Note: Wow, a few story faves/adds for this already, thanks! And thanks for the review. I understand this fanfiction idea or similar has probably been done and overused, though I'm taking some aspects from a few games and DBZ (specifically, the Androids Saga) for the time-travel stuff. So I hope I'm not copying.
Oh yeah. That title cover image, I put it together. Using MSPaint to recreate a drawing is hard work.
Edit 4/6/2015: I fixed some small errors in Ch 1 and this one. Sorry for those!
-x- 2 -x-
Recalling his teaching about masking his chakra, Boruto conveniently applied the Chakra Suppression Technique it to his situation before thinking of crossing through—what he believed to be—Konoha's exceptionally large forests. He'd been warned before his journey that Anbu and patrols would be around the village 24/7 and to hide himself as best as he could. The child was well aware he wouldn't be able to mask his signature completely from high trained shinobi, but he damn well was going to try. Using the Tiger seal with his left index finger raised, he activated his dōjutsu—the veins bulging around his eyes hidden by his mask—and surveyed his immediate surroundings.
From the five kilometers his enhanced sight provided, the time-traveler deduced his position was safe, as he couldn't see nor detect any unusual chakra signatures within his scope of vision. 'That doesn't mean they aren't around... They're either hidden very well or waiting to see what I'd do.' Boruto thought, remembering he was dealing with a village of experienced shinobi. 'Not sure if I should keep it active or not, but I don't want to be caught off guard. I need to be as discreet as possible.' That had been his plan until he spotted something foreign just out of the corner of his angular perception. Whoever it was had landed too close into his blind spot. Whirling around to face the intruder—laughable, since he was the one intruding—the ten-year-old jumped back and prepared to go on the offensive.
"Identify yourself," the person in the Anbu fox mask demanded calmly. He had short brown hair and bangs shadowing the front of his mask. The silent 'or else' was left out but henge'd blond knew it was hanging in the air. Well, so much for being discreet and hiding his chakra.
"...I'm Haruta," he replied, still not taking his eyes off the Anbu in front of him and not giving the man his real name, either. Boruto held up his hands as the universal sign of peace. "I've come to Konohagakure in peace. I wish to speak with your village leader privately." While he wasn't on the offensive any longer, he was still alert for any surprises. He didn't want to give the man any impression he was going to do any harm to Konoha, so he stayed put where he was.
The Anbu regarded him in a stale silence for what seemed to be a minute before deeming the child approachable. He still had his doubts however, he would only pass judgment once he received orders from the Godaime. "Follow me. I will direct you to Hokage-sama." Sighing mentally in utter relief that he 'passed' the observation test, he waited for the Fox masked Anbu to go before following along at a decent pace. They covered more ground by hopping trees and eventually came upon the enormous wall that blocked the view of the lovely Hidden Village in the Leaves.
'Whoa, those are huge!' Boruto gaped, thankful his face was still hidden under his own mask. He could scarcely imagine what the village looked like on the other side. He hoped it would do more justice than his imagination could ever produce. He slightly noticed he was falling behind the Anbu and picked up his speed to catch up. Following the older ninja in the shadows, they came upon the wall and jumped it. Well, in Boruto's case, he utilized his wall-walking and climbed up from the height he jumped off the tree branch, running up since he couldn't make that jump. Once he made it to the top, he couldn't help but stagger back in awe.
Konohagakure no Sato was ginormous.
The disguised child's eyes flashed from every color of the building roofs to the bustling people walking down paths and the giant mountain with heads craved on them. He felt his heart flutter with an emotion he couldn't yet identify and drunk in every single detail he could manage to see. His imagination of his parents' home was nothing compared to this beauty! He already grew to love the village in the span of five seconds and promised himself to keep it this way.
"Haruta-san, this way," the Fox-masked Anbu reminded as he noticed the unknown shinobi standing there for a period of one minute, most likely gazing out to the village.
"O-oh, ri-right then," Boruto snapped out of it and hurried along the rooftops with him. For good measure, he deactivated his Byakugan, namely because of the strain it was causing him. Their apparent destination was set on the building close to the large mountain with the faces on them. The time-traveler wondered if that was the Hokage Monument he had been told stories of by Konohamaru in his world. 'It has to be. He described it as having five heads of the previous and current Hokage craved into it. I see the Shodaime, the Nidaime, the Sandaime, the Yondaime and the Godaime.'
As the pair continued on their way towards the Hokage Tower, Boruto kept stealing side glances out of his peripheral vision to gaze out to the wonderful and lively town below. He was itching to get down there and enjoy himself as much as possible, but remembered what he had to do first. At the instant self reminder, he sighed somberly. He didn't know how he would prove to the present day Tsunade of his true identity, even with his arsenal of techniques. He could only hope his appearance, apparent bloodline and blood test could prove it. He had to get under her good graces before doing anything of his mission.
One thought crossed his mind as he recalled Gaara's words to him and hoped he wasn't too late to assist in rescuing the Godaime Kazekage. Little did he know that he was already too late...
-x- Hokage's Office -x-
"Hokage-sama, a unexpected visitor by the name Haruta has come and wishes to speak with you personally," the Anbu codenamed Fox stated as soon as he used the Shunshin to arrive into the chambers. The Slug Princess, Tsunade Senju, collapsed her hands underneath her chin, staring at the masked Black Ops shinobi in front of her. A visitor? She didn't recall making any plans seeing anyone today, having sent Team 7 and Team Gai out on the emergency mission to rescue Gaara a few days ago. Despite her outward appearance, she did worry about them going up against the Akatsuki.
Still, it was better seeing a random visitor than those old bats from the Council any day.
"Send them in."
With a bow, Fox vanished and a few seconds later, another entered but through the door. Tsunade studied her unusual guest with her sharp, amber eyes. She noted the person was male, given his stature and board shoulders. She also deduced he was a child—perhaps one of the newly minted Genin from the Academy, was one of her thoughts, but dismissed it when she spotted the mask on his face. He seemed fair too trained to be a mere genin, after all. His hair was an indigo shade, short and styled in a way that was normally reserved for females, but didn't make any visible mention of it. His clothes consisted of a simple, black track suit and tan shinobi sandals adorning his feet, as well as a pack firmly strapped to his back. Both of his arms were at his side and the air around him seemed peaceful but tense simultaneously.
The Godaime concluded this unknown kid was slightly suspicious, but waited to hold her judgment. For some reason, she felt something about this child, good or bad, but dismissed the unusual feeling. She decided to get right to the point. "All right, I'm cutting to the chase here. Who are you and what do you want?"
The boy shifted uncomfortably at the sound of her authoritative voice but found the necessary courage to speak. "Before I answer those questions, is there any way you block the sound in this room with a seal of any kind?" The Godaime had even more suspicions about this strange character but thought to comply in order to get some answers. If this person tried anything funny, or stupid, she'd be able to handle herself. Plus, she had Anbu on standby—
"Could you also send your hidden shinobi away, too?"
—Damn, he was good if he picked up on them. "You're a sensory type, aren't you?" She couldn't help but ask with narrowed eyes. The lad had the audacity to nod to that particular question, however.
"In a way, I am."
With a wave, she signaled her Anbu off. They had hesitated for a few seconds, not wanting to leave their Hokage unprotected from a potential threat, before obeying her command. When they were gone, she performed the necessary hand seals to activate the sound barriers to prevent eavesdroppers from overhearing their upcoming conversation. For good measure, she stood up, locked the door, closed the windows and shut the blinds, just in case there were any lip readers from a distance.
Tsunade returned to her seat, hands collapsed underneath her chin as she studied the dark-haired boy once again. "Well, you have it. It's just us now, so spill. What are you here for, and do you have any intention of harming Konoha?" Her abruptness didn't have the desired effect of making him flinch, and he made no move to remove his mask. She saw him side glance at her calendar on the wall and gasping a bit before composing himself.
"To the last question you asked, no I'm not here to harm the village. I'm here to help," the boy replied. "As for your other two questions from before... I'll answer the second one first. I want to save Konoha and a person that's very special to me." He paused, mostly to stop himself from flinching under Tsunade's hardened gaze. "You know him as Naruto Uzumaki."
The name of the boy she considered a brother slip out of an unknown person's mouth set her on alert. "Oh?" She managed to keep calm, however. "And why is he so important to you?" She had about half a mind to pull a punch on this idiot if he didn't start making sense soon. The lad shifted from his feet, his head down as if thinking of something. With as much patience she could muster, the Godaime waited until he was finished mulling over whatever to answer.
"...You're not going to believe this... at all. In fact, you'll most likely say 'that's bullshit' but I promise you it's the truth..." he said softly, taking a huge intake of breath before exhaling it. He lifted his head to look at her expression, noticing it shift into an emotion he couldn't quite decipher. However, her eyes looked like they told him to 'get with the program' so he willed himself to speak the next bit.
"He's important to me... because he's my father."
The masked boy waited a few seconds in the uncomfortable silence of the Hokage's Office. The tension rose much higher than before, especially the drop of the temperature. He felt like he was going to be squashed by intensity. Seeing as the Slug Princess was in relative shock, evidence by how her face seemed frozen in place, he gave a mental countdown. 3... 2... 1...
"What?" Tsunade recovered enough to respond. "That is... the most amusing bullshit I've ever heard," She laughed sarcastically then glared death at the boy, releasing killing intent unlike any other. "You expect me to believe that? Do you even realize how old the one you're speaking about is?!" The Godaime rose from her seat, watching how the boy squirmed under her terrifying gaze and killer intent, but managed to stay standing—albeit on heavily shaking legs. "Are you crazy? What kind of joke is this?"
Seeing his end was rapidly approaching, he desperately made to remove his mask. "I-I'm not lying to you!" He squeaked as she neared him, and the confidence he built up before entering the room slowly dwindled like a candle going out. Quickly, he dispelled his henge and took off his mask, just in time to see Tsunade's chakra infused punch inches away from his face.
"Baa-chan, please stop! I'm telling the truth!" He all but blurted out in a panicked hurry, putting up his arms in defense and totally forgetting he wasn't supposed to call her 'baa-chan' at all. Tsunade stopped her punch and stared wide eyed at the now mask-less boy in front of her.
Standing right in front of her could have been Naruto when he was twelve years old, about three years back when she first met him. His hair was as blond as Naruto's, but his hairstyle looked more like a leaf shape than anything, especially with that stem-like ahoge sticking out from the top of his head which added more to the leaf-like appearance. The shape of the boy's eyes looked remarkably similar to Naruto's and the roundness of his face looked oddly familiar, though she couldn't place it. The color of his eyes, blue like the ocean, were studying her, staring up at her, in gradual fear and panic. Then, on his face—oh god—were two thin and distinct whisker-like marks on each cheek, very very similar to her brother figure.
And the fact he labeled her 'baa-chan'...
Tsunade took a few collective steps back, her brain trying to process this information as carefully as possible. She wouldn't admit it yet, but her brain had slightly shut down at this impossibility standing before her, but the physical evidence of his claim seemed to be clicking in place. Adding salt to the mental wound, the boy started talking again.
"I'm sorry... I was hoping to avoid showing my true face until the end of my explanations. But, you were about to hit me and your punches hurt," the now blond said as he calmed his own self down. "Let me... start from the top, okay?" Tsunade simply but slowly nodded as her response. "My actual name isn't 'Haruta'. That's just the persona I have chosen to go by while I'm here. I don't want anyone knowing of my true identity except you," Boruto said truthfully, hoping every word he spoke would get through to the woman he looked up to as a grandmother in his past.
"The real truth behind me being Naruto Uzumaki's son is still correct. Like I said earlier, you might not believe it at all, but..." he placed his right hand over his heart and stared into Tsunade's eyes. "I'm from the future, a total of eleven years from now." Boruto paused again, trying to collect himself. He had to remain as calm as possible, but with his frustration and panic hopping all around, it was difficult to speak without rushing. "I'm here to prevent my father's death and to stop the Fourth Shinobi War from happening because of the Akatsuki and them capturing the Jinchūriki for their sealed Bijū!"
Hearing the criminal organization leave the boy's lips, and the fact he knew information that hadn't been given freely anywhere from Konoha, Tsunade gave the child a serious glance over before giving him her undivided attention. "Slow down, gaki, and sit down." She said in a softer but firm tone, still trying to sort out everything she's heard so far. She warily took her seat and watched the blond find a chair up against a wall, scooting it over until it faced her before sitting down as well. Believing this was going to be a long conversation, she produced a bottle of sake and prompted the lad to continue.
"You have my attention. I want you to start from the beginning."
Taking many deep breaths, Boruto nodded. "Okay,"
It took relatively over two hours for the boy to explain himself, starting with his name ("Yeah, my name's Boruto Uzumaki, dattebasa!") to the day of his birth, concluding around the events that led to the time-traveling sequence, which led him to this present-day Konoha. He spoke in great and grave detail of everything he was told and knew, and spoke highly of the people he spent most of his time with growing up. The boy told her how he was trained in an underground base protected with chakra suppressing barriers to prevent the madman Madara Uchiha from locating them. Hearing of her grandfather's rival and former friend, the traitor Uchiha, had been revived and wanted to become the Jinchūriki of creature known as the Jūbi to cast an Infinite Tsukuyomi on the world. In order for that to happen, he needed all nine Bijū sealed into this statue called the Gedō Mazō.
When she asked how Naruto was killed, fearing the worst, he replied in a somber tone: "His tailed beast was extracted during the battle." The last few minutes were spent on her asking questions and him replying to the best of his ability.
"...All right... Let's say I... do believe you and your claims, what do you have that can prove your credibility?" Tsunade asked, having sipped another round of her sake. In actuality, she already concluded the boy wasn't lying and believed him but she still wanted to see some sort of physical proof. Determined to get his grandmother figure to understand fully, Boruto took off his pack, settled it in his lap and proceeded to open it to fish out something. The now-drunk Godaime watched him in interest as he found whatever he was looking for—a simple scroll—and gave it to her.
"This was written by you, from my time era I mean," he started, zipping his bag closed again. "It's sealed off from me, so I can only say it's a letter addressed to you and only for your eyes. I wouldn't have been able to open it if I wanted to; there's a blood seal infused on it, preventing anyone but yourself from seeing its contents." Boruto straightened up in his chair. "It's... all I have that proves my claim."
Tsunade fingered the scroll a little, noticing what he had said was indeed correct. There was a blood seal layered on it, and by the looks of it, keyed into her own. Having trusted his testimony so far, the Slug summoner bit her finger until blood was drawn from it and pressed it to the seal. In a flash, it vanished, allowing her access. So far so good, she thought idly as she unraveled the document and began reading it to herself.
Tsunade,
If you're reading this, then it looks like the gaki made it back in time safely and has delivered this to you. First, let me say that whatever comes out of his mouth about his past is correct. The Fourth Shinobi World War had been initiated by a man we thought was Madara Uchiha, but in fact, it turned out to be none other than the surviving member of Team Minato, Obito Uchiha. For orchestrating everything that led up to the war's start was his doing, aided by the real Madara Uchiha when he had been presumably killed in his mission during the Third Shinobi World War. Kakashi had confirmed this when they had fought.
There's more to this story and not much space on this scroll, so I will shorten it as best as I can. The fight against them had gone well until Obito summoned the Gedō Mazō to the battlefield—where Naruto and the Shinobi Alliance were stationed—and our fight, the Gokage of the Elemental Nations, stood up against Madara.
Yes, the Elemental Nations all form an alliance to fight against Madara and eventually, Obito.
The turning point of our fight happened when Madara forcibly had the statue remove the Nine-Tails from Naruto. We weren't able to save him, and thus were forced to retreat. The Alliance feared the worst as we all believed him to be fighting power of our combined forces. We lost our hope and many lost the will to fight. It changed when the kid that is most likely in front of you was born. To cut it short, the Alliance went under the radar from Madara to prevent him from extracting the Eight-Tails from a Kumo-nin called Killer Bee, and from retrieving the other half of the Kyūbi from the Yondaime Hokage—yes, the four deceased Hokage were revived by Orochimaru for whatever reason and came to our aid.
The gaki was trained, groomed to become an unknowing factor to our plans of reversing the tragedies we've undergone. He is above average of a chūnin, but I say make him a genin to allow him the element of surprise. Sending him back in time was our idea and his personal mission. He needs to accomplish a set of goals before he can 'sit still'.
First, he needs to reach contact of Itachi Uchiha. This was a request from his brother, Sasuke Uchiha, to find him and get him to agree to explain the real reason to the present-day Sasuke of his actions of the Uchiha Massacre.
Second, he is to observe Naruto from the shadows. Why this is will be explained momentarily. So if you send Naruto on any mission, allow the boy to shadow him.
Third, in this mission, should Naruto eventually learn to control the Kyūbi's chakra, the boy is supposed to transfer the remaining Yin portion of the Nine-Tails to Naruto using a fūinjutsu called the Tailed Beast Transfer. He learned this technique through his parental grandfather, Minato Namikaze.
These are his main three goals of his mission with added side requests to complete if he can. One of them which is to assist the rescue team sent to save the Kazekage, Gaara, from the Akatsuki's clutches; save Asuma Sarutobi from being killed by an Akatsuki member called Hidan, an apparent 'immortal'; and lastly, to reach out to Sasuke Uchiha of the present time. The boy has some words regarding a member of the council who was responsible for Itachi's actions.
Lastly, it should be noted we all went through our theories of time-travel. It is a shaky subject, one that isn't touched upon very lightly throughout the world. There are a few possibilities that could happen to the boy. One, he could disappear anytime as he is an unknown factor in the time stream; Two, he would have a limited amount of time before disappearing; Three, he is safe in the time era he appears in, only causing a small distortion in the fabric of space according to Shikamaru. We were clued in that the Yin half of the Kyūbi's chakra acts like a pillar upholding the roof of a house. If it is removed, the boy could disappear that way. In a nutshell, if the boy's future Kyūbi is extracted from his person forcibly, he could disappear. Using the transfer technique also has the risk he disappears as well.
The boy knows all the risks and has still taken everything listed in this letter as his own responsibilities. Tsunade, I ask of you to watch him and guide him when he needs a helping hand. He's stubborn like a bull, but gets as easily frustrated as his father. He won't be able to do this alone, not this ten-year-old boy. Keep his identity a secret, take it to your grave if you must. No one else but you are to know of his existence.
Signed, Tsunade Senju, Godaime Hokage
PS. Make sure he eats something other than ramen and tomato soup.
The drunken Godaime reread the letter, signed by herself in her own handwriting, something nobody can mimicry without practiced precision. When it done, she could only stare again at the boy who claimed to be Naruto's future son. He had the looks, some of his attitude all right, but some part of him was calm, like the water in a pond. She couldn't believe it when it first came out of his mouth, but the letter addressed to her proved it, too. The parchment and writing felt too real to be a well though out but fabricated lie.
Boruto glanced back to his grandmother figure, hoping that now she'd take him more seriously and allow him to start his mission in secrecy. It was anything but easy; the ninja world was very dangerous, hence why his family trained him into the ground everyday since he could walk and talk. He was their shining hope, their beacon, much like his father had been. He'd rather roll over on his back and die before failing his task.
"So, what does it say? Baa-chan had taken a while to write that two days ago... Erm, w-well in my time, I mean." It was still a bit of a sour subject for him to say. He knew he wouldn't ever be able to go back into his own time era, being permanently stuck in this time. But, if it was the grand price to pay for saving more lives from being needlessly sacrificed, then he would choose this path and continue until successful. To fail or not to fail wasn't an option.
Tsunade took a moment to gather her thoughts, as well as not outright say she hadn't written the letter but her future self had. This whole predicament was confusing. "She detailed what your mission is and I have to say... I don't like either of the reasons for them. For the Kazekage, I'm afraid I can't send you on that one. Team 7 and Team Gai already departed for the mission four days ago and won't be due back until another three days." The boy nodded in understanding, feeling a bit let down before replying.
"I understand. But, sorry to say this, but those things listed are my responsibilities, baa-cha—uh, Tsunade-sama. I can't abandon them because they're key factors of preventing the war. At least, from what I was told. I can't go back to my time, so I'm stuck here. I have to be successful. There's no room for error—this isn't about my future, it's about the future of the world."
"I get it, gaki." And she did, honestly. She rolled up the scroll and placed it on her desk at the moment, situating her thoughts again. Sending out a ten-year-old against S-rank missing-nin didn't sit well with her. Especially with a boy that she supposedly had a hand in raising in his time. "I don't feel comfortable sending you out there, knowing you aren't up to par with them and getting hurt. Your father would turn in his grave if he knew his son were hurt or possibly were killed because I'm supposed to send you off to do these tasks."
Boruto stood up from his chair, fists clenched at his side. "Tsunade-sama!" She noted he dropped the familial term, "I have to. I have to fix these bad things that happened so it can—"
"I never said I wasn't going to send you, Boruto. Calm yourself and sit back down." The frustrated time-traveler did as he was told, hoping to not incur the elder woman's wrath. "I just want you with at least two others, possibly jonin or Anbu. It'd make me feel better."
"No, that won't work. They'll probably inquire why I have to do such and such, going purposefully into dangerous territory. I can't risk that. My mission would be compromised."
"Then how about I assign you to an existing team?"
"Huh—what?"
Tsunade pushed some of her blond bangs away as she allowed a light sigh to escape her lips. "I assign a team to you, like a long escort mission to and from your destinations. The only difference is that I'll have to up the rank to at least an A for the team that assists you. That way, you can still do what you need to do and make it home safely."
The ten-year-old crossed his arms, looked down, and pondered over the idea. While it seemed ideal to have a few capable shinobi with him, he still didn't like the thought. They'd probably pry into his business, just like the others, which he was forbidden from revealing unless the circumstances were extremely dire. His Grandpa had stressed this to the point Boruto wanted to strangle him for always repeating it to him (Of course, he never carried through with that threat).
However, the pros to having a group with him is if the off chance he were ambushed, they'd have a higher chance of escaping than if he were alone. 'But I wasn't trained all that time for nothing. It was to groom me for my own self protection. I don't need to be protected. I can handle myself.' For that thought, an image of his Uncle Kakashi stressing the importance of teamwork replayed in his mind. 'Ugh, okay, okay Kaka-ojisan jeez! I get it. Don't lecture me in my subconsciousness anymore.' Thankfully, the silver-haired jōnin's image faded.
Fine. He would submit to this idea.
"All right, baa-chan, you win. I'll just have to deal with nosy shinobi then, but I'm not going to answer any of their curious questions. Maybe vaguely but not always." 'Shikamaru was right. Women sometimes can be really troublesome...'
The Godaime grinned at his decision and sobered up a bit. "Good choice, brat. The team I had in mind actually was Team 7."
"Team 7?" He repeated. 'That sounds awfully familiar. Didn't I just hear that earlier?'
"Yes. It's the team your father and Sakura are listed in."
Boruto face vaulted. "Baa-chan, I just told you I wanted to remain away from my parents in this time for a while until I'm ready. I'm pretty sure he'll start getting suspicious over my appearance and everything."
"I thought you wanted to see him? The man you never knew?"
The blond stopped ranting and frowned, feeling ashamed. "I... I do. I really do. But I'm also scared, you know? I... I just don't want to give him a bad impression of me. I'd prefer to stay under my henge, but there's the Hyūga Clan that will spot it in a heartbeat... So I can't do that..."
"Which means you'll have to stay as your natural self. Don't worry about it; use your other persona's name for the time being. If anyone asks you too close for comfort questions, quietly dismiss them with a reason. But trust me; you'll want to be natural at the least a little. I believe Naruto wouldn't want to second guess his comrades who hide themselves under a henge." Tsunade ran a hand through her hair and watched the boy's expression shift through a few emotions before settling on a neutral one.
With a low sigh of defeat, Boruto shrugged his shoulders. "You're right. If anything, I'll just wear my mask so they won't see my face." He picked up his cheetah mask and adjusted it a little until the mouth piece was bent in naturally to show a person's mouth but not the eyes. He honestly wanted to use a henge, but it'd be pointless. Plus, he wanted to earn the trust of others in case he would need assistance, he could ask without being awkward.
"Hey, how am I going to shadow Da—I mean Naruto if he's going to be with me 24/7?"
"You can monitor him from afar while doing what you need to do. It's called multitasking."
Boruto puffed up his cheeks. He wasn't so good at that, even though his Grandfather told him he was a natural at it. Part of the reason why he might be is due to the fact he wasn't aware he was multitasking. The boy didn't make any further comments to the Godaime's previously stated suggestion/opinion. Rather not give her any ideas of who to punch into a wall next.
Tsunade glanced at the clock on the nearest wall and stood up. "Well, it's getting late; already 7:40 pm. I believe that's enough information for now. Tomorrow, I want you to return here so we can discuss more about your mission and plan ahead. The information you have given is extremely valuable and I won't waste time preparing my shinobi force for the worst."
"I'm glad I could help."
"Let's get going, Boruto."
"Eh?" He blinked, thoroughly confused. "Where are we going?"
Tsunade smirked. "To get you an apartment room and necessities. You do want to stay in Konoha, right?" Her words almost flew over him but the son of Naruto merely chuckled.
"Yeah, of course I do! My mom loved this place and she said dad did as well! I took five seconds of staring at it to fall in love with the village, too. It's got that 'home' feel and I like it!" Boruto exclaimed excitedly. As Tsunade deactivated the sound barrier seals and unlocked the door of the office, Boruto quickly placed his mask on his face and replaced his pack on his back. He walked out of the room and waited for the Godaime.
"Hold on there, Haruta," She said, getting the boy's public persona's name down. She went up to her desk, picked up the letter her future self had written and stashed it on her person. Seconds later, she was walking out the office and closing the door behind her. "Come, let's get you situated."
"Right." Boruto happily stepped beside the Fifth Hokage, enjoying being in her presence once again. Sure, he still missed his family, especially his mother, but he needed to put on a brave face and push forward. As his mother told him, he was to be a shinobi, and shinobi were 'those who endure'. If he endured this hardship, he would for sure get stronger physically and emotionally. He would be able to stick to his nindō, the one he shared with his parents. 'I'll never give up nor go back on my word. That's my way of the ninja too, Mom. I'll make sure this world stays at peace. I'll make you and everyone proud of me. That's my promise to you, dattebasa!'
"By the way, Haruta," Tsunade began as they walked, heading outside the tower and towards the village proper.
"Mm?"
"You mentioned your mother during your tale but never her name. Who is she? Anyone from our village?"
Unknowingly, the boy blushed a tomato red, something his mother thought was incredibly adorable when she'd first seen it. He'd reminded her of herself when she was younger. He looked away bashfully, wondering why all of a sudden he was feeling too nervous. 'It's just a question! I mean, it's not like Mom's embarrassing to talk about!... Okay, maybe a little bit...!' After shifting from one foot to another, the masked boy spoke up. "Uh w-well... My mom's the kindest and sweetest woman you'll ever know. She's also the most soft spoken and she really adores... um... Dad." For whatever reason, his reddening face reddened even further somehow. Thankfully, his mask blocked majority of his embarrassment.
"Come on, gaki. Spit it out already." She was eager to find out and didn't understand why he seemed so troubled with replying.
"Um... My mom's Hinata Hyūga." Oh. Oh. Now she knew why the boy was so troubled. If Hiashi ever found out about his future grandson, she was certain the man would call for Naruto's castration and swift execution. Tsunade spared the poor ten-year-old a concerned glance as he found much interest on the ground than looking forward. Tsunade was aware the heiress liked Naruto more than she let on, and the proof of their probably undeniable love was in the form of this boy next to her. It was believable and then suddenly, the Fifth wanted to do a blood test on him. After all, he did offer earlier. Perhaps she can escort him to the hospital, to check up on his condition, seeing as he was a child that only ran on ramen and tomato soup and was a Jinchūriki in essence of carrying a Bijū for a later transfer.
Oddly enough, she wondered how the present day parents of this kid would react should they meet him...
-x- Later that evening -x-
Some rounds of shopping with Tsunade's help and one trip to the hospital later, Boruto was finally able to relax in his new apartment. He only wanted simple things; a twin sized bed, a two seated couch, one drawer for clothes, cleaning supplies and just ramen and tomato soup. Unfortunately, the Hokage, being a medic-nin, refused to buy him ramen when his ramen loving father literally hogged up the instant cups in stores. His response to her miniature rant was "Ramen is the food of the gods." Eventually, she gave up and he was able to purchase a supply of those in every flavor.
(Though, she did sneak other products in without his notice).
His flat was pretty simple and he didn't really mind the small amount of dust here or there. This place was like a heaven to him because 1) it was all his though he'd have to perform genin duties on the side to help pay for his rent, 2) he finally had a bed to sleep on and not a cot. Unbeknownst to him, his apartment room was just next door to Naruto's. Tsunade seemingly left that information out on purpose when showing him to his new living quarters, not that he knew anyway.
Sighing in light content, Boruto gazed up to the ceiling of the room, thinking back on his conversation with his beloved baa-chan. While it ideally didn't start out well, it ended with a great note and he couldn't help but pat himself on the back. 'I'm one step closer, Mom.' He thought happily, thinking about her and her warm smile and hugs. He didn't cry because he knew she was with him all the way.
"What is the plan for tomorrow, Bolt?"
'Oh, Uncle Kura, you finally decided to grace the waking realm with your presence.'
"It wasn't worth my time anyway."
'Hah. Well, for tomorrow, I'm gonna meet up with baa-chan and we'll get the information I told and gave her today situated. Like, she's going to start upping the village's defense and shinobi force. She also assigned to me a team.' Kurama seemed a bit perplexed but silently urged his temporary host to continue with his explanation. 'I mean, she doesn't want me to go out there alone, trying to find Itachi Uchiha and deliver the news from his brother of our time. She also doesn't want me to go out there and find Sasuke, either. She's afraid I'll get hurt. Not to mention, those guys are like S-rank missing-nin. The amount of training I got boosted me to at the very least chūnin level. In all honesty, I'm no match for them.'
"Looking at it from a logical point of view, no you're no match for them." He paused for a quick moment before remembering something. "Do you recall the Yondaime making an adjustment to your seal once he transferred me to you?"
'I think so. He said it was a failsafe, in case my Tailed Beast Transfer Technique didn't go right. Like, if it was pulling my chakra out instead, it would forcibly halt the process and readjust, thus making me your Jinchūriki completely.' Boruto answered and frowned. 'You know, I don't want to do that. I'm meant to give you back your chakra to your other portion, not jail the rest. That'd be pretty stupid.'
"Yes and no. Yes it would be 'stupid' as you claim as it would defeat the purpose. As for the 'no', you'd be able to access my chakra easily and use it to defend yourself better. You're already used to my power, thanks to the Yondaime expelling amounts of it when you were growing up."
'I guess... It'll just feel awkward having you stay in my body longer than needed. No offense, Uncle Kura.'
"None taken."
Taking a look at his new clock on the wall, Boruto stretched and yawned, trying to find a comfortable position on his new bed. 'I'm off to bed now. Need to wake up early enough to get to baa-chan's office for our next meeting.'
"I'll leave you to that. Good night."
'Night, Kura-ojisan. Don't stay up too late.'
"Humph, says you."
With a tired but gleeful grin plastered on his face, Boruto slowly closed his eyes, allowing sleep to take him into the wonders of dreamland. His dream consisted of his parents walking him to a park, similar to the one he had seen today, and them pushing him on the swings. The rest of his family were there, all having a good time, with nothing to fear. It was an ideal dream, and he prayed to Kami that something similar to his dream would come true.
Please keep watching me, Mom, Dad. This will be our ideal peace. Don't you guys forget my promise!
Note: I didn't spend much time on this because Uchū no Hanten's second chapter is more important. Plus, homework needed to be turned in and I used this fanfiction as a distraction. By the way, I will interchangeably use the Japanese suffixes and words (-chan, -san, -sama, etc.) and English transliterations (uncle, aunt, dad, mom, etc.) because they both sound cool to me.
Those who were worried/wondering; Bolt's Byakugan is similar to medium sized dogs; it's a codominant trait with the genes of his dad. (Biology for the win) I purposefully made it weaker to show he isn't overpowered. I hope he isn't; if he feels that way to you, I apologize.
*5 kilometers is 3 miles.
Maa, maa, review if you like.