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Chapter 16 - Chapter 16- Training

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After exchanging information for a few more hours, both Naruto and Menma were lost in their own thoughts. During their exchange, Naruto answered almost every question, keeping only a few things to himself. However, Menma didn't answer all of Naruto's questions, providing only enough information that wouldn't significantly alter the course of history.

'What do you think, Kurama? Do you think we should still train him?' Menma questioned Kurama.

'Well, that is for you to decide. But I can't say the kid's in the wrong here. After knowing what he went through at that age, we can't judge his actions as wrong, nor are we qualified to judge him. Because you know that feeling,' Kurama replied, reflecting on the life Menma had led up until now.

'You're right. And to tell you the truth, there were times when I also thought about destroying the village...' Menma said to Kurama.

'But you didn't.'

'Yes, because I had someone to help me through it all. She was always standing by my side, always pushing me towards the light,' Menma said, remembering the sweet smile of a precious someone.

"So, Naruto, I have an offer for you," Menma asked Naruto.

"...What offer?" Naruto asked, confused.

"Well, let me be frank. The reason I'm here is to warn you. And I have about three years at most to live. So, I'm going to teach you everything I know and tell you everything you need to be careful about for the future at the end of your training," Menma told Naruto.

"What do you mean, 'warn me'?" Naruto asked suspiciously.

"You'll know someday, but not today," Menma said, shrugging his shoulders. "So, what do you say?"

"....Fine," Naruto was silent for a minute before answering Menma.

"Well, let's get going then," Menma said with a pleased smile.

".....!" When Naruto saw him smile like that, his mind froze for a second, and he remembered his old days when he was in the academy and used to smile the same way.

"What's wrong?" Menma asked.

"...Nothing. Let's go then," Naruto said, shaking off his old memories.

**POV Change**

About a year had passed since Naruto's death, and everything in the village seemed the same, except for a few people. After Naruto's death, Tsunade didn't smile much and spent most of her time alone, meeting people only for official work. Even when she trained Sakura, she didn't seem very energetic.

Jiraiya was mostly on special missions, but whenever he came back, he tried to cheer up Tsunade. However, she didn't seem to improve much even after his efforts.

Sasuke spent most of his time training, becoming stronger to exact revenge on his brother and the person who killed Naruto.

Despite thorough investigations, no one could find anything about how Naruto died. Everyone else had given up on finding the person responsible, but Sasuke continued to do his best, hoping to one day find the culprit and get revenge for Naruto.

Hinata also changed. Usually shy and quiet, she started speaking less and less after the incident. She trained very hard because she had promised to become Hokage for Naruto.

Currently, Team 7 had new members Yamato and Sai, and Kakashi started doing separate missions to monitor the increased movements of the Akatsuki and investigate them.

Meanwhile, Naruto was mastering different jutsu and chakra natures.

And time continued to pass in the same way.

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