Notes: The majority of this, and the following chapter, was written months before I saw the Boruto movie. I decided not to make many changes out of personal preference. To be clear, I did enjoy the movie, but as you should know by now, enjoyment has no place in this series.

Summary: Sarada had the chunin exams won, until she ran into, you guessed it, a suspicious Grass genin. But this one is authentic. Authentically Sarada's half-sister, that is.


Springtime for Sarada

A Naruto Fanfic by

Nate Grey (xman0123-at-aol-dot-com)

Chapter 2: Salada of the Grass, Part 1


Naruto burst into hospital room, only to find quite a confusing scene. The hospital staff was standing around with blank looks on their faces, no doubt under the influence (which, in a hidden village, typically meant genjutsu more than drugs). Sakura, having just given birth and still heavily drugged, was singing a song, loudly and horribly off-key, but with admirable determination all the same. Sasuke was in the corner, doggedly applying what appeared to be black shoe polish to his newborn daughter's head. This made much more sense when Naruto spotted what could only be a curly, pink hair among all the black.

Instantly, Sasuke was in Naruto's personal space with a Chidori against the blond's throat. This was impressive, considering Sasuke was cradling both the baby and the shoe polish in the other arm.

"No one can know," Sasuke hissed, clearly indicating his desire to keep the pink hair an S-rank secret.

"Okay, but I think you're taking this a little too far," Naruto told him.

"Narutoooooo!" Sakura sang, a sappy grin on her face as she finally noticed him. "Look at my pretty baby! I want to name her after food, too! Her name is Salad! Ahahahaha!"

The Chidori pressed deeper into Naruto's throat, drawing blood. "That name is not going on the birth certificate," Sasuke growled.

"I guess they gave her too much drugs?" Naruto asked, doing his best not to smile as Sakura began to hum loudly.

Sasuke grunted. "More like not enough. I told them to give her enough to knock her out, but they claimed that would make the delivery difficult."

Naruto gaped at him. "Well, yeah! Her being knocked out might make pushing baby out a little difficult!"

"I want her to have no memory of this day."

"Sasuke, it's your daughter's birthday! Of course Sakura's going to remember it!"

Sasuke glared. "Her name is Sarada, she was born with black hair, and that's all anyone needs to know. I will burn the birth records if they show anything different."

"You are so in denial," Naruto sighed. "But I guess what you want isn't unreasonable. Actually calling a kid Salad... even I wouldn't do that."

Sasuke relaxed, meaning that he moved the Chidori so it wasn't touching Naruto's neck any longer.

Naruto frowned. "You can put that away now. And take the genjutsu off the staff, while you're at it."

"Not until I rewrite their memories. No one can know."

"What is that, your new catchphrase?"

"Tell it to the janitor I beheaded and stuffed in a closet."


Sasuke was not present at a very similar birth, roughly a week later. This was understandable, up to a point: witnessing the miracle of birth, even once, can be rather traumatizing. And if there was one thing Sasuke had experienced enough of in his life, it was bloody, mentally-scarring trauma related to his family. Also, it was clear to him now that he just had bad luck with baby-making. The minute he learned he was having another girl, Sasuke correctly assumed she would come out a redhead and mostly tried to forget about her.

And since Sasuke was not present, things proceeded almost exactly as they would have for Sakura, had he not been there to intervene. In other words, there existed, in another forest-themed hidden village, an unfortunate baby girl named Salada, whose mother had been thoroughly drugged when naming her. Whether the girl was unfortunate because of her name, parentage, or both, was a matter of much public debate. However, she was also rather fortunate in several ways. For one thing, she was born without any health issues (unless one counted near-perfect health as an issue), which would remain the norm for the next several years of her life. For another, she had been blessed with a mother who was determined to make sure that having an absent father was in no way a hindrance to her.


Years Later

The "totally random" display board arrived at its next pairing with an almost audible thunk.

Sarada Uchiha vs. Salada of the Grass

Among the gathered spectators, both Naruto and Sasuke paid extra attention as the two fighters took their place in the arena. As Hokage, Naruto was of course interested in the potential of foreign powers, particularly Grass, who had long been an ally, but in a somewhat frosty way. Sasuke, on the other hand, had his own reasons to be alert. Reasons that not just he would soon be aware of.

The two girls on the arena floor had a remarkable amount in common, despite their differences. They were roughly the same height and weight, had similar pale complexions, and wore glasses (Sarada's were red with round frames, Salada's were black with square ones). Sarada's hair was (dyed) black, short, and styled neatly, while Salada's dark red hair ran to her waist and looked as if it ate combs for breakfast. Most alarming, both girls seemed determined to tear the other apart with their teeth, if needed. Perhaps even if not needed.

As if that wasn't strange enough, Naruto noticed that Salada greatly resembled her female sensei. Also, the sensei looked very familiar. And it wasn't until he caught her glaring at Sasuke that he realized how he knew her. And how Sasuke had clearly known her, and obviously Sakura, at roughly the same time.

Naruto coughed weakly and leaned over to mutter in Sasuke's ear. "When you said you wanted to restore your clan, I didn't actually think you meant that you wanted to repeat the history of the clan destroying itself."


Sarada was confident, and with good reason. Among her age group, she was the only kunoichi with considerable talent in genjutsu, and the only genin that could last more than a minute against Kurenai Yuhi's most terrifying illusions. While it was true that ability was due more to natural talent than hard-earned skill, Sarada had trained relentlessly to master and enhance that talent. People assumed that as an Uchiha, and as her father's daughter, she would excel in that area. And she had, not because of their expectations, but because of her own burning desire to surpass the legacies of her father and uncle. She didn't hate them, but the shadows of their infamy were like two giant weights constantly around her neck, and she longed to be free of them. Making a good showing in the chunin exams was the start of that.

"You should quit right now," Sarada advised the Grass genin. "Once the match starts, there won't be any mercy from me." Already, she knew what genjutsu she would start with: Infinite Inferno, an Uchiha classic and among the first she had learned from her father's scrolls.

Salada smirked. "Thanks, but I can't pass up a chance to defeat my first Uchiha."

Sarada's left eyebrow jerked irritably. For that remark, she intended to double the chakra she poured into the genjutsu, increasing its potency.

The proctor gave the signal to begin, and Sarada leaped back, weaving the genjutsu's chakra around her opponent. It was second nature to her, simply picturing the chakra as threads, and once they were tied, there was no escape. But just as Sarada began to tie the knot, it was as if someone cut the threads, and the genjutsu fell apart before it was even applied. Sarada had no time to puzzle over it, as she had to dodge the shuriken that Salada threw at her.

Annoyed and confused, Sarada tried another genjutsu, but got the same result: it was shattered before it could take effect. Even then, Sarada had other options. With a blink, she revealed her Sharingan, and instantly tried to bring the Grass genin under her sway. And despite staring straight at her, Salada palmed a kunai and threw it with unaltered accuracy, nicking Sarada's arm and increasing her worries.

It only got worse from there. Every tactic Sarada had honed to perfection simply fell apart. No genjutsu could take hold, no Sharingan technique had any impact. Sarada could have tried hand-to-hand, but it was clear that Salada preferred that method of fighting, and was likely as good at it as Sarada had thought she herself was at genjutsu.

In desperation, Sarada brought a hand to her mouth and spat out a large fireball. It wasn't something she liked to rely on, but she was an Uchiha, and she had mostly run out of options. In her impulsiveness, however, she hadn't taken into account that such a large attack would momentarily hide Salada from her own view. Sarada paid for that a moment later, when a long, black projectile tore through the center of the fireball and embedded itself in her chest.

There was no pain, only a numbness that sapped all of Sarada's strength. Darkness closed in on her from all sides, and then she knew no more.


The first three minutes of the match was nothing too exciting, mostly Salada throwing things and Sarada dodging them. But Naruto was surprised that Sarada was having so much difficulty. She was a fairly good strategist, but nothing seemed to be working for her.

The mood shifted when Salada backed up and removed her glasses, which revealed... absolutely nothing. This was comforting to the Leaf-nin in attendance. At least, it was until the next series of moves.

Sarada launched a fireball, far too large for visibility's sake. Salada responded in a way that was completely unexpected by most, and especially by Sarada: she fired a black rod from the palm of her hand, and she obviously hadn't summoned it.

"Oh shi-" Naruto began to say, but by then, Salada was declared the winner, and medics were trying to safely remove the six-foot black javelin protruding from Sarada's chest. He had no time to dwell on the grisly sight, because Karin walked up to him, making a point to polish her Grass forehead protector before speaking.

"Greetings, Hokage-sama. On behalf of my village, I request an audience with you, to discuss the potential ramifications of my village establishing a new branch of a clan that is currently exclusive to the Leaf."

"You mean the Uchiha?" Naruto asked, glaring at Sasuke.

"Actually, I don't," Karin corrected. "As you saw, Salada is able to tap into certain abilities that were once thought exclusive to the Rinnegan, despite not possessing it herself. This is proof of her unique heritage. We briefly discussed establishing a branch of the Uchiha, but ultimately decided that the Uzumaki were a far more... honorable and desired clan." She shot a glare at Sasuke.

"You know what? Fine, let's do that," Naruto agreed, surprising Karin and Sasuke. "Today, in fact. I'm all for my clan being restored, and even if I don't like the way it happened, I doubt that was your fault, Karin. And it is good to see you again."

Karin stared at him in shock. "It is?"

Naruto clapped her on the shoulder. "You're family, no denying that. Why don't we have dinner at my place tonight? You can meet my family. And bring Salada." His grip on her shoulder tightened. "But in case it wasn't clear, the first thing you're going to do is heal Sarada."

"I have every intention of doing so," Karin quickly assured him. "This was an unfortunate accident, nothing more."

Naruto figured this was true enough, as Salada seemed greatly disturbed by the results of her last attack. Probably she had expected Sarada to be able to dodge it. Frankly, so had he. "I really hope that's true, Karin. Because if I thought, even for a moment, that Grass wanted that girl dead, your village would burn."


Though she had been reasonably worried, Sakura had promised to stay at home until news of the chunin exam results reached her. Sarada had said that if she was old enough to be promoted, then she was also old enough not to have her mother shadowing her. Sakura had tried to explain just how bad things had gotten during her own exams, but Sarada, being something of a history buff, had already known. She insisted that she was prepared for anything, and having seen her pack, Sakura was forced to agree. Sarada had sealed anything she could possibly need into storage scrolls, including some things Sakura never would have thought to bring at that age. Sarada had her own crush on a boy, but unlike the Sakura of so long ago, she did not allow it to rule her thoughts, or take priority over her career as a kunoichi.

Yet it didn't change the fact that if things could go wrong at the chunin exams, they would likely do so in a way that was impossible for anyone to adequately prepare for. There was no way to explain this to Sarada, who was far too confident in her own abilities. It was true that she could already do things with her Sharingan that even Sasuke hadn't been capable of until he'd fully mastered his, but Sakura attributed that to a combination of rare genetics and Sarada's ingenuity, rather than pure skill. In her opinion, no one she knew had been truly prepared for what happened in their first chunin exam.

But Sakura had promised her daughter, and if she had learned anything from Naruto, keeping your word was something that decent people did whenever they could.

It was fitting, then, that Naruto was the one who showed up at her door that afternoon, a grim look on his face. "Sakura-chan, I need you to come with me," he said. "Something happened."

"Are you ordering me, as Hokage?" Sakura asked, hoping he was joking.

"I'm asking as Sarada's godfather, and Hokage."

The blood drained out of Sakura's face. "Is she hurt? Just tell me-"

"I need you to come with me," Naruto repeated. "Please."

"W-What if I say no?"

Naruto stared at her, thinking. "I'd have to pick you up and carry you. It's that important."

"I'd fight you."

His face fell. "Please don't make me knock you out, Sakura-chan. It's hard enough for me to even think about hitting you. Especially right now."

Sakura glared at him. "I'm not going anywhere until you tell me if my daughter is okay, Naruto!"

Naruto bit his lip, shook his head, and sighed. "Okay. She's hurt, but she's in good hands. I have no reason to doubt she'll recover. But that's not why I need you to come with me. Not entirely, anyway."

"What else could there be?" Sakura demanded.

"Depending on how you and Hinata react, we may have a serious political situation with Grass."

"What does Hinata have to do with-"

"Sakura-chan. Please, just come with me. This should be discussed in a secure location, and more importantly, I promised Sarada that I would bring you to her."


Ino was upset. This was not surprising: her son's team had been eliminated in the first round of the chunin exams. She wouldn't have minded as much, if they had been intimidated into losing. But no. They had been eliminated solely because her son had assumed there was a mind game, when there had only been simple, straightforward instructions to follow. To be fair, there had been a rather complicated mind game just beforehand, which the team had successfully navigated. And perhaps that had left them paranoid. Worse, Sarada's team had made it through the first round, which meant that Ino had lost her wager with Sakura, which meant that Ino had to babysit Sakura's son for the duration of the exams.

It wasn't even that bad a deal, really. Especially considering that if Sakura had lost the bet, she would have had to flirt with Sai, for however long it took him to realize that she wasn't being sincere. Which, for him, could easily have been days.

Anyway, it wasn't as if Sakura's son was even a particularly difficult child to watch. He was quiet, well-behaved, and could keep himself busy for hours with little more than his imagination. Plus, he looked enough like Sasuke, who looked enough like Sai, that no one ever questioned it if they saw Ino with him. Really, the only bad thing about Sakura's son was that he was overly sensitive. Not just in the way that he cried easily, which he did, but in the way that he could sense virtually everything happening around him, especially if it involved his family. It was impossible to lie effectively to a child like that, and Ino had swiftly come to realize that being able to lie to a child was a huge part of parenting. Perhaps that was why Sakura's son liked being around Ino so much: he knew that she knew she couldn't lie to him.

So when the boy came to her and stated plainly, "Ino-san, nee-chan is hurt, and I need to see her," Ino didn't question how accurate his concern was. But she also knew Sakura's rule for watching the boy: "Never let him be the parent, he's far too good at it."

Ino shook her head. "Sorry, Chi-chan, but you know how this works. You don't leave my house unless your mom knows about it. She doesn't, so we're staying put."

The boy frowned at her. "I'm going. You can come if you want."

"Uh, no. You're not going anywhere."

"I'm a clone, by the way," the boy pointed out, just before he burst into smoke.

"Crap," Ino murmured.


Sakura briefly grew more concerned when Naruto didn't take her to the hospital. Instead, he took her to the Hokage's mansion. She hadn't been there since Kakashi retired, but Sarada had sleepovers with Himawari occasionally. She would no doubt be more comfortable there than at a hospital. Since neither Tsunade nor Kakashi had any immediate family, they had shared the residence for simplicity's sake, and Naruto had asked them to stay when he succeeded Kakashi. Consequently, it was probably the most secure building in the village, and with either Tsunade or Shizune there almost constantly, Sarada was surely getting the best possible medical treatment. Not for the first time, Sakura recognized how good it was to be a personal friend of a Hokage, or three.

Naruto had told Sakura nothing on the way over, but as they approached Himawari's bedroom, he suddenly stopped her. "Before we go in, I have every reason to believe that Sarada will be fine by now. That's not what you will be worried about."

Sakura snorted. "Are you serious? If it was Himawari-!"

"I know," Naruto said quickly. "I'm trying to say that when you walk in that room, and see what I saw, Sarada's condition will be the last thing on your mind. I don't want you to feel ambushed, so I'm warning you now. Sarada was injured in her preliminary match. She lost to a Grass genin."

"That's pretty unexpected, but why would that cause a political situation?" Sakura asked. "Or is this another case of a Grass genin not actually being one?"

Naruto shook his head. "Oh, this one is the real deal. But due to her unique parentage, she possesses a bloodline that was exclusive to the Leaf, and her family is in the process of obtaining clan status with Grass. Naturally, this will cause some... conflict with us."

"I still don't see how this would impact both me and Hinata," Sakura pointed out. "Wouldn't it only be one of us?"

"Sakura... were you aware that Karin was originally a Grass genin during our first chunin exam?"

Sakura's eyes bulged. "WHAT?!"

"Yeah. I never noticed her then, but that's when she first saw Sasuke. Well, you wondered what happened to her after the war. It looks like she went home to Grass, and convinced them to take her back. She was pregnant at the time, and apparently the identity of the father was more than enough to get her back in their good graces."

Sakura gritted her teeth. "And now she wants to establish the Uchiha in Grass because she's got a kid with the Sharingan, right?"

"No offense, but you have no idea how much I wish it was that. In that case, I wouldn't have to involve Hinata. But it's worse."

"But... then why is Hinata involved?"

"The genin that injured Sarada... she did it by impaling her with a chakra receiver. And the clan Karin wants to establish isn't Uchiha. It's Uzumaki."


Sarada was unclear on much of what happened to her after she lost the match. She was certain of only two things, as they seemed so vivid in her memory. First, she recalled biting a red-haired woman, because she had never before bitten anyone. Second, she was told by the same woman that Salada was the result of an affair with Sarada's own father.

And now, Sarada was lying in Himawari's bed, while Salada was entertaining her with stories of life in the Grass. Technically, she shouldn't have been doing that. Sarada had already filed away certain details that she felt were not common knowledge outside of Salada's village. Not because she still considered Salada an enemy, but because Sarada simply liked to know things.

It should have bothered her, the fact that she had a half-sister. There was only one way to get those, after all. And it certainly confirmed one of her suspicions about her father, and his dream of reviving their clan. Really, Sarada was more concerned about her mother, and Salada's, as well. It was also dangerous for their villages. At the moment, Grass was a distant ally of the Leaf, but that could easily change, depending on how this worked itself out. She knew the Hokage would try nearly everything short of war before it came to that, so she wasn't too worried. If nothing else, she trusted him to act as a shield for her family, because he had once been in love with her mother. At least, she assumed that was how it worked. He was always nice around them, and delighted in spoiling Sarada whenever she would allow it. Perhaps it was typical godfather behavior, but she doubted it.

"You don't talk much," Salada said abruptly.

Sarada blinked and glanced at her. "Actually, most people think I talk entirely too much. But right now, I'm thinking."

"About?" Salada prompted.

"Us. Our father. Our mothers. Our villages." She hesitated, then added, "If we could ever live together."

"I'd like that," Salada said at once, though she didn't seem happy.

"Really? Why?" Sarada asked.

"I always wanted a sister, but I never thought I'd get one. Mom tends to scare most guys off. And the ones she doesn't are usually pretty odd. Anyway, I used to dream about all four of us living together: you, me, and our mothers."

"What about Dad?"

Salada grinned. "He wouldn't be there. Then we could talk trash about him. You know I've never even met him?"

"That's not fair," Sarada murmured, surprised by how much that fact bothered her.

"Well, I think he makes civilians too nervous for constant visits, anyway. Apparently he's a pretty scary guy. And before she devoted herself to being furious at him, I think Mom really loved him. That's probably why she's so mad that he has a wife and kid."

Sarada coughed. "Actually, I've never seen any proof that they got married."

Salada snorted. "Figures."

There was a sudden knock on the door.

"We're not decent!" Salada immediately shouted.

"Yes, we are!" Sarada snapped.

Salada shrugged. "Well, as decent as illegitimate children can be, I guess."

At any other time, Sarada would have been deeply offended. But since Salada was including herself in that, it didn't sting quite as bad. Hardly at all, really.

The door opened, and Naruto poked his head in, though with his hand firmly over his eyes. "I'll have you know that lying to the Hokage is a good way to end up in a cell overnight."

"I don't see Mom. You didn't keep your promise," Sarada said accusingly.

"For your information, she's right behind me, trying not to have a panic attack. So I believe the correct statement would be: 'Thank you very much, bestest godfather in the whole wide world.' Go ahead, I'll wait."

"You certainly will. I'd never say anything like that."

Naruto sighed deeply. "You were cuter when you were tiny, wrinkly, and not yet potty-trained. How I miss those days." He moved aside to let Sakura in, then backed out of the room and shut the door.

Sakura glanced between the two girls several times, her eyes wide.

"Mom, this is Salada," Sarada offered. "We're, um... related, obviously. You should probably discuss that with Dad the next time you see him."

Sakura's face hardened. "Actually, I think involving your father would only make this worse. And considering his poor decision-making is what got us here in the first place, I'd rather not see him anytime soon. Now, what's this I hear about you being impaled?"

"That was my fault," Salada said quickly. "I thought she would dodge."

"No, it was my fault," Sarada insisted. "I should have dodged."

"If you've got the energy to argue, you must be feeling better," Sakura said as she stepped closer, placing her hand gently on Sarada's stomach. "Who healed you?"

"My mother did," Salada replied, drawing Sakura's suspicious gaze. "She said her way was faster than anything a medic would do. Also, she didn't want the accident to look any worse than it did."

"So you mean it wasn't your intention to kill the heir of the Uchiha?" Sakura asked sharply.

Salada looked genuinely horrified. "No! She's my sister! Why would I want to kill her?!"

"Because, sometimes the bonds you have with others just get in the way," Sakura replied, though it was obvious she was no longer really directing her anger at Salada. "And killing them would make things so much easier."

"She's talking about Dad," Sarada whispered.

"Ah," Salada said. "So it's okay to kill as long the person deserves it."

Sakura paused, realizing she had the chance to influence a young mind. "Um... make sure they really deserve it, though. Like your Dad."

Salada giggled. "You sound like Mom. Only not as pissed off."

Sakura smiled weakly. "I don't know, I've been told I have my moments."

"But you're not mad at us, right?"

Sakura hesitated. "Your mother and I... weren't exactly friends. I can't imagine that's changed much, even though she did save Sarada."

"Can't you just talk to her a little?" Salada asked. "Please? Trust me, she's really mad at Dad right now, too. I bet you two would get along great!"

Sakura looked at Sarada, who was oddly quiet. "Was this your idea?"

"No, Mom. But I'm not against it. I want to be able to see my sister again, and I'd prefer that neither of us have to become a missing-nin to make that happen."

"That's going to depend more on how things go between her and the Hokage."

"But we both know your vote always counts with him," Sarada countered. "And yes, I know it's unfair of me to ask you to do that. But it's unfair that I can't be with my sister, too. And you're the only one who can do anything about it for me."

Sakura scowled at her. "I was really hoping that the first time I had to unfairly influence Naruto, it would be when I was trying to convince him to pay for your wedding, in order to cover up your pregnancy. I would actually prefer that situation to this one."

To her credit, Sarada didn't even blush. "I'm not having any kids. Especially not Uzumaki kids. They're fine as siblings, but you'd have to be insane to want to raise one yourself."

Sakura glanced at Salada, who remained silent. "No objections?"

"Oh, she's right," Salada replied confidently. "Mom says that every time I get into trouble. Though, she also says she was insane to fall for Dad, work for Dad, and work for Orochimaru. Pretty much she was insane her whole life, apparently. She says that to make a point, but I'm usually too busy laughing to get what it is, exactly."

End of Part 1.


Continued in Salada of the Grass, Part 2

Sakura tries to find some common ground with Karin, while Salada meets her other half-sibling. Sarada is made aware of a potential health issue, but some are more aware of it than others.


Endnotes:

It is not realistic to restore a clan through a single female. Sarada has a better chance of dying in the field before twenty than she does of surviving several pregnancies. As Sasuke appears to be in no hurry to have other children, I can only assume that: A) he has abandoned his goal of reviving his clan, or B) there are some clones hidden away (which Gaiden confirms via Orochimaru), or C) there are some babies hidden away. And though clones are more in line with my original theory of Sasuke reproducing asexually, clearly certain kunoichi still aren't smart enough to stay away from him. This story assumes that C is the option he chose.

Salada possesses both a natural immunity to genjutsu (at least, all the ones Sarada was able to throw at her), and the ability to generate chakra receivers. Which is odd without having the Rinnegan, but odd things happen (and should) when Uzumaki and Uchiha mix. If Boruto's movie taught me nothing else, it's that the new generation cheats through supreme genetics. And if the "rules" really mean that much to you, write your own fanfic where everyone follows them and nothing unexpected happens. Can't promise I'll read it, though.

A Note/Rant/You-Knew-What-This-Was-When-You-Started-Reading on Sarada's Origin:

I was among those convinced that Sarada was Karin's daughter. Since then, Sarada's origin was explained. Do I admit that I was wrong? Sure. Am I going to apologize for it? No. The explanation does not change the first impression, which is a black-haired kid wearing Karin's glasses. Everything else you assumed at first glance from every other kid in chapter 700 was exactly what you thought. So I feel that they were visually patterned after certain people, and in every case except Sarada, those people were later confirmed as their biological parents.

Please understand that the truth made the situation worse. "Karin is not Sarada's mother... but Karin did deliver Sarada, Sarada is wearing Karin's glasses, there are no birth records in Konoha, and Sakura and Sasuke have no wedding photo." So it's not a conspiracy, but somebody put a great deal of effort into building the framework of one, all for the sake of what, making sure no Uchiha had a decent childhood? Well, mission accomplished. I can just picture Itachi shaking his head and saying, "This is why we can't have nice things."

To put it another way, the truth was so much less fantastic than the original misleading idea, that it left far less of an impression on me. Somebody tells you that an Uchiha and Uzumaki had a kid, that's massive. Somebody tells you a month later they made a mistake, and it was actually just another Uchiha kid, that's a major letdown. Don't get me wrong, Sarada is an interesting character, but if Karin were her mother, that would be grounds for her replacing Boruto as the main character. And I am already way more interested in seeing Sarada develop, than I am in seeing how Boruto turns out.

And there is a loose end. Karin never outright admits to being over Sasuke, which is concerning (I trust I don't have to explain why). But on top of that, she saved the umbilical cord of the wife of the man she was in love with. As if with Ino around, we needed more proof that Sasuke fangirls never get over him, and this by far trumps Karin's previous stalker tendencies. But even if Karin and Sakura are genuinely friends now, and that was purely a sentimental token of a very emotional moment they shared, it suggests that Karin is more attached to (and therefore is more of a parent to) Sarada than Sasuke is. Despite probably having never seen Sarada since she was born. If Sasuke can be Sarada's father by staying away from her, then Karin can be her second mother/slightly crazy aunt in the exact same way. Naruto himself said feelings trump blood. And at one point, Sarada felt like Karin was her mother, and there is no question that Karin clearly cares about Sarada. Which is more than you can say for Sasuke at several points.

Now, I could get a little crazy, and suggest that Sarada's needing glasses were the result of Karin purposely poking her in the eyes during the delivery, just so Sasuke's daughter would have to wear Karin-style glasses for the rest of her life, and always carry a little piece of Karin over her eyes. And since the glasses were the first thing many people noticed about Sarada, and caused to think she was Karin's daughter, it could have crossed Karin's mind. I don't think that's what happened, but wrong impressions would certainly be drawn if Metal Lee was introduced wearing a red shirt with a white circle on it. Especially when you know the potential parents have even a slight history, and there is no undisputed and definitive mother in the picture... and also that Sakura's husband was away for a decade and won't kiss her even when he is around. But that's just an example, mostly.

All that said, Sarada is one of only three new gen kids that I do really like. I don't understand why Naruto and Sasuke are better fathers to each other's firstborn than to their own, but oh well. I just need someone to explain to me why Naruto shafting his kids is unforgivable in Boruto's eyes, yet Sasuke doing it to Sakura and Sarada was never an issue for Boruto. Either it's Sasuke's plot armor at work again, or more likely, Boruto is selectively self-absorbed and knew nothing about Sarada's home life, which based on Gaiden seems accurate. Which is annoying because on the main team, we still have teammates who know virtually nothing about each other, and with their parents all being friends, there really is no excuse for it this time. Mitsuki is the only exception, because Orochimaru, that's why.