"Village, I have finally returned."
Menma stood in front of the giant opened gate and took a deep breath. He walked inside the gate and saw two people sitting at the small desk. They were still the same.
"Is that you, Menma?" Izumo Kamazuki, who was one of the two guards immediately saw Menma and spoke in disbelief.
Although he has only seen Menma a few times and especially when he was leaving, he didn't expect Menma to change so much.
If he hadn't closely stared at Menma before, he wouldn't even recognize him.
"Yo! It seems like you aren't lagging behind as guards." Menma smiled and walked near them. To recognize his new appearance just with a single glance was a really good job as a guard.
"Haha! It is really you. How did you change so much? I just saw your group and they have barely changed a bit." Izumo burst into laughter as he asked.
"Well, I thought that I didn't look good before I had a little bit of a makeover. How? Do I handsome?" Menma proudly spoke.
And, his words sounded like bragging.
Izumo and Kotetsu stared at him speechlessly.
"It seems not only your appearance has changed, but you also learned to brag. Anyway, it seems like your two years of training have ended."
Menma nodded his head.
"Yes, it's time for me to take some tasks from the village. Alright, I should go now."
Two of them nodded as Menma finally left for his home.
As he was walking toward his home, he saw a group of three people waiting on the bridge.
"It seems like someone hasn't changed his habit of arriving late."
Menma spoke as he walked toward them.
"This voice sounds so familiar." Two boys and one girl turned around as they stared at Menma for a moment.
One of them looked at him for a moment and his eyes lit up. A big smile appeared on his face as he rushed forward.
"Menma!"
This boy was none other than Naruto. Unlike Sasuke and Sakura, he immediately recognized Menma.
He jumped at Menma and embraced him.
Menma also embraced him.
"It seems like you haven't changed a bit, Naruto."
"How can you say that? I have grown a lot and also got a lot stronger." As soon as he heard those words, Naruto pushed him out of his embrace and spoke with a proud expression.
"Is that so? But, you still look small in front of him." Menma once again proudly spoke as he patted Naruto's head. Naruto was a few inches shorter than him, making it a bit harder to pat his head.
But, he did it anyway.
"Hello, Menma!"
Sakura walked in front of him and spoke with a smile. Sasuke also walked in front of him and said.
"I have gotten a lot stronger. I won't lose to you this time."
Menma blinked twice with a speechless expression and asked.
"Are you still so Tsundere? You don't have to be shy for greetings."
"You… What you are talking about? Who is Tsundere?" Sasuke couldn't help but blush when he heard Menma. He immediately flared up and shouted.
"Yeah! Yeah! It's not your fault. All Uchiha are Tsundere. It's in their genes. Anyway, I admit that you have gotten a lot stronger. As for winning against me, I am not too sure if you can."
Menma patted his shoulder and spoke.
"You bastard." Sasuke was getting mad with each second. Suddenly, he cooled down and speechlessly asked.
"Did you just learn how to enrage me in these two years?"
"Bastard Sasuke, how can you say that? Menma won't waste his time learning to rile you up. He could just do it without any practice. But, Menma, Sasuke, and I have gotten a lot stronger during these two years."
Naruto instantly interrupted as he looked at Menma and spoke with a proud expression on his face.
"Well, well, well, it seems like a new face has returned to the village." Suddenly, a voice rang from behind as a man with white hair and a mask appeared.
"Sorry, I got lost while helping a grandma cross the road."
Although he apologized, there was not a single trace of guilt in his eyes. Instead, he looked at Menma and he was stunned for a moment.
Soon, he showed a happy expression in his eye as he said.
"It seems like you have indeed grown a lot stronger. Naruto, Sasuke, I am afraid it would be harder for both of you to win against him. He has overcome his only weakness."
"Kakashi-Sensei, I can fight too." Sakura spoke in displeasure. Then, she looked at Menma and cursed.
"You bastard, didn't you say that you will send a clone to the village and help me study with Lady Tsunade? Why did you forget about it? I waited for an entire year."
Hearing her words, Menma was stunned. Suddenly, he remembered that he had promised her and forgot about it.
"Wait, I forgot that I need to send a clone here. Sorry, I was too busy these two years. But, don't worry, once we finish Chunin Exams, I will definitely take you to her."
Sakura was a bit angry at first but she quickly calmed down and said.
"It's okay. Your mother helped me a lot and I also managed to learn some things on my own."
"Yeah! Menma, don't make Sakura angry. She will blast you like an angry gorilla." Naruto nodded his head and try to warn Menma but this left Sasuke and Kakashi speechless.
"Bastard, who are you calling Gorilla?"
Bang!
Sakura angrily smashed Naruto on his face and slammed him onto the street.
"Idiot!" Sasuke simply clicked his tongue and then shifted his eyes at Menma.
"Even if you overcome your only weakness, I won't lose to you."
There was pride and confidence in his tone.
"Alright, alright, I believe you will be able to fight against each other during Chunin Exams. By the way Menma, your team is full now. You need to talk to Lord Hokage about your team."
Kakashi made Sasuke silent and then spoke to Menma.
His words startled Menma.
"It shouldn't be possible. Wait, who replaced me in the team?"
Menma muttered as he quickly looked at Kakashi and asked.
Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura quickly got sad but Kakashi eventually spoke.
"During one of the missions, Beni Sarotobi and Kotaro Fuma died. Even there Jonin Leader, Kurenai was heavily injured. It took her months to recover. During this time, the only survivor of the team Murasaki Kurama joined your team as your replacement."
"Since he was your close friend and also a close friend of Okinawa on your team, he was quickly accepted. And, Murasaki also suffered deadly damage"
Hearing his words, Menma was shaken for a moment. He didn't understand why they would suffer as a Genin. Could it be they went to the mission like Land of Wave Mission?
Seeing his confused expression, Kakashi further explained.
"A year ago, during a Chunin Exams, Kurenai Yuhi managed to find traces of Orochimaru. Her team managed to find out about Orochimaru who had sneaked into the village."
"We are not sure about his intention except for gathering information. But, since he was found, Kurenai took action against him. She asked her team to leave and call reinforcement."
"But, while running to call a reinforcement, they were ambushed by Orochimaru's people and two of them. Murasaki was only able to stay alive because he managed to kill his opponent."
"Due to the battle, our village was quickly notified so we rushed to the scene as soon as possible. Unfortunately, before we arrive, Kurenai was heavily injured and Murasaki was marked with Curse Seal."
"Thanks to his high resistance toward Genjutsu and strong body, he was able to resist the pain of that seal and survived. Although Lord Hokage sealed that Curse Seal, it is still in his neck."
"Since he no longer had a teammate, he was sent to your team Lord Hokage asked your team to take Chunin Exams but they didn't agree. Well, it seems like you asked everyone not to take Chunin Exams."
"So, you might have to explain it to Lord Hokage."
Hearing his words, Menma clenched his fist and his anger burst out. Through his anger, his Chakra also rilled up. It was extremely concentrated Chakra as it began to crack impact against the ground.
'Damn! How did he get so stronger? His chakra is so strong just like Nine Tails' Chakra.' Sasuke didn't back down instead using his body to bear the impact of the Chakra.
'His Chakra is even bigger than mine. Although it is nowhere near close to Naruto, it is stronger than anyone of his age. How did he grow his Chakra so quickly?'
Kakashi was also stunned when he faced the impact of Menma's Chakra.
On the other than, Sakura backed away since she wasn't like Sasuke and Kakashi.
"Menma, calm down!" Suddenly, a voice rang from behind as Naruto held his shoulder. He was also listening to Kakashi's words. So, when he saw Menma getting angry, he forcefully reached near Menma and held his shoulders.
Only then, Menma snapped out of his anger.
"I'm sorry for making such a scene."
'Damn, Orochimaru! You will pay for what you did.'