Initiation

Menma returned home to find that Naruto had not yet arrived, so he went out to look for him. Despite searching the village for some time, he was unable to find any sign of his brother. However, Menma decided to try one more time and was surprised to discover Naruto sitting on the stone face of the 4th Hokage, lost in thought as he gazed up at the clouds. With a small smile, Menma approached Naruto and remarked, "So this is where you were, Naruto."

Upon seeing Naruto lost in thought, Menma approached him with a smile and remarked that he had found him. Naruto turned to him and explained that he often came to this spot to sort his thoughts while enjoying the view. With a bright smile on his face, Naruto continued to sit there as Menma sat beside him, looking up at the sky and commenting on the view in a soft tone.

As the two sat in silence for a moment, feeling the breeze brush against their bodies, Naruto eventually broke the silence and asked, "So what's up?"

Menma:"Did you hear about the exams next week?" He nodded gesturing for him to continue." I was hoping we could spar, are you up for it?"

Naruto's face brightened and said excitedly."Of course! I've learned a technique from Jiraya sensei after he came back recently!"

Menma:'He did come home around this time'  he thought.

Menma smiled softly and said."I hope to see it soon. Then lets head to the training ground right now."

As they agreed to head to the training ground, Menma and Naruto swiftly got up and rushed down the monument. They took the quickest route through the village, where Sakura was spotted admiring herself in a red dress with flower patterns in front of a mirror. Lost in her thoughts, she wondered if Sasuke would compliment her outfit and blushed at the thought. Just then, two figures darted past her, one with black hair and the other with blonde.

'Is that... Naruto and Menma where are they headed?' Curious, Sakura decided to follow them.

As Menma and Naruto ran, they passed several locations, and soon enough, they noticed that they were being followed by a group of people. When they arrived at the training ground, they turned to see that thirteen Genin had trailed them there.

Naruto raised an eyebrow and asked, "What are you guys doing here?"

Shikamaru responded, "We followed you because we saw you running."

Sakura chimed in, "I saw you guys pass by me, so I decided to follow."

Ino added, "I came because Sasuke did."

Sasuke merely grunted in response.

Sakura then asked, "So, what are you two up to?"

Hinata stuttered as she blushed, "N-Naruto-kun, I was just wondering what you were doing."

"Oh, were gonna do some sparring ya know you guys can stay and watch if you want." Naruto invited the group to watch as he and Menma sparred. They gathered around a nearby tree to observe the brothers.

Choji, munching on chips, asked, "Hey, who do you think will win?"

Tenya offered his opinion, "I say Menma. He's mastered various styles of fighting. He can use kenjutsu and genjutsu to a certain extent and is highly proficient in ninjutsu and taijutsu, although Naruto would still give him a fair challenge."

Neji nodded in agreement with Tenya's observation and added, "Moreover, Menma tends to rely on his physical abilities and doesn't use his jutsu arsenal as much, despite being highly skilled in various techniques. On the other hand, Naruto primarily relies on his taijutsu and the shadow clone jutsu."

The rest of the group murmured in agreement and continued to watch the sparring match unfold.

Menma proposed, "Hey, how about we make things more interesting?" with an evil grin on his face.

Naruto asked, "What do you have in mind?"

Menma replied, "The loser has to pay for Ichiraku ramen for a whole month."

Naruto eagerly agreed, "Okay, you're on!"

Shikamaru let out a sigh and spoke up, "Are you both ready?" The brothers nodded their heads in agreement. "Okay, ready... Set... Begin," he announced.

Naruto started to say something, "Better get ready because I'm about to-" But his sentence was interrupted when Menma threw a kunai at him and charged forward. Naruto was quick to deflect the attack and said, "Hey! At least let me finish!" He then got into a defensive stance, ready to face his brother.

As Menma lowered himself into a leg sweep, Naruto leapt into the air, transitioning into an axe kick. Menma quickly crossed his arms to block the attack, but the force of the blow was so strong that it pushed him down onto one knee.

The genin watching from the sidelines could only say "Whoa..." as they watched the intense sparring match unfold. It was even more impressive than they had expected.

Naruto retreated by jumping a few meters back and summoned four shadow clones, which quickly surrounded Menma and launched a coordinated attack from all directions. One of the clones on Menma's left side tried to jab him in the face, but Menma swiftly dodged the attack and counterattacked with a strike to the clone's midsection, causing it to disperse. Then, Menma leaped into the air and threw three kunai at the remaining clones, successfully dispatching them. Finally, he flipped backwards and landed gracefully on the ground.

In a quick move, Naruto produced a mass of shadow clones, spreading them across the field and creating an overwhelming orange army. Menma countered with a powerful technique, shouting "Fire Style: Fire Ball Jutsu!" A massive fireball formed, spanning ten meters in radius and destroyed the clones. The dust and smoke clouded their vision. Menma then took a deep breath and clasped his hands together.

With a commanding tone, Menma said "Wind Style: Chaos Theory," and exhaled a small gust of wind. The wind quickly evolved into a small tornado, pulling in the surrounding dust and smoke, intensifying the chaos.

Taking advantage of the situation, Naruto lunged at Menma from behind and exclaimed "Rasengan!" as he embedded it into his brother's back, sending him crashing into a tree. Naruto then summoned 10 more clones to surround his brother. One clone grabbed Menma's leg and threw him into the air while the other eight performed a coordinated attack, shouting "NA.RU.TO. UZUMAKI BARRAGE!" and causing Menma to wince in pain.

The final duplicate leaped and aimed a kick at his abdomen. Menma evaded by rotating himself and took hold of its leg, then flung the clone towards Naruto as it plummeted. He yelled, "Water style: Water bullet!" and unleashed a barrage of attacks that pounded down like hail, scattering the duplicates and forcing Naruto to seek refuge.

After Menma landed, he concentrated chakra into his legs, then sprinted towards Naruto with sudden lightning speed. He hurled four shurikens at Naruto, who leapt and dodged with a grin, then reciprocated by hurling six shurikens. By performing a hand gesture, the number of shurikens suddenly tripled.

"Try to dodge this!" he exclaimed, but Menma held his position, wielding two kunai. He was only able to deflect half of the projectiles and suffered some harm from the remainder. Afterwards, he fled into the foliage.

"Hey, come back!" Naruto hollered and pursued Menma, holding kunai firmly in his grasp.

-On the sidelines-

Tenten remarked, "Wow, those two are quite impressive."

Neji agreed, "Yes, every time Menma appears to be winning, Naruto manages to turn the tide and vice versa."

Sakura asked, "Does that mean this battle will continue for a long time?"

Shikamaru responded with a yawn, "No, the fight has concluded."

As the others watched in bewilderment, Sasuke activated his Sharingan to observe the fight. As Shikamaru had predicted, the battle eventually concluded.

Menma spun his kunai on his fingertips and grinned. "He fell for it," he thought, before charging towards Naruto unexpectedly. He executed a horizontal slash from the left, but Naruto evaded it by ducking and transitioning into a leg sweep, causing Menma to lose his balance.

Taking advantage of this, Naruto grabbed Menma by the collar, flung him over his shoulder, and slammed him onto the ground.

Naruto aimed the kunai at his brother in a victorious gesture, grinning broadly as he spoke. "You lost, Menma! Give up!"

Everyone, aside from Sasuke, Shikamaru, Yuko, and Tenya, was stunned by the turn of events. Neji found it peculiar and commented, "It's strange that none of you seem to be surprised by the result."

Yuko responded, "Well, of course we're not surprised because Menma actually won."

Neji arched an eyebrow at this and glanced at Shikamaru and Sasuke, who both nodded in agreement with Yuko's assertion.

Tenya chimed in with a small grin, "You don't have to ponder so deeply; just activate your Byakugan."

Neji activated his Byakugan, his eyes widening as he pondered, "But when?"

Menma gazed at Naruto and chuckled before saying, "Take a look behind you," while pointing behind Naruto.

Naruto lifted an eyebrow and opted to disregard Menma's words, believing it to be a tactic to divert his attention. He was not easily fooled. "You can't deceive me," he asserted.

Suddenly, a voice spoke from behind Naruto, commanding, "Is that so?"

The Menma standing before Naruto transformed into wind and vanished. Stunned, Naruto attempted to turn around, but Menma seized his arm, twisting it behind his back, and wrestled him to the ground.

Initially, Naruto showed some resistance, but realizing that there was no way out, he let out a sigh of frustration and conceded defeat. Menma grinned and let him go, remarking confidently, "Seems like I have my own personal wallet now."

Naruto sat on the ground with his arms crossed, pouting as he said, "Sure, I'll definitely beat you next time."

Menma responded by offering his hand to help his brother stand up and saying, "I'm looking forward to it."

Exiting the bushes, they approached their friends who were impressed by their skills and inquired about how they became so strong and the techniques they used.

After the excitement died down, Neji asked a question that had been on his mind, "Menma, if you don't mind me asking, when did you switch places with your clone?"

Menma replied, "I did it right after I ran into the bushes." Neji nodded in understanding.

After returning to the village, they went directly to Yakiniku Q and indulged in a satisfying meal. They spent the entire evening conversing until nightfall, bidding each other farewell before heading back to their respective homes.

As Menma and Naruto made their way home, Menma noticed that Naruto had been uncharacteristically silent. Intrigued, he asked, "Is something on your mind, Naruto?" Naruto replied."Oh... I've just been thinking about some things."

When asked, Naruto replied, "Oh, I've just had some thoughts on my mind."

Curious, Menma inquired, "What have you been thinking about?"

Naruto responded, "I've been thinking about how I can become Hokage."

Upon hearing this, Menma smiled and said, "Who knows, maybe it won't be long until becoming Hokage becomes a reality rather than just a dream."

Naruto stopped in his tracks, furrowing his eyebrows as he looked down at the ground. "Do you think I'll be able to do a good job as Hokage even if I'm weak?" he asked.

Menma let out a chuckle, which confused and slightly irritated Naruto. "Oh, my apologies. I wasn't laughing at you for being weak. I was chuckling because you believe you are weak," Menma explained.

Naruto recounted a recent mission where he and his team nearly lost their lives. Sasuke had suffered serious injuries while protecting him, Sakura was reduced to tears, and even their mentor Kakashi had been injured fighting the enemy. Naruto's frustration was palpable as he added, "And to make matters worse, I lost control and the Nine-Tail chakra took over."

Menma listened patiently before responding, "You are underestimating yourself, Naruto. If you were truly weak, you would have given up already. But you haven't. You have the determination to take steps towards achieving your dream of becoming Hokage, which is a testament to your strength."

Naruto looked up with as their cerulean eyes meet and he continued to listen.

Naruto looked up, and their gazes met as Menma continued speaking. "You may be weak now, but there is no shame in that. The real shame lies in staying weak and not working towards improving yourself," Menma advised, taking a step closer and placing a hand on Naruto's shoulder. "You shouldn't underestimate yourself, Naruto. With your determination, you can achieve anything you set your mind to, including becoming Hokage."

As Naruto listened to Menma's encouraging words, a single tear ran down his face. He felt embarrassed for underestimating himself, yet grateful that at least one person believed in him.

Wiping away his tears, Naruto managed a bright smile and said, "Thank you, bro. I really needed to hear that."

Menma smiled back at Naruto, and they both continued their way home, unaware of the danger that loomed ahead in their near future. Eventually, they went to bed, completely oblivious to the impending threat.

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*drip*

A single droplet of water fell in the dimly lit cave, casting an eerie ambiance. The silhouettes of nine figures emerged, all adorned in long black cloaks with red clouds and a ring on one finger. They stood each on a finger of a statue that was bound in chains, its numerous eyes shut tightly.

The man who appeared to be in charge stepped forward and started to slowly enumerate names. "Konan, Itachi, Deidara, Sasori, Kakuzu, Hidan, Tobi, Kisame, and I, Pain," announced the individual with orange hair and nose, mouth, and ear piercings

Pain addressed the group, "I have brought you together today to determine who among us will be sent to infiltrate Konoha and gather intelligence on the current Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails."

Tobi, a man wearing a spiral mask with a single eye hole, chimed in excitedly, "Oh, oh, pick me!"

Meanwhile, Deidara responded dismissively, "Hmph, keep dreaming, idiot."

Konan explained, "We cannot send Itachi as he is recognizable to those in Konoha. Deidara, Sasori, Hidan, Kisame, and Kakuzu are all quick to anger, making them unsuitable candidates."

Deidara interjected with, "Hmm, that only leaves three options then..."

Pain stated, "Konan and I are unable to attend due to personal matters." Deidara quickly realized the implication, his eyes widening.

Tobi, in a childlike tone, exclaimed, "Yayyy, the leader is the best!"

However, Deidara was less enthusiastic and pointed to the dimwitted individual, asking incredulously, "You're going to send this fool?!"

Pain let out a sigh before responding, "It is the most viable choice since no one is aware of his existence. Furthermore, his personality traits make him more effective at gathering information and less prone to arousing suspicion."

All members of the group had to reach a consensus.

Pain addressed Tobi, "Tobi."

Tobi responded promptly, standing at attention, "Yes sir, leader sir."

Pain continued, "I have faith that you will not let me down and will carry out this mission flawlessly... Now, go."

Tobi acknowledged the order, "Yes sir," and disappeared using his unique eye technique (Kamui), the Sharingan, which glowed a bright crimson.

Eventually, the group dispersed and waited for updates on the mission.