At the Namikaze Residence—
"You brat, what did you do to make Anko so angry?" Tsunade glared furiously at Menma, her hands on her hips.
After hearing that Mitarashi Anko had been driven mad by Menma, Tsunade had scoured the entire Hidden Leaf Village searching for him—but he'd been nowhere to be found.
Menma folded his arms indignantly. "All I did was tell her to eat less! Sister Tsunade, you're a woman too—don't you care about keeping your beauty?"
Tsunade's expression softened immediately. "Of course I do!"
"Exactly!" Menma nodded with mock sincerity. "I was just trying to help Sister Anko. She eats so much every day, she's bound to turn into a pig sooner or later. Such a beautiful woman becoming fat and ugly—what a waste, right?"
Tsunade's eyes lit up with an idea. "Menma, why don't you just take Anko as your girlfriend? She doesn't seem to have anyone she likes yet."
Menma froze. "..."
Who said that? Isn't she still hung up on Orochimaru? That's not single—that's complicated!
Besides, she's an entire generation older than me. No way!
"My tender youth getting chewed up by an old cow? Not happening," he muttered under his breath.
"Stop fooling around, Sister Tsunade," Menma said quickly, waving his hands.
Tsunade ignored him. "If you don't want Anko, I can introduce someone else—maybe Kurenai?"
Menma immediately pictured Asuma storming in with a kunai, ready to kill him. "No thanks! Definitely not!"
Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "Then what kind of girl do you like?"
Menma scratched his head. "Maybe… someone not from this village. Or another village entirely."
Tsunade slammed the table with such force that the wood creaked but didn't break—clearly, she'd reinforced it. "No! The fat water doesn't flow into other people's fields!"
Menma blinked. "..."
"Don't get so worked up, Sister Tsunade, I was only kidding!" he said nervously. Jeez, women really do affect a man's battle power...
Inwardly, Menma was already plotting. When I resurrect my real mother, you're done for, Tsunade! He couldn't help but grin, imagining Kushina and Tsunade facing off—that'd be one for the ages.
Tsunade frowned. "Why are you smiling like that? You enjoy the idea of being pickled alive?"
Menma instantly wiped the grin off his face. "Don't worry, Sister Tsunade. I'm not interested in women."
Tsunade's eyes widened. Not interested in women?
No wonder he turned down so many girls… could it be—?
Menma noticed her suspicious expression. If she's thinking what I think she's thinking—no way!
"By the way," he said quickly, changing the subject, "I actually came to talk about something important."
Tsunade leaned back in her chair. "What now?"
"Sister Tsunade, have you ever wondered why Sunagakure and Orochimaru teamed up to invade Konoha? It's all about interests. The treaty between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind reduced their missions—and with fewer missions, they made less money."
Tsunade nodded slowly. "So what's your point?"
"I mean to change that," Menma said seriously. "Right now, ninjas can only earn money through commissions. But what if they could have other jobs—ways to make income outside missions? Wouldn't that change everything?"
Tsunade frowned in thought. "What other work could a ninja do?"
Menma turned toward Shizune. "Sister Shizune, do we have a world map?"
"Yes," Shizune said, fetching one eagerly.
While she unrolled the map across the table, Tsunade muttered, "I never know what's going on inside that little head of yours, Menma."
Menma grinned. "Of course not! Who do you think I am? I'm Menma Uzumaki!"
Pointing at the map, he began, "If there were a form of transport connecting the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind—something that could get you there in half a day—I'd call it a high-speed rail. With it, restocking supplies between villages would be easy, trade would flourish, and both nations would grow richer."
He went on excitedly, "And communication! If people in the Land of Wind could instantly tell us they're out of supplies, we could send more right away! I call that a mobile phone."
"Wait," Tsunade interrupted sharply. "Shizune! Call all the clan heads, jonin, and advisors—bring Jiraiya too!"
Menma froze mid-sentence.
Tsunade looked him dead in the eye. "You can talk about your crazy inventions later. For now, you can swallow that idea back down."
"Swallow it… back?" Menma's face went blank.
Tsunade sighed, rubbing her temples. "If what you're saying is even half true, it'll change the entire world."
Menma scratched his head, half proud, half terrified. "Uh… thanks?"
(End of Chapter)
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