We'll Get Home, I Promise

by Takeshi1225

A lot can change in the little moments creating a vastly different future. A lot more can happen when two worlds collide. Shinachiku, the son of Naruto and Sakura, and Arata, the son of Sasuke and Hinata, are transported to the world of Boruto where the problems of their own world is now shared. This isn't the same Konoha, but they will defend it all the same. That they promise.

26. Reflections

We'll Get Home, I Promise

Chapter 26: Reflections

The whole room within the Hokage's office was silent. No one made a peep. No one even dared to make a peep. They were all racked up on their own string of emotions that they practically lost their voice.

Well, the ones from this reality that is.

Arata and Tsukia remained silent with smiles on their faces, the former's being more subtle than his sister's own, as they let their teammate enjoy the moment he was sharing with his mother and father in their embrace.

After a good while of enjoying one another's warmth before pulling apart with joyful smiles.

"Kaa-chan… you let your hair grow." Shinachiku said, noticing his mother's new change in hairstyle.

"Oh, that. I kind of let it grow out a bit. I was a little too busy to worry about a haircut." Sakura said with a bit of an embarrassed smile and eye smiles with her cheeks tinted pink as she ran her fingers through her locks. "Honestly, I'm a little disappointed in myself. I finally got to see you and I didn't bother to dress up a bit like I normally do. I must look a mess." Sakura said, gesturing to her simple outfit.

"I think you look perfect no matter what you look like, Sakura-chan." Naruto said with a wide smile and blush.

"First time I've seen him in a month and he's already being embarrassing with a simple flirt." Shinachiku mumbled with a frown.

"Your father never misses a beat." Sakura said with an amused smile.

"Well, either way, I do have to agree with him on this, 'ttebaro." Shinachiku admitted with a smile.

"Thank you, Shina-chan." Sakura thanked her son with an appreciative smile.

"Hey, I'm the one who complimented you first and I didn't get a thank you! Also, how come no one's mentioning my glow up? I think I look pretty dignified, dattebayo!" Naruto said with a pout and his head raised high as he stood up straight with his fists against his hips.

"Alright, alright. You look good too, tou-chan." Shinachiku relented with a smile, actually happy to hear his father being his usual self. "You look a lot like Minato-Ojīchan."

"Pretty fitting since I followed in his footsteps." Naruto said with a proud smile and his arms crossed.

"Kami-sama help us if Hanami does the same." Sakura said standing up straight with her own arms crossed.

"Why even say it? We know she will." Shinachiku said looking to the side with a frown and half-lidded eyes.

"That's my girl!" Naruto said with an even wider proud smile.

Sakura and Shinachiku sighed at the whiskered kage's behavior.

Shinachiku suddenly gained a soft smile before suddenly hugging his father, catching the older blonde by surprise.

"I missed you." Shinachiku said with a warm smile and his eyes closed with them getting teary.

"Back at you." Naruto said with his own warm smile as he returned the hug. A moment afterwards, he noticed the figure standing across from him on the other side of the Hokage's desk. Himself. Sort of anyway. "Eh?" Naruto blinked his eyes in surprise.

"Hmm?" Shinachiku noticed his father's reaction, before realizing the very odd situation that they were all now in. "Oh, right! Tou-chan meet, uh… the Hokage?" Shinachiku introduced his father to the Nanadaime, feeling a little weird now over the situation.

Both Naruto blinked their eyes as they looked towards one another.

"Hmm~." Naruto (Shinachiku's father) rubbed his chin as he got a closer look at his other self. "Huh. You were right, Sakura-chan. I would have looked stupid with shorter hair." Naruto said to his wife, causing her to flinch while the others blinked their eyes in surprise.

Shinachiku couldn't help but facepalm at his father's behavior.

"Baka!" Sakura smacked her husband on the arm. "Please, forgive my husband. He can be selective when it comes to his big mouth. Especially when he gets a bit too comfortable."

"This situation is comfortable for him?" Shinachiku questioned.

"It's practically no different when he's interacting with clones. In a sense." Arata said with a shrug.

"Oh, hey, Arata. Glad to see you're fine as well." Naruto greeted the Uchiha-Hyūga boy.

"Nice to see you as well, Rokudaime-sama." Arata greeted his world's Hokage.

Naruto turned back towards his other self and extended his hand towards him.

"Thank you. For everything that you've done for them." Naruto thanked, well, Naruto.

Nanadaime blinked his eyes before shaking his counterpart's hand.

"Anytime. I know you'd do the same if the positions were switched." Naruto (Boruto's father) said, giving Naruto a friendly smile.

"Nice cape." Shinachiku's father said to the Nanadaime with an impressed smile, pointing at the white garb with red flames on it.

"Nice haori." Boruto's father returned the compliment to the Rokudaime with an impressed smile of his own, pointing at the orange coat with black flames on it. "You really think I should grow my hair a bit like yours?" Nanadaime Naruto asked, feeling a bit insecure about his choice of hairstyle now.

"It wouldn't hurt, but it doesn't retract from this handsome face of ours, dattebayo. Isn't that right, Sakura-chan?" Rokudaime Naruto turned towards Sakura with an Uzumaki grin.

The only thing was, he wasn't facing his Sakura.

The Rokudaime's wife cleared her throat, catching her husband's attention to see the annoyed frown and half-lidded eyes on her expression.

Rokudaime Naruto blinked his eyes in surprise as he looked back to finally realize that the Sakura that he had talked to a second ago was indeed dressed differently to his wife, along with having shorter pink hair which was neater than his wife's hair normally was. He looked between both Sakuras, taking in their appearance before speaking.

"Oh, gomen." Rokudaime apologized to this world's Sakura before turning towards his own. "See? You still look gorgeous no matter what you wear." Naruto said to his wife with a smile, eye smiles and blush.

This caused both Sakuras to blush with this world's Sakura flinching and taking a step back, shocked by the forwardness of this version of Naruto when it came to her, while his wife just glanced to the side with a bit of an embarrassed blush as she begrudgingly had to admit to herself that she appreciated and loved the compliment her husband gave her.

Shinachiku suddenly nudged his father a bit too hard, causing him to hunch over and lose some air from his lungs as he held his now aching stomach.

"Could you not be all flirty with kaa-chan for once. We're not alone, dattebaro." Shinachiku reprimanded his father as he gestured towards the others in the room.

Rokudaime Naruto blinked his eyes with an eyebrow raised in confusion. He turned towards the direction his son was gesturing over towards to see this world's version of Team 7.

"Oh, hey, Kono." Naruto greeted this world's version of his little brother figure with a hand up in greeted.

"Uh, hello… Naruto-onii-chan." Konohamaru greeted the Rokudaime, resorting to calling him elder brother since he wasn't sure how to address him, seeing as he wasn't his world's Hokage.

"Mitsuki's here too, huh? Nice to see ya."

"Thank you, Rokudaime-sama." Mitsuki greeted the alternate Hokage with his usual smile.

"And… uh… huh?" Rokudaime finally took notice of the dark-haired bespectacled girl with a similar fashion sense to his wife and a boy who could pass off for a clone of his younger self. If it wasn't for the weirdly shaped haircut. Are weird hairstyles just a thing here? Either way, the Rokudaime stood up straight and made his way over towards the pair, causing them to stiffen up in his presence. "Hmm~." Rokudaime Naruto narrowed his eyes as he examined the two, making them feel nervous.

'This guy… Shinachiku's father… he has a strong presence to him.' Sarada thought with a nervous look upon her face.

'W-What's with him? Is he somehow pissed? At me? Is it because I'm a jinchuriki now or something without his knowing?' Boruto wondered as he gulped, a little scared in the presence of the Rokudaime.

"Hmm~." Rokudaime Naruto furrowed his brow as he kept a strong focus on the pair. He then leaned forward, now being face-to-face with Boruto. "You know, you look familiar. Have we met before?" He 'asked' as he rubbed his chin.

"Hn." Arata rolled his eyes at this while Tsukia had eye smiles and a slightly amused yet embarrassed smirk with a sweat drop going down the side of her head.

"I could have sworn I've seen you before. Like I've done it a million times… almost like every time I look in the mirror, dattebayo." Rokudaime Naruto said, looking upwards to the side with a smirk as he scratched the side of his head.

"… Seriously? You're actually going with that? That's kind of lame, dattebasa." Boruto said with a dull expression and sweat drop.

"Welcome to my world." Shinachiku muttered, looking towards the side as his father couldn't help but laugh at his lame joke.

"So, he's both of yours?" Rokudaime Naruto asked the Nanadaime and this world's Sakura, causing them to flinch with their cheeks reddened.

"No! Absolutely not!" Sakura quickly answered, flustered and annoyed upon instinct.

"My kaa-chan's Hinata Uzumaki, dattebasa!" Boruto shouted with an embarrassed blush and annoyed expression.

"Hinata?" Rokudaime Naruto turned back towards Boruto with a raised eyebrow.

'I see.' Sakura (Shinachiku's mother) thought to herself with her eyes growing somber with a small frown.

Sarada noticed this change in demeanor which caused her to frown some as well.

"You know, I can kind of see it. I mean, the face and body are all me, hell, you even have my whiskers, but the hair does look like Hinata's old hairdo was tossed in a blender with my own. Didn't think it would look like some sort of weird leaf though." Rokudaime said as he looked over Boruto's head, only to earn a pout as he covered his hair. "So then, that would make you~…" He then looked towards Sarada.

"Huh?" Sarada noticed the Hokage of another world looking at her, which caused her to stiffen up again. "Uh… k-kon'nichiwa. My name is-"

"Ran?" Rokudaime guessed.

"Eh?" Sarada looked at him in surprise and confusion.

"You know, like 'Orchid'. The flower. You look like an orchid to me, 'ttebayo." Rokudaime said with a smile.

"Uh. N-No, that's not it, but thank you." Sarada said looking towards the side with a bashful yet flattered smile as her cheeks became red. "I'm Sarada. Sarada Uchiha." Sarada formally introduced herself to Shinachiku's father.

"Sarada?" Rokudaime raised an eyebrow as he then turned towards Sarada's mother. "You named your daughter salad?" He questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"You named your son after a ramen ingredient." She shot back with her arms crossed.

"Touché." He admitted defeat with a shrug before turning back towards Sarada. "You're a lucky one."

"Huh?" Sarada perked her head up in confusion.

"Well, not only do you have one of the best women in the world as your mother, but you also got her looks. Though, I think you would have benefited from her hair color, but that's just me. Either way, you should feel proud, dattebayo." Rokudaime said giving Sarada an Uzumaki grin, wink and a thumbs up.

Sarada's, and by extension her mother's, eyes widened upon his declaration. After a moment, Sarada looked away with a super embarrassed yet very flattered smile as her whole face turned red.

"A-Arigato, H-Hokage-sama." Sarada said, holding her reddened cheek and closing her eyes as she was unable to look the Rokudaime in the eyes.

Rokudaime Naruto just continued to smile with a pair of eye smiles now, not noticing the effect he was having on Sarada.

"Okay, seriously, this is just really weird." Boruto said, starting to feel a bit disgusted from the sight as he sported a frown and half-lidded eyes.

"Hmm? Oh, you're right! I never asked for your name. That is weird." Rokudaime Naruto said as he lightly bopped his fist atop his open hand.

"That's not what I meant!" Boruto exclaimed with an embarrassed and annoyed expression.

While Boruto and Sarada were flustered in their own way, the adults couldn't help but try to fight off laughter all while having amused smiles on their faces.

'That baka.' Sakura (Sarada's mother) thought with eyes smiles and a twitching smile as she fought really hard not to laugh out loud.

'That's Naruto alright. Although, a little more like his old self than I expected.' Shikamaru thought with an amused smile.

'He always did have that effect on people. Glad it never changes even worlds apart.' Konohamaru thought with a proud smile.

'Is this how I'm like?' Naruto (Boruto's father) thought to himself, looking up in thought as he lightly scratched the side of his head with a finger.

"Sorry about the disturbance." The Rokudaime's wife said to Nanadaime Naruto. "He's always like this. Especially when he gets a little too comfortable in the company of allies." She said with a small smirk.

"Oh, no worries. I totally get it." Nanadaime Naruto said, offering her a smile.

"You know, you seem a bit more mature than this knucklehead. Maybe you should give him lessons." She said with a smile and pair of eye smiles.

"Hey~, I'm plenty mature. I'm Hokage after all." Rokudaime Naruto said, standing up straight with his arms crossed.

"So is he." Alternate Sakura countered as she nodded to the Nanadaime, causing her husband to groan with a pout.

Shikamaru cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

"I think we've veered off topic long enough." The Nara said with a more serious and calmer demeanor. "We should return to business, am I right, Naruto?"

"Right." Both Narutos said with a nod only to look at one another in surprise.

"Oh, right… this is going to get confusing." Shinachiku said as he lightly scratched the side of his head.

"I guess the best way to clear up the confusion is to designate both counterparts with separate titles." Konohamaru suggested.

"Oh, I got it! I'll be orange Naruto, and he'll be white Naruto!" The Rokudaime suggested, causing everyone to give him a look. "You know, because of my haori and his cape."

"Yeah, we got that." Boruto said with a dull expression.

"So, what do we refer to both versions of my mom?" Sarada asked.

"Hmm~." The Rokudaime tapped his chin in thought. "Chōhatsu (Long-haired) no Sakura-chan and Tanpatsu (Short-haired) no Sakura!" He suggested with a grin.

"No." Both Sakuras said with dull expressions.

"Shirt Sakura and Dress Sakura!"

"No." They shook their heads.

"Green pants and White pants!"

"What?" They both said with confused and flabbergasted expressions.

"Beautiful and… Also Beautif- no that won't work." Rokudaime Naruto said shaking his head as he pondered some more.

"Is he always like this?" Sakura (Sarada's mother) asked her counterpart.

"Yup." The Rokudaime's wife said with a shrug.

"How do you do it?" The Head Medic of her Konoha asked as she looked back towards the still pondering Rokudaime.

"Oh! … No, they're both that too." The Rokudaime went back to pondering.

Sakura (Shina's mother) stared at her husband before gaining a warm smile.

"How could I not?" She responded to her counterpart in a low tone.

This reality's Sakura stared at her counterpart with a surprised expression. The look in her eyes. The smile she had. That tone in her voice. It was so similar to her own whenever her thoughts went to Sasuke.

So… there really is a reality where she looked at Naruto the same way.

"Ugh! This is embarrassing!" Mamoru shouted out, causing Shinachiku, Boruto and the Rokudaime to perk their heads with the latter two turning towards the sunshine blonde.

"Mamoru?" The Rokudaime was pleasantly surprised to hear the voice of the first tailed beast he had a hand in creating.

Mamoru then suddenly appeared via flames on Shinachiku's shoulders.

"Good to see you, old man. You too, pops." Mamoru greeted both the Rokudaime and his progenitor.

"Brats." Alternate Kurama greeted his and Naruto's first creations from within his Naruto.

"Look, let's just do this simply, alright?" Mamoru said before pointing towards the Nanadaime. "That is Boruto's father." He then pointed towards the Rokudaime. "That is Shinachiku's father."

"Wait, is that this kid's name?" The Rokudaime asked, pointing his thumb towards Boruto.

"So, let's just refer to both worlds as the Shinachiku Universe and the Boruto Universe. We'll say SU for the ones back home and BU for the ones here." Mamoru suggested.

"Shinachiku Universe? That sounds really conceded!" Shinachiku complained, feeling uneasy over such an egotistical sounding claim.

"Boruto Universe, eh? I kind of like it." Boruto said with a smirk and rubbing his chin.

"Ugh, you would." Shinachiku and Sarada said with frowns.

"I see he has his father's old sense of modesty." SU Sakura said to her BU counterpart.

"How can you tell?" BU Sakura said with a sarcastic tone.

BU Naruto groaned with a pout.

"I still don't like having our universe being named after me. It just sounds wrong, 'ttebaro." Shinachiku objected with a frown and his arms crossed.

"Then let's just go with something even more simple. Yin and Yang." Arata suggested.

"Perfect!" Shinachiku said with an approving smile.

"I prefer BU and SU better." Boruto said with his arms crossed.

(So do I, so that's what I'll refer to them as.)

"But who's Yin and Yang?" Sarada asked.

"Well, our world is filled with Oni Zetsu and it's where the Nana Deshi originated from there, so I suppose our universe is the Yin universe." Tsukia suggested.

"I guess that works, but isn't this world filled with Oni Zetsu too?" The Rokudaime asked.

"No, actually. Not until the cult started pouring them here." Shinachiku admitted with a saddened and even remorseful frown, regardless of the fact that none of the infestation was his fault.

"Get out! Are you serious?!" The Rokudaime asked in surprise.

"That's right." Shikamaru answered with a nod.

"Whoa. I'm sorry." The Rokudaime apologized with a remorseful frown, just like his own son's.

"It's alright. It's not your fault anyway." The Nanadaime said.

"Although, speaking of the ones whose fault it is, help in dealing with them in any way would be welcomed." Shikamaru said.

"That is why we're here." SU Sakura said.

"Then I guess we'll leave you to your meeting." Konohamaru said.

"Huh?" Shinachiku flinched.

"We should get this meeting underway while we still have the chance." Shikamaru said.

"Tsukia is on a time limit herself. Her clone can only stay in our universe depending on how much chakra she has left." Mitsuki informed.

"All the more reason." Shikamaru said with a more serious expression.

"I-I still have plenty of chakra!" Tsukia informed as she flexed her cloak covered biceps before looking towards Shinachiku. "Trust me." She said, mainly for her blonde teammate.

Shinachiku was still a bit worried and glum as he looked towards the ground. He suddenly felt a hand placed on his head causing him to look up to see his father giving him a warm smile.

"It'll be alright. We're not leaving for a good while, okay?" SU Naruto said with a reassuring smile and warm, fatherly tone. Shinachiku looked his father in the eyes for a moment, but the Rokudaime could see hesitancy within his jade green ones. "Uzumakis always keep their word, am I right?" SU Naruto said bringing up his fist.

After a moment, Shinachiku nodded.

"Yeah. Right." Shinachiku said as he gave his father a fist bump. Just then, his father lifted his hitai-ate up and kissed him on the forehead. "Ew! Tou-chan! Not in front of others!" Shinachiku said in embarrassment as he stepped away from his father.

"What? It's been too long! Besides, don't blame me for you being born with your mother's gorgeous forehead." SU Naruto said with a shrug as he watched his son quickly walk away.

"You're so embarrassing!" Shinachiku retorted as he headed for the door where the rest of the team was. "Alright, nothing to see here! Move along! Meeting in place!" Shinachiku said waving both Team 7s to leave, with said teams amused by his embarrassment.

"Pfft. Don't you want a kiss from your mama too?" Boruto asked with a teasing grin as Sarada stifled her laughter.

"Zip it and move it!" Shinachiku said with an annoyed tone and expression. Boruto couldn't help but laugh as he and the amused members of his team, along with a smirking Arata and smiling Tsukia were guided out by Shinachiku. "Ja ne." Shinachiku said with an embarrassed blush as he shut the door.

"Man, I missed that kid." SU Naruto said with a smile as he shook his head. "He hasn't been too much trouble, has he? I know he inherited my more… abrasive side."

"You mean reckless." SU Sakura corrected her husband.

"Was trying to avoid that word." SU Naruto said with a pout.

"He's been fine." BU Naruto answered.

"He has a habit of giving us a heart attack here and there, seeing as he can be so 'abrasive.'" BU Sakura said with a shrug and a bit of a tired and dull look.

"Just like his father." SU Sakura said, rolling her eyes as her gaze then fell on her husband.

"Which means he's also endearing." SU Naruto said with a shrug and nonchalant smile.

"… I hate that I can't argue that." SU Sakura said, looking to the side with a pout and her arms crossed.

"Which is how I know you love me." SU Naruto said with an Uzumaki grin as he wrapped an arm around his wife and kissed her on the cheek, surprising her, and surprising their counterparts and Shikamaru even more as that was an image they never thought they would ever see in a million years.

"B-Baka! You can't get comfortable like that here!" SU Sakura said with an embarrassed blush as she lightly pushed her husband away, especially after seeing how shocked and no doubt uncomfortable the show of affection made their other selves.

"Huh? Oh!" SU Naruto immediately remembered the situation they were in, and that this wasn't his office, which means he can't treat it as such. "Gomen. I get so used to being around here in my world and all, dattebayo. It's pretty hard to exercise restraint when it comes to something you're so used to, am I right?" SU Naruto said with an apologetic grin and eye-smiles as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Uh, no problem. We get it." BU Naruto said with an embarrassed grin, eye smiles and a sweat drop.

"Y-Yeah." BU Sakura said with the same expression.

'So, this is what it would be like if we were married.' Both BU versions of the Hokage and Head Medic thought to themselves.

'It's… different.' BU Naruto thought to himself.

'It's weird.' BU Sakura thought to herself. 'But… not in a bad way. I think.'

SU Naruto then cleared his throat before adopting a more serious demeanor.

"Again. Gomen. I won't waste any more time." SU Naruto said with a serious expression, surprising BU Naruto and Sakura.

"I-It's no problem." BU Naruto said, a bit caught off guard by this more serious side of his counterpart.

He was already used to the goofy side he was showing for the past few minutes, so seeing this more serious side to him so fast was a bit surprising. Now he's wondering if he was just the same as well. The man has never seen his face when he got serious, so it can't be helped.

"I hope you don't mind me bringing this up, but I noticed that you and I do have a contrast that's more than who we decided to share our lives with." SU Naruto said, causing BU Naruto and Sakura to flinch a bit with their cheeks reddened. "You don't have a third of Ōtsutsuki DNA within you." SU Naruto pointed out, catching every BU member present by surprise.

"That's right. I almost forgot. Shinachiku has a sixth of his DNA being Ōtsutsuki." BU Sakura recalled with her arms crossed.

"That's on me. I wasn't strong enough back then." SU Naruto said with his eyes growing a bit somber.

His wife gently placed her hand on his shoulder, which he patted in appreciation.

"Don't worry about it. Shinachiku told us that it was that or the world. I would have done the same thing if I was in your position. Trust me." BU Naruto said with a sympathetic smile.

"It would be weird if I didn't believe that 'ttebayo." SU Naruto said with a more relaxed smile, causing him and his counterpart to laugh together. Shikamaru cleared his throat, gaining both pairs of counterparts' attention. "Oh. Yo, Shikamaru." SU Naruto greeted the Nara head.

"Nice to have you here and all, Naruto, but as you said, we don't have time to waste." Shikamaru said with a stoic expression.

"Good to see that you never change no matter what." SU Naruto said with a smirk as he placed a hand on Shikamaru's shoulder.

"And it's funny to see you being more goofy than serious even as the Hokage." He shot back.

"And you'd think you'd drop that smart mouth as an aide. Guess even that habit was too troublesome to be kicked." SU Naruto shot back.

"Like I could get rid of something this useful."

"Actually, I meant for Temari."

"You bastard." Shikamaru said unable to hold in his laughter at this as he gently pushed away SU Naruto's arm, who just returned the jovial laughter with a grin.

BU Sakura stared at this exchange with a mild look of surprise before gaining a warm smile.

'Yup. That's Naruto alright.' BU Sakura thought with a warm sense of familiarity.

"Anyway, the reason I ask is because I noticed that kid of yours, Boruto, right? How did he get his tailed beast without the mutation to your own DNA?" SU Naruto asked, surprising the others.

"Oh, no, that's, uh… actually quite resent." BU Naruto said with a blush.

"Oh. So, it wasn't done in the…" SU Naruto glanced to his wife to see her eyes narrowed in a critical way that almost dared him to say what he was thinking. He cleared his throat with a bit of a worried expression but quickly attempted to recompose himself as before. "Conventional way." He said, seeing his wife close her eyes to silently communicate that his choice of words was satisfactory.

"Actually, Boruto's tailed beast was made in a different way." BU Naruto said. "See, a lot happened even before Shinachiku and Arata showed up. During the finals of the Chunin Exams, our village was invaded by three Ōtsutsuki."

"Momoshiki, Kinshiki and Urashiki. Same happened to us." SU Sakura said. "Did the same result happen then? You got captured, they tried sucking away your chakra, this universe's Team 7, both old and new, along with the other four kage came to your aid and together with this Sakura and this universe's Sasuke, you scared off Urashiki, back Kinshiki into a corner where he sacrificed himself to empower Momoshiki, and then you and your former team defeated him only for him to try and pull a fast one by planting a Kāma onto one of the new generation of Team 7." She listed off.

"Uh… take away the part of you being there along with the younger team excluding my son and have him land the final blow upon Momoshiki with the last bit of my chakra I entrusted to him, and you'd pretty much got it point for point." BU Naruto said.

"I see. There must have been a lot of work needed back in Konoha then." SU Sakura said, looking towards her counterpart.

"Yeah. There was." BU Sakura said before thinking to herself. 'How was she able to help her Naruto and Sasuke-kun then? Are there more medics in her world? With the Oni Zetsu around, it wouldn't be that hard to believe. In fact, it sounds like the best thing for the world to do when infested globally with these things.'

"Regardless of that fact, you said your son was there and landed the final hit on Momoshiki. Tell me… does that mean he has the Kāma?" SU Sakura asked, frowning upon seeing the sadness and regret within the eyes of the boy's father.

"Unfortunately." BU Naruto said with a frown.

"Did you immediately take precautions?"

"Uh… not immediate. No." He answered as he looked to the side.

"Why is that?" SU Sakura asked with a raised eyebrow and a questioning tone.

"We didn't look into it. Not until later." BU Naruto admitted with regret.

"I know that it might not be my place to say this since I don't hail from this reality, but how could you hold off something like this? You know better than to let even the minor details go unnoticed. Everything has a meaning and there's always something hidden within even that." SU Sakura said with a disapproving frown and her arms crossed.

"Look underneath the underneath. Yeah. I should have realized that. Gomen." BU Naruto said with an apologetic smile as he bowed his head a bit. He then suddenly chuckled a bit with nostalgic amusement. "You never change no matter where you come from, Sakura-chan."

"That's the pot calling the kettle black." SU Sakura retorted with a smirk.

"So, if you didn't take immediate action, then when?" SU Naruto asked with curiosity.

"I hate to admit it but… we never did. Shinachiku did." The Nanadaime answered his counterpart, now frowning again.

"Nani?!" The Rokudaime questioned as he and his wife flinched with surprise. "Hold on, what do you mean? You never put the Nehan no Kyōkai (Bounds of Nirvana) on him?!"

"Is that what that fūinjutsu Arata and Boruto have are called? Not a bad one." BU Naruto said.

"How come you didn't use it before their arrival?" SU Sakura asked with a stern expression, wanting answers.

"Because we didn't know of it. Nor any of the advanced fūinjutsu does." Shikamaru interjected.

"Huh?" Both SU counterparts turned to the Nara in surprise.

"The world never had a reason to like your reality. While a useful tool, we weren't hard press to make it a necessary curriculum for shinobi. We didn't need it until these Oni Zetsu arrived like in your universe." Shikamaru stated.

"Actually, fūinjutsu was being practiced by the entire Shinobi World before the Oni Zetsu became a thing." SU Sakura stated surprising the others.

"It was? How?" BU Naruto asked.

"Well… it might sound weird and all, but a year after the war ended, I had this dream that told me to venture to Uzushiogakure. There I pretty much picked up my clan's secrets, I shared the less dangerous stuff with the Five Great Nations and soon enough everybody was passing down those same lessons which strengthened the world's defenses against the threats that came afterwards, dattebayo." SU Naruto said as he rubbed his chin, recalling the events as if it were yesterday.

"Sharing what you found with the world sounds just like you, but were you really okay with that back when you did? Or did you just not want history to repeat itself?" BU Sakura asked with curiosity and concern.

"In a way, but I did want the world to be protected and I wanted to bring about peace much easier. Fūinjutsu may have its more problematic uses, but it has been used more throughout history to end conflicts than actually start them. If I wanted to be one step closer to the world my old mentor wanted, I had to put my trust in the world the same way they put their trust in me, and letting hesitancy and fear cloud my resolve and judgement would have ensured the same result one way or another." SU Naruto said with a steely expression with a strong resolve felt in his presence and tone. "Besides, they helped out with another thing that was more important, especially to someone so dear to me, 'ttebayo." He added with an Uzumaki grin and eye smiles.

SU Sakura looked towards the side with a smile and blush, which caught the attention of her counterpart, who decided to remain silent for now.

"Maybe before we ask about anymore when it comes to your world, we should tell you what's been happening since both Arata, and your son were sent here." Shikamaru said, earning nods from said younger Uzumaki's parents.

"Well, it sure has been a doozy since day one." BU Naruto said as he regaled them everything that has happened since he first met Shinachiku in the Hokage Library.

Well… mostly everything. He didn't feel like being interrupted via punched out the window.

.

.

Meanwhile, both Team 7s had been walking through the halls away from the Hokage's office, with the sunshine blonde of the group groaning with a frown.

'Even here, tou-chan?' Shinachiku thought with embarrassment about the 'surprise attack' on his forehead earlier.

"So, that was your father." Mitsuki started with his usual smile. "He's more relaxed than our Hokage."

"Yeah, a little too much, 'ttebaro." Shinachiku mumbled with a pout.

"He's very nice though." Sarada said with a smile and blush.

"Yeah, because buttered you up like that. Creepy." Boruto said with a dull expression, only to get flicked in the side of the head by an annoyed Sarada, nearly sending him off his feet.

"I am so sorry." Shinachiku apologized with a bow to everyone.

"About him flirting with a genin? That's not your fault." Boruto said, only to freak out when Sarada grabbed him by the collar, growling with gritted teeth and a glare.

"No, no! Well, that too."

"Eh?" Sarada turned her glare towards her half-brother.

"But what I mean is… ugh! He can be so embarrassing sometimes, dattebaro!" Shinachiku complained as he shot his head back.

"He wouldn't really be your father if he wasn't like that." Arata stated.

Shinachiku sighed as he lurched forward, only to gain a soft yet happy smile.

"Yeah, ain't that the truth." Shinachiku said as he stood up straight, not afraid to show his smile.

He was indeed happy to see his father, embarrassment and all. Of course, he was happy to see his mother too, but she had better control over her actions and words. So long as nobody worked her up.

"I suppose this means both our missions are a success." Tsukia said, smiling with her hands behind her back.

"I'd say so." Konohamaru said with a smile.

"So, since we're done… we should celebrate, am I right?" Shinachiku said, causing everyone to look at him. He grinned as he walked over and wrapped his arms around the Uchiha twins, surprising them a bit. "And I know just the spot, dattebaro!" Shinachiku proclaimed proudly with an Uzumaki grin, causing Arata to sigh with a smile and Tsukia to smile warmly with her cheeks tinted pink.

.

.

"Here you go!" Ayame said as she placed the bowls of ramen onto the counter in front of both Team 7s. "On the house!" She added with a bright smile.

"You might regret that." Arata said.

"Huh?" The restaurant owner looked at the blue-haired ninja with a confused expression as he simply went for his chopsticks.

"Alright!" Shinachiku cheered with a huge grin and thrusting a fist into the air in excitement.

"He's cheerier than usual." Sarada pointed out with a smile.

"Yup. He's got the same enthusiasm as his father did. Maybe even more so." Konohamaru said, smiling with joy for the sunshine blonde.

The three members of the Yin Universe's Team 7 clapped their hands together in prayer with their eyes closed.

"Itadakimasu!" The trio said with pure gratitude for being gifted this moment, before they started to dig in.

"Mm~ Mm! There's nothing like Ichiraku Ramen! It's even better when it's free, 'ttebaro!" Shinachiku said with a giddy grin as he enjoyed more of his favorite meal.

"Definitely more enthusiastic." Konohamaru said with a sweat drop and eye smiles.

"Well, no need for us to wait either." Boruto said as his team then followed their sister team's lead. "Itadakimasu."

As they enjoyed their own ramen, Sarada noticed Tsukia, who was now without her cloak, sighing with her hands on her lap.

"Tsukia-onee-sama… aren't you going to eat?" Sarada asked.

"Oh, no, I already finished." Tsukia said with a smile and eye smiles.

"… Eh?" Everyone, but Shinachiku and Arata, looked at her with widened eyes.

Ayame looked over only to see Tsukia had indeed finished her bowl.

"N-No Way! I didn't even see you slurp up any noodles!" Ayame said in utter shock. 'The only other person who has ever done that was… her.' She looked towards the trio of photos hanging on her wall.

The first one was Choza Akimichi, who was third in eating the most ramen served, followed by his son who surpassed his appetite… and then there was number one. The one who held a record of 46 bowls of ramen eaten.

The one and only Queen of Gluttony: Hinata Uzumaki née. Hyūga.

"You want another bowl? Arata and I will pay for it." Shinachiku offered, earning him a look from said male Uchiha-Hyūga. "She is your sister after all." Shinachiku whispered with a cheeky grin, causing Arata to groan.

"Don't worry about it. Anymore is on the house." Ayame offered, giving a nervous yet kind smile with eye smiles and a sweat drop.

"Are you sure? I-I don't want to impose." Tsukia said, a bit wary of taking the offer given her… natural born skills.

"Positive. You have nothing to worry about." Ayame said, managing to give a more relaxed smile.

Shinachiku and Arata looked at one another, knowing that it definitely wasn't Tsukia who had to worry about anything.

.

.

Chocho hummed to herself as she headed down the streets, casually eating her favorite consommé flavored potato chips. She enjoyed her chips like it was nobody's business.

"Nothing beats consommé." Chocho said with her head held high as she popped in a chip into her mouth.

"Chocho!" A female voice called out to the Akimichi, who looked ahead to find her favorite academy instructor and fellow dango lover.

"Anko-sensei!" Chocho greeted the ex-T&I specialist with a smile and a wave.

"I was on my way to get some dango. Wanna join?" Anko offered her favorite student with a smile.

"Are you kidding? Of cou-" Chocho suddenly stopped midsentence as then she lost her grip on her bag of chips, letting it fall upon the ground.

"Ch… Chocho?" Anko looked at the girl in surprise with widened eyes as not only did she lose her hold on her bag of potato chips, but she had a deathly serious look upon her face.

"There is another." Chocho stated before she vanished from sight.

Anko blinked her eyes in surprise and confusion, wondering what the hell had just happened.

.

.

Appearing before Ichiraku Ramen with sparks of lightning flickering around her form, Chocho stood with fists clenched and eyes shadowed. She slowly raised her head up to gaze at the restaurant's sign.

"They are here." Chocho stated as she then marched right in, only to be met with a crowd of people.

Making her way through the crowd, Chocho finally saw what everyone's attention was on. There sat a girl in a pink sweatered girl happily enjoying her bowl of ramen. Her current bowl of ramen. The second Chocho saw what was on the counter beside the dark-haired girl, her eyes widened immensely with her nostrils flaring as she saw the many empty bowls laying atop it.

Chocho was so focused on this mystery girl that she did not notice Arata sitting beside said girl.

Shinachiku and Arata watched as Tsukia enjoyed her latest bowl with calm expression with the former smiling, but this reality's Team 7 were staring at the female Uchiha-Hyūga with anime widened eyes and gaped mouths.

Just seeing this girl nonchalantly going through bowl after bowl at an unreal pace was just jaw-dropping. Literally!

Ming boggling as well.

The crowd was faring no better. It was formed for a reason as they all watched as this girl effortlessly reach the level of the Queen of Gluttony herself.

Could this one be… the one?

Tsukia sighed with relief as she placed her latest finished bowl upon the counter.

"I think that's enough for me. I'm satisfied. Arigato." Tsukia thanked the restaurant owner with a pleasant smile of gratitude and eye smiles.

Ayame just stared at the girl with super wide eyes before directing them towards the piles of bowls beside this eating machine.

"F… F… F…" Ayame stuttered a bit but managed to speak her words of shock with a flabbergasted tone. "Fifty-six."

"Hmm?" Tsukia opened her eyes to look at the chef.

"Fifty-six bowls! That's Fifty-Six Bowls! That's Ten More Than the Queen of Gluttony!" Ayame exclaimed with utter shock and disbelief.

"NANI?!" Everyone screamed out, completely flabbergasted with their eyes widened and jaws dropped anime style.

"Huh?" Tsukia turned to notice the crowd surrounding her, which made her blush red and quickly turn away, looking down at her lap.

"Impossible!"

"How can anyone eat that much ramen in one sitting?!"

"This girl actually beat the Queen of Gluttony… it can't be."

"Unreal."

The crowd spoke amongst themselves, all in shock and awe that someone had surpassed the crowning champ by ten bowls.

The crazier part is, is that she still looked like she was able to put away more.

Tsukia couldn't help but blush in embarrassment that she had drawn up a crowd. Even more embarrassing was that the crowd was in awe at how much she could put away. Knowing that her stomach was considered by many as the closest thing to a black hole did make her feel rather nervous and awkward.

Just then someone sat on the other side of Tsukia in the vacant seat and slammed their hand atop the counter, causing everyone to turn to see it was none other than Chocho.

'Chocho?' Tsukia was surprised to see her friend, or at least, the counterpart of the friend she had known.

"One bowl of ramen, please!" Chocho ordered with a determined expression.

"Hey, Chocho." Shinachiku greeted the Akimichi girl.

"Hello." Arata greeted her with a wave.

The other members of their group were still too in shock by Tsukia's 'accomplishment' to notice the Akimichi heiress, let alone greet her.

"So…" Chocho started with her eyes closed. "Who are you?" Chocho asked as she snapped open her eyes, revealing a steely gaze directed towards the hime-cut kunoichi.

"Oh, uh… I'm Tsukia." Tsukia introduced herself, which albeit felt weird to her since she's known Chocho for years now.

'Tsukia? This is Arata-kun's sister?' Chocho thought as her steely eyes widened some in shock. 'I see. She truly is a powerful kunoichi then. To surpass her predecessor in such a manner… she is the one. I know it.'

"Here you go, Chocho." Ayame, now with a little less enthusiasm compared to earlier, placed a ramen bowl in front of the well-known heavy eater.

"Arigato." Chocho said as she then brought her hands together in prayer. "Itadakimasu."

"Ayame-san, I know you said that what I had was on the house, but I don't feel good about robbing you of so many ingredients. Please, allow me to pay for them." Tsukia said as she gave the restaurant owner an apologetic bow.

"Don't worry about it. I may have been caught off by surprise, but I'm not worried. You didn't eat me out of house and home, so there's nothing to worry about." Ayame said, giving Tsukia a reassuring smile. 'Still though, quite the setback.'

"Um… t-thank you. You're so understanding." Tsukia thanked the Ichiraku.

"Another!" Chocho ordered as she gently slammed her bowl atop the counter.

'Oh boy, here we go again.' Ayame thought with a quick frown before putting on a cordial smile again. "Come right up."

"Let me at least pay for hers." Tsukia offered.

"I can pay for my own!" Chocho proclaimed with pride.

"Hmm~." Tsukia looked down at her lap with a bit of a concerned expression.

"Okay, listen. I can tell you are a woman of true character, so I'll make you a deal. If can eat more ramen than you did then you can pay for my bowls, but if I lose, I'll have to pay for each one. Deal?" Chocho offered.

"Deal." Tsukia said with a thankful nod and smile.

"Here you go." Ayame placed a new steaming hot bowl of ramen in front of Chocho.

"Yosha!" Chocho yelled out with fire in her eyes as she dug in.

Tsukia smiled at the Akimichi girl, happy to see things were the same as ever.

She wasn't the only one as well, as Shinachiku and Arata smiled at the sight.

'The more things change the more they stay the same, 'ttebaro.' Shinachiku thought to himself.

"Hn." Arata let out, almost as if he was responding to Shinachiku's thoughts.

"Oi, Ayame-obasan. You mind I buy some more Ichiraku ramen bars?" Shinachiku asked the restaurant owner with a pleasant smile.

"Of course." Ayame said with a smile as she headed off to get a box or two of ramen bars.

Once she left, this reality's Team 7 finally regained their senses.

"Oi, when did Chocho get here?" Boruto asked with surprise and confusion at the big-boned girl's presence.

.

.

Chocho's head hit the counter as the young Akimichi moaned from the feeling of pushing her stomach's limits.

"Thirty-nine. Not bad. Just one away from matching your grandfather." Ayame said, noting the Akimichi girl's progress.

"Dammit… not even close." Chocho said with gritted teeth and her eyes closed.

"You did well." Tsukia said, offering the Akimichi a smile as she gently patted her back. "You sure you don't want me to help pay for those bowls?"

"Positive. When a deal is made, the loser has to honor it no matter what. Otherwise, they aren't a respectable individual." Chocho said as she found the strength to sit up. "You are a worthy opponent."

"Um, thank you." Tsukia said with a sweat drop and eye-smiles.

"Then it's settled."

"Hmm?" Tsukia opened her eyes to look at the Akimichi who then turned to give her a steely, determined gaze.

"From now on… you're my rival! In both beauty and appetite!" Chocho declared with gusto as she pointed towards Tsukia.

'Again, eh?' Tsukia thought with a sweat drop but maintained a friendly smile and eye smiles.

"Yare yare. That's one way to make fast friends." Arata said with a smirk.

"Couldn't have said it better myself, 'ttebaro." Shinachiku said with a grin as he held three boxes worth of ramen bars.

"Ah! Arata-kun! I didn't see you there! Gomen." Chocho said, instantly going from determined to mesmerize as she had a pleasantly surprised smile and clasping her hands together as her cheeks heated up and her eyes sparkled.

"Really? You didn't see him there? That's a shock." Boruto said.

"Wait, you guys are here too?" Chocho said with surprise.

"You Didn't Any of Us?!" Boruto and Sarada shouted simultaneously with shock.

"Talk about being too focused on your goal." Mitsuki said with a mock smile and eye smiles.

"Chocho, do you even have enough money to pay for thirty-nine bowls yourself?" Arata asked.

"Well… I might have enough for half, but that's what tabs are for." Chocho answered.

"I'll pay for the other half." Arata said to Ayame, earning a nod as Chocho gasped with delight at Arata's chivalry.

'Arata-kun~! You're so kind to me~!' Chocho thought with bliss as her smile widened and she gained a pair of eye smiles with sparkles appearing all around her.

Arata pulled out a large amount of ryo from his pocket, shocking everyone as he counted how much to give for the proper amount.

"Where the heck did you get all that ryo?" Shinachiku questioned in surprise.

"This is a lump sum of what I've saved during our time here." Arata said as he placed the proper amount onto the counter. "The secret is self-control. Something you lose every time you smell broth and see noodles." Arata said to Shinachiku, causing his blonde teammate to stick out his bottom lip and give him a half-lidded glare.

"Don't worry, Shina-kun. I'm the same way after all." Tsukia said, giving the blonde a comforting smile with eye smiles.

"I can always count on you to cheer me up when he brings me down, Tsukia." Shinachiku said, giving the Uchiha-Hyūga girl a grin which caused her smile to widen. "I really missed you, 'ttebaro."

"Eh?" Tsukia snapped open her eyes in surprise to see Shinachiku giving her a warm smile and eye smiles.

After a moment, Tsukia's whole face turned red as her heartbeat increased. She let out a small, embarrassed squeal, which caught Shinachiku's attention as he noticed her now cherry red pigment.

"Your face… are you getting a fever again?" Shinachiku asked as he leaned over pass Arata and placed a hand on Tsukia's cheek, causing her to flinch and flare up even more with steam coming off her. "You're burning up!" Shinachiku said with surprise.

"I'm fine!" Tsukia quickly turned away to hide her super red face as steam came puffing out her ears.

"A-Are you sure?" Shinachiku asked with concern.

"Y-Y-Yes! I'm totally fine! T-This'll pass in a second! Promise!" Tsukia stuttered out as she held her cheeks in embarrassment.

"Man, those chronic fevers will never go away, will they?" Shinachiku said to himself with a concerned frown.

The clueless green-eyed blonde failed to notice the looks everyone was giving him, every single one flabbergasted with a look that said, 'Are you serious?'

All except Mitsuki, who was clueless as well, and Arata, who's been used to this same dance number for years.

Boruto, Sarada, Chocho and even Ayame and Konohamaru stared at Shinachiku for a solid half a minute before thinking.

'Baka.'

.

.

Back within the Hokage's office, the Nanadaime along with Shikamaru and Sakura, explained the goings on of what had been happening since Shinachiku and Arata showed up into their reality.

From them taking a scroll from their Konoha to find Kyoto leading into fighting Saisei, all the way to the invasion that had befell their village.

If the roles were reversed, the versions of this world's Hokage and Head Medic would be speechless and befuddled.

However, for the Rokudaime and his wife, it wasn't that crazy for them.

"And that's everything so far." BU Naruto finished explaining with a serious expression.

"So that's all that happened?" SU Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow, surprising his counterpart along with BU Sakura and Shikamaru.

"Th… That's It?!" BU Sakura questioned with shock.

"I honestly thought it'd be worse. Honestly, you guys got off lucky. Well, lucky in comparison to our world, dattebayo." SU Naruto said with his arms crossed.

The Nanadaime along with his aide and Head Medic had flabbergasted expressions before turning towards the Rokudaime's wife.

"Hate to say it, but he's right. Things have gotten worse than that where we come from." SU Sakura said with a frown and shrug.

"… We wouldn't survive your world." Shikamaru said as he rested his face into his hand, only to then noticed this world's Sakura and Naruto looking at him in surprise. "What? I'm being honest!"

"Though what's got my attention are these five scrolls you mentioned. I didn't even know about this." SU Naruto said, rubbing his chin in thought.

"So, they never attempted to steal it where you come from?" BU Sakura asked after getting over her initial shock.

"They caused a bit of a mess at Kiri, but they were only focused on getting in and out. They know that if they cause too much trouble, then we'd be after them. That's why they were in hiding for a bit after Jashin's release. The fact that they decided to come out of it for something really put the Five Great Nations in a panic. When we discovered Onatsu-sama, we shared the details with the other kage but kept it confidential from the rest of the world, excluding a select few." SU Sakura explained.

"So, they were hiding from you. Well, that puts to bed the theory of our world being weaker. They went for working smarter instead of harder. Bastards." Shikamaru said with a dissatisfied frown, looking down with his brow furrowed and arms crossed.

"But you're not weaker. You guys managed to quell an invasion of Oni Zetsu without any of the precautions that we've taken over the years. For guys who handled things on a first go, you're actually quite impressive." SU Naruto said, trying to both comfort and hype up this Konoha's highest authorities.

"As thankful as we are for your kind words, the truth is we've only made it this far thanks to Shinachiku and Arata. They are the reason why we not only survived, but why our own village's strength has increased, especially in the strength of the next generation." BU Sakura said as her eyes grew somber. "That was supposed to be our job and… we had to rely on a pair of children to save us. We came up short. Too short."

"You really got to grow out of the habit, dattebayo." SU Naruto said, surprising his wife's counterpart. "You can't let one or two setbacks outshine the many amazing things you've accomplished around them. You should know that better than anyone, Sakura-chan." SU Naruto said, giving this world's Sakura a warm smile.

BU Sakura's eyes widened at the kind words that her longtime friend's counterpart said to her. He knew just what to say to chase her blues away. Naruto always had that effect on her. He had that effect on everybody, but when it affected her, she always feels liberated in a sense. She could help but look down with a soft, grateful smile.

SU Sakura noticed this smile and couldn't help but gain one of her own.

'It's always the same no matter where we are.'

"Seriously though, guys. Don't take it so hard. I mean, we've had years to deal with threats like Jashin and his cronies, and of course, those annoying Yokai-wannabes. Shinachiku and Arata are strong, but even they can't accomplish that kind of stuff all by themselves, and they know that. You've done more than you realize." SU Naruto said.

"Heh. Am I always this preachy?" BU Naruto asked with a grin as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Hmm. Never thought about it, but if you say so, then it must be true, 'ttebayo." SU Naruto said as he and his counterpart shared a laugh.

"Getting back to business, you said that these scrolls are from the Uzumaki clan. That the clan actually willingly handed them to the Five Hidden Villages, one for each to be guarded by their forces, and the only answers to it can be found in a booklet from Uzushiogakure." SU Sakura summarized as she held her chin.

"So then, where's the book? You have Konoha's Cryptanalysis Team trying to decipher it?" SU Naruto asked.

"No. It seems too advanced for them. It's apparently locked up by an advanced fūinjutsu. One that if done incorrectly will retaliate. The clan really put in a lot of effort to make sure no one would open it, which as you can imagine is all levels of troublesome." Shikamaru said with a frown.

"Then just give it to me or hand it over to Shina. He's a super skilled fūinjutsu master just like me, dattebayo." SU Naruto said with a shrug.

"Sasuke-kun thinks that perhaps with all that has happened as of late that it might be best that we withhold any information to them until we know what it chronicles. They have had a lot on their plate since getting here." BU Sakura said with a bit of a guilty frown with her eyes softening and reflecting the same emotion.

"I guess I can understand that." SU Naruto said, understanding where they were coming from. Even though his son was no average child that still didn't mean so much weight had to be put on his shoulders this quickly. "Then who is deciphering it?" The Rokudaime asked with curiosity.

"Sasuke-kun's old teammate, Karin." BU Sakura answered.

"The crazy, loud one?" SU Naruto questioned, raising an eyebrow as he tilted his head to the side.

"You're probably the last person who should call her that." His wife said to him.

"Hey, I know I'm loud, but I'm not crazy, 'ttebayo." SU Naruto said in retort.

"Hanami had to get it from somewhere." SU Sakura muttered as she looked to the side, causing her husband to pout. He really hated it when she had a point like that, that was backed-up with solid evidence. "I have to ask though. From the sound of the things, she's been working on this booklet for a while now, right?" She asked, looking back towards her counterpart.

"That's right." BU Sakura answered with a nod.

"Then does this mean that perhaps… the Uzumaki's Kekkei Genkai isn't a thing here?" SU Sakura asked with a concerned frown.

"Unfortunately so." Shikamaru answered. "Our Uzumakis don't have the luxury of having any fūinjutsu memorized and able to decipher them in an instant, no matter how advanced they are."

"Man, that sucks." SU Naruto said with a frown and his arms crossed. "So, where's Karin? I can just meet her up and help her since I still got time here."

"I don't know if you'd have the time to travel to Oto. At least, not without using up a good amount of the chakra you have in this state. That's not to mention the questions you'd raise." Shikamaru said.

"Oto? Why is she in Oto?" SU Sakura asked as she and her husband looked at the three in confusion.

"Yeah, didn't she along with Suigetsu and Jugo stick around here on Sasuke's behalf?" SU Naruto asked.

"Your world's Team Taka lives in Konoha?" BU Sakura asked with mild surprise.

"Guess that answers my question." SU Naruto said, a bit surprised that this world's Sasuke didn't invite them to stay closer to home. "But that doesn't explain why she decided to stick around Otogakure."

"Well, see, the thing is she decided to stay with Orochimaru-" Just as BU Naruto mentioned the snake sannin's name an immaculate wave of killer intent exploded from within the office and spread out all the way to the surrounding area going on for miles before it instantly vanished as fast as it came.

Within that several mile radii the villagers were all frozen with fear with a good number of them fainting from the intense pressure, either instantly or momentarily afterwards. No one moved. They were too afraid to do so. What they felt… was unlike anything in their history. It felt unreal. It felt… otherworldly. Both figuratively and literally.

No one. Not man. Not woman. Not child. Not even animals. No one could comprehend what they just felt.

Replacing thought was instinct. Instinct that overrode the senses and told their hosts not to move a muscle.

Even the most thick-skinned and hardboiled of the shinobi ranks fell victim to this.

It was… too much.

Back within the Hokage's office, BU Naruto, Sakura and Shikamaru were frozen in place with their eyes widened, mouths gaped and with all the color gone from their faces as their whole bodies were drenched in sweat.

SU Naruto and Sakura stood before them with their eyes shadowed and deep frowned etched upon their faces.

The whole room was bathed in silence with the only real sound being made was the ticking of the clock within the room.

The BU inhabitants within the room were so overwhelmed that they couldn't even breathe, or most likely, chose not to. The atmosphere was too intense. They didn't even know what to do. All they could do was stand there. Stand there and do nothing but try to regain their ability to think again.

After what felt like an eternity of silence, SU Naruto let out a deep sigh.

"Gomen. That just caught me off guard, dattebayo." SU Naruto said with an apologetic smile as he rubbed the back of his head.

'H-He's Off Guard?!' BU Naruto, Sakura and Shikamaru though in unison with flabbergasted expressions and their eyes widening further.

"I'm really sorry about that. My emotions can really get the best of me at times. Sometimes I scare myself, 'ttebayo." SU Naruto said, giving a grin as he continued to rub the back of his head.

'Quite literally from the looks of it.' Shikamaru thought to himself as he noticed his Hokage trying to regain his bearing while silently gulping.

"But seriously… why is he still alive?" SU Naruto asked, now back to serious mode, his smile completely gone as he gave a stern glare towards the trio before him.

"We… had to make some sacrifices." Shikamaru started.

"And he didn't?" SU Sakura, who definitely was just as unpleased as her husband, spoke up with a disapproving frown and furrowed brow. "I'm sure the ones he offered were more than 'some'."

"I get it. We all do. He's done unforgivable things, but Oro-" Shikamaru stopped himself when he saw SU Naruto and Sakura's hands clenching tightly as the ground beneath them cracked a bit. "He still has particular skills that the village could actually benefit from. As much as we all hate him, his advancements in the fields of science and ninjutsu are unparalleled and having him as an ally than an enemy is more beneficial to the village. Even if there are many who wish to see him dead." Shikamaru reasoned.

SU Naruto and Sakura just stared at the trio in silence. Not a single word uttered.

"Uh… you're not going to say anything else?" BU Sakura asked a bit nervously.

"Not really. We see your point, but we still don't agree with letting him go unpunished." SU Sakura said with her arms crossed.

"Well, don't worry. He might not be behind bars, but he is being kept under constant surveillance." BU Naruto said.

"And that's enough how?" SU Naruto questioned, still showing his great displeasure on his face.

"… Maybe we should move onto something else, 'ttebayo." BU Naruto said, getting too nervous over the topic to continue.

"Shikamaru!" The voice of Ino echoed within the Nara's skull. "What happened just now?! I was relaxing at home when I felt like the Shinigami just ate me and spat me out!"

'Calm down, Ino. We're not under threat. It was just a little mishap brought about by unpleasant news.' Shikamaru responded.

"Not under threat, my ass! Did you not feel that?!"

'Believe me, I did. I'm at the center of it.'

"Huh?" Ino was confused by this claim, so she focused her sensory abilities, only to be left in further shock upon sensing two pairs of identical chakra signatures. Well, near identical as she could sense that one set of those two pairs were hiding something even larger within themselves. "Shikamaru… is that-?"

'Do me a favor and inform the Barrier Team to let any responding shinobi that everything is fine and that there is no threat to the village at this time.' Shikamaru relayed to his former teammate.

"S-Sure, Shikamaru. Stay safe." Ino responded as she cut off her connection to Shikamaru.

'Stay safe she says. She can sense who they are and yet she's still worried.' Shikamaru thought to himself with his eyes closed as he took out a cigarette followed by his lighter.

"Ino finished talking to you, I'm betting." SU Naruto said to Shikamaru, causing the Nara to snap open his eyes in surprise.

"Wait, what?" BU Sakura looked over in confusion.

'Okay, now I am a little scared.' Shikamaru thought, being more overtaken with the Rokudaime's skills as he lit up his cigarette and took a drag. "Listen, if our worlds are mirrored in some ways and these scrolls are one of the similarities, then that booklet has to exist in your world as well. There might be a chance you can find it yourself."

"That actually might be a challenge for us. Unlike your reality, there is no certainty that Orochimaru is still alive out there. His bases have been abandoned with many items of value cleaned out. The booklet might have shared the same fate." SU Sakura informed.

"We can ask Sasuke and Team Taka to scavenge them in the hopes of finding it, but there isn't a guarantee that they'll find it in no time." SU Naruto said with a frown.

"Guess that means research will have to be on our end." BU Sakura said with a frown.

"I could check the scrolls I collected from Uzushio to find something relating to it, but again, no guarantee. If the clan went so far as to hand these to each of the hidden villages and guard its secrets within a booklet that could attack with just one misstep, then finding any info on it from other sources may not be likely, but it never stopped me before." The Rokudaime said.

"How many scrolls do they have so far?" SU Sakura asked.

"Two. We have ours, along with one handed to us by Suna, and Kumogakure has theirs. We already informed them of the danger, so they bumped up security." Shikamaru shared.

"Guess the best we can do is just let you handle things for a bit longer for now. I'm sorry we can't contribute more." SU Naruto said with an apologetic frown.

"It's alright. You're limited on your end. Having no real immediate moves on the board happens." Shikamaru said as he pulled his cigarette out of his mouth. "Besides, in a sense, your world is contributing."

"That's right. Had it not been for Shinachiku and Arata, we'd be completely helpless against this threat. You should be proud of them." BU Sakura said with a comforting smile.

"They're incredible shinobi, dattebayo. You both sure did raise Shinachiku right." BU Naruto said with a smile.

SU Naruto and Sakura smiled with gratitude at the compliment.

"Well, we told you everything that has happened. Anything you got for us?" Shikamaru asked.

"Two weeks." SU Naruto said bringing two fingers up. "That's the estimation for when Onatsu will regain full power."

"Really?" BU Sakura asked with surprise at how soon it would be.

"I thought it would take longer than that." Shikamaru said with surprise as well.

"It would have if it hadn't had been for the best medic in world putting her all into things." SU Naruto with a proud smile as he wrapped an arm around his wife again.

"You really have to try not getting too comfy. At least around here." SU Sakura said, looking to the side with an embarrassed blush.

"Well, that's good to know." BU Naruto said with a bit of an uncomfortable smile and eye smiles with a sweat-drop.

It's just so damn weird for him to see this sight. If he ever tried wrapping his arm around Sakura like that back when he had a thing for her, she would have obliterated his bones and organs upon sending him flying.

This world's Sakura was also feeling uncomfortable. So much so that she had to look away. She didn't need any more complex feelings, especially from a contradicting sight that was boy bizarre yet natural at the same time.

"Other than that, well…" SU Naruto then stopped speaking for a moment, which caught the other's attention. "Hmm. I guess that'll work too."

"Huh?" Shikamaru questioned.

"Both of you place a hand on your Hokage." The Rokudaime told BU Sakura and Shikamaru. They did as they were told, placing a hand on the Nanadaime's shoulders, before the Rokudaime extended his fist to his counterpart. "You remember how to do this?" SU Naruto asked with a knowing smile.

Catching his drift, the Nanadaime brought his own fist up and pressed it against his counterpart.

Suddenly, BU Naruto, Sakura and Shikamaru's eyes widened as their pupils flashed white. They were suddenly surrounded by a void of darkness only for it to be illuminated by a near endless mass of white that shined and burned as brightly as the biggest of Sun's, and though its sheer power felt intimidated it also felt reassuring. It heightened their spirits yet calmed their souls. It was otherworldly.

In an instant, they were sent flying through a tunnel of white light that displayed a multitude of memories that was not shared by their world. It regarded information on the situation between both their worlds and then some.

Just as fast as it was given to them, it all stopped, and they returned back into the office.

They pulled back and gasped in shock, panting as if they had just gone through a trip through the very cosmos itself in less than a second.

"There. You got all that?" SU Naruto asked as he pulled his fist back.

"I… I think so." BU Naruto said, eyes widened as he felt his heart race.

'What was all that?!' BU Sakura wondered to herself.

'It felt like the end and the beginning.' Shikamaru thought to himself with widened eyes. He then looked towards Rokudaime Naruto, who just had a smile upon his face as if nothing had happened. 'One thing is for sure. I'm glad he's on our side.' Shikamaru thought, trying to take a drag of his cigarette, only to notice that he had dropped it, no doubt from the shock of what he just experienced.

"Well, that's one way to share information." SU Sakura commented.

"So, we're done here. At least, regarding the really important stuff, right?" SU Naruto said.

"I'd say so." Shikamaru said as she picked his cigarette off from the ground.

"Cool, because there is something else that I wanted to ask that had nothing to do with it." SU Naruto said, causing the others to raise their eyebrows. "How come you two never got together?" He asked the counterparts of himself and his wife, causing them to blush furiously.

"Baka! Don't ask such inappropriate questions!" SU Sakura smacked her husband in the back of the head. "I am so sorry for his behavior just now." She said with an apologetic bow.

"Don't act like you're not curious either." Her husband said, looking away with a pout as he rubbed the back of his head.

"You don't say it out loud though." SU Sakura whispered to her husband.

"No, no, it's fine. Honestly, I was expecting him to ask this question earlier than this." BU Sakura said with her hands up in defense. "Well, um, to start… it wasn't real love."

"… What do you mean?" SU Naruto questioned in a serious tone, which actually unnerved BU Sakura, and even Shikamaru and the Nanadaime.

"W-Well, you see, Naruto's, I mean, my Naruto, not in that way of course-"

"Please get to the point." The Rokudaime demanded in a calm tone that was blaring out red flags for this universe's inhabitants.

"His feelings for me were born from his rivalry with Sasuke-kun." BU Sakura quickly answered.

Both the Rokudaime and his wife stared at them with widened eyes before the latter let out stifled laughter.

"Are you serious?" SU Sakura asked with an amused smile.

"Uh… yeah. He went after me to compete against Sasuke-kun and convinced himself that his feelings were genuine instead of born through their rivalry, like so many things between them." BU Sakura said with a frown.

SU Sakura put her hand over her mouth to cover her laughter, which surprised her counterpart and the Nanadaime.

"That is the dumbest thing I've ever heard. Naruto, the man who could make Nagato and even Obito, to realize their true feelings didn't even know his own?" SU Sakura suddenly let out an audible fit of laughter as she hunched over holding her stomach. "That is like the dumbest punchline to an awful joke!" She continued to laugh.

"Heh, heh… yeah… I suppose so." BU Naruto said with a nervous grin and eye smiles, now feeling… pretty dumb right about now.

SU Sakura continued to laugh which just surprised her counterpart. BU Sakura didn't know how to feel. On one hand, she was happy that her counterpart wasn't offended… yet on the other, now she was feeling a bit down in the dumps. The fact that another version of her found the idea of Naruto's feelings for her being ingenuine sounded like a literal bad joke to her, honestly was both endearing but also rather depressing. Now she didn't know what to feel.

Her own heart definitely belongs to Sasuke. There's no doubt about that, but just this sight made her wonder if maybe not all of Naruto's feelings for her were a fabrication.

"I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't laugh, but just the idea alone… I can't take it seriously." SU Sakura said with an amused smile and eye smiles.

"Hmm." The Rokudaime uttered, which caused his wife to open her eyes and looked to find him with a stoic expression.

'Him on the other hand…'

"Yeah, but what can I say? It just wasn't real, dattebayo." The Nanadaime said with a grin and scratching the back of his head as he let out a small chuckle, only to be suddenly given a hook to the right side of his face.

The Nanadaime was sent flying across the room and crashing into the wall thanks to none other than his counterpart, who had a deep frown on his face and his eyes shadowed.

Shikamaru and BU Sakura stared at their Hokage with shocked expressions complete with widened eyes and gaped mouths.

'Of course I should have seen that coming.' Su Sakura thought as she just sighed with her hand over her eyes.

SU Naruto stood up straight and turned towards the downed Nanadaime, who was groaning in pain. He started making his way towards his counterpart, which alerted the aide and Head Medic.

BU Sakura was ready to intervene, but she was stopped by her counterpart. One look at the long-haired pinkette and she could tell in an instant from one look from her eyes to let things be. She could feel her telling herself to trust that things won't go too far. The Head Medic of this universe decided to trust her counterpart in this situation.

Shikamaru on the other hands though…

"Kagemane no Jutsu!" (Shadow Imitation Technique) Shikamaru quickly stretched his shadow towards SU Naruto's, but despite managing to connect their shadows, the Rokudaime never froze whatsoever. On the contrary, Shikamaru was actually moving. 'Nani?!' Shikamaru thought with gritted teeth, noticing his feet were sliding forward as it turned out he was the one captured and being dragged away. 'This is unreal!' He thought with pure shock.

BU Sakura was also in utter shock. She has seen people overpower Shikamaru's shadow technique before, but not like this!

SU Sakura wasn't shocked at all. After all, she knew what her husband was truly capable of.

The Nanadaime shook in pain as he sat up with his hand hovering over his very bruised cheek. He noticed a shadow looming over him, causing him to look up to see it was his counterpart.

The Rokudaime remained silent as stared down at his counterpart with a stoic expression.

After a moment of both Naruto staring one another in the eye in silence, the Rokudaime extended his robotic right arm to him.

"Sorry. I felt like that was needed." SU Naruto said to the Nanadaime.

BU Naruto blinked before letting out a chuckle as he grabbed the robotic right hand with his bandaged Hashirama cell made hand.

"No worries. I totally get it." BU Naruto said as he was lifted off the ground by his counterpart. "At least it's nice to know that another me's feelings were genuine."

"I'd hate myself if they weren't." SU Naruto said with a shrug. "Not that I hate you. I'm just saying 'me' specifically."

"I can tell. Ow." BU Naruto said as he gently rubbed his aching cheek. "You can't punch that hard if your feelings weren't genuine."

"Well, I could hit harder. It took a lot of holding back there, dattebayo." SU Naruto admitted.

BU Sakura sighed with relief as her counterpart lightly patted her shoulder.

Shikamaru groaned as he deactivated his jutsu. He was glad things didn't escalate so badly, but it bummed him out that his jutsu was rendered useless in such a way that it would be used against him through physical force instead of another ninjutsu.

"So, you never felt about starting a rivalry of love with the teme?" The Nanadaime asked his counterpart.

"Hell no! I thought that would be a waste of time and just plain dumb. Honestly, I always thought he was gay back then." SU Naruto confessed, causing everyone else's eyes to widen with BU Sakura's cheeks turning red, especially after recalling a certain inappropriate jutsu Konohamaru pulled when they were younger. "Anyway, sorry about decking you, but I think I have a way to pay you back." SU Naruto said, causing his counterpart to raise an eyebrow. "Looks like you guys need a new forest. I got just the answer." SU Naruto said with a grin as he put a hand on the Nanadaime's shoulder. "I'll be back soon, okay, Sakura-chan?"

"Don't take too long, okay?" The Rokudaime's wife said nonchalantly.

"Hai~." The Rokudaime chimed with a grin before he flashed away with his counterpart.

Shikamaru then let out an exhale he didn't even know he was holding in all this time. He then groaned as he rubbed his eyes out of feelings of exasperation.

"I need a minute to process all of this." Shikamaru said as he headed for the door. "I'm going to go ahead and… I don't know. Either way, I need to do something to get everything that's just happened off my mind. You two… don't cause a scene." Shikamaru said as he walked out of the room.

"Don't cause a scene? Who does he think we are?" SU Sakura questioned as she looked towards her counterpart.

"Yeah. We aren't the ones who punched the Hokage into the wall." BU Sakura said as she rubbed her forehead.

The two then stopped and looked up with pondering expressions.

"This time." They said in unison as they looked towards the other.

They couldn't help but chuckle with smiles on their faces.

"So… you and Naruto… that's not… weird to you?" BU Sakura asked.

"If it was, did you think I'd marry him?" SU Sakura rhetorically questioned with a smirk.

"You're right. That was a dumb question." BU Sakura said with an embarrassed smile and placed her fingers on her forehead.

"So… you and Sasuke… how is that like?" SU Sakura asked this time, surprising her counterpart.

"I guess we're just that naturally curious about the other side, huh?" BU Sakura asked with a chuckle.

"Well, you got to admit, considering how conflicted those pair of idiots made us feel, you can't help but wonder what things are like if you turned the other way." SU Sakura admitted with a shrug.

"Oh, I know what you mean." BU Sakura said with a more comfortable smile.

Her counterpart was happy to know she wasn't the only one who'd feel this way about this kind of information.

"So… how is it like?" SU Sakura asked with curiosity.

"Well, um… I have a daughter."

"I noticed." SU Sakura said as she looked towards the side. "She's very beautiful."

"Thank you." BU Sakura thanked her counterpart for the compliment, only to notice she was looking a bit uncomfortable. "It's… quite the shock. Isn't it?"

"Seeing what a child between you and your first crush would have looked like is quite the sight. So much so that I was trying my best to keep my eyes away." SU Sakura admitted. "I'm sorry. I know that sounds horrible."

"No, no, no! It's okay. Really. I'm honestly shocked that I was able to look Shinachiku in the eyes when I first met him. If anything, he was the one who was trying to look away." BU Sakura admitted.

"He is my boy." SU Sakura said with a more amused smile. "From what I saw, your daughter inherited more from you than her father. At least, on surface level. For all I know, she probably inherited her father's spirit just as strongly. It just takes something serious for it to be revealed."

"Sounds a lot like someone else I've come to know." BU Sakura said with a smile.

"She and Shinachiku get along well, I hope."

"… She sees him as an actual brother." BU Sakura admitted with a warm smile.

"That's good." SU Sakura said smiling warmly as well in response. "She comes off as really sweet. She no doubt gets that from you."

"And not Sasuke?" BU Sakura questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"He's sweet, but in his own way." SU Sakura said with a shrug.

"Yeah… that's fair." BU Sakura admitted, looking towards the ground with her arms crossed.

"So… I'm glad she was raised right. We're good at that, which isn't that surprising given we practically helped raise Naruto." SU Sakura said, causing BU Sakura to smirk with amusement. "But… what about Sasuke? Does he go out of the village about two weeks each month and comes back home with you for the following two?" SU Sakura asked, still very curious.

"Uh… about that… he does go out…" BU Sakura was getting a little nervous to answer.

"For how long?" SU Sakura questioned with narrowed eyes filled with suspicion.

This world's Sakura had never seen herself whenever she gets like this. Now she sees why Naruto squirms whenever she gets serious and annoyed with him. Deciding to just rip off the band aid, the no doubt very, very painful band aid, she just spoke the truth.

"Just… try to keep an open mind." BU Sakura pleaded with a worried frown before going into her relationship with her Sasuke in full detail.

Outside of the Hokage Tower, everyone had finally regained their bearings from the earlier shock of KI, they went back to their normal routine again.

"WHAT!?" A powerful voice screamed out causing an actual earthquake that sent everyone off their feet.

So much for regaining oneself. Now they were all frozen with fear again, this time with everyone on the floor.

A lot of scary, weird stuff has been happening to this village as of late.

.

.

"Hmm?" Shinachiku looked off towards the side with widened eyes.

"What's wrong?" Boruto asked his paternal half-brother as he and the others were finishing to pay their meals at Ichiraku.

"I feel… nostalgic… and it kind of scares me." Shinachiku answered.

"… You're kind of weird sometimes, onii-chan." Boruto said with an uneasy frown as whatever could scare Shinachiku, even just a little, obviously would scare him.

"Well, that's that." Konohamaru said as they all finished paying for their meal.

"Great!" Ayame said with a smile as she pulled out a polaroid camera.

"Um, what's with the camera?" Sarada asked with confusion.

"To take this young lady's picture of course. She's the one who beat the all-time record after all, and as by tradition, her victory needs to be documented." Ayame said with a bright, excited smile, causing Tsukia to flinch.

"Oh, uh, you don't have to worry about it. It's totally unnecessary. I was just satisfied with the meal, is all. I wasn't aiming to beat a record." Tsukia said with a nervous smile and eye smiles as she had her hands up in defense.

"But you have to take the picture!" Chocho spoke up with new vigor in her tone. "It would be an insult to the ones who served you to reject their desire to forever remember you as their best customer served! Your enjoyment of their meal is their passion! Do not diminish it by robbing them of the legacy you built!" Chocho said with the utmost seriousness.

"L-Legacy? I just came to enjoy some ramen." Tsukia tried to reason with Chocho.

"We're going to be here a while." Arata said as the others just decided to get comfortable again in their seats until an agreement was made.

.

.

Back within the Hokage's office, BU Sakura was shaking in her heels. She was actually quaking with fear, and not from any enemy shinobi or legend like her old mentor, but from herself. Another version of herself.

SU Sakura stood in the center of the room, the floor breaking beneath her heels, her hands clenched and shaking into tight fists, the muscles around her arms being more prominent, especially her biceps. Her teeth were grit and somehow sharp, her eyes pure white yet filled with pure rage, her hair was actually floating around in the air looking similar to several separate tails whipping around, and the veins around the back of her fists, around her arms and on her prominent forehead bulges and throbbed in a vehement rhythm.

The most terrifying thing about her right now was actually the aura of hot pink, bright pink and signs of blood red were surrounded her form. The aura was so powerful that it not only was breaking the floor beneath her feet, but even cracking the furniture and walls within the room with newly made fissures.

If BU Sakura didn't know any better, she even thinks that her counterpart's enraged aura was bending space as things around them looked like they were twisting and turning in her eyes.

SU Sakura was growling up a storm as her aura became brighter and brighter with actual pink embers coming off her, becoming more intense as more cracks formed around the room with actual tiny pieces of debris starting to float off the ground around her.

After a few moments, SU Sakura stopped shaking as she took a deep breath in through her nose and let out a deep exhale from her mouth.

"Whatever." She said with her arms crossed as she frowned with her bottom lip out and looking towards the side. "It's not like he is my husband. Otherwise I'd kill him."

BU Sakura was in a crouching position as she held onto the cracked Hokage's desk, showing clear signs that she had stumbled and would have hit the floor had it not been for the now ruined desk.

'So… this is what it's like seeing me mad?' BU Sakura thought with widened, fearful eyes. Just then she noticed her counterpart extending her hand to her, which after a moment, she took it, allowing the other Sakura to help her back to a standing position. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it. It was my fault anyway. Sorry for overreacting like that." SU Sakura said with an apologetic smile.

"No, it's fine. I can see why you were so mad." BU Sakura said with an understanding yet nervous smile and a hand up in defense. "Actually, now I'm starting to wonder if this is what Naruto feels whenever we get mad at him. To be honest, I've never been more scared. Not even Kaguya was that intimidating."

"Now you're making me feel bad." SU Sakura said with an embarrassed smile and sweat drop.

"I just never thought I'd see the day where I'd get so mad at Sasuke like I did with Naruto back in the day." BU Sakura said only to then frown at the thought. "Things… really are different in this other world."

"Y-Yeah. A lot has… changed between him and I." SU Sakura admitted with a frown and her arms crossed.

"Um… I suppose you don't feel like talking about it?" BU Sakura said, looking to the side with both a sense of unease and guilt for asking such a thing.

SU Sakura sighed as she had a feeling this would come up.

"If you're that curious then I suppose I won't leave you in suspense. Just be prepared, okay?" SU Sakura said, offering her counterpart a soft, understanding smile, surprising her. "Besides, it looks like you need to wait for your Hokage to come back." She said, pointing towards the papers her counterpart delivered earlier spread throughout the desk.

"Ah! Dammit! I completely forgot I needed him to sign these!" BU Sakura shouted with annoyance.

"Well, not like anyone can blame you." SU Sakura said with a bit of an amused smile and small sweat drop. "We still got time until then."

.

.

Shikamaru's eyes were wide as he had not moved since feeling that power sensation of pure rage, fury and some bloodlust. He never felt that feeling before from anyone or anything. It was otherworldly. In the sense that some sort of gigantic beast from another world crawled into their reality to give the world a scar.

"Shikamaru…" Ino's voice echoed within the Nara's mind, knocking him out of his stupor. "Was that who I think it was?" Ino asked with a clear tone of worry and fear in her voice.

'I believe so.' Shikamaru finally answered with a sigh and rubbing his now sweat drenched forehead. 'Ino, do me a favor. The village is going to be really worried so-'

"Yeah, I know. I'll tell them that Sakura got super angry over something. They'll understand." Ino said now with a tired and slightly annoyed tone.

'I mean… that's technically true, so I can't object to that.' Shikamaru thought as he decided to pull out another cigarette to calm his nerves. 'I think I'm going to get gray hairs before these whole other world shenanigans are over and done with.'

.

.

Within the now barren are where the great forest of Konoha once stood, the two Hokages had appeared thanks to a Hiraishin kunai, which was either left by Shinachiku or from their father, Minato, back in the day.

After they had arrived, they both immediately sensed a gargantuan force of pure killer intent coming straight from the village.

While one was in fear of what it could be, the other knew exactly what it was.

The Nanadaime activated his chakra cloak and was ready to rush back, only for the Rokudaime to stop him by placing a hand on his shoulder and shaking his head.

Understanding the gist, Nanadaime Naruto released his chakra cloak with the Rokudaime taking his hand off him.

"What was that?" BU Naruto asked.

"My wife." SU Naruto answered as he walked away, shocking his counterpart who was now getting a little scared.

"I'm glad I don't have your life." The Nanadaime said with clear signs of fear in his voice and expression.

"Good, because I ain't trading it for anything." The Rokudaime said as he then stopped in place. He took a breath in through his nose as he knelt and placed his hand onto the ground, sending a pulse of natural energy enhanced chakra into it, sensing the condition of the land. "This place has really seen hell, but it's still strong. There's still a lot of life here just waiting to come out."

"So, what do you plan to do?" The Nanadaime asked.

"Speed up the process, dattebayo." The Rokudaime said as his arm burst with golden flaming chakra that was then poured into the ground.

The land itself suddenly pulses like a heartbeat as then a moment later trees were shooting out everywhere along with grass and all other forms of plant life.

The once barren land destroyed by the conflict between shinobi and Oni Zetsu was refurbished with life once more, as if the destruction was an illusion and the land was really untouched.

Seeing all the ruined plant life sprouting back and surrounding the village caused everyone working around the border of the village to look on with widened eyes and flabbergasted expression.

Everyone was in such shock that no words were uttered, and the only sound made was someone dropping their cup of ramen that they were having on their lunch break.

All the work they were prepared to do to regain their lost terrain had been brought back, seemingly almost effortlessly.

However, none were more shocked by this development than the Nanadaime, who looked around in utter disbelief, not only at the forest returning to as it was, but now radiating with a strong spring of life that only a true master of Yang Release could unleash, no different from the Rikudō Sennin, Hagoromo Ōtsutsuki.

"Well, the green's back. It's like those bastards never showed up, eh?" The Rokudaime said with a smile as he brushed his non-robotic hand against the bark of a tree.

"H-How… how did you do this?" The Nanadaime asked, still in shock by what he witnessed.

"I just did it." The Rokudaime answered with a shrug.

"Naruto." BU Kurama spoke within his respective Hokage. "You sensed it the same as I did. All that chakra used to recreate the entire forest was merely a drop of a much larger ocean. It's clear that his chakra exceeds yours by a wide margin. However, it also felt like he was making sure he was keeping it all together, like wrapping bandages around an arm to keep the fractured part of its bones together." BU Kurama said, analyzing his host's counterpart from just that single extraordinary feat.

"Talking to Kurama, eh?" SU Naruto said, surprising his counterpart. "We may be two separate individuals with our own versions of him, but I can sense when he's finally decided to open his mouth when he feels like it." He said with a smile, causing both Kuramas within him and his counterpart to 'humph' with annoyance.

"You're injured." BU Naruto stated.

"Yeah. That's what happens when you push yourself past your limits to destroy a Super Jūbi, an Ōtsutsuki-level mad scientist and keeping the moon from breaking apart and raining upon the planet by creating your most powerful jutsu yet to keep it in place with as a new core." SU Naruto said as he leaned back against a tree. "In fact, I actually died that day, but thanks to Sakura-chan, Kakashi-sensei and especially Sasuke that I'm still alive and breathing."

"You really have gone through a lot." BU Naruto said with a sympathetic frown.

"Yeah, but I don't mind being crippled if it meant everyone's safety. Plus, I managed to make my dreams come true by becoming Hokage and marrying the woman of my dreams, 'ttebayo." SU Naruto said with a big ol' Uzumaki grin, with no signs of regret or sadness of any kind of his impaired physical state.

"It really is like looking into a mirror." BU Naruto whispered to himself with a soft smile. Just then he thought about the idea of his 'reflection' not exactly mirroring everything that he did. "Hey, um… about that punch earlier-"

"Yeah, sorry about that. I kind of lost it over the idea of your feelings for Sakura-chan being born through a rivalry, and over Sasuke no less." SU Naruto said with a frown.

"No, it's not about that. Honestly, I'm shocked I've went this long without a punch over that." BU Naruto said as he reactively rubbed his still aching cheek. "What I mean is… it clearly had to have been different for you. I was wondering… how'd it start?" The Nanadaime asked, rubbing the back of his head as he was feeling a little flustered bringing it up.

"You won't start wishing too much afterwards… will you?" SU Naruto asked, furrowing his brow with a more serious tone, not wanting to have his counterpart go crazy and try something drastic as a result in his personal life.

"No, no! I'm very happy with Hinata! She's the one for me and that will never change." BU Naruto said with his own serious look, showing his dedication and love for his wife in his expression and tone.

Both counterparts stared at one another with serious gazes with the Rokudaime having a more analytical perspective while the Nanadaime showed ironclad resolve over his words.

"Hmm~… okay. Nothing but the truth as I expected." SU Naruto said with a shrug, sensing no lie or anything to the contrary within his counterpart. "Just don't get embarrassed or anything when I give you the gory details."

"Please don't be too in depth." BU Naruto said with an embarrassed frown, causing his counterpart to chuckle with a classic Uzumaki grin.

.

.

Both Team 7s and Chocho, who managed to convince Tsukia to get her picture taken by the Ichirakus, with said girl having her cloak wrapped around her like a cape, stood outside the village, looking towards the direction they sensed the very powerful rage-filled essence emanating from.

"What exactly was that anyway?" Boruto wondered aloud.

"That was my mom." Shinachiku answered nonchalantly as he held his three cases of ramen bars in his arms.

"Nani?! T-That was Sakura-obasan!?" Boruto screamed out in shock as he, Sarada, Chocho and Konohamaru had shocked anime expressions.

'No way… I mean, I can believe that but this much?' Konohamaru thought to himself in disbelief and growing fear. Suddenly everyone felt a minor earthquake with the sounds of rumbling in the distance. "Now what was that?!"

"That was tou-chan." Shinachiku said, sensing the huge spring of Yang Release that came only from his father and Kurama.

"Nanadaime-sama?" Chocho questioned.

"Not exactly." Mitsuki answered.

"What did he do?" Sarada wondered aloud.

"Tōmeigan." (Transparent Eye) Arata activated his dojutsu to notice what happened in the distance. "Looks like he regrew the entire forest with hic chakra."

"Yeah, that sounds about right. It was only a bit of his reserves, but it was definitely enough." Shinachiku said nonchalantly again.

At this point, nothing his parents can do will surprise him.

This universe's Team 7 and Chocho on the other hand were just on a level beyond shocked.

Their entire forest which was completely destroyed by the battle between the Oni Zetsu had been completely restored in an instant and it was thanks to one man who only spared a miniscule amount?!

At this point they needed more than a pinch to convince themselves that they weren't dreaming!

"Well, while he's busy with that and hopefully someone tries to calm her down, I'll be putting these back home. Hopefully in a place where kaa-chan, or any of her 'clones', could find them. I'll be back in a few." Shinachiku said as he flashed away via the Hiraishin.

"And I'll go make sure he doesn't go off the wagon and opens a bunch of them right away." Arata said as he quickly flitted away.

"Some things never change. Even if it has only been a month." Tsukia said to herself with a warm smile and pink tinted cheeks.

"I better go too." Konohamaru said, causing the others to turn to him with questioning gazes. "It might be treacherous, but someone's got to make sure things are alright back at the Hokage Tower." Konohamaru said putting on a brave face, though still displaying clear signs of worry especially from the beads of sweat along his face.

"Good luck, sensei." Sarada said, wishing her mentor the best since she knew exactly what her mother is capable of when pissed.

"Yeah, you're probably going to need it." Boruto said before Konohamaru flitted away. "Guess that leaves us. Unless someone else wants to head somewhere else."

"I'd rather go wherever you go, Boruto." Mitsuki said with his usual smile and eye smiles.

"Figured as much." Boruto said with a sweat drop.

"Is your Mitsuki like this too?" Chocho asked Tsukia with a half-lidded gaze and frown.

"Not with anyone I know of." Tsukia answered.

"By the way, you called Mitsuki 'itoko' (cousin) back on our mission. What's that about?" Boruto asked.

"Well, he was found and adopted by Team Taka and chichioya declared that they were 'Under the Protection of the Uchiha', which in clan terms made them family without the Uchiha name needed, so that automatically meant the same for Mitsuki. Suigetsu and Jugo are my uncles and Karin is my aunt, which makes Mitsuki my cousin." Tsukia explained, surprising the others.

"Huh… interesting." Mitsuki stated, surprised by his own counterpart's lifestyle. "Does your Mitsuki by any chance have someone he calls his 'Sun'?"

"I think he's still looking in that department." Tsukia said with eye smiles.

"Hmm~. Sounds like there's a lot more to everyone than just their strengths where you come from." Chocho said as she rubbed her chin. "How's your Chocho?"

"Honestly, I think there's litter difference between you two." Tsukia said.

"Only mere speculation. You've known your Chocho your whole life, but you've only just met me. That's no way to just immediately judge someone and their character after all." Chocho said with her head held high and fists on her hips.

'You definitely sound just like her.' Tsukia thought to herself with a sweat drop.

"Tell you what. I'll tell you more about myself as I give you a little tour of our own village." Chocho offered with a smile.

"Uh~, does she even need one?" Boruto questioned.

"Of course she does. She's new to our village." Chocho answered.

"That's not what I meant." Boruto said with a sweat drop.

"Come Tsukia-chan. I'll show you all around to the best of my abilities." Chocho said as she wrapped an arm around Tsukia and guided her away.

"As uninhibited as usual." Mitsuki said with a mock smile and eye smiles.

"That's another thing. As you can tell, Mitsuki has a crush on me. Does your Chocho have to deal with the same issue where you come from?" Chocho asked, earning a nervous chuckle from Tsukia.

"We better follow. Knowing Chocho, onee-chan is going to need back-up just in case." Boruto said to his team.

"Plus it would be pretty rude to abandon her like that." Sarada said with a sweat drop.

"Family should stick together." Mitsuki said, surprising his teammates as he followed after the Akimichi and Uchiha-Hyūga.

.

.

Both Sakuras were leaning against the railing atop the Hokage Tower, figuring that was the best place to talk since people don't usually go up there.

"So… where do you want me to start?" SU Sakura asked.

"Best place would be at the beginning." BU Sakura said.

"And by beginning, I'm guessing you mean when my feelings for Sasuke started to shift?" SU Sakura asked with a frown.

"Um… when did that start?" BU Sakura asked now with a worried frown.

"That would be right after the battle with Kaguya." SU Sakura said with her arms crossed, frowning some more at the memory.

"Right after?" BU Sakura thought it over on what happened between her and Sasuke right after the battle, only to gasp. 'Is she referring to-'

"You went through it too… didn't you?" SU Sakura questioned; however she could guess her answer upon her counterpart's reaction. She then sighed as she looked away. "How you managed to handle it and still be comfortable enough to marry him, I will never know."

"How… did you handle it?" BU Sakura asked looking towards her counterpart.

"Not as good as you I'm betting." SU Sakura said, a clear tone of irritation within her voice. After a moment she took a glance at her counterpart to see her giving a worried yet curious gaze. After one more sigh, she decided to continue. "It was… too real."

"Yeah. It really was." BU Sakura whispered to herself as she looked towards the tiled floor.

"That sensation… I'll never forget it." SU Sakura said as she lightly brushed her fingers against her heart. "When I came too, the only feeling I had was anger. I just wanted to find him… only so I could put him in the ground for what he had done to me." She confessed, causing her counterpart to look at her with an absolutely shocked expression to hear her say that with no hesitancy at all. "When I found out he was busy fighting Naruto, I rushed my way over to help."

"You did? Even though Sasuke was still stronger than you?" BU Sakura questioned.

"Of course. I did promise Naruto that we would bring Sasuke back together and I wasn't going to just sit back and let him handle all of it on his own. He went through that long enough. When I arrived, I figured that his response was for me to stand back and let him handle the rest. I love him, but his act of selflessness can be so damn irritating, especially when all it did was cause me to suffer seeing him hurt like that. I realized though that I wasn't strong or fast enough to handle Sasuke with Naruto. Even if we worked together, I knew that red-eyed bastard would do something like put me in another genjutsu or aim an attack at me to get to Naruto. As much as I hated to admit it, I would have been more of a detriment to Naruto if I stayed and fought Sasuke alongside him. So, I did the next best thing."

"The next best thing?" BU Sakura asked with confusion and curiosity.

"I gave him the rest of this." SU Sakura pressed her thumb against the Byakugō seal in the center of her forehead, shocking her counterpart once again. "It was all I could offer left as support, so after making sure he shut up…" She then blushed with a soft smile recalling how she shut her blonde baka up that time. "I transferred all the strength I had left into Naruto. It left me out of the fight physically, but even though I was unconscious again, I could feel everything that came afterwards. Every collision, every jutsu, every second… it felt like I was right there beside him fighting, even though I was resting a good distance away. When it was all over, I felt my strength return to me. Turns out Naruto still had the strength left to make a clone to revive my strength. After that, I healed him and Sasuke back up enough for them to free the rest of the world. Then… we all finally went back together." SU Sakura said with a soft smile, recalling how Team 7, all of Team 7, had finally passed the gates back into the village for the first time in years. "And then Sasuke got imprisoned. No way he was avoiding that."

"So, you managed to find a way to get involved in the end… I'm actually jealous." BU Sakura said as she looked to the side with saddened eyes and a frown.

"Do you want me to continue?" SU Sakura asked, concerned over her counterpart's emotional state right now.

Seems Sasuke still had a way of putting a frown on her face here in some way, shape or form.

"Y-Yes. I want to know the whole story." BU Sakura said, regaining a more serious, resolute expression as she looked towards her counterpart.

"Alright." SU Sakura said with a shrug, knowing her counterpart would be too stubborn to only get a half-assed version. "Once Sasuke was imprisoned, Naruto did everything that he could to get him out. He actually started studying law in order to find a way to help him."

"Naruto? Studying?" BU Sakura questioned with widened shocked eyes.

"I had the same reaction, I assure you. Only I actually saw it with my own eyes." SU Sakura said with an amused smile as she let out a small giggle. "He was so determined to the get Sasuke free that he studied non-stop. He made clone after clone to help… but he still needed more than just himself. Just like any other kage. So, I pitched in."

"To get Sasuke out… right?" BU Sakura asked, only to frown when her counterpart did first.

"To help Naruto." SU Sakura said as she leaned onto the railing. "In order to free Sasuke, Naruto immediately focused on training to become Hokage. As the Hokage he would be able to accomplish more than as he was. He might have been dubbed the Hero of the World, but his power was still limited within the village, and his rank as genin wasn't doing him any favors there, so he declared that he was going to become the next Hokage ASAP. Tsunade-sama decided to keep the title until Naruto could succeed her. She made him her protégée and trained him in becoming the Hokage. He had not just her backing, or even the village but the entire world. There became no other person that the world wanted more as the leader of the Konoha than him." SU Sakura smiled warmly but after a moment she frowned again. "There were a few who opposed it though. Two in particular."

"Who?" BU Sakura asked with confusion.

"Those two old crones. The same ones who let Danzo get away with too much back in the day." SU Sakura answered.

"The village elders." BU Sakura said with an understanding frown.

"As you can imagine they didn't want Sasuke freed because they were scared of him. Rightfully so. They even went so far as to try assassinating him, but by the time it happened, Sasuke was already given parole and they were found guilty of treason. For more than just going behind Tsunade-sama's back. I won't go any further with the details." SU Sakura rested her cheek as she looked off towards the horizon when a specific memory came to mind. "I still remember how I was when I first visited him with Naruto."

"You must have been so mad when you saw him." BU Sakura said with a sympathetic frown.

"No… I was scared." SU Sakura admitted, causing her counterpart to look at her in shock again. "Frightened even. I didn't even want to see him, let alone be in the same room as him."

"Then… then why did you go?" BU Sakura asked, still flabbergasted that SU Sakura was actually scared of being close to Sasuke.

"For Naruto." SU Sakura answered. "He wanted the both of us there, so I obliged. Just to make him happy." SU Sakura's eyes softened as she remembered the look of hopes within her husband's eyes back then. "I stomached it… but it got worse when he decided to give us alone time." SU Sakura frowned deeply at this.

"How… how worse?" BU Sakura asked, her curiosity overriding her common sense as she knew she might be going too far in asking right now.

"… I couldn't breathe." SU Sakura admitted, shocking her counterpart even further. "I couldn't look him in the eye, even though they were covered, I couldn't even speak. All I could utter were single letters. I still remember how my heart started to beat faster and faster until it was the only thing I could hear within the room… aside from me hyperventilating." SU Sakura clenched her hands tightly upon recalling the experience. "I just… couldn't take it… I ran out of the room. Never said a word. Never looked back." She said, still frowning as she then felt a hand on her shoulder.

"You don't have to continue." BU Sakura said with an empathetic look.

"Don't worry. I've moved past it." SU Sakura said, gently patting her counterpart's hand in appreciation. "When I ran out, Naruto was there, and he comforted me. He actually brought me into his arms. When he did, the only heartbeat I started to hear after a while was his own. All my fear went away thanks to him. I realized that I couldn't even face Sasuke any longer… not without Naruto there with me."

"But you got over it sooner or later." BU Sakura said, hoping that was indeed the case since her counterpart made her experience so vivid to the point that it seemed like it happened not too long ago.

"Later rather than sooner." SU Sakura admitted making her counterpart frown with sympathy and gloom. "Sasuke was in prison for about a year, so I had some time to get my bearings in order. After some support from the others, I managed to no longer feel like my something was crushing my chest or hyperventilate when his name alone was spoken. Still though, I got nervous when he was brought up into any conversation and the idea that he would soon arrive where I had still frightened me, but I managed. Especially when Naruto was around. I felt stronger whenever he was around… that's why I couldn't let him leave without me."

"Leave? Wait, your Naruto wanted to leave? Why!?" BU Sakura asked, even more surprised by this revelation than what she was told regarding her counterpart's experience with the ex-avenger.

"Apparently, he had this dream. It told him to head to Uzushiogakure and regain the clan's knowledge for the benefit of the future. After explaining this to Tsunade-sama and a whole of convincing, he was ready to leave Konoha to head straight for his clan's ruined home." SU Sakura answered. "There was no way in hell I was letting him go though. Not without me. I convinced him that he needed someone there with him to back him up in case of anything… but the truth is, I think I just didn't want to be without him. I didn't know how long he'd be gone for, so I pleaded with him to take me with him… and you know what he told me?" SU Sakura looked towards the horizon, looking towards the bright, beautiful Sun itself. "I'll wait for you. I promise." SU Sakura's smile widened as her cheeks became warm, surprising BU Sakura who saw nothing but love within her counterpart's eyes. "After he told me those words, I rushed back home, packed up for the journey and… there he was. Waiting for me at the village gates. Ready to leave with me by his side." SU Sakura was so enamored with the memory of Naruto waiting for her, smiling at her and bringing her along on his journey that she held her now reddened cheeks as her smile grew even wider as she looked towards the sunny horizon.

BU Sakura stared at her own counterpart in absolute shock. She wasn't shocked at the idea of Naruto waiting and willing to take her with him, but by the look of pure love and bliss on her counterpart's face. It truly was a wonderful memory for her. One she cherished more than many others… and definitely more than any that she had regarding her world's Sasuke.

Just the sight of seeing what was in a way her face looking like this when thinking only of Naruto… she couldn't help but feel a bit weirded out, and slightly sad.

Whether she herself could have looked at her world's Naruto was irrelevant, as it was clear that in another world that all was indeed possible… and she can't deny it anymore.

There really was a future where she looked at Naruto with more love than she ever did Sasuke.

It was kind of scary.

Was the idea scarier or was it accepting it?

That she won't bother to figure it out for herself.

Just the sight alone was more than enough.

"So… he took you with him… and it only took you asking once." BU Sakura said as she looked towards the ground.

"Did Sasuke ever take you on any of his journeys?" SU Sakura asked.

"Once." BU Sakura answered.

"Once was enough then." SU Sakura said, knowing that Sasuke allowing it even once was more than she'd ever expect a version of herself to receive.

"Yeah. I guess so. That is how Sarada was born." BU Sakura said with a gentle smile, only to flinch with her whole face going red. "I'm sorry! That was inappropriate!" She apologized to her counterpart, whose face was red as well, but not to the same degree as herself.

"It's alright. It can happen anywhere." SU Sakura said with a frown and dismissive wave. 'It's not like you had a child conceived in the Hokage's office, or in an onsen.' SU Sakura thought to herself with a pout as her cheeks warmed up some more.

"So… is that it?" BU Sakura asked.

"Nope. There's more to it. After we arrived and dug up what we could at the ruins, Naruto decided that he wanted to share some of those secrets with the world. I made sure he didn't share too much. While I love how open he was about sharing what he could with the world in the hope of bringing us closer to the peaceful world Jiraiya-sama wished for, it was still important to be a realist about things. We had just gotten off the heels of the war, even if it had been a year, the wounds were still rather fresh and the concept of peaceful negotiations between the villages were even fresher. I supported Naruto, but I wasn't going to let his selfless nature overpower his logic. We still had to treat things delicately and not force it, especially all at once. The Uzumaki clan were hesitant to share their secrets for a reason. So, as a compromise, we shared a bit of what we had discovered and as time went on and the villages proved their dedication to keeping conflicts between one another as miniscule as they were able to, we'd then decide on what more to share." SU Sakura explained.

"It's a good thing he had you with him then." BU Sakura said.

"Yeah… but I was the luckier one." SU Sakura said, surprising her counterpart. "Tell me… did you ever try to establish medical clinics around the world to assist in the mental health of children who were affected by war?"

"Yes, I did. Although, that was hit with a minor snag at one point since certain people, especially the village elders, believed that funding should be given to village defenses. It didn't help that an ex-ROOT operative and treasurer named Kido Tsumiki orchestrated some security incidents that convinced The Daimyo to side with the elders in fortifying the village over helping the next generation heal." BU Sakura said.

"And this is why no one likes those paranoid crones." SU Sakura said with a frown. "I didn't happen exactly the same as your situation, but the Daimyos were all hesitant to fund the idea regardless. That's when Naruto had the bright idea that in exchange for giving each village some of the Uzumaki clan's fūinjutsu that they'd provide support to my Children's Mental Healthcare proposal. With all shinobi villages in agreement, the daimyos had no choice but to relent, seeing as this was the first time all villages were unanimous on a single subject outside of a time of war. Thanks to Naruto, we managed to gain approval."

"So, Naruto helped you achieve your goal." BU Sakura stated, surprised by this turn of events but not by who helped make it a reality.

"And I helped him with his. He was in full support of it from the beginning. He believed that in order for the world to achieve peace, healing was needed. Our goals coincided with one another. Though they started off from didn't beginnings, in the end it became a shared dream. One that wouldn't have been possible without the other." SU Sakura said as she had a warm, soft smile as her eyes grew gentle upon remembering the experience. "When that happened… I couldn't help myself. I knew without a doubt… that I was in love with Naruto."

BU Sakura stared at her counterpart with slightly widened eyes before looking downward with a soft smile and softer eyes.

"I can see why." BU Sakura admitted. "Guess even at, what? Eighteen, right? Who'd have thought he actually used that noodle of his in such a clever political tactic. I guess he wasn't that much of an idiot anymore."

"Oh, don't get me wrong. He still has his dumb moments. In fact he's definitely very much an idiot, but he's so shamelessly proud of it. He still can be a bit messy, I still have to be on his case from time to time, whether its from his childish antics or making sure he keeps to a proper diet, and I have to make sure he doesn't push himself too much both in work and exercise, and I definitely have to scold him, especially when he's being too lenient with our kids. Hanami especially." SU Sakura said with a slightly annoyed frown as she had her arms crossed and eyes closed with a small tick mark upon her forehead. A moment later though, her eyes opened up to reveal they were soft with a reflection of love within them. "But I wouldn't want anyone else by my side, other than him… and that will never change. That I promise." SU Sakura confessed with a soft, loving smile as she imagined her husband's joyful expression.

Despite hearing all the things that should make her feel uncomfortable, BU Sakura couldn't help but smile more as she saw how much her counterpart loved her Naruto.

Things were too late for her and Naruto. After all, they themselves were too deep in love with their own spouses to ever try crossing towards that other avenue they could have share, but seeing how clear and bright it was from this distance… that was more than enough to satisfy her.

She has no regrets with the life she lives. It was nice to know she wouldn't have any on this other road to life.

"Uzumakis always keep their word, huh?" BU Sakura asked rhetorically.

"Damn straight." SU Sakura said with her head held high as she and BU Sakura chuckled with bright smiles on their faces. "Well, I hope that was enough for you."

"It was. Thank you." BU Sakura said, thanking her counterpart with a nod and appreciative smile.

"I hope that was enough for you too, Ino-Buta." (Pig) SU Sakura said glancing up to her own head, surprising and confusing Sakura, while shocking a certain mind invader who had been eavesdropping. "Did you honestly think I wouldn't notice when you decided to be so nosy? I managed to kick you out of my mind back when I was a novice, so what made you think I wouldn't recognize your signature now that I'm at the strength where I can toss a tailed beast around like it was nothing but dirty laundry?" SU Sakura rhetorically asked with a knowing smirk.

"You can sense Ino?" BU Sakura said in surprise before realizing what she just said. "Wait, Ino?! You've been listening to us this whole time!?" BU Sakura questioned her eavesdropping BFF with a raised annoyed voice.

"Guess she was curious on how a real love story works. Can't say that I blame her." SU Sakura said in a smug, teasing tone as she held one of her cheeks.

"Real Love Story?! What the hell is that supposed to mean!?" Ino shouted from within both Sakuras' minds.

"How do I put this?" SU Sakura 'asked' herself as she lightly tapped her chin in a mock thinking pose. "You did decide to settle down with a man who's blander than bread." SU Sakura said with a shrug, causing her counterpart to cover her mouth as she started laughing at the jab that she gave Ino.

"Better than an idiot!" Ino shot back.

"At least my husband isn't a boring idiot." SU Sakura said, holding her head high with a superior smirk as she crossed her arms again.

"Oh~, so just because your Naruto turned out to be a secret romantic who literally showered the village with cherry blossom petals with pink fireworks going off so even the heavens couldn't ignore your 'beauty' you feel like you won the jackpot, while I rolled snake eyes!" Ino shouted with annoyance.

"That would just be an insult to gambling. Even ending up with a bad hand is more exciting than an afternoon with Sai. I'll never know how you deal with that." SU Sakura said with a widened smirk and shrug, causing Ino to growl in anger.

"Wait, your Naruto did what for you?" BU Sakura asked with widened eyes as this was a first for her.

"Hey, wait a second, how did you know what he did for my birthday?!" SU Sakura questioned, now with a pissed expression. Without any answer, she knew exactly what happened. "She disabled her jutsu. That pig." SU Sakura said with an annoyed frown.

"Is that what she saw when Naruto shared those memories Shinachiku had?" BU Sakura wondered to herself.

"… He did what?" SU Sakura questioned, causing her counterpart to flinch upon noticing the annoyed expression on her face. "You better prepare the ICU because I will not let this go unpunished. My husband's punches are nibbles from a puppy compared to me." SU Sakura warned as her counterpart chuckled nervously as she now felt sorry for her world's Naruto.

.

.

Both Narutos had remained in the newly recreated forest with the Nanadaime sitting on a nearby boulder while the Rokudaime leaned against a nearby tree.

"So, where to start?" The Rokudaime asked, and as his counterpart opened his mouth, he spoke again. "Oh! The beginning! Can't start at the middle and end, otherwise they'll have none." The Rokudaime said with an amused grin as he chuckled. "Sorry. Couldn't help myself. That's what happens when you spend enough time with Sakura-chan's father, dattebayo."

"I've noticed. The guy's pretty funny, 'ttebayo." The Nanadaime said with a smile, recalling the last time he met him at Haruno's bakery.

"Anyway, my feelings for my Sakura-chan started after I was playing on this wall." SU Naruto started.

"Wait, a wall? Why were you playing on a wall?" BU Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I remembered this one time that I saw this other kid doing the same thing and he got the attention of the other villagers. They all showed concern for him, and I felt like he was the luckiest kid around. So, I decided to pull the same stunt, thinking I'd not only finally get the attention of the others, but also their concern. I wanted them for once to acknowledge me and feel like I was… well, you know."

"One of them. Yeah, I hear ya." BU Naruto said with a soft, slightly somber smile.

"Even when it was clear it wasn't giving me the same results, I still kept at it… and then I fell." The Rokudaime said nonchalantly with a shrug.

"Figures." The Nanadaime said with a casual look, recalling his streak of bad luck when he was younger courtesy of his idiocy.

"After that, I earned a nasty cut on my knee. I was really young at the time, so I just held it with a pained look, not knowing what to do. It didn't matter that I could heal fast from it, I was still a kid and when a kid gets hurt, they tend to cry a bit. However, no one showed up to help me. Even though it was clear that I was hurt and crying, no one offered me comfort. Not even a passing glance. Once again, I was ignored, even when I needed help." SU Naruto said with a frown, causing his counterpart to frown as well as both recalling the pain of being ignored by their home village. "But… there was one person who ran over towards me." The Rokudaime added with a small smile, causing the Nanadaime to look at him in surprise. "She ran over with a bandage ready, cleaned up my wound a bit and scolded me. Calling me an idiot for trying to pull a stunt like that all to get attention. Man, she let me have it." The Rokudaime said with a chuckle and grin as he rubbed the back of his head. "I'll give you one guess on who that person was."

"Sakura-chan." The Nanadaime said with surprise as never once would he ever consider her running up to him back in those days.

"Yup." SU Naruto said with a smile and nod as he remembered that precious memory. His first memory of Sakura-chan. "I could never forget how she was that day. 'What in the world were you trying to do anyway?! There are better ways to earn people's attention! You don't have to act like a fool to get it! Otherwise no one will look your way!'" The Rokudaime said, reminiscing the pinkette's first words. "Her words may have been meant to criticize me, rightfully so too, but her actions spoke louder to me. Despite me acting the fool, she focused on making me feel better. Nothing else mattered to her than making sure I was okay. Even if people were watching us, no doubt surprised by her actions, she still decided to help me. Back then… that not only said a lot, but it also meant the world to me." SU Naruto said with a warm smile and soft eyes as his cheeks turned pink. "Once she was done, she ran off but not before turning around and telling me: Don't ever do that again. Think next time, because I don't want to have to keep worrying about you." The Rokudaime then laughed. "I guess I never did learn my lesson back then or ever now because she always tends to worry about me whenever I get ahead of myself, dattebayo!"

Rokudaime Naruto couldn't help but continue to laugh jovially while his counterpart stared at him in surprise.

The Nanadaime was shocked to hear this story. It never happened to him. Hell, he doesn't even remember what Sakura did to catch his eye. For as long as he could remember, he saw her once and she was always there. Always out of his reach and running off somewhere else. Never once was it towards him. At least not back in their youth pre-genin days. The idea of her caring that early on made him feel warm.

A warm feeling that only a true friend who would come to care for you could bring.

However, for his counterpart, it was clear that an even stronger warmth had been there far longer than he ever had. If he ever really did have that warmth for her. The genuine kind that was born from his heart and not from his need to prove himself to someone else.

"So… that's when you fell in love with her." BU Naruto said with a soft smile.

"Huh? Hell no! You don't just base love on one interaction! It takes more than that! She just earned my attention, that's all. Just because you have someone's attention doesn't automatically mean you have their affection as well, 'ttebayo." SU Naruto explained with a minor frown.

'That's how it was for my wife though.' BU Naruto thought with a sweat drop, remembering how Hinata explained that she was instantly smitten by him after he saved her from bullies when they were kids.

"Although, the question after that was should I even keep my attention on her." SU Naruto said, causing his counterpart to look at him in confusion.

"What do you mean?" The Nanadaime asked.

"Look, let's not beat around the bush. Sakura-chan wasn't always the nicest when she was younger. She had less control over her temper, was quick to judge and a lot of her negative traits seem to be born from peer pressure, dattebayo. A girl like that… was it even worth keeping my attention on her?" The Rokudaime spoke as he leaned back against the tree with his arms crossed.

"I see what you mean." BU Naruto said with a frown, looking downward as he recalled Sakura's less pleasant attitude back in the day.

"I honestly wasn't sure if our chance meeting was something to even cherish if being mean was all she was… but then I saw something that convinced me it was worth cherishing." SU Naruto said, catching BU Naruto's attention. "You remember that girl Ami? Purple-haired one always with her cronies, the boyish looking one and the one with the afro?"

"Oh, yeah~. She was a pain in the ass. She liked to look down on everyone and was more obsessed with Sasuke than Ino and Sakura back then." The Nanadaime recalled the tall purple-haired girl who liked bullying the other kids with her favorite target apparently being Sakura. "I wonder what ever happened to her."

"I don't know, but that doesn't matter. What did matter was that when she lost a precious heirloom her mother entrusted to her, she was so scared and depressed. She was scared of how her mother was going to react and was sad because it meant the world to her just as much as it meant to her mother. Soon enough, Sakura-chan was the one to find it and she returned it to Ami. I managed to see it all happening from a distance." SU Naruto explained.

"Whoa. So, your Sakura-chan and Ami became friends where you come from?" BU Naruto asked.

"I never said that. In fact, Ami blamed Sakura, convincing herself that she probably took it on purpose for some payback and felt guilty afterwards, so she returned it. That was clearly bullshit, but Ami didn't want to listen to reason. She'd rather blame Sakura than owe her a debt." SU Naruto said with a dull frown and eye rolls.

"That sounds like something she would have done." BU Naruto said with a frown, looking towards the side with a half-lidded annoyed glare.

"Ino comforted Sakura-chan and suggested that they should prank Ami for the disrespect she gave her. I was about to go and volunteer to help when Sakura-chan said she'd rather let things be. It didn't matter to her whether she'd earn Ami's approval or scorn. In the end, she helped because she wanted to. The idea of leaving someone, anyone in distress like that without even trying to help would have hurt her just as well. In the end, even if Ami was an enemy, she didn't regret helping her, and she'd do it again." SU Naruto recounted with a smile as he closed his eyes and recalled the feeling of being blown away upon hearing those words. "I felt like I was struck by a typhoon or something. I was left in awe that someone as strong and as cool as her could even exist. That's when I knew that she was worth not giving up on."

"Whoa…" BU Naruto said with a surprised expression and blinking eyes as he didn't expect his counterpart to be hit that hard with feelings for his crush.

"Even though after that she still acted the way that she did, overtime I finally came to understand that she was more like me than I thought. Not only did she want to prove herself, but she also wore a mask. One she used in order to belong. Too scared to let it go. All because she wanted people to accept her. She gave into so much of what other people thought, but after seeing how the world really works, the mask started to chip away. Soon enough, it got to a point where she decided she didn't need the mask. Instead of trying to be like everyone else she had finally decided to be herself. It took her time, but she discovered who she really was, and the more she did, the more I found myself falling for her more and more… and when she finally unmasked herself…" The Rokudaime slowly opened his eyes and looked upwards as the wind blew. "I had never seen a more beautiful sight. The woman before me… was the most gorgeous person I had ever laid eyes on… and I never wanted to look away." SU Naruto said as his eyes shimmered upon remembering his wife's beautiful smiling face, which he saw every day, and every day he cherished it more and more.

"Um… wow…" BU Naruto spoke in surprised as he stared at his counterpart who remained silent as he stared up into the sky, seemingly unable to look away. "You doing okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just… I'm blown away by her, 'ttebayo." SU Naruto said as he lowered his head and gently laid his hand over his heart. "She has been and always will be, the woman who holds my heart in her hands." He said with a warm smile. "Quite literally. She actually had to hold and pump my heart, dattebayo."

"Oh, come on! Seriously?! You had to bring that up as a joke!?" BU Naruto shouted with minor annoyance as his counterpart just laughed it off.

"Sorry, sorry! I couldn't resist! Besides, it's true and that line is so good that it even makes Sakura-chan blush, dattebayo!" SU Naruto said with a huge grin.

"Bullshit! You're Just Making That Up!" BU Naruto shouted with an incredulous anime expression. No way was that possible!

And yet his counterpart continued to laugh with his joyful grin never leaving his face.

"Life is funny. It's more unpredictable than I can be, dattebayo." SU Naruto said with a big ol' grin.

"Yeah, whatever. Anyway, let's move this along already." BU Naruto said as he rubbed the back of his head with a small, slightly annoyed frown. "So… when did you confess to her. Like actually confess." BU Naruto asked.

"Officially?" SU Naruto looked upwards again as he thought it over. "That would be after I managed to get Sasuke out of jail."

"You waited until you managed to get him out?"

"Yeah. See, even though Sasuke may have returned to Konoha, he wasn't truly reunited with Team 7, so I didn't really fulfill my promise yet. My friends said otherwise, but I knew better. Until Sasuke was free then my promise to Sakura-chan wasn't fulfilled yet… I didn't have the right to confess just yet." SU Naruto said with a frown, before he suddenly chuckled. "Of all people to confront me on this it was Sai. He saw where I was coming from, but he told me that if I held it off for a second longer once it was done, I'd soon come to regret it, 'ttebayo."

"Is that right?" BU Naruto said with a frown, thinking that maybe that was his mistake. Even with a content future, mulling over the past is an inevitability.

"So… when Sasuke was finally freed, Sai asked me if I was ready beforehand, and I decided to be frank on the spot." SU Naruto said with his arms crossed.

"What… exactly did you say?" BU Naruto asked with pure curiosity.

"I said… I've loved you for the longest time. You're the woman I look to who amazes me from just being yourself. I admire who you are, and I can't help myself whenever I think of you. Every part of you just takes my breath away… even the one thing you're not proud of is something I have come to cherish so much. I've always wanted to say something to you… will you accept them?" SU Naruto took a deep breath as he closed his eyes, recalling his wife's look of confusion and curiosity before he spoke those words he cherished and wanted to say to her as himself for so long. "Your forehead is so wide and charming… and I've always wanted to kiss it, 'ttebayo." He gained a warm smile upon remembering her look of pure shock upon uttering those words. After a moment, he chuckled with a small grin. "After that, she totally knocked my head in since I practically told her it was me that day disguised as Sasuke. You can imagine how pissed she was then." SU Naruto said with an embarrassed and unnerved grin as he rubbed the back of his head, remembering the pain as clear as day.

"Why are you even laughing over that?! That must have been one hell of a headache!" BU Naruto said.

"It wasn't all bad. After all, once she did that, she grabbed me by the jacket and dragged me all the way to Ichiraku Ramen to make me feel better. There, she thanked me, for always being there. That was practically our first date, 'ttebayo." SU Naruto said with a warm smile and eye smiles. "Things were weird after that. I don't mean bad weird though. I'm talking a good kind of weird. Things felt different between us but at the same time it didn't feel different at all. We hung out and talked like we usually did, only this time it meant more, 'ttebayo. Like there was so much more behind it all. It's a little hard to explain, but I'm sure you get what I mean, right?" SU Naruto said with a bit of an embarrassed grin, before then his eyes softened upon remembering something else. "Things changed though when I had this dream."

"A dream?" BU Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah. I had this dream that told me to go to my clan's homeland in Uzushiogakure. I was supposed to dig up the ancient secrets of the clan that had been hidden deep within the land thanks to specialized fūinjutsu that only those with a special chakra that the Uzumaki clan could detect and unlock with their own blood."

'That would explain why no one, especially not Orochimaru could find anything there.' BU Naruto thought to himself, wondering if it was the same in his reality as well.

"I was all prepared to leave but I had to tell those close to me where I was heading. When I told Sakura-chan, she looked really upset. Out of everyone, she was the one who didn't want me to go, even though she knew how important it was, especially to me. So, she told me then and there that she was coming along. She actually wanted to travel with me… to be with me. It felt like a dream, dattebayo. Hell, sometimes I wonder if I had been trapped in the Infinite Tsukuyomi… but in my heart, I knew what stood before me that day was the truth. It felt even more enriching to hear her tell me to wait for her. After I got everything ready, I waited at the gates and soon enough, she was there. She was ready to leave with me. Wanting to stay by my side. I felt… so happy." SU Naruto said with a warm smile. "I also felt a little bold too because… I actually built up the courage to hold her hand."

"Seriously?! And she didn't… well, you know…" BU Naruto looked down with a frown, remembering how quickly to retaliate Sakura could be when surprised.

"I thought she would, but she wasn't upset at all. She was surprised… but she was actually happy. Happy with my hand around hers. So much so that she wrapped her fingers around mine." The Rokudaime closed his eyes as he imagined his wife's fingers wrapped around his own, as if the sensation he felt that day was happening right now. "When that happened… I knew for a fact that it was real. There was no lie. No doubts. Nothing but pure clarity to me. Sakura Haruno… finally accepted me. Not just as her closest friend… but someone that she gave her affection to. I was happiest man ever that day… and every day after that, I became happier and happier."

The Nanadaime stared at his counterpart, sensing no lie. Nothing but love. A stronger love than he had ever felt for the pink-haired woman who once held his own heart. No forlorn feelings were felt from the short-haired blonde. He was only happy. Happy for another one of himself. Happy that his feelings were indeed real, and even more so, they were returned as he had always hoped. These feelings he was sensing… were from a man who fulfilled every dream he had.

He was at peace with the life he had. Regardless of the permanent wounds he possessed, every second he had was filled with a love and joy that wiped away all the pain in his world.

This was the image Naruto had always hoped for himself. While he did attain a similar peace, it truly was something else to see that peace with his own eyes.

How can a smile not be brought to a man's face upon witnessing such a sight?

"So… that's how it all happened, huh?" BU Naruto asked with a smile.

"Well, there's more than just that. I mean, there's finding my clan's secret jutsus and tools, getting everyone to support Sakura-chan's clinics after giving them some of the clan's techniques, meeting my deceased grandfather who helped trained me to fight the phantom who haunted the Uzumaki clan for centuries and nearly destroyed it along with their village, bringing the whole world together to seal away like ninety-percent of his power, then that stuff regarding Toneri and finally that mad scientist guy who revived and became one with the Jūbi's husk, the Oni Zetsu made after that and nearly dying after destroying the moon-sized husk and creating my strongest Rasengan yet to act as the new core of the moon, which caused me to push myself to far by permanently damaging my chakra networking and killing me before being revived by my team, Sasuke especially, and immediately becoming Hokage afterwards as all I could do is a desk job since I can't fight for too long, but details, details." SU Naruto said with a dismissive wave, nonchalantly looking at his counterpart's slack-jawed flabbergasted face. "Oh, I also asked Sakura-chan to marry me right after. Can't forget to mention that. That's really important, dattebayo." SU Naruto said with a classic Uzumaki grin and eye smiles.

"… You have led an interesting life." BU Naruto said.

"So, I shared my tale of romance. It's only fair that I hear yours too. How did you end up falling for Hinata?" The Rokudaime asked with a curious smile.

"Oh, well, that was all made possible thanks to a genjutsu, so-"

"Wait. Are you saying you realized your feelings for your wife through an illusion?" SU Naruto asked with widened anime eyes, causing the Nanadaime to flinch upon realizing how he was wording the situation.

"Uh, let me explain myself more. See, it all started when Hanabi was kidnapped and-"

.

.

Chocho had been dragging Tsukia all throughout Konoha, showing her around, despite said Uchiha-Hyūga girl living in a very, very similar environment.

This world's Team 7 was following them around, mostly to look after Tsukia. They knew how Chocho was, and from the looks of it, Tsukia may have been used to her personality, she still lets her off with things like this. Even if it's clearly unwanted by the hime-cut girl.

"See? What did I tell you? That was the best place to buy potato chips, am I right?" Chocho said with a smile as she enjoyed some consommé flavored potato chips.

"Yes, I see. There's a place just like that where I come from." Tsukia said, putting on a smile and eye smiles but having a sweat drop as she herself enjoyed some super spicy chili flake potato chips.

"Look at that. Tsukia-onee-chan enjoys spicy foods too. I guess it just runs in the family." Boruto said as he too enjoyed his own super spicy chili fake potato chips. "So hot~!" He shouted after popping another chip into his mouth.

"She handles the spices better than you do though." Mitsuki pointed out.

"For real. It's like spicy foods have no effect on her tastebuds." Sarada said, a little surprised that Tsukia was able to pop the spicy chips one after another without any hesitation or sign of discomfort.

"Well, she does breathe fire. Maybe that has something to do with it." Boruto suggested.

"That doesn't make any sense. Just because someone uses fire jutsu doesn't automatically mean they can handle all manners of heat. I should know." Sarada said with a dull frown and half-lidded eyes.

"Maybe it has something to do with her being one-sixth Ōtsutsuki. Arata has an intense mastery over lightning release of all kinds that it comes off that he isn't really affected by it. Almost coming off like he is immune. Perhaps it is the same with Tsukia." Mitsuki deduced.

"That sounds more likely." Sarada said, holding her chin as she adopted a pondering pose.

"Hey, guys! What's up!" A female voice called out to the group, making them look ahead to find Team 15 with Wasabi waving towards them. "Fancy bumping into you all!" Wasabi said with a grin.

"Wasabi-chan!" Tsukia smiled brightly seeing her childhood friend.

"Hmm?" Tsubaki blinked her eyes as she noticed the dark-haired girl with the hime-cut hairstyle complete with ponytail with the others. 'Who in the world is that?' Tsubaki wondered to herself, decided to tread lightly a bit as her team walked over towards the group of five.

"Hey you guys." Boruto greeted the all-female team with a smile.

"I see you guys made it back from your mission." Wasabi said with a smirk, before noticing the onyx-eyed girl with them, who happened to be staring at her. "Hello. Who are you?" Wasabi asked.

"Huh? Oh, right. I almost forgot." Tsukia said, almost forgetting that this wasn't her Wasabi. "Well, I'm, uh-"

"This is Arata-kun's sister, Tsukia." Chocho decided to introduce her new friend/rival to the others.

"Eh?! Sister!?" Wasabi exclaimed in shock.

"No way! I don't believe it!" Namida said with immense surprise.

'This is Arata's sister?' Tsubaki thought with widened eyes.

"Um, yes. Nice to meet you three." Tsukia greeted the trio with a bow.

"Whoa, crazy." Wasabi said with surprise before realizing the situation. "Wait, hold up! What are you doing here? Did you get trapped too?" Wasabi asked with confusion and concern.

"Oh, you know as well? That makes this so much easier. What a relief." Tsukia said with a relieved grin. "Don't worry, Wasabi-chan. I'm not trapped like my brother and Shina-kun. What you're seeing is a projection created by the energy of your universe that's allowing my consciousness to enter and be tethered into this reality, so long as I don't run out of chakra. It's called an Uchū Bunshin." (Cosmic Clone) Tsukia explained.

"Oh, a clone. I see." Wasabi said with intrigue.

"So, what are you doing here?" Namida asked.

"I just came to deliver a message to your Hokage. Now, I'm just waiting until things are done before releasing this technique." Tsukia answered.

"Will you be prepared for that though?" Tsubaki asked, catching Tsukia, and by extension everyone else's attention. "This is the first time you've seen your teammates in a while. Will you really be ready to leave when the time comes?" Tsubaki questioned.

"It was saddened and even hurt me, but it won't be goodbye forever. I know I'll see them again, no matter how long it takes. I have that much faith in my team." Tsukia said with a bright, assured smile, which made Team 15 blink in surprise and even blush a bit at how sweet she seemed. "And if anything, I can just ask Naruto-ojisan if it's okay to visit them. I'm sure he'd be okay with that."

"Ojisan?" Wasabi, Namida and Sarada said in surprise, with the last of the three super shocked to hear her half-sister called the Hokage 'uncle'.

"Anyway, you have nothing to worry about when it comes to me, but I'm glad you guys still care. Even to someone who's pretty much a stranger to you." Tsukia said with a gracious smile.

"Well, that's good. I was kind of worried for a second." Wasabi said with a grin.

"You'll have nothing to worry about when it comes to me, Wasabi-chan. I always told you that since we were kids." Tsukia said with a wide smile and eye smiles.

"Hmm? Since we were… wait, have you known my other self for a long time now?" Wasabi asked with surprise and confusion.

"Oh, right! I got too comfortable. Gomen." Tsukia said, totally forgetting she wasn't with her same old friend. "See, well, um…"

"She knows by the way. About everything. Shinachiku-onii-chan shared his memories about our friends' counterparts." Boruto brought up.

"R-Really?" Tsukia questioned in surprise.

"Y-Yeah. We all know. I know… about being adopted." Wasabi said, looking downward with a bit of an uncomfortable look as she rubbed the back of her head. "Does that have anything to do with me and you?" She asked, looking back up towards Tsukia.

"Y-yes, actually. My mother and Kiba-ojisan were on the same team upon graduating from the academy. When the one I knew was first adopted, uncle brought her over in the hopes of helping her make friends her age. Even though our personalities were pretty different, we managed to be fast friends after we showed one another's skills. Since then, we've been close friends." Tsukia explained with a smile.

"R-Really? I'll be." Wasabi said with blinking surprised eyes.

"So… you two are close friends where you come from, huh?" Namida asked, looking downward as she tapped her index fingers together before feeling a hand on her shoulder.

"You're our friend too, you know. Soon after Wasabi and I found you by yourself and made friends with you. Where I've come from, the three of us have known each other for a long time. Along with Shina-kun and my brother, you two are my closest friends." Tsukia told Namida with a friendly, warm smile.

"I am?" Namida said with surprise before looking downward with a smile. "I have two childhood friends. Wow, what news."

"Your other self, but I suppose that's in a way correct." Tsubaki said before looking at Tsukia. "I'm guessing we don't have much of a relationship where you come from. At least, not on the level of your relationship with them."

"You're my friend all the same, Tsubaki. We may not have known one another since childhood, but I consider you a close friend, nonetheless. Especially since you're always spending time with my brother when neither of you is busy with your teams." Tsukia answered, never losing her smile.

"N-Nani?" Tsubaki questioned, flinching a bit with a surprised expression.

"What do you mean 'always'?" Chocho asked with a stern expression and a menacing aura, causing everyone to flinch.

'Oh, I guess this Chocho gained feelings for onii-chan too. I should have expected no less.' Tsukia thought with a sweat drop and uneasy smile. "Well, they always train together. They eat at Lightning Burger together. They walk and talk together. Honestly, it feels like they've been best friends for years. Sometimes I wonder if they're attached to the hip at times." Tsukia said putting on a smile and eye smiles, albeit uncomfortable ones.

"That was probably too much information right now." Boruto said as he and the other were eyeing Chocho that now super jealous nervously.

All except Tsubaki, who had a surprised expression.

"Attached to the hip? He and I?" Tsubaki questioned with her cheeks heating up as she blinked her eyes.

"Ah, Dammit! So Unfair!" Chocho screamed out in anger before dumping the rest of her chips into her mouth to dull the 'pain'.

"Wait, speaking of Lightning Burger, I just remembered we were heading there right now." Wasabi said.

"Wait, you were?" Boruto asked with new excitement.

"Yeah. Actually, we were going there to meet Team 5 to compare mission successes. Whoever's stats are higher on Denki's computer buys the other team lunch." Namida explained.

"Alright! Sounds like a plan! Let's go!" Boruto said with an excited grin.

"You're not part of the bet." Wasabi said with a dull expression.

"Doesn't matter. A trip to Lightning Burger is always a must. I don't care who pays for it, but I'm getting myself a meal." Boruto said with a smirk and shrug.

"You just had a bowl of ramen not too long ago, and you're having a bag of potato chips right now." Sarada pointed out.

"Actually, I wouldn't mind a burger or two, and maybe a couple fries. You don't mind if I tagged along as well, do you?" Tsukia asked Team 15.

"Not at all." Wasabi said with a smile.

"Nani?! But you just ate fifty-six bowls of ramen not too long ago and you're currently eating potato chips!" Sarada pointed out in utter disbelief.

"Fifty-Six Bowls?!" Wasabi shouted out in shock and eyes widened.

"No way!" Namida exclaimed with disbelief.

"Do you have several stomachs?" Tsubaki asked with genuine surprise and curiosity.

"Oh, no. I just inherited my mother's appetite is all." Tsukia said with an embarrassed smile and eye smiles.

"I should have realized that such a thing was child's play for you. Forgive me for being so shortsighted." Chocho said, looking towards the side trying to pull a cool, collected pose with her eyes closed and holding her chin.

"Oh, well…" Tsukia could only put on a smile and eye smiles with a sweat drop down the side of her head.

"Alright then! Round two! Straight to Lightning Burger everyone!" Chocho declared with an intensely determined expression, thrusting her fist into the air.

"H-Hai." Tsukia and Team 15 said, now all having sweat drops.

"What's with her all of a sudden?" Boruto questioned with a dull expression.

"She's being unrestrictive of her feelings as usual." Mitsuki said with his usual mock smile.

"I won't lose to you this time, Tsukia!" Chocho said to the Uchiha-Hyūga, pointing at her with a determined expression.

"H-Hai." Tsukia just gave Chocho a smile with her hands up in defense. "If I remember correctly, Lightning Burger is this way." Tsukia said with a more relaxed, practically chipper smile as she pointed down a certain way and started heading off.

"She even knows the route. Definitely my sister." Boruto said with a proud smile as he followed after her with the rest following.

"I can't believe she's going to eat again. Where does she put it all?" Sarada said to herself with an incredulous frown and worried stare.

"By the way, where are Shinachiku and Arata? I figured they want to spend time with their teammate." Wasabi asked.

"Shinachiku-onii-chan went to put more of his ramen bars away. Arata-onii-chan went to make sure he didn't go through a case or two while he was there." Boruto answered.

"That sounds about right." Tsubaki said.

"I wonder if Arata-kun is managing to make progress there." Namida wondered aloud.

.

.

Meanwhile, back at the Uchiha Compound…

"Thirteen." Shinachiku said with a serious expression.

"No." Arata answered with a stoic expression.

"Twelve."

"No."

"Eleven!"

"No.

"Ten!"

"No."

"Twenty!"

"No one goes double the amount like that in making negotiations." Arata said.

"Fine! Five!" Shinachiku said bringing up five fingers to emphasis his point.

"… Hmm~…" Arata glanced to the side thinking it over. "No."

"Oh, come on!"

.

.

Back with Tsukia and the others, they had arrived at Lightning Burger.

Tsukia took in a deep inhale through her nose as she then moaned with delight.

"I can already smell them cooking the patties on the stove." Tsukia said with a blissful smile.

"Me too~. There's no mistaking it and there's nothing like it. So heavenly~." Boruto agreed with his own blissful smile and even sporting a blush.

"They really are related." Wasabi said with a raised eyebrow.

"We're noticing as well." Sarada said with a dull frown and eyes closed.

"Well, let's not waste time! Come on!" Boruto said with a look of excitement as he was rearing to run in.

"We can't." Tsubaki said, causing Boruto to almost trip.

"Yeah, we have to wait for Team 5 first." Namida said.

"Aw man. Seriously?" Boruto complained.

"We did make the deal with them. No way am I paying for my own meal if it turns out I did better than those three." Wasabi said.

"Iwabe especially, right?" Tsukia said with a knowing smile.

"Burgers will taste better after being ponied up by him." Wasabi said with a smug smile and her head held high.

"Man~, but I'm hungry now." Boruto whined.

"Just go find us some seats. Since we'll be in a large group anyway, we need a large number of seats." Tsukia told her half-brother.

"Okay~." Boruto said with a whiny tone.

"Mitsuki, you go with him to make sure he doesn't sneak a burger before everyone arrives." Tsukia said to her cousin's counterpart.

"Okay." Mitsuki nonchalantly said.

"What?! Hey! How come you got to put Mitsuki on watch duty on me like that?!" Boruto questioned.

"Because I don't trust you." Tsukia answered nonchalantly.

'So direct!' Boruto and the others thought with shock at Tsukia's apparently bluntness.

"I know it sounds harsh, but I can tell you have a hard time controlling certain impulses. This is a meal between friends, and nothing tastes better than when it is shared with those close to you." Tsukia said, giving her reasonings.

"Oh, uh… yeah, that makes sense. A meal between friends is important." Boruto said with embarrassment on having to be told something he believed in a hundred and ten percent.

"She read you like a book." Sarada said with a smirk and arms crossed, causing Boruto to groan with a pout.

"Let's go, Boruto." Mitsuki said, smiling at his friend.

"Right, right. Let's save some seats." Boruto said with less enthusiasm before moaning as he held his 'aching' stomach. "Aw man~, I'm dying for a burger. Is taking one before everyone else really so bad?" Boruto whined.

"If that's how you feel, then fine. Who am I to stop you." Tsukia said with her eyes closed.

"Really?" Boruto asked with excitement.

"Sure… but don't cry if you happen to forget how it tastes afterwards. Almost as if you were put under some sort of genjutsu." Tsukia said, snapping open her eyes to reveal them flickering her Sharingan for a moment.

"Huh?! W-W-Wait! T-That won't happen, will it?!" Boruto asked with a new sense of fear.

"Who's to say?" Tsukia rhetorically asked with a shrug as she looked towards the side.

"O-Okay! I hear you loud and clear, 'ttebasa!" Boruto said with a look of fear and his hands up in defense. "Come on, Mitsuki! Let's go find seat for everyone!" Boruto said to his pale teammate as he ran right into the restaurant.

"Very thorough." Mitsuki said to Tsukia, who chuckled with embarrassment, before he went on inside with the whiskered blonde.

The others blinked their eyes in surprise at what they had just seen.

"Whoa… you got a bit of a dark side to you." Wasabi said with surprise, causing Tsukia to flinch.

"Oh, no! I'm sorry! Was that out of line? That was out of line, wasn't it? I knew I was going too far. How awful~." Tsukia said with a remorseful expression as she held her cheeks in dismay.

"No, it's alright! I'm actually impressed!" Wasabi said with a toothy grin.

"Same here! I'm amazed, onee-sama!" Sarada said with a wide smile and eye smiles.

"O-Onee-sama?" Tsukia was still embarrassed being called that by Sarada, but managed to smile, albeit a nervous and embarrassed one.

"It's honestly required. Boruto does have some very unmanly impulses he follows way too often. Making sure he didn't eat before his friends who are no doubt waiting to enjoy a meal together is just common sense." Chocho said with her head held high and a nonchalant shrug.

"I'm honestly impressed that you are able to frighten him so easily, given your more approachable nature." Tsubaki commented.

"Yeah. I wish I could be strong like that." Namida said with a bright, impressed smile.

'It's like I never left.' Tsukia thought with a smile.

"So, should we wait for Shinachiku and Arata as well?" Namida asked.

"Of course! No way should we start without Arata-kun." Chocho said with an authoritative tone.

"I wouldn't be happy if I left Shinachiku-kun out of things." Tsukia said, glancing downward with her cheeks growing warm, only to flinch upon noticing the surprised looks from the others. "O-Or my brother!" Tsukia quickly said with her hands up in defense.

"Tsukia-chan… do you have feelings for Shinachiku?" Namida asked.

Tsukia let out an embarrassed squeal as she held her reddened cheeks.

"I can't believe how careless I am! Why am I so easy to read?!" Tsukia whined with an embarrassed frown, unable to look the others in the eye.

"Well, would you look at that. Quite the turn of events." Wasabi said with an amused grin.

"I think it's sweet." Namida said with a smile. "Honestly, I can't blame you. He's both very strong and super sweet." She added, causing the others except Tsukia to look at her in surprise, causing the sound jutsu specialist to flinch with an embarrassed blush.

"Yes, he is… and so much more." Tsukia said with a loving smile and her cheeks increased in warmth. "So selfless… so brave… so fearless… even in the face of death, he'll do whatever it takes to protect those he cares about." Tsukia said with softened eyes.

The others blinked their eyes in surprise at how 'in love' Tsukia looked when thinking about the blonde medic.

"Hey, so, how exactly did your feelings start?" Chocho asked, surprising Tsukia and the others.

"Chocho!" Sarada looked towards her best friend with a disapproving look.

"Sorry, but I can't help but feel curious. I have never seen such a strong sense of love within a young maiden when thinking about her prince. The only ones that have come close are my feelings for Arata-kun, but this? It's like someone had found their soulmate." Chocho said causing Tsukia's eyes to widen.

"S-Soulmate… Shina-kun and I…" Tsukia looked towards the side, holding her warm cheeks as she thought of the Uzumaki's smiling face. She then let out an embarrassed and nervous squeal as she covered her totally reddened face. "I can't~! It's too much for me~!" Tsukia let out.

"You don't have to tell her if you don't want to." Sarada said to her half-sister.

"W-Well…" Tsukia uncovered her face to reveal it back to normal aside with her cheeks. "Shina-kun and I have known each other since we were infants. From what I remember, we've been friends forever."

"A classic friends-turned-lovers scenario." Chocho said with a smile and her head held high.

"B-But, um… even though I might have had an attraction for him for the longest time… my feelings became official… when he almost died for me." Tsukia admitted.

"Huh? Almost died!?" Sarada questioned with shock.

"Whoa, what the heck happened?" Wasabi asked, shocked as well.

Tsukia's eyes grew somber when she recalled her youngest memories.

"I… was bullied a lot. Back then, I was an easy target." Tsukia started.

"You? But I thought you said you had skills back then." Wasabi spoke up in confusion.

"I did, but I was too scared to fight back." Tsukia admitted.

"Because you were scared of conflict?" Namida asked with a sympathetic look.

"Yes." Tsukia answered.

"I can understand. I know it seems hard at first, but a girl needs to be assertive whenever someone messes with them, even at a young age." Chocho said.

"Not if you were scared to prove them right." Tsukia said with a saddened look in her eyes.

"Huh?" The girls looked at her in confusion.

Tsukia remained silent for a moment, remembering all the abuse she had dealt with at a young age from other people, before continuing.

"People… were wary of the Uchiha." She said, surprising the others, but none more than Sarada. "Even more so after the war. I couldn't blame them. Konoha's first missing-nin was an Uchiha, who somehow help orchestrate the Fourth Shinobi World War, along with another Uchiha, and that's not mentioning the things chichioya had done in order to avenge the clan." Tsukia's grew somber and showing signs of… pity. 'The clan… and their coup.' She sighed before continuing. "People were… scared. The last living Uchiha who committed crimes against not just Konoha, but Kumogakure followed by the rest of the world had become a free man one year after the war. He may have helped save the world, but the damage was already done. The Uchiha had gained a reputation of dragging the world into their paths of dark justice and self-interest, and even though Madara and Obito had died during the war and… certain other things, considering the notoriety my father had acclaimed in such a brief amount of time before the start of the war, everyone was still wary. They all thought that he could relapse back into his old ways, even though those close to him like his old teammates knew he had finally moved past that. Especially after some mandatory therapy. Yet in the end, the world was convinced that the Uchiha had poison running through their veins. That's what they believed of my father… and in turn it's what they believed of me." Tsukia said with a downtrodden expression.

"W-What?! Why!?" Wasabi asked both appalled and in disbelief.

"That's just how powerful fear works. The Uchiha built up a reputation, and people had come to discover what is known as the Curse of Hatred that runs within the Uchiha, so they couldn't help but be more frightened by us." Tsukia said, looking towards her close friend.

"Curse of… Hatred?" Sarada asked with widened, blinking eyes.

"You've never heard of it?" Tsukia asked, looking towards her half-sister.

"N-No! This is a first for me! What is that?" Sarada asked, flabbergasted by the concept that was somehow connected to their clan.

"The Curse of Hatred is what gives birth to the Sharingan. The Uchiha clan is a clan that feels a strong sense of love be it family, friend, lovers, or anyone who means something important to them. However, when that love is taken away, it is replaced with an even greater hatred that releases unique chakra from the brain into the ocular nerves, which creates the Sharingan. That's what the Nidaime learned upon analyzing deceased Uchiha." Tsukia answered with a frown.

"I… I never knew that…" Sarada said with a worried and saddened frown.

"I'm sorry." Tsukia apologized to her fellow Uchiha kunoichi.

"It's okay… really." Sarada said, looking downward with a frown. 'Back when I first awakened my Sharingan… was it born because… I hated papa for believing he abandoned us?' Sarada thought to herself.

"So, wait, you're telling me because you had the ability to awaken the Sharingan, people were scared of you?" Chocho asked.

"That's right." Tsukia answered with a nod, frowning as she recalled those difficult times as a child. "People were even scared upon looking at me. With onii-chan, they were calmer because his eyes were grey, which gave them the idea that hahaoya's influence was strong within him. When they saw me… they saw the eyes of the man that they feared. They didn't see a child. They saw a potential destroyer."

"That's messed up…" Wasabi muttered with depressed frown.

"As you can imagine, the parents' fears and hatred were felt even by their own children. After that, I became a target. Whenever my friends or onii-chan weren't around, the other kids picked on me. Always messing with me and saying, 'Don't get mad, or you'll become an evil Uchiha'. As an example."

"That's awful!" Namida said, as she and the others were just shocked and disgusted by this news.

None more than Sarada for obvious reasons.

'I don't believe it.' Sarada thought with a look of shock. 'I mean, I understand. It's common knowledge that Obito Uchiha and Madara Uchiha were the ones responsible for the war, and papa did tell me that he had done things in his past that he is not proud of… but for people to extend the hatred they have for them onto someone like onee-sama who had nothing to do with it? How could they? And… how was I spared the same fate?' She thought to herself as her eye grew somber the more that she thought over it.

"Hold on, but you were strong even back then, right? Why didn't you fight back?" Wasabi asked, trying to understand Tsukia's reasons for letting such actions continue.

"I was afraid." Tsukia said with a downtrodden frown.

"Of fighting? Seriously?" Wasabi questioned, still flabbergasted over the idea.

"Mm mmm." Tsukia shook her head 'no'.

"You were afraid to prove them right." Tsubaki said, surprising her team, along with Sarada and Chocho.

"Hai." Tsukia answered with a nod. "I'm pretty sure all of them were daring for me to show them my 'evil eyes', as they put it, but I didn't want to cause any problems. I wanted them to stop, but not at the cost of making my family look bad. Chichioya had gone through a lot to prove himself worthy of his second chance and people have been saying things on why hahaoya would have ever agreed to marry him. I didn't want to give in and have people say much worse about them. Especially in regard to their children and how we were being raised… people are always looking for a reason to justify their criticisms." Tsukia said with a frown.

"Man, that's harsh." Wasabi said with an empathetic frown.

"But your brother was there along with Shinachiku were there to help you soon enough, right?" Chocho asked, knowing that Arata would never let his sister go through such turmoil. Oh, and of course Shinachiku would protect his friend as well as always.

"Of course, but no matter how many times someone came to my aid it didn't stop them from trying another day." Tsukia said.

"But it had to have stopped somehow, right?" Sarada asked, admittedly feeling desperate to know if things got better for her elder sister.

"Yeah, it did. When I finally stood up for myself." Tsukia said.

"Really? What changed?" Wasabi asked as she and the others were now interested in the one-eighty decision.

However, the moment Tsukia's frown deepened, they knew it was something really serious.

"When…" Tsukia sighed as she tried to gain a little bit of strength to tell her friends of what was one, if not the most crucial moment in her life. "When I was six the village was hit with a disaster. I awoken my Sharingan that day, up to two tomoe."

"Two tomoe?" Sarada questioned with shock and amazement that when Tsukia awakened her dojutsu she managed one extra tomoe than she did.

"Yes… but not long after… it evolved to an even greater state." Tsukia said.

"Even greater?" Namida questioned, as she and the others pondered on what she meant.

The only one who knew what she meant was of course Sarada, whose eyes widened upon realization.

'The Mangekyō… but at such a young age? What happened?' Sarada thought, as she had a bad feeling over what the rest of the story entailed.

"Because of the incident, the village was left in a vulnerable state. Even with advancements of fūinjutsu and the early stages of ninja tools, it was still possible for intruders to bypass the defenses. One in particular…" Tsukia was a bit hesitant to continued, but she couldn't help glance towards Tsubaki.

Tsubaki noticed, causing her to raise an eyebrow in confusion, only for Tsukia to look away. After a moment of looking at her in confusion, an idea came to mind, causing Tsubaki to gasp in shock with her eyes widening.

"A samurai." Tsubaki said in realization, causing the others to look at her in shock.

"Yes." Tsukia answered with a somber expression, feeling bad that she had to admit such a thing in front of Tsubaki.

"No way…" Wasabi said in disbelief.

"But… why?" Namida asked, shocked that someone from Tsubaki's homeland would invade the village.

"Like I mentioned earlier, my chichi made an enemy of the rest of the world. It happened when he attacked the Five Kage Summit within Tetsu no Kuni (Land of Iron). Upon his assault… he killed several samurai to get to the Hokage candidate attending the meeting at the time." Tsukia said, shocking the others.

'I didn't know that!' Sarada thought with shock and disbelief at the fact that her father actually went ahead and murdered some people. Samura no less.

Tsubaki frowned, looking towards as she gained a tight grip around her the hilt of her katana. She knew of the incident, but she never bothered to bring it up. Her teacher, Mifune, taught her that to remain focused on the past would leave you limited to what can be attained for your future. When she met Sarada, she had already accepted that what her father did was in the past, but still, to know such an event occurred and that someone she now called her friend was directly related to the one responsible for it still left her complicated emotions.

However, what really bothered Tsubaki right now is that what Tsukia was suggesting was that what her mentor taught her was not something adopted by all samurai.

"Even though he aimed to repent for what he had done, there were still those who never forgot. One of them in particular couldn't forget. A samurai who lost his little brother thanks to my father was so wracked with hatred for my chichi that… he wanted him to feel an even greater pain than he did."

"Wha-? You're not saying that…" Wasabi was too in shock to finish her sentence.

"Onee-sama…" Sarada looked towards her sister in shock and sympathy.

"That's just not right!" Chocho exclaimed with anger and disgust.

"Yes… but neither was what my chichi had done." Tsukia said, causing the others to silently frown as they had to acknowledge that fact as well.

"What… exactly did he do?" Tsubaki asked, wanting to know how this horrid tale had come to an end.

"He managed to take me away from my home and took me to a more secluded area to… finish the deed. I managed to get away thanks to my Sharingan genjutsu, but he was skilled and soon broke out of it. I tried to get away, but a child against a seasoned veteran is a situation where no hope is found." Tsukia's frown deepened as she remembered the incident. "I was soon cornered by him. He was ready to get his revenge, and when he brought down his blade, I thought that would be it, but… someone took the hit for me."

"W-Who?" Chocho asked as she and the others were on the edge of their seats.

"… Shinachiku." Tsukia answered, causing the others to gasp.

'Onii-chan…' Sarada's eye widened in shock before softening.

"When that happened… I felt so much pain… so much anger… I was so overcome with… hatred." Tsukia looked down with a remorseful expression. "I took one look at the man and wanted him to suffer. To feel the pain I was feeling… that was exactly what I had been afraid of this whole time. Everything that everyone said… was inside me just as they said."

"Onee-sama…" Sarada was now saddened and worried over Tsukia's state of mind.

"What… did you do?" Tsubaki asked feeling more and more nervous as the tale went on.

"I used Tsukuyomi on him." Tsukia answered causing Sarada to gasp. "I was so filled with anger that I just wished that he would experience as much pain as I was feeling. I could sense it all… his pain… what I was doing to him. I made it so severe that I could sense that if I gave him one last push then he would be asleep for a long time." Tsukia said looking down with her eyes losing some of their light, which worried the other. "But I… just couldn't do it. I deactivated Tsukuyomi. I could have stopped him, but I didn't want to cause any more pain to him… it was too much for me. So, I just held Shinachiku and prayed for someone to come and help him. Fortunately, chichioya arrived and handled the samurai. He managed to get Shina-kun to a hospital, but I was in so much turmoil. My friend was hurt, and I almost destroyed a man's mind… I felt so ashamed." Tsukia said with her eyes closed.

Sarada and the others stared at her with saddened, empathetic expressions.

All of a sudden, Sarada made her way over and hugged Tsukia, surprising the elder Uchiha female, and by extension their friends.

Tsukia suddenly chuckled as she pulled back, looking a now confused Sarada in the eyes.

"Sorry. It's just… you're just like otōsan." Tsukia said with a newly brightened smile and eye smiles.

"Huh?" Sarada looked at her in surprise with blinking eyes.

"After everything happened, I was so distraught… but chichi comforted me. He told me… that he was proud of me." Tsukia said with a soft, warm smile.

"Proud? Proud of what?" Sarada asked, albeit feeling nervous to ask.

"Proud that I managed to stop myself." Tsukia answered, surprising her half-sister and to a lesser extent the others. "He told me that any other Uchiha would have finished the job… but I managed to stop myself from going over the edge. That spoke volumes, he said. I was kidnapped, nearly killed, saw my friend being struck down and nearly killed himself and despite all the emotional stress I went through I managed to take control of myself. I didn't let my power overcome and define me. My father told me that it showed just how strong I truly was. Since then… I've never been afraid to stand up for myself. Because I knew that I was strong enough to stop myself from going too far. My eyes… were not something to fear. Not any longer." Tsukia said with a soft smile as she recounted her talk with her father.

Her most precious memory of him. The moment she saw what no one else, aside from his old team and her family had seen. The true Sasuke Uchiha. A man feared by the outside world but is compassionate to those he holds close to his heart. The world didn't need to see him for who he really is because that was reserved for people like his daughter.

A truth shared in both worlds.

"I see. That's… wonderful to know." Sarada said with a now much calmer and warm smile.

"That's beautiful and all… but what about Shinachiku?" Chocho asked, still mulling over the connection between Shinachiku and Tsukia afterwards.

"Yeah. Was he okay afterwards? I mean, it's obvious he survived the whole thing, but how was he like after?" Namida asked with concern.

"Yeah. He did get struck down by a samurai." Wasabi added, not noticing the disappointed frown on Tsubaki's face regarding this wayward samurai's actions.

"Surprisingly… he was okay. He didn't mind that he was almost killed. He was more concerned over me." Tsukia answered.

"Mm. Yup. That sounds like him." Chocho said, gently holding her chin as she looked upward in thought.

"So he's always been like that. Even at such a young age." Sarada said with a soften smile.

"But wasn't he almost killed?" Namida asked.

"Yes, but Shinachiku-kun has never been afraid of dying, even when he was a child. He was always more afraid of failing those he cared for." Tsukia answered.

"Seriously? Man, I knew he had balls, but I didn't think that's just how he's always been." Wasabi said as she and the others were surprised by Shinachiku's fearlessness when it came to dying.

"When I visited him… I was so guilty. He almost died for me… and yet… that wasn't what mattered to him. Even after everything he still asked if I was okay. He was more concerned about my mental health because of the turmoil I went through, with seeing him getting hurt being one of them. All the pain he endured didn't matter so long as I was alright." Tsukia said as her eyes grew softer.

"Wow. You must have been so enthralled." Chocho said, impressed by Shinachiku's kindness and chivalrous nature even after enduring something so traumatic at such a young age.

"I yelled at him! That's what I did!" Tsukia said, raising her voice as she gave her friends a more stern, annoyed look, surprising them at her attitude change. "I felt indebted to him for saving my life, but that didn't excuse the fact that he almost died for me, and he was playing it off as it was nothing! It was something! It was something to me! I didn't want him to die because he was my best friend!" Tsukia said with an assertive tone with a strong expression to back it up.

"I see. Yeah, I'd be the same way too." Sarada said with a nervous smile and tone from her half-sister's current frustrated behavior.

"He apologized right after… and then I had to ask… why was he so okay with it? Why was he so ready to lay his life on the line for me?" Tsukia said, surprising the others.

"Well… why wouldn't he? He's your friend after all." Chocho said.

"I know… but I told him that I almost put the man in a coma. I almost destroyed his mind… I had a darkness in me that could appear… everyone was right about me… I could one day become a monster." Tsukia said with a frown and somber eyes, causing her friends to look at her in concern. Then suddenly she gained a soft smile. "When I said that… he said that if that was the case, then everyone else were just being a pack of idiots. None of them knew who I truly was and yet they still judged me. That's the sign of an actual idiot to him. Even still, he felt that I still held my own reservations on the matter, so he told me that if I actually felt like I would someday fall into darkness, then he'd be the one to grab my hand and bring me back towards the light. He'll do it as many times as he needed to, because… he said…"

"He said?" Sarada asked as she and the others were on the edge of their non-existent seats over what the Uzumaki-Haruno had said.

Tsukia's eyes shimmered as she remembered what Shinachiku had told her that day.

"He said… I'm worth it. I'm one of the most precious people in his life. He just couldn't imagine his own life without me. He didn't want to. Even if it came out selfish, he would gladly give his life so I could live my own, because I mattered that much. I was just that important to him. He'll gladly risk it all for me because… he loves me." Tsukia answered, causing the others to gasp in shock. "I couldn't believe what I had been told. I almost thought I was dreaming, but when I saw his smile… I knew it was real. Someone… actually valued my existence. They were happy that I was born. Someone outside of my family was truly happy that I was a part of their life… and they didn't want to lose me. Every part of me… the good and the bad… they loved me all the same. I couldn't help but hold onto him, crying. I couldn't even count how many times I thanked him. The person who… became most precious to me." Tsukia's cheek grew warm as she recalled that feeling as if it were yesterday. "Things changed after that. Not only did I finally stand up for myself, no longer fearing the power inside me or what others may think, but I also found myself falling for my best friend. He saved me. Not only my life, but he saved me from who I was becoming. He made me finally value my own existence."

"Onee-sama…" Sarada stared at her half-sister with silent surprise as she felt so much sadness and sympathy for her for the trouble that she had to go through at such an early age.

"My greatest fear gone thanks to him. I could never repay him for that, but I swore to always support him from then on… and every time I looked at him, my heart always skipped a beat. He… became the one who held my heart, and every time I saw him more and more, I fell harder and harder… just from seeing him be himself. I…" Tsukia imagined Shinachiku from a young age growing into bit by bit into the person that he is now. "I'm in love with him. Always and forever." Tsukia confessed with a soft, warm smile, her eyes softened and cheeks warm as an even greater warmth radiated within her heart.

Sarada, Chocho, Wasabi, Namida and Tsubaki stared at her with expressions of shock and awe.

"… Whoa…" Wasabi said with breathless surprise.

After a moment, Tsukia blinked her eyes and realized what she had done… aloud… and in public.

"Ah~! What did I just do?!" Tsukia shouted out, holding the cheeks of her now reddened face before quickly turning away and crouching down in embarrassment. "I just came out and said that all for the world to hear! Dō shiyou ka na~?" (What am I to do?) Tsukia whined with a flustered and embarrassed frown as her whole face was glowing red with puffs of steam coming off her face.

"Hey, hey, it's alright. There's no need to feel embarrassed. I promise." Wasabi said with a dismissive wave and giving a supportive yet uncomfortable smile and eye smiles.

"Y-Yes. There's nothing to feel embarrassed about. In fact, I'm quite impressed with your passion." Tsubaki said after clearing her throat, only for her words to cause Tsukia to squeal with embarrassment.

"Tsubaki is absolutely right! This isn't something to be embarrassed about! It's a true love story filled with an unrelenting array of emotions that would motivate the coldest of hearts to seek the same warmth only a powerful love held by a true maiden could inspire! You should feel proud in your feelings for your friend! Don't hide it! Scream it to the world! A love like this must not be squandered! Chase it will all your might, my dear friend! All of your might!" Chocho screamed out with a fist pump and such intense zeal and admiration radiating from her voice as her eyes were alit with a new fire, completely inspiring her of what a true maiden's heart is like!

"Please, Chocho. I'm feeling even worse." Tsukia said with an uncomfortable and embarrassed tone and frown.

"No Embarrassment!" Chocho shouted, never losing her intensity, causing Tsukia to moan with more embarrassment.

"Yare yare." Sarada said with an amused yet sympathetic smile as she knelt beside Tsukia. "It's alright. I know how intense such feelings can be. It's honestly too much to handle at times." She said as she laid a comforting hand on her elder half-sister.

"Hmm? Sarada… do you have feelings for someone too?" Tsukia asked with surprise and curiosity, causing her sister to flinch.

"Nani?!" Chocho questioned as she and Team 15 had shocked anime expressions.

"N-No! That's not where I'm getting at!" Sarada quickly said, waving her hands in front of her with an embarrassed blush on her face. "What I mean is… don't feel so bad. Your feelings are your feelings, and while they might embarrass you, you shouldn't feel ashamed by them. Especially when the person who makes you feel them is a pretty great guy. You get me?" Sarada said, giving Tsukia a comforting and supportive smile.

After a moment, Tsukia managed to give a more relaxed smile as her original pigment returned to her.

"Yeah. I get you." Tsukia said with an understanding and grateful smile and nod.

"Good." Sarada nodded back as she helped Tsukia to her feet. "Besides, Shinachiku-onii-chan is a keeper. He's definitely so, so much better than many other choices out there."

"Yeah, like Boruto." Chocho said with a joking smile.

"Or Iwabe." Wasabi said with a grin causing the others to laugh along with her.

"What about me?" A voice spoke up, causing the group of girls to turn to see not only Iwabe and his team, but also Inojin and Shikadai.

"About time you got here. I'm starving." Wasabi said, giving the older teen a slightly annoyed frown.

"Hello, Inojin, Shikadai. Didn't expect to see you here." Namida greeted the male members of Team 10 with a cordial smile.

"Yeah. What gives? How come you guys showed up with Team 5?" Chocho asked.

"We could ask you the same thing regarding Team 15." Shikadai retorted.

"Iwabe was boasting about his team's progress and mentioned his bet with Team 15. He invited us to share in the spoils of a free meal." Inojin explained.

"Depending on if your team did better than ours, which I doubt!" Wasabi said with gritted fangs as she pointed at the taller genin.

"Yeah right! Our team kicks way more ass now! Between my array of earth release jutsu, Metal's increased power and Denki's technological advancements and lightning release, we're a shoo-in to be the superior team!" Iwabe shot back.

"A stronger arsenal does not guarantee a higher rate of success in your designated tasks." Tsubaki rebutted with her head held high.

"Yeah! Our teamwork has made leaps and bounds since these past few weeks and that's what makes our missions the accomplishments that they are!" Namida agreed, showing more vigor and gusto than she normally did.

"That's right! Show the results, Denki! I'm going to rub it in this big-mouth's face so bad!" Wasabi ordered, pointing towards the Kaminarimon.

"Uh, right. Just give me a second." Denki said a bit nervously from the intensity of Team 15. "Alright, let's see." Denki took out his laptop to check the statistics between his team and Team 15.

"Uh… um… I…" Metal started to stutter a bit, which caught Iwabe's eyes.

"What's with you, Metal?" Iwabe asked before noticing his bowl-haired teammate's line of sight. "Hmm?" Iwabe turned to see someone within the group of girls before him that he had never seen before. A drop-dead gorgeously beautiful young kunoichi who had the sweetest smile he had ever seen. "Uh… no way…" Iwabe said with widened eyes and reddened cheeks.

"Hmm? What's with you?" Wasabi asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, hello~. Never seen you before. You new to Konoha, Miss?" Iwabe asked with a smirk as he stopped in front of a now surprised and confused Tsukia.

"Eh… well… that's complicated." Tsukia answered.

"Well, if that's the case, then you can always look to me to help clear anything up for you." Iwabe said, flashing pink sweatered kunoichi a grin, causing her to chuckle a bit nervously.

"No way… Iwabe is totally flirting." Chocho said to her female friends in a low tone and shocked expression.

"This is… super weird." Namida said with a slightly uncomfortable frown.

'At least it's not with your sister!' Sarada thought with a look of disgust.

Wasabi stared at Iwabe with widened, twitching eyes and jaw dropped.

"So, what's your name? Mine is Iwabe. Iwabe Yuino." Iwabe introduced himself with a confident smirk.

"Oh, I'm familiar." Tsukia said with an uncomfortable smile, eyes smiles and her hands up in defense.

"Is that so? I've become a rather big deal around here thanks to my efforts during the invasion, but I assure you, I'm just an ordinary guy. Just one who's really strong is all. You'll see if you get to know me." Iwabe said with an eager and hopeful smile as he leaned in a little bit closer to Tsukia, who just took a step back and continued to put on a smile as she gained a sweat drop.

"Yeah, ordinary with an ego more powerful than anything he can dish out." Wasabi said with a dull, annoyed frown, tone and half-lidded stare.

"Oi!" Iwabe exclaimed as he turned to give Wasabi a glare.

"Um…" Iwabe turned with Wasabi looking around him to see Metal standing right in front of Tsukia as well.

"Metal?" Iwabe was confused to see his teammate standing right beside him.

"Um, I, uh…" Metal was sweating bullets with a nervous look on his face.

"Hmm?" Tsukia tilted her head in confusion.

Metal took in a deep breath before proclaiming rather proudly.

"My name is Metal Lee! Please be my girlfriend! I shall protect you forever!" Metal shouted as he gave Tsukia a bow.

'He Just Said That Out Loud!' The girls thought with absolutely shocked anime expression.

"Whoa. New respect for him right now." Chocho said, impressed by Metal's bravery.

"Oh. Sorry, but I already like someone else." Tsukia answered with a calm expression.

'No hesitation!' The girls thought with surprise.

"Eh~?" Metal looked distraught.

"You do, huh? Let me guess, it's someone strong." Iwabe said with new excitement as he leaned over.

"Y-Yes." Tsukia answered.

"I am strong!" Metal spoke up, albeit clearly still upset.

"Someone who is cool?"

"I can be cool!"

"And someone who is totally reliable!"

"I am that also!"

"Well, yes, he is all those things." Tsukia answered.

"Someone like me?" Iwabe asked with an enthusiastic and hopeful grin.

"No not at all." Tsukia answered, causing Iwabe to face fault.

"Then-"

"Not you either, Metal." Tsukia said, leading to Metal doing the same as Iwabe.

"Man, she's even more straightforward than you can be, Inojin." Shikadai said, actually a bit impressed by this new girl's attitude when dealing with something troublesome as this.

"Even I would be hesitant in a situation like this." Inojin said, impressed as well by the hime-cut kunoichi's direct nature.

"Mm~." Denki frowned with embarrassment at his teammates' behavior.

"But I could be that person, right?" Iwabe asked, finding his original enthusiasm.

"I-I could be that person more!" Metal quickly said.

"Not as good as me!" Iwabe exclaimed. "I totally would be that guy if given the chance! In fact, I am that type!"

"I am more so!" Metal argued.

"No way! Me!" Iwabe argued back. "It would totally be me, right?" Iwabe asked Tsukia with excitement and a grin.

"N-No! It would be I, right?" Metal asked Tsukia with determination and hope in his expression as his eyes shine.

"No, me, right?"

"It is I, correct?"

"Do they even hear themselves?" Wasabi questioned with a frown.

"So unmanly." Chocho said as she popped a chip into her mouth from another bag of chips she had.

"Well~?" Iwabe asked as he and Metal leaned in with hopeful expression as the former smiled widely while the other gulped.

Tsukia just blinked her eyes before speaking.

"You both… are very annoying right now. It's rather unattractive." Tsukia said causing Iwabe and Metal to lean back with their jaws dropped and eyes widened anime style as it felt like their hearts were pierced by the cold, stinging feeling of rejection.

"Damn." Shikadai said as he, Inojin and Denki stared in shock at Tsukia's direct and rather harsh words.

"Whoa… she's got more of a bite to her than I thought." Wasabi said as she, her team, Chocho and Sarada stared at the Uchiha-Hyūga with surprise and even awe at Tsukia.

"She's not what I took her for. I mean, she's totally right and I respect her for her directiveness, but still. I took her for a 'spare your feelings' type." Chocho said before popping in another chip into her mouth.

Iwabe and Metal were now on their knees with a depressed aura surrounding them.

'I hate having to put my friends down like this, but nothing gets across if you sugarcoat it. At least in situations like these.' Tsukia thought to herself with a frown.

"Yo." Shinachiku greeted everyone as he suddenly appeared alongside Arata.

"Onii-chan!" Sarada was glad to see both her brothers had arrived.

"What took you guys so long?" Chocho asked as she continued eating her chips.

"Sorry, but this was all Mr. Negotiator would permit me to have." Shinachiku said with a frown as he brought up and pointed to the Ichiraku ramen bar in his hand. "I'm pretty sure the Konoha T&I Force is more lenient that he can be."

"Just be content I didn't restrict you to just smelling that thing." Arata said looking towards his childhood friend.

"Hmm?" Shinachiku noticed the state Iwabe and Metal were in. "Hey, what happened to you guys?" Shinachiku asked.

"Your teammate put them in their place." Wasabi answered nonchalantly with a smile.

"Huh? Teammate?" Iwabe questioned as he and the others looked towards the sunshine blonde and grey-eyed shinobi in confusion.

"Oh, yeah, this is the first-time you guys are meeting her. I guess I'm too damn used to seeing us all together like it's second nature." Shinachiku said with a smile before gesturing his hand towards Tsukia. "Everyone, this is Tsukia. Our team's missing member, aside from Lee-sensei, and Arata's twin sister."

"Nani?!" Shikadai and Inojin exclaimed as they and Denki were immensely surprised.

Iwabe and Metal stared at them with widened eyes before finally reacting properly.

"SISTER?!" Iwabe and Metal screamed out with looks of shock and horror before noticing Arata's eyes on them, which filled them with intense fear. "We're Sorry, Arata! Please Forgive Us!" They both screamed out, bowing to him dogeza style, practically begging mercy from the older Uchiha-Hyūga.

"Hn?" Arata looked at the two with slightly widened eyes, confused by their gestures and words.

"There you guys are!" They all turned to see Boruto coming out of Lightning Burger. "About time you all showed up."

"Burgers again, eh? You just can't help yourself." Shinachiku said.

"I don't want to hear that coming from you, ramen addict!" Boruto yelled with annoyance, causing Shinachiku to flinch with a step back.

"Thanks for waiting, Boruto." Tsukia thanked her half-brother with a smile.

"Well, it was either that or you causing me to forget how my food taste with a genjutsu, so not a hard decision." Boruto said with a pout.

"I forget how scary you can be with those eyes of yours, 'ttebaro." Shinachiku said to Tsukia with a nervous smile causing the girl to look away with an embarrassed blush. "Wait, but genjutsu doesn't work on you anymore." Shinachiku said to Boruto.

"… What?" Boruto questioned with widened eyes.

"One of the benefits of being a jinchuriki that has harmonized with their bijū is that said bijū can break you out of any genjutsu put upon you." Shinachiku explained. "Truth be told, if it hadn't been for that and Arata's dojutsu reflecting any visual genjutsu back onto the caster, then Tsukia would undoubtedly be the strongest member of our team. Although there's plenty room for argument that she still is." Shinachiku said with a grin, causing Tsukia to smile and blush from his compliment.

Boruto blinked his eyes as he had a look of silent shock with a deep frown.

"Did you know about this?" Boruto asked his sister, still wracked in disbelief.

"I did, but I took a shot in the dark since you still seem new to this compared to Shina-kun. I figured it was the best way to make you behave." Tsukia said, looking away while retaining a smile.

"That's cruel, onee-chan!" Boruto complained with a shocked, appalled and greatly annoyed anime expression.

'We really are related.' Sarada thought as she giggled with a cheeky smile, proud of her elder half-sister.

"On that note, how about we get back to business? Who won Denki?" Wasabi asked the bespectacled team member of Team 5.

"From the looks of things… we'll be paying for today's lunch." Denki answered.

"Yes!" Wasabi cheered with a grin and fist pump.

"Aw, dammit! First rejection, now this!" Iwabe shouted out with a sense of despair.

"What?" Shinachiku questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, I get it now." Arata said, realizing the reason for the dogeza and causing Shinachiku to look at him with confusion.

"Well, let's not waste time. Time to eat." Tsukia said with a smile and gently clapping her hands together.

"Prepare your wallets." Arata said to Team 5, causing them to look at him in confusion.

As everyone was readying to head in, Tsubaki suddenly grasped Tsukia by the shoulder, catching her attention. The Uchiha-Hyūga noticed the downcast frown on the samurai's face with her eyes staring downward.

"Is something wrong, Tsubaki?" Tsukia asked with concern.

"I…" Tsubaki managed to look Tsukia in the eyes as she stood up straight with more dignity. "On behalf of the samurai in Tetsu no Kuni, regardless of which reality they reside, I wish to formally apologize for all the trouble one of our own had given you. The fact that he took a cowardly approach, disrespecting his samurai teachings just to get to your father is a blight on our honor and especially his own. I understand if you have reservations against samurai after your trauma." Tsubaki said with an apologetic bow.

Tsukia blinked her eyes in surprise before suddenly hugging the samurai, which shocked her.

"You don't have to apologize for him. You don't represent all samurai just as I don't represent all Uchiha. We're still friends. Always and forever." Tsukia said as she pulled back with a smile, causing Tsubaki to stare at her in both surprise and awe at her kindness, despite the trauma she had been given because of a fellow samurai. "Now come on. Let's go enjoy a meal together, dear friend." Tsukia said with a warm smile.

Tsubaki looked down with a touched smile and blush before wiping away small tears she had in her eyes.

"I'd be honored… friend." Tsubaki responded with a gracious smile as she and Tsukia then made their way in.

.

.

The group entered the restaurant where they found Mitsuki and several Boruto clones reserving their seats. After the girls sat down, allowing the clones to poof away, the boys went to go order the food.

Now they were currently standing in line.

"I can't believe we lost to them." Iwabe said with a pout and his arms crossed.

"That's a surprise to you?" Shinachiku asked.

"Shut up!" Iwabe shouted with annoyance.

"How many burgers do you think Tsukia can devour, especially after all that ramen earlier?" Mitsuki asked Arata.

"Depends on her mood." Arata said.

"So, uh… she mentioned liking someone… you guys know who?" Iwabe asked with a pout and red tint upon his cheeks.

"She likes someone?" Shinachiku asked with shock while Arata remained silent with blinking eyes.

"Yeah, someone strong, cool and reliable." Iwabe said with a shrug.

"It's definitely not our counterparts." Metal said with a pout and anime tears pouring from his eyes.

"That all sounds just like Shinachiku." Mitsuki said with a smile, causing Iwabe, Metal and Shinachiku to widen their eyes.

"Me? Oh come on, don't joke about that Mitsuki." Shinachiku said with a frown.

"But she blushes around you." Mitsuki pointed out.

"Say what?!" Iwabe exclaimed with widened anime eyes along with Metal.

"Blushes? Wait, are you talking about her chronic fevers?" Shinachiku asked with a raised eyebrow.

Team 5, along with Shikadai and Inojin stared at him with squinted eyes and agape mouths, all blinking along with Mitsuki as they all turned to Arata, hoping to get an answer on if Shinachiku was serious.

"Hn." Arata uttered with his eyes closed, which said everything about it to them.

"Wait… are you all just pulling a joke on me or something?" Shinachiku asked as he looked between all his friends.

'Baka.' They all thought in unison. Even Mitsuki.

Meanwhile with the girls, they were all sitting in a booth with Tsukia, Sarada and Chocho on one end while Team 15 sat on the other across from them. Tsukia let out a sigh which caught the others' attention.

"You okay?" Sarada asked her half-sister.

"I am. It's just a little stuffy in here." Tsukia said with an assuring smile as she tugged at her sweater's collar.

"Why not just take the sweater off?" Wasabi suggested.

"Yeah. When enjoying a meal comfort is necessary, so if it's being that bothersome to you, then just take off the thing." Chocho said, waving a chip in her hand.

"It is kind of warm out today. Aren't you hot?" Namida asked.

"Well, truth be told, I only wear this because of my chichi." Tsukia answered.

"Your dad makes you wear that thing? Why?" Wasabi asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't know. He just said for precautions. He never elaborated past that, so I figured he probably enhanced it with sort of jutsu to make it durable like some sort of light armor. It's just a theory though. I doubt I'll ever get a clear answer out of him." Tsukia said before grabbing the hem of her sweater. "May I?" Tsukia asked.

"Go right ahead." Sarada said with a polite smile, earning a grateful one from Tsukia. 'I don't know why a version of my papa would ever demand that. He never did it with me, so why even?' Sarada thought to herself.

Tsukia first took off the cloak from her shoulders before proceeding to take her sweater off, but it was then momentarily stuck when it came to her chest, but after said moment, she managed to pull it off as her very generous sized chest bounced as a result.

Sarada had earned her answer as she, Chocho and Team 15 watched in shock as they witnessed Tsukia's D-cup breasts freed from their confinement.

Turns out beneath the sweater Tsukia wore a skin-tight top that stopped two inches or so below her chest, revealing her entire abdomen with its collar stopping halfway up her neck and the back revealing her shoulder blades.

"Ah~. Much better." Tsukia said with relief, putting her sweater on the side with her cloak as she had a blissful smile on her face.

The girls continued to stare at Tsukia's chest in disbelief, with Sarada and Wasabi's eyes twitching as they let out noises that sounded like they were being suffocated just from the sight of them.

"So that's the reason." Chocho said as she popped a chip.

Just then Wasabi and Sarada covered their own chests in shame as they looked down with pouts and disheartened expressions.

"I have to confess; it feels absolutely liberating to not have to wear that after so long." Tsukia said with a wider blissful smile.

"I could imagine why." Sarada muttered, looking towards her sister as she, Wasabi and even Namida had blushes on their faces as they were feeling more self-conscious.

Back on the line, Shinachiku perked up when he sensed some negative emotions.

Arrogance. Sleaziness. Selfishness.

Classic feelings of an overhyped loser. A couple of them, actually.

Glancing towards the door, he saw a group of genin around Iwabe's age with one in particular, a tall fair-skinned teenage genin with lightly spiky beige hair with a high-collar midnight blue open button jacket and hitai-ate around his neck looking to be the leader of the pack.

Shinachiku kept his glancing subtle as he had a dull, annoyed expression on his face when looking towards the elder teen as he could practically taste the pretentiousness radiating off him. Upon a certain glance, he noticed something had peaked this egotistical genin's interest. Following his line of sight, he noticed his eyes were on Tsukia. Shinachiku noticed but remained calm.

There was no reason to worry.

Even when the group started making their way over towards Tsukia and the other girls, Shinachiku was calm. Granted he was annoyed, but he didn't feel any sense of urgency or anything close to or relating to the feeling.

Iwabe noticed Shinachiku's line of sight, causing him to notice the group of teenage genin around his age or a year older were making their way over towards the girls. He was about to intervene when Shinachiku stopped him.

"Oi, what are you-"

"Trust me. It'll be fine." Shinachiku said with a reassuring smile.

Tsukia was humming, blissfully unaware of the jealous looks Sarada, Wasabi and Namida were giving her as she was feeling too overjoyed about being freed from her sweater for a time. Just then a hand landed upon the table, catching her attention along with the others as she and her friends looked to see a taller teen about a year older than Tsukia looking down at the hime-cut girl with an intrigued smirk.

Both his smirk and the fact that he wasn't alone didn't sit well with the girls, especially not Tsukia.

"Hey there. I-"

"Not interested." Tsukia answered with her head held high with a small, polite smile on her face.

'So fast!' Sarada, Chocho and Team 15 thought with surprise and awe.

"Na-Nani?!" The leader of the group questioned as he stepped back in shock with his jaw dropped while his cohorts were surprised by the fast rejection.

"I've been through this before. I am not easily swayed and have a high standard when it comes to the people I like as more than just friends, but from the look of you, I can tell we won't even work as friends." Tsukia said.

"So blunt!" Wasabi and Namida whispered under their breaths.

"So much respect." Chocho said with an impressed and proud smile before popping in another chip into her mouth.

"Oh, come on, you don't even know me." The taller teen said.

"I can tell a lot not just by your demeanor but by the looks everyone else is giving you." Tsukia said gesturing towards the nearby customers who were looking at the group with uncomfortable, worried and even slightly scared looks. "You're popular, but not for the right reasons. That's how I know we won't get along."

"Oh, come on~. I'm pretty strong. You can't blame me if everyone else is intimidated by it." The tall genin tried to reason, putting on a grin.

Tsukia suddenly poked him in the abdomen, surprising and confusing him.

"I've met stronger." Tsukia said, surprising the older teen. "Nothing in your appearance would display a natural source of intimidation so it's clear that you put in effort to make yourself intimidating to the masses, which are clearly all civilians. There's no firmness found in your body, which means you don't train often or dedicate yourself to becoming a better shinobi and are parading that headband you have been trusted with to earn quick acknowledgement than actual respect, which by every definition is totally uncool. I also can tell that the reason you came over to me is because of superficial reasons, but I am not someone to indulge in such games. I make my interests and disinterests known rather quickly. Sugarcoating anything helps no one, and in this situation, it would present false hope, which I despise. So, while I am sorry that you have wasted your time with me, I apologize for nothing else. Have a wonderful rest of the day." Tsukia said continuing to hold her head up, this time with a disinterested frown and her eyes remaining close, not wanting to even look at this uncool customer.

"… Cool~." Wasabi, Namida and Chocho said as they, along with Tsubaki stared at Tsukia with amazement at her handling of the situation, like a boss.

'It's… it's like staring at a girl version of papa or something!' Sarada thought to herself with utter shock at how blunt and observative her paternal half-sister is.

The taller teen's eye twitched as he was now pissed at this smart-mouthed woman. He gritted his teeth as he clenched his fists tight. The rest of his group sensed his frustration as they all then started to adopt more confrontational stances, which Sarada, Chocho and Team 15 were ready to retaliate.

"I wouldn't move an inch if I were any of you." Tsukia said to the male group, never turning towards them. "Otherwise, you will come to regret it." Tsukia lightly opened her eyes to glance at them with a half-lidded glare as she sent a strong surge of KI, which caused the group of male genin to flinch with looks of unease and clear signs of hidden fear.

"C-C-Chotto matte, ojōsama (Wait a minute, little Miss.), no trouble is being made. We were just curious, is all. I mean, you're new and I just wanted to make a nice impression on you." The tall leader explained with a nervous grin and eye-smiles, but Tsukia was still unimpressed and unmoving in her stance. "Look, I just want to be nice."

"That's how it all starts. With trying to be nice. Doesn't equate to actually being considerate." Tsukia stated, never losing her uninterested expression.

"How about we start all over? And you give me a chance." The taller genin said reaching over and placing his hand atop of Tsukia's shoulder, only for her shoulder to be lit ablaze, burning his hand. He screamed as he fell back, holding his now burnt hand with the rest of his group stopping from meeting with the floor. "Ah! You bitch!"

"You had your chance and you squandered it. Someone of your age by now should understand that women do not like to be touched without giving permission." Tsukia said with her eyes closed. The taller teen growled as he was ready to attack the girl, only for him and his group to freeze in place as they felt all feeling in their body leave them. "A true shinobi and by extension a true man would not go to such lowly behavior to get their way and should never expect anyone to accept such a way of life. If you are actual shinobi, then none of this should overtake your spirit." Tsukia said as her eyes were red with red tomoe.

In an instant, the entire group of annoying genin males saw a myriad of illusions around seeing all kinds of the Oni Zetsu, intense civil wars within villages, powerful foes with Kekkei Genkai and radical, maniacal intentions of dominating and/or destroying the world, hordes of mutated beings and terrifying emotionless legions of people with red and white eyes staring into their very souls.

All of this surrounded them along with darkness and in an instant dived towards them like a tsunami of hatred and bloodlust, causing them to scream mentally as they felt themselves shift and curve like taffy before being sucked down a drain of darkness.

They all snapped their eyes open, falling to the floor as they were all drenched in sweat with looks of pure fear as they stared at the hime-cut girl whose eyes had returned to normal.

"Leave. And never come back here." Tsukia said with a stern glare and frown, causing the group to run out the door, letting out scared whimpers and yelps.

Everyone was shocked by this encounter, but none more than the members of Team 5, 10, 15 and this universe's Team 7.

"Told you. Everything turned out alright." Shinachiku said with a nonchalant smile and shrug.

"Kowai~…" (Scary) Team 5, the boys of Team 10 and Boruto said with new fear of Tsukia.

"Looks like we're next." Arata pointed out as he, Shinachiku and Mitsuki moved forward with the others realizing they were next only a moment afterward.

"Excuse me, is she with you?" The female cashier asked.

"Yeah. Is there a problem?" Shinachiku asked with concern.

"No. Not any longer." The cashier said with a relieved smile.

Tsukia sighed with relief that those annoying wannabes were gone, before realizing how awkward of a situation she must have made by dragging her friends and half-sister into the mix.

"Gomenasai~. I always tend to get carried away like that." Tsukia said with a remorseful frown and her hands hovering over her mouth.

"No way! No need to apologize for that!" Wasabi said with a look of amazement.

"Yeah! Those guys exactly got what they deserve!" Namida agreed with a widened smile.

"I'm not apologizing for that. I'm just sorry that I forced you guys into such a mess." Tsukia said, looking towards the others with an apologetic frown.

"Are you kidding? That was awesome!" Chocho said with an amazed smile.

"You did handle that with such expertise." Tsubaki said with an impressed and supportive smile.

"Hell yeah! That was so cool! I wish I could be that scary towards punks!" Wasabi said with a super impressed grin, causing Tsukia to chuckle with embarrassment.

"Tsukia-senpai, I so totally respect you! I hope I end up being as amazing when it comes to guys as you!" Chocho said with a bright smile as she gently clapped her hands together.

"S-Senpai?!" Tsukia was super surprised to hear Chocho, any version of Chocho, call her that.

'So, the reason her papa forces her to put that sweater on is to protect her from this or others from her or both. Hard to say.' Sarada thought with a nervous chuckle and smile as she gained a sweat drop.

After a bit of waiting and talking, the boys finally brought over the food.

"Food's here!" Shinachiku said as he walked over with a pair of trays with towers of burgers on each of them.

"What the hell?! Is that supposed to be from everyone!?" Wasabi questioned as she, her team and Sarada had looks of shock while Chocho drooled at the sight.

"Actually these are for Tsukia." Shinachiku answered.

"Nandatte?!" (Say What?!) Team 15 and Sarada screamed out in shock.

"Lucky." Chocho said with a pout.

"Arigato, Shinachiku-kun." Tsukia said with a thankful smile and eye smiles.

"Hey, we're helping too." Iwabe said with a pout as he and others brought more trays. "A little appreciation our way would be n… ni~ce." Iwabe's eyes widened as he, along with Metal, noticed Tsukia's, erm, 'birthrights' thanks to be free from their pink knitted prison.

Both members of Team 5 were letting out long, low volume moans as they were staring at Tsukia's… well, you know.

"Mitsuki." Arata spoke, appearing behind Iwabe and Arata.

"Roger." Mitsuki, who had already placed the trays he had onto one of their group's tables, stretched his arms and took away the trays Iwabe and Metal had from their hands.

"Raiton: Yōshanai." (Lightning Release: No Mercy) Arata pressed his fingers against Iwabe and Metal's back as they were then electrocuted with them screaming out in pain.

"Gomen!" Iwabe and Metal begged for mercy before Arata finished shocking them, leaving them groaning with pain.

"So uncool." Boruto said with a frown and half-lidded eyes as he was grossed out that two of his friends were just shamelessly staring at his half-sister like that.

"Heh." Wasabi couldn't help but grin at seeing Iwabe and Metal getting exactly what they deserved.

"Here you go." Shinachiku placed the twin towers of burgers in front of his longtime friend, making her smile blissfully with eye smiles and a blush on her cheeks, happy and appreciative of Shinachiku serving her such a feast.

"We got you guys your orders too." Mitsuki informed the girls.

"That's cool, but how much did this all cost?" Wasabi asked.

"Surprisingly nothing." Boruto answered, shocking the girls. "Apparently, those guys that Tsukia-onee-chan scared away have been bothering this place for a while now, so to show their thanks all this is on the house." Boruto explained as he and the others put the trays down in their respective places in front of their specific consumers.

"Even if the order was this big." Shikadai added as he sat down.

"Goes to show how much of a problem those guys were being around here." Inojin said as he sat down as well.

"Thanks for that, onee-chan." Boruto thanked Tsukia himself with an appreciative grin.

Anyone who helps his favorite eatery like that is a superstar in his book.

"Here you go." Arata placed a pair of trays in front of Chocho and Tsubaki, which had large orders of several burgers and fries.

"Oh, Arata-kun! You know me so well!" Chocho exclaimed with a super joyous smile with her cheeks heated up as she clasped her hands together.

"What is this?" Tsubaki asked, noticing a large container of sauce she had never seen before on the side.

"It's a special sweet n' sour they've had for a while. Try it with a fry first then pop another in after taking a bite of your burger." Arata suggested.

Tsubaki decided to listen to Arata's advice. First, she tried it with a fry, which caused her eyes to widen as she let out a surprised moan. She then took a bite of one of her burgers before popping in a dipped fry, which caused her to let out a joy-filled cheer.

"It's so good! I can't believe such a combination exists! What a wonderful flavor! I'm blown away!" Tsubaki cheered with a huge, delighted smile and sparkles in her eyes. "Arigato, Arata!" Tsubaki thanked her fellow kenjutsu specialist with a happy, appreciative smile.

"Anytime." Arata said with a smile as he then gave her a wink before heading for his own seat.

Tsubaki, along with her team, Chocho and Sarada were in shock that Arata actually gave a girl a wink, and that girl happened to be Tsubaki. Said samurai turned and looked downward with her face all red while her teammates had joyful grins and silently cheered her on.

Chocho just pouted with an annoyed anime glare.

"I swear I won't lose to you." Chocho declared under her breath with a fist pump, causing Sarada to chuckle a bit nervously by her best friend's determination over her love rivalry.

"Man, look at her!" Inojin said, causing the girls to turn only to be shocked that Tsukia had already eaten twelve burgers from one tower. "Not even a minute and she's already had this much. She's like a-"

"Hey, save your nicknames for someone else, Inojin!" Shinachiku, who was sitting across from the pale-skinned blonde, told him with a glare.

"Alright, whatever you say, Chō Mayu." (Super Brow) Inojin said nonchalantly with his head held high, causing Shinachiku to furrow his brow with annoyance while the other boys laughed.

"You did ask for it, Shinachiku onii-chan!" Boruto said with an amused grin.

"Seriously though, where's she packing it? She had over fifty ramen bowls before coming here, right? And she still looks super fit." Wasabi whispered to the rest of her team.

"I'm honestly super jealous." Namida confessed with a frown.

"Perhaps all the weight she accumulates somehow is going to her chest." Tsubaki suggested.

"I can believe that." Wasabi said with a pout and half-lidded eyes.

"Now I'm even more jealous." Namida said with a deeper frown and an anime tear hanging from her eye.

"Of course that has to be it. I mean, it totally explains everything when it comes to me too. Food is the reason I am the way that I am as well, right?" Chocho said as she enjoyed a burger as she puffed out her chest more to emphasize her point.

"Uh… right." Wasabi and Namida answered as they and Tsubaki had sweat drops upon acknowledging that Chocho was indeed correct, but also that at the same time that it didn't just stop at her chest.

Sarada couldn't help but chuckle at this as she enjoyed her meal. When she looked towards Tsukia, who was now on her twentieth burger, chewing away with glee, the spectacled Uchiha couldn't help but smile her way. However, it was then that she noticed that there was a small black marking on her left shoulder blade that was clearly part of a large piece that was being covered by her top.

'Is that a… tattoo?' Sarada thought to herself but decided to let it go.

Whatever it was she had a feeling it would be rude to bring it up, so she decided to stay silent about it for now. At least until they were out of the company of others.

.

.

Everyone had finished their meal and walked out of the restaurant with Tsukia already having her sweater back on with her cloak wrapped around her shoulders again.

She stretched her arms up and let out a groan as she had a wide smile on her face.

"Ah~, that hit the spot. I'm stuffed." Tsukia said with a satisfied smile as she patted her belly.

'You sure about that?' Sarada, Chocho and Team 15 thought noticing how Tsukia showed no signs of feeling satiated or have been pushed to her stomach's limit by the smorgasbord she had. They even noticed this before she put her sweater back on.

"Well that was a pretty good lunch." Iwabe said with a proud smile.

"Mainly because you didn't have to pay for any of it, isn't that right?" Inojin quipped with a smirk, causing Iwabe to flinch and glare at him.

"Don't worry. You guys will pay for the next meal." Wasabi said with a smirk.

"Say what?!" Iwabe turned to the cat enthusiast with an incredulous and defiant look.

"The bet was you guys had to 'pay' for the meal, after all." Namida pointed out.

"They're right." Denki admitted with a shrug.

"A deal's a deal. Not doing so is unyouthful." Metal agreed.

"Dammit." Iwabe complained with a moan and hanging his head in defeat.

"So, what are you guys going to do now?" Shikadai asked the other universe's Team 7.

"I have to handle something else in private." Arata answered, catching the others' attention.

"What?" Boruto asked with curiosity.

"Just something I need." Arata said before turning away. "Ja ne." Arata said with a wave as he walked away.

"Well, I guess since Arata's doing his own thing, I should go check to see how things are doing with my parents. Catch you guys later." Shinachiku waved the others goodbye for now as he flashed away.

"He's now calling Nanadaime-sama and Sakura-san his parents like that?" Inojin questioned, causing Boruto and Sarada to chuckle a bit nervously, knowing what their shared brother really meant.

"So, what are you going to do, Tsukia?" Wasabi asked the female Uchiha-Hyūga.

"I don't know. I doubt Shina-kun and onii-chan want me to waste my time just waiting for them. We spent time together, so that was fun. Other than that, I'm not sure what else to do in this world. I can't just train or else I'd just be wasting the time I have left in this world." Tsukia pondered aloud on what to do for the time being.

"Hey~, maybe you can train without it being a waste. Just show it to people who would love to see it!" Boruto suggested with a grin.

"Hmm?" Tsukia looked towards her half-brother with confusion.

"What are you suggesting?" Sarada asked suspiciously with a raised eyebrow and her hands on her hips.

"Onee-chan, let's go visit our Ojīchan!" Boruto suggested with an Uzumaki grin and pointed towards the direction of the Hyūga.

"Eh?!" Both Tsukia and Sarada questioned with surprised expressions.

.

.

Arata walked down the road with a stoic expression and his hands in his jacket pockets. Everyone passed by minding their business with a good number of them having smiles on their faces. He noticed three of the passersby were a mother, a father and their son.

After a moment, he suddenly flitted away, which caught the attention of a few people who could have sworn they saw someone there a moment ago.

Arata was now deep within an alley, leaning against a wall in silence. He unzipped his jacket a bit, reached inside of it and pulled out a letter addressed to him. He stared down at it as he recalled getting it earlier in the day.

.

.

Team 7 had successfully finished the leftover farmwork for their mission, with much appreciated added help from Tsukia.

All had released their physical enhancement abilities and were making their final rounds to double-check everything before calling it a day.

Arata was checking out the barn where he petted one of the horses to say goodbye.

"Onii-chan." Tsukia spoke up, catching her brother's attention. "Here you go." She said as she extended to him a letter.

Arata blinked his eyes before taking it to see his name on it.

"Who's it from?" Arata asked.

"Chichioya." Tsukia answered, causing her brother to look at her. "It's addressed to you, so open it when you have time for yourself. Understand?" Tsukia said with a wink.

Arata blinked his eyes in surprise. He looked back down towards the letter, staring at the kanji that made up his name that now held such significant importance to him.

.

.

Arata stared at the kanji for a bit longer before deciding to rip off the band aid, in a sense. After taking a deep breath in through his nose, he exhaled as he opened up the letter. He reached in and took out a piece of paper that had a sealing formula written within it.

His eyes softened as he stared at the sealing formula, having a clear idea what it might contain.

"Hn." Arata went as the sides of his mouth twitched.

He sent chakra into the paper, causing the sealing formula to glow as then out came a pair of wisps of light, no different from the ones that came from the scroll earlier in the Hokage's office.

Only this time the wisps of light were two separate colors.

White and midnight blue.

The wisps took the form of a pair of people. A woman from the white and a man from the midnight blue.

Arata tried to hold it together as before him were none other than his own parents. Clones of them, just like Shinachiku's parents, but them, nonetheless.

The two slowly opened their eyes to meet the sight of their eldest son.

The one they had not seen for a moment now.

The trio stayed silent, as son stared at parents and parents stared at son.

Deciding to break the silence himself, Arata decided to speak.

"Hello again. Chichioya. Hahao-" Arata was suddenly interrupted by a sudden hug from his mother, causing his eyes to widen in surprise.

Hinata did not say a word as she continued to give her eldest child the biggest hug she could muster as she silently cried tears of joy upon seeing him again.

Arata then felt his father place a hand on his head, who knelt in front of him to look him in the eyes.

"It's good to see you again… my son." SU Sasuke said as he then hugged his son as well.

Arata's eyes were wide. Normally, he wasn't one for these types of sudden displays of affection… but this moment felt right. It felt… perfectly natural to him.

He had no complaints. The hurt of not seeing his parents had been alleviated as he then closed his eyes and decided to enjoy the warmth of their embrace.

No words were uttered between the three.

They just enjoyed the silence and the love radiating within every second of it.

End of Chapter 26

Boy, I didn't expect to make a long one! I could have cut this into two, but when thinking about it I couldn't find a point where it would be satisfying to split it down the middle.

Anyway, I'll make this quick. I hope you all enjoyed the little dive into the romantic relationship between Shinachiku's parents and Tsukia's backstory on how she gained romantic feelings for Shinachiku.

I know people have been calling it a relationship no different from NaruHina, which I will admit I can see why. However, I still think it's different in its own right, especially considering the fact that Shinachiku is much different from his father. To me, he's like a Gohan while Boruto is like a Goten, in personality I mean. By that I mean that though Boruto and Goten have their differences from their fathers it feels like they have largely the same personality, while Shinachiku and Gohan are definitely very different from their fathers in personality, intelligence and approach there is no way you could confuse them for anyone else's offspring.

Pretty sure a good amount of people are going to debate me on that.

The point I'm making is, I get what everyone means, but there are still some differences. I made that clear with Shinachiku's personality, but I can see where people are coming from since it's clear that I made Tsukia feel largely the same to her mother, especially via their crush on the blonde protagonist who is clueless when it comes to their feelings for them even though it's extremely obvious.

I already had this planned backstory on why Tsukia gained feelings for Shinachiku for like a year and a half or more, which is almost as old as this story's longevity, and I did plan on having her personality be more bold than her mother's to the point where she is less merciful especially against foes, and she has no hesitation when calling someone annoying just like her father, and a little extra thing that I hinted within this chapter, though I won't say what for now. Point is, even though I already planned all of this, I am thinking of taking a certain reviewer's advice, that being someone just called… Someone, to have Tsukia being a bit more morally savage as they put it, to put more contrast between her and her brother, and especially from her mother.

I'll do my best, and I hope you'll like what I deliver, but don't worry, she won't go full Sasuke or anything. However, I will admit there will be outside sources that will at times push her in that same direction her father once fell into. Will she be strong enough to push them away in contrast to her father? We shall see.

Also, I acknowledge that I made Shinachiku's relationship with Mirai looks way cuter and admittedly I love it too even though I included this whole thing between him and Tsukia. I guess I pushed myself into the same trap as Kishimoto, huh? A pair that was just meant to be a one-sided crush blossoming with potential because of the more present interactions it has in the story compared to the other pairing that has its own history that was explored later on.

… Oops.

Anyway, shipping aside, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Sure was a long one, but I hope it was enough to satisfy you. Hopefully more than Tsukia when it came to food. I might take a little time off from this story for now, but I guarantee you it will not be long. Does this mean I'll be able to post a chapter next month or not? I'll have to see how I feel, but I guarantee that the next chapter will come, and you won't have to wait too long for it. I might do some drawing in the meantime. That's always been a hobby of mine since I was younger and only now am I trying out posting them on Tumblr here and there. Sorry if I'm bragging about that, just wanting to share is all.

Again, hope you enjoyed it, and I'll see you all next time (in a way)!

Takeshi1225, Out!