Author's Note: Hey Everyone, Toroka here, and to be honest I never thought I'd actually be doing another Naruto Fanfiction ever since "Outfoxed: Twice Over" became such a royal screw up. But here I am, taking a second try at a Naruto Fanfiction. The Poll I had posted and mentioned in Kamen Rider Gadget was stuck in a tie between this and "The Scent of her Perfume" so I had to make an executive decision with the aid of a friend, Wolfflight of ShadowClan, and a couple of coins, and we had decided that this Fanfiction will be the one I work on. I'm sorry for all of those that voted, but I also thank you for taking your time to decide which of the fanfictions you wished to see! So to thank you all, I will be incorporating a few key elements from "In the Heat of the Moment" and "The Scent of her Perfume":

From "The Scent of her Perfume" I will be implementing the idea that Naruto's clan has a Kekkei Genkai that allows them to know the idiosyncrasies of Fuinjutsu, Juinjutsu, and Kekkei Ninjutsu, to the point they can even recreate Nature Transformation based Kekkei Genkai and their techniques, so long as a few important conditions are met before hand. I will explain these later.

From "In the Heat of the Moment", I have decided that Naruto, Hinata, and Sakura share this Kekkei Genkai, as for how they have this Kekkei Genkai, I am just going to say that pink is a good shade of red, same with Lavender being a nice shade of Violet (If any of you know Kushina's canon traits, I am sure you can guess where I am going with this)

I will be bringing in an OC based off of Naruto's Alternate Self, Menma Uzumaki, from Tenten's Infinite Tsukuyomi and the Road to Ninja Movie, though I will be making some adjustments! And if you guys have an idea on who I should pair him up with, please let me know! He will be 13 during the first few chapters, and when we get to Naruto's graduation, he will be 18. Also Uzushio and the Uzumaki Clan will have survived the invasion that was supposed to destroy it.

One last thing before I begin, If you guys leave me more than one suggestion for Menma's girl(s) that move are beyond 2, I will make another poll to decide which two I will pair him up with. Also, if you want to introduce an Oc as an Uzushio Ninja, contact me via PM and we will discuss possible placement in this fanfiction. Oh and I'm going to name each of the chapters after a song, the titles of which I think will give you an idea of the chapter's contents, and if you want to look up the songs, I'll give you the name of the show I got it from and the artist who sings it!

Update 2/15/2020: I rewrote and extended the chapter quite a bit in comparison to last time, so I could get everything I wanted to do out of the way. So to contextualize, I will be having the basic formula, on the regular, have it that the first section of each chapter will be NaruPairing romance, the remaining sections will be a mix of story elements, while the final section will be a purely Menma-focused Section, and it will be either a romance section poll on my profile page depending, or it will be him either training Naruto, or some other thing that focuses purely on Menma!

Anyway, I think that is enough out of me for now, remember to Favorite, Watch, and Review, and I'll catch you on the Flipside! DATTEYARO!

Prologue Part 1: Fight for Justice

Sakura Haruno, a girl of eight years old cries as a group of girls surround her, laughing at her, "Ha! Such a huge forehead! It's so ugly, no boy would find you attractive!" The Leader of this group of bullies says, laughing at Sakura, her friends joining in. Sakura sheds tears quietly as she just sits there and takes the insults to her appearance. The girls laugh at her as Sakura begins to curl up into a ball, but that is when suddenly one of the girls yelps from pain.

"Who threw that!?" One of the girls asks, holding her head, finding a stick had hit her, a pretty big one too! That is when the girls all look around and see somebody walking towards them, a boy with straight red hair, deep blue eyes glaring at them, and the girls look in fear as he approaches them. "N-Naruto…!"

"Is this how you civilians treat each other? Picking on people weaker than you?" Naruto asks, glaring at them, then begins to pop his knuckles threateningly. Sakura looks at the boy, shocked, seeing how his hair spikes up on it's own, almost in a threatening manner.

"Ha! You wouldn't hit a girl! You're too nice of a guy!" The leader says, smiling arrogantly.

"In any other circumstance… You'd be right… But right now, I don't see a girl in front of me…" He says, glaring at the leader of the bullies. "All I see are a pair of bullies who need their asses handed to them!" Naruto growls as he charges forward and begins pummeling the girls into the equivalent of smashed tomatoes, ruining their "beautiful" faces. Once the girls are defeated, Naruto calms and looks towards Sakura, who looks at him nervously, "Are you alright?" Sakura nods, in which Naruto gently offers her a hand, the girl looking at the red haired boy, baffled. He was just so violent and savage just a few moments ago, but now, it's like he's a completely different person. However, Sakura slowly raises her hand and gently takes it, in which the boy helps her stand up.

"Wh-Who are you?" Sakura asks.

"Uzumaki Naruto! I'm going to be Hokage someday!" Naruto says, smiling proudly. Sakura looks at him and just giggles, causing Naruto to look at her baffled.

"If we have a boy like you as Hokage, who stands up for people less fortunate than himself, I think the Village will be in good hands!" Sakura says, smiling, to which Naruto returns the smile. Unbeknownst to them, a man with hair like that of a cherry blossom had seen the entire thing, and was about to step in when Naruto did, and saved the poor girl, stunning the man, who looks at the boy with a respectful smile. Naruto smiles as he looks at the girl, but then looks at his watch, and looks startled!

"Oh crap! I'm late!" Naruto says, "I'll see you later! Bye!"

"W-wait!" Sakura says, to which Naruto stops and looks at her. "M-My name is Haruno Sakura! Thank you very much!" Sakura bows to him to which the redhead smirks at her gratitude.

"Later!" Naruto says, smiling, heading out, being surprisingly fast for a boy of only 8 years old. Rushing through the streets as fast as he can, Naruto turns a corner and then sees a group of boys who have surrounded a girl, one with short blue hair, and though he can't see her, he can tell from the comments they are making she is of the Hyuga clan.

"Well Byakugan Monster!? Apologize for spilling my ice cream!" One of the boys, a large and rotund boy, says, snarling angrily.

"I-I'm sorry…!" Hinata says, her voice barely a squeak, while shedding tears.

"LOUDER!"

"I-I'm sorry…!" Hinata says, crying.

"LOU-OWWW!" The leader shouts, only for something hard to hit the back of his head, to which he turns around to see a trashcan lid had been tossed at him. "WHO DID THAT!?"

"I did…" Naruto says, rounding the corner, and the boys immediately become terrified. "Didn't I tell you not to bully anyone else?"

"H-Hey! I-I have good reason this time! She bumped into me and spilled my ice cream, I had saved up my allowance to pay for that!" The Rotund Boy says, looking at Naruto, terror gripping his voice.

"Still no excuse to bring a cute girl to tears!" Naruto says, to which he then starts making steps towards the boys, "And when a girl cries, I get mad!"

"Get him!" The rotund boy tells his friends.

"Sorry! You're on your own!" His friends say, the two of them running like cowards, only for Naruto to vanish and knock them out with punches to the gut, then he looks to the fat boy.

"P-Please! Spare me!" The fat boy shouts, screaming in terror, only for a chain to wrap around him. "No! Please! SHOW MERCY!"

"GET OVER HERE!" Naruto shouts, pulling on the chain, with rage in his voice, then preparing his arm as he takes a stance. The boy is yanked towards the redhead, only for Naruto to kneel down and bring his fist into an uppercut to the boy's jaw, knocking the kid out cold. Naruto snorts loudly and angrily, then he calms down and turns to the girl, who looks at him with her beautiful lavender colored eyes, shocked at how easily he took care of those boys. "Are you alright?" Naruto asks as he approaches her, looking at her from different angles. "They didn't hurt you did they?"

"N-no…" Hinata says, looking at him, and notices that there is a scent coming from his hair, like that of cinnamon, a faint blush coming to her cheeks. "Who… Who are you?"

"Uzumaki Naruto!" Naruto says, "I'm going to be Hokage someday!" Naruto says, smiling at her. "What would your name be?"

"M-My name is… Hyuga Hinata…! Th-Thank you very much!" Hinata says, bowing to him.

"Hey, it's no trouble!" Naruto says.

"Hinata-sama!" A voice calls out to her, worried, to which Ko makes his presence known, turning to see Naruto, talking to Hinata, who turns to Ko. Said Hyuga Branch Family Member activates his Byakugan and charges at Naruto, his palm raised to attack him, only for Naruto to see the attack coming and grab Hinata, pulling her out of the way. The two of them land off to the side, in which Naruto then jumps in front of Hinata and holds out his arms, fingers bent backwards as he glares at the Hyuga, who takes his stance.

"Why did you attack her!?" Naruto shouts, glaring at the Hyuga, who looks at him, puzzled.

"What!?" Ko asks, "Why would I attack Hinata-sama!?"

"You came at her with intent to kill! I could smell your bloodlust from a mile away!" Naruto says, glaring at the man, his teeth slowly becoming more and more pronounced, his nails slowly becoming elongated and sharp, and a chain flows out of the end of Naruto's spine, rattling loudly and almost angrily, like that of the tail of a rattlesnake. "I won't let you hurt her!"

'He thought the attack meant for him was aimed at Hinata-sama?' Ko thinks, then lowers his hands, realizing how badly it looked, and his Byakugan also picks up on several pressences watching him from the shadows, but unbeknownst to him, he has missed one, who needs just one good reason to kill, he wants it, all to protect the boy. "My apologies… My attack was aimed at you, but it seems you misinterpreted that attack…"

"K-Ko-san!" Hinata says, "Don't harm him! He saved me from these bullies!" Hinata says, looking towards the boys on the ground. "He's not at fault here!" Ko looks to the boys and knows they are civilians, and sighs, "Please…"

"Alright, Hinata-sama, but we must go home immediately…" Ko says, to which he gently walks over and takes Hinata's hand. "And you boy, thank you for protecting Hinata-sama after I lost track of her!"

"Hey, it's no trouble!" Naruto says, to which his watch beeps loudly. "Oh no! I'm late! See ya, Hinata-chan!"

"Y-yes! And thank you again!" Hinata says, losing her stutter for a brief instant, the redhead smiling and then rushing off with a smile on his face. In a few short moments, Naruto rushes off as fast as he can, and makes it to the Hokage's Tower, in which he makes it to the office, gasping for breath.

"Sorry, I'm late, Old Man!" Naruto says, gasping for breath, "I ran into some trouble on the way here!" The Third Hokage looks up to see Naruto entering the office and a smile flows across his face.

"Ah, Naruto-kun! You've finally arrived!" Hiruzen says, smiling, welcoming in the red headed boy. "I'm glad you were able to come by today, I have something very important to tell you!"

"Oh? What is it, Jiji?"

"Well…" Hiruzen says, sighing as he looks to Naruto and turns his back to him for a moment as he looks out the window. "Do you remember how I had told you that I didn't know who your parents were?"

"Yeah…?" Naruto asks, holding his chest.

"The truth of the matter is, your parents were very powerful people, loved by many in the village, as well as hated and feared by many outside of it… They had asked me to keep their identities a secret from you and the village until you became a chunin, whne you might stand a chance against them."

"R-Really?" The red haired boy asks, looking at his grandfather figure. "Did… Did they love me?"

"Yes, more than anything, that is why they wanted to hide who they were from you, to better protect you… If their enemies don't know you exist, then you will be safer until you are strong enough to protect yourself from them… They didn't make that request lightly, they knew it would hurt you, but they were willing to bear the fact that you hate them to keep you safe." Hiruzen explains to the boy.

"Are… Are they alive?" the boy asks.

"No… They died during the Nine Tailed Fox's attack on Konoha… However, it was thanks to their sacrifice that the Fourth Hokage was given enough time to defeat the Nine Tails… However, there was one person who hates the Fourth Hokage for the death of your parents…" Hiruzen asks, "And how he curses that night, for he not only lost his parents, but he was forbidden from setting foot in Konoha, until now…"

"Who would that be?"

"Your older brother…"

"My… Brother…?" Naruto asks.

"Yes… Your brother, Menma…" Hiruzen explains.

"But… Why was he sent away?"

"It was because of an agreement between the Konoha Council and your family… They would not join Konoha after the death of your parents, but we wouldn't let them take you away, because of a promise I made to your parents… We argued back and forth, for hours, but nothing could be agreed upon, until Menma made a deal that seemed impossible…" Hiruzen explains, "The Village was in need of a weapon that would protect us until we could restore our forces, and as such, he volunteered to locate and capture the Reibi no Tsuchinoko. It was believed to be impossible, as the Reibi was destroyed long ago by the First Hokage, and it hasn't returned since…"

"But he found that monster and caught it, right?"

"More than that, Naruto…!" A voice says, appearing from the window. "I became it's friend…!"

"Who are you?" Naruto asks.

"Menma-kun! It seems you take after your godfather's propensity for not using a door!"

"Hey I prefer windows, it's faster!" Menma explains and enters the room. "In any case, it is good to finally see you again, Naruto-chan!" Naruto looks to see Menma for the first time, and he cannot believe what he is seeing, a young man of 13, with brilliant golden hair that lays flat and piercing violet eyes like that of beautifully carved amethysts. He is dressed in a dark pair of navy blue pants with a matching shirt, a matching flak jacket that carries several pockets, some visible, others not. One other feature is that this guy has three scars on his lips, two on the bottom lip angled diagonally to meet with the one in the center of his upper lip, where the third scar is. Alongside this, he has a pair of gauntlets and greaves upon his forearms and lower legs, all of them armed with blades, however, any other details are blocked out as Naruto's eyes begin to water as he looks at the teenager in front of him.

"A-Are you…?"

"That's right, Naruto… I'm your brother!" The young man says, "My name is Menma…" the young man sheds tears as he slowly walks over to Naruto and kneels, opening his arms as if to offer a hug, and being a boy all on his own, only seeking the love of family, Naruto rushes into Menma's arms, crying. "I'm so sorry I was gone for so long!"

"Why…? Why did you leave me all alone!?"

"I thought the Third Hokage told you, Naruto…!" Menma says, "Did you not tell him about me before today?"

"I wanted to, but I've been bogged down with so much paperwork that I've never gotten a chance before today…" Hiruzen says, "I don't know how the Fourth Hokage di-"

"Shadow Clones…" Menma explains, "Our Father used Shadow Clones to deal with all of the paperwork…"

"What…?" Hiruzen asks, "Wait did you just-?"

"It's clan business now, Hiruzen…" Menma says, dropping all pretenses of respect and honor now, and the Third knows he should've told Naruto before now, and now it was out of his hands, as part of the agreement that Menma was to tell Naruto anything he wished to about their family, including who their parents were, that part was non-negotiable. "As Hokage, you should know to respect a clan's private affairs!"

"Fine…" Hiruzen groans, "But Naruto-kun, whatever Menma-kun tells you, you can't say anything about it until you become a Chunin…"

"Alright, Old Man! I gotcha!" Naruto says, smiling. "Wait what do you mean our father?"

"Naruto… Our father was the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, the Yellow Flash of Konohagakure…!"

"What…?" Naruto asks, "But I couldn't be! If i were then-"

"Then you'd be dead before now, Naruto…" Menma says, "You inherited our mother's hair and our father's eyes, but if anyone knew about you being the Fourth Hokage's son, his enemies and their spies would do absolutely anything to kill you… As for why people look upon you with hatred…" He looks down and then points to his stomach, "Well… I think that is a conversation we need to have in our minds…"

"Our minds?" Naruto asks, to which Menma nods.

"Bump fists with me!" Menma says, to which he holds up his fist, the little red head tilting his head to the side but does as his brother says, only for Naruto's world to turn black. When his eyes open, he finds himself inside of a large sewer, with the pipes leaking and a hot wind blowing.

"Aniki, where are we?" Naruto asks.

"Inside your head, Naruto, this is where we will meet the reason why you are so hated in the Village…" Menma explains and leads the way through the sewers, but as they venture forth, Naruto can swear there is something following them in the water.

"Aniki, something is following us!" Naruto says, shaking in terror.

"Don't be afraid, Naruto, she won't hurt you, in fact she's eager to meet this person we are going to see!" Menma explains, smiling confidently at his brother, Naruto not feeling sure but trusts in him. The two brothers soon happen upon a massive cage, and there, Naruto sees a mighty Nine Tailed Fox sleeping, but then it's eyes open slightly and it yawns as it stands up.

"So… I am revealed to you at last…" The Fox says.

"What the hell?" Naruto asks, shocked. "Is that what I think it is!?"

"Lord Kurama…" Menma says, stepping forward and bowing respectfully, "I am overjoyed to see you have recovered from that night's attack… I can see Lord Third's secrecy, while it kept you both alive, hasn't made your accommodations favorable, sire."

"Ah, Menma-chan, it has been 5 years since we last met! Where does the time go?" The Fox, which Naruto learns is named Kurama, says in a gentle and loving tone. "And I thank you for bringing Naruto-chan before me… We have much to discuss, the four of us…" At that point, a large explosion of water is seen as a giant serpentine creature appears out of the water, it's slit-like eyes glowing red as it looks at the Fox, hungrily. "Kaonashi-chan, it is good to see you again…!"

"It truly is, Kurama-san… Now before we begin the discussion, could I please devour some of your hatred? I'M STARVING HERE!" The giant tsuchinoko shouts, and when the water stops falling. Naruto can see with his very eyes it id a giant leech with a huge serpentine body, however can see no mouthparts that the books would describe are on leeches, instead there is a Noh Mask upon it's face, with slit-like eye holes and a painted lips for it's mouth, but these lips part to reveal several razor sharp teeth, but three of them are longer and sharper than the rest. One is in the direct center of the row of the upper jaw, whilst the other two are resting on the lower jaw, all three flipping forward as it opens it's mouth, the mask stretching and bending to match the Tsuchinoko's unhinging and outstretching jaw, a loud, terrifying hiss-like screech leaving it's maw.

"I cannot deny you a feast you have long awaited…" The Fox says, turning his head and allowing his neck and shoulders to be exposed. "Dig in…!" The Serpent leech lunges forward, and sinks it's fangs deep into the Nine-Tails, who roars in what sounds like agony.

"Stop! You're hurting him, you big bully!" Naruto shouts. The boy attempts to run into the cage to help the Fox, but Menma holds him back. "Let me go, Aniki!"

"Calm down, Naruto!" Menma says, pointing to Kurama, "Just look at his face!" Naruto looks again and the redhead is shocked to see that the Fox looks like he is in ecstasy as the Tsuchinoko grows bigger and fatter with whatever he is eating. "Lord Kurama is enjoying this!"

"How could he enjoy getting his blood sucked!?" Naruto asks.

"It's not his blood that Kaonashi-sama is eating.. The Tailed Beasts are made of Chakra, but despite that, they have sentience and emotions, and Kaonashi feeds on negative emotions such as fear, anger, hate, and despair, then she converts it into chakra." Menma explains. "So once Kaonashi is full, we'll begin explaining everything, Naruto-kun!"

Within a few minutes, the giant Tsuchinoko recoils and collapses into the sewer water, a satisfied grin on her face. "I'm stuffed…" Kaonashi says, relaxing. Kurama collapses onto his back, his eyes rolled back and his tongue hanging out as he has a smile of absolute pleasure on his face.

"I'm drained…" Kurama explains, slowly pulling himself upwards out of his stupor and looks at Naruto and Menma. "Thank you for that… Now, where to begin?"

"I will start us off, Lord Kurama!" Menma explains. "Naruto, what I am about to tell you must remain secret for now… However, I think you have figured out that Lord Kurama, the Kitsune no Kyuubi, is sealed inside of you!"

"As an immortal Chakra Beast, I cannot die, at least not permanently… If someone somehow manages to destroy my physical form, my body would transform into chakra mist and dissipate into the environment where I died… It would then take, for me, 9 years to reform but during that time I am still conscious… and if I bear a grudge against the person that managed to "kill" me, I will surely retaliate and kill them and those that love them…" Kurama explains, "Speaking of which, why did it take you so long to reform, Kaonashi?"

"It took me no time at all, less than a year, but the First Hokage had used a special control tablet that kept me dormant, I couldn't escape the silken seal he had placed me in so long as it existed…" Kaonashi explains, "I would have died again, this time from starvation, if Menma-kun hadn't showed up and was so generous as to feed me and listen to my story. He also destroyed the tablet and as my thanks, I allowed him to become my Jinchuriki!"

"Whoa!" Naruto says, stunned, "But why did you attack the Leaf Village? Did somebody cross you or something?"

"No child, far from it, for you see, I was sealed inside your mother, as a means of protecting myself from the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan, and to ensure Konoha had a superweapon in exchange for my protection! Many don't know this, but I allowed the First Hokage's wife, Mito, to seal me inside her, as I was afraid of being used to hurt innocent people again… In exchange for giving me a place to remain safe, as my temple was destroyed, I gave her access to my powers…" Kurama explains, "I did the same with your mother, but she was hesitant at first as she wasn't so sure about how her people worshipped us like gods, but after she got to know me, we became close friends."

"Unfortunately, for Female Jinchuriki, there is a time when their seal becomes weakened, and that is during childbirth… We don't know how, but someone with a Sharingan had found out and used that opportunity to rip Lord Kurama from out of our mother, leaving her on Jashin-sama's doorstep just moments after she gave birth to you." Menma explains, "He then used the Sharingan's Eye of Hypnotism powers to take control of Kurama's body. Father eventually broke that bond and when Lord Kurama was going to make a hasty retreat, the Leaf Ninja attacked him and he only continued his rampage in self-defense, trying to find an opening to run."

"Then it wasn't your fault to begin with!" Naruto says, "You were forced to attack the Village, and when you tried to retreat, you fought back!"

"Correct, boy! After I found an opportunity to run by preparing a Tailed Beast Bomb to scare off the Shinobi Forces, I was pinned down by Gamabunta, who was only a tadpole the last time I saw him." Kurama explains, "After that, I was teleported away and your mother, who was dying, reluctantly agreed to have me sealed inside you. However, as you were an infant, and you couldn't withstand my full power, I willingly sealed away half of my power, so that you could adjust to it as you grew. When you turned 5, Naruto, I unleashed that seal, and the influx of chakra shifted your personality, thankfully for the better!"

"Is that why I became so brave and smart?" Naruto asks, "I used to think I had a growth spurt or something!"

"No, Naruto, that was Lord Kurama's doing. Every Jinchuriki has these kinds of persona shifts when the Bijuu are sealed inside us. Me, for example, my emotions are now a bit of a roller coaster compared to how calm and collected I used to be!" Menma explains.

"Yikes!" Naruto says, scratching the back of his head. "Hey, we need to tell the old man this!"

"I was thinking we do that tomorrow, as I need to write a thorough report on the incident." Menma explains. "So we tonight, let's keep this to ourselves for!"

"Okay…" Naruto says, looking down, not wanting to lie to the old man, but if a report was what was needed to make it believable, then they could wait. Once the two have exited Naruto's mind, Menma smiles at his little brother. "Wow… That was scary…!"

"It was but we got outta there alright!" Menma says, smiling. "Now, Naruto… I am going to be here for a good long while so I can teach you the Uzumaki Clan Secrets, and when we are done, you'll be amongst the strongest genin in the Leaf! For that, we'll need to get back into our family's home…"

"Our family's home?" Naruto asks.

"That is right, Naruto..!" To this, Hiruzen reaches into his desk and slowly removes a set of scrolls along with a pair of keys, handing them to the teenager. "Thank you, Hokage-sama!" Menma says, "However, we will be visiting the mansion after we have had some dinner!"

"Ichiraku's?" Naruto asks, stars in his eyes.

"Ichiraku's!" The Blonde says, to which the redhead jumps for joy as they slowly exit the building, and make their way down onto the streets. However, as they exit, they meet with a genin team being brought in from a mission. Amongst them is one Hana Inuzuka, 13 years old, and with her are the Haimaru Brothers, her three ninken! "Hana-chan? Is that you?"

"Menma!" Hana says, walking over to Menma with a smile, "Already a Chunin, huh? Congratulations!" The young woman smiles at him, confidently, but then notices the scars on his lips, "Wait how'd you get those scars?"

"Giant Leech tried to kiss me…" Menma says, matter of factly, "The scars are permanent, so there is no fixing them…"

"Yikes… I'm sorry about that, but hey! You're finally back! Are you going to be staying here full time?"

"No, I'm actually representing Uzushio while I am here... However I managed to convince the Shiokage to build a Konoha Branch of the Uzumaki Clan here in Konoha." Menma explains, "So Konoha's about to get a new clan added to it's ranks…!"

"That is amazing, Menma-kun!" Hana says, then she looks to the side and blushes a bit. "I wonder who is going to become the clan leader for your branch!"

"I wonder who as well…" Menma explains, Naruto hiding behind his brother a bit as the team begins to pass by. Hana notices him and just gives Naruto a gentle smile, and her team head into the Hokage's Tower to speak with him. Menma continues onwards towards the Ramen stand when he notices somebody is following him, and he grins as he turns to see a pair of red eyes watching him. "Itachi… It's been nearly a year since we last met… Where does the time go?"

"It is good to see you again, Menma-san…" Itachi says, not dressed in his shinobi uniform, "I happen to guess that you're going to be taking care of Naruto-kun now?"

"Yes, I will, but I wanted to fight you the moment I got back Itachi-san… Though to be honest, I'm famished…"

"We can eat first then spar after an hour… You have much to tell me, friend…" Itachi says.

"Speaking of friends, where's Shisui? He's usually stuck to you like a leech on a bull!"

"He…" Itachi says, "He died… Recently…"

"Forgive me…" Menma says, but then gives him a look, and Itachi activates his Sharingan, Menma's eyes glazing over for a second, but then he nods with a grim look upon his face. "He will be missed, old friend…"

"Aniki?" Naruto asks.

"It's nothing, Naruto… Let's eat!" Menma says, to which the group goes to Ichiraku Ramen, and as they enter the stand, Teuchi looks at Menma in shock.

"Menma-kun! It's been 5 years! Where have you been?"

"Dealing with a lot of problems since the Nine Tails Attack, Teuchi…" Menma explains, "Anyway, give us the RING OF FIRE!"

"Coming right up!" Teuchi shouts, flames bursting out of his eyes as he sets to cooking at a rapid pace.

"Ring of Fire?" Naruto asks.

"The spiciest damn ramen in the village!" Menma explains, smiling as he licks his lips, "It's delicious, but it takes a bit to get used to the heat!"

"Spicy!?" Naruto says, gulping in terror.

"Trust me, Naruto-kun, the taste is worth the pain!" Itachi says, smiling, "I don't get it anymore because there is nobody worth sharing it with!"

"What about your brother, Sasuke?" Naruto asks.

"He never comes when I offer…"

"Hey!" A young Uchiha says, to which Itachi turns to see Sasuke near him. "That's not fair!"

"So you decided to follow me afterall, Sasuke?" Itachi asks, having a smile on his face. "Join us…! Teuchi! Make that four Rings of Fire!"

"RIGHT AWAY!" Teuchi shouts, smiling, to which a young girl, Ayame Ichiraku, walks out over and presents the group with spring rolls for them to eat as an appetizer, and as they talk, the two old friends share stories with their siblings, and spark debate between Naruto and Sasuke on which of the two elder siblings is better.

"Well, Sasuke…" Menma explains, "I have already beaten Itachi on multiple occasions already, though I lost just as many times to him, we have an ongoing record of 50 for Itachi, 50 for me, and 100 stalemates between us, and those victories between us came down to factors outside of control…"

"Yes, it's not just individual strength that determines a win, sometimes the world favors someone for a particular match up and swings the balance in their favor…" Itachi explains, "However, I do feel confident that I will defeat you this time… I was recently promoted to Anbu Captain, afterall…!"

"Well I am willing to try and face you, my friend!" Menma says, smiling at his rival, and with that, the ramen arrives, and upon the two younger boys tasting it, their faces instantly turn bright red from the heat, but they swallow and then begin coughing at the heat, whilst Menma and Itachi simply slurp up their food and drink the broth with smiles on their faces. "It's been way too long!"

"Far too long…" Itachi says, a satisfied grin on his face. "Menma, how about we make things interesting? Winner of this match, regardless of circumstances, makes the winner their favorite meals?"

"You're on Itachi!" Menma says, "Onigiri with seaweed, and homemade dango chaser?"

"Yes… Rare Steak with sauteed mushrooms and onions, and a plate of Manju for dessert?"

"Agreed!" The two young men smile as they shake hands, and Sasuke looks at Naruto, and then they whisper to each other a side bet. As the two exit, someone bumps into Menma on the way out, and Menma's face is in her chest, and he is blushing bright red.

"Whoa, hey there, kid!" She gently says, pushing him off lightly. "Watch the girls!" She then looks at the boy, and sees his face is red with a bleeding nose. "Oh? Did you like the feel of them?"

"Uhm… Uh…" Menma says, and as he cleans up his nose, he notices the smell, "Orochimaru…"

"What?" The young woman asks.

"I can smell the stench coming from your shoulder…" He says, to which the young woman gets defensive. The Violet haired woman glares at him, but Menma only softens his look, "If you ever run into Orochimaru, I want a piece of him too…" This catches the young woman off guard, who looks at him stunned.

"Whats your name, kid?"

"Menma Namikaze…" Menma says.

"Oh I see…" She then smirks, "Alright, but the Killing Blow is mine, got that?"

"Deal!" Menma says, walking off with a smile, "Oh and by the way… I like to eat Anko Dango for dessert with every meal…" His voice oozing with innuendo, and Itachi facepalms as they walk off, meanwhile, Anko Mitarashi is left with a red face as she looks at Menma walk away, hearing him hum a song…

The two pairs of brothers walk towards the largest training field available, unfortunately though, they seem to be drawing a crowd of shinobi who follow them, both from the Uchiha Clan and from the other groups of shinobi in the village. Naruto and Sasuke sit on the edge of the training field, under a tree, and amongst the crowds, Teuchi Ichiraku is passing out bowls of ramen from a mobile stand, whilst his daughter, Ayame, takes bets for the battle, in which 10% goes to the victor of the fight, 10% to the shop for holding the bets, and the rest will be split evenly amongst the winners of the bet. The two young men stand ten paces apart from one another, and the two look at each other, smiling at one another.

"Alright Itachi, let's see what a 13 year old Captain of the Anbu can do!"

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Menma-san… You're still a Chunin…"

"That ended the day I completed my side of the bet with the Hokage… I'm now in line for the Jonin Exam coming up in a few months!"

"I'll save my congratulations for after the fight…" Itachi says, activating his Sharingan, to which Menma's golden hair becomes spiked as he channels his chakra through his body.

"LET'S GO!" The two shout, charging at one another with the Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique), and even the Uchiha Clan members present, including Fugaku, have to activate their Sharingan in order to be able to keep up with the two of them. At the speed for the two of them, Menma and Itachi are performing pure Taijutsu clashes with one another, which, at the speeds they are clashing, are causing shockwaves from the impacts, and the two young man clash swords in front of everyone, to which the two boys are smiling.

"You may know everything I'm going to do… But that won't help you because I know everything you're going to do!" Menma says, with a lot of finality, "Strange, isn't it!?" The two boys jump backwards and start moving again at blinding speed, clashing swords so fast that sparks are flying off the blades.

"What did he mean by that, Lord Fugaku?" One of the Uchiha asks.

"The Uzumaki Clan have special Hiden Jutsu, a sensory ability that shares traits with the Byakugan and the Sharingan… From what my old teammate Kushina told me, the Uzumaki who are able to master it can essentially "see" a perfect 360 degrees around them as well as predict the oncoming attacks of those who come into range even better than the Sharingan can." Fugaku Uchiha explains, "It is the reason why the Uzumaki Clan were able to detect the Earth-Water-Lightning Alliance coming in to attack them, and it's also the reason why they were able to hold them off long enough for our village to aid them, once we got into their sensory range, they pulled out all the stops on solidifying their defenses to buy time for use to cross the straits…"

"Amazing!" A Hyuga Main Branch member says, "Wait, Hiashi-sama…" Hiashi Hyuga looks to the Hyuga in question, "Didn't your wife have an Uzumaki as a father? Could Hinata-sama be able to use such an ability?"

"It's possible if she had the proper training… Perhaps…" Hiashi says, looking to his daughter, and notices her eyes are currently watching Naruto Uzumaki, who is watching his brother intently. The two elder brothers begin throwing storms Shuriken at each other, Menma sensing the chakra flowing through Itachi's body, his mind sensing where each Shuriken is going to be flying, in which the blonde perfectly times his throws with his opponent's, whilst Itachi watches each movement carefully, perfectly matching each throw between the two of them. After another Sixty seconds, the two move at blinding speed once more and then back off, breathing hard.

"You've certainly gotten better, Menma-san…" Itachi explains, "That is what I expect from my rival…!"

"Funny, I was about to say the same thing to you, Itachi-san…" Menma explains, smiling as he looks to his opponent, "But don't you think it's about time we stopped the warm-up?"

"Yes… I think it is time for us to take this seriously now…" Itachi says, smiling at his opponent, and before the eyes of his entire clan, his Sharingan Transform into his Mangekyou Sharingan. "With the power that Shisui gave me as his parting gift…"

"So you did murder Shisui!" Fugaku shouts.

"Dead wrong…" Menma says, "The only way the Sharingan can evolve into the Mangekyou Sharingan is when the Uchiha who bears Sharingan witnesses the death of someone close to them, and they feel the pain of loss from it… Shisui did commit suicide… Itachi showed me everything that happened, he was a witness to it and tried to stop him…"

"Then…" Fugaku says, stunned.

"Itachi's Mangekyou Sharingan were born from losing somebody who was like a brother to him… Like that of how Naruto is to me…" Menma explains, "You don't have to kill the person close to you to have your Sharingan evolve… You just need to witness their death first hand, and for the person whose death be that of somebody close to you, like a sibling, parent… Or a lover…"

"Now it's time for you to reveal your true power, Menma-kun… I haven't trained in how to use my Mangekyou's powers yet, so I will only be using the visual prowess, what do you have to match that?"

"I have something that can match that…" Menma explains, his scleras turning black as a dark aura begins to form around him. Menma's hair grows long, down to his waist, as it begins to thrash around in several long, and thick strands, reminding those who have seen the Red Hot Habanero in all her fury on how she looked, and Menma not only looks like her at this moment, but with his hair becoming spiked and feral, whilst channeling a dark power, only makes him seem more terrifying. "I cannot fully control this power, but I can at least entertain you for the next few minutes before I need to stop… If you are still standing when I have to quit using this power, you win…"

"Alright…" Itachi says, smiling as he draws his sword and takes his stance, whilst Menma growls, a perfect copy of his mother when she was angry, but more than that, the blades on his gauntlets and greaves glowing with blades made of chakra. "Let's go!"

"GrrrAAAAAAAAAH!" Menma roars as he charges at his opponent, spinning and lashing out in a wild dance as wind chakra blaze out of his gauntlets and greaves, cutting up the ground with each miss, leaving deep and terrible gashes. Many who have witnessed Kushina's wrath remember the trauma she inflicted upon those who crossed her, and now seeing her eldest son take up her mantle quietly thank the gods of their religion that she only used her fist and not whatever these gauntlets and greaves are. Itachi, for his part, was now starting to become terrified… He had never seen anyone attack with such fury before, and Menma was now looking like the monster his mother was feared to be, or possibly worse because he has blades attached to his arms and legs. However, that is only child's plays as Menma holds up one arm and suddenly those who remembered the Nine Tails Attack only look on in horror as Menma begins forming something that had traumatized them more than Kushina ever could.

"TAILED BEAST BOMB!" One of the shinobi shouts in horror, and everyone begins to scatter as Menma forms it completely, smiling wickedly and maliciously, then charging at Itachi as he swings his arm forward. The elder Uchiha looks at his friend and is paralyed with absolute terror, seeing him acting and fighting the way he is, and as the bomb gets closer to him, he can see his life flashing before his eyes, only for the bomb to burst into a cloud of smoke.

"PFFFFT!" Menma says as he sees Itachi had this terrified look on his face, and the young man falls on his back, laughing like a hyena. "The look on your face! Oh that was priceless!"

"Huh?" Some of the retreating shinobi say, seeing what is going on.

"Oh my god, you actually thought that was a Tailed Beast Bomb! Oh that's so funny!" Menma says, laughing loudly as he rolls on the ground. "You all fell for it hook line and sinker!"

"MENMAAAAAA!" The older shinobi shout indignantly. After things calm down, Itachi concedes defeat, as had that been a real Bijuudama, he wouldn't have anything to defend against it, much to the annoyance and sorrow of those who bet on him. Unfortunately, the only one who bet on Menma winning was Teuchi Ichiraku, who tossed in his whole life's savings on the matter, and much to the chagrin of all those in the betting ring, Ichiraku makes a hefty profit off of the pool, and he even gives Menma a 5% bonus to his share.

"I'll say it to you all once, and I won't say it again!" Teuchi says, "Never bet against the Uzumaki!"

"And I didn't even show off all of my tricks either!" Menma explains, "Good thing too!"

"Man that was awesome, Aniki!" Naruto says, smiling at his older brother. "Both that Prank and how you won!"

"Why thank you, Naruto-kun!" Menma says, but then he notices Naruto looking a bit drowsy, and he gently picks him up and carries him on his back. "Get some sleep, Naruto-chan… When you wake up, we'll be home… And we'll start your training after school tomorrow…"

"Alright, Aniki…" Naruto says, smiling as he begins to drift off. "Thank you for coming home… I love you… Nii-chan…" Menma smiles as he looks at his sibling and carries him, and begins singing a song.

Fight for Justice

It isn't for anyone else, I just want to prove my way of life!

Fight for Justice

If it's for Justice, then I'm okay with sacrificing everything...

Fight for Justice

I want to prove that I am a more worthy soldier than anyone else

Fight for Justice

To make it through, I am willing to sacrifice it all...

Author's Note: PHEW! This rewrite of the first part of the prologue was a real pain to write, but I finally managed to get through it! AND I REGRET NOTHING! Boy doing this was a rewarding experience and I managed to set up the chapter far more nicely than i did previously, and now the next chapter will be a partial NaruSaku focused chapter, along with introducing the Onmyoton Kekkei Genkai of the Uzumaki Clan, but that is for another time! Also, I will be having Menma taking Naruto on a little field trip to Uzushio after the NaruSaku bit, so I can build my headcanon for Uzushio more clearly and make it more of a bigger player. And yes, Menma is still going to be an Uzushio Shinobi, but I'll work out more details until later. Also, as it stands now, the poll, which is on my profile page (click my name to go there and vote), has a solid lead with Menma being paired up with Anko Mitarashi, Ayame Ichiraku, and Hana Inuzuka! Also, I'm tempted to do this, but should I also add Ino into the mix with Sakura and Hinata? It might be interesting but I want you all to give me your honest vote on that in a review! Okay so quick checklist for the next chapter: 1) NaruSaku, 2) 3 Naruto and Menma Uzumaki Training, and 3) Uzushio Field Trip! Anyway be sure to follow, favorite and review my story, and I'll try to get the next chapter out soon! Catch ya on the Flipside! DATTEYARO!