"Wow, Menma! When did you get so strong?"
"You actually won against Sasuke."
"Well, technically, you didn't win but it was amazing."
The crowd of children gathered around Menma who was flooded with questions. He rubbed his head with one hand and stopped others with his other hand.
"Actually, I didn't get strong. Do you really think a person can get strong overnight? I only learned how to fight. That's all."
"Aww… I thought you got stronger by eating some nasty fruit. I was just going to ask if there was another." The blonde girl, Ino sighed.
But, everyone around her started laughing.
"Hahaha! That's ridiculous."
"So, you sure know how to joke."
Seeing the children laughing, Iruka smiled but he quickly noticed one guy still looking sad on the sidelines. He was none other than Naruto.
Right now, Iruka doesn't have good feelings for Naruto as he would've later. But as a teacher, he was still good to Naruto.
He walked closer to him and said "Why don't you start talking to him? He did talk to you, right?"
Naruto didn't reply and lowered his head. Yes, he did want to talk but he was afraid. He wasn't afraid that Menma wouldn't talk to him rather he was afraid that Menma will get alone because everyone else will stop talking to him.
That's what happened to Shikamaru and Choji. Both of them talked to Naruto and slowly they were ignored by others. Shikamaru and Choji didn't mind that but he couldn't be sure about Menma.
Seeing this, Iruka sighed. Even he doesn't like Naruto. Why would he convince others to like him?
But, at this moment, Menma noticed Naruto and Iruka as well. Seeing those dark eyes and sad expressions, Menma clenched his fist but released a deep breath.
He can't judge people. This was the main theme he learned from Naruto. Yes, everyone hates him and it wasn't his fault. But, it was still Kurama's fault. Even though he was under Genjutsu, it was he who did it.
And, now, being the Jinchuriki, he can only bear the curse of hatred. Menma decided to make friends with Naruto but he won't do it instantly. He will take his time.
Soon after the class ended, everyone left the academy.
"Menma, are you going to the library?" Murasaki asked as he walked out with Menma and Okinawa.
"Yep, do you want to come?" Menma asked.
Murasaki and Okinawa looked at each other and asked.
"Does reading really makes us stronger?"
Menma shook his head and said "You don't understand this, do you? What you define being stronger is using chakra to use ninjutsu and getting better at Taijutsu but these aren't everything that makes one stronger."
"You also need a good brain. If you read a lot of books and learned a lot of things, you will be able to crack the shortcuts to learning ninjutsu. You will learn how to cast Genjutsu but it is a slow process."
"And of course, I am not going to spend all of my days in the library, just a few hours"
Murasaki and Okinawa nodded their heads and said "Alright then, we will go with you."
Menma smiled. He really doesn't care but since they are his friends, he should at least help them get stronger.
After they reached the library, they greeted the librarian who seemed surprised and happy that Menma brought a few more people today. Menma picked out the Taijutsu Book and three of them started reading it.
Menma was quick on memories so he started memorizing the fundamentals of Taijutsu.
Chakra is present in everyone's body. The chakra itself doesn't make one stronger. But, one can make Chakra stronger. This is the growth of the Chakra. The growth of the Chakra doesn't just mean its growth in amount but also means the quality of the Chakra.
Taijutsu is the major source of improving the quality of Chakra, making it stronger. Once Taijutsu is practiced by somebody, they will refine their Chakra to make their body stronger.
But, it also works the opposite. They train their body to make their Chakra stronger. After all, Chakra itself can give someone superhuman strength. That's why Naruto has such a powerful physical strength and that's why Guy was the strongest after opening Eight Gates.
Eight Gates are the supplements. They are on his list to practice but with those, he also had another thing that he wanted to practice.
Medical Jutsu and Slug Sage Art!
These two are the top in his top lists. But, he couldn't do it until Tsunade returns. So, until then, he was planning on working on two things.
Sealing Jutsu and Chakra!
His current Chakra level is too low. It is so low that he needed something to increase his Chakra amount and he knows how to get it. Naruto is the best option.
But, before that, he must learn Sealing Jutsu. It would be the only way to seal Nine-Tails Chakra and slowly refine it. After all, Naruto's immense Chakra Level has a lot to do with Nine Tails as well.
But, he had one problem.
How is he going to get Sealing Jutsu?
There are several Sealing Jutsu in the Konoha but they should all be at Hokage's residence, right?
Menma had a lot of problems but these didn't bother him much. The only thing that bothered him the most was how to train Sealing Jutsu. But after a while, he decided not to think too much about this.
He doesn't have the power to suppress Nine Tails even if he learns Sealing Jutsu. And, he needs a lot of money to buy the materials for Sealing Jutsu. He had a lot of problems in his head already.
He decided to find another way to increase his strength. Although Tsunade wasn't here, he could still start learning Medical Ninjutsu from Konoha's hospital, right?
After reading with his friends in the library for a few hours, they finally left the library. This time he asked the librarian if he could get a scroll about Sealing Jutsu. He was just going to keep it and learn it later.
The librarian didn't think too much since Sealing Jutsu, especially normal Sealing Jutsu weren't that abnormal. After getting the scroll, they finally walked to of library.
"Man, I am so hungry. Let's go and eat something." Murasaki said as soon as they left Library.
"I was thinking the same. Let's eat something!" Menma agreed but Okinawa disagreed.
"I have to return home. My father will get angry if I don't go home soon."
Saying so, he turned around but Menme stopped him.
"Wait! Do you still remember those exercises mentioned in Taijutsu Book?"
Okinawa nodded his head.
"Alright then, you should train hard on those to increase your Taijutsu."
"But man, I want to do some cool Ninjutsu," Okinawa replied with a bit of tiredness in his eyes.
"Come on, you know why you need Taijutsu." Menma rolled his eyes and turned around.
Okinawa smiled and left as well. Menma and Kurasaki went to the Ramen Restaurant.
"Are you serious? I thought we would have some meat." Kurasaki looked at him with gloomy eyes and asked.
"Of course, I am serious. I need to buy something and I won't have enough money if I spend on it." Menma rolled his eyes and entered the restaurant. The ramen god Tenchu was waiting for his customers.
"Can I get two bowls of Ramen?"
Tenchu nodded his head and said "Two bowls of Ramen coming right up."
"By the way, what is the thing that you wanted to buy?" Murasaki sat next to him and asked.
"I wanted to buy some equipment for Taijutsu Training. You know those special heavyweights that look small in size but have a lot of weight. I heard they cost a lot." Menma answered.
Murasaki raised his eyebrows and thought 'Maybe I should buy them as well. If Menma is going to get stronger like that, I need to get stronger as well. I won't let him overtake me.'
"I want to buy those as well."
Menma looked at him with surprise but quickly smiled and nodded his head.
"Alright, let's go together and buy it. But, have you brought enough money?"
Murasaki rolled his eyes and said "Did you forget my parents are Jonin? I always keep some money with me."
Only then did Menma realize that Murasaki came from Kurama Clan. This clan was known to be top clans equal but now it has fallen to the state where there is barely a few Jonin.
At this moment, he remembered a girl who was kept under Kurenai Yuhi. But, this girl has a very fragile physique. Most of the Kurama's members have fragile physiques including Murasaki.
'Hmm... If he trains in Taijutsu and Genjutsu, he would be pretty powerful. Although he doesn't have Kurama Clan Kekkei Genkai, there might be a chance that he could awaken it.'
Thinking about that, a smile appeared on his lips.
"Alright then, let's eat first and then buy that equipment!"