"Boruto."
"Boruto!"
"BORUTO!"
The sound of Konohamaru-sensei's voice dragged Boruto out of his sleep.
"Huh?" he said groggily. "Kono-Konohamaru-sensei? Is that you?"
*THUMP* The book hit Boruto's head dead-on. He sat up and began to rub the bump that was forming on his head.
"Why'd you do that, Konohamaru-sensei?" Konohamaru's face contorted with rage.
"WERE YOU EVEN LISTENING TO ME?!" Boruto rubbed the back of his head and smiled guiltily at him.
"O-of course, sensei! I heard everything you said!"
"Oh, really?" Konohamaru asked him, annoyed. "Then answer me this: what's a jinchuriki?"
Boruto frowned.
"Um, a jinchuriki is... a jinchuriki... um..." Konohamaru smiled.
"So you weren't listening, were you?" Boruto pouted.
"No, I wasn't, but... but it's so boring, Konohamaru-sensei! Why can't we go on a mission?"
"Boruto, genin need to do more than just go on missions all the time!" Konohamaru sighed. "Boruto, this topic applies to you more than anyone else."
"Huh?" Boruto responded. "Why me?" Konohamaru hesitated.
"Well, uh... I'll let your father deal with that. All you need to know is that this is an important subject." This time, it was Boruto's turn to sigh.
"Okay, sensei. I promise to listen this time."
"Okay," said Konohamaru. "A jinchuriki is..."
...
...a person who has a tailed beast sealed within them, Boruto thought to himself. My dad has the Nine-Tailed Fox inside of him? He thought back to his father in his time. Why didn't he tell me? Why didn't anybody tell me? Boruto was angry that everyone had kept this secret from him. Did the other children know? Had they been lying to him as well? Boruto doubted it, but he was still angry. Why was he learning something this important now? Couldn't they have told him this before?
Then he realized that the young Naruto was learning this for the first time, as well. The difference was that Boruto's father was a jinchuriki, while Naruto was the jinchuriki.
"Why am I being so selfish?" Boruto asked himself. "Learning this doesn't affect my life much. After all, I'm not the jinchuriki; my dad is. So why am I so mad?" He looked back at the developing situation.
"The fox spirit that killed Iruka's parents and destroyed our village has taken over your body," Mizuki said to Naruto. "You are the Nine-Tailed Fox!"
"STOP IT!" yelled Iruka.
"They've all been sneaking around, hiding things from you your whole life," continued Mizuki. "Didn't you think it was strange how they treated you? Like dirt? Like they hated you for just being alive?"
"No." Naruto said. "No. No. No. No!" Blue chakra began to circle around Naruto.
"Naruto..." Iruka said in despair.
"That's why you will never be accepted in this village," said Mizuki. "Even your beloved sensei hates your guts!"
Iruka groaned in pain.
Mizuki drew a giant shuriken.
"Die, Naruto!"
Naruto, scared, tried to move out of the way before it could find its target.
"Naruto, get down!" Iruka ordered. Naruto obeyed, and lay flat on the ground. Boruto closed his eyes, afraid of what would happen.
When Boruto opened his eyes, Iruka stood over Naruto, the giant shuriken sticking out of his back, while Naruto just stared up in shock. Iruka groaned in pain. Drops of blood landed onto Naruto's cheek.
"Why?" Naruto asked, astonished at what Iruka had done.
Iruka was silent for a moment, and then said, "Because we're the same. When I lost my parents, no one seemed to care. They didn't have time for me. They just forgot I was there. My grades dropped, and I became the class clown. I just wanted them to see me, and to know my name. My schoolwork wasn't good enough to get their attention, so I did crazy things, and then I had to pay for it. It was hard." He sniffed.
"I know that's how you feel, Naruto. You feel lonely, and it hurts inside. I could have been there for you more." Naruto gasped.
"I let you down. I'm sorry. No one should have to suffer that much. No one should be alone like that." Mizuki just chuckled.
"Don't make me laugh! Iruka always hated you. He was orphaned because the Nine-Tailed Fox killed his parents. And that beast is now inside you. He'd say anything to get the scroll from you." Boruto turned to Naruto in time to see him bolt away from the two shinobi as Iruka yelled his name.
Mizuki landed a few yards behind Iruka, and laughed.
"You know, once he makes up his mind, nothing can change it," Mizuki said. "He's going to use the scroll to take revenge on the village. You saw that look in his eye, didn't you? Those are the eyes of a beast."
Iruka's hand reached behind him, and, with a grunt, pulled the giant shuriken out of his back.
"No," he said. "Naruto isn't like THAT!" He spun around, and used his momentum to throw the shuriken back at Mizuki. However, Mizuki easily sidestepped the attack and laughed.
"Your a joke," Mizuki replied. "As soon as I eliminate Naruto and get the scroll, I'll be back for you." Then, Mizuki dashed out of the clearing to find Naruto. After a few moments, Iruka began to chase after Mizuki, with Boruto close on his trail. Don't let something bad happen to dad...
For an injured man, Iruka was quick, and Boruto soon lost track of him. However, it wasn't long until he happened upon Naruto, and Boruto began to chase after him.
Soon enough, Iruka found him as well, and said, "Naruto! Everything Mizuki said was a lie! Give me the scroll! Hurry! He's coming after you to take it away!" Iruka stopped right in front of Naruto, but to both Iruka's and Boruto's surprise, Naruto tackled Iruka, sending them both to the ground.
"It can't be," Iruka said, struggling to get up off of the ground. Naruto sat against a nearby tree, breathing hard. "How did you know, Naruto? H-how did you know..." With a puff of smoke, the transformation jutsu wore off, and Mizuki sat, glaring at Naruto. "...that it was me, and not Iruka?" Naruto grinned, and, with a puff of smoke, the transformation jutsu wore off, except that it was Iruka this time, and not Mizuki.
"Because," he said, "I'm Iruka."
Mizuki stood up, saying, "Your a fool. Why are you protecting that freak? He's the one that wiped out your family!"
"I don't care what you say," Iruka replied. "You're not getting your hands on that scroll."
Mizuki laughed arrogantly and said, "As if you could stop me. Don't you get it? Naruto is just like me."
"How's that?" Iruka asked.
"He wants the scroll for his own power and his own vengeance. That's how beasts are. He'll pour all his rage into the scroll and destroy everything." Boruto was getting more and more irritated. How could Mizuki say these things about Naruto? His father wasn't a freak, and he certainly wasn't a beast, that's for sure. Boruto wished that he could physically alter these events. He really wanted to go over there and punch Mizuki in the gut for disrespecting his dad.
"Your right," said Iruka. Boruto couldn't believe it. Did Iruka just agree that Naruto was a beast?
Iruka continued. "That is how beasts are. But that's not who Naruto is. He's nothing like that." Boruto was surprised. Iruka was on Naruto's side, after all.
"Naruto's one of a kind," Iruka continued, "works hard, puts his whole heart into it. Sure, he messes up sometimes, and everyone jumps on him, but his suffering only makes him stronger. That's what separates him from being a beast. So you're wrong. He's nothing like the Nine-Tailed Fox. He's Naruto Uzumaki, of the Village Hidden in the Leaves." Mizuki only laughed dismissively and drew his second giant shuriken.
"You really believe that dribble? Iruka, I was gonna save you for later, but I changed my mind." Mizuki began to spin his shuriken. "You're finished!" He charged at Iruka, ready to deliver the killing blow.
Just as Mizuki was about to reach Iruka, Naruto appeared out of nowhere and headbutted Mizuki. As Mizuki flew backwards, his shuriken flew away into the forest.
"Not bad," Mizuki admitted, struggling to his feet, "for a punk." Naruto glared at him.
"If you ever lay a hand on my sensei, I'll kill you!"
Such big words," responded Mizuki. "I can completely destroy you in a single move!" Boruto watched as Naruto's hands moved into a familiar cross-shaped hand sign.
"Take your best shot, fool. I'll give it back to you a thousand-fold."
"Let's see you try!" Mizuki yelled back. "Show me what you can do, Nine-Tailed Fox!"
Naruto uttered a phrase familiar to Boruto, the first out of countless times afterwards.
"Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
Suddenly, a thousand shadow clones filled the clearing. Both Mizuki and Iruka stared in astonishment.
"Huh? What?" Mizuki said confused. "What is this? Huh?" He turned his head from side to side, completely surrounded by hundreds of shadow clones. He fell backwards, too scared to do anything. The shadow clones kept teasing him.
"If you're not gonna do anything..."
"Then we're gonna come after YOU!"
Mizuki yelled in fear as the shadow clones descended on him from every side. He stood no chance against Naruto's shadow clones.
After the fight was done, Naruto stood, laughing and rubbing the back of his head, while Mizuki lay in front of him, groaning.
"Sorry," Naruto said. "I kinda got carried away. You okay, Iruka-sensei?"
"Yeah," Iruka replied and smiled. "Hey Naruto, come here a minute. I've got something I want to give you." Naruto nodded, and he walked over to Iruka, who had stood up from his spot against the tree.
"Alright, now close your eyes, Naruto." Naruto nodded gleefully, and shut his eyes.
Boruto watched as Iruka took off his shinobi headband, and then took off Naruto's goggles. After he had done that, he carefully tied the headband onto Naruto's head, so as not to give Naruto any hints as to what he was doing.
"Sensei, how much longer?" Naruto complained to Iruka.
Iruka simply said, "Okay, you can open your eyes now." Naruto did just that, and the first thing he saw was a smiling Iruka, without his headband. At that moment, beams of sunlight broke through the canopy, and shed light on the peaceful clearing.
"Congratulations," Iruka said to Naruto. "You graduate." Naruto stood there, speechless, while Iruka continued.
"And to celebrate, I have a surprise. We're going out for ramen tonight." Iruka, suspicious of the silence, looked at Naruto, confused. Then, Naruto hugged Iruka, knocking him to the ground, saying, "Iruka-sensei!" Iruka complained about the pain that was caused by the hug, and then they both began to laugh.
Boruto stood a few yards away, watching this incredible moment. This was his dad's first bond. This must have been one of the most important moments of his life. Boruto thought back to when that shop owner was yelling at young Naruto, and then he thought about how his father was treated by the villagers in his time. He began to see how those two existences could be connected. His father, through moments like this one, was able to go from the reject of the village, to the hero of the village. He thought about his dad, and all the things he could learn from his dad's life, as his vision faded to black.
(Writing this author's note at 11:30 at night) I would like to thank you guys for hanging in with me through these last few chapters. I know they might have been a little boring, but hopefully, as we move on through his memories, the chapters will get better. That's it for me, I really need to get to sleep now (I've got a presentation to do tomorrow), so keep an eye out for my next chapter.