Disclaimer:

I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.

Author's note: Hey there Readers!, I'm back with a new chapter! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :) Thank you for also sharing your tips and thoughts for the story.

I'm still recovering from sickness but I was able to find time to write the chapter.

Take note: I will be busy for the coming days to come because of Exams. If I find free time then I will write the next chapter.

Thank you for understanding :)

Beta Edited by: Tefafox2002

Arc 2:

Chapter 7: Journey to the Sand Part 1

It was an overall quiet journey for the rest of the time travelling trio. They never quite expected that no one would be setting up any conversation right away. The whole of Team 7 was on serious mode especially for Naruto Uzumaki, who wouldn't even talk to anyone right now. He was not in the mood for talking right now as he was really pissed and was concentrating on his job.

Himawari gave a worried look at her big brother. She was wondering why their young dad was acting like that. On the other hand, the blonde just gave an assured smile at her. He explained to her that their young dad must've been affected by the capture of his friend which was the Kazekage.

As for Sarada, She remained quiet but the raven-haired teen observed her young mom. She was obviously young but she had the toughness in her. She then observed the young Seventh, he looked very different, very far from the matured leader that he would become in the future. She also sensed deep worry and sorrow inside of him.

"Naruto will you slow down?" Kakashi said. His student was going fast and he sensed that the blonde was getting impatient.

Sakura could only give the latter a sad looked. She understood what her teammate was going through right now. She really wanted to help him, but right now there was nothing she could do. She will have to talk to him in private as hewas really crossing the line this time.

Along the way, the group unexpectedly had bumped into Temari, the Kazekage's elder sister in the middle of their journey. She explained to the group that she was also on her way to the Sand. She heard the news that Kankuro, her brother was severely injured during the conflict between him and Akatsuki. She was extremely worried about her brother and was quite desperate to see him.

As the afternoon neared, the sun was now beginning to set. Kakashi noticed that the forest was now getting darker and he then gazed the new trio who were a bit exhausted. The main instructor of the team then stopped his tracks much to the surprise of everybody. They also reached a certain area in the forest where it was enough for a temporary camp to be settled here.

"Why are we stopping Kakashi-sensei!?" Naruto asked. He wasn't expecting this. They had no time for relaxation as they had to get to the Kazekage and fast.

Kakashi could only sigh." Naruto, It's getting dark in the forest, We should set up a temporary camp here for a while." He explained.

Naruto gave him an annoyed face. "No, we can't stop right now! We need to get to the sand village and rescue Gaara!" The blonde teen protested. He was going against his orders.

Kakashi sighed once again. "Naruto is this how you show yourself to our new members?" He said. He was referring to the new rookies who were with them.

The blonde then automatically gave the rookies a frustrated look. "Why did they have to come on this mission? They're not even helpful to the situation right now."

Boruto and Himawari just kept quiet. They were children who were getting scolded by their father. They didn't want this for their young dad. Granny Tsunade was the one that assigned them here.

"Why do you guys have to come here?" Naruto asked. He was beginning to think that because of them, the mission progressed has slowed down.

The Uzumaki siblings just kept silent and tried to understand him. They were giving him a sad looked which the latter had noticed. Himawari was taken aback by the sudden negativity of her young dad. She was excited to get to know him more but she realized that things were not going to be easy with him.

On the other hand, Sarada was shocked that the person she looked up to as a role model was now blaming them for the struggles on this mission.

"Do you know because of you guys, you're going to ruin this mission!?" Naruto exclaimed. He had been slowly nearing his boiling point for hours now and had finally reached his boiling point.

"Naruto! Stop it!" Kakashi finally had enough. He was giving the new rookies a bad example of how to be a Shinobi. This was getting out of hand.

There was silence around the area. Naruto stopped his rambling and gave the trio a frustrated looked at them before turning around to search for a spot to rest on.

Kakashi sighed. He ordered the rest to set up their sleeping bags for the night. After that, He then went to the trio to apologize.

The white-haired jounin gave them an apologetic looked." I apologized for what happened just now." Kakashi said.

"Don't mind Naruto. He is like that." Kakashi explained the simplest way for the others to understand the blonde. He has a somewhat a simple but hard to get sort of personality.

"It's alright Kakashi-sensei, We understand," Boruto replied. He could only give a sad smile because he understood what young dad and what he was going through right now.

"Is that because his friend was the Kazekage who was a Jinchurikki just like him?" All of them turned to face the raven-haired teen who somehow figured the main problem out.

Kakashi could only smile." We could say so." He replied. He was quite impressed with this rookie. She seemed to have common sense and knowledge.

The silver-haired man himself wondered about the trio. He felt that they were going to be playing a big role in the near future. He hadn't just figured it out yet.

"Is there really something wrong with your teammate?" Temari asked. She just was wondering about the blonde. Why would he put the blame on the three rookies? They had not done anything wrong in this mission.

Sakura could only sigh. There was only one way for her teammate calm down and that is to talk to him and bring him back to earth. She was also concerned about the three new rookies. Who would have thought these rookies from the hospital were gonna be assigned to this team. Lady Hokage told her that they were aspiring to be Shinobi in the future and she instructed her and the blonde to guide the three throughout this mission.

"So Sakura, are you gonna go talk to him?" Temari's voice interrupted the pink haired girl's thoughts.

Sakura sighed as she stood up from her spot." Yeah, I'm gonna go talk to him for awhile." She said as she headed towards her blonde teammate.

With that said, Temari was left behind. She also observed the three new rookies and wondered about them. They somehow looked and seemed very familiar to her. She just could not put a finger on it. Although, the only way for her questions to be answered is by getting to know them personally.

Sarada rested her head on a tree. It was really a non-stop journey which was really tiring. She was not expecting that the mission would be this so serious and quiet. She thought this would take her away from the everyday normal but stressful life.

Sensing her thoughts were leading her to nowhere. She then grabbed her bag and drew something thing from it which was revealed to be some kind of book about mysteries.

"Maybe this would relax me down," Sarada commented inside her thoughts.

At the same time, a certain blonde noticed the raven-haired teen surprisingly reading a book. "I didn't know brought a book, Sarada-chan?" Boruto asked. He just finished setting up the wood for the bonfire later.

Sarada sighed but gave the latter a smile. "Well, this keeps my mind relaxed to some extent." She simply explained. She then noticed that the lavender-haired girl was conversing with their Uncle Kakashi and getting along with him.

Sarada smiled." Looks like Hima made a new friend." She commented. She pointed to a direction where the silver-haired man and the girl were located.

Boruto smiled. "Well, it's a good thing that Uncle Kakashi is a friendly and cool-headed person." He said. Not ever in a million years, he saw the man get angry. It was almost as if the man didn't know how to be angry.

"And I never knew that dad could be such a person," Boruto muttered which caught the attention of the raven-haired girl. Both of them were silent and they wondered if they were ever going to get along with the other blonde.

"I know, was he always like this?" Sarada asked. She really didn't know that the Seventh was like this when he was young.

"Well, actually he is." A female voice said. Both of the two then turned to the face Shikadai's young mother.

"Aunt Temari?" Both of the two whispered.

"Mind if I join the conversation?" Temari said. She wanted to get to know them more personally.

(MEANWHILE)

"What the heck is wrong with you!?"

Sakura frowned at her blonde teammate. She was disappointed in him for acting like an immature kid in front of the three rookies. He should be really reminded that they were supposed to be the ones to guide them throughout this mission.

"Come on Sakura-chan, If Granny Tsunade didn't add more people to the roster then we might as well be at the sand village already!" Naruto explained. This was an emergency mission and not just some field trip.

Sakura sighed. "Did I ever tell you that Kakashi-sensei was the one who decided to settle for the night not because of them but to recharged ourselves for tomorrow." The pink haired girl explained. She had a point. The team had been travelling non-stop this whole day without rest and managed to reach around the halfway point of the journey.

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise. He then realized what she was talking about and just looked down with a guilty face. "You've got to be kidding me." He muttered under his breath.

Sakura just sighed. "You know Naruto, you should go apologize to the three." She said. She was also concerned that the three rookies might have a bad impression on the blonde already.

"Who were these three rookies again? I hardly even know them." Naruto said. This was actually the first time he met them except for the blonde person, who worked at the ramen shop back in the village.

"Well then get to know them, Try setting up a conversation with them after you apologize," Sakura explained.

Naruto sighed." Alright, but can you just tell me a little more background information about them?" He asked for a small favour from his pink haired teammate while said pink haired teammate just sighed yet again.

Sakura then would go on to explain what she knew about the three. She told the blonde that they were orphans who came from a small village, which was destroyed by raiders and their families perished during the destruction of the small village. They were rescued by a passing wagon and were taken to the nearest village which was Konoha and they've been living there since.

Naruto suddenly felt saddened by the news. They were just like him and Sasuke. They lost their families and were now orphans. He wondered how they cope after the tragedy of the past.

"When you've finally cooled down, Go to talk them," Sakura said as she encouraged her blonde teammate. As for Naruto, he then took a deep breath and gave the latter a smile.

"Alright, I'll go talk to them."

It was really a wonderful time for Temari. She was really impressed with how the three new rookies managed to lighten up her mood today. They were really fun to talk to. It was like she was talking to a happy family that she never had.

She learned about their past and how they ended up in the village. She was saddened the fact that they lost the entirety of their families due to the destruction of their village.

"You know I'm really amazed at how you guys managed to cope with this," Temari said. She wanted to learn more about their resilience and perseverance.

Boruto smiled." Well, let's say that it takes just a strong heart to survive all of this." The blonde explained as he ate the potato chips that he brought for the journey.

"Plus you gotta learn how to moved on and focus on the present and future," Sarada added as she drank her box of orange juice which she brought for the mission.

Temari was just staring wide eye at the two. It was really obvious on how they were matured for their age compared to the other knucklehead.

Temari sighed." Well, If I only had the power to travel back to the past, I can fix all my mistakes in one single sweep." She expressed her disappointment with what was happening.

Boruto and Sarada could only give the latter an assured smile. They will do their best to help her rescue her brother no matter what happens. They heard that the members of the Akatsuki were very powerful and they could only hope that there will be no more other sector or group that will wreak havoc besides them.

As the afternoon finally came to an end. The full moon then took charged for the rest of the night. A bonfire was set up in the middle of the camp as the team had begun eating dinner prepared by none other than the lavender-haired girl herself.

"Wow, this is really good," Temari commented. This was the first time she was eating the latter's dish and it tasted phenomenal.

"You're right Temari, this is good food." Sakura complimented the dish. It was like she was eating her mom's cooking back home. The food really had 'Love' as its main flavour.

Himawari sighed but smiled. She felt that she was serving food for actual customers. She observed everyone one of them and they were really enjoying the food so far. Uncle Kakashi was doing his usual business of eating and then reading his orange book, both of her Aunts were conversing with her blonde brother and the raven-haired teen.

However, she noticed that someone was missing and it was her young dad. She then tried to look for him and finally saw him in a quiet area along the woods. The lavender haired girl then wondered. What was he doing there all alone?

Himawari sighed. There was only one way to find out.

Naruto sighed and took a deep breath. He wanted to be alone for a while. He had to admit that he was really nervous and did not have the courage of confronting the three rookies and apologized to them.

"Come on Naruto, You can do better than that." He muttered to himself. He tried to motivate himself but it was still not enough.

"Hello?" A female voice then interrupted the blonde's thoughts.

Naruto was immediately startled by the unexpected female voice from behind and once he recovered, then turned around to see a lavender-haired girl smiling at him. He stumbled backwards and almost fell to the ground.

Himawari slightly chuckled." Sorry for startling you." She apologized.

"No worries, It was alright and..." Naruto trailed off as he immediately smelled the delicious food that the latter cooked just now.

Himawari smiled." I thought you haven't eaten yet so I brought you dinner." She explained as she offered the paper plate which contained the food. Her young dad hadn't eaten any food yet.

Naruto grinned from ear to ear." Thank you very much! I'm really hungry, dattebayo!" He explained as he took the lavender-haired teen's daughter's food that she offered.

As time passed by, Himawari found herself having a conversation with young dad for the first time. She had now the chance to get to know him more this time.

"Well, I grew up as an orphan. I was told that my parents passed away when I was born." Naruto explained. He was starting to tell the younger girl more information about his background. He usually never told anyone of his past, but this time he felt comfortable with telling the lavender-haired girl.

Himawari could only give him a sad smile. She was actually trying to prepare herself for another crying fest as the conversation continues. However, the emotions kept shuffling. It was rapidly changing from sad to happy then back to happy to sad. This was really giving her a hard time.

The lavender haired girl would go on to learn more about her young dad's past. He was all alone for the most of his life. When he was born into this world, the faint memories of a lonely small crib in the hospital with no one except for a nurse looking after him. The Third Hokage was the only one who took care of him when he grew up. He was provided with an apartment to live in to and the Third gave him the money to pay for the rent. He also never had a proper childhood, whenever he walked along the streets of the village, he was met with mocks and insults from the villagers themselves.

As the lavender-haired girl listened to her young dad's story, she was beginning to understand on why after all these years, the village itself would become a stepping stone for the latter to become the beloved Seventh Hokage in the future.

"So I heard that you guys were orphans, Am I correct?" Naruto asked.

Himawari snapped out from her thoughts and turned to her young dad who was giving her a look. The lavender haired girl then gave him a sad smile.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear about that," Naruto said. So it was all true. They were really orphans.

Himawari sighed but smiled." It's alright, We finally moved on from it. She explained.

Naruto blinked a couple of times. "Well, how exactly hard are you guys coping now. I know that losing someone, especially your parents or someone you love is especially hard." He was wondering on how they were coping right now that their whole family was gone. The only answer that he got from her was "Well, life is a choice. If you want to remain and rely on putting a mask all the time, instead of just letting other people know that you're happy, then you will be stuck with doing it for a long time. But if you chose to change and move on, then you'll be finally set free from the burden of carrying it."

Naruto was surprised by her answer. He didn't expect that kind of answer from the lavender-haired teen. "Oh, well uhmm, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for being so hard you guys just now." The blonde explained.

"Sometimes, I wonder if I'm going to have a family of my own. Would my kids looked at me as an immature father?" Naruto said aloud. He was not really good at getting girls. He even sucked at winning his pink haired teammate's heart. It was impossible for him to have a family of his own.

"Would I be enough for them? Then if not please tell them that I'm sorry for not being a good father." Naruto unknowingly said.

There was quietness in the area. Himawari was expected to say something but instead, she went closer to her young dad and suddenly hugged him. Naruto widened his eyes in surprise. He was not expecting to get hugged anytime soon.

As for Himawari, She can't handle this anymore. Deep inside she really missed her dad. All the happy memories that she had spent time with him back to her. She let out all the tears from her eyes. Even though this was not her dad but it was still him.

Naruto, on the other hand, was bewildered but he felt the emotion coming from the girl and so he returned the hug back to her. As for the lavender-haired girl, she was just sobbing and it felt so good to let it all out.

"Hey, it's gonna be alright, don't cry." Naruto could only try to comfort the girl. But deep down inside, He felt a sensed of family whenever he is with this girl, which was strange.

Unbeknownst to the both of them, a certain Boruto Uzumaki watched the whole scene unfold. The blonde teen could only give a smile as he witnessed his little sister being reunited with their young father.

As the night continued on. The mood around the camp was improving quickly. Everyone was in a relaxed mood. The hustle and serious vibe from the morning was quickly being wiped out. Boruto found himself watching his little sister bond with his young dad. His Uchiha teammate conversing more with Temari and her young mom.

"So looks like the mood change." The voice of Kakashi interrupted his thoughts. He turned around to face the man himself.

Boruto gave a smile." Looks like it Kakashi-sensei." He said. He had a feeling that this night will be good for everyone as long as the good vibe doesn't change.

Kakashi sighed." Well, I hope everyone gets along for a long time." He hoped. They should continue this momentum from now on. The blonde could only smile as he knew this mood would continue.

"Yeah, I know it will."

(LATER ON)

Midnight had finally arrived. Silence had taken charge. The cold wind blew strong, echoing the sound of the trees. Everyone was finally asleep except for a certain blonde who sat down watching the bonfire.

Boruto sat on the ground as he observed the fire in its glory. There were still doubts inside of him on whether they were really safe here. Kawaki was his problem, He wasn't sure whether the guy was here in this timeline. He also tried to come up with different theories of who or what else destroyed the village beside him. There was the Kara organization and The Otsutsuki, they're all possible candidates.

Although, when Boruto fought the man, he mentioned something about a someone that will eventually rule everything in this world. These only added more questions and fueled the mystery even more. The blonde suspected that there is an, even bigger picture or conspiracy and this events happening right now were just a small piece of a bigger puzzle.

The blonde sighed. If he was really here. Things would then get messy from now on. He just hoped that he won't show up sooner or later. He also wondered and recalled the time when he fought the latter during the destruction of the village. He remembered that the guy wasn't the only one who attacked the village, there was more to it than meets the eye.

His Dad had already paid the price to protect the village and his family. It was now up to blonde himself to protect ones that he loved. This mission was not a joke. He will soon be meeting more dangerous foes in the future. The Akatsuki was strong enough to be a dangerous foe. What else could be waiting in the next few days?

Only time will tell when that challenge will finally arrive in front of him.

CHAPTER ENDS

AN: Thank you for reading the chapter!