In The Leaves | A 'Naruto' fan story | SasuNaru

Epilogue: Menma Uchiha

"What do I get out of this?" Orochimaru asked, quirking a brow, eyeing Naruto and Sasuke with inquisitive eyes.

"You get to continue your research for the sake of Ninja world." Naruto said.

Orochimaru hummed. "I see..." He shifted his gaze to Sasuke then to the two beakers by his hand. "I suppose I can indulge in your wishes, but slight warning," he used his knuckles to slide the beakers to them, "the child will be an artificial prototype, meaning there's a possibility they'll need care. I'll try to make them as alive as I can but there's no promise if it doesn't work." He stood to his feet. "Now that you understand your gamble of creating a child in this way, are you still going to continue on with the risky experiment?"

Sasuke hesitated then nodded. Naruto nodded as well, pressing his lips together thoughtfully. He hoped the experiment would be successful in the end.

Orochimaru grinned. "Call for me when you finished with the samples."

When Orochimaru left the room, joining Karin in the hall, Sasuke and Naruto glanced at the beakers, contemplating the risk that Orochimaru laid down for them.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Sasuke asked Naruto in a low voice, obviously uncertain himself. He didn't want to see Naruto sad if the experiment went wrong but he also didn't want to back out. He was on board to try as long as Naruto was certain completely.

"I am..." Naruto nodded, slowly extending his hand to the beaker, curling his fingers around the rim, testing himself on his decision as he picked it up. "Are you―" Naruto paused, thinking about the different outcomes in his mind, "―Are you sure you want to do this as well, Sasuke?"

Sasuke picked up the other beaker, studying it wordlessly for a few seconds. "I'm sure."

"So," Naruto looked at Sasuke, "If it's a girl?"

"Sarada... Kuraokami sounds good too."

"I like the name Sarada too and Kizuna." Naruto smiled. "And if it's a boy?"

"I like the names Menma and Boruto," Sasuke said.

"I like that name." Naruto looked at the beaker. "I think if it's a girl, we should choose Sarada, and if it's a boy, we should choose Menma."

"Okay." Sasuke nodded.

~

After a few weeks, maybe months, have passed after the two agreed to allow Orochimaru to conduct an experiment for them, they received a call from Orochimaru, informing them that the artificial child was complete.

They ran to Orochimaru's hideout and stood in front of a child inside a capsule. It looked virtually identical to Naruto and Sasuke, though its black hair was longer and more shaggy-looking in style with jaw-length bangs framing either side of his face, similar to Sasuke's. The whiskers on the child's cheeks resembled Naruto's, making both of them look contented with the sight.

"You two choose a lot of names," Orochimaru muttered. "I chose Menma Uchiha for the experiment. He resembles a human by eighty percent. He possesses most of the human-like organs that function well, but as I said before, this child may not work out. In case that anything goes wrong, just bring the child back to me."

"We can take him home?" Naruto asked.

"Tomorrow," Orochimaru said, writing something on a clipboard. "The child is roughly around two or three years old. I apologize. My experiments couldn't create a child younger than that."

"That's alright." Naruto muttered.

As Orochimaru told them about the child, they stared at the boy, unable to stop the tears from rolling their cheeks.