Chapter 3: The Day is Finally Here!
It was the day of the final round. Boruto stared up at the ceiling of his bedroom as he lay on his bed. He thought back to last week when he met with Sasuke.
"Sasuke no Occhan, I want your opinion on something I have been working on." Boruto said.
Afterward, Sasuke frowned. "It has holes. It is not a perfect defense."
Boruto nodded. He had a feeling it would not be perfect. He sat contemplating what he could fix about the jutsu's weakness.
"Of course, normally, the jutsu would be fine against many opponents." Sasuke continued.
Boruto eyebrows knitted in frustration. "But not all."
"You are a strong shinobi, but you are also still young. I believe you have the capability of coming up with a solution. However, right now, you are still developing your skills."
Boruto glanced out his window as the sky became a bright daytime blue. He had dedicated himself at training hard. The battle against Momoshiki and Kinshiki opened his eyes, and gave him a new level of respect for his dad. Even though he had shed the label of a cheater among most of the villagers, he hadn't been able to shed the other label – the Nanadaime Hokage's son.
After the battle, no one was shocked to hear Boruto dealt the final blow to Momoshiki. His father was a hero, so it was not surprising his son was also a hero. And the whispers that he would undoubtedly become Hokage one day like his father and grandfather grew stronger.
Boruto rolled to his side, slightly annoyed. When it was announced that Naruto would become the Nanadaime, Boruto was thrilled. His father's dream was to become Hokage. But then he saw what it involved. At first, Boruto rebelled against how little time Naruto now had for his family. However, he realized it was not all politics and sitting behind a desk, filing paperwork. One dedicated himself to protecting everyone in the whole shinobi world, even if they were complete strangers or didn't even have a bond to you. And not everyone could easily do that.
However, Boruto had no interest in such a position. Yes, his father and grandfather were Hokage, but did that mean he was bound to fulfilling the role as well? Even though he told Sarada and Mitsuki he has no desire to become Hokage, it was a bit more difficult to announce that to the villagers who would randomly come up to him and thank him. In truth, he hated the idea of being bound to a title and having his decisions dictated by that title. That's why he yearned to be like Sasuke, a shinobi who was not bound by any set rules but still helped protect the village from the background.
There was a knock at his bedroom door. Boruto sat up. "Yes?"
The door opened and Naruto peeked his head in. "Boruto, you should be getting ready."
"I know."
Naruto paused. Even though he said he would be a better father, he had to admit that it was tough to know everything a father should be. He had father figures with Umino Iruka and Jiraiya, and even had the chance to battle alongside his father, Minato Namikaze during the Fourth shinobi War. But the small day-to-day matters were something Naruto, who grew up without parents, was clueless on. He sensed that Boruto was troubled regarding something for some time now, but he didn't know how to broach the subject.
"I need to head out early to meet with the other Kage beforehand and discuss some matters, but I wanted to wish you good luck today." Naruto grinned his wide smile. "I'll be watching from the Kage booth. Do your best!"
Boruto smiled back. "Thanks, Dad."
Sarada sat at the kitchen table with Sakura and Sasuke. As promised, Sasuke arrived home late last night so he could be here to watch Sarada at the finals. Sarada wanted to ask about the mission, but she knew a lot of the stuff her father did was classified and top secret.
"So, Sarada," Sasuke began. "Do you feel ready today?"
Sarada stared at her food for a moment before replying. "Yes, Papa, I'm going to do my best."
Sasuke looked at his daughter. Sakura had mentioned that Sarada was considered one of the best shionbi in her age group, and some even evaluated her a notch above Boruto. However, that was before that battle 6 months ago. Back then, Boruto didn't even try. But now…
Sasuke could relate to the fear of watching someone's unprecedented rapid growth. Naruto, your son is more like you than you think. Sasuke never wanted to become a jounin leader, but he enjoyed having Boruto as his student. However, right now, his priority was his daughter.
"Remember, Sarada, you do not have to win the finals to be promoted to chuunin. It's the skills you display during your matches that help shape the judges decisions."
Sarada looked at him with surprise. Was this her father's way of giving her encouragement? Sarada couldn't help but feel a smile form on her lips. "Yes!"
"We'll be watching you from the stands." Sakura smiled.
"Thanks, Mama, Papa."
Naruto arrived at the Kage meeting. Everyone was seated around the table.
"Let's begin today's meeting," Naruto began after removing his Hokage hat.
"Hopefully there won't be any interruptions at the final round this time," the Godaime Raikage, Darui stated.
"Our borders are secured and are under heavy surveillance. There should not be a problem this time." Naruto responded. He then paused. "However, there is another matter I feel needs to be discussed."
The Kage turned their attention to Naruto.
"I have had Sasuke keeping an eye out on the Land of Frost. While it suffered damage during the Fourth Shinobi War, Shimogakure has finally returned to a stable state and its people have comfortably resumed their daily lives. However…" Naruto frowned. "Sasuke sensed a false atmosphere there when he last visited. The area has many regions not well documented due to the nature of the landscape and weather. Sasuke found a small collection of weapons in an isolated cave."
"Shimogakure has never been known for their shinobi," the Yondaime Tsuchikage, Kurotsuchi, spoke up. "They live in a region with few resources and have relied heavily on supplies from the surrounding regions."
"Did Sasuke find evidence of an army?" The Fifth Kazekage, Gaara, asked.
Naruto shook his head. "We suspect Shimogakure may have or is forming an alliance with nearby towns Yugakure and Otokagure, and using leftover resources from Madara's lab in Sangaku no Hakaba to mount a rebellion."
"Did we not clear out and destroy everything in that hideout?" Darui demanded.
"We did a thorough job of destroying that hideout." Naruto agreed.
"However, given this is Madara we are talking about, there may be hideouts we missed." Gaara finished.
"Then we need to cut this off before it develops into something," the Rokudaime Mizukage, Choujyuurou, concluded.
"I have instructions being sent to your surveillance teams right now. There is no need to cause widespread panic," Naruto continued. "Still, we will need to be on alert."
The other Kage nodded.
At the stadium, Sarada found Boruto and Mitsuki.
"The day is finally here!" Sarada said cheerfully.
"Hmm!" Mitsuki agreed. "Boruto, Sarada, let us all do our best."
Sarada grinned. They she noticed Boruto didn't say anything.
"Boruto! Why are you not excited?" Sarada lectured.
"Ah, sorry, Sarada." Boruto looked serious. "I was just thinking about some strategies."
Sarada was surprised. Boruto was a skilled genin, but often he ran ahead and did his own thing. He had displayed much better teamwork in the past months than before, but to hear him seriously thinking about strategy was something new. Maybe training with her father had more than one positive influence on his skills.
Boruto then grinned. "Let's do our best!" Team Konohamaru exchanged high fives.
"Genin, line up!"
"Yes, sir!" Everyone replied.
The final round was about to begin.
Author's Note: Thank you for your feedback. I do plan on having detailed battle rounds where I will expand on the young genin personalities and skills. As a result, there may be a longer delay until the next chapter is published as I conduct some background research. 3 Hotaru
