Thief

Arrogance breeds incompetence

A tunnel, dark red with a dull yellow light emanating from an invisible source. Menma watches as Kurama wakes with Naruto by his side, still sleeping against his snout. He looks at Menma, wanting to scowl at him but figures he shouldn't waste energy trying to provoke a statue. Naruto yawns awake, giving the fox a smile and a hug, spotting Menma in the distance. Kurama gives an approving grunt. "Go see what he wants."

Naruto steps through the gate and runs off as Kurama watches. It had been some time since Menma appeared and Naruto had been left here. Although conversation with a child left much to be desired, his cheeriness and hugs did bring the fox some comfort and it was much better than being alone. Naruto runs back, smiling and laughing the whole way.

"He wants to know where the scroll is."

Kurama sits up. "It's in the Hokage's residence." He says, speaking directly to Menma. "Somewhere in the library."

"How do you know where it is?" Naruto asks. "You said you lived in the forest before you lived here."

Kurama resists a smile. "I didn't tell you everything, little fox. Before this, I was sealed away in the First Hokage's wife. The seal wasn't as advanced as this one so I could see and even hear through her eyes and ears."

Naruto grins widely. "You could see through her! So cool!" Naruto gives him another hug and Menma disappears. "Can you tell some more stories, please?"

"Sure, why not."

Menma slips away into an empty alley, jumping onto a roof and making his way across the buildings, using his chakra to silence his footsteps and eventually finding his way into the Hokage's residence. A genjutsu (and a lot of luck, given his lack of skill) allows him to slip past the guards and into the building itself. He clings to the ceiling and walks for a while, searching for what seems like a library, coming across a double door with two green vested shinobi standing guard and making light conversation. Menma decides to wait, drawing two shuriken and listening in.

"You hear about what happened in the Mist Village?"

"What, another civil war?"

"Something like that. Turns out somebody started a coup."

"That's like the third one in five years. You think those people would try to keep the peace."

"Yeah, I hear ya. But get this, Mizukage, dead."

"Really?"

"Yup, now it's just a matter of time before history repeats itself."

"I'd hate to be the poor bast-"

The shinobi looks up, sensing Menma's chakra as he puts it into the shuriken, forming it into wind and launching them into the guard's heads, killing them instantly. Menma climbs down from the ceiling, puts an ear to the door and suppresses his chakra. Hearing nothing, he opens the door and heads inside, closing the door behind him.

He's greeted by a plethora of scrolls and books stored on tall, brown wooden shelves but a rather large scroll in the back grabs his attention. He moves cautiously, expecting traps, bombs; something but no. He takes the scroll from its holder, nearly falling over from the size of it. He holds it in front of him, giving it a quick once over before leaving; a large yellow scroll, nearly half his size, with a green border and a red stripe below that. A label written on white paper and black ink marks it as the Scroll of Sealing and a convenient rope bolted to the dowels on either end make for easy carrying. Figuring it to be useful, Naruto straps it to his back, taking a few more important looking but significantly smaller scrolls as well, tucking them under his left arm. Hearing voices outside the door and thinking on his feet, Naruto pushes wind chakra into his legs, blasting through the doors and out into the village, pursued by a small army of masked shinobi.

Ichiraku ramen, a place that often brings joy to the people of Konoha. The white eyed girl and a brown haired boy sit in Ichiraku, accompanied by their Kunoichi sensei with distinct red eyes as well as the bearded smoker. She had told her newly Genin students the trip to Ichiraku was a celebration trip but the girl saw through it, knowing it was secretly a date but free ramen, especially three bowls of it, was compensation enough. A commotion breaks the peace and the Kunoichi and bearded man head outside the shop just as Menma passes by followed by the masked shinobi.

One of them stops for a second and the bearded man takes the opportunity to ask what happened.

"Someone stole the Scroll of Sealing." He says before rushing off, accompanied by the man.

Menma zooms across the roofs and through the streets of the Hidden Leaf, nearing the entrance and evading shinobi with every step. He spots the giant green gates, red kanji painted on them and rushes forward as they close, stuffing the big scroll under his chin and weaving a ninjutsu that he'd rarely made use of before. A pillar of earth breaks free from the rest of the ground, forming into a serpentine creature and carrying Menma in its mouth, breaks through the gates and out of the village with a thunderous boom. The serpent breaks apart from the force of the impact but Menma manages to escape, looking back at the massive hole punched into the gate. He resists a smile as he escapes into the forest, outrunning his pursuers and realizing that he hasn't felt tired or seemed to run out of chakra. He takes a mental note and keeps running, eventually finding a quiet place among the canopy to sit on a branch and read through the scrolls. As he goes to open one of the smaller ones, (hoping it doesn't blow up in his face) a giddiness washes over him and he laughs so hard that he has to take a minute to calm himself and return to his typical deadpan demeanor. He examines the scroll; light blue with a dark red border, a red spiral logo printed on it. He looks down into the treeline, seeing a group of people and packs up the scrolls, leaving the area.

Back in the Leaf, civilians and shinobi alike find themselves awestruck by the destruction. A giant hole right in the middle of the village gates, created by what seemed like a massive snake that broke through the ground, created or summoned by a kid being chased by dozens of shinobi. Chunks of scattered earth litter the area and fortunately no one was killed with the exception of the two guards. The Third Hokage, despite the protest of the Village Council and ANBU guard, decides to survey the incident in person, compromising with the use of genjutsu to mask his presence.

Looking over the chaos, brow furrowed in frustration, he sighs. An ANBU approaches, kneeling in respect and awaiting his order. "Shut the gates. No one gets in or out."

"Yes, Lord Hokage." The ANBU flickers away, followed by three others while a group of shinobi in green vests search through the rubble. Hiruzen leaves the scene, cursing himself for letting this happen. If what he heard was true, then that scroll risked falling into enemy hands and if that happened, the Leaf could end up as a wasteland or a puppet state. A thousand scenarios flood his mind and he pushes away his thoughts. Now is not the time for stress, now is the time for action. He heads to his office, declaring the capture of the intruder and investigation a priority and that any updates on the incident are to be kept away from the general public. Facing the window, he sighs again.

"You should've had that demon killed when you had the chance."

Hiruzen recognizes the voice but doesn't bother turning to face him. "Danzō, now is not the time."

"And when will the time be? If that demon fox is still alive, there's no telling what trouble it will cause if it's allowed to live. And if it turns out that it's the one that stole the Scroll of Sealing…"

Hiruzen turns to face Danzō. "We will prepare for any trouble that heads our way. Until then, the truth of this incident is to be kept from the public. We cannot incite a panic."

"I will do what is necessary to keep the peace in our village." With that he leaves.