Konoha, Hokage Building – Late Night
Menma sat silently on the bench outside the Hokage's office, the dim corridor light casting long shadows over his small figure. He hugged Snow, who was curled comfortably in his arms, fast asleep despite the biting chill of late winter. A small backpack sat by his feet, containing only the essentials—some spare clothes, a towel, his toothbrush, and most importantly, his notebook filled with theories, speculations, and questions about the red chakra and the monster inside him.
His body was tired, but his mind was alert. He was straining his senses, trying to hear what was going on behind the thick wooden doors of the Hokage's office. Inside were powerful chakra signatures—some he recognized, many he didn't. But they all carried one thing in common: tension.
Hours earlier, chaos had erupted in his home.
A red flare shot into the sky like a warning scream, summoning half the village's elite forces to his doorstep. ANBU and Genbu operatives stormed his house from every conceivable entrance—doors, windows, even the roof. Snow had been woken from her nap and scanned head to paw by chakra-sensing seals, hissing and scratching until she exhausted herself. Menma had been bombarded with questions, scanned by jutsu, and poked and prodded by medics and sensory-nin alike.
Even the plants weren't spared.
In the end, when it was finally declared a "false alarm," the Third Hokage himself came to escort Menma away. His house had suffered too much damage to remain habitable, and the seals layered throughout it had to be recalibrated. He was told he would return in a month—after things were "safe" again.
Now here he was, waiting in the quiet like a guest in a village that should have been his home.
---
Inside the Office
The room buzzed with political tension.
The village's upper echelon had gathered: elders, advisors, high-ranking ANBU captains, and of course, Lord Third himself. The red flare had only one meaning—it signaled a complete loss of control over the Nine Tails. A worst-case scenario. That it was a false alarm didn't stop the elders from demanding answers.
"Let me be sure I understand," Hiruzen said, pipe in hand, speaking to the Genbu operative who had lit the flare. "You sensed a rapid surge of Nine Tails' chakra and activated the protocol, assuming a breach."
"Yes, Hokage-sama," the operative answered crisply.
"And when you entered, you saw the jinchūriki surrounded by chakra—but no transformation. No cloak. No tail growth. And then, just as suddenly, the chakra receded on its own."
"Yes, Hokage-sama."
What the operative didn't say—what he couldn't say—was that the boy hadn't just been radiating chakra. He had stood there like something else, something not quite human, drenched in blood-red power and murderous intent. And then… it had stopped. With a kitten's paw on his hand.
He wasn't going to be the one to say that out loud.
Hiruzen nodded. "Then we'll treat this as an anomaly. The seal may have weakened under pressure. I'll have the sealing corps re-inspect and reinforce it with secondary failsafes."
The elders muttered their dissatisfaction, but none voiced it openly.
When the room cleared, only Hiruzen, Danzo, Koharu, and Homura remained. The real conversation began.
"I think," Koharu said, tapping her chin, "it's time we let the boy interact with the village. Isolation may be increasing his emotional volatility. No friends, no interaction—only training. That's no way to raise a child, jinchūriki or not."
Homura nodded in agreement. "He's slipping further into the Nine Tails' influence. A boy that age needs playmates—not shadows on his walls."
Danzo snorted. "Nonsense. If there's a threat hidden inside him, it must be purged or broken. I can mold him properly. Give him to me, and I will extract every ounce of danger from him."
Hiruzen sighed and raised a hand. "Enough. I agree with Koharu and Homura—for now. But we'll need to prepare the stage carefully. If he's to enter the village, we must first control the environment around him."
"As you wish," Danzo said coldly. "But he should not be housed alone."
"Then I have just the place," Hiruzen said, already rising from his chair. "A man who's dealt with worse storms than this. Someone who needs a little warmth in his home."
---
Later that Night – Kakashi's House
Kakashi opened the door, mask on, hair disheveled from a half-awake nap. His tired eye widened slightly when he saw the familiar short figure standing beside the Third Hokage, refusing to meet his gaze.
"Um... Lord Third... Little Menma... Is there something I can do for you?"
The Hokage smiled in that too-calm, too-dangerous way. "Good evening, Kakashi. I've come bearing a gift. Knowing you've been alone recently—since a certain someone is on assignment—I thought it would be good for you to have company."
Kakashi's face remained neutral, but inside he was screaming.
"Just for how long exactly will I be… 'entertaining' this guest?"
"Oh, not long," Hiruzen said with a twinkle in his eye. "Just for a short month. Or so."
Kakashi's soul left his body. This was a death sentence. Not from Menma—but from the one who would undoubtedly follow him.
Yoruusagi.
Ever since their night at the cemetery, Yoruusagi had grown increasingly bold. She would come by unannounced, take over his kitchen, lounge on his couch, and treat him like a washed-up boyfriend she hadn't fully dumped yet. The worst part? She cared. He knew it. He also knew she wouldn't let Menma live in a new place without making herself a permanent fixture.
And now this?
Menma entered the guest room without a word. Kakashi looked up to the sky, as if praying for the peace of his final days.
He was a genius. A veteran of war. But now he lived with a fox child, a kitten, and a war goddess.
This wasn't a house.
It was a trap.
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