Chapter 30: You Need to Let Him Learn

Nightfall – Konoha, Hospital, Ward 3C

The room was dimly lit, hushed by the deep hours of the night. The sterile white walls of the hospital were faintly warmed by the soft, amber glow of the bedside lamp. Outside, snow fell gently on the quiet village. Inside, the air carried the scent of disinfectant and... apples.

Kakashi sat beside Menma's bed, his bandaged fingers clumsily peeling an apple, the fruit occasionally slipping in his grip. It was a modest act—one he hadn't performed in years—but somehow, it grounded him. After an exhausting day cleaning his late father's sealed room alongside Yoruusagi, and enduring what could only be described as Snow's declaration of feline war over her pest collection, this quiet moment was almost... surreal.

Yoruusagi watched him from a nearby chair, nursing her second apple like a bored goddess watching a mortal fumble with tributes. Seven sighs. She'd counted. Kakashi had sighed seven times since sitting down. The last time she saw him this mopey was when she'd confiscated his entire Jiraiya collection and forbidden him from buying more. She narrowed her eyes. Something was definitely wrong.

Kakashi, seemingly unaware of her scrutiny, finished slicing the apple and placed the slices near Menma's uninjured hand with gentle care. His eyes drifted to the next bed—occupied by his oldest friend, the one and only green hurricane of Konoha.

"Guy… you and Menma burned a little too bright today," Kakashi said softly.

Guy, wrapped in bandages like a victorious yet semi-conscious mummy, didn't respond—his body was still recovering from the storm of their sparring session. It was rare to see Guy so still.

Yoruusagi hadn't spoken to Guy directly when she arrived. At first, she'd marched into the ward with fire in her eyes, ready to pummel him into the floorboards. But when she saw Menma smiling, listening intently as Guy animatedly recounted his tales of rivalries and youthful ambition, her anger had melted away like ice before a bonfire.

Menma had looked at Guy not with anger, but with awe. And that changed everything.

Later, when Menma recounted the battle—the mental clarity he'd achieved mid-fight, the sensory expansion, the exhilaration—she realized Guy hadn't pushed Menma too far. Menma had leaped willingly. And even more, he loved every moment of it.

Naturally, she still punished him.

By twisting his ear and setting a long, creatively cruel punishment for when he returned home, of course.

She'd also seen Guy in a new light. Despite his quirks, she now understood why Kakashi had stayed close to him all these years. He was pure-hearted, unshakably loyal, and fiercely passionate. When she'd introduced herself, Guy nearly declared her Kakashi's secret girlfriend aloud—earning himself a firm headlock—but it still made her forgive him. A little.

Menma, meanwhile, was content. Watching these people—his people—fluctuate between concern, guilt, teasing, and affection, gave him a sense of warmth he couldn't name. It felt like something he'd always wanted.

Maybe... a family?

But he had something else to do tonight. As his body lay still, he allowed his breath to soften and his chakra to slow. With quiet intention, he slipped into meditation—his consciousness gently descending into the still, reflective waters of his inner world.

---

Inside the Seal – Somewhere Beyond Consciousness

Splash.

The water shimmered as he stepped forward, fully intact. No wounds, no pain. Just peace.

He looked around, momentarily puzzled. Normally his dream self mirrored his injured body, but this time he felt... whole.

Pushing the mystery aside, he made his way toward the towering iron bars where Kurama, the Nine-Tails, awaited. The shadows loomed, but Menma's steps were steady. He had questions. And Mr. Fox had answers.

---

Back in the Real World – Outside the Ward

Kakashi, watching Menma's chakra fall into a tranquil rhythm, stood up quietly. He asked Guy to keep an eye on him and stepped outside into the hallway with Yoruusagi.

But before they could speak, a messenger from the Uchiha clan arrived. Yoruusagi was summoned to the clan grounds. With a confident smile and a quick wave, she darted off into the snow.

Kakashi turned to leave as well, but was intercepted by an ANBU agent.

"The Hokage requests your presence. Immediately."

Sighing, he followed. He assumed it was about Menma's condition or the battle with Guy, but when he entered the Hokage's office and saw what lay on the desk, his breath hitched.

Five notebooks. All in Menma's handwriting. All filled to the brim with observations, theories, and terrifyingly advanced plans.

The Third Hokage turned slowly, placing a sixth notebook—Kakashi's copy—beside the others.

"Kakashi," Hiruzen said gravely, "Tell me. What do you make of Menma… of his writings… and what we must do next?"

Kakashi stood frozen, cold sweat forming on his brow. But then, slowly, he began to speak.

"Menma is... extraordinary. Far beyond any child—or adult—I've ever known. He sees the cracks in our world before most even recognize the surface. He questions everything—government, power, morality. And more importantly, he doesn't question to destroy. He questions to fix."

"He's not driven by ambition or hate. He wants to change things—for everyone. But Lord Third… if he loses his faith in this system, he might act on those beliefs without regard for the structures we rely on. He's not evil. But he could become dangerous… because he's right."

Hiruzen didn't speak for a long time. His mind replayed the contents of the notebooks—especially Menma's geopolitical theories, bizarrely simple solutions to ancient conflicts, and his frighteningly accurate psychological dissections of the five great nations.

Solutions even Hiruzen had never considered.

His fingers slowly ran down the spine of the sixth notebook as his gaze drifted toward the snowfall beyond the window. In his memory echoed Menma's razor-sharp analysis of the elemental nations—a boy not even two years old yet speaking with the clarity of a war general and the vision of a reformer.

("The Sand needs water and arable land—they don't want conflict, they need survival. The Mist seeks warmth, light—resources. They are desperate, not evil. The Rain wants peace, but is crushed under external pressure from us and the Sand. These wars aren't born from hatred… they're born from need.")

("Then there's the Rock and Lightning countries. They don't lack. They covet. They see what others have and want to dominate it. The war is not only political—it's structural. Power for the sake of having more than others.")

("Some wars could be solved with canals, land reformation, energy sharing. Others—by targeting the very ideologies that fuel greed. If we stopped pretending the status quo was peace, we could build a real future.")

Hiruzen's grip tightened slightly.

He recalled the exact line Menma had written at the end of that section:

"They fight over necessity, then over pride. What if both were made irrelevant?"

It was frightening. Not just because Menma saw the web so clearly—but because he dared to imagine a world outside of it.

And then he remembered his wife's words:

"If you want him to love this village, don't manipulate him. Guide him. Give him space. Let him see why this place is worth saving."

She was right.

But there was a problem. Menma's heart was too big. He wasn't just a boy with chakra—he was a soul who loved all of humanity. Without anchoring ties to Konoha, he might eventually choose the world over the village.

He needed bonds. Powerful, personal bonds. He had Kakashi. He had Yoruusagi. And now, somehow, he had Guy.

But more were needed.

"Kakashi," Hiruzen said finally, "You must guide him. Not as a guard. Not as a master. As a friend."

"I will give him his freedom—within limits. I want him to begin chakra control training immediately, and to continue devouring every book he touches."

"Train him until he turns five. Then, he will attend the Ninja Academy. From there, we will shape him into a shinobi who can bear the weight of his own vision."

Kakashi bowed. But as he left the office, he let out a small smile. He'd successfully not revealed the existence of certain... more volatile pages. Pages Menma had torn out himself.

Pages about his own identity.

---

Later That Night – Hatake Household

Kakashi, relieved and hopeful, opened the door to his home—

Meoooooooooow!

And instantly remembered what he'd forgotten.

Snow.

The feline queen. The fury in white fur.

And she had not forgiven him for leaving her behind.

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