Author's note: It's been a while since I last updated this story. But after reading Naruto's ending, I felt like there was no need to continue with a story such as this, considering that all the canon things had been made. I FULLY respect the pairings Kishimoto has made, and I thank him SO much for creating a wonderful series such as Naruto. But what I don't like is the fact that some people outside Kishimoto's crew are trying to milk the Naruto-franchise. But still, I won't grovel nor throw tantrums about this. I respect both canon and non-canon and I won't seek to retcon this story. I don't own any of the characters. They belong to Masashi Kishimoto. The original characters belong to me.

Chapter 10: Helping Hands

Right by the gates of the Village Hidden in the Leaves

Nashiko, Shunsuke and Takeda were waiting for their teacher to arrive. In just a few moments, Menma approached them with a cheerful smile on his face. Shunsuke returned his teacher's kindness while Nashiko and Takeda only stared at him bored.

"Alright small-fries, let's hit the road! We're gonna have ourselves a good time doing this mission while getting to know each other better!" Menma exclaimed cheerfully. Shunsuke nodded with as a yes, while Nashiko and Takeda were not amused.

"Were are we going, Menma-sensei? Is it another country or something?" he asked while eyeing up on him. Menma chuckled while resting his arms behind his neck.

"Nice try guessing, Shunsuke. But a trip like that will have to be another time. No, you see, we are just gonna have ourselves a trip to a nice place here in the Land of Fire. You see, we have actually been given a mission there" Menma said.

"What kind of place is that?" Nashiko asked.

"Oh you find it soon enough. But less talking, more walking, c'mon!" the young man began walking and his students followed suit.

As they left the Leaf Village, Nashiko could only think about what plans Menma had for them. Takeda only stroke Arata's fur while paying little attention to what Menma said. He could care less where they were going. The only thing that interested him the most was the trip thing. Shunsuke had similar thoughts as Nashiko and were curious about what this so-called mission was.

Menma slowly turned around to view his students following his steps. He smiled and thought highly of himself as a teacher.

"It's just like old times. I remember when I was at their age and how I went through with this. It was one hell of a pain to begin with, but eventually I started to grow and learn thanks to that. Wouldn't you agree, Naruto-sensei? No, I should rather say….my future Hokage, the Great Naruto-sensei" Menma thought inside his head.

Near a local village, Land of Fire

Menma and his team had arrived at a local village where most of the villagers were farmers who relied upon their environment for food. But the village also had contact with other villages as well, not to mention that it was a modernized village compared to what existed 70 years ago. They had electricity and water.

As the team neared the village's entrance, they had fixed different expressions on their faces. Menma was laid-back and always enjoyed wandering from village to village. Nashiko was filled with curiosity. Shunsuke was amazed by what he saw. Takeda however, felt bored and yawned while Arata was hanging on his sweater's collar.

Once they reached the bustling village centre, Menma instructed his team what they were really doing here.

"Well that was a nice trip, wasn't it, kids? But that was only the first phase of our mission. Now we move on to the second phase. A ninja is more than just a tool, you know. Sometimes, they can be reliable partners or assistants. Take these villagers for example. Even though they are peaceful and kind, they must work hard every single day" Menma explained while his students followed closely.

"Working every single day? That sounds so boring if you ask me!" Nashiko remarked while flinching.

"They are farmers, dimwit! What do you expect them to be, pranksters who just waste their time on doing something stupid?" Takeda asked his teammate while finding Nashiko to be a little clueless.

The pink-haired girl only glared at him in return. "Butt out, muttface! At least I'm funnier than you!" Nashiko hit back at his long-haired teammate. Shunsuke only watched them nervously as usual.

"Now let settle this marriage problem aside, shall we? The villagers will think you are dating once they see you fighting with each other" Menma teasingly asked them to stop fighting while joking.

Both Nashiko and Takeda snapped after hearing this. They suddenly pretended they didn't know each other and looked into different directions. Shunsuke watched this while chuckling a little. In time, their attentions were refocusing on their sensei.

"So anyway, the thing here is: you must each find a person that really is struggling with work. Offer him or her help. I am certain they would be grateful for something as valuable as a helping hand" Menma explained, while his students were listening.

"But Menma-sensei, what if those villagers are afraid of ninjas?" Shunsuke asked, but Mamuro cut him off.

"I can assure you that these people know a ninja when they see one. They have always appreciated the help from the Leaf Village. Heck even the Hokage sent the village head a notice about this, and did he and his people seem scared to see us?" Menma convincingly asked Shunsuke while pointing out a fact.

Shunsuke looked around and so far, none of them had strongly reacted to the fact they were ninjas. The raven-haired boy smiled to himself. He eyed his sensei and nodded with a smile.

"Well then, you may begin your services from now. We meet here after two and a half hours. Good luck, small fries!" the laid-back jounin wished his students the best of luck.

"Yes, Menma-sensei!" the three students replied with formality and they walked to different places of the village.

As they were walking, Menma leaned over the fountain standing in the centre and viewed himself in the water's reflection. He smiled to himself while admiring his look.

"Well what do you know, Menma Umino, now a proud student of three young rascals!" he thought to himself while chuckling.

Near the village's exit

Takeda was walking towards the exit. He had a plan. Instead of helping as he was supposed to do, he would run into the forest and chill there. Once the two and a half hours had passed, he would return to the village centre and pretend he had done the mission.

The brown-haired boy smirked to himself while his hands were in his pockets. Arata was hanging on his collar while watching everything that happened.

"As if I would waste my time doing crappy things like these" Takeda thought while observing the area around him. Many people were speaking to each other about something which Takeshi didn't even bother to know about.

But before he reached the exit, he was stopped by an unknown voice coming to him. He turned around to see who it was. It was an old woman who was holding onto a wooden staff. She had grey hair and her nose was incredibly long. It was as if she was a bird. Her eyes were closed and they never opened.

"Pardon me, young gentleman. But are you a ninja from the Leaf Village?" she asked him.

"Yeah…..so what does it matter?" Takeda answered while asking like he was confused. The old woman smiled.

"Hohoho, then that's perfect! You see I have a favour to ask of you!" the old woman said with pleasure and motioned for Takeda to come closer. As he got closer, he could feel a terrible smell coming from the old woman. But he tried not to show it. Only Arata expressed his disgust openly.

"Eeeewww! What the hell is that smell!? Seriously! Does she have an outhouse for a bathroom or something?" Takeda asked himself while trying not to make her offended.

"Would you care to help me with cutting my hedge? It has grown so long that it almost looks like a large, green wall" she asked Takeda.

The young boy was very reluctant at first and he was more interested in chilling. But after noticing how frail the old woman's body was, he changed his mind. Perhaps this one time, he could help her.

"Okay…then show me the hedge. Is it over at your house?" he asked while preparing to follow her. She nodded while smiling.

"Oh yes indeed! Follow me, young gentleman" she said and Takeda followed him, although he grumbled lowly at her gentleman comment.

Standing outside a pig pen

Nashiko found herself feeling very unlucky. She had been approached by an obese farmer who desperately needed help. He also mentioned that she reminded him of a young girl with pink hair many years ago. Nashiko was more than happy to say yes, knowing that this man had probably met her mother. But she was never told of what she was supposed to help him with. She was actually supposed to help him in a pig pen, where there were about 8 adult pigs living there. The young girl now stood by the pig pen, having just been given boots to wear while entering it. But she was also feeling herself disgusted by the smell coming from the pig pen.

"I don't think I can handle this!" Nashiko thought while making dopey grimaces.

The farmer suddenly appeared. He was baldheaded and had goatee around his chin. His weight reminded Nashiko of Chouta's father. He was carrying with him a bucket which contained pig food. The way the farmer spoke was very foreign to the young girl.

"Okay now, little girl. Now it's time to feed da pigs! And this ain't some easy job, for persons like us. Feedin' pigs is almost as difficult as to feedin' hooligans in da pub!" the farmer explained, but Nashiko was not responding. She only watched the pigs with disgust. This made the farmer worried.

"What's wrong, little missy? Are you copying what I'm sayin'?" he asked her, thus snapping Nashiko out of her thoughts.

"Oh yes sir! I get what you're saying! But I have a question: those pigs inside are normal and friendly to humans, right?" she asked with uneasiness.

"Ah nah, nah, little girl, they ain't like that! Those pigs technically hate everything dat resembles a human, or worse a butcher" the farmer told her, thus making her gulp.

"Please tell me that he's wrong!" Nashiko thought worringly.

"Say little girl, what's your name? I remember meetin' a trio of youngsters at your age many years ago. There was this sassy girl with da large forehead. She was accompanied by an annoying loudmouth, a masked pervert who ain't showed his face to me and a whiney emo. She had similar hairstyle as you" he asked while pointing out, making Nashiko feeling very embarrassed. She knew what he was talking about.

"My name is Nashiko Uzumaki. And this sassy girl with the big forehead you're speaking of is my mom: Sakura Haruno. Furthermore she is actually married to that annoying loudmouth, who's technically my dad: Naruto Uzumaki" Nashiko explained while sweating. The farmer eyed her surprised. He started laughing with joy.

"Hahahaha, so they finally got together huh!? Funny, because I was expetcin' da loudmouth and da emo to end up togetha! They were a perfect match, hahahahaha!" the farmer continued laughing while Nashiko only watched him dumbfounded.

"So I get to work in a peg pen with some random dude who happens to have met my parents? Could this get any worse?" Nashiko asked inside her head.

"Now it's a nice name you have there, Nashiko. Let me introduce mahself! Mah name's rebel father Kenjiro. But people usually call me Uncle Kenny, no relation" he introduced himself and opened the door to the pig pen.

Once inside the pig pen, Nashiko could see 8 mature pigs standing by the corner of the pig pen resting. They were incredibly large for being just ordinary pigs. Their sizes were that of a wild boar. But it didn't take long before the pigs caught wind of the pinkette and the farmer and they rose up to face them. Their faces were filled with aggression. Nashiko gulped once more. This was going to get ugly, especially with animals such as these.

"Alright, now let us begin da feedin'! You will have da honour of doin' dat!" the farmer exclaimed cheerfully and handed over the bucket to the pink-haired girl, who snapped when she was given it.

"Well I hope Shunsuke and Takeda got worse jobs than this" Nashiko thought, hoping this would at least give her some satisfaction.

At the old woman's house

Takeda was filled with anger and outrage. Once he had caught a glimpse of the old woman's house, the brown-haired boy was filled with regret. The hedge went around the house like it was a wall protecting it. Or worse, the hedge had grown so tall that that it was nearly impossible to see her house.

"YOU GOTTA BE FREAKING KIDDING ME!" Takeda said inside his mind while his mouth was hanging.

"Okay, young gentleman, you may begin your work now! Here's a pair scissor for you to use. Use it wisely!" she declared with uttermost pride, making Takeda slump in defeat, but he took the scissors nonetheless.

"This is gonna take many hours before it's done!" Takeda said to himself, only to be weakly slapped on his face by the old woman.

"Oh stop with this nonsense! When I was at your age this was a normal thing for me to do!" she said while addressing him like a student. "And you haven't introduced yourself, young man. Who are you?" she suddenly asked. The long-haired boy sighed deeply to himself.

"The name's Takeda Inuzuka. And this is my dog Arata" he said with no enthusiasm in his voice.

The old woman eyed him curiously and began studying Takeda's appearance. This made the young boy feeling confused. He didn't know what in the world she was doing.

"Are you really an Inuzuka? Funny, because judging from your eyes and hair, you look more like a Hyuuga to me" the old woman suddenly remarked, making Takeda very surprised. How could she possess knowledge about the different clans from the Leaf Village?

"I hate to be rude, madam. But I am actually half-Inuzuka/half-Hyuuga. My father is an Inuzuka and my mother is a Hyuuga, and that's it!" Takeda explained while trying to be gentle.

"Well that is fascinating to hear from you, young Takeda. And now I think it's time for me to introduce to you. I am Ginko, once a well-renowed scholar throughout the Land of Fire. We will talk later, after you finish cutting my hedge. Now toddles!" she said with humour, making Takeda slump in defeat.

Takeda could only hope neither Nashiko, Shunsuke nor Menma would see him doing this. And he hoped none of this would be mentioned once they got back home. Perhaps his mother would've been okay with it, but what about his father? He was relatively too busy and miserable to laugh at something like this.

Inside an old shack

Shunsuke had by coincidence stumbled upon an old man who was disabled and sat on a wheelchair. This made the impression on Shunsuke that he needed help. So he was invited to his home in and old shack. It was just the old man living there, and despite sitting on a wheelchair, he managed himself very well. Right now, they were eating some cookies while engaging in a conversation.

"Thanks for inviting me in, sir. Those cookies taste delicious!" Shunsuke said while chewing on some. The old man smiled in return.

"I am glad you like them" he said in return.

"So was there anything specific you needed help with? I could for example help you clean your home or…." Shunsuke asked him, but the shinobi only cut him off.

"I don't need help on these things. The only thing I need…..is someone to talk to" the old man revealed, thus surprising the raven-haired boy.

"Someone to talk with…but I am a ninja, not a psychologist" Shunsuke pointed out.

"That doesn't matter. I don't talk much with the villagers living here, so I really need someone to talk to" the old man said while trying to be convincing as possible. Shunsuke didn't feel like argue with him. "I still haven't asked about your name, kid. Care to introduce yourself?" he suddenly asked, much to Shunsuke's caution.

What was he going to say? Was he going to say that he was an Uchiha? But he couldn't lie, not in front of a kind man such as him. The young boy gulped before speaking.

"M-My name i-is…..Shunsuke…Shunsuke Uchiha" he finally said it while closing his eyes, hoping nothing bad would happen after he said the name Uchiha.

The old man eyed him with surprise, but he was not feeling threatened by just sitting beside Shunsuke. He got a closer look at him and wondered why he was acting so uncomfortable. The old man began stroking his forehead softly while forming a smile on his face. Shunsuke opened his eyes with surprise.

"Easy there, kid. Did you expect me to call you names or something?" he asked softly. The young boy was feeling calmer after hearing this. "I admit it's a surprise seeing an Uchiha….but your face…..it's seems…..less stoic than that of an ordinary Uchiha" he added.

"I…..I was born many years after the Uchiha Massacre…as well as the Fourth Shinobi World War" Shunsuke answered while trying not to let a tear fall from his eyes. The old man nodded.

"I see…..I take it you must be…..the son of Sasuke Uchiha, correct?" he asked with curiosity. Shunsuke nodded weakly, his gaze never taking off him. "Well this is surprising, I thought I had seen the last of him" he suddenly added. Shunsuke was surprised.

"What do you mean? Have you…met my father?" he asked lowly and the old man surprisingly nodded.

"Yeah….but that was many years ago…..in the Land of Iron. You see, I was a samurai in my younger days. It was when…..he attacked the Five Kage Summit hosted by my former superior Mifune" the old man revealed.

Shunsuke was amazed by what he heard. This old man was actually a retired samurai. And what's more, he had actually "met" his father before. The young boy slowly gazed upon his feet and wondered if something happened between them that caused him to be disabled.

"Did…..my father…..do this to you?" he asked, but the old man shook his head at him.

"Oh no, I got this injury during the Fourth Shinobi World War. The attack on the Hokage Summit happened months before the war started. However, I witnessed my comrades getting killed in cold blood by the black flames of your father" he explained grimly, thus making Shunsuke feel uncomfortable.

"My mother has said to me that…my father did many atrocities during that period. But...he eventually redeemed himself and helped everyone in defeating Madara" Shunsuke explained.

"I know that…..but I have something to say to you regarding your status as an Uchiha. When I look into your face…..I see an Uchiha who isn't infected by the Curse of Hatred. I may not have a great understanding of ninja clans, but…who is your mother?" he asked.

"My mother's name is Ino Yamanaka. She and my dad knew each other since they entered the Academy. But I also have a twin brother" Shunsuke revealed, thus surprising the old man.

"A twin brother you say? Now that sounds intriguing" the old man said and suddenly something hit him. "Oh how rude of me! I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Hiromaru, an ex-samurai once stationed in the Land of Iron. But after damaging my legs in the war, I retired from military stuff. I travelled a lot by just wheeling, and eventually, I settled here" the old man introduced himself, much to Shunsuke's interest.

"You must've had a tough life, Hiromaru. I mean all this travelling while losing your legs. You're amazing!" Shunsuke exclaimed, making Hiromaru chuckling.

"You are also amazing, Shunsuke. A good talk with someone like you is just what I needed to feel myself better.

Inside the village's local inn

Menma was sitting by the bartender's counter while relaxing with a drink. He was feeling very confident that his students would manage themselves through all the hard work. He had himself been through them as a rookie genin.

But while he was slurping chugs of water, he paused once he could detect something suspicious going on at a table by the corner. Menma's hearing was very incredible for a shinobi to possess. He could hear a trio of shinobis whispering to each other about something troubling, something regarding his students. Those were rouge ninjas with no permanent homes.

"Did you hear that? There are three small Leaf Village pricks skulking around here. You know what that means, right?" The smallest of the rogue ninjas with spikey hair asked his comrades.

"Yeah, that means they have come here to challenge us! I hope they aren't strong" the tallest of the rogue ninjas said dimwittedly.

"Oh don't worry about them you fat-headed moron! They're just kids! They lack experience like we have. How about we go outside and challenge those three to a fight? I am certain they would show up if we fight three on three" the middle-sized rogue ninja suggested and both of his comrades agreed.

Menma was wondering whether he should've confronted them about this. But after a few seconds, he didn't bother. However he would step outside to see those three stupid rogue ninjas getting humiliated by his students, who had more potential than even he realised. As the rogue ninja trio went outside, Menma continued slurping his drink.

"It's a shame those three weren't on my Most Wanted list. If so, then I would've confronted them right away. Those weaklings aren't worth my time. Now let's see if those small-fries really are something special. I can't wait" Menma thought inside his head while smirking.

To be continued…

Author's note: That was chapter 10. If some of you found this chapter boring then I will try to improve myself. However, the mission they are on is reminiscent of the first missions of Naruto and his team. I also plan to make Mamuro a bit different from Kakashi. Just look at his laid-back and easy-going nature. Stay tuned for more!