Wednesday is here with an update of A Hero's Journey~! Thank you to all of you for the continued support this story gets and I'm happy to know so many people are enjoying this project. It helps motivate me to crank out the chapters as support, motivation and constructive criticism are necessary for a story to grow so keep it up, please! ^_^
Now enough talking, let's get to the chapter!
Team Konohamaru stood in the void waiting for the next memory as they processed everything they had seen.
"So that's how Dad and Old Man Iruka started to get close. And I see dad was really hopeless as a kid." Boruto chuckled.
"We all have to start from somewhere." Mitsuki mused.
"I wonder what memories are next for us?" Sarada questioned, slightly anxious to see what the team were about to experience next.
As if wanting to answer her question, the bluish-purplish fog suddenly appeared and surrounded the team before they found themselves standing in the Ninja Academy courtyard.
"Why're we here?" Boruto asked as they walked around before coming across the sounds of kids chanting and talking.
"Over there!" Sarada pointed as the team ran to seeing Shikamaru and Choji standing across each other in a sparring circle.
"Shikadai and Chocho's dads?" Boruto asked.
"It looks like they're in a spar of some sort." Mitsuki noted as while Shikamaru looked indifferent and uninterested about the whole thing, Choji looked scared.
"What's with him?" Boruto asked as Choji raised his hand.
"So um….sensei?" Choji nervously raised his hand.
"What is it?" Iruka asked as Choji looked down timidly.
"Uh…the thing is, I really don't wanna fight against my friends, you know?" Choji sighed as Sarada smiled at him.
"Mister Choji has always been nice." Sarada smiled, remembering all the times he would jovially greet her whenever she and Chocho would have a playdate as Boruto scoffed.
"If only his daughter was the same." Boruto snorted.
"Boruto!" Sarada chastised her teammate.
"Well…look Choji this isn't really like a fight. This is traditional hand to hand Shinobi combat. Even our Hokage and those before him participated in such drills and became stronger through sparring." Iruka smiled, trying to reassure Choji he didn't have to worry about potentially losing his best friend as Shikamaru yawned before walking off.
"Yeah uh…look sensei. Just go ahead and put that I went out of bounds, okay? And then we can move onto the next pair." Shikamaru boredly said much to Iruka and the class' astonishment.
"Hey wait…" Iruka tried reasoning with the young Nara who already made up his mind.
"You might be calling this training or whatever but if there's gonna be a winner, then it's actually a match. And if that's the case, wouldn't it save you trouble to decide who wins from the start?" Shikamaru shrugged as Iruka sighed in defeat as Team Konohamaru laughed at the older man's plight.
"Like father like son." Mitsuki joked as Boruto snickered.
"That's for sure." Boruto agreed.
"Forget it. Shikamaru, Choji, give the unison sign." Iruka said in a deadpan tone.
"Oh….yeah I forgot." Shikamaru said before making his way to Choji before the two childhood friends shared a smile with each other. Shikamaru held out two fingers as Choji locked Shikamaru's fingers with two of his own.
"I'm really sorry, Shikamaru." Choji apologized, feeling slightly guilty.
"Nah, it's okay. I know you stink at stuff like this. And it's a drag for me too." Shikamaru shrugged off Choji's apology as Mitsuki looked at his teammates.
"I'd love to see you two do the unison sign together." Mitsuki chuckled as Boruto and Sarada looked at each other before darting their eyes away from each other wearing identical expressions of disgust.
"Not a chance." Boruto and Sarada simultaneously answered.
Iruka looked pleased at the two before nodding his head in approval.
"Good, unison sign complete. Next up is…..Naruto Uzumaki." Iruka announced as Naruto made an expression like he had won the lottery.
"You better believe it!" Naruto jumped up in excitement.
"Someone's excited." Boruto noted in amusement. However his smile soon sagged as he noticed the expressions of several of his peers around him.
"Wait, is he the one?" A girl asked, the sight of Naruto being the equivalent of drinking sour milk.
"My parents said that I wasn't supposed to talk to him." Another girl with red rimmed glasses took a slight step back in fright.
"Out of everyone here, I want to be paired with him the least!" A third girl said, the disdain she had for Naruto evident on her face.
"Those brats…." Boruto clenched his fist in rage.
"While I understand your rage, please remember they were conditioned into believing the derogatory comments they heard about Lord Seventh and with them wanting to please their parents, they felt like they had no choice." Mitsuki tried calming his teammate down who looked to the side.
"No choice. Right." Boruto scoffed remembering Shikamaru and Choji being decent to him in the last memory they watched.
Naruto looked hurt by these comments but shook his head, pushing these comments to the side as Iruka's eyes trailed down his clipboard.
"And Sasuke Uchiha. Step up you two!" Iruka said as the same girls who were badmouthing Naruto immediately lit up happily.
"Sasuke!"
"Get him Sasuke!"
"I wish I could do the unison sign with Sasuke!"
These were some of the comments Sasuke received although he paid them no mind as he stood across from Naruto in the sparring circle.
"Uncle Sasuke….there's something….different…." Boruto noted as his eyes softened at the kid version of his master. While he was happy to see his beloved sensei as a young kid, there was something about him that put him on edge. More specifically, it was his eyes.
"He looks….sad….angry…." Sarada frowned, noting the look in his eyes made him look far older than he was supposed to be. He couldn't be any older than seven years old here yet his eyes were far advanced that of a young age.
"Well of course he is. With the loss of his clan, any child would be affected." Mitsuki noted as he only knew what would happen later down in the memories….with his father being the catalyst of Sasuke's eventual downfall.
If Naruto noticed, he paid this no mind as he frowned in jealousy at Sasuke. Why was he so popular and loved while he was unpopular and shunned? It wasn't fair!
"Let's go! I'm gonna win this for sure!" Naruto cheered out to the heavens above.
"You do it!" Boruto smiled in support of his father although it was still slightly unnerving of him to see his father being so boisterous and loud. While he had his goofball moments as a man in his early thirties, it took Boruto slightly aback to see him so…over the top.
"U-um….best of luck…Nar-"Hinata tried cheering before she was completely overtaken by a random Sasuke fangirl who screamed, "TAKE HIM DOWN SASUKE!"
Naturally Naruto couldn't hear Hinata's praise as Boruto and Sarada felt second hand embarrassment for different reasons.
"Oh dad…" Sarada covered her face, feeling slightly embarrassed at all the fangirling and oogling her mom was doing.
"Oh mom…" Boruto covered his face, still not believing this meek, frail girl would grow up to be his sweet yet scary mother.
"Alright, it's Naruto Uzumaki versus Sasuke Uchiha and-"Iruka tried announcing before Naruto cut him off.
"C'mon, let's just do this idiot!" Naruto shouted making Boruto and Sarada look at Naruto in surprise.
"Wow, rude much?" Sarada cocked an eyebrow, not believing such an impolite little boy would grow up to be such a warm and big hearted man.
"You're telling me." Boruto agreed, happy that his father grew out of this bratty phase he was in.
"Hey stop that, Naruto. You need to make the proper spar sign before you two begin. It's simple etiquette." Iruka tried reminding Naruto who rolled his eyes.
"I don't care about any of that stuff! I just wanna hurry up and defeat this jerk already! It's time for a new Mr. Popular here, ya know?" Naruto smirked as Sasuke scoffed at Naruto's declaration, clearly not impressed.
"Whatever loser. But I'll make it quick if that's what you want." Sasuke arrogantly replied as Boruto and Sarada were once again taken aback. This time by the tone in Sasuke's voice. It sounded so haughty and arrogant, vastly different from the Sasuke they knew.
"Dad sounds so….full of himself." Sarada blinked.
"That's an understatement." Boruto noted as he remembered that while Sasuke had pride in himself and what he could do, he was still respectful towards the enemies he would watch him face but here? He sounds as if everyone is beneath him.
"It's probably due to the fact that with him being the last Uchiha of the Uchiha Clan in addition to him being at the top of his class, he feels superior to everyone else." Mitsuki added in his friends' conversation.
"I wonder what changed him?" Sarada asked as Iruka had had enough.
"Enough, both of you!" Iruka scolded both boys before sighing, "Good Grief." Iruka honestly felt like he ran a daycare rather than being an instructor for future ninja in the Leaf's military forces.
"Shinobi Hand to Hand Combat is a traditional drill passed down from generation to generation. You might think it's stuffy to be so formal but at the Academy, we have respect for tradition. This stuff matters." Iruka began as Naruto looked like he was mere seconds from falling asleep.
"First you always face and make this one handed sign toward your opponent before starting." Iruka said before bringing out his index and middle finger while the rest of his fingers were caved in.
"It represents half of the two hands used to activate a jutsu and indicates intention to fight. Now we call this the Spar Sign. When you finish sparring and the bout is concluded, you each extend both the Unison Sign and lock your fingers around each others'. This indicates that you recognize each other as comrades. That's the etiquette of Shinobi Hand to Hand Combat." Iruka finished his explanation although neither Sasuke nor Naruto seemed all that interested in the history of Shinobi etiquette. Naruto more than Sasuke who merely picked at his ear.
"Are you listening Naruto!? I've explained it twice now!" Iruka yelled as Naruto darted his eyes while giving the Chunin a shit eating grin.
"Yeah, yeah." Naruto scoffed, clearly taking amusement in Iruka's angry and annoyed expression.
"One yes is fine, you fool!" Iruka spat as Team Konohamaru chuckled.
"Seems like our Lord Hokage was quit the little hand full." Mitsuki joked.
"Although I have to say I'm happy to see Master Iruka being more of a teacher to Lord Seventh." Sarada smiled.
"Yeah totally." Boruto agreed as Naruto waved off Iruka's anger.
"I get it, okay?" Naruto turned to Sasuke.
"Hmph." Sasuke scoffed before the two stared down each other.
"Begin!" Iruka said as both boys made the one handed Sparring Sign before charging at each other.
However, within the span of a second, the "spar" was over with Sasuke toppling over Naruto with one hand made into a fist mere centimeters from Naruto's face while Sasuke had his other hand on Naruto's chest, keeping a good grip.
"S-so fast!" Boruto blinked, in disbelief. Even as a kid, Sasuke was a badass? Well he already knew that from the last memory but still, how much of one was he?
"He's so cool!" The younger Ino Yamanaka cheered.
"Oh Sasuke, you rock!" Sakura added as both boys paid these comments no mind as some of the other students were taken aback by Sasuke's speed and agility.
However what took Team Konohamaru aback was the look Sasuke gave Naruto. It seemed as extreme as the looks that the villagers gave Naruto and yet…it wasn't. On one hand, he was staring at Naruto but at the same time, it wasn't.
"What's with that look?" Sarada asked, the hairs on her neck standing, unnerved with the look her dad was giving Naruto.
"It's like….a look of understanding….of longing…it's like…they were looking through each other's souls." Boruto noted as Sasuke slowly got off Naruto. Whether or not he realized what he did or not was unknown.
"Sasuke wins. Now make the unison sign so we can move on." Iruka said as he obviously didn't notice the intensity of Sasuke's look as Sasuke started walking away from Naruto who glared at Sasuke with a look of rage, anger and mostly jealously.
"Hey come back! You weren't even looking at me! That didn't count! You're a turd! No you're crap! Hard and runny! Stupid! Stupid!" Naruto childishly wailed as his comments seemed to get to Sasuke as he stopped in his tracks.
"Ugh gross!" Sarada groaned in digust. Why did boys have to be so gross?
"Besides, what kind of insults are those?" Boruto shook his head in disappointment.
"I agree, I bet you could do better than those." Mitsuki agreed.
"What is wrong with you two!?" Sarada yelled at her teammates.
Sasuke meanwhile turned his head to glare at Naruto before scoffing at him. It was clear from his facial expression he didn't consider Naruto worth his time.
"Got something to say to me, you hard and runny crap turd!?" Naruto spat as Iruka had finally had enough, shoving his fist in Naruto's skull, leaving a small cranial eruption.
"Oww…" Naruto muttered in pain.
"Can't say he didn't have that coming." Sarada muttered.
"That still probably smarted though." Boruto slightly cringed at that reminded him of the moment where Hinata displayed her Gentle Fist techniques on him after he…..relieved himself on the Hokage monument.
"I told you Hand to Hand Combat is a sacred tradition! Now make the Unison Sign! And you too! Do it, Sasuke!" Iruka shouted as he glared at Naruto and then to Sasuke, both boys looking not pleased in the slightest to be in each other's presence.
Naruto and Sasuke slowly made their way to each other as they extended their fingers as they were about to do the Unison Sign. At least until….
They actually grabbed the collars of their shirts as they glared bloody murder at each other.
"Hmph!" Naruto growled as Sasuke glared deeper at Naruto.
"You wanna go another round, you loser!?" Sasuke spat as Iruka had to push both boys away from each other before a potential fight could break out.
"Okay what is going on here? Why are they being so mean to each other?" Sarada couldn't believe these were the same two close friends she would see later in life.
"I know that Dad is jealous of Uncle Sasuke for being the most popular and most loved but it feels like there's something…deeper…" Boruto's eyes narrowed.
"Hey enough! Quit it, both of you!" Iruka chided both boys after pulling them apart.
"Naruto's just the worst!" Ino spat with disdain in her voice as Sakura didn't look too pleased with Naruto herself.
"What's with him?" A student beside Ino asked as Naruto finally got tired of all the comments the students had about him as he shook out of Iruka's grip as he ran off but not without shooting a raspberry at the entire student body before jumping over the fence of the Academy Schoolyard.
But before he could take his leave to go cool his head, the last thing he noticed was the expression in Sasuke's eyes….It was an expression of loneliness and agony…the same…he had.
"Even though he lost his clan….it's still not right to see eyes like that on a little kid." Boruto frowned as Sarada shared Boruto's concern.
"I know…it's very unsettling." Sarada agreed as Mitsuki was silent.
"These memories will definitely show us why…" Mitsuki said.
However before his teammates could ask him what he meant, the scene suddenly changed as Naruto sat on a lone bench in the park all by himself as he smiled at the cup of ramen he was about to eat.
"The ramen's all hot and ready now!" Naruto grinned as he pulled the tab of the top of the ramen cup before quickly digging in.
"Childhood favorites really stay with you." Boruto shook his head, albeit slightly good-naturedly as a family of three, a ninja, his wife and his child all happily walked by before their smiles all faded upon seeing Naruto.
"Look…it's that boy…" The woman said as Naruto's smile immediately left his face at the comment. Why was everyone so cold to him?
"Ignore him and keep walking." The ninja said, walking faster with his son, not caring if Naruto heard him or Naruto as Naruto continued eating his ramen, although much faster with an angry expression on his face.
"Who is that kid?" The young boy asked, not really understanding his parents' hatred for the young boy.
"You don't need to know." The ninja spat, a bit coldly to his son. Too coldly for Team Konohamaru's taste.
"I'm sick of this! How much longer do we have to see of dad suffering?" Boruto asked, speaking for his teammates who agreed with him.
"I agree. When do his sufferings turn into blessings?" Mitsuki asked as Naruto had finally reached his limit before flinging his ramen cup right at the head of the ninja who cringed at the heat of the ramen hitting his head as it sent warm water dribbling down his face.
"You brat! How dare you!?" The man spat as Naruto pulled down his right eyelid before running off. Boruto and Sarada laughed while Mitsuki chuckled at the man's misfortune.
"I can't say he didn't have that coming, the asshole." Boruto snickered.
"Indeed, it is nice for people to get their just desserts." Mitsuki smiled as Naruto suddenly made his way to the Academy schoolyard much to Naruto's relief which was thankfully empty as he was in no mood to be dealing with any of the other students' BS.
Naruto took a seat atop one of the poles as he stared at the heads of the Hokage, mainly the Fourth.
"Why is everyone so mean to me? They act like I'm some sort of monster…" Naruto growled as Boruto and Sarada turned their heads away at the irony of Naruto's words.
"If only he knew…" Sarada shook her head sadly.
"If only Grandma and Grandpa were still around…" Boruto muttered bitterly as Naruto was staring intently at the Hokage heads before starting to slowly whistle, much to the team's confusion.
"He's whistling? I wonder why…" Boruto asked.
"It must be his way of trying to clear his head over what happened earlier." Mitsuki observed.
"Clear his head?" Sarada asked. However, Mitsuki's assumption seemed to be correct as the previous anger in Naruto's face had left as he looked like he was seriously enjoying his whistling.
"He's having fun." Boruto smiled, relieved to see emotions other than anger and angst in his father before Naruto nearly fell off the pole he was sitting on, a result of not watching himself and paying attention.
"Good grief, this kid." Sarada shook her head as Naruto repositioned himself on the pole.
"We can see why he's Boruto's father." Mitsuki smiled.
"Hey!" Boruto shouted before the sounds of footsteps prevented any further arguments.
Naruto and Team Konohamaru looked to see the source was none other than Sakura, Ino, Shikamaru and Choji but what caught the attention of the team were the looks they were giving Naruto…almost as if they were blaming him for whatever it is that happened to them….
"What's with those stares?" Sarada cringed, not liking seeing such a hateful look in her mother's eyes.
"I dunno but I don't like it. It reminds me of those asshole villagers." Boruto spat as Naruto winced at their stares, not liking the looks they were giving him.
"What's up?" Naruto asked, slightly timid. What had he done now? He was just minding his own business this time.
"What did you do with Yota!? Did you take him somewhere you-"Ino was about to bite Naruto's head off before Shikamaru thankfully put a hand on her shoulder, calming her down.
"Putting him through an interrogation won't work." Shikamaru reasoned with his teammate before looking up at Naruto.
"Naruto, you know too, don't you?" Shikamaru asked as Team Konohamaru had never seen a more lost expression on Naruto's face.
"Know what?" Naruto blinked, utterly lost at what they were referring to.
"You saw something, right? Maybe not but…" Shikamaru rubbed his head, trying to find the best way to explain things to the blonde who scoffed, obviously not in the mood for any of their nonsense.
"If I didn't see anything then how could I have seen something?" Naruto asked.
"Can't argue with that." Boruto nodded.
"How perceptive." Mitsuki added as Sarada stared at her two teammates in disbelief.
"How can you two sound so impressed?" Sarada deadpanned as Shikamaru and Choji looked just as impressed as Shikamaru and Choji.
"You know, you're a lot shrewder than you look." Shikamaru blinked, impressed with Naruto's rationality as Choji nodded his agreement.
"Are you kidding? Why would that impress you guys so much?" Ino asked as Sakura had gotten impatient with Naruto's unwillingness and disinterest in their situation before she harshly grabbed his wrist and yanked him down the pole he was on.
"C'mon, let's go!" Sakura pulled Naruto, much to his discomfort.
"H-hey what?" Naruto asked, wishing these guys would at least let him know what was going on.
"That's a bit too hard." Sarada winced, not liking the extremely tight way that Sakura was grabbing Naruto's wrist.
"I just wonder what their deal is." Boruto asked as he and his team followed the children.
Eventually the group of kids made their way to where a tree was where part of it resembled a tree house.
"What's here? Some kind of secret club? Although what happened here? It looks like lightning struck the area." Mitsuki asked in curiosity as Sakura harshly let Naruto go.
"Now what did you do with Yota?" Sakura asked.
"Who is Yota?" Boruto asked, turning to Sarada in confusion.
"…A possible childhood friend?" Sarada answered, although she was confused. Her mother never mentioned any "Yota" before.
"Uh…Yota?" Naruto blinked as Sakura pointed to where their treehouse or rather what was left of it was.
"You met him in the schoolyard, didn't you? The only other person who knows about Yota besides us is you." Sakura pointed right back at Naruto as what caught his attention wasn't this lost kid who he knew nothing about but rather…the expressions Sakura and the others were giving him. The harsh, accusing tone in their eyes was just like the looks Naruto received on a daily basis from the villagers.
"Oh…I get it now…they must think Lord Seventh made this Yota character leave or something…probably because of how their parents conditioned them…." Sarada assumed, imagining their parents blabbing about how Naruto was a monster who probably devoured kids or the like.
"Still though, they can be more than what their parents are telling them to do." Boruto shoved his hands in his pockets at his father's dejected tone.
"Come on, don't deny it. You met him and then blabbed to everyone about him, didn't you?" Ino assumed as Naruto clenched his fists, sadness and sorrow overtaking his senses.
"…I don't know who Yota is…" Naruto answered with the utmost honesty in his voice, although the children didn't look moved by Naruto's answer.
"He was a kid who got lost near the village. We all felt bad for him so we started taking care of him…but then when we came here, everything was a mess and Yota was gone!" Sakura nearly yelled as Boruto looked down at his father's expression.
"…It must really hurt for dad. For someone who's seen as an outsider, having someone who's also an outsider being loved and cared for while he's ignored and hated must be the worst case of irony." Boruto noticed as Sarada looked at her teammate.
"Oh crap, you're right." Sarada said as everyone watched as Naruto's expression morphed from sadness to one of anger.
"So…this kid is some sort of outsider?" Naruto asked as the kids stared at him in surprise, however Naruto wasn't going to give them any chance to answer.
"Why would you guys protect an outsider….but still look at me that way!?" Naruto yelled before roughly shoving his way through the four kids as he ran off with Team Konohamaru following behind him.
"This really stinks. Why does it always have to be me!?" Naruto asked, more to himself than anyone around before stopping as he realized he was lost.
"And now I'm lost…" Naruto sighed before the sound of crying got everyone's attention.
"Who's that?" Boruto asked.
"And wait, did it just start raining?" Sarada asked as he looked to see the sky was still sunny and beautiful.
"Weird." Mitsuki said as he pointed to where the rain was coming from as Naruto went to where he heard the crying from before coming across a boy who was sobbing as he rubbed the tears from his eyes.
"Is this the Yota person the others were searching for?" Mitsuki asked.
"I guess so." Boruto shrugged as Sarada raised an eyebrow.
"I wonder…if this kid is the one making it rain like this?" Sarada asked.
"What makes you say that?" Boruto asked his teammate.
"Well think about it. The day is too beautiful for any kind of rain showers and the rain seems to be pooled around this kid." Sarada explained as Boruto blinked while Mitsuki looked interested.
"So he can control and use the weather to his whim then?" Mitsuki put a hand to his chin in thought.
"Man, talk about broken." Boruto muttered as Sarada cut her eyes at the blonde.
"Oh like you can talk." Sarada rolled her eyes as Boruto laughed. Really, the kid of the Seventh Hokage really could not be talking.
"Hey…could it be?" Naruto asked as he tilted his head, wondering if this was really Yota. Upon noticing Naruto, the boy immediately starting crying as Naruto found himself in the middle of a miniature rain shower.
"Hey whoa! Just calm it down, will ya? What's the matter?" Naruto asked as the boy continued crying.
"I'm scared…I'm just so scared!" The boy continued to sob as Naruto looked even more lost.
"..Okay…but what's your name?" Naruto asked as the boy managed to stop crying at least somewhat to acknowledge Naruto's question.
"I'm…Yota…" The boy whimpered as Naruto's eyes widened in realization.
"Told you." Mitsuki smiled at Boruto.
"So you're the one they were talking about!" Naruto yelled as his screams made Yota cry even harder as Naruto found himself practically drenched in rain.
"Moron." Boruto muttered as Naruto took the initiative to get away from the rain as he went to a part of the tree where Yota wasn't crying from.
"Is this your jutsu? That's cool…man I can't even do stuff like clone or transformation jutsu. And Iruka-Sensei's always getting on my case about it, too…" Naruto muttered, a little bitterly not even noticing Yota stopping his crying, thus making the rain go away.
"So when he cries, it rains?" Boruto asked.
"And when he's normal…the weather's normal?" Sarada asked.
If Naruto noticed any of this, he certainly didn't care about it as a jealous look overtook his features.
"You're an outsider like me but everyone likes you. What a joke, that's so unfair you know." Naruto spat disdainfully, confirming Boruto's earlier assessment, while not even noticing Yota coming up behind him.
"Boo!" Yota spooked Naruto as he nearly fell from where he was sitting, making Team Konohamaru chuckle at the scene.
"Wait, I know you! You're-!"Yota said as he made blowing sounds with his mouth.
"You were sitting on that what you call it, whistling, weren't you?" Yota asked as Naruto suddenly thought back, remembering how he whistled, making him smile in remembrance in her good that was in clearing his mind before Naruto started whistling as Yota's eyes shine like a young child's on Christmas morning.
"Will you teach me how to whistle too? When you started whistling like that it was like you weren't all alone anymore. It cheered you up!" Yota said as Naruto gave a small smile as he realized Yota was indeed right.
"I was just pretending. I only started whistling to distract myself…." Naruto looked down, although Yota looked undeterred by this admission.
"Then that's what Yota will do too!" Yota beamed.
"Why is he referring to himself like that?" Sarada asked.
"Beats me." Boruto shrugged as Mitsuki was silent as he took a good look at Yota or rather his eyes.
"Look, you're already friends with everyone." Naruto gave Yota a bizarre look, not understand why he would need whistling to clear his mind when he actually has friends.
However Yota didn't look pleased with this answer as an ominous purple aura suddenly surrounded the young boy, much to Boruto and Sarada's amazement.
"Wait what's that….aura?" Boruto asked, amazed at how he was able to see it with his Jougan eye.
"It looks so evil. Hey wait, what's that snake doing on Yota's shoulder?" Sarada pointed as Boruto then noticed a small white snake on Yota's shoulder, although Mitsuki already noticed it.
"Is that…..Orochimaru's snake?" Boruto asked, remembering his meeting with the Snake Sannin.
"I think so! Why would this kid have one of Orochimaru's snakes?" Sarada noted as Mitsuki decided to speak.
"I see now…look at his eyes." Mitsuki said to his two teammates who stared at him baffled before they did so.
"His eyes are really…dark." Mitsuki asked, cocking an eyebrow at the observation.
"That's right. Normal humans have white sclera yet this boy's is dark. The only people who have eyes like that are people who have been revived with the Reanimation Jutsu." Mitsuki explained as his teammates stared at him, processing this information.
"Wait, did you say Reanimation Jutsu?" Boruto asked.
"Yeah, I think I heard my dad mention that jutsu. Basically, it's a jutsu that brings the dead back to life in exchange of a human sacrifice." Sarada explained as Boruto looked green at that.
"Bringing the dead back? That's so freaky…" Boruto cringed, a little bit freaked out at that.
"But why would Orchimaru bring this kid back? Because of his weather abilities?" Sarada asked, remembering how Orochimaru explained how he made the Shin Clones. She found Orochimaru to be a bit…off….but just what the heck was he?
Mitsuki was still silent, slightly curious about this as well.
Naruto eventually took note of the small white snake before swiftly knocking the snake off before it suddenly vanished away, much to the confusion of everyone sans Mitsuki.
"It's gone now? That's so weird…" Boruto muttered as the purple aura suddenly vanished as the area got brighter again.
"Will you teach me how to whistle like you now? Pretty please?" Yota asked as Naruto smiled, putting a hand on his hip in mock defeat.
"Okay sure." Naruto smiled before Yota followed Naruto into a flowery meadow as the two sat on a moderately big tree log.
"Alright, watch me. First blow out without pursing your lips, ya know? Then you slowly narrow them and then make wind sounds." Naruto explained as Yota decided to give the whole thing a go.
While Yota struggled with whistling at first, eventually the young boy got the hang out of it after a small while.
"Who knew Lord Seventh was such a big fan of whistling?" Mitsuki mused.
"Yeah. He can be so serious nowadays that seeming him so….free is really alluring…" Sarada said with a small blush as Boruto sent the young Uchiha a strange look.
"I know you have a crush on my dad and all but dial it back." Boruto rolled his eyes as Sarada glared at her teammate with a red face.
"Shut up!" Sarada yelled as she smacked Boruto's skull, leaving swelling as Mitsuki ignored these two obviously.
"I see…so when he's happy…wind comes?" Mitsuki observed as Boruto and Sarada stopped their annual daily quarreling upon hearing Mitsuki's words.
"Huh….I wonder what happens when he's mad." Boruto wondered, ignoring the welt on his head.
Naruto then observed a certain rhyme upon Yota's mastered whistling.
"What's that?" Naruto asked as Yota gave Naruto a kind smile.
"You are my friend." Was all Yota said before he suddenly jumped on Naruto's back, making the two young boys laugh while Team Konohamaru could only stare at the scene somberly.
"It's too bad this scene may not last for long…" Sarada frowned.
"Yeah…I wonder what made shit hit the fan…" Boruto asked as the sound of a dog barking got the team's attention.
"Hey is that?" Boruto asked as in came a younger Kiba Inuzuka with Akamaru being small enough to fit under his hooded shirt.
"Uncle Kiba!" Boruto grinned as Sarada cooed at the sight of the puppy Akamaru.
"If only I could adopt him…" Sarada grinned, a little disappointed she couldn't scoop him up into her arms.
However, Yota didn't share Sarada's enthusiasm as he took several steps back.
"No doggies! No doggies no!" Yota yelled as he suddnely rained down lightning as Boruto and Sarada watched the scene with a mixture of humor and horror while Mitsuki was watching the entire spectacle with just humor.
"What did you do to Yota!?" Naruto upset that Kiba would upset his new friend in any way.
"I have no idea! I was just taking Akamaru out for a walk and I saw that guy and then this happened!" Kiba yelled as he was narrowly dodging the lightning bolts.
"Is he the one doing this!?" Kiba yelled.
"I don't even know!" Naruto answered, just as confused as Kiba.
"….So….if he's mad then he rains down lightning?" Sarada asked, puzzled at what she was watching.
"Did that answer your question Boruto?" Mitsuki laughed.
"How can you laugh at this?" Boruto questioned as Shikamaru, Ino, Choji and Sakura soon stumbled onto the scene and they too had to avoid getting turned into lightning strips as this time even Boruto was laughing at the scene.
"Okay this is too funny." Boruto snickered as even Sarada found herself giggling at the scene. It was too cute watching young children running away. Although Sarada found humor mainly at the scene of where Naruto ran by Sakura before smiling at her as she looked utterly lost.
"Oh Lord Seventh." Sarada shook her head good naturedly, wondering what made Naruto stop falling for Sakura.
Eventually once everything was settled and Yota was calmed down, the group of kids decided to play a game of hide and seek that started with Shikamaru kicking a small empty soda can as it was Kiba who was it.
As everyone hid away from Kiba who counted, Naruto hid away in bushes before being discovered by Yota.
"I'll hide with you, Naruto!" Yota grinned, running to Naruto who nearly went pale.
"You can't Yota! They'll find both of us, right away!" Naruto tried trying Yota off of him who paid Naruto no need as he continued hugging and laughing at Naruto, much to his dismay.
"C'mon, you've gotta stop acting all happy like that! Otherwise the weather will change and the others will find me!" Naruto accidently yelled at Yota, startling him.
"…Now you're angry with me Naruto…" Yota moaned as rain started to slowly fall on him.
"You done goofed, Lord Seventh." Sarada laughed as Naruto's eyes nearly bulged from his head as the cold liquid hit him.
"Oh no, not crying! Just get outta here, shoo!" Naruto quickly hid under his bush as Yota ran off while Kiba finished his counting his counting.
"Ha! Found you, Naruto!" Kiba snickered.
"You win some and you lose some." Mitsuki smiled.
"Dad was never that good at games like this. Even when he would have snowball fights with Himawari and I when we were little." Boruto laughed, remembering that old memory as Naruto grumbled to himself, upset at being caught.
"That Yota…getting me caught…" Naruto muttered as the other kids were found as Naruto soon found himself smiling. Despite losing the game, it didn't seem to bother him as he finally had people to play with and have good fun with.
"It's so nice, seeing dad like this." Boruto smiled at the happy expression on his father's face. This had been the happiest he had seen his father look ever since he and his team had come into Naruto's mind.
"…Why do I have a gut feeling this won't end so well for them? After all…if mom doesn't talk about Yota…" Sarada trailed off as Mitsuki decided to pick up where she left off, having a good idea at what she was thinking.
"It's possible something may have happened, leading to everyone thinking he died, despite being already dead." Mitsuki said.
"Yeah, that sounds like the most likely option. But even then, why don't they speak about Yota? Even though it was when they were all little it's like they forgot about him." Sarada donned a pensive expression.
"Hey wait, Yota's the only one left." Kiba noted as all the kids looked around in sight of their friend.
"Oh that's right, he isn't back yet. Where is he?" Boruto asked as Sarada immediately had a gut feeling of something wrong.
"I don't like this…" Sarada said, her gut feelings were rarely if ever wrong.
"Yota?" Naruto asked, however the sound and sight of rain from a faraway distance got the attention of the children as they ran only to fin Yota being restrained by rope by three Anbu Black Ops.
"What the hell is happening here?" Boruto asked as Mitsuki's eyes narrowed.
"Since he's an outsider, they must be bringing in Yota for interrogation." Mitsuki said.
"Interrogation? But he hasn't done anything!" Sarada argued in defense of the small child though Mitsuki looked unmoved with his words.
"It doesn't matter. In the eyes of the village, anyone with the kind of abilities Yota has, child, civilian or ninja could be a potential danger in the eyes of the village." Mitsuki explained.
"….Yeah…" Boruto nodded, remembering his father's near death encounter with those trigger happy kunoichi from the last memory.
"No, Yota!" Sakura yelled as the kids tried running to their friend before an Anbu blocked their path.
"We're taking him into custody where he'll be kept under strict observation and interrogated." The Anbu member stated in a cold voice that made the hairs on Sarada and Boruto's necks stick up.
"But Yota isn't a danger to the village!" Ino tried arguing for her friend's sake though the Anbu was seemingly unmoved by the fact that he was deliberately ruining the friendship between a group of innocent children.
"We'll determine that. Besides, all outsiders are forbidden outside the village's borders. You'll be summoned later to give evidence. Until then, return home and stay there." The Anbu replied in a voice, indifferent to the children and the glares they were giving him.
The scene suddenly changed to Naruto sitting alone in his apartment looking pretty bored as he stared out of the window, no doubt thinking of Yota before Choji and Shikamaru jumped in from his open window, both boys laughing at Naruto's scared expression.
"You guys just can't barge in uninvited!" Naruto yelled, trying to compose himself as Team Konohamaru also chuckled at the young Naruto's reaction.
"Dad was always jumpy when someone snuck up on him." Boruto laughed as Choji and Shikamaru were nothing short of bemused with Naruto's reaction.
"Oh be quiet. You were pretty lonely til we came along!" Choji laughed as Naruto looked out to see Ino, Sakura, Kiba and Akamaru all smiled at him.
"Besides, it's a nice day, if you stay cooped up in here…" Shikamaru was about to say before the sight of rain caught everyone's attention.
"Is that rain?" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow.
"It must be Yota." Boruto shoved his hands in his pockets as Sarada's brows narrowed in worry.
"I wonder what they're doing to him…" Sarada frowned as Mitsuki was silent, remembering his own interrogation.
"What're we gonna? We can't just leave him there." Shikamaru turned to Naruto who grinned.
"Just leave it to me. I'll do something to get everyone's attention and while everyone's distracted, go grab Yota!" Naruto said as Shikamaru raised an eyebrow.
"What're you gonna do?" Shikamaru raised an eyebrow as Naruto merely snickered in response.
"Oh god." Sarada grimaced, having a good idea at what Naruto was thinking.
"You know….it's kind of fascinating. Even as children, Lord Seventh and Mister Shikamaru were close. Like they had a unique bond from the other members of the Leaf's forces that we know." Mitsuki noted as Boruto blinked.
"You know, you're absolutely right. I always noticed that dad and Old Man Shikamaru were close." Boruto noted.
"And it looks like history is repeating itself with you and Shikadai." Sarada smiled slightly as Boruto blinked.
"Huh…it's like we were all destined to be friends or something." Boruto shrugged as the scene shifted to the head of the Third Hokage being covered in black paint. And the culprit? One laughing Naruto Uzumaki who was also covered in black paint.
"I knew it." Sarada face palmed as Mitsuki laughed while Boruto looked unimpressed.
"That's it? I could do way better." Boruto deadpanned.
"Of course you'd try to find competition in that." Sarada sighed, wondering why she was surrounded by idiots.
"Hey stop that!" One ninja yelled from below the Hokage rooftop as several others piled on top of the top of the building.
"Get down from there!" Another ninja yelled, irate at the fact that some brat was defiling the sacred Hokage faces. Did this kid have no shame?
"Yeah right! Like I'm gonna listen to you losers! My name's Naruto Uzumaki! I'm a Hidden leaf Ninja!" Naruto proclaimed with an arrogant, bratty smirk on his face.
"You're not a ninja quite yet, little guy." Sarada sighed as Boruto and Mitsuki had an ehepiphany as they noticed all the ninja.
"Wait, I get it now. He's pulling this prank so that everyone's attention would be fixated on him, thus leading the others to retrieve Yota." Mitsuki explained as Boruto snorted.
"Leave it to dad." Boruto shook his head as Naruto continued gloating over his work.
"C'mon guys, let's see what you got! Try to catch me if you can! I'll take on all the ninja in the village, come and get me!" Naruto laughed before turning around and smacking his butt much to the irritation of the ninja.
"You brat!" The ninja yelled before they all chased after Naruto.
"Couldn't Lord Seventh think of something better?" Sarada sighed, wishing Lord Seventh would be as mature as he was currently.
"And it looks like Lord Third finds it just as amusing." Mitsuki chuckled as he and the team looked to see Hiruzen not look irate that his face was defaced but rather amused as he shook his head good-naturedly.
"Oh brother." Sarada scoffed as the goose chase lasted for a small while before Naruto eventually made his way to where Yota was being kept up and much to the team's amazement, Shikamaru was actually able to restrain some of the Anbu holding Yota hostage with his Shadow Possession Jutsu!
"Hold on, he can restrain Anbu like that as only a kid?" Sarada asked in utter disbelief. Man…the older generation makes their generation looks kind of…lame.
"Shame Shikadai can't be cool like that." Boruto teased, not meaning it in the slightest while ignoring the annoyed look Sarada sent his way.
However the cool moment didn't last for long before the ninja easily broke through the jutsu as if it were nothing.
"It was a good try…" Mitsuki shrugged as Sarada cringed, literally feeling the killing intent off of the Anbu surrounded the children.
"I don't like their looks…." Sarada muttered as the Anbu looked ready to turn the children into pincushions.
"Don't move. Anyone who threatens the welfare of the village will be treated harshly, even if they're children. He could be a spy for all you know!" The Anbu spat, his fingers twitching, ready to execute Shikamaru and Co. for even the slightest resistance.
"Oh man…dad, you better haul ass and get here!" Boruto said as thankfully Naruto appeared right as the Anbu spoke those harsh words.
"Quit screwing around!" Naruto yelled as he ran in the room before go over to where Yota was and standing in front of him in a protective manner.
"No way! Yota would never do that! Yota is…the first real friend that I've ever had in my entire life!" Naruto yelled as the children both within and watching the memory looked moved by Naruto's words.
"Oh dad…..but why do I feel like things won't be so peachy keen?" Boruto asked, having a disturbingly good idea on how this would all end.
"…I'm…your real friend?" Yota asked, touched at how much a fellow outcast could care for him.
However just because the children were touched by Naruto's words didn't mean the Anbu were. Rather, they appeared even more cold after Naruto spoke his words as one Anbu smacked Naruto in the back of his head nearly knocking him out.
This was enough to anger Yota as purple lightning started to slowly crackle around him.
"He…is my friend…and he…needs me!" Yota yelled as his lightning caught the Anbu off guard before they were struck by the jutsu, knocking them out entirely as the children looked both relieved and lost as to what just happened.
"Well that's a way to do it?" Sarada blinked, relieved that the children finally had a chance to escape.
"Yota, we've gotta run!" Naruto said as he and his friends wasted no time in picking up and darting off with Yota as fast as they could to escape the Anbu who they could tell was gaining on them. However, a river was blocking their path.
"Oh great, if it's not one thing, it's another." Boruto sighed, a bit irritated.
"And that river looks fairly deep…." Sarada noted, looking at the river and how deep it looked.
"I doubt they know the walking on water technique." Mitsuki added, curious as to how Naruto and Co. would get out of this sticky situation as the kids looked just as in disbelief over their situation as Team Konohamaru did.
"This is bad…that river is deep." Shikamaru said in frustration.
"I know…but still, we have to cross it." Ino tried reassuring her friends who still looked uncertain.
"And they're probably after us already…" Sakura noted as Choji winced.
"I wished we learned to walk on water…" Choji lamented.
"C'mon, let's just do it!" Kiba said as Akamaru barked in agreement as Naruto's eyes narrowed in determination to get away with his friend.
"Let's go…to some place where Yota can be free!" Naruto said as the kids tried crossing the river only to struggle massively with how deep it was and how small they were. However, despite this, the kids tried pushing onwards only for Shikamaru, Choji and Naruto to get swept up by the currents.
"Oh no! Dad!" Boruto yelled about to save him before Mitsuki literally stretched his arm to keep Boruto at bay.
"Remember, we can't do anything!" Mitsuki reminded the blonde who nearly screamed in frustration as he watched his dad slowly drown.
However, at the last second Yota was able to save Naruto from drowning thanks to summoning a mini Tornado in the water, getting him to short safely.
"Thank god…" Sarada breathed in relief as Naruto slowly caught his breath.
"Thank you Yota…" Naruto breathed, grateful he didn't die in the water. However, the relief was short lived as Yota fell face first in the water before slowly gliding downwards the river like a lost anchor.
"Oh no! What's wrong?" Boruto asked, about to save his father's friend as Mitsuki's eyes narrowed.
"It appears everything has taken a toll on him…" Mitsuki said as Naruto and his friends' eyes widened in horror as they chased Yota before he finally came to dry land. Although…the glazed look in his eyes told the children everything as they caught up to Yota.
"Yota! Are you alright? Hey, Yota! C'mon, it'll be okay!" Naruto tried as he nearly shook his friend to stay in the world of living.
"Yota!" Shikamaru yelled in a voice that the children hadn't heard before.
"C'mon, wake up, Yota!" Choji tried urging his friend as Yota coughed a mouthful of water as he fought to stay consciousness.
Mitsuki had to turn away as he was used to seeing scenes like this while Boruto and Sarada looked near tears.
"…Thank goodness….you're all okay…you guys….Just trust me….everything's gonna be okay now…." Yota managed to weakly smile at his friends although his smile did nothing to perk up their mood. Rather, Naruto looked ready to strangle the boy as he realized the implication behind his words.
"You're gonna be fine! Stop talking like that! Snap out of it, Yota!" Naruto was about to shake the boy but thought better of it, realizing that would only exasperate the situation.
"Don't you see…I'm already…" Yota weakly muttered as the children in the memory looked close to tears.
"No! Don't say it Yota!" Choji yelled as Naruto lowered his head although he would not cry. Crying would not help the current situation.
"I'm sorry…if I hadn't been so reckless…" Naruto apologized as Boruto turned his head, trying not to let the tears fall.
"Dad, it wasn't your fault!" Boruto yelled although it didn't matter since Naruto couldn't hear him anyways.
"No, this is all my fault…" Kiba muttered as Akamaru weakly barked.
"I should've come up with a different plan…" Shikamaru looked down as he was about ready to give up…never thinking he would end up in a situation where he would lose a friend.
"Yota!" Sakura actually let a few tears fall.
"Oh Yota, I'm sorry!" Ino also let a few tears fall as Sarada bit her lips. It was no sense crying over someone long sense dead, although her mother's expression was literally breaking her heart as Yota looked touched that so many people cared for him.
It was then when he lifted his pinky finger weakly to his friends as he managed to smile a small smile at his friends.
"Time to go…" Yota muttered.
"What're you talking about!? From now on, we're gonna be…" Naruto rasped out, as the denial was finally leaving him as the acceptance of the situation finally hit him like a ton of bricks.
"Dad, quit blaming yourself….about Yota…" Boruto sighed, as he still forced himself not to cry.
"I'll never forget you…any of you… But all of you…will forget about me…." Yota smiled as Naruto actually let the tears he held back fall in full force, not caring if he had would have gotten made fun of or not.
"You're being ridiculous! How could we forget you!?" Naruto spat through his tears as he put his hand on Yota's as the other children followed his example.
"Wait, how could they forget him?" Sarada asked, her voice thin with tears, although it would make sense why her mother never mentioned Yota, even if he was dead.
"You have to forget…or it's too painful." Was all Yota said before a bright light filled the memory as all the children were asleep as the memory steadily darkened.
"…So that's how…dad and the others forgot…." Boruto wiped his eyes as he composed himself with Sarada.
"That was so sad…they were such good friends and they forgot about each other. It's not fair…" Sarada wiped her glasses with her finger that had gotten foggy with her crying.
"Who says life, especially in the Ninja World, has to be fair?" Mitsuki asked.
However the scene soon came back to the memory as Team Konohamaru suddenly found themselves in the classroom of Iruka-Sensei with Naruto dead in the front of the room.
"Transform!" Naruto yelled as he transformed into the Third Hokage…or rather a starved looking version of him with big lips and a huge nose similar to the one a goblin would have.
"…What….the…" Boruto blinked.
"Hell?" Sarada finished for Boruto as Mitsuki laughed.
"I see Lord Seventh hasn't gotten much better!" Mitsuki cheerfully remarked as Boruto looked lost.
"What is going on here?" Boruto asked in utter confusion as Naruto ended his jutsu before laughing as the class thought the whole scenario was hilarious.
"Just kidding! Just kidding! You didn't think that was for real, did ya?" Naruto cheerfully laughed as Iruka looked ready to breathe fire.
"That's enough, Naruto! I've worked with you on this countless times, so straighten up!" Iruka pointed at Naruto as the class only laughed harder as Naruto tensed, being put on blast in front of the class.
"Now try it again and this time, no messing around!" Iruka warned as Naruto immediately tensed as he made a hand sign.
"Transform!" Naruto said before turning into a form of Hiruzen that was pale and looked like a mummified version of the Third Hokage.
Mitsuki found it amusing while Boruto and Sarada had a bit of second hand embarrassment at the ridiculous transformation.
"Man…dad really was hopeless as a kid…" Boruto thought back to the kid version of Naruto that he met and while he was reckless, he at least had some skill.
"I wonder what changed?" Sarada asked as Iruka looked like he had to fight off a migraine that was pounding in his skull.
"…Are….you…serious?" Iruka asked as the class couldn't hold in their laughter anymore as they all nearly fell out of their chairs from laughing, some of which were banging their tables from laughing too hard.
None were laughing harder than Kiba.
"You can't even do a simple transformation jutsu!? How pathetic!" Kiba yelled over the rest as Boruto and Sarada glared at the younger incarnation of Kiba.
"…Well I can see Yota really wiped their memories of each other. They're definitely not like they were…" Boruto noted.
"It's so sad…they had a really good friendship…" Sarada frowned as Naruto had it with people laughing and mocking him before he broke his transformation jutsu.
"You all just wait! Someday I'll be the Hokage!" Naruto yelled although this led the children only to laugh harder at him.
"Yeah, right! On what planet!?" Kiba roared as the class were practically roaring laughter at Naruto who clenched his fists as he looked close to tears.
"From humble beginnings, indeed." Mituski noted as Boruto was able to catch a glance at his mother who looked like she wanted to say something…to comfort him…but alas she couldn't.
The scene changed as several children were running together, obviously discussing plans for the evening time as Naruto walked by his lonesome, taking note of Shikamaru, Ino and Choji happily walking together while Kiba and Shino ran by.
"I'm…all…alone…" Naruto looked down as Team Konohamaru's hearts went out to the young boy.
"…How much more of this do we have to see?" Boruto asked as Sarada and Mitsuki wondered the same thing.
Eventually Naruto took notice of Sasuke's backside.
Naruto's lips curved upwards into a smile as he seemed like he was about to try to call out to Sasuke.
"Hey Sas-"Naruto was about to call out in an attempt to hang out with him before his smile dropped as he pulled his arm down before looking down as Sasuke just walked off, not noticing Naruto.
"What was all that about?" Sarada asked as Mitsuki sighed.
"Like Boruto said, Lord Seventh would like to try to form a connection with Mr. Sasuke but his jealousy of his superior social standing is preventing him from doing so." Mitsuki explained as Boruto shook his head, knowing exactly what his father was feeling, to some degree.
"Just like with how you and Lord Seventh would've been…maybe if you two would've talked before than whole Momoshiki incident, you wouldn't have resorted to cheating with those ninja tools?" Sarada asked.
"Yeah….I should've known better that dad did care about me, Himawari and mom but my stupid pride kept me from talking to him. I just wanted to get stronger than dad. I felt like talking would've been a waste…" Boruto looked down before smiling.
"Oh well. Things are better now." Boruto smiled as the scene suddenly changed as the team found themselves right in Iruka's classroom.
"Good grief, these scene changes are so random. We end up in one place and then the next…like geez." Sarada sighed as the sound of snoring got the three's attention.
They all turned to seeing Naruto, Shikamaru and Choji all sleeping and snoring, getting the attention of Iruka and the other kids in the room.
"Morons." Boruto muttered.
"And it looks like Master Iruka isn't going to be so happy." Mitsuki laughed as Iruka growled as he harshly woke the three up by smacking their heads with the textbook in his head.
"Naruto! Shikamaru! Choji! The three of you, go stand out in the hallway!" Iruka yelled.
"What!?" All three boys groaned.
"No 'whats'!" Iruka spat as the three boys all sighed.
"Yes sir…" Naruto, Shikamaru and Choji all half-heartedly agreed as they did just that, standing out in the hallway of the Academy.
"They're like the delinquent trio." Sarada snorted as all the children looked as if they were ready to fall asleep.
"Perfect name." Boruto laughed while Naruto sighed.
"Man…Iruka-Sensei got mad at me again…" Naruto sighed as Choji opened his snack bag.
"Um…I've got snacks. Want some?" Choji offered as Naruto and even Shikamaru's face beamed with joy.
"Oh yeah I would!" Naruto grinned as the three all shared chips with each other as Team Konohamaru all smiled at the sight. After the last couple of memories of Naruto being all alone and sullen, it was nice to have something that's a change of pace.
"A glutton like his daughter." Mitsuki bluntly stated with a laugh.
"Mitsuki!" Sarada chastised her teammate, wondering how he could be so inconsiderate.
"That's might nice of Uncle Choji." Boruto smiled as the three eventually fell asleep, although Iruka didn't notice as he walked outside of his classroom to meet the three.
"Okay guys, have you thought about the way you've behaved?" Iruka asked and if he thought he was gonna get an apology from the trio and promises that they would improve, the Chunin was cruelly mistaken as all three boys were sound asleep.
Team Konohamaru all chuckled at Iruka's expression which changed from rage, to acceptance to slight amusement before he screamed waking all three boys.
"Iruka-Sensei! You scared us, ya know!" Naruto yelled as he threw his arms up, nearly wetting himself.
"I'm gonna kill you…." Shikamaru growled as Choji just looked around in confusion.
"Huh!? What happened? What happened!?" Choji breathed.
Team Konohamaru just found the whole scene amusing.
"Serves them right." Boruto snickered.
"I must say it's nice not to see Lord Seventh alone anymore." Sarada smiled as her teammates smiled their agreements.
Soon Iruka let the three go as they all walked through town.
"So I did all that and then I went to the usual spot." Naruto smiled walking with the two as they actually looked interested in his tale.
"Huh, so that's what happened." Shikamaru smiled as Choji continued eating his snacks before holding his bag to Naruto.
"Naruto, want some snacks?" Choji asked as Naruto grinned.
"Oh, thank you!" Naruto grinned as he happily accepted the junk food.
"The three muskateers." Boruto smiled as the team all stopped as they noticed something.
"Look, over there!" Shikamaru pointed as Team Konohamaru looked to seeing Ino offer Sasuke a flower, although he was uninterested with the gesture before walking away, leaving Ino in tears.
"Man…talk about harsh…" Sarada muttered, feeling for her Auntie Ino.
"I wonder where Uncle Sai is?" Boruto asked.
"He'll definitely show himself sooner or later." Mitsuki answered as Shikamaru and the boys all snickered.
"Oh no. What are those boys planning?" Sarada groaned before they made their way to Ino who was wiping her tears.
"What? Seriously? What a drag." Shikamaru said with amusement present in his voice.
"Nope, nope. No women for me!" Naruto and Choji practically laughed as that set off Ino before she chased the three knuckleheads around the village, intending to pummel their heads in.
"Sheesh! Auntie Ino was one scary kid!" Boruto gulped, knowing better not to insult Sakura in front of Sarada.
"Serves those jerks right." Sarada scoffed, not feeling any ounce of pity for the three brats.
"That Ino…she's terrible when she gets mad!" Shikamaru breathed as it looked like the three had lost Ino.
"At least Inojin's not like that." Mitsuki chuckled.
"Hey! Over there! Over there! I spy a pervy Iruka-Sensei!" Naruto pointed as the boys all ran to Iruka who looked as if he was trying to put the move on a couple of ladies.
"A lady killer, huh?" Boruto deadpanned.
"Oh c'mon…" One of the three women winked at him seductively making him blush.
"What? I don't know what to say." Iruka rubbed his head bashfully before the sound of footsteps got his attention.
"Oh, it's you, Naruto. What're you doing out so late? Kids shouldn't be-"Iruka tried to say before the yelling of "Sexy Jutsu!" cut him off.
"He sure has gotten better at it." Mitsuki remarked, actually looking impressed with how far Naruto's Sexy Jutsu had come alone.
"Are you seriously impressed over that!?" Sarada yelled as Iruka actually fell back with a nosebleed making the women who were previously hitting on him scatter.
"Still not better than mine." Boruto huffed.
"What's wrong with you two!?" Sarada yelled at her two teammates.
Eventually night fall hit with the three boys ending up under a light post.
"See you later, Naruto. Your Sexy Jutsu was awesome!" Shikamaru raised a hand in leaving while Choji also smiled at Naruto.
"Bye-bye, Naruto!" Choji waved.
"Of course they'd be impressed with it…" Sarada face palmed. Were all boys this perverted?
"But at least dad enjoyed himself for the first time since that Yota incident." Boruto smiled.
Naruto just blinked, not believing his luck. He was actually able to hang out with kids and unlike the nonsense with Hibachi and Unagi, this was actually real and genuine kindness he received.
He continued watching them mutter about the dinner they'd be having before he smiled and waved back at them.
"See you tomorrow!" Naruto smiled before the foggy mist enveloped Team Konohamaru as the memory came to an end.
Aww, Naruto….you were a poor lonely child but now you're an amazing man with a nice family and the respect and love of not just the Leaf Village but the entire world as well! ^_^
And also, Naruto and Shikamaru's relationship is just something precious isn't it? ^_^
TBH I prefer the NaruShika bond over NaruSasu's! DON'T ME! XD
And I know you all are gonna be happy when I say that the next chapter will be the OFFICIAL start of the Naruto series! Especially since I know that's what you all were coming here for! XD
Now I know some of you might be wondering why didn't I just get into the start of the Naruto series with Chapter 2 BUT I feel like these childhood chapters were necessary to set the stages for who Naruto was and how everything started before everything led to the way it did…
Either way I'm SUPER excited to be getting into the start of the Naruto series and hopefully you all will continue to support the story as I continue cranking out more chapters!
Thank you all so much for reading and stay tuned for chapter 6 coming next Wednesday January 22nd so until then please let me know your thoughts on this chapter, how everything is handled, how I've been handling the characterizations and so on and so forth.
Til next time, later guys and I will survive the remainder of Junior Year! XD
