The Second Son

"Yo! Did anyone mention me?" A young man in his late teens asked with a smug smile on his face.

"Speak of the cat and he comes jumping." Minato joked.

Kushina though was not in a joking mood and directed her anger at the newcomer. "Get your ass over here. I'm not very happy with you right now."

"Oh boy, what did you do this time Menma?" Minato asked as a sweat drop appeared on his forehead. This was a scene all too familiar in their household.

The young man named Menma seemed perplexed. "I didn't do anything. Honest. If I was up to no good I would tell."

"Then where the heck are the eggs I told you to buy this morning!? You didn't even come back for breakfast. Why are you always insistent on messing around so much? How did my son turn out to be such a problem child? Why can't you be more like your older brother?" Kushina nagged as per usual.

"I wasn't messing around. I was with dad all morning because he called me in."

"Then where were you just now?" Kushina gave her son a suspicious look. "Are you sure you weren't trying to hit on some nurse at the hospital?"

"Dad, tell her. I was with you until just a while ago wasn't I? Ma's always on my case."

"Well, you are a bit of a troublemaker though so it's hard to argue with your mother. But honestly Kushina, Menma was with me the whole morning as I explained our plans to him and he decided to take my place. Despite his somewhat aloof nature, if anyone can face Naruto besides me, it is him. Menma is also our son after all."

Menma Namikaze, now 19 years of age was the second son of Minato and Kushina. His looks were almost entirely derived from his father, very similar to Naruto and as such he had a striking resemblance to his brother as well. In terms of his character however, he was anything like his father, an aloof and unfettered soul that loved pranking and having a good time, traits that gave Kushina an endless amount of headaches. He was barely ever serious like his father, but in those rare occasions that he was, Menma was perhaps one of the most reliable and powerful shinobi in Amegakure, known for his alias as the "Yellow Flash 2.0" – the successor to the original Yellow Flash, his father. As such Minato sought his son's aid as his replacement during this very important mission that lay ahead.

"Dad told me all about your plans and what I need to do. You can leave this to me. I'll get it done." Menma confidently reassured his mother.

Kushina was barely convinced though. "I don't think you understand the gravity of this situation Menma. You barely ever do. You're too easy going. A lot is riding on this mission, far more than you can imagine. Plus it is your brother we're talking about here that you'll have to face. Do you realise what you are up against?"

"He's the Hokage now right? So what? Big deal. I got this in the bag!"

"Do you not see what happened to your father? And that was with him facing your sister-in-law. Your brother is going to be even worse. There is a reason why he is the Hokage. That means he is acknowledged by the entire village as the strongest amongst them all. One wrong move and he could break you in half. This is no joke, especially with how you take everything so lightly."

"Well thanks for the encouragement Ma. Way to put your younger son down in favour of the older one." Menma became annoyed after hearing his brother's praise for the umpteenth time and decided to retaliate. "Besides, why the heck do you always tell me to be like this older brother of mine? I've never seen him so it's very hard for me to relate to him. In fact it's not like you've spent any time with him either. You were separated from him right after his birth, so you've had pretty much zero influence on his life. Yet you put me down, the son that you've been with ever since I was born. That makes a lot of sense doesn't it?"

"Menma, you don't understand!" Kushina was about to retaliate when Minato came in between them.

"Alright that's enough. You two have argued enough…as always." He said with a sigh. "You know, the two of you should really think about me sometimes. As much as I love you both, it can be quite problematic having two hot heads in the family. I'm the one who has to always mediate between the two of you and it can be really taxing."

"All I'm saying is that he should try to walk in Naruto's footsteps. Even though we weren't there to raise him, Naruto still worked incredibly hard to become the strongest shinobi in Konoha and even became the Hokage, one who holds a position of great responsibility. Compared to him Menma has so much more growing up to do." Kushina argued her case.

"And all I'm saying is that I'm sick and tired of hearing about this brother of mine, someone I've never even met. Just let me at him for once and I'll prove once and for all that I'm better. Even I can be very strong if I want to be, and in this instance I will take this seriously if not just to prove her wrong about this Uzumaki Naruto being so much better than me."

Sparks were now flying between mother and son and Minato was caught in between the mess, as always.

"Okay okay I get it. Both of you make good points. Now let us calm down and devise our plan." Minato replied with a sigh once more before turning to his wife. "Look Kushina, I know how you feel. Naruto has grown up to be a truly amazing person, but that doesn't mean Menma doesn't have his own redeeming qualities. Sure he can be a bit childish at times but when he wants to, he can be the very reliable as well. His dedication towards us is unquestionable. Besides that I also understand your worries about him facing Naruto, who may arguably be the strongest shinobi alive. But we've trained Menma ourselves and he is our son as well. So if there is anyone who can stand up to Naruto, it is him. I can vouch for him with all my heart and I know you can too."

"I know that." Kushina, while looking down on the ground whispered to her husband. "I know that. I know better than anyone else how powerful and reliable Menma can be if he tried. But I just worry about him all the time…he is my baby boy after all. I'm just trying to protect him."

"So the real feelings finally come out. He's not a baby anymore Kushina. You have to put your faith in him." Minato smiled at his wife's response before turning to his son. "See Menma, you really shouldn't take your mother's words as being malicious. Deep down she loves you and wishes for your best. The comparisons with your brother are not meant to be demeaning. In fact this is why I think it'll be interesting for you to meet your brother and see first hand his strength. It'll give you an appreciation of who he truly is as a shinobi. Do you really think you can get the job done exactly as I told you?"

Menma nodded to his father before turning towards his mother once more with a calm and caring look this time. "Look Ma, I get that you're always worrying about me, but I'm not a little kid anymore. I don't know much about this brother of mine, but I'm an established shinobi myself. I can take on dangerous missions and complete them successfully. I'm the son of the Yellow Flash and the Red Habanero after all, aren't I? So have some faith in me. I will definitely take responsibility and help you two out this time."

When her son showed this much determination for a change, it really was hard for Kushina to say no to him. Despite the nagging and bickering she did with Menma, he was her precious little boy. Perhaps because she couldn't be there to take care of Naruto in his childhood Kushina was a bit overprotective of her second son and also overly critical of his every action. Regardless, in the end it was all due to how much she truly cared for him.

"Well, what do you say miss Red Habanero? Has he got the clear?" Minato asked jokingly.

"First of all don't call me that, it's unflattering. Second…yes." Kushina replied with a sigh. "But I'll be keeping an eye on him."

"Yaaay we did it!" Menma celebrated by sharing a brilliant high five with his father. Those two had more of a friend-like relationship than simply a father and son one.

"Well this is great. I suppose Kushina can show you the key targets involved in this mission. You'll need a couple of items though." Minato walked over to his bedside drawers to pick up those said items.

"We'll be heading out early tomorrow morning okay? So be prepared." Kushina instructed her son to which he nodded excitedly.

In the mean time Minato returned with two of his special three pronged kunai and his signature spiral mask that gave him his Tobi identity. He handed these items to his son.

"Remember son, under no circumstance can you allow Naruto to see your true identity. Do everything in your power to keep yourself hidden under the disguise of this mask and the alias of Tobi. This is an absolute must. We're supposed to be the bad guys here."

Menma took the mask and examined it curiously, putting it on to make sure it fit. There was this odd sense of power he felt while assuming this alias and for the very first time in his life he would deliberately be taking the role of the villain.

"I get the mask but what's up with the kunai?" Menma asked. "It's not like I need them."

"These are a bit special since they have seals connecting to ones your mother placed on Boruto a while back. This will allow you to directly teleport near Boruto's location no matter where he is as long as you can use my space-time teleportation technique. It's a way we set up to track the boy and teleport to him whenever necessary. However do keep in mind that it can be quite draining to teleport to him the further he is away from you. So it's ideal if you were reasonably close to his location in the first place before making the jump to him."

"Alright sounds like we've got a plan in our hands. Our meeting's over for now right?" Menma asked his parents to which they both nodded. "In that case I'm out to have fun until then!"

Before either of them could even utter a word, there was a yellow flash and Menma was gone like the wind.

"I worry about this Minato." Kushina said with a sigh.

"It'll be fine. He's strong. For now you should go and rest up as well. Tomorrow will be eventful."

Thus Kushina shared goodbyes and went home to prepare for the day to come.

The next morning…

Kushina and Menma had travelled all the way to the village where Hinata and Boruto resided and were currently watching Hinata working at her bakery from afar while transformed as your average civilians so as to not give away their identities.

"So you see that's Naruto's wife, which makes her your sister-in-law." Kushina explained.

Menma's eyes almost popped out of his sockets at first sight of Hinata. "HOLY HOT MAMA! That's my brother's wife?! That lucky little git! She is smokin' hot!"

Kushina frowned at the comment. "What the heck are you saying about someone else's wife?"

"I mean just look at her though. She is lookin' mighty fine! Besides are they even married anymore? I mean if I remember correct she left him like 8 years ago. I think she's probably open season. Besides I just wanna have a chat, that's all."

"Wait what? No Menma stop!?" Before she could even finish, Menma was gone in the blink of an eye.

Menma arrived at the front of the bakery with an odd swagger in his steps and confidently greeted Hinata with an overzealous "HIII!", one that exceeded the bounds of what could be considered normal.

However Hinata did not pay much heed to any ulterior that may have been behind that greeting and welcomed the customer in her usual graceful self. "Hello, nice to meet you. What can I get you today?"

"Oh my goodness, not only does she look like an angel but her voice is like one too!" Menma nearly melted into the ground just from being greeted by Hinata, but somehow managed to compose himself to speak once more.

"I uh had a question. Was your dad a baker? Cuz you have some nice buns!" He blurted out in the heat of the moment.

There was a few seconds of silence as Menma reconsidered his choice of compliment and realised it may not have quite worked out. In fact it was downright terrible.

"No my father was not a baker, far from it actually. But I'm glad that you like the buns I've made. They are my original recipe, so I can definitely vouch for their taste. Would you like to get some?" Hinata asked ever so politely, completely missing what Menma was actually referring to.

"I see…so you have tasty buns…Guhehe! I'll have two of them if you wouldn't mind." Menma right now had a borderline creepy smile on his face that would have repulsed most women, but despite this Hinata with her angel-like grace served her customer with a smile of her own, one that was far more heart-warming as opposed to shiver inducing.

"Here you go, I hope you enjoy." Hinata handed the two freshly baked buns to her customer and stored the money she received in the cash register. "Anything else I can get for you today?"

"Actually yes. I was looking for a type of food that contains a particular nutrient that my doctor says I'm in serious need of. And I think you may have it."

Hinata was a little perplexed at the request since not many people asked her about the nutritional value of her baked products. But perhaps this person needed to do so to maintain good health, as such Hinata decided to help out however she could. "Sure, I can do my best to help as far as I'm able."

"You see my doctor said that I'm apparently lacking in Vitamin U right now. Do you think I could perhaps have something with Vitamin U?"

Hinata had a very confused look on her face given that she had never heard of such a type of Vitamin. "I'm sorry. I don't think any of my baked products have Vitamin U. In fact, I don't even think there is such a thing as Vitamin U. Are you sure you're not getting it mixed up with something else?"

Menma's initial approach failed miserably but he wasn't about to give up just yet. As such he tried a second time. "Actually, now that I look at you, I think you're lacking in a particular type of nutrient as well. Have you been to the doctor lately because I think you're in severe need of Vitamin Me."

Menma was almost certain that this time his one liner would be a guaranteed hit. He was awfully proud of himself for coming up with it. But to his dismay Hinata remained 100% oblivious.

She smiled wryly, feeling a bit uncomfortable but still not realising the ulterior meaning behind Menma's words. "I don't think there is such a thing as Vitamin Me either. And I'm in pretty good health as far as I'm aware."

Her words left Menma in shock. He was sure Hinata would have picked up on the hints he was throwing her way by now. But her responsiveness was on par with a tree trunk. This level of obliviousness was downright criminal he thought.

Little did Menma know that he wasn't the first person to have been shot down by Hinata's pure unawareness towards men approaching her with romantic interest, to the point where she was infamously known amongst her admirers in the village as the "Unapproachable Beauty". When Hinata first moved into the village, given that she appeared single despite having a son, there were many a men who tried to approach her in order to start something given her exceptional looks and disposition. But Hinata always inadvertently shot them down with her pure obliviousness and a gentle smile, breaking every one of their hearts. It didn't matter how direct they were, she somehow never got the message and didn't considered any of them as a potential suitor.

This was all because when it came to romance Hinata's brain worked in a very peculiar way. She separated out all the men in the world into two groups. On one side there was Naruto, whose words and actions she loved and viewed in a romantic light. On the other side there were the rest of the men in the world, who were just people with nothing attractive about them, no matter how good they looked or how nice they were to her. Some might consider this a mental illness but when it came to matters of romance, Hinata's mind was only capable of conceiving of Naruto and Naruto alone. That was just how she was.

Menma, realising that his roundabout words were not working decided to go all in at this point. "Would you like me to help you put a bun in your ove-"

Before he could finish, there was a swift chop to his neck that nearly left him unconsciousness.

"Ahahaha, I hope my idiot son hasn't been causing you too much trouble. You see I dropped him on his head as a kid which ended up giving him permanent brain damage. So I apologise for any inconvenience he may have caused you. I'll be taking him with me now." Kushina explained to her daughter-in-law in her disguised form with a wry smile.

Menma cringed at the explanation but decided not to say a word since his mother would kill him later otherwise.

"Ah I see, now it all makes sense!" Hinata's innocent reply was enough to shatter the young man's heart into a million pieces. "I'm really sorry to hear that. I hope he can recover somehow."

Kushina wasted no time and dragged her son away by the collar into some dark alleyway and was now stomping away at him with full force in her infamous Red Habanero mode. "YOU IDIOT, IDIOT! YOU STUPID IDIOT! What do you think you're doing!? Even as a joke that's taking it too far. What if she discovered our disguise? Did you want to blow our plans even before they could get started?"

"Ouch ouch ouch mama that hurts! This is child abuse! I was only joking! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Menma cried out in pain but the thrashing did not stop.

"I need to beat some sense into a lecherous perv like you. Now repent!"

"It's not fair." Menma replied in a rather melancholic tone, one that surprised his mother and stopped her offense. "It's not fair that this brother of mine had such a kind and good looking wife and he just ditched her. If I were in his place I would never let her go, no matter what. Yet women avoid me with a ten foot pole. What did I do wrong?"

For once Kushina felt sorry for her son and decided to show more of her caring side. "Your brother didn't ditch her or just let her go. It was complicated, that's why we're doing everything we're doing right now to rectify matters. As for you Menma, the reason why women dislike you is because you're always acting like a pest. Women like men who are responsible and act gallantly, not someone who always appears so desperate. I mean you've got your father's looks and pretty high status within the Uzumaki clan, so none of that is an issue. If you only acted serious more often which I know you're capable of, I think you could be a splendid man."

Menma turned towards his mother with hopeful eyes. "You really think so?"

"I don't think so. I know so."

"In that case I'll go talk to her seriously this time!"

"No you idiot, STOP IT!"

Menma was about to make a dash towards the bakery as Kushina reached out for her son's collar once more in order to stop him. At that moment however a young boy with a rather distinctive look passed by the main road connecting to the alleyway. He only peeked in once to find out the cause of the ongoing commotion but didn't stop since he didn't want to get involved. Within a moment he was gone.

"Was that who I think he was?" Menma asked his mother.

"Yes he's the one. He's Boruto, your nephew and your target, the crux of our plan. Remember him carefully."

"I see." Menma replied, yet there was an odd sense of weight to his voice right now unlike everything he had said so far. It almost felt like he was a different person.

"Can we really rely on you to get this done properly?"

"Don't worry, consider it done." Menma reassured his mother in a tone that made him sound like the most reliable person in the world. "In any case, our job here is done. Let's get of here. I've some preparations to make."

Thus both mother and son left the village with haste.

The weekend – Saturday morning, day before Boruto's birthday…

The weekend was finally here and Boruto's birthday was just one day away. The young boy was ecstatic given that his mother had planned out a small birthday party at their house where he invited all of his close friends from school. It was shaping out to be a day of fun. But if that wasn't enough his master would be around as well. Right now he headed towards his master's mansion in order to continue with his usual training. It didn't take long before he was entering the front garden to the mansion but to his surprise he found the older blonde haired man standing at the front door dressed up to go out.

"Whoa, what are you doing up this early in the morning?" Boruto asked out of surprise.

"Actually I have something cool planned out for the two of us today and I didn't want to waste any time. Think of it like an early birthday surprise and it'll allow us to put all your training thus far to the test."

Now Naruto had his son's interest.

"Okay, what is it?" The young boy questioned excitedly.

"I've got a ninja mission for you."

Boruto's eyes widened almost to the point of popping out of his eye sockets. He was shocked beyond his imagination. "A mission!? AN HONEST TO GOODNESS REAL NINJA MISSION!?"

"Yup, a ninja mission in a village that's actually not too far from here. We received a request for it recently but since the village that requested it was so far away I couldn't send anyone to it. Plus it's only a D rank mission, so it's not exactly the highest on our priority list. But if you'd like, you can try and see if you can complete it. Of course I'll help if necessary but since you're not part of the active roster of ninja and I'm the Hokage, so I'm technically not supposed to be going on any missions, let alone D ranked missions, neither of us will be getting credit for completing the mission. Regardless, I think it'd be a good learning experience for you. What do you say? You up for it even though it's a D ranked mission?"

"Up for it? OF COURSE I'M UP FOR IT! LET'S GOOOOO!" Boruto pulled Naruto along with all the force in the world even though he didn't even know where they were supposed to be going. That's how excited he was. "I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE WHAT THE MISSION IS!"

About an hour later…

"So this is the mission…" Boruto's excitement had deflated into nothingness after arriving at the village in question and finding out the actual objective of the mission. "Are you firkin kidding me? I have to catch some stupid cat? And that's supposed to put my ninja skills to the test?"

"I did say that it was a D ranked mission. These low rank missions are generally odd jobs that you have to do for a client. In this particular case it seems that the village leader's favourite cat has escaped and none of the villagers have been able to capture it. This guy is apparently very fast and crafty, so they asked for a ninja to help catch it. And that's where you come in." Naruto and Boruto currently stood in a park and surveyed their target, a black cat that was sitting on top of a slide licking its paws.

"I'm a ninja. I should be saving the world or something, not catching some guy's stupid cat."

"Well, a ninja does what his mission asks him to do. You're the one who accepted it, so you might as well get it done."

"Fine whatever. Let's do this and get out of here." Boruto groaned in annoyance and ran after the cat, who sprang into action instantly and dashed out of the park. This would lead to a massive goose chase around the village.

Naruto sat down on a bench as he saw his son run out of the park. He decided to let him do the job by himself. Even though it may be as simple a task as catching a cat, it would still be a learning experience for him.

Before long though, there was someone who approached him from behind.

"Naruto-kun, may I take a seat beside you?" Houka requested. She was currently in her original form and looked nearly identical to Hinata, apart from her signature reddish-orange hair. Coming into the village in her beast form would raise quite the chaos.

"Of course, feel free." Naruto moved slightly, allowing for his wife's clone to sit beside him. "It's been a while, or so I would say if not for you following me and Boruto to the festival last time and now to this village here. You know you could have just joined us on the trips. I'm sure Boruto would get used to your forms."

"No, that's not it. I didn't want to get in between father and son. I thought it'd be better if you spent time alone with him as it would allow the two of you to get to know each other better. Besides, I was just asked by the princess to keep an eye out on Boruto."

"I see, so what do you think? Isn't it great? Our son is on his first mission as a ninja. He's definitely grown hasn't he?" Naruto asked while feeling proud as a father.

"Even though the mission requires for him to catch a cat?" Houka giggled at the irony. "You complained to the Hokage about the D ranked missions as well."

"Yeah I remember we had to do some silly stuff when we first got started. These D-ranked missions are hardly becoming of a shinobi. Perhaps I should take a long hard look at them and make some changes as the Hokage." Naruto grimaced. "So, what brings you here right now? Judging from your demeanour it doesn't seem like you're here to have some idle chit-chat with me. Is there something on your mind?"

"I wish to inform you of something rather important. Something that I feel that you should know Naruto-kun." Houka's expression now took a much more serious turn. "Last weekend, the day before you took Boruto to the festival, the princess and Boruto were attacked by a man named Tobi. His intentions were to kidnap Boruto and an all out battle broke out between the princess and that man."

"WHAT!?" Naruto shouted as he stood up from the bench in shock and horror. "Is everything okay!? How come Boruto didn't mention any of this to me!?"

"He doesn't know about the events since the princess knocked him unconscious before the altercation took place. Everything is fine for now. The princess, I and Yuki were able to push him back and secure a victory, but that man managed to escape, vowing to be back for Boruto once more."

"Can you fill me in on the details?" Naruto requested urgently.

As such Houka told him about the events that took place on the day Hinata left Konoha and how Tobi had saved her from the masked man. Now that same Tobi was back and his true motives behind saving Hinata back then was to not allow Boruto to be killed so that the young boy could eventually be used as some sort of a weapon. It was complicated but Houka went over as much of the details she could in the time they had in order to fill Naruto in on the events that led to the present.

"How did all of this insanity unfold without me even knowing? And here I thought I had finally captured the masked perpetrator who attacked Hinata from all those years ago. Yet here we have another enemy in whoever this Tobi is. Things just keep getting more and more complicated."

"Wait did you just say that you caught whoever it was that attacked us all those years ago?" Houka asked out of surprise. "Who was he?"

"It was Danzo, or so we strongly believe. He's currently under interrogation but refuses to speak. We'll get all the information out of him sooner or later though. That being said this Tobi guy seems like he could be an even bigger threat. I need to act fast. I have to sort out this mess between myself and Hinata asap so that I can protect all of you properly. I did make a promise after all."

"It's okay Naruto-kun. You need not worry. I believe that you will keep your promise." Houka gently caressed Naruto's face in order to relieve some of his tension. "In any case, it seems Boruto is on his way back. I think I should be going. I'll leave him in your care for now."

Naruto nodded and as suddenly as she appeared, Houka was gone once more. Soon after Boruto came back to Naruto with a black cat in hand, his clothes dirty from having chased it around the whole village.

"You did it! You completed your first mission as a ninja. CONGRATS!" Naruto clapped his hands in celebration of his student's grand achievement.

"For some reason I don't feel as accomplished I thought I would feel after my first mission." Boruto replied in an emotionless tone.

"That's not true. We all have to start at the bottom and rise up from there. Think of this as your very first step and you've performed amazingly. You've made me proud as your master…and your father." Naruto complimented his son, leaving out the last part in his mind. "In any case, let's go hand this little beast over to its rightful owner and head back home."

Thus both father and son met up with the village leader and returned his cat to him before leaving the village. On their way back Boruto was sitting on top of Naruto's shoulders as usual while the veteran ninja jumped from tree to tree at an incredible speed until they reached an open prairie. Naruto decided to take a quick break in order to take in the view of the calm open grassy prairie and enjoy the fresh air.

"Boruto do you think you could visit my house at some point tomorrow? I have a surprise for your birthday."

"Hmmm…Kaa-chan is holding a birthday party in the morning for me with all my friends. So I should be able to drop by in the evening for a little bit if I requested her. I can't stay for too long though as I'm not allowed to be out by myself after dark."

"That's fine. Even if you can come for an hour or two, that'll be great."

"What's the surprise?" Boruto was now curious.

"Well if I told you what it is, it wouldn't really be a surprise now would it?"

"I guess you're right. Well I can't wait to find out."

"I can't wait to show you either."

While father and son were having their usual small talk, Naruto suddenly felt a powerful presence approach them at an unbelievable speed. With his inhuman reflexes Naruto shrugged Boruto off his shoulders, making sure he landed safely and blocked the enemy's kunai with his own, sending it flying into the sky.

A hooded man wearing an orange spiralling mask landed a little distance away from Naruto as he caught the special three pronged kunai that Naruto had deflected away.

Thus it was the first confrontation between Naruto and Tobi.

We're very close to Boruto finding out about who Naruto truly is. In fact we're just one chapter away, after the next one. My plans are to release that chapter where Boruto finds out about his father on the 27th of this month, which will in fact be the anniversary of this story. It has almost been a year since I started writing this and what a journey it has been so far.

From last time rodina2000, Guest 8, Gold Testament, NarHina, tom80, Reading Pixie, Shlavecod, Trainer1232, Deadly-DeathStar, Meirai Kurasa, Erosdeath all guessed correctly that the blonde haired/blue eyed man was Naruto's younger brother and some of you even got his name. That was a lot of fun for me to see. I would love to know what you thought about him. I did intend for his interaction with Hinata to be a bit cringey but hopefully funny. I wanted to portray him in a somewhat lighthearted role to begin with. Of course things will get serious with him in the next chapter and he'll have an important role to play in the story.

That is all I have for today. Let me know your thoughts as always and I will see you all next time.