Beginning

12 Years Later

As Menma opened his eyes, he let out a contented hum and stretched his limbs, his stomach growling in hunger. Turning to his companion, he spoke, "Hey Naruto, wake up."

Now, you might be wondering what's been going on in our lives. Let me fill you in. I'm Menma Uzumaki, and I was sent to this world by an enigmatic being with the weighty task of saving it from impending doom. Though I have yet to receive the knowledge and memories I was promised, I remain steadfast in my mission.

With a smile, Menma heard a tap on his shoulder and urged his still-drowsy friend to rise. "Hey, get up," he said.

But Naruto merely groaned and replied, "Gimme five more minutes... Snore"

Menma let out a sigh, resigned to his companion's sluggishness

Meet Naruto, my twin brother and perpetual sleepy head. He's known for being loud, running around, and shouting his catchphrases like "Believe it!" and "Datte-bayo!" - typical Naruto behavior. His dream is to become the Hokage and bring positive change to our corrupted village.

We share identical features, including deep blue eyes and whiskers on our cheeks. The only distinguishing factor is our hair color - mine is black, while Naruto's is blonde. Interestingly, this wasn't always the case. At birth, our father sealed the nine-tailed fox within us, with me receiving the yin half and Naruto the yang half. As a result, chakra seeped through my seal, causing my hair to change from blonde to black.

During the sealing process, both our parents perished while defending us and the village. Despite their sacrifice, the villagers treated us as if we had committed a heinous crime. We were often shunned or glared at with contempt, sometimes even outright hatred. Although it was unfair, we had no choice but to endure it.

At the age of four, we were kicked out of the orphanage and forced to take up residence in a dilapidated apartment building. To avoid the villagers' violence, we had to hide at night. Life was difficult, but we managed to survive by foraging for mushrooms and other edibles in the nearby forest. It wasn't until we met Teuchi that things started to look up.

Unlike the rest of the villagers, Teuchi showed us kindness and helped us in any way he could. He welcomed us into his ramen shop, where he would serve us a hearty bowl of ramen whenever we visited. We were grateful to have found someone like him in such a hostile environment

Naruto and I have been training our bodies and honing our chakra control. Through our efforts, we have significantly improved our physical fitness and accuracy with weapons. Currently, we are working on the challenging task of walking on water. However, we have yet to learn any jutsu since we had no one to teach us.

At the age of nine, we enrolled in the Konoha Academy, but to be honest, it has been quite tedious. We are currently attempting to graduate for the third time, even though I could have graduated earlier. I chose to repeat along with my brother for moral support.

So, that's a summary of what has occurred over the past 12 years.

Menma shrugged and turned to walk out. "Well, I guess I'll eat your portion too," he said casually.

Naruto jolted awake and sprang out of bed, looking wide-eyed and alert. "Wait, wait, I'm up! I'm up! Believe it!"

After taking a bath, brushing their teeth, and eating two cups of ramen, the two brothers put on their shoes and headed towards the Konoha Academy. As they walked, Naruto asked, "Hey Menma, do you think we'll finally graduate this year?"

Menma replied confidently, "Yeah, we definitely will. Oh, and did you hear about that kid who survived the Uchiha massacre?"

Naruto struggled to remember the name. "Yeah, who was he again? I know he's an Uchiha."

"I'm not sure of his name," Menma admitted with a shrug.

As they approached the gates of the academy, Naruto and Menma saw the entrance come into view. They entered and made their way to their classroom, noticing that they were the last ones to arrive. They quickly took the first available seats they saw.

Suddenly, the school bell rang, signaling the start of the day's lessons. The class quieted down as their teacher, Iruka, walked into the room. "Good morning, class," he greeted them. "As you already know, my name is Iruka, and I will be your teacher for this term."

One of the students raised their hand and asked, "What will we be doing today, sensei?"

Iruka replied, "Well, today we will be doing some light sparring. Meet me at the training grounds in five minutes." He then walked out of the classroom.

As the other students began murmuring and giggling while stealing glances at Naruto and Menma, the brothers ignored them and Menma turned to look out the window.

Suddenly, Naruto stood up and pointed to his goggles, shouting and grabbing everyone's attention. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki, and I'm going to be the next Hokage, believe it!"

The room fell silent for a moment, and then someone started to laugh. "Pfft," they snickered.

The laughter quickly spread, almost everyone joining in to mock Naruto. "Hahahaha, he thinks he'll become Hokage. Hahaha!"

"Didn't he fail to graduate three years in a row? Haha!"

"How can you become Hokage when you can't even become a Genin? Hahahaa!"

Naruto stood in silence as his classmates continued to mock and laugh at him. His chest tightened and tears welled up in his eyes.

Menma noticed his brother's distress and grew angry. "Stop it. Leave my brother alone, or else..." he warned.

The classmates quieted down and turned to look at Menma. A random kid spoke up, asking, "Or else what?"

Menma shot a final glare at the classmate before relenting and following Naruto out of the classroom. As they walked to the training grounds, Naruto turned to Menma and said, "Thanks for trying to defend me, but it's okay. I'm used to it."

Menma snorted. "Well, I'm not used to it. They need to learn to respect you." Naruto smiled at his brother's words and together they arrived at the training grounds to meet their teacher, Iruka, and begin their training.