BORUTO/ALTER
Sarada stood silently before her mother. They were both in their kitchen, afternoon light calmly shining through the small window that sat above a leaking sink.
A quiet air spread between them. Sarada had always found it easy to talk to Sakura- she was willing to listen, supportive, and conscious of not only her failings, but Sasuke's. What's more, her Mom always tried the best she could to understand Sarada, and explain the things that needed to be explained.
Now however..
"Sasuke told me about him." Sarada met her Mother's gaze briefly, before moving from where she stood to their kitchen table. Sarada placed both elbows on the table's fine wood, resting her head on bruised hands while eyes glared ahead at nothing at all.
"I know there's more. There has to be." Sarada whispered.
Sarada met Sakura's eyes then.
"Itachi.. he was the same age as I am. To kill your own parents.."
Sarada lowered both hands down to the table.
She looked at them.
Stop shaking, Sarada said to herself.
The young Uchiha inhaled deeply before continuing.
"And I know there's more. He hurt more people, didn't he? That's why you can't find any records about the Uchiha. You guys tried to blame it on Obito and Madara.." Sarada trailed off, focusing dark eyes to the light of the window that shone beside her mother's face.
"I never wanted to lie to you, Sarada. Neither did Sasuke. But you have to understand how difficult this is for him too."
Sarada's eyes flared in silent anger.
"Him?" Sarada hissed.
"I had to grow up wondering why kids wouldn't play with me. Why people sneered at me, at the crest on my back. Why.. My dad has no cousins, no brothers, no parents. Why.. people hate me, sometimes." Sarada's eyes softened, genuine sadness replacing her anger.
"What if.. what if I died. Like Lady Shizune..Mr. Inuzuka. What if I got hurt like Hima, but never woke up? Sumire..it's almost as if she took Hima's place. Her parents.. they're.."
Sarada clenched a taught jaw.
"This world is so dangerous.."
Sarada finished.
Sakura remained silent, tears brimming over green eyes.
"It would've been so easy for me to die never knowing why, mom. And with everything else happening.. that reality.. it makes me angry!" Sarada didn't raise her voice then. But she spoke with such force that Sakura balked slightly.
Sakura bowed her head, pink hair falling over her eyes.
She approached Sarada slowly, before placing her hand on Sarada's shoulder.
She then knelt down to meet her daughter's eyes.
"I remember the first time I was scared for you." Sakura said softly.
Sarada furrowed her brows.
Sakura replied with a small laugh.
"Yes, I know. You're probably thinking I was always scared- fussing over you. But there was.. one day Chocho came over to play. You must've been five or six.."
Sakura looked away from Sarada then.
"It's so stupid. But you two were play fighting, with wooden kunai. She.. pushed you over, and stabbed you a little too hard on the arm. You didn't really cry much, but you screamed then." Sakura's smile began to fade.
"I knew you were okay, but.. the fear I heard in your voice.. I just.." a tear fled from Sakura's eye.
"As I held you.. I realized that very soon, once you became a genin.. that what I just saw could happen for real. The fact that you could die. That someone could kill you without a second thought."
Sarada looked up at her mom. Sakura closed green eyes, a pained smile writing over her face.
"And that would be it. No second chances, no hugs. If you were on a mission and I wasn't there.. anything could happen."
"That's why I wanted to make sure you grew up as stable as I could guarantee. I wanted to make sure you were able to learn how to defend yourself, how to succeed, how to use your power to stay alive."
Sarada felt a chill of understanding spread over her skin.
"Sasuke being gone for so long.. I can't.. speak for him. But in a way I'm glad, Sarada. Because I was able to be there with you, make sure you were as prepared as you possibly could be, make sure you built connections, had friends. Despite the hatred I knew the world would throw on you.. I'm glad that we're a team.. and I'm glad you formed bonds you can believe in."
Sarada crossed her arms, shutting dark eyes in defiance of rolling emotions.
She saw Boruto then- Mitsuki too. Sensei, Chocho, Sumire. Even Himawari, a sometimes rival.
All the connections she had formed on her own, despite the Uchiha name, despite Sasuke's absence.
"I'm proud of you." Sakura leaned over, embracing Sarada tightly.
"This isn't over," Sarada rasped.
"I know, Sarada. And it might not ever be. So don't forget..I'll be there for you, always."
Sarada accepted this, sniffling as she cried softly into her mother's shoulder.
NO.
"Uzumaki Fuinjutsu: Nirodha.." Screams filled the air. They trumpeted within Shin's ears, filling him with righteous anger and indignation.
NO! NO NO!
This chakra.. It's not coming from the Demon! It feels.. Like mine!
Shin slid backwards, moving the organs within his body as they increased their muscle mass and density. He then duplicated the production of chakra, stolen cells screaming in protest.
The false god, the black haired demon, still bled profusely. Now however.. the chakra that snaked about the demon curled in the air, tendrils of blackness whipping about in the form of dripping chains.
Shin's numerous Sharingan blinked in confusion.
A pool of chakra and blood formed underneath the strange performance, before sealing jutsu scribbled itself once more on the ground.
With a flutelike hiss, a blackened figure rose from cursed art. Two stones shifted about its cloudy body, before positioning themselves upon the figure's head as if eyes.
The figure crouched-
Shin's sharingan sang in a chorus of warning.
He leaned backwards as the Shadow's leg cut above him.
Shin focused his Mangekyo-
He ripped seven branches from nearby trees that his eyes spied from behind. He targeted the Shadow's body-
Shin flipped upwards, rushing ahead while the summon fled to the edge of the wood.
His Mangekyo traced its retreat with expert precision.
The wounds your summon suffers are no doubt linked to your putrid body! Shin cackled within himself- the prospect of victory spurred him further.
He dug into the ground, before throwing himself ahead with blistering speed-
By the power of the Divine Eye, Shin forced the branches into the Shadow's false body.
Sure enough, Shin felt them puncture skin and organs. Seconds later, he heard a gasp come from the demon-
One of his many eyes saw the demon fully fall to the ground, blood riveting from between robes.
Shin smiled, eyes leveling on the Shadow as it rolled about on the ground, in mirror of its master.
Good, then your jutsu will-
Sharp pain erupted from multiple points on Shin's body. He staggered as the branches he used to attack the Summon.. Were now embedded within Shin's own flesh.
Shin snarled as he felt jutsu, his own jutsu, ravage through corded muscle.
He fell onto his back, blood filling Shin's lungs.
Pain..?
Shin heard something. At first, he thought it was the ring of his angels- his loyal servants, his sons. The ones who will fulfill his will. But no.. it was the voice of him-
Shin can't be trained.
Flashes of light.
This was a mistake, Orochimaru!
Bubbling water.
That thing.. is a desecration to the Uchiha.
Shin felt as if his hands were desperately slapping against glass.
Koiē can be brought to heel. Shin.. needs to be destroyed.
Shin's eyes- all of them- opened in renewed fury and vigor as his wounds healed in superheated hisses.
The first thing Shin saw was the Shadow- it was only a breath's gasp above him. It primed its hand for Shin's chest-
Shin vanished within the whisper of the passing wind-
The Shadow cut harmlessly into the dirt below.
"You're certainly fast," the demon's voice lulled behind Shin's shoulder.
Shin twisted himself backwards just in time to catch the Shadow's falling fist. It was strong-
Shin forced his Mangkeyo to generate more muscle mass as he was pushed backward.
"You.. you should be dead!" Shin stammered.
Eyes on Shin's back widened.
The demon's nose bled, and his face was still bruised from Shin's direct physical attacks. But the wounds born from Shin's body jutsu.. Were healed.
The demon sat upright. His legs were crossed, while both hands were pressed together in an open moon.
"The Nirodha state.."
Shin's fear reached a new crescendo-
His voice is still coming from the Shadow!
"Allows cessation of such concepts. If not for a short while." The demon gave a sad laugh.
Shin disengaged from the Shadow. He pushed himself into the air, forming the bones and muscles within him into an array of spears that jutted between dozens of eyes.
He clapped mealy hands together.
"Body Carving Technique: Bonded Dance!" Shin bellowed.
His spears shot from his body as he plummeted back to the earth. The spears flew for the Shadow-
Chains of black chakra slashed from the ground, breaking from it as if, for a moment, the ground was water.
The chains wrapped themselves around Shin's projectiles, pulling them into the watery abyss they came from.
But-
Shin broke into movement, fueling his muscles to the point he created small barks of sound in the air.
Despite your strange summon..you still have to control it, Demon! And if I can delay it for even a moment, all I have to do is land a physical killing blow on you!
It was simple. Shin knew that the Demon.. somehow, would be able to reflect its injuries upon Shin himself. But the Demon seemed to still feel the pain of such- meaning..
If I do the opposite of what you expect.. increase the killing potential of my jutsu despite the risks..!
Shin whirled himself past the Shadow-
And directly towards the Demon. The demon's two allies stood still-
Shin suddenly reverted his attention back to the Shadow, who was nearly upon him. The Shadow tried to stop itself, no doubt anticipating Shin's intent.
But it was too late. Shin pressed his fingers into the Shadow's facsimile of flesh.
"Body Carving Technique: Miasmic Bone!"
A bouquet of chitinous spears erupted behind the Shadow's back- holding it in place as Shin's jutsu dug into bloodied grass.
And, just as Shin assumed, he once again heard the Demon gasp in almost hushed pain.
With an animal's bloodlust, Shin spun back around, clawing at the ground on all fours. His eyes fell upon the Demon, who looked at him while resting on one knee, fresh blood dripping from a slack smile. It was then Shin noticed the demon had four diamonds embedded within its cheek.
They glowed behind a cowl of black hair.
Shin could hear the Shadow approaching-
Free already?!
No matter-
Shin eclipsed the demon now- he smiled. The demon.. was small. Weak.
Nothing but a foolish perversion of god!
Shin returned the false god's grin, stabbing both of his clawed hands for the demon's neck.
"Uzumaki Fuinjutsu:.. Cessation Return."
It was now Shin who gasped. His momentum- the force of his physical moment-
Vanished. Shin stood as if a statue, dumbstruck as to what happened.
The Demon pointed.
Shin's hundred eyes flexed to look at the false god's finger-
A ripple echoed through Shin's body that reverted Sharingan back to their three tomoe state.
What is this-
Chakra coiled within Shin. It was from his own being... But it felt wrong. Almost..
Lethal.
No-
A forest of bone and muscle shot forth from Shin's back, blood falling from his mouth. He staggered backwards.
It was then Shin realized his body wasn't healing. Not just that.
It was decaying.
I'll have to use.. that technique!
Doing such would set Shin back by a considerable degree.. but he didn't have any other choice.
Come, my sons!
Shin urged the minds of the two angels he hid within the greater surrounding wood.
Instantly, two young clones zipped beside him, bodies aided by God, the true God's will. The clones bore Shin's blonde hair, and Sharingan that glowed underneath emotionless glares.
Despite their arrival, however..
I.. need to hurry!
Shin's legs and waist had already turned to ash. Without a second thought, Shin thrust his hand into the body of the clone closest to him. In the next second, Shin's previous form collapsed in a gust of deflated skin that shifted into dust against the kiss of wind.
"Body Carving Technique: Innocent Host!" Shin yelled from within his new body-
The clone was weaker, far weaker. But it was enough.
Shin's jutsu caused reverberations to shake the ground. His surviving son crouched forward, wings instantly birthing from his back, accompanied by a rush of smoking blood.
Shin melded his body into that of his clone's- doubling their power. Chakra fueled webbed wings that caught the wind, lifting Shin to the safety of the air.
The false god and his prophets made no move to stop Shin.
I still have.. the prime body.
Pain racketed through Shin then. His conjoined form dipped in the air.
The Demon's fuinjutsu.. seemed to still be affecting him.
To disfigure me.. a God.. the savior of the Uchiha..
Shin's mangekyo activated, the demon's sneering face reflecting behind Shin's pupils.
Shin had to kill the Demon. He must. His first act of Godhood demanded such.
The Uchiha.. his Uchiha, wouldn't be able to survive with such a creature lurking about.
He had miscalculated. This much was apparent. But..
Shin was alive.
And once he was within the prime body..
Rivers would be his.
Then.. the Uchiha will be fully reborn!
"TWO JONIN DEATHS,"
The rumbling of a railcar hummed with a comforting industry, thrumming the leather cushion of Tangura's seat. He wore the black tunic of a State Shinobi, headband tied proudly above thin brows.
Tangura's blonde locks fell over the headband, which held the image of a bird with a leaf gripped within its talons.
"And while one genin has been discharged, another has been admitted to their medical center. This all occurred in the past two weeks."
Tangura flexed his hand, opening cold fingers. Ever since Tangura was a child, his hands were always perpetually cold. People said that they were freezing to the touch.
Tangura smiled.
People often found him disarming.
"Are you listening to me, Tangura?"
Tangura's red-and-brown eyes rose to regard that of his partner, Kai Xing. The shinobi was dressed similarly to Tangura. Kai bore blacker than black hair, of which an ornate headband aided in keeping Kai's tall ponytail upright.
Open seeing Kai's expression, Tangura laughed.
"Before I.. left.. I proposed this railway. A plan to increase the village's infrastructure, help with medical emergencies.. general transportation."
Tangura sighed.
"I was young. It was one of my first acts as a Chunin."
Tangura's hand curled into a fist.
"My drafts were rejected." He said curtly.
Kai smiled, a hint of evil meeting his voice as he spoke.
"Perhaps your absence spurred second thoughts." He replied.
Kai's blonde partner smiled thinly, eyes meeting that of Naruto's as their train passed the stone faces of the Hokage.
"So it seems." Tangura whispered.
