World #07 — At night. Ferry.
"…Why do you have the Tenseigan?" Hinata asked her not-sister-from-another world, evenly.
It was dark outside and to Hinata, anything beat anxiously watching Boruto's small boat sail through the night. They seemed to be doing just fine, too.
Hanabi ignored her, as she was currently peering through one of her seeing-arrows.
"Hanabi."
Hanabi ignored her. Behind her, Karin, Toru and Naruto were engaged in a high-stakes game of cards. How they had roped Sasuke into it, she didn't know. The one from their world, she would have understood.
But then again, Hanabi wasn't entirely sure why this older Sasuke had brought back an alien's head with him after hours of absence. Killing an Otsutsuki wasn't the sort of thing that needed proof for either of them to believe. Perhaps Naruto was right about that man.
Sasuke, who said something like "if he's in 0… I should be in 0, too", pointing at either Kage or Naruto, it was hard to say with him. Toru shrugged noncommittally—
"Hanabi. Why do you have the Tenseigan?"
Looking through the ship's porthole, Hanabi felt at ease. There was something appeasing to be found in the cold rain and the churning waves.
"…Hanabi."
Hanabi took another sip of coffee, knowing that she would purge it out of her system when it would be time to sleep. She turned her attention back to her book. Ino was currently sleeping on her thighs, and her face made for a nice book-stand.
She didn't know where Sakura currently was, but she hoped she wasn't doing anything stupid like putting the entire world under her control or perhaps terrorizing the little genin on the sea.
Hanabi blinked and looked at her not-sister.
"…Did you ask something? I heard some white noise."
Hinata breathed in. Then out. "Why do you have the Tenseigan?"
"…What's that?" Hanabi frowned.
"Your eyes." She just said.
"I don't see why you're so shocked." Hanabi laughed. "And what did you call it…? Reincarnation Eye…?"
"That's the name, yes." Hinata said.
"Who says?"
"…I beg your pardon?"
"Who says that's the name?"
"…Toneri." Hinata said tightly.
Hanabi shrugged. "I don't know him."
"He had the same eyes."
"Oh. What makes him more qualified to say what they're called than me, then?"
Hinata paused. "I…"
"It is the Mangekyō Byakugan, because it allows me to see through the fractured dimensions, just like a kaleidoscope." Hanabi declared. "Nothing to do with reincarnation."
"…"
"If you have any more questions, feel free to ask me."
"…I have none."
"Okay." Hanabi said. "Now …If this was just some strange attempt at trickery and you have any questions about actual reincarnation, ask my husband, he and our Orochimaru are experts on the topic — though that might be because there's no one else."
"No. Thank you." Hinata said flatly.
"All right." Hanabi laughed, high and clear.
In spite of herself, Hinata smiled, too.
"What are you reading?" She asked. Perhaps it was still possible for them to find some common ground, despite their very… different lifestyles, Hinata thought.
"'Exploring his Forgotten Realms.'" Hanabi said, barely lifting her eyes up from the book. "It's erotica. I read it for the plot, though."
"…His what?"
"Take a guess."
This particular conversation stopped here.
…
World #01 — Umigakure.
"I… Thank you for bringing a gift, Sakura, but it really isn't needed—" Yugito began.
"Why are you thanking me?" Sakura asked, laughing. "It's a gift for him, not you." She didn't comment on the fact that the other woman looked somewhat worried.
Yugito hesitated.
"Toru insisted that it was tradition." Sakura frowned. Then, brightening up. "Was he wrong? Again? I have to tell my wi-"
"No, he's… right."
"Oh." She looked disappointed.
"…Please tell me it's not a pair of eyes, at least — or even a single one."
"No." Sakura said, shaking her head. "He's obviously too young for that. It's not a trusty dagger either, for the same reason. Although he might need one, with such pathetic demon fangs."
Yugito ignored most of the sentence. "And it's… nothing dangerous, either?"
"Of course not."
Yugito closed her eyes. "…Okay, then."
Sakura held a plant out to her.
Yugito blinked. Sakura caught the expression.
She rolled her eyes. "What…? You guys really expect the worst from me."
"…There's probably a reason for that." Yugito said slowly.
"I bulli—… I had Sasuke make it." Sakura grinned. "Well, the basis for it."
"What do you mean?"
"I enchanted it. It changes color according to his moods and glows in the dark, all that."
That… actually sounded pretty pleasant. Yugito took it, happily surprised. Sakura also pressed a creepy little statue of a woman in long robes, grinning.
"Also, here's a little focus to magnify his chakra's power. This one, I made myself entirely. It—"
"No thank you."
At the same time, Naruto's Shadow, the one in charge of Umigakure and day-to day-business, tended to various important matters.
It was no secret the man didn't sleep a lot, nor did Tanabe Mai. Which meant that some meetings got relegated to early night.
"Tell me more about your novel, Minoru." Umi's leader said.
"Naruto-sama." Tanabe Mai — head of intel — tried.
"Naruto is my creator, the one who doomed me to this existence. That's not my name." He said, before resuming ignoring her.
"…Kaitaro-sama." She said. "We can't fund every—"
"No, no. Let him speak." He said. "I'm just curious, that's all."
In front of them, Adachi Minoru trembled. He head heard terrible rumors about the Emperor's mood swings, but... Identity crisis, on top of it...?
"I — uh. It's…" He began hesitantly. "Uh. About… s-samurai… Shōgun-sama." Then, hastily. "N-Not that… there… there's anything wrong about ninja, of course—"
"Yes, yes." The Shadow nodded, waving his hand. He was the first one to talk shit about ninja, anyway. And he had basically created the notion, as Indra. "Go on."
Tanabe Mai sighed.
"Uh… It's…" Minoru licked his lips, feeling very stupid. Why had he asked for more funding again…? Since the Emperor's self-crowning, basic needs were met for every citizen. But he had to get greedy, of course. Who cared about proper research…? It was just a series of novels, anyway. One that he might well die for. "It's…"
He couldn't say it out loud.
"Say it." The Shadow said, eyes gleaming.
"I… I can't, Shōgun-sama." Minoru whimpered.
"You can." Kaitaro encouraged.
"It's… About… A f-forbidden romance between…" He halted, lowering his eyes in shame. How puerile of him. "Between samurai from opposite factions… set in space. And there are… there are space dragons."
The Emperor halted.
"Space dragons, you say…?" He asked slowly.
"It's… an epic." Minoru felt like crying. "T-Ten volumes, at least."
"Ten volumes."
Minoru closed his eyes and presented his neck. Maybe it would be fast, at least.
There was a sigh. It came from Mai, again.
"How much money will you need?" The Emperor asked eagerly.
Minoru blinked.
"…The Kage and the Ministers are waiting, Kaitaro-sama." Mai said. "It's an in-person meeting-"
"Yes, I know." Kaitaro waved off.
…
A few rooms away, Uchiha Itachi closed his eyes in consternation.
A late-evening meeting was annoying enough, even though this time-slot had been convened a while ago already.
The others either didn't know what to say or what to make of the Shōgun's absence.
The Mizukage simply chuckled. And to think she had been afraid of things returning to the status quo, once. Itachi just gave her a tired, somewhat amused look. She blew him a kiss and he pretended not to react.
Uchiha were weird about PDA.
World #07 - With Team Seven.
Boruto wasn't enjoying the ride on the open sea.
In spite of the fact that it was going pretty smoothly, so far.
Unlike plenty of teams, they didn't fall in the waters.
Yet.
It was his and Mitsuki's turn to keep watch, so that Sarada didn't end up exhausting herself or overusing her eyes. Boruto felt sweaty; somewhat warm under his clothes, cold on his forehead. And he knew just how deep the water could be here.
His hands went up and his grip on the summoning scroll he was carrying tightened a bit.
Mitsuki's snakes kept them safe, as they erected a wide safe perimeter around the boat.
Far in the distance, Boruto thought he heard a booming sound. He only saw the fireball when he turned his head to look.
He pursed his lips.
He looked at the waters. Boruto could almost feel how it would happen, by now.
Feeling the boat swerve under him, seeing water underneath him, seeing his own hand stretch towards it, only there would be nothing to grab.
Then he would be in the water, inhaling a noseful of it, feeling the boat — and your only chance at the exam — disappear under the waves.
Then he would have to give up entirely.
But that would not happen.
Boruto shook his head and resumed steering their boat. Everything would be—
"Boruto. Wake Sarada up."
Ah, that was bad.
Mitsuki was staring up at the sky. Boruto did as well, shaking Sarada awake.
"Whaddyouwant?" She groaned.
"There's something in the sky."
She groaned again.
"Is this about the aliens your dad talked about last time…?" She asked.
"No. It looks like… a black sphere?"
Sarada asked no more questions. She called the incantation. Her eyes shifted as chakra coursed through them. They bled into red and the world sharpened.
"…It's sand—"
"Why is it black, then?" Boruto asked. "I barely even saw it—"
"Because it's full of chakra and — Mitsuki!"
The ball was falling from the sky.
Then screams, shouts and a splash of water.
Not from them, though.
The ball had crashed into another boat. Sarada went from half asleep to fully awake in a blink. She scrambled to stand, accidentally elbowing Boruto, who grumbled something that she probably wouldn't hold against him too much.
Boruto didn't panic — or at least, that's what he would later say.
"What the frick do we do?!" He asked shrilly.
Sarada almost burst out laughing. "What did you just say—"
"It's under us!" Mitsuki warned, still looking eerily calm despite his raised voice.
Which made it hard to realize when they were actually in trouble.
The ball slammed into their boat from down under, launching the three of them in the air. The black sand wrapped around the boat, it grasped, and it squeezed.
The wooden ship shattered, and they plunged into the icy water.
On the ferry boat.
There were three identical groans.
"Oh, come on." Kage muttered. "Already…? After we came all the way here…? This is worse than Konohamaru's first Chūnin exams. Well, hard to tell if they pissed themselves, when they're in water."
"Ah." Hinata sighed, but then smiled. "At least they are fine."
And knowing how messy this year's organization had been, they likely would have to wait for a few days before the second phase even began on the island.
Sasuke crossed his arms and scowled. He let out a grunt.
Toru picked up on it.
"Yeah." He winced. "We should have gotten them a summoning contract. Also this little Gaara expy seems pretty strong. Typical of Suna to send their little monsters away and hope nothing happens to them."
Sasuke grunted.
Toru frowned. "What do you mean, you tried to give the Eagle contract to Boruto…? What about your daughter…?"
Sasuke scowled and grunted again.
Toru scowled too. "…I don't care that she didn't have her Sharingan at the time, that was always a stupid tradition."
Sasuke scoffed.
"…Boruto doesn't have a Sharingan, no." Toru shook his head.
Naruto laughed.
"My my, Boruto fumbled this one even worse than I did my match against Sasuke." He clapped Kage's back. "Dropping the ball during exams must be in our genes."
Kage ended up chuckling, too. "I didn't — Whatever. I'm sure your son will manage to cause a diplomatic incident… or the end of the world."
"Of course not. If he's dumb enough to become a ninja like us, I'll just make a very targeted use of nepotism." Naruto said. "I'll promote him straight to Jōnin when he's ready… or something."
"…So just like Sakura?" Toru asked.
"Just like Sakura."
"…I can't tell if you guys are joking." Kage squinted.
"Just picture her in an international competition." Naruto said. "We were a pretty new village, back then. I figured we didn't need the impending scandal."
"…I think I get it." Kage winced.
"…Then again, maybe that's why she is living vicariously through this one. Well, when's she actually here." Naruto said. Sasuke glanced at him, squinting. Naruto continued, in order to distract him. "Where is your Sakura by the way, Kage?" Naruto asked.
Sasuke scowled. His wife was not Kage's Sakura.
"Well, she couldn't make it." Kage stated. "The third exam won't take place before a little while, so it's not like she's missing out on that much. Not everyone has as much free time as you guys and Sasuke do. Me… I'm the Kage — Hokage, I mean, not my nickname —, and I prefer to make an apparition, it helps a lot for morale. Anyway, we were the last ones to leave, and I could only take two people with me on the boat… officially."
"…And you chose these two?" Naruto asked neutrally.
Hinata glared at him. Sasuke scowled harder.
Kage snorted. "Hinata is the only bodyguard I will ever need."
"And Sasuke?"
"He feels lonely when I'm not around." Kage said softly.
"I don't." Sasuke glared at him.
"Okay." Kage rolled his eyes. "If you say so."
"Well, I think I will be heading to bed." Hinata said.
No one answered.
She frowned. Their eyes were glued to the screen once more.
"…Oh." Hinata blinked.
With Team Seven.
It happened in a second.
Wood everywhere, the sensation of nothing under him, screams, water.
Boruto was plunged into the icy black depths. He thrashed into the water, feeling his clothes hamper his movements.
Where was the surface…?
Up?
Down…?
Left…? Right?
None of these directions…?
There was water in his nose, and Boruto tried not to inhale it. He could see no light, in his panic, he barely remembered that he could reach the others.
'Use the scroll!' He thought through their bond. 'I will, too!'
Sarada's answer sounded like a roar.
'IF YOU DO THIS, I'M GONNA—' She began.
Boruto didn't listen. Something wrapped around his foot.
It pulled him down.
…Or so he had thought.
In truth, it pulled him up. Boruto breached the surface with a terrified scream. Then he slammed back into the icy water.
He was roaring, sputtering, and screaming.
"…Are you done?" Sarada asked him, in dry tones.
Boruto stopped thrashing. There was still something wrapped around his foot. It felt slimy, even underwater.
Just like the horse-sized slug Sarada and Mitsuki were sitting on, reins in hand.
…
"You never told us you had slug summons." Boruto grumbled.
Sarada shrugged. Under them, the slug continued to make its... her way across the sea.
"I just got them from Auntie days ago." She said, by way of explanation. "Her name's Urumi. She's a sea slug."
"Won't that get us disqualified…?"
"Why would it?" Sarada shrugged. "Read between the lines. That man said nothing about reaching by boat."
"Then why didn't you tell us when the exams started?" Boruto stressed.
Sarada blinked, as though she had never thought of it.
"Well, Mitsuki has his snakes, I thought you had Toads, like Hokage-sama, so I figured that between the three of us, we would manage, if something happened." She shrugged.
"I have sea snakes." Mitsuki smiled.
Boruto grumbled.
He had nothing.
Sasuke nodded proudly, as though he were the one who had given his daughter the contract in the first place.
"I would have given Boruto the contract during the time between the second and third phase." Kage said, before anyone said anything. "Like I was given this contract."
"…Who says that's how it's going to happen this time?" Hanabi asked.
Kage shrugged. "Why don't you give him a contract?"
"…Why should I? I hardly know Toruto."
"We don't really use Summoning techniques." Naruto said. "Besides summoning ourselves, I mean."
"Why not?" Kage frowned. "You're missing out on lifelong partners."
Naruto frowned, too.
"Look, if I wanted to call upon someone weaker than me to fight my own battles, I would just send one of the Kage."
"How long do you think it's going to take?" Boruto asked.
"How should I know?" Sarada muttered. "I don't go snail-riding on the ocean that often."
"I thought you could…" Boruto waved his hands in the air. "…Do some Sharingan thing to estimate the distance, or to get there. I don't know."
"…" Sarada stared at him. "What do you even know about the Sharingan…?"
Boruto hesitated. Old Man Sasuke had shown him a thing or two.
"It allows you to summon a chakra giant that can fly? Ah, also flames of eternal darkness and hatred that burn for seven days and seven nights." He remembered, now.
Sarada rolled her eyes, muttering Sharin-gone under her breath. "That's just my father's." And perhaps Sakura's.
"Shouldn't it be the same? Since you're his daughter and all."
"He has a point." Mitsuki tilted his head, in that strange way of his that made him look more like a predatory animal than a human child.
"No." Sarada shook her head. "Mine is different. It only allows me to cast illusions, have better clarity of perception, predict my opponent's next movement, cheat death and possibly tame demons."
"Ah." Boruto nodded. "That makes sense."
Mitsuki gave both of them a brief glance. He raised an eyebrow and then focused his attention back to his snakes. They made more sense to him.
"We should wait here for a bit… until the iron sand user is gone." Mitsuki said. "The other teams can be dealt with."
"…Waiting. Why?" Boruto frowned. "Now that we know what he can do—"
"We still don't know how to fight him, do we?"
Boruto thought about it, and then relented.
The water had been so cold it had felt searing, and he remembered the feeling of numb feet and sodden clothes. He would rather wait it out, frankly. Although… the wind felt very cruel, right now.
Boruto brought his frozen fingers together and weaved hand seals.
'I am Fire, the all-consuming one. My light you cannot put out.'
A flame rose in Boruto's hand, slow and steady. Mitsuki and Sarada huddled up to him, and with her help, they made it strong enough to resist the howling gusts of wind.
The wait seemed endless to the three of them, and the night longer.
Boruto shared some of the rations he had sealed away into his necklace, feeling that he was at least good enough to help in some way, after all.
Once they were mostly dry — never fully, not with this drizzling rain —, they would wait for the sun to rise.
Boruto woke up with a start, ready to punch someone in the face.
He tried to do so, in fact. Sarada caught his incoming fist easily, and gods, she had a strong grip.
"Why are you punching me?" She asked, very unimpressed.
"Sorry." Boruto muttered. "Bad habit — I got it from training with my Uncles. They can be…"
"Yeah." Sarada laughed, thinking of Sakura — the one who was not her mother. "I think I get it."
Mitsuki's snakes were scouting ahead.
"We are close. There are people waiting on the northern side of the island—" Mitsuki said.
"How do you know it's North?" Boruto frowned.
Mitsuki shrugged. "Well, the island was located to the south. I believe they intend to ambush us, and I see no reason to fight them, so we'll just go around."
And so... they arrived.
'Good morning,
Well, I don't even know if I'm going to give you these letters once I find where you managed to land yourself. I'll probably just end up telling you myself. Over some tea, likely.
It was a pretty long night. Not so rough for us, but for my… nephew, (for lack of a better term — although my son-from-another-me has a nice ring to it) on the other hand…
See, that was a double hyphen within a parenthesis; I'm glad you don't use them. I won't talk about my son in this letter too, lest I sound too much like the annoying sort of father.
So, as for my nephew… Boruto's exam was one of these survival things, and we watched it all through a camera while they did their best to row, sail and slug-ride their way to the next phase.
I won't go as far as to say they had it good, but one long night and they were done. I remember our own exam was pretty rough. Like… roasting small animals rough. We were good enough not to bother with worms, at least. I know it's supposed to be good protein, but…
Anyhow, I guess it was about keeping their morale up, endurance… all that. And the circumstances of his long night might not be so different from your own, right now. Depends where you are, of course.
And wherever you are, I hope that you're well and that we'll get to you soon. Hanabi is looking into the matter as often as she can afford, so spaced out over periods of time.
I know from firsthand experience how bad, how disorienting going through so many… possibilities can be, so we're going at it carefully — also I don't trust Kaguya enough to ask, who knows what kind of convoluted trap she would try to spring on me.
I trust in your ability, anyway. And I know you can handle anything.
So.
What are you up to today?'
"Writing to your… pen-pal, still?" Ino asked neutrally.
Naruto smiled slightly. "That's right."
She shook her head slightly.
"Do you mind?" He asked, knowing her answer.
She made a huffing sound and gave him a flat smile. "…I can't say I'm a big fan."
"I had the impression, yes."
"You could at least pretend to be sorry for it."
"…What for?" Naruto shrugged. "I know you well. That would just piss you off more."
"Indeed." She smiled slightly, in spite of herself.
Toru had one asked him about the specifics of managing jealousy — which didn't really flare up that often, when only the six of them were concerned. A soul-bond helped, likely.
Add another white-haired person in the mix, and someone might be feeling a bit more pissed. And that was most of the reason he had never bothered with mistresses, not ethics.
A jealous Ino could cause trouble, simply. Yugito as well, but she was too busy pretending she wasn't to really lean into it, so it mostly became passive-aggressiveness. Sakura very rarely was, and it was more… amusing than anything, really.
Hanabi couldn't be bothered to care, as she was too busy feeling superior.
Karin thought with her clit when it came to these matters, so it was all fine.
Ino sighed. "Well, you did warn me, long ago. Guess I can't complain now."
"You never managed to make this sentence sound convincing." Naruto chuckled.
"Well…" Ino looked at him mirthlessly. "How would you feel if my old lover from a thousand years ago—"
"Yoisen and I weren't ever lovers." Naruto thought about it, and then corrected, "Not when I was Indra, I mean, nor after. Besides, I don't think she ever had much interest in matters of love and sex."
Ino grunted, looking at him as though she thought he was entirely misguided. "I think you understood me." She said.
"I find it somewhat hard to imagine, I have to admit." Naruto said. "A thousand years…?"
"Try harder, then." She said.
Naruto thought about it.
"I would wish Shikamaru's distant ancestor good luck." He said with a grin. "He will need it."
"…Go fuck yourself." But she chuckled, too.
Going back to the conversation with Toru, he had compared it to juggling.
…
"They made it to the island." Sakura said, behind a steamy cup of tea.
"…When did you get back?" Naruto asked. "Also, please tell me you weren't the one sinking the boats."
"Don't give her ideas, please." Ino hissed.
"Of course it wasn't me." Sakura laughed. "I wouldn't want to make their first real exam such a mess. Or rather… if I wanted to, I'd just pretend to be… Isshiki or something. Then I would say I'm after the Hokage… and pretend to invade the village to raise the stakes a bit—"
"Don't feel the need, Sakura." Ino said mildly.
"I really don't." Sakura shrugged. "But just saying."
"Sakura, please." Naruto tried to hide his smile.
"All right." She chirped. "If you make it up to me, I won't do it."
"Is that how it works…?"
He wrapped an arm around each's waist, shaking his head. That was how they arrived to meet the others.
Hinata looked entirely unimpressed. Naruto idly wondered if she really thought that his mere presence would influence Kage. His eyes bore into her own and she looked away, grunting.
Hanabi and Karin were already at the table, and so were Toru and Kage.
Sasuke was here, too.
"Hello, everyone." Naruto greeted.
They greeted him back, with various levels of enthusiasm.
"Well, I'm hungry and I take it you guys haven't eaten yet—" Naruto began.
Sasuke scoffed. "A true shinobi can go days without eating."
Sakura held her only hand up. "Hold up." She called out, staring at Sasuke. The fact that she had once said something similar to that man rankled her.
He grunted, barely looking at her. "What do you want?"
"I want you to cook breakfast."
Sasuke chuckled. "No."
"My husband always cooks breakfast." Sakura said.
"Because he knows you're a disaster." Karin nodded.
"Whatever." Sakura said. "It's the least Sasuke could do, after brainwashing his wife and not training his daughter."
Kage snickered. Sasuke whirled to face him, and his voice was cold as ice. "Anything funny…?"
"Nope." Kage said.
Sasuke hmpfed.
"Please tell him to cook something for all of us." Sakura said. "You're the Hokage, aren't you?"
"I don't see why I should." Kage shrugged. Sakura stared at him.
"If Sasuke cooks for us, we're going to get rid of the Otsutsuki for you." She said.
"Deal." Kage nodded. "Cook something for us, Sasuke, please."
"What?!" He hissed.
Kage's eyes hardened. Shadows fell upon his eyes, and his face became carefully blank.
"Don't you dare pull rank on me—"
"Soldier." Kage said, voice low. "Your next assignment will be an SSS-class mission."
"I don't want to hear it, dead last." He growled.
"Compose yourself, soldier!" Kage roared, pounding his fist on the table. "This is about more than petty rivalries! Cook us some damn breakfast."
"I'm going to beat you up!"
"Bring it on."
They stood up.
"Sasuke!" Kage roared.
"Naruto!" Sasuke bellowed.
Sparks flew, and chakra rose through the air. Hinata sighed.
"…I think this might be foreplay." Hanabi muttered.
Naruto — not Kage — stared at Sakura.
"Was this really needed?" He asked.
"How hard can it be for him to swallow his misplaced pride and do something nice for once?" Sakura shrugged.
"Hm."
"I knew you were planning to do it anyway." She continued. "Might as well get something nice out of it, right?"
"Hm."
"Oh come on." Sakura laughed. "You even sound like him, now. I'll help you with the aliens, anyway."
…
"These eggs are too runny." Sakura said.
Sasuke's grip on the pan's handle tightened, to the point where his fingers left marks behind.
"Sakura, please." Karin grumbled. "The eggs are fine."
"He probably perfected his technique on the road, just like he—"
'Don't make a joke about him avoiding his daughter, please.' Karin thought.
'And why should I not?' Sakura frowned. 'I think more people should give him shit about it, that's a guy who can use space-time jutsu. Sarada barely even knew his face.' Sakura trailed off.
Karin paused.
'Did you… Suddenly grow a human consciousness?' She asked dubiously.
'…I did not.'
'Guys, I think she's awakening.'
'I told you the Rinne-Sharingan might have unwanted consequences. Did anyone listen…? No.' Hanabi did the mental equivalent of a shrug.
'I'm so proud of you.' Ino smiled.
'It's likely temporary.' Toru shrugged as well.
'…Did you go to see Yugito yesterday night…?' Naruto asked. 'She—'
'No.' Sakura thought and cut herself off from the link.
"…Just like he perfected running away from his daughter and wife." Sakura finished.
There were several echoing groans.
"Congratulations." The Kiri jōnin greeted the chūnin candidates, sounding entirely bored. "You've all passed the first exam."
Cheers.
"Kidding. It's only half of it."
Groans.
"Anyway, let's go for the second part of the first phase." The examiner said, sounding as though he'd rather be anywhere else. "Since we did not go for a full paper test… It's going to be a riddle. A bit half-assed, too, because we barely got the time to set it up, thanks to Konoha."
Groans.
"You're going to be tested individually, to see if you're decent at thinking on your feet… But mostly to see if you're not complete idiots. The riddle will be unique to each team, but you will give your answers individually. If any of you fails the exam, your team's out, of course. Let's start with Team Alpha from Kumo. Very macho name, by the way. Classic Kumo. Please come forward."
Boruto grunted as he watched the proceedings. The team from Kumo was led to a small area, hidden behind a wall.
"For real…?" He asked Mitsuki. "I'm barely able to think, right now."
"Did you not sleep enough?" Mitsuki asked.
"…On a sea slug?" Boruto frowned.
"Well, yes." He nodded.
"Shut up, you two." Sarada called. "I'm trying to listen in to get a feel for it."
"They sound-proofed the area." Mitsuki said. "My snakes would tell me, otherwise."
More teams went behind the wall.
…
Team Seven's turn came.
Boruto was separated from the two others.
He didn't care, because he knew they could use their bond to communicate, when it came down to it.
The examiner was a tall woman with bluish skin and sharp teeth.
"I will ask a single question, and you will have a minute to answer."
"A minute?!" Boruto asked.
"Yes. Wrong answer, you fail. No Chūnin exam for you or your team this year."
Boruto gritted his teeth.
"…I'm ready." He said.
The woman nodded.
"Here's the riddle. You have two ropes. Each rope takes one hour to burn. These ropes are not identical, nor are they uniform. That means it does not necessarily take half an hour for half the rope to burn. All right so far?"
Boruto took as long as he thought was acceptable before nodding.
"Now, if you have trouble visualizing this, imagine a rope of varying thickness across its length. With only these two ropes and a way to light them, how do you measure out forty-five minutes?"
Boruto closed his eyes and began thinking.
He kept some of his attention to the bond, in case either of the two others figured it out.
'Think.'
…
"Time's up. Your answer now, or you fail."
Boruto realized he didn't even get the time to warn the others yet.
And that was assuming his answer was right in the first place. Well, if he was wrong, hopefully they were bluffing about failing all of them. It wouldn't be the first time, after all.
Boruto took a deep breath.
"Light both ends of one rope." He began. "Uh."
The examiner's face said nothing. It could well have been made out of stone. Boruto continued, in spite of his rising hesitation.
"This will cause the rose to burn in a half-hour. Because it burns at varying rates of length, not of time. And that means it will always take a full hour to burn fully from one side. A half-hour if you light both sides up!"
Still no reaction.
"And when it burns out, there will be thirty minutes left on the second rope."
Nothing.
"…Uh. Light the other end of the second rope. When it has burned entirely… Forty-five minutes will have passed."
Boruto waited.
'Ah, fuck. Did I just fail us…?'
The examiner nodded.
"You pass. Good luck with the rest."
Boruto let out a long sigh of relief. Compared to Uncle's rhetorical traps, this was manageable.
'Guys, I got the answer—" He began, as quickly as he could.
'We passed already.' Sarada said.
'Yes.' Mitsuki added.
Boruto grumbled. Why was everyone better than him at everything…?
Sarada was led behind yet another wall.
The examiner nodded at her, by way of greeting.
"Alright." He said. "I will ask a single question, and you will have a minute to answer."
"Okay." Sarada nodded. First, she would have to figure out how complicated of a riddle this was going to be…
"Here's the riddle. You have two ropes. Each rope… takes one hour to burn. These ropes are not identical, nor are they uniform. That means it does not necessarily ta—"
"Sharing-on!"
Mitsuki waited for the examiner to finish.
He thought for ten seconds.
"I would use my watch." Mitsuki said. "Or my body's circadian rhythm, which is as precise as any clock."
The examiner rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah, smart-ass…?"
"Yes." Mitsuki nodded.
"All right." The man said mockingly. "Riddle me this, then. What time is it now…?"
Mitsuki paused for a second.
"Eleven fourteen." He said. "Do you want the seconds, as well…?"
"…No. Go ahead, little weirdo. You pass. I don't get paid enough to deal with creepy bloodline kids, anyway."
"Thank you." Mitsuki nodded politely. The man mumbled something.
"Yagura did nothing wrong."
"Congratulations to you all… on passing the first exam! The second phase will take place in just a couple days. I guess your teachers might be waiting for you. Or your parents. Or else."
"Good job out there, Boruto!" Kage grinned, extending a fist.
Boruto bumped it, laughing. He looked pleased.
"It was nothing, just wait until you see me win the tournament!"
"Don't get too cocky, son." Kage laughed.
"I won't — Mom!"
Hinata hugged him, much to his embarrassment, and he went to meet his uncles, right after.
After returning the hug, that was.
…
"Good job on eliminating the competition, Boruto." Naruto nodded.
Toru nodded, too. "Yes. I'm glad you're not so squeamish, after all. We definitely were, back then."
Boruto stared at them.
"…You are aware that it wasn't me, right?"
"How humble you are." Naruto chuckled.
Toru ruffled his hair. "You're just like us at your age, really."
"Whatever." Boruto laughed. "You guys are weird."
…
Sarada went to meet her father, who poked her forehead.
Then he turned to leave, hiding a small smile.
"…What the fuck is his problem?" Sakura asked.
"He's always like this." Sarada grumbled.
"Well, whatever!" Sakura grinned. "You did well, out there."
"Thank you, Sakura." Sarada nodded. "There is some time before the next phase."
"…So?"
"Are we still on for that that training trip?" Sarada asked.
"Of course." Sakura grinned. "You have a destination in mind, then…?"
Sarada told her.
Sakura hesitated.
"I don't know if it's such a great idea." Sakura said. "Scratch that, it's actually terrible."
This just redoubled Sarada's interest. She took a deep breath.
"You and Auntie keep telling me how Uchiha are all this and all that." Sarada said. "I want to see it for myself. We have two days."
"I mean, Uchiha are… Uchiha already." Sakura shrugged. "There's no need to see them at their worst. Don't you want to meet the living ones in our world, perhaps…? They have pastries and stuff."
Sarada shook her head resolutely. She met Sakura's eyes.
"…I have one dream." Sarada began. "That I will become Hokage, one day."
Sakura tilted her head, as though she couldn't make any sense of it.
"…So?" She asked slowly.
"So I want to see my clan." Sarada said. "The one which founded my village. I want to understand what made them decide to do so. I want to meet them both. Senju Hashirama. Uchiha Madara."
Sakura chuckled. "Well, if you insist. It might be a bit more unpleasant than you might think, though."
"I'm ready."
Sakura didn't think so, but she had promised, after all.
"Also, I want to bring my Auntie with us." Sarada added. "Perhaps it will help her come to terms with her Uchihacism."
Sakura doubted it; she sighed.
"Well, go say goodbye to your mom I guess. Well, I say us, but I mean you. We'll leave tomorrow… or something."
This was exactly why she didn't offer favors.