information that may lead to the discovery of your father."

It was impossible not to groan. The twins are only tolerable for so long. I swallowed a growl and I accepted. Really, I did not feel negative about towing the twins back home; I feel too warm at the moment.

I feel so good right now, mother.

I look up at Kakashi and my lip tugs upward in my horrible "smile." I say "Thank you." For some reason he does not look so thrilled to hear that. He looks rather sad, really.

"Menma," I hear Sasuke mutter, "you're crying."

So that's why he looks like that. I try my smile again, but it has no affect on Kakashi. He smiles back sadly. "It's fine," he says, and I believe him.

Last Sunday my mother died, and now I'm finally crying.

---

I wrote this in a very short time span (just a few hours). I don't know why, but this was incredibly easy for me to get out, unlike my other stories at this point.

Naruto would be 29 in this story, and so would the rest of the rookie nine. Team Gai older, obviously. Concerning Naruto and Kurenai's relationship... I'll present that as an Omake for a few chapters. And the twins... If you really want to know, just PM me. It's spoiling it, but whatever. I think everyone knows where Mugen came from...

Namikaze Menma

Age: 16

Born: March 14

Blood type: B

Affiliation: Konohagakure

Academy Graduation Age: 8

Chunin promotion age: 10

Jonin promotion age: 15

Uzumaki Saiseki

Age: 11

Born: July 2

Blood type: B

Affiliation: Iwagakure

Academy Graduation Age: 10

Uzumaki Arakumo

Age: 11

Born: July 2

Blood type: B

Affiliation: Iwagakure

Academy Graduation Age: 10

Uzumaki Mugen

Age: 12

Born: December 23

Blood type: B

Affiliation: Oni no Kuni

Uchiha Suigyuu

Age: 9

Born: April 27

Blood type: A

Affiliation: Konohagakure

Uchiha Suisha

Age: 6

Born: January 11

Blood type: B

Affiliation: Konohagakure

Uchiha Mugi

Age: 3

Born: January 27

Blood type: A

Affiliation: Konohagakure