Chapter three - Dawn

AN - I had honestly wanted to release this chapter sooner, but life got in the way so...

Anyways, it's here now so enjoy!

Boruto sighed, kicking a stone, as he walked down the path that led to the Leaf village. He would have been running, had he not totally exhausted himself searching all over the place for his friends. By the time they had convinced themselves that Sarada and Shikadai were nowhere to be found in that area, both he and his clones had become extremely tired, and the minute he dispelled them, some of their exhaustion was transferred to him.

That's the downside of using clones to help search everywhere for hours, I guess.

And what's up with this road? Not a single road sign or milestone in sight. Am I even getting any closer to Konoha? I don't even recognise this path at all. I mean sure, I don't leave the village that much but still...

His face lit up when a spotted a small wooden building in the distance. As he approached the building, he saw that it was a small dango shop.

A dango shop by the roadside in the middle of nowhere? Good. That means people pass by here quite often so I must be on the right track, he thought as he got closer to the little shop.

Just then, someone came out of the shop, backpack strapped to back.

It was a young girl wearing a pink qipao-style blouse and dark green pants. The blouse had yellow fastening buttons running down the middle.

She must have heard him approaching for she turned her head towards him just then and Boruto saw something that immediately got his hopes up; she was wearing a Leaf forehead protector around her head.

She stared at him for a second before speaking, a look of astonishment on her face.

"Naruto?" she surprisingly said.

Boruto raised an eyebrow even as he got close enough to fully take in her appearance. She had brown eyes and brown hair which she wore in two Chinese-style buns on her head. She also had two scrolls which she carried in a holster around her waist.

Naruto? Why'd she call me Naruto? How on earth can she confuse a kid with a fully grown man? Or maybe, it's someone she knows that's got the same name.

With how popular his dad was, it wouldn't surprise him if some parents go as far as naming their kids after him.

"Sorry, you've got the wrong guy!" he informed her, hands in pockets.

"Oh? You're right, now that I take a good look at you," she said. Then she pointed at his forehead. "You're a Leaf genin too, huh. Are you on your way back to the village from a solo mission too?"

"Well I did go out for a mission, but I wasn't alone. My team and I got attacked and... well, some weird things happened and I'm all alone now."

Boruto felt that there was no need to tell this stranger everything that had gone down with them.

"I wanna get back to the village as quickly as possible and get some help."

"Oh, you'd better hurry back then. I'm done with my mission so why don't we go together?"

There was nothing Boruto would have liked better. Having someone who actually knew the way back to the village would be great. Not that he didn't trust the old man's directive or anything, it was just that if, paraventure the path does fork, then it would be nice to have someone with him who knew the right way.

So he continued on the path together with the girl who, though a bit taller than him, didn't seem to be much older than he was.

Hmm. I can't place my finger on it but, I feel like I've seen this person before. But where? I'm positive she isn't one of my classmates, so she might be from one of the other classes that graduated before us, Boruto mused to himself as they started to run slowly. For some reason, an image of kunai stacked on shelves flashed through his mind just then.

Or maybe that's not it, maybe it was somewhere else that we met.

Oh well, it doesn't matter. What matters now is getting back to the village and getting help. Mitsuki and the others might have gotten there first - hopefully, assuming they're okay - and reported that three of us are missing, but I'm the only one that can describe what happened to us after the masked jerk cast his jutsu on us. Shikadai's dad or even uncle Sasuke might have an idea as to what happened to us and what exactly that place was that Shikadai, Sarada and I were dragged into.

He wondered if his best friend and his teammate had also gotten out safely.

Sarada, Shikadai. Where are you guys? You better both be okay.

続け

As they ran, she side eyed her companion suspiciously. Who was he? Was he really a Leaf genin too?

He might be an imposter who was trying to infiltrate the Leaf by disguising himself as Naruto.

Then again, that last part didn't sound right since he did just deny being Naruto when she called him that.

Maybe he's some relative of Naruto's then.

She didn't really know that much about the loud, boisterous blonde who beat her stoic teammate in the third stage of the Chunin Exams - and thankfully knocked some sense into him - but she was fairly certain the kid was an orphan who lived all by himself.

Still, the possibility of him having some distant relative can't be ruled out.

Anyway, if this person was really a threat to the village, then she'd put an end to him right there and then. The Leaf hasn't fully recovered from the Sound and Sand's 'Konoha Crush' and the loss of Lord third, so there was no way she was going to let anyone rub salt to its wounds. She would bring down any threat to her village, even if that meant giving her life - that's why she offered to accompany this Naruto lookalike. She was a proud kunoichi of the Leaf after all.

Now, if I can just think of a way to find out whether he's an enemy or not without arousing suspicion.

She thought for a moment. If he really was an enemy, then he might try to silence her the moment he realized she was suspicious. Then, she got an idea.

She turned to him and spoke.

"Say," she said, drawing his attention."Why do the old leaves fall?"

This might have seemed like a pretty strange and random question to some, but Boruto simply nodded before speaking.

"The old leaves. The old leaves. The old leaves fall to leave room for the new leaves to bud, to serve as nourishment for the old tree from which the new leaves bud. The old leaves die to ensure the new leaves are not blocked from the sunlight that will aid their growth after they bud. That is why the old leaves fall," Boruto recited.

She inwardly heaved a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness, he's not an enemy. He recited it correctly, word for word. Well that's a relief, it seems like I won't have to attack him after all. He does seem like a nice enough guy.

It wasn't really the poem itself that mattered (it wasn't even that anapestic at all, some irked poet might tell you), but the words it contained and the order by which they were arranged.

Had he made a single mistake or substituted a single word with a synonym or paraphrased, she would have attacked him instantly. That code was one every academy student was taught before they were taught the transformation jutsu, just in case an enemy uses said justu to transform into a comrade. For non sensor-type ninja, it was meant to be a basic,quick and simple way to distinguish between friend and foe. Back then, they would be forced to each recite it to one of the senseis - privately - everyday before and after lessons for WEEKS so that even total knuckleheads would know it by heart.

If he could recite it so blithely, then he must be from Konoha. I think I'll trust him then.

Still, she kept her gaurd up. One could never be too careful.

Meanwhile, Boruto was having thoughts of his own.

What's with this girl, asking me to recite that old poem. Good thing I memorized it that time - when I saw it in that old book I'd met Sarada reading in the library when Aunt Sakura sent me to fetch her - not that I see the point though. Maybe she's a bookworm like Sarada and is just trying to show off her knowledge. Who exactly is she anyway?

"So uh, who are you exactly?" he decided to enquire. "I'm Boruto by the way."

The girl smiled at him.

"Pleased to meet you Boruto," she said.

"You can call me Tenten."

続け

"Who are you?" Shikadai demanded, quite uncharacteristically, as the newcomers approached. They halted a short distance away when they came near the two genin.

Asides from the redhead, there were two other shinobi, in brown flak jackets, flanking his sides. One had black eyes, a turban wrapped around his head and the Sand forehead protector tied around his head. The other had cheek length black hair. He too had black eyes and a forehead protector on his forehead.

"Well? Answer my question," Shikadai said glaring at the redhead in the middle.

"You know, it's usually considered polite to give your name first before asking someone else's," the man wearing the turban told him solemnly.

Shikadai clutched his kunai tighter.

This was NOT what he had been expecting.

A bunch of rouge-nin, lead by the masked man, ambushing them? - sure.

Waking up all tied up and gagged in some old crook's hideout? - why not?

Shino sensei and the other teachers from the Academy, or even his old man and the Seventh, popping out of nowhere and then revealing that this was all just a big scheme to test their level of alertness on missions, and then proceeding to scold them about how very easily they had let their guards down while on a mission? - not improbable.

But THIS, Shikadai had not been expecting.

He shot Sarada a look that said, Genjustu?

She nodded, also returning a look; most probably Genjutsu.

They both formed a ram seal and closed their eyes to concentrate - risky a move as it was.

Fortunately, the new comers seemed content to just stand there and watch them.

"Release!" they both said.

A beat.

"Do they think they're trapped in some sort of genjustu or something?" they heard someone say.

Slowly, they both opened their eyes. Nothing had changed. The tall trees that surrounded them were still there, the squirrels and other small animals of the forest were all still going about their own business and... the redhead was still standing right in front of them.

He seemed to have had enough of their display now though, for he then opened his mouth and spoke.

"Why are you blocking our path? The Sand and the Leaf are allies, are we not?" he said.

"You are Leaf ninja, aren't you?" he then added, eyeing Sarada's forehead.

"We are," she replied, "And who might you be?"

The two adults in brown flak jackets looked surprised at her question, but the redhead simply crossed his arms.

"They call me Gaara of the desert," he said simply. "Now if you don't mind, my comrades and I have a village to return to."

He started moving closer to the two, before adding," Feel free to try and stop us."

The three Sand shinobi walked passed Sarada and Shikadai, before exiting the clearing in the opposite direction from which they had entered.

続け

When Gaara had pressed through the bushes that lead to the clearing they'd have to cross to make a short cut to Suna, he hadn't expected to see two kids that looked about his age - both clutching kunai - standing in-between them and the other end of the clearing where their path lay.

More assassins, so soon? he had thought.

Not that it really mattered. One motion with his hand and the both of them would have been buried in his Sand Coffin - and that would have been the end of them. Except, ever since his fight with, and subsequent reformation by Naruto Uzumaki he has actively tried killing as few people as possible.

And as he and his comrades moved closer, one of the two had demanded to know who they were.

Not assassins then? he had thought. He had then noticed the Leaf forehead protector one of them was wearing around her head. That meant that they were from the Leaf, genin perhaps. They might even be friends of Naruto's. There was no way Gaara would kill the comrades of the person who opened his eyes and showed him a clear path to follow.

Then the two had formed a hand sign and Gaara had instantly started shifting the Sand inside his gourd, ready to counter any attack.

But then, both of them had closed their eyes - how foolish - and had shouted 'Release'.

How strange. Did they think that they were trapped in some sort of genjutsu?

Korobi had voiced his thoughts soon after.

If they thought that they were in a genjutsu, then that meant that they hadn't, in fact, been lying in wait to attack them. So Gaara had decided to simply walk pass them and continue on his way. Had they attacked his comrades or himself, then Gaara would have retaliated in kind. But they had just stood there, with perplexed expressions on their faces, and let him, Korobi and Yoaki pass.

Now, as he and his comrades walked out of the clearing and into the forest again, Gaara turned his head and his eyes narrowed as he glanced back at the two oddballs.

They too had turned and were watching them - no, specifically him, it seems - leave, still looking quite perturbed.

I'm quite sure I've never met these two before, so why do they seem so familiar? Especially the one with the pony tail. He thought.

Hmm. Very strange indeed.

続け

Snap!

Thus another pen broke between the mighty fingers of the Seventh Hokage.

"You need to calm down Naruto," Shikamaru told him. "That's the seventh pen you've broken so far."

"How do you expect me to be calm, Shikamaru. Our kids have disappeared and it's all my fault," Naruto retorted, hanging his head and holding his forehead with one hand.

When the ANBU agent he had assigned to watch over the children from the shadows had reported to him what had happened, Naruto had practically flown across the room, from his desk, and had landed at the open doorway. He had then ordered the ANBU to lead him to the sight of the attack and had even given the man a fraction of the Nine tails' chakra to augument his speed when he - Naruto - had deemed him too slow.

When they had arrived on the scene, there was nothing to be found except the faded markings of the sealing formula which, according to the ANBU, had been used to make his son and two of his friends vanish. Surprisingly though, the markings had yet to completely disappear - as though it takes some time for them to fade completely.

Naruto had been devastated. His son had just vanished, just like that. And they hadn't even been on the best of terms. And now he might never even get to..., no, he would find his son - and Sarada and Shikadai too - no matter what, even if they had to turn the entire Land of Fire upside down. That, he promised. And he never went back on his word.

"Cause that's my ninja way," he had said, as he stared at his prosthetic arm.

He had then proceeded to create a thousand clones and together they searched high and low for the kids, leaving no stone unturned, for hours, to no avail - even when all of them had used Sage Mode together, they still hadn't been able to sense them.

And he would have kept on searching for days even, had Shikamaru not sent Kakashi who had then given him a 'the village need their Hokage' speech and convinced him to return to the village and leave the search to the ANBU and the other shinobi.

And now here he was, sitting at his new desk (Sakura had accidentally destroyed the old one when she and Temari had practically stormed into his office and had DEMANDED to know what had happened to their children), helplessly waiting for the search parties to report any news regarding the kids.

Naruto hated the feeling of helplessness. To know that you had so much power and yet you couldn't do a thing.

Shikamaru folded his arms and sighed.

"Look, I know you're worried about your son, I'm worried about mine too. But we have to keep calm so that we can think clearly and logically. And we should also have faith that they can take care of themselves, wherever they are, long enough for us to find them. After all, it's a parent's duty to have faith in their child, is it not?"

Shikamaru gave Naruto a few seconds to take this in.

"Well?" he then enquired.

Naruto let out a heavy sigh.

"Your right," he said as he let go of his forehead and slowly raised his head. "I worry too much because I think they're just kids that might make reckless decisions that might put them in danger, but I guess that's not being fair to them. Not all of them at least. Pervy Sage, Granny, Mom and Dad. They all had faith in me back then so... I will have faith in the next generation too."

He then gave his advisor a gentle smile.

"Thanks Shikamaru."

"Anytime," the Nara clan head replied. "So anyway, while the search parties are at it, let's also do our bit here."

He paused as he pulled out a photograph from his pocket.

"About the seal that was used to - most likely - teleport Shikadai and the others away," he said as he placed it on the Hokage's desk for Naruto to see. "Do you, by any chance, recognise it? I know you've taken an interest in your clan's history and sealing techniques ever since the moon incident, so you might have come across a seal that at least resembles this one."

Naruto took the photo and considered it. It was a photograph - taken by the ANBU - of the yet-to-fade seal he had seen on the ground at the site where Boruto and his friends had disappeared. Back then he had been too preoccupied with finding the missing genin to spare the seal more than a glance, even though it had had quite a large radius.

"I don't recognise it," he told Shikamaru.

"I thought as much," Shikamaru replied. "That's why I sent a copy of this photograph to every trustworthy Shinobi in the Leaf that has extensive knowledge in fuinjutsu, including Tenten and the Sixth."

Naruto nodded.

"So, did any of them know anything about it?"

"None, except the Sixth. He said that he may have seen it somewhere before but he wasn't sure where exactly. He told me that he'd do a bit of digging up and contact me if he found anything."

"Good," Naruto nodded again. "Have some ANBU covertly gaurd that seal. It seems to be slowly fading, but you never know. The culprit might return to the crime scene. Tell them to be careful though. Should he or she return, they should capture him, but they should proceed with extreme caution."

"Yes sir," said Shikamaru.

Good, he's finally acting like the Hokage again.

"Way ahead of you though sir, I've already ordered the ANBU to gaurd the place," he then told the whiskered Hokage dryly.

"O-oh, I see," Naruto sweatdropped. "Good."

"So um, in the event that Kakashi sensei doesn't find anything of interest, what do we do then?" Naruto enquired.

"Well naturally, we'll seek for outside help. The other nations of the Great Five also have old masters of fuinjutsu, few as they are. We can send a photo or a miniture copy of the seal in a giant scroll and ask them if they recognise it," Shikamaru replied. "I've already ordered for someone to go over to the crime scene with a giant scroll and paint an exact copy of the seal before it completely disappears. Of course, we won't tell just any kage exactly why we want the seal transcribed, except those who are directly concerned with this matter - like Gaara, for example.

Pretty sure Temari's already filled him in anyway.

"Right. So does asking a certain serpant count as seeking for 'outside help'?" Naruto asked, almost sheepishly.

"Wait, you don't mean..."

Naruto nodded.

"You can't be serious. Naruto, I don't trust that man any further than I can throw him."

Naruto leaned back on his chair and crossed his arms before speaking.

"It remains a fact though, that Orochimaru has vast knowledge of a variety of jutsu, fuinjutsu being one of them. And I'll be right here when he comes so there's nothing to worry about... "

"Yeah, except you're a cinnamon roll," Shikamaru chipped in.

Naruto ignored him and continued.

"The lives of our kids are at stake here, so we can't afford to be picky. And if there's anyone that has a chance of knowing what kind of justu was used to kidnap them, it's Orochimaru. And besides, Sasuke will be back from the Land of Wind tomorrow so can I assure you the old snake will be on his best behaviour."

"Hmm. I suppose you're right," Shikamaru said, still a bit sceptical.

Sasuke did know how to handle his old master best. The Uchiha patriarch had gone to the Land of Wind to explore some of its old temples for any clues regarding Kaguya's scroll - or more specifically the strange script it was written in. He had not yet been informed about the disappearance of his daughter, and Shikamaru certainly did NOT want to be anywhere near the Hokage's when Naruto breaks the news to him. He had had quite enough of emotionally crippled Uchiha.

"Alright then, fine. But he'll only be the last resort," he told the Hokage.

It wasn't that Shikamaru thought Orochimaru would try anything funny, not when monstrosities like Naruto and Sasuke were in the village. No, it was just that he didn't want the Sannin getting his fangs on a potentially powerful and dangerous jutsu, should it turn out to be that.

The fact that thousands of Naruto clones using Sage Mode couldn't detect the kids' presence at all, certainly indicated that the seal used was at least powerful enough to teleport them very far away - far enough to escape Sage Mode's range. That was definitely worrying.

"Sure, of course," Naruto agreed.

"REPORTING, SIR."

An ANBU operative materialised in the of centre the office, kneeling.

Neither Naruto nor Shikamaru so much as flinched.

"Go ahead," Naruto told the Black Ops agent as he straightened himself on his seat.

"Yes sir! Search operations still ongoing. We have yet to find any trace of either the assailant or the victims."

"Oh,... I see," Naruto said disappointed.

"However," the ANBU continued. "We have found something you might find quite interesting."

続け

"Well? Do you see anything?"

Sarada deactivated her sharingan.

"No, nothing out of the ordinary. Either this is a highly elaborate genjutsu, one that even the sharingan can't see through - which I doubt - or... it's something else," she told her former classmate, gravely.

It didn't take two of the smartest people in their class too long to figure out what that 'something' might be.

This is gonna be a major drag, I just know it, Shikadai thought to himself.

They were still in the clearing they'd woken up in earlier.

"If what, I'm sure, both of us are thinking is true, then I sure am glad you didn't activate your sharingan earlier," Shikadai said.

"It would have been really problematic if any of those Sand ninja had seen it."

"Alright then," Shikadai said, as he then started unzipping his cream coloured jacket."

"H-Hey! W-What are you doing?" Sarada stuttered.

Shikadai ignored her as he then proceeded to take off the jacket - it wasn't really a big deal since he always wore a white shirt underneath - turned it inside out, then wore it again.

"Good, this way the Nara clan symbol on the back won't be visible," he said, as he zipped up the jacket again.

I guess I should be thanking Mom for insisting that I wear this jacket instead of the other one. Back then, I had thought she was just being really troublesome.

He then put his forehead protector, which he had removed earlier, into his backpack.

So he was wearing a reversible jacket all along. Sarada sweatdropped.

The 'inside' of his jacket was no different from the 'outside', except that it was light green instead of cream coloured and he now didn't have the Nara clan symbol on his back.

"It's not improbable that we might run into some Leaf ninja who are well acquainted with the Nara clan while we're here. I don't want to have to explain why I have the clan symbol on my back when they don't recognise me," Shikadai now explained. "As troublesome as that would be though, its nothing compared to what might happen if anyone here were to find out that you're actually an Uchiha."

Sarada nodded. She agreed with him that they needed to conceal their identities. His reasoning was sound. For some reason unknown to her, her father was supposed to be the only Uchiha left in this time - that is, of course, if their suspicions about where, or rather, when, they currently were was correct - so it would be VERY awkward if someone were to find out she was an Uchiha.

Thankfully, her backpack had been obscuring the Uchiha clan symbol on her back when the three Sand-nin had passed through the clearing. But what would happen if they were to perhaps meet someone she knew personally? Like..., like...

"We've gotta find Boruto and figure a way to get back home ASAP!" she told Shikadai.

"Easier said than done though," he replied. "Here's hoping Boruto landed somewhere around here too."

Fat chance though. Pretty sure he would have yelled the place down, looking for us, by now if that was the case.

"Well he's clearly not in this little clearing, so let's search the surrounding perimeter of forest. We'd better not split up though. That masked individual might be lying somewhere, just waiting to pounce on us. Let's proceed with caution," Sarada said.

"Right," said Shikadai.

"Let's go."

続け

Boruto's eyes widened in shock as he stared up at something yonder.

W-what's going on here...

He had been elated when he had first sighted the gates of the hidden Leaf as they had approached the village.

He had longed to just run right into the village and barge into his Dad's office to get help. But he had been simply too exhausted, and his companion probably wouldn't have liked it if he had just run ahead of her - not that he could have. So he had simply chosen to increase his pace a little.

When they had entered the village however, Boruto had began to feel as though something was off.

Was that bench always there? he had wondered.

Strange. He hadn't been sure why he had never noticed it before. And it hadn't been just the bench either. The buildings had seemed different too. They looked a bit old and most looked like they seriously required a new paint job.

Then he had looked up at the mountain where the Great Hokage Stone Faces watched over the village, and that was when he had gotten the shock of his life.

The skyscrapers on top of the mountain had completely disappeared! In fact it looked like they had never even been there in first place. But more importantly, something else was missing, a couple of somethings in fact.

Boruto blinked.

Then he blinked again.

He wondered if he had lost his ability to count all of a sudden.

One... Two... Three... Four...

No. No matter how you looked at it, there was NOT supposed to be only four faces on the Hokage Mountain.

And how can solid buildings just up and disappear in the course of some hours?

He was broken from his trance by a hand placed on his shoulders.

"Hey, you okay?" his brown haired companion asked.

Boruto turned to look at her.

Now that I think of it, this person... she said her name was Tenten didn't she? That's the same name as Ms. Tenten's from the weapon shop. And they do resemble each other. Like, a LOT.

At that time, when she had told him her name, he had simply shrugged it off as just a coincidence or perhaps, he thought, the two were related somehow.

But now? Now his mind began to place the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle together.

Wait a second, when we first met she called me 'Naruto', didn't she.

And that was when it dawned on him.

休止

AN - Phew! And that was chapter three. Hope you guys liked it, and as always, please forgive any errors, typos or mistakes and please don't forget to leave a review. That's what motivates me to write more.

Boruto NNGs Episode 38 spoiler:

Has anyone watched this week's episode? I must say, all the twelve main characters of Boruto's classroom were teamed up just as expected. And a new team seven huh? That's actually kinda cool, I think.

Did you know:

Both the oldest member of the rookie nine as well as the youngest are on the same team.

The Rookie Nine from oldest to youngest are as follows:

-Shino (January 23) Oldest.

-Sakura (March 28) Sarada was born in March too!

-Choji (May 1)

-Kiba (July 7) Yeah, you probably just let Shino come first.

-Sasuke (July 23) Sorry Sauce, can't be the 'top' at everything.

-Shikamaru (September 22)

-Ino (September 23) Just a day after Shikamaru, wow!

-Naruto (October 10)

-Hinata (December 27) Youngest.

Well what do you know, looks like Shikamaru's not the only one that married himself an older woman.

Oh, and that part about Tenten being good at fuinjutsu isn't really something I just made up. It was stated in the Konoha Shinden novel that, as an adult, Tenten was a kunoichi who excelled at space-time ninjutsu, which is close. Although the part about Naruto taking an interest in his clans's history and jutsu was all just me, laughs sheepishly.

No, Boruto arrived only a few hours before Sarada and Shikadai, ayingChan. Some of your other questions have been answered in this chapter and the rest will be answered in subsequent chapters. And no, it's nothing annoying when you ask questions, I love it in fact.

May525 and Uchiha Sarada guessed the answer to my previous question correctly. You guys are very observant.

This story basically takes place after the Konoha crush but before the land of tea mission, Guest, Sasuke abandoned the village right after that mission. If you haven't watched Naruto Shippuden Episode 182 before reading chapter two, then go watch it, you'll probably understand better.

Here's your update, SSK005. And there actually IS a reason why Shikadai came back with them and not Mitsuki. That's all I can say right now. Guess you'll have to just follow the story and see.

Thank you all for your kind reviews.

Word Count: 4952

Chapter Completed: 21st December 2017

Chapter Published: 23rd December 2017

Well, methinks that be all. Again, please don't forget to review.

Bye!

Straight Path.