Sarah cried for a long time until she finally fell asleep from exhaustion. Menma was surprised by how long she could hold on. Another surprise was that none of the sixty men in the hold made a sound or told her to be quiet. Every single one of them allowed her crying to be the only sound in the cargo hold. Only after she had drifted off to sleep did the murmurs begin again, and even then, they were softer than usual.
Menma, who was being tightly clung to by the girl, tried to shift her gently to her side and sit up to think about his next move. But Sarah refused to loosen her grip. In fact, she held onto him even tighter, afraid that he might disappear if she let go, completely unconcerned with whether he could breathe or not!
He wondered if couples normally slept like this. It felt a little suffocating, not to mention hard to fall asleep. Maybe, after falling in love, it would become natural… or something you'd get used to? He wasn't sure, but he did know that if he didn't stop his current train of thought, he might be headed for real trouble.
Looking at Snow, who was also trying to nuzzle her way into his arms, Menma gave a tired smile. Still, he opened his free arm willingly and let her curl up against his chest. She purred softly, clearly jealous of the girl who'd stolen her favorite spot.
He chuckled internally. Snow was his girl. Always. She came first in his heart.
But realizing he couldn't think clearly in this current position, trapped under a girl and a jealous cat, he decided to escape to the only place where he could be free from interruption. The only place he could think calmly about what was coming next, and maybe, ask for guidance.
Closing his eyes, he slowly withdrew from the endless flood of sensory input, shutting off everything from the outside world. He sank inward, descending into that quiet, dark place within himself; The sealed space.
---
Entering the ever-silent sealing space, Menma paused to enjoy the stillness for a moment, letting the cool flow of chakra wash over his body.
Taking a deep breath, he began walking through the tunnel toward Kurama's resting place, the same place where he had once promised to break the gates that held the great beast prisoner. His mind, however, was busy thinking about the road ahead.
He had so much to learn: sealing techniques, chakra control, and how to train his abilities properly. If not, it would only be a matter of time before someone caught up to him. Since the moment he left Konoha, forward had been the only direction available.
But after meeting Murakami, Menma's path had expanded. Now, he had a new mission: to fight the underground market, rescue children trapped by its cruel hands, and train them into comrades, soldiers who would help him overturn this rotten world system. And maybe, just maybe… he could revive his clan by finding the scattered Uzumaki survivors across the lands.
He had a hunch that Murakami might be in possession of a clue, something that could lead him to other members of his clan. But before he could even think about that, he needed two things: money and a safe, stable base.
Luckily, he had plans for both.
Money? He could catch fish… or steal the profit Murakami expected to make by selling him. As for a base? He'd have to roam the world until he found a country willing to accept him, somewhere he could settle without fear.
Taking a deep breath, Menma collected his thoughts, then looked up at the majestic form of his teacher. Kurama, as always, watched him from behind the sealed bars, bars Menma swore to break soon.
"Hello, Teacher Fox. How are you doing? Is it comfy around here?"
Kurama snorted at the boy's overly cheerful greeting.
"Hmph! What, did it pain you to leave your new lover and come chat with me? Shall I help you grow up a little faster? I could make you an adult in two years or less, you know."
Hearing the sarcasm and unmistakable irritation, in Kurama's tone, Menma immediately dropped the act.
"Teacher, you know you're my guiding light in the darkness, the only one I can count on no matter what! And besides… I'm just two years old!"
Kurama raised a brow and stared at him teasingly.
"Really now? Because your thoughts certainly don't sound like they belong to a toddler who's just passed his second birthday, YOU KNOW!"
Menma blushed, clearly caught. He tried to hide his embarrassment, but under Kurama's teasing glare, he finally gave in and confessed.
"I know my thoughts are… a bit too mature. But teacher, kids in poverty grow up fast. That said, I don't want to mature too early. I want to stay the way I am… So, please don't embarrass me further."
Kurama scoffed but didn't press the point. Instead, his tone turned sly as he shifted the topic.
"So, what are you going to do about your mother's sacrifice? Are you going to become strong enough to attack the village that forced her to blow herself up? Or will you just grab their 'bijuu' and run off, Mr. Boy-With-An-Unknown-Father?"
As Kurama said this, he flicked his tail dramatically to hide the awkward figure behind him, Minato, still silently watching, and grinned like a fox with a secret. He didn't know if he'd ever meet Kushina again, but this story… oh, this one would be retold with pride. A black mark in Menma's history that would haunt him forever! Hehehe!
Menma's cheeks twitched at Kurama's mockery, and finally, he sighed in defeat.
"Please, Teacher… don't tell that story to anyone else. I'm begging you."
"Hmm… That depends on how well you treat your teacher going forward."
Without hesitation, Menma bowed deeply.
"Duty noted! This student shall respect his teacher as his father for the rest of his life!"
Now it was Kurama's turn to twitch, unsure whether to laugh or shake his head.
Idiot… your real father is standing right behind me. Now I'm worried he'll take this the wrong way and do something emotional later...
Kurama exhaled and finally waved his paw dismissively.
"Alright. Enough fooling around. My nap time is precious. Tell me, what did you come here for?"
Menma scratched his cheek, looking a little shy.
"Well... I'm here to attend class. These past few days, I didn't have the stability to study the sealing arts. But now, I finally have a few days to begin learning what I need."
Kurama, who had already prepared the study materials, slowly raised himself upright and sat cross-legged, careful not to squash anybody's clone beneath him.
Menma also adopted a serious posture, kneeling properly on both knees, like a student before a professor, respectfully awaiting instruction.
Kurama, seeing Menma's determined demeanor, gave a firm nod. He liked the focused aura that now filled the space. Recalling what he had prepared for this moment, Kurama began the lesson.
"I'm more or less aware of your current level," he began, "since I've seen you reading those scrolls. But I'm going to start from ground zero, just to be sure."
Taking a deep breath, Kurama began to explain the foundations of sealing jutsu.
"Sealing Techniques, or fūinjutsu, are a category of jutsu that allow you to seal objects, living beings, chakra, and various other things within another medium. They can also be used to restrict movement or unseal whatever was sealed, from either within something or someone."
"There are seals that form barriers. Some are used to mark things, guide chakra through special formations, or preserve objects. I won't cover every type now, as you'll encounter and learn about them gradually."
"What I've learned includes 72 core hand seals, 108 primary inscription formulas, and approximately 720 interconnected binding combinations between them."
"Memorizing all of that? It's just the beginning."
"While you work on memorizing and writing seals, you'll also need to train your seal-sensing sensitivity, because if you can't sense seals, you can't detect or create them. On top of that, you'll need to train chakra control, chakra flow alignment, and eventually, chakra nature transformation"
Kurama paused for a moment and gave Menma a firm glance.
"I won't teach you chakra nature control yet; you're not ready. For now, we'll focus on sensing, writing, and memorizing the basics. Once you're done with those and your situation outside settles a bit more, we'll begin chakra control training."
"Eventually, you'll reach the final challenge; breaking open these gates," Kurama motioned toward the bars of his prison. "That will be your graduation exam. Until then, this will be your training assignment. If I see enough potential… I'll teach you every jutsu I've learned over the centuries."
Hearing how much he had to master, Menma swallowed hard. Sweat beaded on his brow. What Kurama had just laid out was the equivalent of cramming an entire university education and more, into an impossible time frame.
Yet deep within, a fire was lit.
Excitement surged through his veins. Hope. Ambition. The desire to learn and to defy the limits of what was possible.
He would not only master sealing jutsu, he would elevate it beyond what anyone had ever imagined.
His resolve burned so brightly he couldn't hold it in anymore.
"I'm more than ready to face any challenge that comes my way! I'll forge a path no one's ever walked before! I'll make you proud! I swear on my name; Menma Uzumaki!"
Kurama had expected hesitation. Maybe even self-doubt. After all, sealing was notoriously complex, and even full-grown shinobi struggled to master it.
This outburst? It wasn't what he'd anticipated at all.
Behind Kurama, hidden in the shadows of chakra, Minato watched his son with wide eyes. The fire in Menma's eyes, the determination, the passion, it was unmistakably Kushina's whenever she was about to do something big and exciting. Her spirit truly lived on in him.
In that moment, Minato made a quiet decision. One that would push Menma toward becoming something no Hokage would dare ignore. Something unstoppable. Something legendary. Something no one believed it was possible!
Kurama's amused chuckle pulled him back to the moment.
The great fox formed a single hand seal, gathering his chakra.
"Hahaha! I'll be watching to see if you stay true to those big words. I've seen more than you can imagine and many who wanted to change this world but ultimately failed, so I will watch how you will achieve what no one hade been able to do so. Now, let's begin. Look closely, this is your first lesson."
And so, within the depths of the sealing space, a unique classroom took shape:
The prisoner became the teacher.
The guard became the student.
And together, they would rewrite destiny.
Menma soon became so deeply immersed in the lesson that he didn't even notice the head peeking out from behind Kurama, Minato's spirit, watching silently.
Nor did he sense Murakami, who had descended into the cargo hold to check on him and Sarah, only to see the two children bundled together in sleep.
Hours passed.
Day became night.
The sea beyond turned to a vast crimson, the horizon shimmering with promise.
As a sleeping sun slowly awakened the world once more.
---