I'm so so sorry that this update took so long but I had a lot of trouble figuring out how to arrange some of the events in this chapter in a way that hopefully makes sense now. Also I want to thank all those that followed the story since the last update and I hope you guys continue to enjoy it since we still have ways to go.

Chapter 11

Reintroduction

The next morning Naruto had an early start, heading out to the Hokage tower at first light with Boruto, today would be the day where they finally tell everyone involved the truth of the events surrounding Boruto's death. To be honest his main worry were the other Kage since despite their close relations he believed that it would not be strange for at least one of them to take the news and immediately assume that he knew the truth all along while deciding to keep it to himself, to lie about his son's death and Momoshiki no longer being a threat two years ago.

Walking through the still mostly empty streets they were both accompanied only by the sound of their footsteps, the events of the previous night with Kawaki adding yet another thing to the list of seemingly never ending problems.

After Kawaki had left the previous night neither of them knew what to say, on one hand Naruto wanted to give Kawaki the benefit of the doubt and say that this was all just a product of his distrust and hate towards the Otsutsuki combined with the shock of seeing Boruto alive but…another part of him flashed back to the cold look in his eyes as he stared back directly at him before leaving the house with that final statement.

Boruto wasn't much for the better in this case either but unlike his father he wasn't giving Kawaki much room for doubts, he knew Kawaki enough to tell when he was being fully serious and last night was one of those times which meant that now he would have to keep an eye out of him and constantly watch over his shoulder. Even if he did doubt that he would pull something while in the middle of the village or while surrounded by other people it couldn't hurt to be just that bit extra careful.

Once the two reached the main office it wasn't even ten minutes before there was another knock on the door, in came Shikamaru, Sasuke and Sarada; Sihkamaru had been previously told about Boruto's return by Naruto himself but when he finally saw the younger Uzumaki he couldn't help the slight surprise that colored his eyes as he approached him.

"Well I'll be damned, it really is you Boruto"

With a small smile he nodded back "Hey uncle Shikamaru"

"You've really grown. Naruto already told me about most of what happened but I'd like to ask you a few more things if that's okay"

"Yeah of course"

Sasuke watched them from across the room as Shikamaru began asking questions, he caught out of the corner of his eye when Naruto silently turned to look his way, looking over to him the blond gave him a casual nod in acknowledgement, returning the gesture he felt a bit of weight lift from his shoulders; the previous morning he'd had a long talk with Naruto where he explained to him in detail his reasoning for going along with Boruto as well as lying to him.

At first it was like he had teleported twenty years back to the past as what had started as a simple conversation devolved into a bit of an argument unbefitting of a pair of adults.

~ Flashback ~

The Uchiha closed the door behind him, walking a few more steps into the office where Naruto had been waiting for him. He wasn't sitting at his desk like he'd expected, instead he was standing in front of it, leaning back with his palms down on the wooden surface for support. Taking a deep breath Sasuke spoke first.

"What is it that you want to know?"

"Everything"

"Everything?"

"Why did you hide the fact that Boruto was alive from me?"

"I told you this before but I'll say it again, The whole purpose of leaving in the first place was because Boruto wanted to be left to his own devices while he figured things out in order to keep everyone safe. Not telling you, or anyone else for that matter was precisely because of that"

"I am still his father, you can't go doing this sort of thing if I don't at least hear from it first. Boruto was taking some pills at the time that Amado had given him, did it ever occur to you that maybe the reason why he became fully Otsutsuki was because he stopped taking them?"

"I was aware of that, that was why…Why I had to tell Sakura so she could help by replicating Amado's pills for when Boruto ran out of those"

Naruto's face remained impassive, something that unnerved Sasuke more than if he'd actually showed some sort of reaction "So she knew too"

"She had to, There were too many unknowns about Amado himself to even consider going to him directly and she was the only one we could trust enough to do it"

"You told her because it was in Boruto's best interest, correct?"

"Yes, that way-"
The loud bang of Naruto slamming his fist on the desk caused the rest of his words to die out as the blond stood up fully "And did it not cross your mind that it might also be in his best interest for his own father to know?!"

"It's not the same"

"The hell it's not! He's my son, Sasuke, and you made me believe he was dead for the last two and a half years!"

"Had I, or Bourto for that matter, told you about his plan of leaving the village, would you have agreed?"

"I would've found a way to help him!"

"You didn't answer the question"

"If you had told me-"

Frustrated that the conversation was going nowhere Sasuke took a step closer to Naruto as he finally raised his voice "Would you have let him leave?!"

Closing the gap between them Naruto immediately took a hold of his shirt "Of course not!"

Silence filled the room as the Hokage stared back at Sasuke, his earlier anger had diminished a bit but his eyes remained indifferent towards him "There's your answer then, that's why we couldn't tell you"

"He didn't need to leave to work it out on his own! The village has plenty of resources and capable people"

"And those were the same resources that had already failed at coming up with a solution before"

"You don't know what they could've done if we had used those two years"

"No, but I do know that in leaving not only did Boruto find a solution to his problem that so far has proved to be successful in the long run, but he is also no longer in danger of dying to Momoshiki's reincarnation"

Cerulean eyes narrowed as he stared into a pool of obsidian "Yeah, and the latter almost cost him his life, again"

"That would've made no difference to you or anyone that already believed him to be dead" Sasuke waited to see if Naruto would retort but when he stood quiet while looking back at him he noted the slight softening in his gaze "Boruto planned ahead for that situation. If in the end it came to him having to accept his fate and die he wanted to spare everyone from the pain that would cause once more, spare you from the constant worrying about if one day out of nowhere he could very possibly be gone without warning. Can you now fully understand why I did what I did? Why I followed through with his plan of prolonging his death?"

Naruto ran a hand through his hair, since Bouruto's talk with him last night he began to understand maybe why he'd chosen the path he did and now with Sasuke's input he believed that maybe they had done the right thing, as painful as it had been for him and the rest of his family "It's just that…He's my son, Sasuke, You can't begin to understand the pain we went through when this all happened"

"Maybe not" turning around he began to head for the door, stopping after opening it he half turned to look back at Naruto "But death and grief is something I'm no stranger to. You have your son back and your family is whole again, I too had to pay a price for this and now not only do I have to worry about Sarada's eyes but now I can't even be sure if she ever trust me again fully…but I did it all for your son, for you, and the village"

The moment the door closed and Naruto was left alone he walked around the desk and sat down, leaning back to stare at the ceiling. He had forgotten that the news of Boruto's death had caused Sarada's Mangekyou to awaken, and if her reaction the previous day when they met Boruto again was anything to go by he was sure that she was more than feeling just a little betrayed.

Maybe he could've phrased his words better…but at the same time he felt like he was in the right to say what he'd said, his entire world crumbled, even if now things seemed to be working better than they were when Boruto first left. Bringing up a hand he rubbed his temples, trying to fully understand everything while taking in Sasuke's own perspective.

Things sure had gotten complicated now, and by the looks of things it seemed like it would only get even more complicated from now on…

~ End Flashback ~

The sound of Naruto standing back up dragged Sasuke from his musings "We need to discuss how are we going to reveal the news to the other Kage, we need to pick and choose our words appropriately if we don't want to cause a misunderstanding where they think we purposefully kept this information from them"

Everyone nodded in agreement, Boruto knew this would be a hard topic to explain but he himself had some experience from previous missions where he's been in close contact with some of the Kage which could prove in his favor. Hiding his hands in his pockets he looked around at the adults in the room "Why don't I explain it to them directly?"

Now it was Shikamaru who moved to speak first "You could, but if that is to be the case then we, and more particularly you, need to prepare to answer to their questions in a way that won't cause any more doubts or distrust aside from that which is sure so emerge once you reveal yourself"

"Why would there be distrust because of me?"

"It's not you, it's the situation. You are highly powerful now that you can control the Karma, enough to appear as a threat to the other Kage, in their eyes it could very easily appear as if we purposefully hid you away until you were able to get stronger which would therefore upset the precarious balance of power between the villages"

Crossing his arms Boruto looked up "This is way more complicated than I would've liked"

"It's a drag for me too but such is the way of politics, when it comes to the safety of your own village one can't help but never be too trusting or else the price could be very steep. Leave the explaining to Naruto and myself, once we can give them all the context they need we can drag you in so they can ask you whatever questions I'm sure they'll have left"

Boruto nodded "When is the meeting supposed to happen?"

"A few minutes from now, we'll prepare everything now" looking up to include Sarada in his instructions he continued "You two wait outside while we get this first part done and over with, I"ll go up to fetch you when you're needed"

Boruto and Sarada left the room then, Naruto let out a sigh as he looked over to Sasuke and Shikamaru "What are the odds of this going without incident?"

Running a hand over his face Shikamaru looked back at him "Not too good"

"Yeah…I assumed as much. Guess we'll just need to take the plunge" at that both men nodded in return. Now Naruto turned his full attention on Sasuke "Once we explain things the chances are high that they'll start questioning you specifically, I'll do my best to dissuade them on that front"

"Ah, thanks"

Sitting straight on his chair he took in a deep breath "Let's get this started"

At first when the meeting finally started he made it so that the meeting was nothing more than the standard meeting, of course that didn't last long because soon enough he was dragged away from his stalling and into the real business by none other than the Tsuchikage herself.

"So why did you call us exactly? The message sounded urgent and yet here we are merely exchanging pleasantries"

"Yes of course, there is one matter of particular importance that I wanted to discuss with all of you as soon as possible, especially since at one point it was a matter of concern for all of us"

"Oh? And what would that be?"

"Boruto and Momoshiki" The mention of both names uttered into the air immediately caused all faces to take a serious look, some turning to look off to the side where their advisors were probably standing, Naruto signaled over to Shikamaru and Sasuke then and both came to stand at his sides so that both were included on screen for the other Kage.

Gaara then propped his arms up on his desk, leaning slightly forwards "What about them?"

'Well…here goes nothing' Internally bracing for the worst he answered "Boruto…he's not dead"

The Kazekage's eyes grew wide then "What…?"

Almost at the same time the other Kages began asking their own whys and hows but Naruto stopped them raising his hand "We will explain everything, but before I would like to clarify that this news only came to me three days ago, prior to that I was under the same assumption that he had been dead since the incident that night almost two and a half years ago"

The Tsuchikage crossed her arms then "By what means did you get this information from?"

After a quick glance at Sasuke and Shikamaru by his sides he turned back to the screen "Sasuke arrived from his search for Code, Boruto was with him" All eyes then turned on Sasuke who had now moved to be fully in view for the other Kage "Before any questions, I will go on and explain everything, the series of events starting on the night Boruto died and how it led to me returning to the village with him"

~ o ~

Boruto leaned on the railing around the top of the Hokage building, overlooking the village down below, almost two hours had passed since they were sent out of the office to wait for the Kage to meet. Stretching up he turned around and walked away from the railing, putting his hands on his pants pockets he walked over to where Sarada had been sitting ever since they got sent up here just on the floor under the shade of one of the large pillars that curved up around the roof of the large building.

He stopped in front of her for a few seconds and waited for her to open her eyes and acknowledge him but after a whole minute it became apparent that she was not going to pay him any attention. With a resigned sigh he bent down to sit next to her, the hood of his cloak obscuring his face as he pulled a kunai from his rear pouch and fiddled with its edge.

Sarada wasn't oblivious to his presence, in fact she was too aware of it, how he stood in front of her waiting and now how he sat next to her while looking at her every now and then, even if she wanted to continue her meditation she doubted she would be able to now.

Releasing a small breath she finally opened her eyes, looking up at the blue sky above "You want to ask something"

It was more a statement than a question "How'd you know?"

"We know each other since we were kids, you might've disappeared for two years but that didn't take away your same old mannerisms" Leaning back and relaxing her posture she turned to face him "So what is it?"

"Well…were you meditating just now?"

"I was, something I picked up not too long after you left, Been working on it ever since"

"What for? I mean I know meditation can help for many things, I myself started doing it since leaving to improve my chakra control and stamina"

"Well then there you go, I've been working on perfecting something"

"Something? A new jutsu?"

"Not exactly, but it's something that I hope can help me in the long run with some…issues"

"What kind of issues?"

"Personal issues…if I'm honest this is also your fault"

"Wait what? What did I do besides…leaving, I guess"

She stopped him there with a look that basically told him that him leaving had been the cause for many issues and hardships not only for her but for the rest of his friends that actually knew, coincidentally Sarada's next question had to do with exactly that. "So…what's the plan to tell everyone else? You can't stay hidden forever"

"I know, after the meeting with the Kage is over everyone that knew the full truth of the matter will be called here"

"Well if that's the case, I should warn you that as much of a shock that it was for me I'm sure it will be similar for the others, particularly Mitsuki and Shikadai" she looked away and her expression turned more downcast "Shikadai took it pretty roughly, it if hadn't been for Cho Cho and Inojin's constant support he probably would've taken far longer than he did to get over the loss…Mitsuki…he never said much, kept it all to himself and put on a facade whenever he was out, but we talked several times just the two of us and while he remained mostly as outwardly expressive as a fish I could tell that he was struggling more than he let on. He admired you and held you in very high regard so it was only natural that it would hit him quite hard"

Keeping his eyes fixated on the kunai in his hands he began to feel the ever present weight of his guilt, his friends never deserved what he had put them through and he really hoped that they could find it in them to forgive him…

Knowing that they'll probably still have some time to spare he stood back up and began to walk over towards the back of the building.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"I'll be back in a little bit, I doubt they'll come for us anytime soon anyway" without another word he leapt up the roof of the neighboring building before starting his climb up the Hokage mountain.

"Boruto, wait up!" Quickly getting to her feet she followed his lead until after a few minutes she caught up to him atop the head of the seventh where by the time Sarada arrived Boruto was already taking a seat as he overlooked the village down below "You're supposed to be hiding, I think this is a far away from hiding as it gets don't you think?"

"It'll be fine, back in the day almost no one came up here, I doubt that somehow changed in the last two years"

Sarada knew this was a bad idea, they were too out in the open and even if he was still wearing his cloak with the hood up it would be far safer to get him to come back down to the Hokage building.

Almost as if to prove her fears they both heard a set of footsteps behind them, causing both to instantly turn their heads in the direction of the sound just to find a very startled, very much confused Mitsuki.

With a sigh Sarada ran a hand through her hair 'Oh great, just perfect'

"Mitsuki, what are you-"

"Sarada…what is the meaning of this?"

Of course he knew, even if Boruto was still concealing his chakra Mitsuki could easily tell right away who this cloaked person was, especially since the idiot had instinctively turned towards the sound exposing his face to their teammate "Mitsuki, I need you to be calm and listen-"

Without even giving her a chance to explain he launched himself at Boruto, knocking him down and pinning him against the ground with a kunai at his throat "Who are you?!"

Boruto held up his hands in an attempt to show that he was not a threat, the speed at which Mitsuki had launched at him catching him off guard "It's me Mitsuki, Boruto!"

He pressed his kunai down against him with a bit more strength "Don't you dare use his name, you might be concealing your chakra but I can still sense it if I'm close enough, your chakra signature might be similar enough to fool others but it's not the same as his"

At this point Sarada felt like she needed to intervene before things escalated even more. Getting to the both of them she held onto Mitsuki's shoulders and began pulling him back to get some of his weight off of Boruto "Mitsuki listen, it's him, it really is Boruto I-"

Mitsuki kept his eyes fixed on Boruto as he continued to speak "Boruto died two years ago"

"He didn't it was all a cover up, please listen we can explain"

"Explain? 'We'?"

Boruto reached up and fully pulled down the hood of his cloak, allowing his full face to show "It really is me Mitsuki, please let me explain. Two years ago I had to fake my death, I know it sounds crazy and I'm sorry I had to lie to you and everyone else!" His broke his gaze from him, sadness coloring his words "Please just let me explain"

The silence that followed was deafening, golden eyes staring deep into mismatched pools of cerulean with the same unyielding hard expression until something finally clicked, his eyes lost their hardness as they widened, his kunai dropping to the ground as he lost the strength to hold it. Having stopped putting any resistance he was pulled back by Sarada, giving Boruto space to sit up with a tired sigh while rearranging his hair and putting the hood of his cloak back on.

Looking at Sarada for answers, his mind worked overtime to process this new development that was now in front of him "Is it…how can this be?"

"It's a very long story, you and the others that know will probably be called to a meeting later today where everything will be explained so…do you think you could hold off until then?"

Mitsuki turned to look at Boruto as he moved to stand, his chakra might have changed somehow but he would recognize those blue eyes anywhere, that was definitely Boruto. Taking a step forwards he kept his gaze fixed on him "Your chakra…it feels different"

"I'm surprised you can even sense me to be honest"

"Only if I'm close enough, I saw Sarada climbing up here so I followed, I didn't sense you until I managed to get up here myself and saw you"

"Well…the short answer to your question is that I am fully fused with Momoshiki so…that could be the reason why my chakra signature might have changed, however slightly that might be"

"Fully fused? How did-"

"Like Sarada said, later today you will all be called to a meeting where everything will be explained, please wait until then. If you still have questions after that I'll gladly answer them"

Mitsuki looked straight at Boruto, noting the shadow that passed over his gaze. Whatever had led to this development clearly wasn't something that was easy to talk about for him so instead of pushing the matter he agreed to the terms with a small nod "Fine, I'll wait until then…but this is still hard to believe, for two years we lived under the assumption that you were…"

"I know…and I'm sorry, I really am. I'll understand if you're mad at me and accept whatever-"

"What are you saying?" His golden eyes hardened as his expression took a slight hint of anger "Yes I might be mad about the lie and what that put all of us through, that kind of pain is something I'd never felt before nor amI interested in experiencing it again" his gaze then softened again, becoming more understanding "But I know you…or at least the you of two years ago, if you say this was the only way then I'll chose to believe you and wait to hear the full explanation"

Boruto gave him a genuine smile, relieved that at least he hadn't lost Mitsuki, that now he had some hope of getting the old team back and be able to work together like in the past "Thank you Mitsuki, it means a lot and…I appreciate your understanding"

The blue haired boy nodded in return, it was now that Sarada finally saw a chance to intervene "Boruto we need to head back, if master Shikamaru goes out to look for us and we're missing it could cause trouble for our dads"

"I guess you're right, though I had hoped to be able to clear my mind a bit up here before having to go back inside"

"I know, but this is important"

"Yeah…I get it" without a word Boruto jumped off, starting to head back down.

Before following the Uchiha turned back to look at the remaining member of their team "You stay around the area and wait for your summons, no one is supposed to know about this yet so act oblivious okay?" To answer Mitsuki simply nodded "Thanks, I'll see you later at the meeting then"

~ o ~

Kawaki watched them leave from where he stood on the branch of one of the trees along the small forested area behind the top of the monument. He had snuck out of the house earlier and just happened to see Boruto as he reached the top of the mountain, the moment he spotted him he fully concealed himself in the trees while hiding his chakra signature. Lucky for him it didn't seem like Boruto was actively scanning for any chakra signatures otherwise he was sure that he would've found him even if he was hiding himself.

He stood back and watched as he simply stood there, outlooking the village, until a few minutes later Sarada also arrived. He watched the entire scuffle between them after Mitsuki's arrival and then once they left he waited a while longer after Mitsuki himself had left before moving again. A thought occurred to him as he began making his way back to the house where Eida and Daemon were.

He'd been trying to give an answer to the question in his mind since last night but came up empty and after witnessing the little scuffle just now he decided he would just go directly to Eida herself and ask directly.

Once he was closer to the house he made sure to hide his chakra while he shrunk himself, only returning to his normal size once he was back inside. Quickly he found Eida reading on the couch in the living room so with no desire to prolong things any more than needed he addressed her directly.

Walking in her direction he began, stopping only once he was directly across from her "You knew that Boruto was alive" a statement, more than a question.

Putting down the magazine she interlaced her fingers on her lap "I did"

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Had I revealed it to the Hokage or anyone close to him they would've gone after him and interfered with his attempts at controlling Momoshiki and if I revealed this information to you then you probably would've gone and killed him…am I wrong?"

He was quiet for a few seconds, dodging her later statement "In what way would giving him the time benefit you anyway?"

"Not just me Kawaki dear, Both him and you are important key pieces in defeating Code which is something that I personally want if I want to be truly free" She stood up then "Whether you like it or not you're gonna have to work together with him if you want to have a chance at defeating Code now that he's had his limiters removed"

Not willing to entertain more of her conversation that was increasingly getting on his nerves he walked away. He knew that Code knew about Boruto being alive from before Eida left him and he was almost sure that even if she was no longer with him that he would not be able to break the promise he made to her about keeping him alive. Code would need Boruto to plant the divine tree and that fact alone made Boruto being alive a way bigger issue.

Ever since he had seen him again last night he had been unsure about how to feel, he was surprised by the fact that the overpowering feeling was that of frustration, he was frustrated at the fact that he had failed to kill him and protect Lord Seventh.

He knew that this was not something that any normal person should feel, if anything he should be at the very least a little happy that the first person to accept him as a brother was not dead by his hand and yet…

His return had thrown his entire existence out of order, for the last two years all he was concerned with was Code as they wondered when he would finally make his move but now that Boruto was alive he felt like his problems had just multiplied.

What Eida said about both of them having to be the key players in fighting Code made sense, If Boruto had really mastered the Karma's power then he was sure to be way stronger than before which was good for their fight against that annoying bastard but bad for him when the time came to act in behalf of the safety of those he considered important to him now.

Getting inside his room he locked the door and laid down on the bed absentmindedly staring at the roof, he needed to think of how he was going to get around this entire situation. One thing was certain though, Once the pressing issue of Code was resolved…he would take it upon himself to take Boruto down for good.

~ o ~

The pair landed back on the roof of the Hokage tower several minutes later, no one was out so they both guessed that maybe Shikamaru hadn't gone up to look for them yet, still, the moment both sat down at one of the benches near the edge the door leading inside was opened; Shikamaru stood at the entrance.

"You two get in here, Meeting is over for the most part but we still need your input Boruto, the other Kage have some questions left to ask"

Without a word both stood and followed him inside, the silence as they descended the stairs broken by Sarada "How did it go?"

"About as disastrous as I had imagined, they wanted answers right from the get go and while I understand their urgency it was hard to quiet everyone down to let Naruto and Sasuke explain everything"

"Did they come to an understanding at least?"

"In a way, but your father was taking the brunt of their doubts and questions. Hoping that once Boruto comes into the picture and explains things more directly that they'll cut him some slack"

When the group finally entered the Hokage office once more Naruto immediately signaled Boruto to stand by his side where he'd be in range for the other Kage to see. The moment he was in view the reaction was immediate as all the Kage quieted down and stared at the cloaked figure that was now before them.

Boruto reached up and pulled down his hood, fully revealing himself. Chojuro was the first one to react as he leaned forwards, staring with disbelieving eyes "Is that really you…Boruto?"

Boruto had dealt with the Mizukage on several occasions in the past, helping the mist village when faced with internal troubles. With a small nod Boruto gave him a small smile "Old man Chojuro, it's good to see you again"

Dropping back on his chair fully Chojuro ran a hand through his hair "Wow…you've grown a lot since I last saw you"

Before any more words could be exchanged the Raikage stepped in "Boruto, we would like for you to answer some questions regarding your particular situation, Momoshiki and the Karma's full extraction as well as confirm some details about the information you found about the Otsutsuki during your investigations"

All seriousness returning to his features Boruto nodded in return "Of course, I will answer any questions you have for me to the best of my abilities"

Sarada stepped outside the Hokage office after over an hour of discussion had gone by, she wasn't sure why she even needed to be there in the first place but she was not about to complain, besides from the looks of things they were close to finishing up. With easy steps she began a short walk pattern in the main hallway to rid herself of some of the stiffness from standing in the office listening to the Kage argue while Boruto tried to calmly explain everything and answer their questions.

From the moment the meeting resumed with Boruto as the centerpiece she noticed the change in his demeanor and posture, the more formal language he was using while addressing the Kage and how he so easily slipped into all business mode to begin his explanation with clear details and focusing on the point of the matter; this was a new thing for her, something she practically never saw when they were younger. She knew herself from what he'd told her so far and from what she'd heard just now this last hour that he had gone through no small amount of struggles in these last two years so maybe it was only natural for him to develop a bit of a more hardened side that showed itself when not in the presence of friends or family.

A small worm of worry burrowed in her head, making her wonder which side of him was the real one. Was this serious side his true self and he was only putting on a facade in front of others to keep them from worrying or feeling alienated from his previously bright personality? Or was the version of him that teased her and smiled when they were fighting and talking on top of the train the real him that somehow managed to keep glowing as bright as sunshine despite the darkness around him?

Frankly…she wasn't sure, and it wasn't something that she could simply go and ask from him. Since his return she had been watching him, catching the way his bright blue eyes sometimes looked less vibrant as he looked off into the distance or how his smile faltered when caught off guard. She wondered just truly how much of his actual self he was showing compared to this act he's decided to put on.

The sound of the large door to the office opening caused her to stop her pacing, looking up to catch everyone leaving the office. Boruto came out last, looking rather tired which she could understand after having to retell and remember the same series of events yet again while also attempting to deal with the four Kage.

Naruto stopped in the hallway and turned to look at his advisor then "I think it would be a good idea if you summon the others before it gets any later, get them to meeting room C downstairs and be sure to keep the reason for the summons undisclosed"

"Yeah, don't worry about it, I'll take care of it"

"Thanks, we'll be waiting on the room next to it in the meantime so just return there once you're done"

With a nod Shikamaru left, leaving the group to continue down to the aforementioned room.

The Hokage and shadow continued discussing part of the meeting as they walked and Sarada slipped behind them to match Boruto's pace "You okay?"

Looking up at her he threw her a small smile "yeah just…tired, it was a lot and the Kage are harder to deal with that I was hoping"

"Yeah no kidding, what now then?"

"Well things seemed more or less fixed on that front, they scheduled a date for a summit in a few weeks in the land of snow and I might have to go"

"That's pretty far, no?"

"Sadly yeah" with a sigh he put his hands in his pockets "Just as I barely came back from there too"

"You've been there before?"

"Yeah, that was the last place we were in before returning, that's where we found what we believe to be Code's hideout before deciding to return and report back on it"

"Wouldn't it be risky to have the summit there when Code is that close?"

"Maybe…but on the other hand if anything does happen at least we'll be on a more remote area where casualties could be kept far lower than if we met in any of the hidden villages"

She was quiet after that, he was right, the land of snow was mostly desolate so maybe the location was chosen not only because it was neutral ground for all villages but also because of its low risk of getting civilians involved should anything happen.

The group eventually arrived at the room where they waited until Shikamaru's return, who eventually informed them that everyone that needed to get the news would be there within the hour. After a while Boruto finally decided to ask who would be there, if anything he wanted to be prepared for who he might see and start planning ahead for any worse case scenarios.

On the bright side it seemed that less than ten people would be there, on the downside though he would be needing to face all of his closest friends at once and hope that they would understand his motives based on the explanation that Sasuke, his dad and Shikamaru would provide.

Shikadai, Inojin, Cho Cho, Denki, Iwabe, Metal, Sumire and Mitsuki…those were the people he would be coming face to face with after over two years of them believing he'd been dead. If he had thought that Sarada alone had been hard to face he couldn't even begin to imagine how hard it would be to face all of them at once, especially after seeing Mitsuki's reaction earlier.

Reaching behind him into his weapons pouch he pulled out a kunai and began fiddling with it, keeping his hands occupied and his mind somewhat distracted. Sarada noticed the gesture from where she stood across the room, he'd been doing the same thing upstairs while they waited keeping his gaze focused on nothing in particular with a troubled expression on his face.

Before she could approach him Shikamaru stood from where he'd been sitting "Everyone should be here by now, it's better if we get going" Naruto and Sasuke moved to leave the room, before Shikamaru followed them out he turned to Sarada "You come too Sarada"

With a nod the Uchiha followed him out the door, not before taking another look back at Boruto who simply gave her a smile in what she guessed was an attempt to reassure her. Mimicking the gesture she closed the door behind her, yet she still felt bad that she couldn't stay with him until he was called over considering how she noted how he looked more serious ever since after the meeting.

With a sigh she walked behind Shikamaru, there was nothing she could do even if she were to stay behind simply because she knew that no matter how hard she tried there was no way Boruto would be upfront about whatever was troubling him, she would need to be patient and keep an eye on him until she could find a way to get him to talk; she wanted to help him, she really did, but there was no way she would be able to if he himself refused to be open to receive said help.

Walking into the room behind the top officials she noticed her friends scattered around, whatever conversations they had been occupied with lost to the silence that now replaced it since the door first opened. Everyone moved to take a seat, Sarada staying up front but throwing a small nod Mituski's way in greeting, gesture that he responded subtly.

Once everyone was settled down fully Shikamaru began "I appreciate you all coming under such short notice, this is a new development that has caused much commotion for all of us but we felt it necessary for you all to be up to speed all things considered" giving a short moment of silence he noted the confused looks and hushed whispers between everyone, fiddling with the pack of cigarettes in his pocket he continued then, sure that his next words were sure to at least give everyone an idea of why they'd been summoned "The reason you've all been called here…is Boruto"

~ o ~

Boruto stared absentmindedly across the now empty room, one hand busy twirling his kunai around in an attempt to burn the anxious energy that had been building up since this morning about the possible outcomes of this next bridge he was about to cross. A part of him was glad that he wouldn't need to repeat and relive yet again everything that happened these last two years regarding Momoshiki and the Karma, or have to fully explain himself once more.

On the other hand he felt like maybe explaining everything himself would have been better, considering these were all his childhood friends and teammates.

Still, he'd lost count of how many times he'd had to retell everything, it was particularly hard with the Kage who, despite having already been told everything by his dad and Sasuke, still wanted to hear the details from him. Most times he was able to brush off some of the situations or summarize them as 'accidents' but not with the Kage, with them he had to tell every little detail of the major events that led to him controlling his Karma and pushing back Momoshiki. Switching the kunai to his right hand he continued practiced movements with ease as he leaned forwards, absentmindedly staring across the room as he attempted to slow down his mind for-

'How inconvenient…''

The sudden voice resonating within his mind caused him to falter in his movements with the kunai, causing it to slip from his grasp and leave a cut along the side of his palm before clattering to the ground.

Cursing he examined the now bleeding cut, reaching behind him into his pouch he pulled out a small roll of gauze to wrap his hand with 'That voice…that sounded just like-'

'Yes, child, that was me who you just heard'

His eyes widened at the realization that he was communicating with him mentally somehow, something he'd never been able to do before 'What is happening? Why can I hear your thoughts?'

'A rather inconvenient development that arose from us sharing the same body and mind completely now that all my data has been downloaded into you'

'Is this…a permanent thing?'

'Who knows, I for one hope it'll be brief. It is annoying to have to deal with you incessant thoughts'

'You can hear all of my thoughts? How long has this been going?'

'It only started today it would seem. Still, it doesn't look like you've been able to hear all of my thoughts in return so I am guessing that you should be able to close off what thoughts drift over to me. For both our sake I suggest you learn how to do it and fast, I really can't think when your constant stream of thoughts is ringing in my ears'

A part of him became annoyed at the way Momoshiki simply treated this as some sort of minor inconvenience, how was he supposed to learn what thoughts did and didn't filter over to him? He really didn't want to have him knowing everything that he was thinking all the time and especially if Momoshiki himself was able to fully control what he wanted him to hear. On the other side the more he thought about it maybe this could prove useful if he somehow got Momoshiki to talk more and give him more insight on the Otsutsuki and maybe drag something out that could help them against Code before-

'Don't count on it child'

'Stop doing that you creep!' He thought he heard a faint laugh after that before the silence returned. Maybe before thinking of any way he could use this he should learn to control how to filter his thoughts…

For the better part of the next hour he focused on trying to figure out the edges of this connection in his mind, trying to mentally separate his mind from Momoshiki's in a similar way that he did when using the Karma and Jougan. He began to get a small grasp on it but it would be a little while until he would be able to fully do this division subconsciously, for now he would have to be careful to keep his thoughts to himself by focusing on that mental barrier.

The door to the room opening dragged him from his focus as he looked up to see Shikamaru "It's done, we've explained everything the best we could keeping some of the details regarding Momoshiki in particular vague for your own sake but they got the gist of things now"

He nodded, he would've preferred that they knew nothing of his relation to the Otsutsuki now but it was only natural that he wouldn't be able to keep that secret forever, much less now with all that had happened "I understand" Standing up he pulled on the hood of his cloak "Let's go then"

Boruto followed him out the room and along the hallway in silence, the pressure in his chest building up the closer they got to their destination. He wasn't sure of what to expect or how would his friends react, he already had a small taste from his unexpected encounter with Misuki earlier but that was with him not even knowing what had happened…what would all the others think now that they knew all about the Karma and what it was?

Shikamaru opened the door for him and he slowly stepped in, keeping his head low as he hid himself from everyone he was still able to see who was there. Sarada, Mitsuki, Shikadai, Inojin, Cho Cho, Denki, Metal, Iwabe and Summire…All these people had known the truth about what had happened back then to an extent, they knew that he had died at least and now they knew that his death had been nothing more than a ploy.

Sasuke and his dad were standing off to the side now, the silence was deafening and he could see the looks that his friends were giving him; everything ranging from distrust, to doubt, to disbelief.

Finally stopping he slowly pulled down the hood of his cloak as he stopped hiding his chakra signature, he knew that at the very least if they doubted him because of his appearance then at the very least they would recognize his chakra.

He scanned the room and watched expressions change as he was now regarded with wide eyes by almost everyone until finally after some more tense seconds of silence there was a reaction.

Shikadai stood from where he'd been sitting, his voice was low but steady in a tone that demanded an answer "Is that really you…Boruto?"

He nodded back, giving him a small smile "It is…I'm sorry that I had to lie to all of you, I really am" He glanced over to Sasuke and his dad before continuing "Now that you guys know why I had to do it I hope that you can understand. I don't ask for forgiveness, I know that by doing this I betrayed everyone's trust so I don't expect things to be like they were before. All I want is to know that you guys understand that I did it to protect everyone from….myself"

The silence that followed was only filled by his own beating heart in his ears until after a bit Shikadai walked over and stopped directly in front of him. Boruto saw his stoic expression and the hardness in his eyes as he averted his gaze "I don't think anyone here could simply gloss over this and go back to how things were, even if you did this because you thought that you had no choice but to do it on your own" He closed his eye and let out a small sigh, of course things couldn't just go back to normal after everything that happened, of that much he was sure.

He braced for whatever was to come next until a hand on his shoulder caused him to look back up, noticing how Shikadai's expression had softened and instead wore a small smile "You were always a handful ever since the academy…But you were always a good friend, always looking out for everyone. What kind of friends would we be if we turned our backs on you when you needed us most?"

He was speechless, digesting his best friend's words as he turned his gaze to scan over the room where he now saw everyone regarding him with similar expressions "You guys…"

What followed right after was an unorganized interrogation as everyone stood and approached Boruto, greeting him with mixtures of relief, happiness or even anger born out of worry or concern. The questions mostly touched on what he'd been doing the last two years and his training but he also noticed how everyone dodged the topic of his Karma and Momoshiki like the plague, probably after something either his dad or Sasuke had said in the discussion where they got everyone caught up to the situation.

It wasn't until the sun began to start getting lower in the sky that everyone parted ways, as he walked back home Boruto couldn't help but feel like another weight had been lifted from his shoulders now that he'd opened up to his friends about the truth regarding why he left but also about the Karma, he knew they now knew about it because his dad would've had to explain that concept to them fully in order to understand his situation and yet even with that knowledge they all stood by his side once more.

Walking around the last corner before getting to his home he stopped, a familiar chakra signature leaning against the wall some distance in front of him.

"Took you long enough"

Boruto tensed up, rising his alertness but keeping a calm facade "Kawaki…what do you want?"

"Answers"

"Answers? What are you-"

"Why did you come back? Why did you actually return to the village?"

"I told you before, my plan had always been to return once I got this power under control"

"But that's not entirely it…is it now?"

He swallowed, clenching his fist in anger "Why do you even care? You've made it plenty clear that you don't want anything to do with me anyway"

"You're wrong, in fact, it's the complete opposite"

Now he was confused "What?"

"You are too dangerous to be left alone while Momoshiki is still alive inside your mind, I'm the only one that's going to be able to take you down when things inevitably go wrong"

Boruto began approaching him "That's not for you to decide, You can't even know if things will go wrong anymore"

"Even so, it's not a risk I'm willing to take"

"You think you're worried thinking about this? I'm the one who would be worried the most considering what's at stake here!"

"There are enough problems already with Code plotting an attack only for you to return and add onto the pile"

"No, I came back specifically to protect everyone from Code, you and I know better than anyone how strong he is and now that his limiters have been removed he's a bigger threat than anything we've faced yet. If we want to defeat Code then like it or not we're gonna have to work together"

There it was again, the same thing that Eida had told him earlier, the fact that two people had told him the same thing without having talked to each other bothered him to no end "And will you help? Can you be sure that you'll be able to fight using the Karma without everyone having to worry about Momoshiki appearing like it happened the last two times?"

As if to confirm that he was in the wrong Boruto's answer came barely a second later and without an ounce of hesitation "Yes, I wouldn't have even returned otherwise and that's what I've been trying to get through that thick skull of yours you idiot"

Kawaki turned away, irritated "If anyone's an idiot here it's you. Better be right about that statement" He half turned to face Boruto then, left eye a pitch black with four golden triangular shapes on the sides "Because the moment I sense even a trace of Momoshiki I won't hesitate to turn on you and finish what I started…for good this time"

Without another word he disappeared, probably shrinking down before heading off is what Boruto guessed.

He was already worried about having to keep an eye out for Kawaki after their last interaction in his house but after this…that was no idle threat, Kawaki had all the power of his Karma back himself and he was sure that he hadn't just been twiddling his thumbs these last two years which meant that if it came down to a fight between the two of them then he would definitely have a hard time.

Maybe he had been able to bridge the gap between his friends after today and he was happy about how they had accepted him back…Kawaki seemed to be the only one that not only didn't seem to understand his motives but had gone even further and made an enemy out of him.

Honestly out of everyone he was the one that he would've least wanted to have as an enemy and yet here he was.

Yes, things were about to get much much harder from here on out…