Naruto: I'm in Konoha, my name is Uzumaki Menma

Chapter 201 Sasuke and Itachi
The sparring sessions continued, but the brief yet impactful clash between Menma and Uchiha Sasuke, like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, stirred ripples in the hearts of the young men and women.

On the sidelines, the atmosphere among the girls' small groups was subtle.

Ino noticed that her female classmates, who usually only followed Sasuke, were now frequently glancing at Menma, who was being surrounded and laughing with Naruto, Choji, and Kiba. Her lips pursed slightly.

She keenly sensed that Menma's clean and efficient movements, his calm yet slightly lazy demeanor, and his clear blue eyes were beginning to exude an attraction different from Sasuke's sharp, cool, and suave style.

"Hey, don't you guys think... Menma-kun is actually pretty handsome?" A girl with pigtails whispered to her companions, her eyes shining.

“Yeah, yeah! Especially when he held the kunai to Sasuke’s neck at the end…so calm!So cool!” another girl chimed in, her cheeks slightly flushed.

"Besides, he seems much easier to get along with than Sasuke-kun. Sasuke-kun is always so cold..."

"But... hasn't the Hyuga clan's eldest daughter always been with Menma-kun?" Someone hesitated, looking at Hinata who was sitting quietly in the corner, still somewhat frightened.

"Oh dear, Hinata is the young lady of the Hyuga clan! A powerful ninja clan like that will definitely want to marry into a ninja clan of equal social standing, right? Menma-kun is strong, but he seems to be just a war orphan..." The twin-tailed girl lowered her voice, analyzing with a touch of self-righteousness.

"So...we might still have a chance!"

Although these comments about the precocious child were deliberately kept low, they still reached Sakura Haruno's ears.

She was initially distressed by Sasuke's lonely figure as he ran away, and was torn between whether or not to chase after him to comfort him. But when she heard her companions' "reassessment" of Masah, her heart began to waver for some reason.

Beneath her pink hair, her small face showed a bewildered, infatuated expression: "Eh? It seems... oh yeah... Menma-kun is so amazing... Sasuke-kun is so handsome... what should I do..."

"Hey! Broad forehead! Wake up!" Ino couldn't stand it anymore and gave Sakura a light tap on the head, saying in a low voice, "Sasuke and Menma are not things you should be thinking about right now! Besides..."

She glanced at Hinata, who stood timidly not far away, seemingly still reeling from the shock of the fireball attack, then leaned close to Sakura's ear and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear, "You know Hinata's situation. Her 'older sister'... if she gets angry, none of us can handle her! Don't provoke Menma!"

Sakura shuddered at the thought of Hinata's occasional chilling aura, and her budding infatuation was instantly extinguished. She nodded repeatedly, "Yes...yes! Ino, you're right!"

Just then, Iruka's voice rang out: "Next group, Naruto Uzumaki! Kiba Inuzuka! Get ready to go!"

Naruto and Kiba, that pair of lively characters, immediately forgot about Menma and charged into the arena with a roar.

Both are energetic and straightforward, with a bold and unrestrained fighting style full of youthful vigor.

Although Naruto's chakra control is unstable, he has the advantage of abundant stamina and fearlessness; Kiba is more agile and has a more solid foundation in taijutsu.

The two exchanged blows on the field, kicking and punching each other, kicking and defending, drawing cheers and laughter.

Ultimately, Kiba, with his more stable lower body and a clever feint, seized an opening in Naruto's defenses, tripped him, and won by a narrow margin.

"Damn it! I was so close!" Naruto got up, brushing the dust off his clothes. Although he lost, he wasn't discouraged; instead, he was full of fighting spirit.

"I'll definitely beat you next time, Ya!"

"Hmph, bottom of the class, you'll have to train for another ten years!" Tooth proudly raised his head, winning with honor and integrity.

The atmosphere in the practice area became lively again. Just when everyone thought the little incident was over, the two girls who had been discussing facial numbing seemed to have mustered up their courage.

They nudged each other, their cheeks flushed, and finally walked together to Menma, who was discussing the match with Naruto and Kiba.

"Um... Menma-kun..." The girl with twin ponytails took a deep breath, her voice visibly tense.

“We…we want to see the newly released ‘Snow Princess’ movie this weekend…Are you…are you free? Do you want to…go with us?” After saying that, the two of them lowered their heads shyly.

The air suddenly became quiet.

Naruto, Kiba, and Choji stared wide-eyed, completely dumbfounded.

Ino facepalmed, looking like she knew this would happen.

Shikamaru rested his chin on his hand, a hint of helplessness flashing in his lazy eyes: "What a nuisance..."

Hinata, who was sitting on the stone steps not far away, sipping water and with a slightly rosy complexion, suddenly stopped moving.

She slowly raised her head, her pure white eyes first looking blankly at the two blushing girls, then at the somewhat bewildered Mianma who was surrounded by them.

Immediately afterwards, an invisible, cold and powerful aura suddenly erupted from Hinata!

It was as if the calm lake surface had frozen instantly!
The girls around them, like startled birds, instinctively cried out and stepped back, making way for an open space.

Hinata slowly stood up, her long, smooth blue hair, which had been hanging down her shoulders, began to flutter gently without any wind.

The timid expression on her face vanished without a trace, replaced by a sharp, assertive gaze filled with intense possessiveness!

Hinata's eyes throbbed, and her Byakugan activated! A powerful aura erupted instantly!

She raised her left hand, palm up, and clenched her right fist, her knuckles making a series of crisp, terrifying "crack" sounds!

A wild and aggressive smile curved at the corners of his lips.

"You two..." Hinata's voice rang out, no longer her usual soft and gentle tone, but with a magnetic quality that carried an overwhelming sense of pressure.

"Want to ask 'my' Menma to go to the movies? Hmm?" The last "hmm" was drawn out, full of a dangerous undertone.

The two girls were terrified by this sudden and terrifying turn of events and the palpable murderous aura!
Her face turned deathly pale instantly, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

"Waaaaah!!!" The two let out a shrill scream, no longer daring to linger, and turned to scramble away from the practice field as if a demon was chasing them.

The sidelines were deathly silent.

Everyone was stunned by Hinata's sudden "transformation" and the aura she unleashed. Even Naruto shrank back and dared not utter a sound.

Menma looked at the two girls who had run away in fright, then glanced at Hinata beside him, who was exuding a powerful aura. He quickly stepped forward, gently patted Hinata's shoulder, and said in a soothing tone, "Alright, alright, stop scaring them."

Feeling the warmth of the numb hand and the familiar scent, Hinata's terrifying aura not only did not fade, but intensified.

"Hmph!" She curled her lip, her sharp eyes fixed on Menma, and issued a warning: "If you dare to cheat on me, I'll kill you first!"

The boss's fiery temper made Mianma raise his hands in surrender.

Choji was holding a bag of potato chips in one hand, and the potato chips he was about to put in his mouth were so startled that he dropped them.

The boss's aura completely overwhelmed all the young men and women present.

"Wow...so cool..." But some girls' eyes lit up, filled with admiration for this heroic and fiery leader.

After making those harsh remarks, Hinata reverted to being the quiet Hinata standing next to Menma, her eyes slightly timid and her face flushed.

Noticing the strange looks she was getting, Hinata's face turned bright red, and she lowered her head, steam rising from her hair.

Iruka-sensei wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, feeling that today's practical lesson was even more exhausting than fighting against the Chunin Exam examiners.

He quickly announced the next few matches, hastily ending this unexpected lesson. "Strange, something seems to be missing?" Iruka looked at the match list and shook his head: "Never mind, let's take the children back to the classroom first."

In the crowd, Shino calmly adjusted his sunglasses.

After the group returned to the classroom, Iruka scored and commented on everyone's performance.

He specifically praised Menma for her calm judgment and solid foundation in dealing with Sasuke, and also used Sasuke's violation of the Fireball Jutsu as a negative example, while reiterating classroom safety.

They encouraged Naruto's fighting spirit, Kiba's progress, and Choji's stability.

As for Hinata, Iruka wisely chose to ignore the "little incident" that had just occurred.

Finally, in the afterglow of the setting sun, the day's classes came to an end.

--------

On the edge of the Uchiha clan's territory, in a secluded training ground.

The setting sun cast long shadows on the trees, and the air carried the chill of autumn.

Sasuke didn't go home; he ran all the way here, his face still bearing traces of wet tears and the flush from strenuous exercise.

A strong sense of humiliation and resentment gnawed at his heart like a venomous snake.

He could not forget Menma's calm gaze on the training field, the way he easily neutralized his kunai, the power that completely suppressed his physical skills, and the cold touch against his neck at the end... All of this shattered his pride as a "genius".

"Damn it! Damn it!!" Sasuke roared in frustration, grabbing a training shuriken and throwing it wildly at a wooden target in the distance!
The force was immense, but the aim was off; the shurikens landed crookedly on the edge of the wooden target, and some even missed the target and stuck to the tree trunk.

Just as he was venting his anger, a gentle voice sounded behind him: "Sasuke."

Sasuke froze and turned around abruptly.

Suddenly, his older brother, Uchiha Itachi, appeared at the edge of the training ground.

He was wearing a black, tight-fitting combat suit from the Anbu, covered by a light gray vest, and his face wore an animal mask commonly seen on Anbu members. But at this moment, the mask was pushed up above his forehead, revealing his deep and concerned black eyes.

"Brother..." Upon seeing his most trusted brother, Sasuke's pent-up grievances instantly broke down, his eyes reddened again, and his voice choked with sobs.

Itachi looked at his younger brother's disheveled appearance and bloodshot eyes, and understood.

He walked slowly to Sasuke's side, squatted down, looked his younger brother in the eye, and asked gently, "What's wrong? Did you encounter any setbacks at school?"

Sasuke nodded vigorously, and with a sob in his voice, he recounted the events of his afternoon battle against Menma, from how his throws were easily countered to how his taijutsu was completely suppressed, and finally how he was toyed with by the substitution jutsu and left with nothing to hold his throat. He poured out his entire story in one breath.

He became more and more agitated as he spoke, his small fists clenched tightly: "...That guy! He...he didn't even use his full strength! My attack didn't even touch him! I...I lost so badly! Everyone saw it..."

Itachi listened quietly without interrupting.

He reached out and gently stroked Sasuke's hair with his warm palm, wiping away the tears that welled up in his eyes again.

“Sasuke,” Itachi’s voice was calm yet powerful, “the ninja world has never lacked people who are called ‘geniuses’.”

Sasuke looked up at his brother, his eyes blurry with tears.

“A true genius is not one who never fails, but one who draws strength from every failure and becomes even stronger.” Itachi’s gaze was profound, as if piercing through the training ground before him and seeing a wider world: “The opponent you met today was very strong. He saw through your intentions and took advantage of your impatience. That’s good.”

"Very good?" Sasuke asked, puzzled.

“Yes, very good.” Itachi nodded firmly: “Because this will remind you that no matter what kind of opponent you face, you can’t be careless in the slightest. Underestimating your enemy is the biggest grave for a ninja. Remember how you felt today, remember the frustration of defeat, and then turn it into motivation for you to move forward.”

He paused, looking into his younger brother's still stubborn eyes: "Tell me, do you want to win? Do you want to surpass him?"

"Yes!" Sasuke answered loudly without hesitation, his eyes rekindling with fighting spirit: "I will definitely defeat him next time!"

"Very good." A satisfied smile appeared on Itachi's lips. "Then, let's begin. I'll help you train."

He stood up, walked to the side, and gestured for Sasuke to continue practicing his throwing.

Sasuke's spirits lifted, he forcefully wiped away the tears on his face, picked up the shuriken again, and his eyes became extremely focused.

He began to practice the basic movements of the Uchiha-style throwing technique seriously, striving for precision in every exertion of force and every wrist rotation.

Itachi stood to the side, watching his younger brother train with a calm gaze, occasionally offering subtle pointers on the key points of the movements.

Looking at his younger brother's determined and serious profile, Itachi felt a deeper shadow fall over his heart.

His gaze inadvertently swept across a certain direction outside the training field, where a hidden camera was located.

Just now, Itachi, who was on a surveillance mission in the Anbu, temporarily handed over the task of "monitoring the outer perimeter of the Uchiha clan's territory" to his teammate, Kakashi Hatake, so that he was able to get away and come find Sasuke.

This somewhat abandoned training ground was his and Shisui's secret base. Later, after Sasuke began to train, Itachi brought Sasuke here and trained him together with Shisui.

Stop the water...

The thought of the missing Uchiha Shisui weighed heavily on Itachi's heart, like a heavy lead weight.

That genius, who was both a brother and a friend and always had a gentle smile, has been missing for over a year.

Although the village's official records only state "missing," the Uchiha clan, the Konoha leadership, and even other ninja clans almost universally acknowledged that Uchiha Shisui had been murdered.

Who is the murderer?

Within the Uchiha clan, anger and suspicion spread like wildfire.

The clansmen, especially the radicals who were dissatisfied with the village, turned their anger towards the Konoha leadership!

They believe that the higher-ups were afraid of Shisui's terrifying strength and feared that a second Uchiha Madara would emerge from the Uchiha clan, so they secretly plotted this murder!

As a result, Itachi, who served in the Anbu and was highly regarded by the Third Hokage, also faced suspicion and alienation from some members of the clan.

At the clan meeting, the way Hachidai, Tetsuho, and others looked at him was always filled with scrutiny and distrust.

Itachi's gaze returned to Sasuke, who was training hard, and a trace of indescribable worry and heaviness flashed deep in his eyes.

Shisui's disappearance created a huge rift between the Uchiha and Konoha, and the conflict between the two sides intensified, with tensions rising throughout the clan territory.

The weasel, caught in the middle, was also under immense pressure from both sides, making it almost impossible for him to breathe.

He must protect Sasuke, and he must also... find the truth.

No matter how cruel the truth may be.

(End of this chapter)