Author's notes; Yeah, I'm a day late. Sorry folks, had a really busy day yesterday and I only remembered this when I hopped into bed last night and then promptly forgot for the rest of the day. This one's around double the length of my normal chapters, I had a bit of fun writing it. Hopefully ya'll enjoy it.


Paradox

04. Family Reunion

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It had been a rough night's worth of sleep. Sasuke had slept on the floor, while Naruto had found an old ratty sheet to sleep on the couch. He had complained of the smell, but still fell asleep, with loud snoring. Now, Sasuke regrets having them sleep in the same room. The boy stretched, seeing the sun rise over the trees surrounding the compound. He picked up his clothing, and found his way into another room to change. He avoided the glass as he was barefooted for the moment, but that was one of the first things he put on, his nose scrunching in disgust upon stepping upon the filthy floor. He might have to use the lake nearby to bathe, as water wouldn't run. Luckily, they had electricity.

Today, he would head out with Naruto and get some futons. That was one of his main priorities for the moment. He also wanted to speak to Sakura, having been able to think on what he could say to her, and to make promises that things won't end this way. He was already set that he would not become the monster that his future self had become. Still… He still needed to track down Itachi and end him, before they posed a threat to what he knows now will be his future family. Sarada would no doubt be hunted by that bastard.

Sasuke decided that while Naruto was sleeping, to head out and see Sakura. He placed the mask over his head, luckily it was clean, and headed out the door towards her apartment.

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By the time he had arrived, he saw the lights on within the house. Either her or her young daughter were awake. Still, the thought of Sarada existing was… something else. While the boy did not know what to think at this point, one thing for sure was that he needed to figure out what to do with the girl. He was sure that Sakura still wanted the girl to exist, but was it fair on her to do that? He would need to figure out a few things, including her birth date and what not. He made his way up the stairs, glanced in through the window. Talking to her, was a man who was heavily hooded. He was holding a cup, and was slowly sipping on it. Sakura seemed relieved to see him.

Sasuke wondered who this was. He could not pinpoint the man's chakra, but something almost seemed familiar in his posture. He was quite tall too.

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"How are you feeling about this?" Itachi asked, sipping his tea slowly.

He had come back to visit Sakura, as well as check on Sarada. While Itachi never interacted with the young girl, due to what had happened with the clan, he felt honoured to watch his niece grow. Still, after this, he would need to speak to Kakashi about Sasuke's current movements. Something was bothering him with the way he was moving. He was setting up for something big that was for sure. Itachi was sure that Sasuke had yet to notice him, but it still made him a bit nervous.

Sakura was leaning against the counter, one hand against the edge and the other holding her own cup of tea. Sarada had left for class early, to train with Boruto before they would meet their new teacher. She had passed the genin exams with flying colours, and Sakura was very proud of the girl, that was easy enough to see. Itachi was grateful that the girl would be no doubt extremely powerful in a few years, maybe she would be the one that would end up defeating her father if worst came to worst.

"I think… I'm doing as well as I can, with his reappearance…"

Itachi nodded slowly. He knew what had transpired. It was easy enough to tell. When he had heard of the young girl's birth, he had rushed to Orochimaru to regain his life. Apparently, the snake was curious as to what would happen. Still, Itachi was grateful, even if he was very irked by the hebi sannin.

"Yeah, I'll keep an eye out on that," he said softly.

He stilled for a moment, familiar chakra came from the entryway of the house. He heard a knock and sighed.

"I suppose he's wanting to talk to you, this morning," Itachi said, nearly a murmur, "I'll leave, for now. I'll come back later on tonight, if that's fine with you?"

Sakura smiled cheerily, "Of course," her smiled faded, "Just be careful. I'm not sure if you're wanting to… see Sasuke."

That had been on Itachi's mind as soon as he found out about his younger brother's 're-emergence'. Would telling the boy the truth prevent him from going down a dark path? Or would realising what he could turn into stop that? Even so, if Itachi told Sasuke the truth, would he still come to the same conclusion? Itachi supposed he had a little time to think over this, but…

He shook his head.

He needed to go now. Before Sasuke realised who he was. He was sure that would cause some issues, particularly if Itachi was not ready for it.

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Sasuke watched as the mysterious man disappeared within a blink of his eye. Had he noticed Sasuke, maybe? No, maybe not. It was weird, but Sasuke knew that things were probably different now. Still, it was weird to see someone else in her house at this time of the morning. Maybe she moved on? Maybe that was her partner now? The thought of that made his stomach clench, even though he did not understand why. 'It's her life. I've done enough to hurt her. She wouldn't wait for that monster that I become.'

Sakura matched his eyes, as she made her way over to the door and let him in. She gave him a small smile. He noticed that she had a lab coat on, and was wearing clothing that would be more suited to a doctor than a ninja. This time, her hair was loose, but looked to have a slight wave to it. He could see how long her hair really was, falling down to just past her waist.

"Sorry if I stink a little," she started, "I've just finished night shift. What did you need, Sasuke-kun?"

He frowned, "I just wanted to thank you for letting me get into the inheritance, for Naruto and I."

Sakura nodded her head, "There's more than enough money there. And I don't really… use it myself. I earn more than enough for Sarada and I, it's just a back-up more than anything. I hope you don't mind too much."

Sasuke shook his head. When Itachi had deserted the village, Sasuke was appointed as the heir. Itachi had been the 'head' in a sense, as the older sibling, even if he did extinguish the clan. The council allowed him to have access to the funds, and most of it was used to clean up the Uchiha estate, and pay for any bills. The inheritance was all of the wealth of the Uchiha clan, including the other branches. While most of the family were rather wealthy, the main family had the most. It was definitely more than enough money to last numerous lifetimes, particularly with only one or two people using it. Sasuke was not sure if Itachi was still using it, but considering there was too many hoops to jump through in order to bar him from it – that and he simply did not have the status to do so – he left it alone. It had angered him that his brother was no doubt still using the funds, but from what Sasuke could see, he was the only one using any of the money. It was weird, but Sasuke did not like thinking too much about it.

Sasuke was fine with Sakura having access to it, considering she no doubt used it to look after her daughter in the beginning, before Sakura was able to work. To Sasuke, Sakura seemed like the sort that would be wanting to stay home with a young child. It was so Sakura like to him. The young Uchiha moved slightly closer to her, trying to ignore the grimace that she showed – was she scared of him? Of the being that he would become?

He had something he wanted to say. He had been thinking about it overnight. He wanted to make sure that Sarada still existed. It was easy enough to see, even with his limited knowledge of Sarada, that he wanted her to exist. Would Sakura wanted that, though? He wanted to confirm with her.

"I've got something I need to say," he said, his voice soft.

He was a bit nervous about it, to be honest. It was a weird thing to be saying to a woman that was twice his age. After all, he was still a kid, and it was an odd promise.

Sakura's eyes narrowed in confusion.

"I want to change who I become," Sasuke muttered, "I don't want… things to be like this. With anything. With you and I, as well."

Sakura pushed him back slightly, "Don't."

He continued, "Even with Sarada, if you want. If you want her to still…" he trailed off.

She looked… annoyed. It was not what Sasuke was expecting. He grimaced outwardly, he was being weird. This was weird. He is talking to the mother of his child like this. To the woman that had been dealt a cruel fate by his own actions. What did he expect? She was offended, and she let out a dry laugh at his words.

"You can't promise anything. There's no reason as to why you would change," she said, venom thick in her voice – no doubt the hurt and the loneliness, "I'm not going to hold you to a promise, that I'm not even sure you'll even remember. We can't send you back with all this knowledge. And even if I allowed it, I'm not sure I'd want you to know in case things go the same way."

This time he glared, "What do you mean by that? You aren't sending us back with our memories intact? Why not? We can change things. I can change things."

The roseate shook her head, "There's a lot of things that you don't know. Things that I can't tell you, because it's not my place to do so. Things that will no doubt change your mind on the village in general, and anyone that is here."

What does she mean by that? Was there something she knew, that he had missed? Why wouldn't she of all people tell him? It's 'not her place'? Whatever he had done had made it her place. Her hand was still against his chest. Sasuke was sure that this was a weird sight, that was for sure. A boy and a woman having an adult argument.

He shrugged her hand off of him, "Let us change things."

"You're the one that needs to change, not Naruto," Sakura said, frowning, "If you let go of your revenge –" she gestured around her, "None of this would have happened."

Rage panged beneath the surface, and for once he was able to get a hold of it, instead of telling her off about something she would never understand. While he could not understand her anguish, she could not understand his. His look turned almost feral as he scowled heavily at her.

"You know of all people that I can't do that."

"Then, things won't change for our future," she said, her voice now weak, "There's nothing you can do. I don't even know what to do to prevent everything from happening like this. The moment you find out everything, is when everything goes to hell."

"Everything?" he repeated.

"Everything."

The two became silent. Sakura's words rang in his skull. Was she no longer able to believe in him? Was what he had done that bad? He laughed sourly within himself, of course it is. He had done horrid things to her, and he was sure he had done other unforgiveable things. Sasuke shook his head back and forth, before taking a step back. He needed to think. He needed to change things. But… he could not let go of his revenge or his hatred for his elder brother. There was nothing even she could say to him to stop that. Was there something he did not know about what happened that night? No… surely not. It was pretty cut and dry – his elder brother killed the entirety of the Uchiha clan, and left him alive to test himself further in the future.

Sakura's angry expression faded to one of sadness, "Even after, I did tell you to let go. But… it wasn't enough. You still wanted revenge, even though… well, Itachi no longer existed. That's all that runs you now."

Itachi died? He… had succeeded then. In his revenge. But… something else obviously took a hold of him. What could it have been?

"If you can think of a way to let go, then maybe things can be… corrected," she said, "but… at this point, I don't believe in that. I do hope that things will change, but… I've held onto false hope for far too long to let myself become entangled in it, and to rely on it."

Sasuke nodded numbly. She… had a point.

"I think… it's best for you to go," she said, gently touching his shoulder, "I'll let Kakashi know what you want to do, but… I'm not sure if you're ready to that, or to hear the truth of everything."

He caught her eyes, "The truth?"

"It's not my truth to tell, Sasuke-kun."

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Within the bag that Kakashi had thrown at them, Naruto had received a note. An address. Kakashi had smiled knowingly, and said it might be time to see Hinata and Boruto. The thought of that made his breath hitch. It made him nervous, because, in all honesty – he had never really noticed Hinata. Hinata was kind and beautiful, that he can say… but she always seemed to dislike him, kind of. She refused to talk to him all that much, other than a timid 'hello'.

He found his way in front of a small house in the centre of town. It was a cute little house, decorated in blues and creams. He gulped and knocked on the door. His disguise was pretty good, he barely recognised himself, although he was happy he got orange clothing out of Kakashi. He waited only a moment, before the door opened. Instantly, he was taken aback from what he saw.

Hinata.

Well, an older Hinata. Obviously.

Her hair was long, and fell to her hips, and she had cute bangs that were swept to the side. She was wearing a lavender jacket, with a black tank top beneath, and shorts with fishnets and a kunai bag strapped to her left leg. Her hitai-ate was tied around her neck, as normal. She was, well. Stunning. That Naruto could not deny.

She blinked before smiling gently, "Hi, did you want to come in? We can talk better inside?" she looked to the left and the right of the road.

He nodded, unable to let a word out.

He followed her inside, and the house was very clean. To the right of the corridor, were various photos. One that he recognised as the photo of Team Seven, and himself with another team photo, but this time with someone who was clearly not Sasuke. He looked older, maybe fifteen or sixteen. Kakashi was also nowhere to be found, replaced by a man with an armored hitai-ate on his forehead, and brown hair. Another photo was of himself and Hinata, he was grinning as she was kissing his cheek. He blushed at that.

He closed the door behind him, and tugged down the disguise a bit, so he could talk without a muffle.

"Did Kakashi-sensei tell you that I was around?" he asked.

She shook her head, "No, Sakura-chan did. We were training our kids together yesterday when she mentioned it. She was about to go to work, but had promised Sarada a quick session. She asked if Boruto and I could join for a two on two."

Naruto nodded, "So we're…"

"Yes," she said softly, "I'm sure that this is all a huge shock to you. I'm told that you know of Boruto? Unfortunately, he just left for another training session with Sarada before school. But he's excited to meet you."

Boruto, huh… Within the photos were two photos of a boy that looked very much like him. Instead, his hair seemed more layered and less spiky. He also had two stripes on each cheek, rather than three, and brilliant blue eyes like his own. He seemed to have softer features and a straighter nose, no doubt from his mother. The photo itself was one of Hinata as well, with her hugging him, and smiling into the camera.

His eyes flickered onto Hinata once more, who seemed to be a little more emotional now. "I didn't think I'd see you alive again."

'Ah. Sasuke-teme has killed me at this point,' he thought to himself, frowning. 'Did he want to kill me now?' Naruto… didn't think so. Sasuke was technically more skilled than he was at this point, so Sasuke could have killed him back in the Valley of the End. But he didn't. He's even allowed him to stay at the Uchiha estate, so… that has to be a positive thing, right? Then again, Naruto did not have much of a choice where to stay, and he would feel like he was intruding if he were to stay with Sakura or Kakashi. And Hinata too, he supposed. Though, that would be weird. His nose scrunched up at the thought of staying with Hinata; he felt like he would be betraying his future self.

Hinata smiled softly, "Although, I do forget how small you were as a child," she poked her tongue out almost teasingly.

Normally, Naruto would be extremely offended, but he thought it was very cute. He blushed, unable to contain his own embarrassed emotions. He also knew Hinata meant nothing mean by it, so he was more okay with it.

So Boruto was his son, and Hinata was his partner. His eyes flickered onto a ring on her ring finger. He frowned at this, and Hinata seemed to catch what he was looking at.

"No, it's not what you think," she said, her smile not faltering, "Naruto-kun – the one from this time – proposed to me a month before…" her smiled faded almost instantly at the thought. "In my mind, we are married. But…"

'He's dead. She never got to have a wedding or…' Naruto thought to himself, shaking his head.

"I'm lucky, you know," she said, "Otou-san was very helpful when I found out I was pregnant. Normally, I suppose, he would have been disappointed but… we were going to get married in the next year, so he understands. That and your death obviously…"

She shook her head. "Come on, let's not talk about this sort of stuff. You're here now, and I'm sure you might have some questions for me. Boruto will be back earlier today, because they are being assigned to their Jonin teachers today," she grinned, "Konohamaru is their teacher."

Naruto blinked. Konohamaru? The spoiled little brat that he took under his wing? Wow. He must have come a long way since the Konohamaru that Naruto knew. He wondered if Iruka was alive, now that he thought about. Iruka would be pretty far along in age now, he supposed. Probably close to fifty.

"Wait," Naruto said, wanting to ask one more thing, "How old were you when you…"

Hinata smiled sadly, "I'm fairly sure it happened the morning before you left to chase down Sasuke. I was seventeen at the time, nearly eighteen. You were eighteen."

So he died at eighteen. That almost made him sad. He wanted to live far longer than that, and become Hokage.

"Kakashi-sama had said to you that he would begin training you as Hokage, but you wanted to bring Sasuke back before then," Hinata said softly, which was a bit hard considering how soft her voice was to begin with, "And fulfil your promise to Sakura-chan. You weren't too happy with Sakura falling pregnant, she was only a few months along at that point."

He could imagine. It would probably be a major shock to him for Sakura falling pregnant, particularly with Sasuke's child while he's still missing. Though, he supposed Hinata would not know of what occurred, as even his future self apparently did not know. Still, Sakura and Hinata seem like they are close. Above the picture frames was a corkboard with selfies between Hinata and Sakura. Perhaps with the two of them, they bonded further over his death and their pregnancies. It did make him smile, that one of his best-friends was close to his partner.

Hinata reached for his hand, "I've cooked you up some ramen, I know it's a bit early but… I figured you would want to talk over 'breakfast'," her nose scrunched up, "Come on."

She lead him into the kitchen, and he took in his surroundings some more. There was a decent sized kitchen, and on the stove top was a pot. He could see the steam rising from it, and the lovely smell of ramen. It smelled delicious, he could easily identify beef, spring onions and garlic. It nearly made his mouth drool. He nearly fell in love with her straight away – it was clear that his other self felt a lot for this woman, particularly since she cooked ramen of all things!

"Help yourself, Naruto-kun."

At that, his stomach growled and a massive grin sprouted onto his face.

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It had been a few hours since he had spoken to Sakura. He… felt bad. He felt horrible, actually. He summoned his chakra within his cheeks, before blowing out a fireball across the lake. The lake was almost sacred to him, he watched as fish darted away in fear. Training was always something that helped him get his emotions in check.

He should apologise, really. He had overstepped, but her words… Damn her words. He truly did want to change things, but he was unsure if he was willing to give up revenge, even for her. His brother needed to be put down, if he settled – his brother would come after her and Sarada. It was lucky, really, that he had clearly killed Itachi beforehand. He snarled outwardly, what was he to do? Have a child with Sakura and go after Itachi? It seemed so… manipulative when he thought of it that way.

He was still so weak. He needed to go to Orochimaru still. But maybe he could put it off and train with Kakashi? No, he needed to get stronger – fast. He was weak now, Itachi had proved that in their last encounter.

With a growl, he summoned another fireball, and watched it flow over the water before fading out. He huffed to himself, before sitting down, taking off his shoes and dipping his toes into the water. He looked at his own reflection; a frown was heavy on his face, and his hair was a bit ragged. It was probably about time to take a bath, considering they didn't really have the time to yesterday, other than a quick wash-down beside the lake. He and Naruto did not speak that much when they returned back, Sasuke had been too busy thinking over everything – over what he had subjected Sakura to.

He felt horrible about it all. How did things come to this? While it was true, he never could picture himself hurting Sakura in that way. What changed? What had caused him to do that? Sakura had mentioned something about a truth, and Sasuke supposed his object of revenge changed. But what did that mean? Did that have something to do with Itachi? Had he seen things in a different way to what they really were? Surely not. It couldn't be. Even so, he had no idea where to look to find that 'truth' that apparently she had no right to give him.

Sasuke sighed, his eyes flickering onto the sun's reflection. He needed time to think. He knew for sure he wanted to change things, so that things didn't go this way. But how?

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Naruto had hung around with Hinata for a good few hours, they had spoken a lot and she had revealed bits and pieces of their relationship. Naruto was quickly surprised that she was happy to be telling him this, but was grateful. It seemed like his other self was not lonely, and was actually respected and loved by the village at this point. It made him happy to know that his dream was close to being realised, but made him upset to know that that got ripped away from him.

Hinata went still for a moment, before breaking into a grin, "Boruto – in here!"

How had she noticed that he had returned? How powerful was this girl now? He glanced into the hallway that lead into the kitchen, and he saw a carbon copy of himself. The boy was wearing black and dark pink clothing, and had a screw wrapped into a necklace around his neck. The boy, true to photos, was very similar looking to Naruto. They definitely looked about the same age. The boy almost rushed into the lounge room once noticing his father.

"Dad!"

He felt a bit irked by hearing a kid his age calling him 'dad', but he could not help but feel a bit giddy about it all. The boy was definitely a lot like him in terms of looks, and it was almost like looking into a mirror.

"How did you go, Boruto?" Hinata asked, "With Konohamaru-sensei."

Boruto grinned, and showed off his headband, "We passed the bell test."

The bell test? "Oh, I did that as well."

"Yeah, Sarada and Mitsuki and I worked together really well. I don't think Konohamaru knew what hit him," Boruto grinned, pride rolling off of him in waves.

The Hyuuga beside him was smile very prettily.

"Anyways – more about you; how old are you? Can we spar? Why are you here? Are you doing okay? Is—"

Hinata giggled, "Come on Boruto, don't overload him with questions. I'm sure he'll spar with you."

It was clear that Hinata had spoken very positively of him, the boy looked at him in adoration and pure happiness. He had a massive grin on his face. Naruto felt his own face break into a matching smile, "Sure, I'll spar with you. Just ask questions a little more… slowly."

Boruto nodded, and began asking his father questions about his life.

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Sasuke skipped a rock across the lake before he sighed, and headed back towards the Uchiha estate. The outside area that had once been beautifully decorated was also wrecked, although this time it was from overgrown grass and weeds. It was just under his knees, so it seemed like someone would sometimes clean up, but it was still in a bad way. Normally, he would begin to clear everything up, but he felt no need to.

He noticed that there was kid sitting on the balcony, their legs hanging over the side. He pulled into a jog, and noticed that it was Sarada. The girl was watching him wearily, before adjusting her glasses. Seeing her more clearly now, and outside of being talked to in Sakura's house, he could see that she very much looked like Sakura. While she had his colourings, in both ebony hair and eyes, her face was smooth, and nose small. She was more tanned than Sakura was, but a little more lighter than him.

He gave her a curt nod, "Hey."

"Hey," she responded back, standing up and dusting herself off, "I wanted to ask you a favour, kind of. I spoke to Boruto too—" Ah, Naruto's kid. "—and he and Naruto are gonna meet up here in about fifteen."

He tiled his head, "Yeah?"

For what?

"We're gonna spar, Boruto and I versus you two," she said, "I want to see how powerful you are at this age."

She hopped down from the balcony, and Sasuke noticed her power right away. The girl was more than likely stronger than he was. Her chakra was soft, in a way, but it felt vicious in the sense of its potency. He eyed her suspiciously for a moment. He had barely spoken a word to the girl, why had she wanted to spar them? To gloat at their strength?

She had her hands on her hips, "I get it, if you want to chicken out. I figure I might be able to show you some things, because why not. It's not like you taught me anything."

'Ouch.' That stung a little.

"Sensei has taught me a bit, and I wonder how much he's taught you in comparison."

"Sensei?"

"Kakashi-sensei."

'Oh, so Kakashi decided to train her then.' Sasuke exhaled and nodded, "Fine. Just don't get mad when we beat you," it's a bit of a bluff, but Sasuke was sure that he and Naruto could pull something off against the kids.

She smirked at that. As if on cue, Naruto and—what Sasuke assumed to be—Boruto showed up. It was a bit weird, considering the two looked very similar. Feeling safe on the Uchiha compound, Naruto was no longer wearing his mask, and had it half-hanging out of his jacket.

Sarada's attention fell onto Naruto, "Hi, I'm Sarada Haruno," she said, "I'm very… happy to meet you, in a more… normal sense." She gave Naruto a grin.

It seemed that Sarada had heard a lot about Naruto, no doubt. Unlike him, Sarada gave the blond attention. Sasuke felt annoyance bubble underneath the surface, but did his best to not let it show, other than his fists clenching.

Naruto grinned, "Wow, you do look a lot like Sakura-chan."

"That's a major compliment," Sarada said, still smiling, "I'm sure Boruto has filled you in?"

Boruto rolled his eyes, "As if I wouldn't, Sarada. Come on. It's me we're talking about."

In response, the girl sighed, "Yeah, that's why I worry. Anyways. It's a simple half an hour spar. Obviously, no killing each-other. If someone gets knocked out, they are out of the fight," she said, "But don't worry, you're not completely out of it at that point, whoever's father or child gets knocked out, their father or child also is out."

Sasuke shrugged. So, it could turn into a one on one. He was fine with that, he was curious of his daughter's skills, even if it seemed like she was stronger than him at this point. It wasn't a bad thing, in his mind, it made him proud actually.

"Okay, Naruto, Sasuke," Sarada said, clasping her hands together, "Let me know if there are any questions."

Sasuke shook his head, while Naruto let out an audible 'no'.

The two boys headed to one side of the field, while the other two headed to the other side.

"Okay! Is everyone ready?" Boruto shouted.

Naruto glanced at Sasuke, a grin falling onto his features, "Are you ready Sasuke-teme?"

The Uchiha, in response, felt a smirk fall onto his face, "Don't get in my way, dobe."

"Okay, go!"

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Sarada darted forwards, her target was Sasuke. She wanted to pummel him into the ground for what had happened. Ever since she was a kid, she was always teased and bullied for being an Uchiha. 'Uchiha's bastard' was a common insult for her, and her mother also got horrid treatment, even though she was one of the best doctors and medics around. Sasuke seemed to have the same idea, focusing on her. The two came to a stand-still, and they both glanced at Boruto and Naruto, who were tangling together with shadow clones and kunai spreading around. While it was technically a two on two, it was fair enough to see that each of them had their own targets.

Her eyes focused onto Sasuke. He did look a bit like her, she did have to admit, even if it nearly made her vomit. Her eyes narrowed as she reached for a kunai from the pouch strapped to her right leg, she twirled it around on her finger, and Sasuke lifted his fists, ready to fight. She smirked at him, before using a one-handed hand sign – he blinked into the sharingan instantly at that, and she disappeared before reappearing behind him, with a cocky blow to his back.

Or at least, that was what she wanting. He grabbed her leg, and twirled himself around before pushing her back. He gave her his own smirk, looking almost disinterested at the same time.

"That was a bit… underwhelming," he said, lowly.

His sharingan eyes were focused on her hands. While Sarada had seen her own eyes, she could see that his eyes had three tomoe to each, while her own had only one tomoe in one eye, and two in the other. His was clearly more developed, so he could probably see further ahead than she could, but… He probably didn't have the strength or the speed to keep up, she darted forwards and he went to dodge, but she guessed where he would land, slashing him in the side of the leg.

He growled in response, giving her a look, "Where's your sharingan?"

"Don't need it."

He looked quite offended by that, and Sarada almost laughed. She watched as he did handsigns – ah. She could see where this was going, she quickly did her own hand signs.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"

The two fireballs slammed into each-other, and at this point, it was a show of power. With a smirk, she allowed more chakra to leave her cheeks, which brightened her own fireball. Hers would win.

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Mismatched eyes were fixated on the battlefield. He eyed the two kids using his clan's jutsu. He could recognise one as being Sarada, the other… Well, this was interesting. He had knew of the girl's existence, but this kid looked too much like himself when he was younger. He crept forward a little, before bounding onto the field.

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.

"What the fuck?" Sasuke snarled, a massive chakra appearing.

Almost instantly, the four kids stopped what they were doing, and came to where Sasuke and Sarada were standing. Naruto's eyes were fixated upon a tall man in front of them. He was maybe twenty metres away, and something about his chakra signature was both chilling and familiar. To all of them, they felt instantly afraid. Something was very wrong, and none of them could do anything. This man was too powerful, that was easy enough to see.

"Sarada," he drawled, before appearing in front of the four of them.

This man was… Sasuke. An older one. One who…

One eye was ebony, while the other was grey with tomoe swirling around. Sasuke stilled himself, his eyes focusing on his older self. The man was wearing dark clothing, with high collars. The zipper was pulled down, and a cloak surrounded him that reminded him of the one that he had seen Itachi wearing. His hair was very messy, jutting out in nearly all angles. He looked tired, but at the same time, deranged.

Sarada shivered, "Sasuke."

He almost looked amused, "Is that how you address your father?"

She laughed bitterly, "You're no father of mine, prick."

Boruto had his hand on the girl's shoulder, before standing in front of her. "Back off."

The four kids watched as confusion flitted onto Sasuke's face, before he darted backwards, letting out a grunt. Something had spooked him, that was easy to see. Crows flooded in front of the kids, before a taller figure appeared with his back to them.

"Huh? Who are you?"

Sasuke knew, though. Sasuke knew for sure who this was.

"Itachi."

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