"Yo, young man, looks like it's your first time here," Teuchi, the owner of Ichiraku Ramen, said with his signature squinty-eyed smile. "Shall I recommend some of our most popular specialties?"
"I'm hardly a first-timer, Uncle Teuchi."
Menma snapped back to reality, looking at the man in the chef's hat. With the ease of an old regular, he placed his order.
"Give me a Miso Chashu Ramen. No Narutomaki, but go heavy on the Menma (bamboo shoots)."
"Eh?"
Teuchi tilted his head, scanning the boy's face, but he had absolutely no memory of him.
"My apologies, guest. Perhaps my age is finally catching up with me," Teuchi laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "As an apology, I'll give you a double serving of Menma!"
In Japanese, the word for bamboo shoots—Menma—was his namesake, while the fishcake—Narutomaki—shared its name with Naruto.
Perhaps it was a lingering influence from the "Limited Tsukuyomi," but Menma had grown to despise fishcakes while developing a deep obsession with bamboo shoots.
As the soup began to boil, Menma focused his ears on the two shinobi nearby.
However, whether they had run out of info or had simply grown wary of a "stranger" in the shop, they shifted their talk to mundane gossip and daily errands. They even started discussing the latest adult romance novels from the nearby bookstore.
The conversation turned so scandalous that Menma had to reach up and shove the Little Nine-Tails' head back down into his fur collar before she could hear too much.
'When exactly did Jiraiya's Make-Out Paradise get published?'
He figured if the ninja world's most famous romance novel was already out, these two would definitely be raving about it.
"Here you go, kid. One Miso Chashu Ramen, extra bamboo!"
Teuchi slid a steaming bowl onto the counter.
Menma stared at the thick layer of bamboo shoots covering the meat, the rich aroma of the broth filling his senses. He snapped his chopsticks and began to dig in. After three years of orphanage food, he ate like a man possessed, slurping the noodles with a ferocity that drew stares from the other ninjas.
Once the bowl was empty, he patted his stomach and let out a long, satisfied breath.
Even though he was using a Transformation, his physical body was still that of a child; eating this much was bound to be a bit of a stretch.
"Glad you enjoyed it!" Teuchi beamed.
"Keep the change."
Menma placed a fifty-ryo note on the counter and stood to leave.
Teuchi picked up the money, watching the boy walk away. He couldn't shake the feeling that there was something deeply peculiar about that youth.
Stepping out into the night wind, Menma began to walk toward the Hyuga clan compound, guided by his memories.
"Full stomach... time for some exercise."
As he walked, he pulled out his white three-eyed fox mask and slipped it over his face.
——————
The Hyuga Manor
A masked shinobi moved like a ghost, slipping into the main courtyard of the Hyuga Head House.
"Too easy," he whispered.
Looking at the small girl sleeping soundly in her bed, the intruder pulled out a cloth soaked in a powerful sedative. Once the drug took hold, he scooped her up and vanished into the shadows.
Swish— Swish—
The kidnapper sprinted across the compound, Hinata tucked under his arm. As the perimeter of the Hyuga estate came into view, his excitement grew.
"Just in time. The show is about to start."
A voice suddenly rang out from above.
The ninja gasped, skidding to a halt. He looked up.
Perched atop the outer wall was a figure, looking down at him with cold indifference.
"Damn! Have I been spotted?"
The kidnapper's expression tightened behind his mask. He steeled himself to die—this was, after all, part of their fallback plan.
"Wait... you aren't a Hyuga?"
He realized the person on the wall was wearing a strange mask and clothes that bore no Konoha insignia. Why was this stranger here? What was his goal?
He didn't have time to think. Several figures landed in the street around them.
"Who goes there! How dare you trespass in the Hyuga compound!"
Hiashi Hyuga appeared, leading several guardians, positioning himself between the kidnapper and the masked stranger.
"Hizashi! Hold off the masked one! I'll save Hinata!" Hiashi barked.
"Right!"
Hizashi Hyuga bowed slightly, the veins around his eyes bulging as he activated his Byakugan. He lunged toward the figure on the wall.
"So eager for a fight? Aren't you going to ask why I'm here?"
Menma blocked Hizashi's initial Gentle Palm strike with a single hand. He moved like a leaf in the wind, casually dodging every strike while remaining perched on the narrow wall.
No matter how precise Hizashi's strikes were, the masked man seemed to predict every movement. He intercepted the attacks with effortless grace, using only one hand to parry a high-level Jōnin's taijutsu.
Hizashi grew more terrified with every passing second. The enemy seemed to know exactly which chakra points he was targeting, protecting them with a layer of chakra before the strike even landed. It was like hitting a block of solid iron.
'How is he so familiar with our style?!'
Hizashi realized with horror that this stranger fought with a familiarity that rivaled his own sparring matches with his brother.
Down in the street, Hiashi lunged at the kidnapper with a heavy blow.
His plan was to disable the man for interrogation, but the kidnapper did something unexpected—he threw himself onto Hiashi's fist, guiding the blow toward his own vitals.
Thud!
The kidnapper was sent flying. Hiashi lunged forward, catching Hinata before she hit the ground.
"Lord Patriarch!" The other guards swarmed to Hiashi's side.
"Is he dead?"
Hiashi handed the unconscious Hinata to a guard and checked the man's pulse. Nothing.
He ripped off the man's mask. When he saw the Hidden Cloud forehead protector, his face drained of color.
"A Cloud ninja?"
"Isn't this... the Head Ninja who arrived just yesterday?"
The guards recognized him instantly. Fear crept into their hearts.
The Head Ninja of the Cloud, who was supposed to be at the Third Hokage's banquet, was dead in the Hyuga streets.
After a split second of shock, Hiashi whipped his head around toward the wall where the masked stranger was still toy-fighting with Hizashi.
"Hizashi! Capture him alive!" Hiashi roared, his veins bulging with fury.