~Four months later~

Sarada did not know what to expect when a message was delivered to her about a visitor, who was waiting for her at the gates. She didn't have any expectations even after the girl was brought in, since despite the girl's appearance, whom Sarada saw only recently, she didn't change much, but her attitude took a dive. The fierce warrior was replaced with a coursed teenager, scared of her own shadow. What could've happened to her?

"Thank you… Lady Hokage… for allowing me to come…" the girl with the crimson hair mumbled under her breath. "If it is at all possible… I would like to accept the proposal of… of your representative… If it is still valid… or if not, I would be very grateful… if my chakra flow could be restored… I have money for the treatment… If it's alright for me to be here…"

"You don't need to be afraid, Koi. Sit down and explain everything properly. What happened to you?"

"After the trial… The locals turned against me even if I'd done nothing to hurt them. My fa- I mean, Kojima was executed, but they made me the target since they blamed me too, even if my militia only protected the caravans, we've never attacked anyone! It was so unfair!"

Sarada smiled, seeing the spunky girl she met that fateful day. Koi was scared, but not broken. "Now you understand how shinobi felt when they were accused of usurping the power they didn't actually have. …It will be fair for you to pay for your treatment since it will be an extensive one, but your inheritance does allow for such expenses."

"Inheritance?!"

"Well, yes. After your father's capture, his assets were seized and then distributed among the locals, but there was a part of his personal finances that was your dowry and somewhat of a trust fund, so that money is rightfully yours. I was planning to dispatch people to look for you at some point to make the transaction, but things have been hectic as of late, so I apologize for not organizing the search sooner. And the proposal you are referring to is the one of marriage?"

"Gods no!"

"Why not? My son's hand is very sought after. He will be the leader of the clan one day."

"Your SON?!"

"Why such shock? What does it matter to you if it was my brother or my son you were supposed to marry?"

"I… just thought… that you have so many brothers… that it would be easy to spare one of them."

"I love all my brothers dearly as I do my two sons. Nobody was planning on sacrificing anyone back then."

"Except me," was whispered, but still reached Sarada's ears.

"So what proposal did my son make you?"

"He… he promised to make me his student. Although, I realize now how ridiculous this is… Why would he bother with doing something like that? Can he even take students?"

"Why don't we ask him?" Sarada pushed the button to summon one of the guard-nin and instructed him to invite her son to the Hokage's office, but withhold the reason.

When Sarada heard a knock at the door, announcing another visitor, she did not pay it as much attention as the girl in front of her. If before Koi was slouching and fidgeting, she instantly straightened and put on an expression of regal arrogance the moment the handle turned. Whatever happened on that plateau, Koi seemed like she was still there and not planning on giving up her defensive positions. But all that disappeared when they came face to face, technically for the very first time.

If the rare sight of her eldest son's smile was to be believed, something good did come out of that sordid war.

"You made the right choice, Koi."

"So how long are they going to keep it up, Sarada?" Boruto asked his wife, watching Sato and Koi train in the backyard of their home. As it came out, Koi's nature was Water Release, so Sato couldn't help her much with the jutsu, but he still took his role as sensei seriously.

"You know that Sato trains her during every spare minute when he is not away on missions. But they will finish to come to dinner, if that's your concern."

"As if. And every spare minute is right. It is clear to absolutely everyone that they are crazy about each other. Why don't they just announce it? Why keep the cover of training? Surely, they can't be afraid of us opposing the union. Everybody loves Koi."

And indeed, the girl managed to capture the hearts of the whole Uzumaki-Uchiha clan during the two years of her stay. After her chakra was unblocked by Sakura with whom she was placed to live (the girl has been terrified of Sasuke and that fear did not abide much with time), Koi blossomed as a shinobi and a woman (the latter under the guidance of Boruto and Sarada's daughters, who instantly took her under their wing). There was some tension when she was allowed to enroll in the Academy since she was considerably older than her supposed peers. But Koi persevered with the support of her new friends and her young sensei, who guided her every step of the way. The triplets teased them mercilessly, but never hit on Koi directly, despite her becoming more beautiful by the day because it was accepted knowledge that she was Sato's bride. The only problem – he was in no hurry to claim her as one and other boys started to dare to actually ask her out to the festivals and other events. All requests were denied so far.

"We shouldn't meddle, Boruto. If it's meant to be-"

"We are his parents! We have all the right to meddle to ensure our kid's happiness."

"But Koi's parentage is still unclear. She told me she had never known her mother, but I also doubt Kojima was her biological father. Such a child just could not be born from a civilian. Her chakra levels rise weekly. She also reminds me of someone, but I cannot pinpoint the face-"

"I had my suspicions since the moment she arrived," came in a deadpan tone from their right.

"Sheesh, Sasuke-sama! Why do always appear like that?!" Boruto weaned.

"You possess such incredible powers and still can't detect my approach? I am ashamed to call you my student, Boruto."

Sarada laughed at her husband's dejected face. Despite having access to Kurama's enormous chakra, modified Rasengan, and numerous other shinobi talents, Boruto still considered his crown achievement the fact that his idol agreed to take him on as his student. And always felt like a scolded child when her dear father teased him. Yes, Uchiha Sasuke's humor will never be digestible.

"Returning to my previous statement. Sakura made discreet analysis after I pointed out the similarities. The hair color was a dead giveaway in the first place. And her eye color has been changing too. I made very discreet inquiries since the girl was hidden for a reason. And the only ones who know of that reason have been hiding as well. I am surprised nobody noticed their names not being on the reports for the last eighteen years. Nobody much cares for the help, huh?"

Now Sarada felt scolded for letting a single shuriken out of a hundred shuriken attack scratch her. "I am sorry, father, we should've paid more attention, but they were never considered a threat. They never seemed to intend harm to anybody… in the later years."

"We need to find them. There could be a weapon of mass destruction in our midst and for the sake of your son, Sarada, I hope she isn't."

The delicate mission to negotiate with Koi's possible mother was placed on Boruto's shoulders due to secrecy and possible opposition from interested parties. Boruto was accompanied by Mitsuki just in case and to give it the legitimacy of a real mission. Their final destination happened to be a rather large city that had formed during the last decade at the crossroads between several nations and thus housed the assortment of civilians and shinobi from every nation making for an extremely colorful population. A perfect haystack for people with vividly colored features to lay low.

The door Boruto knocked on was completely ordinary, just as ordinary as the house it belonged to, but the person, who opened said door was most definitely not ordinary in any way. Firstly, it wasn't who Boruto and Mitsuki were expected to meet there, even if they both recognized the man despite the changes that came with age.

"Took you two long enough to get there. Old man Sasuke is getting out of touch?"

"We have intel about Uzumaki Karin living here. Under another name, of course."

"Yeah, she popped out for groceries. Wanna have a drink?" Suigetsu replied, removing a beer bottle cap with his teeth.

Boruto and Mitsuki exchanged glances. The motion was clearly a demonstration of power even if in a very basic way. They also knew that Suigetsu chakra was completely erased since neither could feel anything at all, as if the house dweller didn't even exist in the room. And haven't been existing for a decade if not more.

"We are good, thank you. Do you know this girl?" Boruto asked, showing Suigetsu a folded photo of Koi, sitting on the porch and laughing at something. It was a candid shot taken by one of the twin girls. Boruto folded it in half not to show the other part that depicted Sato laughing with Koi, a rare sight indeed.

Suigetsu reverently took the picture completely forgetting his beer and stared at it without saying a word. He then unfolded it and stared at the other half. "So she has her mama's taste in men, huh?"

"So she is Karin's?"

"Yeah… She is ours."

"Yours too, Suigetsu-san?"

"Well, a child usually has two parents, Mitsuki. This time your Parent decided to take a more natural approach," Suigetsu spat the last words as if he was talking about cuddling with bunnies or whatever else that disgusted him. "You want the long or the short version?"

"Any version will be fine, Suigetsu-san," Boruto suggested.

"Cut this honorifics crap, I know I am old, no need to point it out to me. Sit somewhere and grab a drink."

Boruto and Mitsuki sat down on a surprisingly comfortable sofa and decided to take the host's suggestion about the drinks since it seemed the story was going to be a rather long one.

"So it all started when Mitsuki asked for a female life partner. He was refused, but the idea didn't quite leave the old Snake's head. At some point, he also understood that neither I nor Karin can shed skin like he and are most definitely not eternal and were getting old for all his shit and were tired of slaving for him. There was also that time when he… well, caught us… together. The loneliness… and all that aggression had to have an outlet. I mean, angry sex is the best one, you know. Although what do you guys know with those perfect wives of yours, all lovey-dovey. Any way… Since no new minions could join him, and encouraged by Mitsuki success Orochimaru came to the most logical conclusion of all – girls have something that boys don't. So if he has a female at his disposal, she could birth him whoever in perpetuity. At least as far as lab workers were concerned.

"We didn't know about his new experiments until the second female died. Karin was… furious that our tissue was used in such a way, but we had no say in the matter. After the fifth unsuccessful attempt, it was decided to go old school. Karin agreed to carry the baby to term because it was the only way to get it out of the lab. On the fifth month… we ran. Separately. To fool the Konoha nin and Orochimaru.

"When Karin gave birth to the girl… she… how better say it… ruined her? Did everything so she would be of no use to Orochimaru even if he found her. We left her at the first orphanage we came to and never saw or heard from her again until you lot decided to fix her, dammit!"

"Well, it's better than what you did!" Boruto blew up at the 'father'. "You just abandoned your own child! Tossed her away like an old rag!"

"For her own protection! Whatever that girl lived through after, it was a walk in the park compared to what Orochimaru would've put her through. I know what I am talking about!"

"She was abused by her adoptive parent! Almost died because of his ideas of grandeur!"

"You don't know what abuse means, golden boy! We hid her so the Snake wouldn't kill her because she is normal!"

"Normal? What do you mean by that?"

"Because the girl is not the super-hybrid he implanted Karin with. The initial plan was to manipulate the hybrid into a more human state, but by some crazy twist of fate, Karin was already pregnant (practically impossible at her age) when the implantation happened and Orochimaru's genetic masterpiece didn't take. Of which he was not informed, of course."

"In conclusion, Koi is just a daughter of two very powerful parents and there is no danger of her turning into something… else. There are no cursed seals or triggers or anything?"

"Who is Koi?" Suigetsu asked dumbfounded.

"Koi is your daughter's name. Don't you know that?"

"We were not supposed to know anything in case…"

"Why are there two very sweet, but completely unwelcome chakras in our place?" came a female voice from the hall.

Boruto wanted to reassure the owner of the voice, whom they actually came to meet in the first place, that they meant no harm, but the words got stuck in his throat since for just a millisecond he thought he was looking at Koi since the resemblance between mother and daughter was that great. Yes, Karin's haircut was considerably shorter and more uneven, but in every other aspect, there was no difference. Except… "She has her father's eyes."

Karin didn't say anything to that. She just wordlessly put the groceries away and then stared at her guests as if trying to pierce their minds with her gaze. Which in Karin's case, was not far from the truth.

"We are not. Going. Back. Tell her we are dead," Karin ordered in a grave tone.

"But she is your only child! Don't you love her at all?"

"We gave her up because we loved her, but abandonment is still abandonment. She will never forgive or accept us. I was selfish. I always wanted what Sakura had. I wanted her man and then I wanted her child. But I did not want her suffering while she brought her daughter up alone, fighting for survival."

"But you were never alone," came Mitsuki's whisper, which made the older shinobi hide their gazes in shame. Or was it fear?

Boruto was shocked at such behavior. Surely not! Surely, they understood after so many years on the run that it was not only loneliness and being each other's outlet for aggression that kept them together. Surely, Koi was not a twist of fate, but the gift they both desired. Still, in the end, it was their choice.

"We will tell Koi that we found records of her real parents, but they since passed and nothing else is known about them. If you deny her then I will be very glad to call her my daughter one day."

"W-w-ait what? What is he talking about, Sui? Are you adopting her?"

Boruto smirked at how panicked Karin sounded. The maternity instinct could never disappear completely. And the fact that she turned for help to Suigetsu first…

"Depends how you look at it, Kar. Your girl snagged herself her own Uchiha."

"So this is who the chakra belongs to…" Karin muttered under her breath, clearly deep in her own thoughts.

"You've been sensing your daughter's chakra all the way from here? And you are still telling me you have no interest in her life?"

"It was you, who fully restored it! How can I not react to the chakra of my own child?! Just… Just leave us be!" The last scream was made already from upstairs where Karin escaped to, close to hysterics.

"The girl will be safe as long as she remains in Konoha. That's enough."

"But you are her family, Suigetsu-san."

"And now you are, Uzumaki Boruto."

"It's Uzumaki-Uchiha."

"Seriously?!"

"Yes, dad and Sasuke-sama joined the clans."

"Seriously?! The black hawk is surely losing his touch. Why in the world would he allow something like that?"

"Parents do incredible things to protect their children."

"…Hm… I'll talk to her. Maybe she'll come around. Can I… keep the picture?"

"Of course, Suigetsu-san."

"Now what did I do wrong?!" Boruto exclaimed, being on the receiving end of his eldest son's glare when the latter rushed upstairs after Koi, who ran there just seconds ago after bursting into tears. If Boruto had any previous doubts about Koi being Karin's daughter, then they dispersed the moment she run away the same way her mother reacted just days before. And that was exactly what they were talking about while being at dinner at the older Uchiha's place. Koi was at the table because she lived there and Sato, because he just tagged along. Boruto decided that the setup was private enough to divulge the sensitive news. All he said was that information about Koi's real parents was found, the details were complicated, but it was absolutely clear that she was an Uzumaki. It was at that announcement that Koi, who Boruto didn't see share a single tear during her grueling training, which gave her a considerable number of bumps and bruises, burst into hysterics as if the world was ending.

The dinner continued in silence after that. That's why they clearly heard the sounds of trumping upstairs sometime later. The boards squeaked as if somebody was running back and forth and then Koi's high-pitched scream was heard: "How can this be normal?!" More stomping sounds. "Your eye is bleeding and you are telling me it's okay? … Are you drunk?! … No way I am leaving it! … I am calling Sakura-sama."

By the time Koi got down, practically rolling down the stairs, the whole dinner party got from behind the table to see what the commotion was about. Behind Koi stumbled Sato with a handkerchief pressed to his left eye. The only one, who did not know what was happening, was Koi, who was the most agitated despite being all blotchy from crying, but only caring about the well-being of her sensei. Everybody else was exchanging looks, asking each other: why now and why only one eye?

Everyone calmed down, only relatively in Koi's case, when Sato removed the handkerchief to reveal his new black eye with a myriad of red specks circling around like a tiny worm whole. The blood stopped soon after Sato returned his eye to his usual blackness.

The guests dispersed without asking any questions, but Boruto kept tossing and turning all night. The activation of Mangekyo Sharingan was a personal and sacred experience for each Uchiha who possessed it. Boruto remembered what he agreed to do for Sarada to activate hers. It was more or less known what happened to the elder twins, but the younger twins were known to have it activated separately despite them always working together as a single unit. None of the three divulged the details. So what could have possibly happened in twenty minutes Sato and Koi were upstairs? Something significant enough to open Sato's Mangekyo Sharingan, which nobody expected to happen, including Sato himself. Boruto bounced ideas half the night and came to only one possible conclusion, thus the intervention by cornering his son in his bedroom the next morning.

"Son, you are a grown man and you have the right to make your own decisions," Boruto began in an authoritative voice, or at least in the voice his children listened to, when they were small, "but you need to come clean here. Is… is Koi pregnant?"

Boruto watched as his son's face turned white than red than white again, the prolonged silence increasing the feeling of dread in the father's heart.

"Why… why… would you… even think something like that?" Sato finally forced out, flopping down onto the bed.

"What do you mean? You spend an insane amount of time together, much of it unsupervised. Everybody knows you are crazy about each other. I don't understand why you keep using the training guise. 'Dating in secret' is getting old, you know. And there is nothing wrong with being passionate in a relationship… I just don't understand, why there is a need for sneaking around and such… As if it is wrong. You know that neither I nor your mother is opposed to the union."

"There is no… I mean, we are not… We are not dating, dad," Sato deadpanned.

"What nonsense is that?! One can know whenever you are back from a mission just by looking at Koi's face that lightens up the moment your chakra appears at the border. The only time you both look truly happy is when you are with each other. So how can people who clearly look like they are together – not be together?!"

There was a long exhale full of dread from the young man, hunched on the bed. "Mum told you how we met?"

"In general terms."

"You know those girls who swarm around me? Looking for a favor or for bettering their social position, for using connection to me in some other way… None want to be with me just for me. Even if there are any decent girls amidst that crowd they are simply pushed out by the masses. And there I stood, looking at the girl, who hates everything I represent without even knowing my name. It was an intriguing change of pace. But there was more… She was completely different from the girls I met, because… she didn't much consider herself being a girl in the first place. She was a fierce fighter, protector of her people, ideals, her wretched father, who beat her. She was so different… but so like me… And she was beautiful too, but that was not why I promised to teach her. It was just a feeling that she could be much more than this puppet, limiting herself to a lost cause and using those toys for weapons.

"So when she came… I was overjoyed. I thought, I'd never see her again, even if I really wanted to. At some point, I even thought about tracking her down to see if she was settled okay. But when we talked for the first time after her settling with grandparents, she stated adamantly that she was in Konoha because I gave her my word to make her stronger and that's all that can be between us. Nothing but a teacher-student relationship."

"But surely things have changed in two years, Sato. The training has never been a chore to her, no matter how hard it was. And I saw her put a girl in place, who accused her of hoarding all your precious free time."

"Koi did what?!"

"Koi may still be cautious around Uzumaki-Uchiha clan members, but you are clearly her favorite. After your sisters, of course."

"I suppose so… after yesterday…"

"Yes, what exactly happened yesterday?"

"After you so unceremoniously made your announcement-"

Boruto snorted at his son's sudden malice. Yeah, student-teacher relationship all right. Sato was protective of his siblings, but this emotion was something else entirely.

"- I found Koi in her room crying. I didn't know what to do, since I've never seen her like that before. I asked what was wrong. She didn't say anything at first, and then… She said she didn't want to be an Uzumaki, because… because if she is of the same clan then she couldn't… love me as she does… or marry me or bare my children."

"Wow! Those are some big plans for someone, who is not at all interested in you. You did disillusion her on the matter?"

"Well, yeah, I told her that the relation was surely very distant and she could… do all that if she… wanted to."

"Sheesh, boy, I thought I raised you better than that! Couldn't you be at least a bit more romantic in your proposal?"

"It wasn't a proposal!"

"Then what was it exactly, Sato, ha? And what was her answer?"

"There was no time to settle things with the bleeding eye and everything!"

"So what was the trigger then, son? Koi's confession? If it is so easy to develop the Sharingan further then we will be soon swimming in mega-powered shinobi. Not a particularly desirable prospect."

"Not exactly…"

Sato's red cheeks told Boruto all he wanted to know. But the way he was acting all shy about a kiss, was a bit too innocent. Surely not… First kiss at nineteen?! For a guy who was surrounded by girls even before hitting puberty? Boruto's excuse for not kissing anyone till that fateful day in the alley with Sarada was being in training for years and zeroing on Sarada right from the start, there was no other girls for him. But nobody interested Sato from his fan club at all?

"So what's going on? Are you dating now?"

"It's hardly appropriate-"

Boruto swatted his son over the head. "What nonsense is that?! Appropriate?! You love each other and you think how it should be appropriate?!"

"Koi is seventeen, dad! Forgot about that? Wasn't it your first fear when you barged in here? That I knocked up an underage girl?! All my actions have direct impact on Lady Hokage! I can't just date an underage girl, for crying out loud! I couldn't even touch her this last year, because-"

"-it was too painful," Boruto finished for his son, cursing under his breath. It was happening again. The self-torture because of the public opinion and social prejudices that almost tore him and Sarada apart. Boruto couldn't allow his own son to suffer the same fate. "Listen to me very attentively, son," he began, sitting down beside Sato. "We are very proud of you. Out of all your siblings, you bear the burden of being the Hokage's son the best. I could never accept it as you did. You were a perfect student, you supported your teammates and your siblings in their training, you are cracking those high-ranked missions like nobody's business, you are a perfect shinobi, but there is more to life than that. Whatever is it now or when you met for the first time – you want that girl for yourself. Be selfish for once. Nobody will criticize you since you obviously adore Koi and will treat her right. And if there are any blind fools out there, who don't see how perfect you are for each other, then I and your mum will stay on your side. Personal happiness is an important part of life too."

"Mum told me that too… back then."

"Now see why I married that great woman?" Boruto asked with a childish whoop.

"Not because I was born seven months after the ceremony?"

"Eeeh, no… we were already engaged for a year. Don't you remember from Mitsuki's stories? Surely, he didn't forget to tell such important detail!" Boruto exclaimed in exasperation. "You know, I love your mother to death. Quite literally. And all of you rascals. I am not ready for grandchildren yet though."

"Those are not coming for some years yet."

Boruto blanched at his son's confident tone. "You know, things happen, you can't just-"

"Well, those grandchildren won't be from me for sure."

"Why?.." Boruto wanted to question his son further but found himself paralyzed, staring into the vortex of red sparks.