The tiny gray-furred monkey stood atop Menma's bed, arms crossed, tail flicking behind him as he puffed out his chest with pride."Do not let my appearance fool you," Sun Wukong declared grandly. "I am the Stone Monkey. The Handsome Monkey King. The Great Sage Equal to Heaven. And The Victorious Fighting Buddha."
Menma stared at him in silence. Pure disbelief and confusion wore on his face. And—if he was being honest—just a hint of disappointment.
"Wow…you're really small," Menma said flatly.
Kurama's laughter exploded through his mind, deep and booming, echoing with unrestrained amusement. Oh this is rich, Kurama roared. Truly magnificent. The Oh so Great Sage Equal to Heaven reborn as a palm-sized monkey.
Sun Wukong bristled. "I can't hear him but I know that furball," he snapped, pointing dramatically at the me. "I may be small for now, but I am still divine. "
Kurama laughed even harder. Tiny Monkey King suits you better.
Menma rubbed his temple as the two ancient beings bickered inside and outside his head. He had never heard Kurama laugh like this before—he was genuinely amused. For the first time since he'd known the Nine-Tails, there was no bitterness or indifference in his voice.
Sun glanced at Menma, squinting. " Whenever you connected to my stone I got hint's and pieces of your memories. You're calling him sensei?" he asked incredulously. "Wow. Stuck in a kid and he still managed to scam respect out of you."
Kurama snorted. Careful, monkey. I could still kill you, may not be today but I will have my chance.
Sun grinned wide, sharp teeth flashing. " Even now I can tell that he's threatening me, you were always like this once the old man died.."
Menma cleared his throat. "Sun. Focus. And don't agitate my sensei, I was the one who chose to call him that."
Sun hopped down from the bed and landed lightly on the floor. "Right, right. Then we should begin as soon as possible."
"Begin what?" Menma asked.
"Recovering my power, obviously," Sun said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "That means finding my items."
Menma blinked. "Your… items? You mean like your staff?"
"Yes exactly," Sun replied proudly. "My immortality and part of my power is bound to them."
Kurama huffed. Told you.
Menma exhaled slowly. "Alright. What are we looking for exactly, and where are they?"
Sun leapt back onto the bed, sitting cross-legged. "I'm missing several, but the most important is the Ruyi Jingu Bang—my staff. It helps me gather nature chakra faster than anything else. But I don't know where it is."
Menma's eye twitched. "Of course you don't. So what else then?"
"Well my gourd was stolen, and I don't know who has it now." Sun continued cheerfully. "It condenses nature chakra into liquid form. It's very tasty."
"And the rest?" Menma asked sighing.
"My golden chainmail was lost, along with my cloud-stepping boots too."
Menma raised a hand. "Let me guess. You don't know where those are either."
Sun scratched the back of his head, grinning. "You're a fast learner."
Menma sighed. "Who did this to you?"
Sun's expression darkened slightly. " A gang called The Heavenly Court."
Kurama scoffed audibly. Heavenly, my tails. A bunch of upstarts with powerful mystic arts and rare kekkei genkai bloodlines. Dangerous—only slightly less so than Hagoromo himself.
Menma stiffened. "They were that strong?"
"Yes," Kurama replied. The leader of the Heavenly Court had an agreement with the Sage of Six Paths. They stayed on their side of the world. We stayed on ours.
Sun nodded. "That agreement broke when I challenged them."
Menma hesitated. So they exist in this world. I'm seriously screwed if I have to fight a Chinese Patheon of gods, demigods, and monster that are close to the level of the Sage. "Will they come after you again?"
Sun's grin returned—but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Eventually. The stronger I get, the easier it'll be for them to sense me. They'll search this land first. Your village. Or Mount Huaguo, my home."
Menma's jaw tightened.
"…Is there a way to avoid that?"
Sun glanced sideways. "Sure. If Kurama shared his chakra with me. I would be at full strength even without my items. But knowing him that wont happen."
Kurama's answer was immediate. No.
Sun sighed dramatically. "I wouldn't have taken it anyway. I have knew start and every time I come back I grow stronger, and this time will be no different."
"Then what are you gonna ?" Menma asked.
"I'll recover slowly," Sun replied. "Meditation and absorbing nature chakra over time. I will even learn the arts of this time, and refine my Sage Arts." He looked around the apartment, nose wrinkling. "But first I'm done with this stuffy place."
Menma raised an eyebrow. "You're leaving?"
"For now," Sun said. "I'll return to Mount Huaguo, and see how my fellow clans men are doing. So Menma are you helping me recover my power, if you do I'll teach you along the way. I know plenty of sage arts no human has ever seen before."
Menma considered that. "I spent this much time helping you, I might as well see it through to the end."
Sun hopped closer. "And since you fed me chakra for all these years, and kept me company I'll give you a gift."
Menma knelt instinctively as Sun gestured for him to pick him up. As Menma lifted him close—
Sun jabbed two tiny fingers straight into Menma's eyes.
"AH— What the hell!" Menma yelped, dropping Sun instantly.
"That's my first gift," Sun said smugly. "There will be many more." Smoke burst outward—and Sun vanished as the summoning ended.
Menma groaned, rubbing his eyes. "I wounder what he did to me?"
For a split second, as he lowered his hand, Menma's lavender eyes flashed fiery amber.
Then they returned to normal.
Menma didn't notice. He exhaled slowly. "Alright… that's handled."
He glanced at the clock. "Oh…One hour until the academy lets out. I better hurry"
Menma moved fast.
He leapt from the apartment window, chakra surging through his body as he ran across rooftops toward the Academy. He managed to slip inside unseen, ducked into the bathroom, where his shadow clone met him and dispelled his clone ,and received the memories of the clone. He then went back to class and waited for the bell to ring.
Knowledge and exhaustion flooded back into him as he took his seat. Time passed uneventfully.
When classes ended, parents arrived in clusters. Sakura left with her father. Kiba with his sister. Naruto waved energetically as Genma guided him away.
As Menma readied himself to go home by himself Mikoto appeared. She smiled warmly and extended her hand. "Ready to go home, Menma?"
Menma took it gently. "Yes."
Sasuke walked on the other side, and the three of them walked away, as the sun dipping low behind the village.
For the first time that day, Menma felt… calm. The evening breeze brushed past them as they headed home together.