A Hero's Journey

by mugiwara-no-lucy

Boruto has always wanted to know more about his father, especially his past when he was younger. Thanks to a forbidden jutsu in a scroll found in the Hokage's office, Boruto and his teammates find themselves traveling through Naruto's memories. However, not all things are meant to be seen. How will Boruto react to seeing his father's various triumphs, pains, successes and failures?

10. The Land Where A Hero Once Lived

I can't think of any better way to start off the lovely month of April than with a chapter of A Hero's Journey! I can NOT believe we've made it to TEN chapters, guys! That's right TEN chapters! I know I say this a lot but thank you all SO much for the support this story has gotten and please continue supporting the story until its conclusion! ^_^

Hopefully this chapter will make everyone feel better! Especially with what's going on in the world…

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Team Konohamaru followed the memory versions of Team Seven and Tazuna as they eventually reached the Land of Waves.

However…what they saw disturbed them.

"This place…it's so…" Sarada commented as she took note of just how run down and desolate the small village looked.

"Depressing….." Boruto frowned as he took note of all the people either living on the street or stealing from the local fresh markets. He clenched his fist in anger as he already had an inkling as to what the main cause of all this depression was.

"Gato." Mitsuki noted.

"Right….this place…it's so sad…that rat bastard ruined so many people….There's no way Dad and Uncle Sasuke wouldn't stop him…I know they definitely gave that asshole his just desserts!" Boruto pumped his fists.

"Yeah!" Sarada agreed as Mitsuki looked pensive.

"What's wrong, Mitsuki?" Sarada asked as she took note of her friend's expression.

"It's just…I was thinking….that person who killed Zabuza was supposed to be a tracker ninja, yes?" Mitsuki asked as Boruto blinked at the question.

"Yeah, why?" Boruto asked.

"Well from what we learned about tracker ninja in the Academy, they're supposed to kill the bodies of the rogue ninja that they find, right? But he didn't." Mitsuki said as Sarada was starting to pick up on her teammate's train of thought.

"What're you saying?" Sarada asked, having a disturbingly good idea of where the son of Orochimaru was going.

"I'm saying that it could be possible that the person and Zabuza might be in cahoots and secretly working together. After all, what he used were senbon needles which, when used correctly, won't kill a person but will knock them out in a state close to death." Mitsuki said as Boruto and Sarada's eyes widened in realization as they took in the snake's words.

"That…would explain everything…." Sarada blinked as Boruto grinned.

"Well this is just great then!" Boruto smirked.

"Huh?" Sarada asked.

"Think about it. Dad wanted another shot at those bastards and it looks like he's gonna get his chance!" Boruto pumped his fist in his palm as Sarada blinked before mentally face palming.

"Oh right, of course! Lord Seventh and even dad would be excited about that…" Sarada smiled, silently wondering just how her dad and Naruto would react when they hear the news.

Eventually Team Seven and Tazuna reached Tazuna's house, a small house which gave a pretty good view of the wide ocean below.

"We're home, Tsunami!" Tazuna called out before a very attractive woman who looked to be in either her mid to late twenties came running before she hugged her father.

"Welcome home, father!" Tsunami smiled in relief that her father was okay. Especially with the threat of either bandits or rogue ninja after his life.

"Haha don't sell me short, girl!" Tazuna chortled.

"Whoa…she's beautiful…" Naruto noted before a mischievous expression adorned his facial features.

"Oh no, don't tell me…" Sarada groaned.

"He's going to try to use her for his Sexy Jutsu?" Mitsuki noted in amusement as Sakura was quick to smack Naruto back to reality.

"Don't even!" Sakura warned as Naruto groaned while rubbing his sore noggin.

"And these are my teammates…" Sasuke sighed, in clear disappointment while Kakashi gave a small chuckle despite the clear exhaustion in his body and it was then that Tsunami took note of the Leaf Village ninja.

"And these are the ninja who escorted you here?" Tsunami asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah. This is Kakashi, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura." Tazuna respectively pointed to each member.

"Yo!" Naruto casually greeted with a salute.

"A pleasure to meet you." Sakura bowed with a smile.

Sasuke merely nodded as Kakashi nodded towards Tsunami's direction with a smile despite his current condition as he was being held on the shoulders of Naruto and Sasuke.

"Pleasure's…all…mine…." Kakashi smiled as Tsunami gasped as she finally realized Kakashi's condition.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" Tsunami asked as she immediately ran to where Kakashi was.

"It took her that long to notice?" Sarada deadpanned.

"I'll be fine…more…or less..hehe…." Kakashi nervously laughed as Tsunami shook her head, completely unsatisfied with that answer.

"Both of you, follow me upstairs." Tsunami instructed to Naruto and Sasuke.

"Right." Naruto said as Sasuke nodded.

The two along with Sakura and Tazuna followed Tsunami upstairs to where she put out a soft futon bed.

"Now lay him down gingerly…." Tsunami instructed as Naruto and Sasuke did just that.

"Man…why is Old Man Kakashi so wiped out?" Boruto asked.

"It could be that since he's not an Uchiha, the Sharingan would be taxing on his overall stamina. Especially considering it's a two tomoe Sharingan." Sarada surmised.

"Yeah I guess that makes sense." Boruto said.

Once Kakashi was put inside of the futon mattress, he was immediately out.

"Guess he's out." Boruto snorted as Team Seven just lounged around for the next hour or so before Kakashi finally came to.

"Waking up, huh?" Tsunami frowned in concern as she stared over the scarecrow lookalike while putting her hands on her hips.

"I've been better. It'll be a week before I can move normally…" Kakashi admitted with fatigue still present in his voice as he staggered to sit up.

"A week!? Damn, the Sharingan is even more taxing than I thought…." Boruto gulped.

Sarada was grateful she didn't receive any side-effects like that just yet but what would happen to her if her Sharingan continued to mature and develop?

"See? It's better if you don't move so just lie down." Tsunami stated as Kakashi laid back down, albeit slightly reluctantly.

"Right…" Kakashi sighed while Team Seven hastily jumped over to his side, with them looking relieved that Kakashi was okay, even Sasuke.

"Look, the sensei's coming around!" Naruto grinned as he honestly wanted to jump over and give Kakashi a huge bear hug but stopped himself for two reasons. One, he would just end up making Kakashi's situation even worse and Two, Sakura would no doubt give him a cranial eruption courtesy of his fists.

"Listen Sensei your Sharingan is amazing and everything but if it puts that much strain on you maybe it's not worth it." Sakura tried advising her sensei as he looked up in the air, slightly embarrassed at his current state.

"Sorry." Kakashi apologized while Tazuna wiped his head using his towel.

"Huh…well you did take one of the most powerful ninja assassins so we'll be safe for a while." Tazuna was quick to point out.

"Right but you know, the boy with the mask, what about him?" Sakura put her hand to her chin in thought.

"I'm guessing this is the moment when they finally put two and two together." Mitsuki noted, slightly bemused as he could only anticipate the reaction Team Seven would have when discovering he was still alive.

"They're gonna lose their shit." Boruto snorted.

"Why do I actually feel like agreeing with you for once?" Sarada shook her head as Kakashi continued gazing at the ceiling.

"He's from the elite tracking unit of the Village Hidden in the Mist. Those masks are only worn by the most elite shinobi." Kakashi explained as Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"What do they do?" Sakura asked as even Naruto and Sasuke looked intrigued.

"The Anbu Black Ops, also known as the Inferno Squad, destroy all traces of a rogue ninja's corpse. The shinobi's body contains many secrets; Ninjutsu, chakra, special medicines used on his body. These are the secrets of his village. If his enemies find them, his people will be in grave danger. For instance, if I were to die at the hands of an enemy, he would try to analyze my Sharingan. In the worst case, my entire jutsu could be stolen and used against our home village. It is the sacred duty of the Shinobi trackers to prevent this, to keep their village's secrets safe. If a ninja betrays his village, the trackers hunt him down, eliminate him and obliterate every trace of his existence. That's their specialty." Kakashi finished his explanation.

Boruto and Sarada looked green as Kakashi finished his recap on the history of rogue ninja for a lack of better words.

"Whoa…that's so…unreal…." Naruto gulped.

"You're telling me….Kakashi-Sensei….the world of ninja really is…..unreal, huh?" Sakura asked before she and the rest of Team Seven noticed that Kakashi was asleep.

"Hey! He's out again!" Naruto pointed out, slightly annoyed.

"Knock on wood, huh?" Mitsuki bluntly chuckled.

"MItsuki! Don't be rude." Sarada spat, just wondering how many times she had to get on her teammates for being since they came in these memories and dreaded how much longer they would continue to work her nerves.

"But man…we sure got off easy huh….you heard what Old Man Kakashi said….if a ninja leaves they're village, they're basically axed and all we got was suspended from Shinobi Duty…." Boruto gulped.

"Yeah no kidding….we definitely got off considering we could've been executed or imprisoned for life if we got lucky…" Sarada shook her head.

It was at that moment when Boruto and Mitsuki remembered about Sasuke's….checkered past…before gulping, silently dreading Sarada's reaction when they get to that particular memory.

Mitsuki especially since while Boruto was aware of Sasuke merely leaving the village, Mitsuki was aware of Sasuke's affiliation with Akatsuki as well as him killing Danzo and attacking the Hidden Cloud Village.

Naruto snickered, getting the attention of his teammates.

"What's so funny, Naruto?" Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"Oh no." Sarada recognized that grin.

"Kakashi-Sensei's asleep, right?" Naruto grinned as Sakura blinked at the question.

"Uh…yeah?" Sakura wasn't following Naruto.

"So…we can see what's under his mask!" Naruto beamed as Sakura could not believe her ears.

"…Huh?" Sakura deadpanned not even understanding how Naruto could think of something so stupid.

"…Is….he…serious?" Sarada face-palmed as Boruto couldn't share her irritation.

"You know I'm kinda curious." Boruto admitted.

"What!?" Sarada's glasses nearly fell from her face.

"Same here. I wonder what Master Kakashi looks like." Mitsuki also admitted as Sarada could not believe her ears and what she was hearing.

"….You know…that might actually sound kinda fun…." Sakura sheepishly admitted as Sarada nearly fell over.

"Mom, not you too!" Sarada groaned.

"What about you, Sasuke?" Sakura turned to Sasuke who turned his head away.

"I'll pass." Sasuke rolled his eyes as Boruto snorted.

"Sounds like Uncle Sasuke." Boruto scoffed in good nature as Naruto and Sakura inched closer to their sleeping sensei.

But before they were an inch closer to his unconscious face, he suddenly shot up, making Naruto and Sakura scream before falling on their bottoms.

"Oh you're up, Kakashi-Sensei." Tsunami walked into the room with a smile, hearing the commotion from Naruto and Sakura.

"Idiot! Wha are you doing! We were so close to seeing under the mask!" Sakura yelled at Naruto as Sasuke shook his head at the two.

"And these are my teammates…" Sasuke sighed.

"So close…." Boruto shook his head in disappointment as he was really looking forward to seeing Kakashi's face.

"I wonder what he has under that thing, anyways?" Sarada asked as Mitsuki smiled.

"Probably another mask." Mitsuki smiled as Sarada and Boruto darted their eyes at Boruto.

"…You know…given how much of a troll Old Man Kakashi is…I wouldn't be surprised…." Boruto muttered as Kakashi looked deep in thought, taking no note of any of Naruto and Sakura's shenanigans, something that Team Konohamaru noticed.

"What's with him?" Boruto asked as even Team Seven in the memory took notice of Kakashi's troubled expression.

"Huh? Hey, are you okay, sensei?" Naruto asked as Kakashi looked up.

"Hm? Oh….yeah…" Kakahsi answered though Team Konohamaru were unconvinced with Kakashi's answer.

"He doesn't sound okay." Sarada noted.

"To finish what I was saying, tracker ninja deal with the body immediately, on the spot, so there's no room for error." Kakashi began again on his previous explanation about tracker and rogue ninjas.

"Is that really important?" Sakura asked, taking a seat by Naruto.

"Think about it. Do you remember what that tracker did with Zabuza's body?" Kakashi asked his team as the memory flashed to scenes of the tracker ninja impaling Zabuza's neck with senbon needles before taking his body and leaving.

"We don't know what he did. I mean, I guess he took it away somewhere?" Sakura offered as the memory returned to the present.

"Exactly. But why? He should have worked on Zabuza right there, as quickly as possible. Think of the weapons he used for the takedown. Do you remember what they were?" Kakashi said as Sasuke's eyes widened as he realized what killed Zabuza.

"Throwing needles…no way!" Sasuke looked at his teacher in dread.

"Exactly…none of it adds up." Kakashi said as Tazuna then walked in the room.

"They're realizing just how sketchy all of this is." Mitsuki noted.

"What're you all yammering on about? You demolished that assassin." Tazuna was quick to point out as Kakashi tried to work out the best possible way to state the cold hard truth, especially with how everyone, mainly Tazuna, would react.

"Here's the truth. Zabuza's still alive." Kakashi bluntly pointed out as the news logically didn't sit well with everyone within the same proximity as Kakashi.

"Welp, I was right about them losing their shit." Boruto chuckled.

"But did he have to be so blunt about it?" Sarada couldn't believe just how blunt some people were. What happened to calmly telling people news? Even if that news might not be all that good….

"How else could he say it?" Mitsuki asked his teammate.

"But we saw his body! Believe it!" Naruto yelled, once he found his voice.

"Kakashi-Sensei, you checked him yourself. You said his heart stopped!" Sakura added in for support.

"His heart did stop but…that was just a temporary state to simulate death. The weapons that tracker used are called senbon. They can pierce deeply but rarely kill unless they hit a vital organ, not in the neck. They're modified from needles used for medical treatments like acupuncture. Trackers are trained to know every detail of the human body. Causing the heart to stop temporarily while keeping the body alive is an easy matter for them. First, he carried Zabuza's body away even though it's much heavier than he is. Second, he used senbon which have a precise effect but are rarely fatal. From these two factors, we can conclude that the tracker wasn't trying to destroy Zabuza. He was trying to save him." Kakashi tried rationalizing his stance for his team as they still looked a bit uncomfortable at the news while Tazuna tried to still find some sense in what he was thinking.

"Exactly what we were saying. Although…I wonder…if Zabuza was strong, I was how much stronger that boy was." Sarada put her hand to her chin in thought.

"There exists the possibility he could be stronger." Mitsuki thought out the possibility.

"Stronger? Then again we can't judge strength based on age." Boruto said.

"Come on, you're overthinking this, aren't you?" Tazuna tried arguing, not wanting to deal with Zabuza any longer if he could help it.

"Encountering suspicion, the ninja prepares quickly. Hesitation leads to disaster. Every Shinobi knows this saying." Kakashi stated before turning his eye to Naruto who clenched his right fist as an excited grin adorned his facial features.

"Looks like he's excited at having another chance at that eyebrowless bastard." Boruto mused.

"His legend has to start somewhere." Sarada smiled, curious as to how her parents and idol overcame this threat.

Kakashi even looked amused at Naruto's reaction, already knowing how elated Naruto feels at having another chance to go at Zabuza.

"Sensei, you said prepare quickly, but how can we do that when you can barely move?" Sakura was quick to point out the apparent dud in Kakashi's thought process.

"Yeah he can't really do much if he's bound to that futon bed." Boruto agreed with Sakura. However, Sakura's question made Kakashi chuckle as she looked at her superior ninja in surprise.

"I can still train you." Kakashi was no doubt smiling under his mask.

"Wait, how can he do that if he can barely move?" Sarada asked.

"We are ninja so I'm sure Kakashi has something in mind." Mitsuki reminded his teammate.

"Hold on. A little last minute training won't make us strong enough to fight Zabuza. You could barely defeat him even with your Sharingan. We have to be reasonable about this!" Sakura was practically flailing her arms.

"Mom…" Sarada couldn't believe her strong willed mom was so…pessimistic about things. During the whole Shin scenario, when she was outnumbered, she still fought even when it looked like the odds weren't in her favor. Kakashi didn't look too pleased with her attitude, however.

"Sakura, why was I able to stop Zabuza? Because you all helped me. Naruto, you've grown the most." Kakashi smiled through his eyes as those simple words were enough to make Naruto smile and blush bashfully.

"Heh, who knew dad could be so modest?" Boruto snickered at his father's face.

"Well given how he spent most of his life having adults telling him about how no good and a failure he was, hearing kind words from people like Master Iruka and Master Kakashi would throw him for a loop a bit." Mitsuki pointed out as Sasuke and Sakura turned to Naruto. Although silent, Team Konohamaru could tell they were beginning to see Naruto in a new light.

"And it looks like he's starting to have an effect on mom and dad." Sarada smiled as Naruto could barely contain his childish excitement.

"So you've finally noticed sensei. Now things are going to get better, ya know! Believe it!" Naruto beamed, eager to get some training in order to hone his skills and make him even stronger.

"I don't believe it and nothing's gonna change!" A young child's voice yelled from behind Naruto.

Team Seven, Team Konohamaru, Tazuna and Tsunami all turned to see a young boy no older than Konohamaru who was clad in overalls and a white hat.

"Huh? Who's this little shrimp?" Boruto bluntly asked.

"Boruto, would it kill you to be a little more polite?" Sarada asked as Naruto had the same thoughts as his son.

"Huh!? Who are you!?" Naruto pointed at the boy, not liking how much of a downer this boy was.

"Inari, where have you been?" Tazuna held out his arms to his grandfather who happily embraced him.

"Welcome back, grandpa!" Inari happily jumped in his grandfather's arms as his mother came up behind him, obviously unpleased with Inari's tactless words to Team Seven.

"Inari, that was very rude. These ninja helped your grandpa and brought him here safely." Tsunami scolded her son whose facial expressions told everyone that he was in no quick hurry to apologize.

"It's okay, it's okay. I'm rude to them too." Tazuna laughed.

"Well he's not wrong about that." Boruto laughed as Sarada sighed.

"Of course a rude person who find humor in another rude person." Sarada shook her head as Inari gazed at the ninja very coldly. The look in his eyes was enough to put Sarada on edge.

"What's with him? Those eyes…they're not fit for a young boy…" Sarada frowned.

"It's definitely with what's happened with the Land of Waves and Gato." Mitsuki's eyes narrowed.

"Mom, don't you see? These people are gonna die! Gato and his men will come back and find them and wipe them out!" Inari argued with his mother as that was enough for Naruto.

"What did you say, brat!? Listen up, you know what a super ninja is? Well that's me, only a lot better! I'm gonna be Hokage! This Gato or Blato or whatever he's called is no match for a real hero like me!" Naruto bragged though Inari was very unimpressed with Naruto's declaration.

"Hmph. There's no such thing as a hero. You're just full of stupid ideas!" Inari spat as Naruto had to be restrained by Sakura from pummeling the young brat.

"What did you say!?" Naruto was quick to attack the boy and would've was it not for Sakura stopping him.

"Naruto, just calm down!" Sakura held Naruto back as Inari merely scoffed while shooting a cool glare at the Naruto, mainly Naruto.

"If you want to stay alive, you should go back, you should go back where you came from!" Inari spat before walking away, finished with what he had to say.

"…What happened to him?" Boruto asked, not believing such a young boy could be so cold….It reminded him of how Denki was.

"We're gonna find out, one way or another." Sarada reassured her teammate as Mitsuki raised an eyebrow at the expression Sasuke shot Inari's direction. Almost as if his face was showing he understood the chip on the shoulder that Inari had.

"Inari, wait. Where are you going?" Tazuna asked as Inari opened the doors to the room.

"To look out at the ocean. I wanna be alone!" Inari snapped before harshly shutting the door.

Tsunami and Tazuna looked embarrassed by Inari's outburst as they turned to the ninja with eyes full of sadness, no doubt because of what happened to Inari.

"Sorry about that." Tazuna apologized genuinely to the ninja though this wasn't enough to satisfy Naruto as he broke out of Sakura's grip, ignoring her protests to stop as he walked up the steps, having more than a few bones or few to pick with Inari.

"Who does that brat think he is? I'm gonna put him in his place!" Naruto was cracking his knuckles as he finally made his way upstairs before hearing the sound of crying.

"D-daddy…no!" The voice of no doubt Inari was sobbing as Team Konohamaru and Naruto looked to see Inari crying over a picture.

Team Konohamaru looked at the young boy in sympathy.

"…So that's why…." Boruto looked down sadly.

"That would explain why he's the way he is…" Sarada said as Naruto looked close to tears as he was no doubt reminded of his younger self wondering about his parents.

Feeling a bit disheartened, Naruto made his way downstairs before he shook his head, not wanting to worry his team.

"Naruto? What happened?" Sakura asked.

"Oh nothing, haha!" Naruto laughed though Kakashi and Sasuke knew right away that Naruto was lying but they chose not to say anything.

"Well if everyone is taken care of, kindly follow me. Tsunami, you have a pair of walking crutches?" Kakashi asked the women who blinked at the request.

"Hm? Oh well, yes. Wait here." Tsunami left before coming back with a pair of walking crutches.

"Thanks." Kakashi thanked the woman before turning to his team.

"Follow me." Kakashi said as Team Seven followed him to the middle of a forest, a faraway distance away from Tazuna's home.

"Alright, training starts now." Kakashi said as Naruto smiled, eager to start training.

"Right!" Naruto pumped his fists.

"First, we will begin with a review of chakra, the ninja's basic source of power. Understanding chakra is essential." Kakashi stated.

"Way to state the obvious." Boruto snorted.

"Yeah I wonder why they're having Chakra 101 training again." Sarada asked.

"Hmph, we know that." Sasuke unknowingly agreed with his daughter.

"He's right. A long time ago, we learned about…uh….catra…" Naruto said as Boruto and Sarada face-palmed.

"Is he still calling it that?" Boruto muttered.

"How do you get cat from cha?" Sarada added as Kakashi lowered his head while Sakura actually stared at Naruto like he was even crazier than she originally thought.

"Chakra." Kakashi sighed as Naruto laughed him off.

"Go ahead, Sakura." Kakashi passed on the role of teaching to Sakura.

"He's just gonna pass it off to Auntie Sakura?" Boruto asked.

"Well he is lazy." Mitsuki chuckled.

"Alright, Naruto. I'll explain it simply so you can understand. Chakra is the elemental life energy a ninja uses in jutsu. It's the source of all his power. Now this energy has two forms, physical energy which exists in all the cells in the entire body that are all working together and spiritual energy, the primal source of power which is intensified through training and experience. As you see, these two types of chakra must be drawn out and brought together in order to perform jutsu. Notice the interplay between physical and spiritual power. That's the key. Finally hand signs focus and unleash the chakra." Sakura smirked, proud of her knowledge as Sarada beamed at her future mother.

"That's my mom. Pretty much an encyclopedia." Sarada smiled in pride of Sakura. Was her mom perfect? No. But she had a good heart and a great work ethic.

"She probably would've been a better teacher than Shino-Sensei." Mitsuki smiled.

"Totally." Boruto snorted, high-fiving his friend.

"Right on all points. Iruka-Sensei really did have some excellent students." Kakashi praised Sakura who laughed off Kakashi's praise.

"Though it doesn't look like it sunk in for some." Mitsuki laughed at Naruto's buzzed off, confused facial expression.

"Are we surprised?" Sarada sighed.

"Nope." Boruto muttered.

"What's the big deal with all these complicated explanations? The whole point is to learn the jutsu, isn't it?" Naruto asked.

"He's not wrong on that." Boruto agreed with Naruto while Sasuke closed his eyes, his expression of disinterest never wavering.

"Naruto's right for once. We're already using chakra energy in our jutsu." Sasuke said as Kakashi cut his eyes at the two.

"No. You have not mastered this power. You've barely scratched the surface of it." Kakashi stated as Naruto and even Sasuke looked at Kakashi with expressions of surprise.

"What do you mean!?" Naruto asked, his fuse definitely lit.

"Calm down and listen. It's just like Sakura said. You have to draw on physical and spiritual energies and then combine them within yourself. But how do you do that? Each jutsu requires different types of chakra in different proportions. You must select and combine them in exactly the right way. Up to now, you've just guessed at the proportions, hoping they come out right. Even if you produce a lot of chakra, unless you can balance and control it it's all worthless. The jutsu won't work at all or it'll just be a joke." Kakashi explained.

"Sort of like how dad couldn't make a Shadow Clone because he didn't balance out his chakra wavelength enough." Boruto said, remembering just how much Naruto used to suck in making just basic shadow clones.

"Yeah….looks like that rat bastard Mizuki was good for something." Sarada murmured.

"You waste so much energy that way then you're out of chakra and you can't fight at all. You're just a target." Kakashi said as Naruto still looked like a lost fox.

"Uh…so how do we change that, hehe?" Naruto asked.

"Train so hard that controlling your chakra becomes second nature. To achieve this goal, you must be ready to put your life on the line." Kakashi stated, really getting his team's attention on his words.

"…So what do we do?" Sakura asked, trying her best to gulp down her fear.

"Hehehe, climb a tree." Kakashi smiled with a raised finger.

"Climb a tree!?" Naruto, Sakura and even Sasuke exclaimed in surprise.

"It might be asinine to some but this is actually essential especially in controlling chakra." Mitsuki said.

"Though it's definitely not gonna be easy for dad. Though Uncle Sasuke and Auntie Sakura should be fine." Boruto said as Kakashi merely smiled at Team Seven's bewildered expressions.

"That's right but there's just one rule. No hands." Kakashi gestured to the palms of his hands as Team Seven looked even more lost.

"What? You're kidding, right?" Sakura narrowed her eyes at her sensei who looked anything but amused.

"Am I? Let's see." Kakashi said before gathering chakra in his palms before sending it to his feet before he slowly made his way to the top of the tree, much to the astonishment of Team Seven.

"He's climbing…" Naruto murmured with surprised, wide eyes.

"Straight up…And he's only using his feet!" Sakura added in agreement to Naruto.

"And he's doing that with crutches…Master Kakashi really is something…." Sarada muttered as Boruto grinned.

"And I can't wait to see him even further in action the farther we go down these memories!" Boruto pumped his fist, definitely impressed as Kakashi turned to look down on his team.

"Well, you get the idea. Focus the chakra toward the soles of your feet and use it to connect to the tree. This is one way to apply the power of chakra." Kakashi simply said as Sakura took this time to speak up.

"Wait a minute! That's a nice trick but how does it help us fight Zabuza?" Sakura asked the question that both of her teammates were wondering though Kakashi wasn't fazed with her confusion or doubting in the purpose of this training.

"It's the only way to fight him, Sakura. That's the entire goal of this training. First you'll learn to draw a precise amount of chakra to a precise point in your body. This is difficult, even for advanced ninja. This type of climbing requires a subtle mix of physical and spiritual energy. And the bottoms of the feet are the most difficult points to focus chakra. Are you getting the picture? If you can master this, you'll be able to master any jutsu. Well theoretically." Kakashi shrugged at the end of his explanation as Team Seven looked more interested and determined in the training than they were five minutes ago.

"I can only wonder how this will go." Mitsuki asked, more to himself than to his teammates.

"It's definitely gonna be a while." Boruto answered, wishing he had one of his fruit drinks to drink.

"The second point is to learn to maintain your chakra levels. When a ninja is focused in battle, it's even harder to control and maintain his chakra levels, a deadly mistake. To avoid this, maintaining chakra must become second nature, effortless. Well, I can talk about this all day but that won't advance your skills, will it?" Kakashi asked.

"Nope." Boruto answered, already ready to see the rematch of Team Seven versus Zabuza and his masked associate.

"Guess we know why Shino-Sensei thought of you to be such a headache." Sarada snorted, ignoring the glare Boruto sent her.

"You need to apply the power of chakra through training." Kakashi said before pulling out three kunai from his back ninja pouch before throwing them down as they landed right in front of Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke respectively.

"Use the kunai knife to mark the tree at the highest point you can climb without using your hands. Then try to get past that mark the next time and the next. At first, you'll need to run at the tree so your momentum can take you as high as possible until you get used to it. Ready?" Kakashi explained the rules of the training to his team.

"Sounds simple enough." Mitsuki said.

"Yeah but you should know by now with dad around, things are never just 'simple enough'." Boruto snorted, shoving a hand in a pocket.

"And I thought our team was random." Sarada murmured, for a lack of better words.

Naruto eagerly grabbed his kunai while smirking proudly.

"I'm more than ready! This is gonna be no sweat all the way! Believe it! Remember what you said Sensei, I'm the one who's grown the most!" Naruto pointed at Kakashi who tried his best not to roll his eye at the energetic blond.

"You're definitely the one who talks the most now get focused and do it." Kakashi said.

"Burn." Boruto snickered as Naruto's eyebrow twitched at that diss.

"He's not wrong." Mitsuki smiled as Naruto suddenly got serious as he gathered the chakra in his body before sending it to his feet.

"I got it! Charge!" Naruto yelled as he ran to the tree in front of him as Sasuke and Sakura did the same. However, to no one's real surprise he fell on his noggin the second his feet touched the tree.

"Well who didn't see this ending coming?" Boruto deadpanned as Sasuke was able to get higher than Naruto but he realized his limit and used his kunai to mark where he reached.

"It looks like that's his limit." Sarada asked as Mitsuki pointed up ahead.

"Although it looks like Master Sakura has won this little race." Mitsuki stated in amusement as Sakura was quick to call out to her teammates who were stunned to see that Sakura out of all of them was the one who has the best control in chakra.

"Well, looks like the female member of the squad has the most advanced chakra control. Well done Sakura." Kakashi praised his student.

"Hehe, this is fun!" Sakura said more to Sasuke than Naruto.

"Well she was the smartest student in the Academy from my recollection." Mitsuki said.

"And she wants dad to notice." Sarada grinned, hoping to see a sweet moment between her mom and dad. She never got a chance to see a tender moment since her dad would always leave. Hopefully she'd see some in these memories.

Naruto was happy for his teammate but Boruto could tell he was a bit pissed and jealous she completed the training before him while Sasuke merely turned his head away.

"Whatever." Sasuke scoffed as Sakura looked close to tears.

"Oh mom…" Sarada felt pity for her mom while Boruto and Mitsuki snickered.

"Friend zone." Boruto snickered.

"Totally." Mitsuki agreed.

"With how your dad ignores your mom so far in these memories, you really can't be talking!" Sarada snapped.

"Well, not only does Sakura understand chakra but she can control and maintain it as well. We spoke about someone becoming Hokage one day, didn't we? Seems Sakura's got the best chance of that, wouldn't you say? And as for the great Uchiha clan, maybe they're not so great after all." Kakashi smiled as Naruto and Sasuke looked away in shame.

"You know, when I think about it, Master Kakashi's kind of an ass." Sarada deadpanned.

"You mean him shoving his fingers in dad's ass already wasn't an indication?" Boruto asked.

"Shut up, sensei! You talk too much!" Sakura spat at Kakashi before she looked down, pouting her cheeks.

"Mom…" Sarada blinked at just how over the top her mother's reaction to Kakashi was.

Naruto and Sasuke glared at each other as they then resumed their chakra control training for the next two hours before they, especially Naruto, started to get fed up with making no real progress. As Naruto shook his head, he surprisingly made his way to Sakura.

"Uh…hey…you're good at this. How about some advice?" Naruto asked to Sakura who blinked in surprise at Naruto's request, definitely not expecting him to come to her for help.

"But please don't tell Sasuke I asked. Please!" Naruto was practically begging though unbeknownst to him, his loud voice actually got Sasuke's attention who stared at the two in curiosity.

Sakura actually looked like she was pondering this request but she figured if she did this, Naruto might stop being an annoying asshole to her.

Key word, might.

"Alright. Chakra requires spiritual energy so if you get all anxious and frantic, it doesn't work. You have to relax and totally focus on the tree. That's how you get a steady chakra flow in the bottoms of your feet." Sakura said as Naruto blinked before grinning like a fox.

"Yep, definitely a better teacher than Shino-Sensei." Boruto smirked.

"But she probably would punch you even harder than Lord Seventh since you're a bigger pain in the ass." Sarada rolled her eyes as Boruto smirked.

"Actually I got along with Auntie Sakura just fine when I went back to the past. She said I was cooler than dad." Boruto smirked as Sarada cut her eyes at Boruto.

"Oh yeah, right." Sarada scoffed.

With the help of Sakura, Naruto attempted the training again and was gradually making progress but was still behind Sasuke. Getting a bit frustrated, Naruto attempted to gather more chakra before he was finally able to find a happy median and balance in his chakra flow but before he could actually attempt the training again.

"Hey, Naruto!" Sasuke called out, making Naruto fall on his face much to Team Konohamaru's amusement.

"So uncool." Boruto snickered as this obviously didn't sit well with Naruto who ate a mouthful of dirt.

"Ugh! Sasuke, what're you doing!? I was trying to focus my chakra!" Naruto yelled out to Sasuke who actually looked down.

"Well uh…you know the thing is…" Sasuke looked down as Naruto growled at Sasuke, not at all feeling Sasuke right now.

"The thing is what?" Naruto growled, crossing his arms, hoping for Sasuke to get to the point.

"What's with him?" Mitsuki asked before Sasuke turned to the side with an embarrassed blush on his face.

"Dad?" Sarada asked as she tried to stifle her laughter, already getting flashbacks about how much of an ass he made of himself during the whole Parent and Child day festival.

"Y-you know, you asked Sakura for advice when she was here? So…what did she tell you?" Sasuke growled out, completely losing his "cool boy" persona as Boruto and Mituski were snickering at Sasuke's expression as Sarada was surprisingly the one who let out a loud laugh.

"Oh my god, dad. You are so uncool!" Sarada was quick to wipe the tear from her eyes as both of the boys stared at Sarada in surprise before grinning at her.

"Looks like you've found your voice. Congratulations." Mitsuki smiled as Sarada scoffed at the two.

"Oh shush." Sarada admonished Mitsuki as Naruto's eyes widened in surprise before he realized he had two choices. He could be the bigger person and give Sasuke some pointers or he could keep it all to himself just out of spite.

Naturally, the expression on Naruto's face was evident that he chose the latter option rather than the former.

"I'm not telling you!" Naruto spat as Sasuke's eye twitched as he glared at Naruto, wishing he could just shove some lightning into Naruto's chest as the two were engaged in a huge stare down between each other.

"Boys." Sarada rolled her eyes as the two continued their training until they decided to call it an evening and retire before they returned to Tazuna's hut where the two were greeted to the gorgeous sites of all sorts of tasty foods before they eagerly dug into the food, eliciting a disgusted expression from Sakura, an embarrassed smile from Kakashi and a hearty laugh from Tazuna.

"Hey, this is fantastic! It's been ages since we've had so many guests around our table!" Tazuna laughed as Naruto and Sasuke continued putting whatever food they could in their mouths.

"Man it's so nice seeing Uncle Sasuke like this!" Boruto laughed while Sarada didn't share her teammate's amusement.

"And we all how this is going to end." Sarada rolled her eyes as she could tell things were going to definitely come back up so to speak.

"I want some more!" Naruto and Sasuke yelled to Tsunami as they glared at each other with narrowed eyes as lightning flickered between them before the food was slowly coming back up before they puked behind them, much to the disgust of Sarada and the people within the memory watching while Mitsuki and Boruto were having more entertainment watching this than any other movie in the local Leaf Village cinema.

"What did I tell you!?" Sarada face-palmed, although a part of her was seeing her father be so….expressive though Boruto and Mitsuki were nearly on the ground from laughing so hard.

"Man you don't pay for entertainment like this." Boruto wiped a tear from his eye from laughing too hard.

"Indeed. It's so nice seeing Master Sasuke like this." Mitsuki nodded though Sakura was far from amused.

"Don't eat so much if you're gonna puke it up!" Sakura yelled out, though it was more to Naruto than Sasuke.

"I…have to eat." Sasuke declared as he wiped his mouth as he glared at his rival with a cocky smirk which Naruto was all too eager to return.

"And I have to eat more than him. It's the only possible way I'll get strong enough to beat him." Naruto smirked right back as Kakashi looked slightly impressed with their resolve towards each other.

"That's true but puking won't help you." Kakashi said as Tsunami nodded her head.

"Your sensei is right but before you can worry about getting stronger, I do not like having my kitchen filled with vomit so get to it!" Tsunami snapped at the two handing Naruto and Sasuke a mop and bucket respectively.

Naruto and Sasuke gulped before getting to work, not wanting to try the woman's patience.

"Man she really knows how to make those two work, huh?" Mitsuki asked, clearly bemused though Boruto was actually sweating.

"…She…reminds me of mom…" Boruto muttered as Sarada rolled her eyes.

"Oh c'mon." Sarada scoffed, not believing Boruto's stories about Hinata being a scary mom.

"I ain't lying, ya know!" Boruto snapped as Naruto and Sasuke quickly got to work before finishing their vomit clean up rather quickly as tea was served to the whole family though Sakura took her time to notice a picture that hung on the wall right behind the dining table.

"Excuse me, this picture is torn. Is there a reason for that?" Inari asked as Tsunami, Tazuna and Inari immediately stopped what they were doing as Sakura walked up to get closer to it as Team Konohamaru looked to see a picture of a younger Inari surrounded by Tazuna, Tsunami and another man whose face was ripped off.

"That must be Inari's dad…" Sarada put her hands on her hips as she leaned closer into the picture.

"And he looks so happy…" Boruto frowned as he clenched his fists as he already knew what took away the young boy's happiness.

"No doubt because of Gato." Mitsuki shook his head as Sakura turned to Inari.

"Inari, you kept glancing at it all through dinner. It looks like there was someone else in the picture, but they got torn out. I mean, that's kind of strange, isn't it?" Sakura asked as Inari, Tazuna and Tsunami looked down even further, something that didn't go unnoticed by Kakashi.

"…It's my husband…." Tsunami explained as Tazuna decided to add on to his daughter's explanation.

"They used to call him a hero in this land…." Tazuna added as Boruto's interest was piqued even more.

"A hero, huh?" Boruto raised an eyebrow. Although this was too much for Inari as he hastily left the table, much to the concern of those in and outside of the memory.

"Inari, where are you going?" Tsunami asked her son in concern although she received no answer as he slammed the door hard.

"Poor little guy…." Sarada frowned, wishing she could comfort the young boy.

"I already know how this ended. That Gato guy came and when Inari's dad tried standing against him, he killed him…" Boruto clenched his jaw, remembering how his father nearly died against Momoshiki and Urashiki.

Tsunami turned to her father with a look of consternation on her face.

"Father, you can't talk about him like that in front of Inari, you know that!" Tsunami nearly snapped at her father before running after her son.

Team Seven were lost for words as they had no idea what to say as Tazuna's eyes slowly watered.

"Inari's so…I mean, what happened to him?" Sakura frowned as Team Seven turned to Tazuna, clearly interested in Tazuna's tell.

"Hmm…is there a story behind this?" Kakashi asked as Tazuna looked conflicted, as if to try to find the right words to say.

"He wasn't his real father. He came into our family later. And he brought so much happiness. He and Inari were very close….In those days, Inari used to laugh all the time." Tazuna started off his explanation of Inari's backstory as Naruto tilted his head in confusion.

"Huh?" Naruto asked.

"But then…." Tazuna grit his teeth as tears left his eyes much to the surprise of everyone watching.

"It…all that ended…He never laughs or smiles anymore….ever since the day everything changed…." Tazuna said with a bitter expression on his face before wiping his face and composing himself.

"The word courage was stolen from this island. We were left feeling powerless, hopeless and Inari suffered the most, ever since that day, ever since it happened…." Tazuna growled out as Team Konohamaru and Team Seven were even more intrigued in the tale of Inari's suffering.

"Oh man, what happened?" Boruto asked.

"Guess we're about to find out." Mitsuki said.

"Tell us. What happened to Inari?" Kakashi asked.

"First you need to know about the man, his father. The man who taught us the word courage, who was a hero in this land." Tazuna asked, taking his glasses off and wiping his eyes again.

"A hero…really?" Naruto asked, definitely interested in this tale.

"You can decide that for yourself. He came here about three years ago. Inari had to deal with a bunch of people who bullied him over a puppy he had and even went as far as to throw his puppy in the water below in an attempt to goad him. However, he hesitated at first but when he tried jumping after him the puppy nearly drowned. Interestingly enough at that exact moment, his puppy Pooch figured out how to dog paddle." Tazuna began his backstory.

"Wow…talk about a cruel twist of Irony…" Mitsuki murmured.

"I know…..I couldn't imagine being abandoned by a dog…like…dogs are man's best friend!" Boruto said as Sarada frowned sadly at her teammate.

"Well technically he abandoned Pooch first…" Sarada reminded Boruto.

"Yeah but…" Boruto was about to argue with Sarada before Tazuna started speaking again.

"He was thankfully saved from drowning by the man who would later become his father. His name was Kaiza, a simple fisherman who'd come here from another land to follow his dreams. After that, Inari and Kaiza were inseparable. The boy had never known his real father so you can imagine what it meant to him to have Kaiza in his life. He looked up to him and followed in his footsteps like a real father and son. Kaiza spent more and more time with us until he just naturally became a member of our family. And then when this town needed him, he became something more. He would always tell Inari, 'Even if you have to put your life on the line, protect it with both arms, never give in!' From that time on, Kaiza was considered a hero in this land. He taught us all the meaning of courage and Inari was so proud to be his son.

"Man…this Kaiza sounds like one hell of a guy!" Sarada smiled as she was immediately reminded of her hero-worshipping of Naruto she had as a child and even still to today.

"And look how happy dad is." Boruto smiled as Naruto looked ready to jump out of his seat in excitement.

"However…it looks like those happy times are coming to an end…" Mitsuki pointed as Tazuna's fond expression was morphing into that of sadness. Although he wouldn't let himself cry.

"But it wasn't long that that when Gato showed up and took over. He terrorized the whole village and only Kaiza stood up to him. Gato couldn't have a local hero getting in his way. It took his whole gang to stop one man…." Tazuna explained as disgust filled both Team Seven as well as Team Konohamaru.

"That bastard! He couldn't stop him on his own so he had to gang up on him!?" Boruto growled, wishing he could go and down that detestable bastard himself.

"It's horrible." Sarada crinkled her nose.

"They even went as far as to take his arms…and once they were done…he was publically executed…a cruel reminder to those who would try to oppose Gato…And since then Inari has changed…as has Tsunami and all our people….We lost our will…" Tazuna looked down as everyone listening processed this information.

"To be so horrible….I hope that bastard gets his just desserts!" Boruto spat, disgust evident in his voice.

"Well just keep in mind that since we don't hear anything from him today, that means that Team Seven was successful in thrawting his plans." Mitsuki reminded Boruto with a soft smile.

"Yeah…thanks, Mitsuki." Boruto smiled as Naruto's expression was blank as he had his head on his crossed arms. Before Team Konohamaru knew anything, the memory flashed.

"…D-do you….think…I can…become Hokage?" A three year old Naruto asked Hiruzen during their first meeting as the memory flashed again to Naruto smirking at Iruka after saving him during the whole Test of Courage scenario.

"That's it! Like I've already decided, I'll become a ninja stronger than the Fourth Hokage! And then everyone in the village will have to acknowledge how great I am!" Naruto promised Iruka before the memory flashed again to present time after Naruto met Inari.

"Hmph. There's no such thing as a hero. You're just full of stupid ideas!" Inari spat at Team Seven with disdain and disgust evident in his voice as the memory finally returned to the present.

Before anyone knew anything, Naruto tried getting up only to fall on his face.

"What does he think he's doing!?" Sarada asked, as she had an idea of what Naruto was gonna do.

"What're you doing down there, Naruto?" Sakura asked, actually concerned for Naruto's well-being.

"You better take the day off. No more training. You've used too much chakra. If you push any harder, it could kill you." Kakashi advised his student.

"Like that'll stop him." Boruto snorted.

"I'm gonna prove it!" Naruto ignored Kakashi's warning, getting Tazuna to raise a curious eyebrow.

"Prove what?" Sakura asked as Naruto literally forced himself to his feet as he clenched his fists.

"I'll prove that….that it's true….that in this world…there are real heroes!" Naruto declared.

"Of course he would." Sarada face-palmed.

"Heh, they clearly don't know dad. Once he's made his mind up…" Boruto began.

"Nothing will stop him." Mitsuki finished for his friend, both wearing amused smiled.

"A hero?" Kakashi tilted his head as Tazuna actually stared at Naruto in stunned silence.

"That won't mean much if you're dead from chakra exhaustion, Naruto! Hey Naruto!" Sakura said before Naruto was quickly out of the house before Sakura could say any more.

Naruto then made his way to the same forest where he and his team trained vigorously for the last couple of days.

"That guy…he was a real hero….and he didn't get it by sitting on his ass and that's what I'm gonna show Inari…he lost his dad but I won't let him go through any more pain!" Naruto vowed as Team Konohamaru all smiled at the young boy.

"That's Lord Seventh…always so selfless." Sarada gleamed as Boruto rolled his eyes.

"Your toner for him is coming out in waves." Boruto scoffed as Sarada was quick to smack his skull.

"Shut up!" Sarada growled as Naruto immediately went to work in trying to perfect his chakra control as he was actually able to make progress in his tree walking training. But….exhaustion finally got to the blond knucklehead and he was out as soon as the night left and dawn came.

"And of course he's out, the idiot." Boruto snickered though his teammates were quick to call him out.

"Weren't you the same one who literally worked themselves to the point where you slept during a babysitting mission because Master Sasuke started training you?" Mitsuki asked as Boruto sweated nervously.

"Yeah, before throwing rocks, why don't you make sure your hands are clean!" Sarada added as Boruto laughed sheepishly.

However, as Naruto enjoyed a nice, early morning nap, a woman came walking to Naruto.

"Who is she? A rogue ninja?" Sarada asked, immediately on guard as she noticed the woman had no headband on her.

"I dunno…she looks so gentle but looks can be deceiving…." Boruto put his hand to his chin in thought as Mitsuki's eyes narrowed at the mysterious person.

"She seems…kind of…familiar…." Mitsuki said as the women knelt down to Naruto as she held out a hand before gently shaking the collar of Naruto's jacket.

"You'll catch cold if you sleep here. Wake up…" The woman said as Team Konohamaru's eyes immediately widened at the sound of the voice.

"Hey, it's that person who was with Zabuza!" Boruto pointed to her with a spazzed out expression.

"Oh my god you're right! But Master Kakashi said that was a male…" Sarada pointed out as Boruto just looked lost.

"….He's more beautiful than some of the girls in the Academy…" Boruto muttered as Sarada and Mitsuki couldn't argue that logic.

"But why would he make himself so beautiful?" Boruto asked as Mitsuki shrugged.

"Whatever works for some people." Mitsuki answered as Boruto and Sarada just looked at each other before shrugging as Naruto groggily got up before noticing the man though with his feminine appearance, Naruto immediately thought he was a girl and seemed to be smitten with him if the blush on his cheek wasn't evident enough.

"Uh…who the heck are you…I mean uh…hi there, where did you come from? You know, what're you doing out here and all that?" Naruto asked as it was obvious he was trying to hit on the woman lookalike as Sarada and Boruto rolled their eyes as Mitsuki chuckled.

"Oh brother." Sarada rolled her eyes.

"Think he knows?" Mitsuki laughed.

"Obviously not." Sarada deadpanned as Boruto suddenly smirked.

"I can't wait to see his reaction if he learns that's a guy. Not to mention, the voice is the same as the guy who 'killed' Zabuza." Boruto said as he couldn't believe even his dad was so dense.

"I think we've established that Lord Seventh wasn't all that bright." Mitsuki laughed as Boruto shook his head.

"Uh you mean still isn't." Boruto corrected his teammate.

"I'm gathering herbs." The man smiled at Naruto who tilted his head in confusion.

"Herbs?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"Yes, that's right. They're for treating illnesses in human wounds." The man explained as Naruto grinned.

"Why don't I help you then!?" Naruto suggested much to Boruto's ire.

"Right, so you can hit on him!" Boruto scoffed as the man was all too happy to help this man who he thought was a woman.

"Huh…you start work early, huh sis?" Naruto asked, plopping down to have a seat as he helped the person gather herbs.

"I like it early, it's calm. But I didn't think I'd find anyone sleeping out here in the woods." The person tilted his head at Naruto as Naruto merely chuckled in response.

"I'm training!" Naruto stated in a matter of fact voice as the man just blinked at Naruto.

"Are you a ninja? Because I noticed that headband you're wearing. Or are you just making a fashion statement?" The man asked.

"Well it can't be a fashion statement since his fashion sucks a huge one." Boruto snickered.

"Like your dress is any better!" Sarada chided her teammate though Naruto's cheeks reddened thinking the person whom he thought was a woman was hitting on him.

"You noticed that? All right. Only super-cool ninja can wear these!" Naruto declared as the person gave a bemused smirk.

"Oh really? I see. That's very impressive. But does that mean you're training for something dangerous?" The person asked as their look became downcast.

"Dangerous is the understatement of a century." Sarada rolled her eyes.

"I'm just developing my skills so I can get stronger." Naruto answered as he closed his eyes with a big smile.

"You seem very strong now. Isn't that enough?" The man pondered as Naruto shook his head in defiance.

"No, no! I need to get stronger and stronger. I have to keep practicing." Naruto explained his stance as the look in the man's eyes softened.

"How so? Why is it so important?" The man edged Naruto in his question though Naruto didn't look too bothered by all the questions hurled his way.

"So I can become the best ninja in my village and everyone will know who I am and they'll all respect me! There's also a certain person, a kid that I have to prove something to!" Naruto winked much to Team Konohamaru's amusement as they knew exactly who Naruto was talking about.

"Dad…" Sarada mused.

"And he's definitely proven himself to Uncle Sasuke and the villagers now." Boruto smirked as the man inched closer.

"So are you doing it for this certain person or are you doing all this training for yourself?" The man asked as Naruto merely blinked in confusion.

"Uh…huh…." Naruto's eyes narrowed in confusion as the man found Naruto's response nothing short of humorous as he chuckled.

"Hey, what're you laughing about? What's so funny?" Naruto asked.

"Well he's humorously goofy like his son." Mitsuki smiled.

"Yea-HEY!" Boruto yelled, clearly offended with Mitsuki's comment.

"Is there someone who's precious to you?" The man asked.

"Someone who-what're you saying, sis? What do you mean 'precious'?" Naruto asked, confused with the question.

"You see, when a person has something precious that they want to protect, then they become genuinely strong." The man explained his stance as Naruto was silent, taking in the man's words before Team Konohamaru saw flashes of the Third Hokage, Ayame and Teuchi, Konohmaru, Iruka, Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi.

"You know…even though this guy is working with someone like Zabuza…he doesn't seem all that bad?" Boruto asked.

"Yeah…he seems like a genuinely kind person….I wonder…why he would end up with someone like Zabuza?" Sarada asked.

"Probably maybe because like how Team Seven helps give Lord Seventh a purpose, maybe…working with this Zabuza character gives this person a purpose too?" Mitsuki theorized as Sarada didn't look satisfied with that answer.

"But someone like Zabuza?" Sarada asked as Boruto started to speak up.

"Maybe…things aren't as black and white as they seem?" Boruto suggested.

"Right. Let's see how things play out in these memories." Mitsuki nodded with Boruto as Naruto finally seemed to understand what the man was trying to tell him.

"Yeah…I hear you! I know exactly what you're saying!" Naruto grinned as the man gave Naruto a soft smile before picking up his basket of herbs and was preparing to take his leave.

"You will get strong, very strong. Goodbye, We'll meet again…sometime." The man turned his back as Team Konohamaru could hear sadness at the end of his voice.

"That's so sad…you think Lord Seventh figured it out?" Sarada asked as Boruto frowned.

"As much as I like to say how dumb dad is, I think he sadly did…..I wonder if he's still alive…" Boruto asked at the end though he had a feeling that the man might be six feet under.

Naruto didn't seem to notice as he seemed to gain another friend in his eyes before the man suddenly stopped.

"Oh, by the way, I'm a boy." The man finally admitted as this news obviously didn't sit well with Naruto.

"No way! He's prettier than Sakura!" Naruto exclaimed, holding his face with an expression of pure horror on his face as Team Konohamaru practically fell back from laughing.

"Okay I feel bad for mom…." Sarada tried to control her laughing fit.

"But he's not wrong." Mitsuki grinned.

"You don't pay for entertainment like this!" Boruto snickered as he wiped the tears out of his eyes.

"Where's Master Sasuke and the others at, anyways?" Mitsuki asked as Naruto was so far into his incoherent mumbling that he didn't even notice Sasuke coming.

"Speak of the devil!" Sarada exclaimed though she noticed Sasuke didn't look too happy to see Naruto.

"Whoa, I've seen a lot of weird things in my life before but this one takes the cake…" Naruto crossed his arms as Sasuke had no idea what Naruto was talking about nor did he have any interest as to what Naruto was murmuring about and as such he clocked him on his skull to get him back to reality.

"Ow! Hey what did you do that for!?" Naruto growled at Sasuke who merely crossed his arms as he gave him his trademark look of annoyance.

"Hey twerp, did you just forget about breakfast? You're such a loser." Sasuke scoffed as Naruto laughed as Naruto's stomach took that point to growl at him as Naruto chuckled while Sasuke gave Naruto a look of utter consternation.

"I think he's regretting giving him that food all that while ago in the bell test." Mitsuki smiled.

"Oh yeah by the way, can you bring Sakura and Kakashi-Sensei here?" Naruto asked as Sasuke looked surprised by this question.

"Why?" Sasuke asked in mild interest.

"Just do it!" Naruto yelled as Sasuke's look of irritation morphed into one of defeat.

"Fine…" Sasuke sighed before turning around as Team Konohamaru could've sworn they heard Sasuke mutter, "Maybe I shouldn't have given him my lunch all those months ago…"

"Welp, you were right, Mitsuki!" Boruto laughed at his sensei's plight.

"I just wonder when they start actually becoming friends rather than literal cats and dogs." Sarada muttered as Naruto decided to get started on his training before much to their surprise, he was close to the top of the tree by only a little bit more work!

"Whoa, that's my dad!" Boruto laughed as he was sincerely proud of his father.

"One step at a time." Mitsuki added, smiling as Sakura and Kakashi were nothing short of shocked at Naruto's progress in such a short amount of time.

"Whoa…Naruto can climb that high now using his chakra? That's great!" Sakura exclaimed as this progress was beyond anything she ever expected. This was definitely the start of her moving on from her notion of Naruto being the same idiot that he was back in the Academy.

"Hmm…" Kakashi's visible eye softened as he was definitely seeing Naruto in a whole other light.

"What do you think? High enough for you guys? I mean, it's a long way down, right!?" Naruto smirked before he started to slowly fall the minute his foot touched the tree branch he was on.

"Oh shit!" Boruto and Sarada exclaimed with wide blank eyes as Sakura and Kakashi both gave looks of panic before he immediately caught himself by the soles of his feet under the branch.

"Haha, just kidding! You guys really fell for it!" Naruto laughed at the expense of his teammates as Kakashi and Sakura both looked like their hearts had jumped from their chests though they weren't laughing at Naruto's joke.

"That dick! Though are we really surprised?" Boruto calmed himself down.

"This is going to end badly." Mitsuki bluntly stated.

"Yeah, no kidding." Sarada nodded.

"We were worried about you, Naruto!" Sakura spat, ready to storm up to the tree and clonk Naruto's noggin herself.

"…Why do I think this is going to end badly?" Kakashi deadpanned as Naruto's snickering continued before his feet literally plopped from the tree.

"What did I tell you!?" Sarada yelled as Naruto was screaming as it looked like he was falling to his death.

At least before Sasuke came right up to catch him in the nick of time.

"Thank god…" Sarada breathed a sigh in relief.

"Leave it to Uncle Sasuke to save the day." Boruto rolled his eyes.

"You really are a total loser, Naruto." Sasuke stated as Naruto growled at him.

"Sasuke!" Naruto glared at the Uchiha, not at all happy to see saved by Sasuke.

"All right Sasuke, you're the best!" Sakura gushed as Kakashi looked lost by the whole thing before managing a small smile.

"If I'm still sane by the time I finish their training, it'll be a miracle." Kakashi said, more to himself than anyone else.

"No kidding. And I thought our team was random enough…" Sarada muttered.

"Hm? Whatever do you mean?" Mitsuki turned to the female with a smile on his face.

"Yeah! We happen to take offense with that statement!" Boruto spat as Sarada turned her head from Boruto, knowing that was more than enough to get under his skin.

With everything cooled down, Naruto and Sasuke resumed their training before they were finally able to reach the top of the tree by nightfall.

The giant full moon illuminated all the trees in the forest as the brightness of the moon was reminiscent of the feelings of happiness and satisfaction that both Naruto and Sasuke had.

"Heh…they finally reached the top." Boruto smirked.

"Well with enough hard work, you'll definitely succeed." Sarada added with a smile as Sasuke chose this time to break the comfortable silence between him and Naruto.

"Let's go back." Sasuke announced as Naruto actually felt like agreeing with Sasuke this time.

"Alright!" Naruto chuckled, not feeling like arguing with Sasuke. As the two returned down below, they noticed they could barely walk by themselves and so, begrudgingly, they carried each other on their shoulders before they finally reached Tazuna's house as everyone turned to the two in surprise that they would be out so late.

"What have you been up to? You look like something the cat dragged in?" Tazuna bluntly asked the two.

"Okay rude." Sarada muttered to herself though neither Sasuke nor Naruto looked bothered by Tazuna's statement.

"Hehe, we both made it. We made it all the way to the top!" Naruto grinned, fully proud of himself and even Sasuke as everyone, sans Inari, actually looked impressed with their progress.

"Good, now we move on. Starting tomorrow, you're both bodyguards for Tazuna." Kakashi announced as Naruto and even Sasuke smiled at the good news Kakashi announced to the two.

"Haha, all right!" Naruto cheered before he made the two accidentally fall back on their butts.

"Ugh! You are such a loser!" Sasuke growled at Naruto as everyone laughed at the two except for Inari.

"And it's still the same years later. Though I wonder who won their contest?" Boruto asked as his teammates stared at him in confusion.

"Contest?" Mitsuki asked.

"Yeah, when Uncle Sasuke first started training me, he mentioned something about a contest between him and dad but I never really understood what they meant." Boruto shrugged as Sarada sighed.

"Sounds like them…" Sarada sighed.

"Somethings will never change." Mitsuki smiled as Naruto and Sasuke picked each other up before giving each other glares of disgust.

Once everything was calmed down, Naruto and Team Seven happily ate their dinner before Tazuna decided to speak up once everyone had gotten their stomach filled.

"In a few more days the bridge will be finished. I have you to thank for that." Tazuna gave the team a look of pure appreciation.

"You've all done great but you've got to be careful." Tsunami added in response with her father.

"I've been meaning to ask you this but I haven't had the chance until now. Why did you stay and protect me even after you found out I lied to bring you here?" Tazuna asked as Kakashi merely stared at him.

"'Those who stray from the path of justice have no courage but under the wing of a strong leader, cowardice cannot survive.'" Kakashi definitely quoted something as both Tazuna and Tsunami stared at Kakashi in confusion, clearly not familiar with the quote.

"That was a quote from the First Hokage." Kakashi asked.

"Basically in a nutshell, we as ninja would never ignore those in help. To do so would make us just as immoral and horrible as that Gato guy." Boruto smiled.

"Exactly. To ignore someone in need would be just as horrible as those that we talk down to." Sarada added as Inari merely stared at Naruto before he clenched his jaw as tears, angry tears, coursed down his face.

"Hey….what's wrong with Inari?" Sarada frowned in concern.

"But why?" Sarada muttered as this was enough to wake up Naruto who had dozed off after having his dinner.

"Hm? What did you say?" Naruto asked, starting to get fed up with how pessimistic Inari was being.

"All this stupid training is just a waste of time. Gato's got a whole army! They'll beat you down and destroy you! These cool things you all say, they don't mean anything! No matter what you do the strong always win and the weak always lose!" Inari yelled as everyone in the memory gave the young boy looks of sympathy and sadness.

Well everyone except for Naruto who scoffed before turning his head away.

"Just speak for yourself. It won't be like that for me. You got that?" Naruto said calmly though Boruto knew that he was seconds from getting up and pinning Inari to the wall behind him.

"Why don't you be quiet!? Looking at you makes me sick! You don't know anything about this country! You're just butting in! Always laughing and playing around! You don't know what it's like to suffer and be treated like dirt!" Inari yelled as even Team Konohamaru were starting to get fed up with how insensitive Inari was being.

"Okay losing his father is one thing but to say other people don't understand his suffering?" Sarada frowned at Inari.

"That's a low blow. Especially with everything that dad went through." Boruto glared at Inari as that seemed to strike something as Naruto's arm twitched as the memory flashed to where Team Konohamaru could see a young Naruto getting rejected by the villagers of the Leaf Village.

"Look it's him! It's that boy!" The villagers spat as the scene then flashed to Naruto running with kids in the park before their parents pulled their children away from Naruto.

"What're you doing!? I told you not to play with him!" A mother harshly scolded her daughter as the memory then flashed to Naruto staring in confusion at Mizuki who jeered down from here on the tree branch he stood on.

"You are the Nine Tailed Fox! They've all been sneaking around, hiding things from you your whole life. Didn't you think it was weird how they treated you? Like dirt! Like they hated you for just being alive!" Mizuki spat as the memory returned back to the present as Naruto looked like he had to restrain himself from walking up and smacking Inari by literally holding back everything.

"Listen to yourself, whining and complaining like some sorry little victim! You can whimper all day for all I care. You're nothing but a coward!" Naruto spat at Inari as he gave him a look of utter disdain on his face. Not the playful disgust he had when bickering with Sasuke but the look on his face spoke like he genuinely hated this kid.

"Naruto! You went too far!" Sakura scolded Naruto who ignored her before leaving as he made his way upstairs.

"That…was pretty harsh…." Sarada frowned. Yes, Naruto had a reasonable alibi for being upset but to tell a little boy he was nothing but a coward.

"It might be harsh but it's the truth. Rather than doing something, he's just whining about it." Boruto said.

Naruto made his way upstairs before throwing off his clothes and getting into his pajamas as he blankly stared at the ceiling ahead as the memory flashed to a young Naruto looking upset after Hiruzen gave him the usual stipend he would give him at the beginning of every month.

"Old Man…why don't I have any parents?" A young Naruto asked Hiruzen before the memory flashed back to the present.

"That kid…" Naruto turned his head to the side before exhaustion took over and he was out. Even when his teammates woke up, Naruto was still out.

"Man…looks like that training really did wear him out…" Boruto frowned in concern for his father as even Team Seven looked concerned at Naruto's sleeping state.

"Kakashi-Sensei…Naruto's really out of it, huh?" Sakura frowned as Team Konohamaru noticed that was one of the first times that Sakura was actually concerned about Naruto rather than prioritizing Sasuke over him.

"Well it can't be helped. Excessive training without breaks will overwhelm anyone no matter how much passion they have." Kakashi stated in a matter of fact voice.

"No kidding." Boruto said, remembering how often the Rasengan training would wear him out.

"Oh my….he's still out?" Tsunami walked into the room as she looked at Naruto in concern. It would be weird to some that despite insulting her son so harshly, she didn't look the least bit angry at Naruto.

"Unfortunately. Well we can put off Tazuna's body-guarding until later." Kakashi said as Tsunami shook her head.

"Nonsense. Go guard my dad since Sasuke and Sakura seem pretty sharp themselves." Tsunami said as Sasuke and Sakura smiled at her comment.

"Damn right we are!" Sakura smirked alongside Sasuke though he was silent.

"Are you sure, ma'am?" Kakashi asked as Tsunami smiled at the three.

"Of course. Continue on with your mission. Naruto will be fine." Tsunami reassured the three as Team Kakashi decided to put their collective faith in Tsunami.

"Okay, I leave Naruto in your hands then." Kakashi said as Tsunami then frowned at Kakashi.

"What about you? You're still recovering yourself?" Tsunami asked as Kakashi waved off her concern with a smile.

"Why? Do I look wobbly? I'll be okay." Kakashi smiled as Tazuna decided to get the show on the road.

"Come on. Let's go." Tazuna said as Team Seven minus Naruto left with Tazuna.

"Something tells me Lord Seventh won't see it from their perspective when he wakes up." Mitsuki laughed.

"Nope." Sarada agreed, wondering what made Naruto take such a chill pill when he got older.

Team Konohamaru then watched as Naruto slowly woke up before the first thing he noticed was him alone in an empty room all by himelf.

"Why didn't somebody wake me up!?" Naruto yelled.

"Geez, would it kill him to use his inside voice?" Boruto cringed, wiggling his finger in his ear.

"What'd I tell you two?" Mitsuki grinned as Naruto wasted no time, running to the kitchen, hoping he would find his team in there having breakfast only to come up with nothing.

"Where is everybody!? Where'd they all go!?" Naruto turned his head from side to side as he desperately tried searching for his teammates as Tsunami turned to him from the dishes she was washing.

"Oh, Naruto. Your sensei wanted to let you rest. You've got the day off." Tsunami smiled as Naruto was far from appreciative of his sensei's request.

"I knew it! They ditched me!" Naruto yelled before he was literally dressed and out of the house in a flash.

"See you!" Naruto closed the door as he jumped from branch to branch as he definitely had a huge bone to pick with his team.

"They could've woken me up!" Naruto growled before noticing something below.

"Hmm? What's that?" Naruto asked as he touched down below to find a boar carved out so much it resembled a carved out pig.

"What's that?" Boruto asked.

"A slashed pig?" Sarada raised an eyebrow as Mitsuki also noticed something peculiar.

"Not only that but look." Mitsuki pointed to the forest behind Naruto. There were slash marks rampant.

"Hey! Those lead back to Old Man Tazuna's house!" Boruto noted as he immediately had an idea of what was going to happen.

"You think it's that Zabuza guy?" Boruto asked as Sarada took note and examined the slash marks.

"No, these marks aren't thick enough for Zabuza's sword." Sarada's eyes narrowed.

"That's right. It could be that Gato has more henchmen under his control." Mitsuki said.

"Hey wait, what the hell happened here? This carved out pig? And those slash marks?" Naruto asked to himself before his eyes widened in horror.

"Oh no! Tsunami! Inari!" Naruto immediately hopped tail as he desperately jumped back to Tazuna's house as fast as he could go.

"It's nice to know he doesn't hate Inari." Sarada smiled, relieved that Naruto wouldn't leave Inari to die. It just wasn't in his character.

"I don't think he hates Inari but just wanted to give him a nice, wake up call." Boruto also smiled, knowing Naruto would never leave anyone to die.

"Oh no! Better head back! I just hope I'm not too late!" Naruto was praying he wouldn't go back to finding Tsunami and Inari sliced up or decapitated.

As soon as he was near Tazuna's house he saw Inari run to two thuggish looking men who had Tsunami's arms wrapped behind her, a clear hostage before knocking her out.

"Those bastards!" Boruto growled.

"And what is he doing!? He can't do anything against a pair of grown man with swords!" Sarada exclaimed, nearly having a heart attack.

"Calm down. Lord Seventh will make sure nothing happens to him." Mitsuki smiled and before anything knew anything, in a flash, Inari was spared from a sliced up death and was moved to safety alongside his mother as the men were surprised to find out they sliced a wooden log.

"A Substitution Jutsu!" One of the men with white hair reminiscent of Mizuki gasped out.

"The woman! She's gone!" The other man with an eyepatch also noted.

"Sorry I'm a little late! But you know, heroes usually show up at the last minute." Naruto stated to Inari who he had in his arms gasped in happiness as he looked close to shedding tears of happiness at the sight of the orange clad ninja.

"Naruto, it's you!" Inari gasped out.

"Of course he just has to make a flashy entrance." Sarada rolled her eyes.

"Who cares about that? He saved Inari!" Boruto grinned as Naruto gave Inari a warm smile.

"Inari, you did great. When you charged, they forgot about your mom for a minute. That gave me the chance to use a cool jutsu to get her away from them." Naruto explained as Inari looked close to tears, relieved that his mother was okay before asking him the next question that was on his mind.

"Naruto, how did you know those samurai guys were coming here?" Inari asked Naruto.

"Uh, in the forest, I found a boar that had been attacks and the trees were all cut up too, like someone had been practicing with a sword or something. The cuts led back to the house so I followed them here." Naruto explained his small little side quest as Inari actually looked impressed.

"That was really smart." Inari noted.

"Blah, blah. It's one of those puny brats Tazuna hired." The swordsman with the eyepatch scoffed at Naruto, not at all intimidated by his presence.

"Get him!" His white haired companion said as they both charged him.

"This is gonna be a cake walk." Sarada snorted as the two men didn't even notice the two incoming Shadow Clones behind them.

"They're coming!" Inari said as Naruto wasn't scared in the slightest.

"I wouldn't worry about them." Boruto put his hands behind his head, feeling a twinge of pity for the two swordsmen.

"Ugh! Try something else!" The white haired man drew his sword back, ready to slice off Naruto's head before he turned to the both of them with a confident smirk.

"I did." Naruto simply said and before the two swordsmen knew anything they were immediately kicked in their square in their faces, knocking the two men out.

"And that's the match." Mitsuki smiled.

"Y-you did it!" Inari exclaimed in surprise.

"Damn right he did!" Boruto snickered as Naruto laughed as he pumped his fist back before shooting his forward.

"Yeah, believe it!" Naruto beamed before the two boys shared a nice, hearty laugh with each other.

"I'm glad all that's over. But you know something? Lord Seventh doesn't say 'Believe It' anymore." Sarada said.

"Yeah I wonder why that is?" Boruto pondered.

"It could be that he simply grew out of it." Mitsuki shrugged as Naruto looked out to the sea once the two boys calmed down.

"Oh yeah, by the way, sorry about yesterday. Hehe, calling you a coward was pretty mean, I guess. Anyway, it's not true, you know?" Naruto smiled at Inari before patting his head and rubbing it affectionately.

"Because you are pretty brave, you know." Naruto gave Inari one of the brightest grins he could.

"Oh Lord Seventh…" Sarada smiled, remembering how he comforted her after the whole Shin mother debacle.

Naruto's smile dropped as he noticed Inari whimpering as he tried to fight back his tears.

"Darn it! I promised myself I wouldn't cry anymore! You're gonna make fun of me again and call me a baby but I can't stop!" Inari sobbed as he tried wiping his tears away with his hands to no avail.

"It's okay to cry when you're happy." Boruto smiled, remembering how he cried when Naruto praised his advance in the Chunin Exams.

Naruto merely stared out to see as his eyes softened before the team saw a flash and it was the morning after Naruto had defeated Mizuki when Iruka finally allowed him to graduate.

"Congratulations! You graduate!" Iruka smiled with the utmost pride in Naruto who tackled him in a bear hug, crying in happiness before the memory flashed back to the present time.

"What're you talking about? You're happy. What's wrong with that? Hehe, when you're happy, it's okay to cry. Really, it is." Naruto grinned as Inari continued to let tears fall.

"Naruto…" Inari whimpered as Naruto grinned as Inari before turning his back on him, already knowing that if a couple of ruffians attacked Inari and his mother at their remote home, Zabuza and his lackey were already on the move again.

"Okay! I can leave you in charge of things now, right?" Naruto asked Inari, though he already knew he could put his faith in Inari to man the fort while he and Team Seven were gone.

"Yeah!" Inari shook his head vigorously, ready to protect his mother and his country.

"Good! Then I'm going over to the bridge! It's not easy being a hero, believe it!" Naruto smirked, ready for his rematch against Zabuza and his lackey.

"Believe it!" Inari pumped his fist at Naruto's back as Team Konohamaru smiled at the exchange.

"And it looks like Lord Seventh has won over yet another person." Mitsuki smiled.

"Well he has a way with words after all." Boruto grinned as Naruto jumped from tree branch to branch.

"I hope he's ready…" Sarada muttered to herself in worry.

"Like Mitsuki said, since we don't hear anything about that Zabuza guy, he was obviously stopped here." Boruto reminded Sarada.

"Right but how?" Mitsuki asked as they could see the bridge in closer view.

"There it is!" Boruto pointed at the bridge but he was quick to notice two things. One, there was a thick mist around the bridge.

And also…

"It feels chilly…." Sarada cringed.

"It must be because of that." Mitsuki pointed at what appeared to be a dome of ice mirrors.

"What the? It must be Zabuza's associate then…" Sarada's eyes narrowed.

"But wait, if Auntie Sakura, Master Kakashi and Mister Tazuna are over there, where's Uncle Sasuke?" Boruto asked.

"He must be in those mirrors!" Sarada pointed as her eyes widened in horror as she saw Haku about to throw a kunai at someone lying on the ground in pain.

"Dad! Lord Seventh, hurry!" Sarada yelled to Naruto.

"Is that…..Sasuke? Oh damn! Don't miss!" Naruto yelled, throwing a kunai that thankfully knocked the masked ninja out of the mirror he was levitating from.

"Yes!" Boruto and Sarada cheered as Naruto pumped his fist, happy his attack connected.

"Got them! And now!" Naruto used a Substitution Jutsu to get himself closer to everyone on the bridge.

Everyone turned their eyes, varying levels of curiosity as to who the source could've been as they were covered in a smoke cloud.

"W-who is it?" Sakura asked unsure if this new arrival was friend or foe.

Thankfully, the smoke cloud dissipated revealing none other than Naruto Uzumaki in a showboating pose of sorts.

"Naruto Uuzmaki is here! Yeah, believe it!" Naruto grinned, pleased with his entrance.

---

And the Battle for the Bridge has finally started!

How shall win? (Wink, wink)

We've reached the half-way point of the Land of Waves Arc and next chapter will be the completion of the Land of Waves arc and we can get started on the Chunin Exams arc since I KNOW a lot of you guys are excited for that arc! XP

Also, I've decided to start a small "fun facts" segment at the end of my chapters! And by that, I mean I'm gonna include all the moments that were in the Manga that were absent in the Anime that I decided to add!

All the ones I've listed so far is that back in Chapter 6, when Naruto used the Sexy Jutsu on Hiruzen as well as me showing Naruto actually rummaging in the Hokage's Library for the Scroll of Sealing, that didn't happen in the anime but rather in the manga!

In Chapter 8, when Sakura was knocked out by Kakashi, in the anime she was simply asleep while in the manga and in this story, she was knocked out with foam coming out her mouth XP And when Sasuke "impaled" Kakashi with all those weapons, it was more bloody and gory in this story and in the manga than the anime.

In Chapter 9, when the Mist Brothers "killed" Kakashi, the anime adaptation of that scene had the brutality censored while this story keeps more of the gory detail.

And in this chapter, Naruto and Sakura actually tried seeing Kakashi's face under his mask when he was asleep which happened in the manga while that scene was weirdly omitted from the anime version for a weird reason.

And that's that for now! I will keep you all updated in the future!

And…I guess there's nothing more to say other than Chapter 11 will be released Wednesday April 29th which is kinda ironic since April started with the Interlude of the Land of Waves arc and it'll end with the ending of the Land of Waves Arc.

Til three weeks from now, take care and stay safe!

And P.S: I hope you all noticed how I changed the cover image of this story! I found it yesterday and thought an image of Boruto and Sarada watching Naruto and Sasuke's fight was way more fitting for this story than an image of Young Naruto and Boruto falling from the sky XP