Disclaimer:I don"t own Naruto. Kishimoto Does.
Author"s note: Hey there Readers!, I"m back with a new chapter! Just like the last chapter which was about 3000 words. Hope you guys enjoy!
BETA READER FOR THIS CHAPTER: Akame3 and once again Vapor 0907
Arc 1: The Forest Part 3
Like a scene from a cheesy movie, everything happened the same. Innocent people became victims of the wrong deeds, and in the end, being saved by a special someone. At least, for Inari himself, he was seeing all of it coming to life, just as a slash nearly appeared upon his cheek.
"Inari." A familiar voice said. Inari turned around to see his grandfather push himself off the ground in pain.
"Grandpa!" Inari cried as he rushed to his grandfather"s side. He mentally cursed himself for not noticing what had happened around him.
"I"m really sorry, Gramps," Inari apologized guiltily.
"It"s alright," Tazuna said patting Inari"s head. "I"m still alive, aren"t I?"
When Tazuna turned his attention back to the present, he scanned the young man with spiky blonde hair, starting him right in his cerulean blue eyes. He threw off his tattered black jacket in favour of his plain white tee, tucked into his long-belted pants. Tazuna"s eyes roved over the boy"s right eye, sealed shut by a nasty scar stretching the length of his face, and whisker-like marks that graced his cheeks, forcing Tazuna to realize who he was, or could be.
"Naruto?" He whispered. But it was impossible for the young man to be the person that he was thinking about.
MEANWHILE
Boruto had readied himself for another round with the bandits. There were less than there had been a while ago, taken care of and tossed aside. With not a single weapon, he was forced to fight with his bare fists.
His eyes darted between each bandit, unsure who would dare to strike first. He thought of his Jogan but dismissed it with another thought. He chakra was drained, and he hadn"t the strength left to use it. He only had his taijutsu and his wits about him.
The leader of the bandits smirked confidently. "You"re outnumbered, kid. There"s nothing you can do. You won"t stand a chance against us."
Boruto was. .h.i.t with confusion. Did the bandit leader not just see what he did to his other minions? Boruto ignored his taunts. They would get what they deserved.
"You fight like children, yet even children can fight better than you," Boruto retorted. "Your mighty b.u.t.ter knives can"t do a thing."
The bandit leader"s eyes narrowed as he glared. "Why you son of-" He was about to say when he was suddenly interrupted by none other than Boruto who in the blinked of an eye charged at him and cuffed the leader upside the face, sending him flying into a nearby tree.
But Boruto had seen it coming and was too fast for the two henchmen as they came at him with their small kunai in hand, his world automatically slowed. He dodged their attacks one by one, then immediately relieved them of their weapons. One of them retaliated by attacking him with a straight hook-headed for his face but he avoided it with a crouch. The henchman"s fist instead collided with his partner who had snuck up on Boruto, in hopes that they could catch him in a lock and put him down.
Boruto then quickly took advantage of the surprised henchman bandit by kicking his legs out from under him and watched as the bandit fell to the ground in pain.
Boruto briefly glanced down at the fallen bandit as their leader called him out again.
"If it wasn"t for you meddling b.a.s.t.a.r.d we would have had what is ours!" The Bandit leader roared as he charged at the blonde.
Inari had seen this one coming and acted upon his instincts as he surveyed his surroundings and saw a great tree branch. He quickly ran to it and took hold. At the same time, the bandit leader charged towards the young man again.
"Stay down you loser!" Inari yelled as the boy ran to the leader and knocked him across the back with the branch. The leader"s body raced to the ground groaning in pain.
"Dammit!" The bandit leader cursed before his eyes flickered closed.
Boruto"s muscles stiffened as he watched Inari throw down the tree branch, brushing his hands off on his trousers.
"Now that was unexpected," Boruto muttered.
The so-promised road robbery had been turned into a b.u.t.t-whooping for the bandits who all laid on the ground in front of Bouto at his feet.
There was a brief moment of silence between Boruto and the two people in front of him. The blonde searched his mind for a reason the young and old man were staring at him so oddly, almost as if they knew him.
Inari and Tazuna continued to stare at Boruto in awe, a single question rattling like gunfire in their heads. Are you Naruto?
"Are you really Naruto?" Inari asked with a gaping mouth.
Boruto looked at the two in front of him, when another thought invaded his mind. "Himchan and Saradchan!" The blonde exclaimed. He left the two still unconscious girls in the forest. He then wasted no time by leaving the scene and rushed to the girls.
Meanwhile, grandfather and son glanced each other in confusion, but Inari quickly decided to follow the blonde whenever he was going.
"Inari, where are you going?" Tazuna asked.
"Don"t worry, I"ll be alright, Gramps," Inari replied as he followed the other young man.
Boruto burst into the clearing where he left Himawari and Sarada, the magical fox still sitting near them, watching over them just as promised, and just as Boruto had asked. Unharmed and untouched.
"Oh, thank G.o.d," he said letting out a breath. He knelt beside the girls and scanned them for anything out of place. They had been left untouched, slumbering peacefully on the soft gra.s.s.
"You girls are going to be alright, okay?" Boruto a.s.sured the sleeping girls. The fears that had been weighing him down lifted as he looked at each of the girls, the fears of losing them lifted as they remained unharmed.
However, the blonde felt a tap on his shoulder as he turned to see the orange fox giving him a look of a.s.surance. It said nothing but Boruto could see it in its eyes.
Boruto raised both his eyebrows in bewilderment while the fox just simply smiled and nodded as if it were telling him not to give up and be strong.
"Oh." Boruto muttered. He was getting what the fox meant when suddenly he felt another presence that appeared behind him.
"What are you doing?" The familiar voice asked.
Boruto turned around to see the boy from just now who was confused on what he was doing. The blonde wanted to explain his current situation right away.
"Oh, I was just talking to..." Boruto trailed off when he turned around and saw that the fox had vanished from his sight.
"Talking to what?" The boy asked with a skeptical look.
Remembering that talking to animals was a bit weird for anyone to hear, Boruto shook his head as he scratched his nape.
"Umm, listen, Kid, I think I might need your help for a bit," Boruto said as he changed the subject.
The Boy nodded. "What kind of help do you need?" He asked.
Boruto sighed. "Do you have any s.p.a.ce for these girls in your wagon?" He asked as he gestured to the two sleeping girls.
(Interview)
"During that time, I wasn"t sure if I was just seeing things. The only possible reason that I can think of is that it had something to do with mental exhaustion that you start to see things randomly and it pretty much gave me the creeps!"
-Boruto
The day continued without any incident. After the whole robbery fiasco with the bandits, Tazuna and Inari quickly helped the blonde in providing a proper place for the two unconscious girls to rest at the back of the wagon itself.
Boruto leaned on one of the wooden walls inside the wagon, after the back breaking journey from the forest where he had to carry the two girls on his back, he could finally relax without any interruption.
"Man, I"m beat." The blonde Uzumaki tiredly muttered. He was exhausted. Both physically and mentally, his chakra was still on the lowest of levels and he felt that he was just going to fall.
Boruto then slowly closed his eyes. When he only saw darkness, he immediately felt his consciousness slowly drifting away until suddenly he heard a very familiar voice.
"Not bad, Boruto," said a voice he hadn"t heard in a long time. A voice he shouldn"t have heard right then either.
Boruto opened his eyes and jolted off the wall. He then looked around his surroundings unti his eyes fell on a single person standing across from him in the wagon.
"U-Uncle, uncle Sasuke?" Boruto stuttered. It was his mentor who sat and rested on the wooden wall on the otherside.
Boruto couldn"t believe his eyes. He was seeing his mentor in front of him, who was supposed to be already dead back home. Although, the blonde managed to keep his sanity in check. He told himself he was just seeing things. The Uncle Sasuke in front was the exact same man that the blonde last time saw.
Meanwhile, The Raven haired Uchiha just smiled. "You don"t have to worry. Just calm down."
"What do you mean?" Boruto asked. Despite the fact that this was only an illusion to him.
"What am I saying is. You don"t have to be worried about anything."The Sasuke in front of him said.
"You"re just like the dobe was when he was younger." He added with a chuckle.
"I"m really proud of you. Thank you for taking care of my Sarada." He thanked. He"d never stop believing in the dobe"s son. He had that determination and perseverance in him.
For Boruto, He was still processing on what the latter had said. Although, He had to admit he missed his mentor. If he were alive and here, he would have guided the Boruto himself.
Boruto slowly closed his eye, a single tear falling on his cheek. "Thank you, Sensei," Boruto whispered.
"Hey, Naruto-san!" The voice of a kid suddenly interrupted the silence. The blonde opened his eye yet again to see that his sensei had vanished in front of him. Only to te replaced by the kid, Inari who was staring at him with a confused looked.
Boruto blinked a couple times before he shook his head and rubbed his temples." Umm, sorry, Kid, but my name is not Naruto, just to let you know." He corrected the boy. He knew that he looked like a carbon copy of his dad.
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When The blonde said that he was not the guy that he was looking for, Inari"s hopes dwindled. He thought that this was Naruto himself.
"What"s your name then," The boy asked.
Boruto took a few moments of quietness before answering. "Bolt. You call me that," He said.
"Oh, my name is Inari then." The boy introduced himself.
"Nice to meet you Inari, but can I ask you something?" Boruto asked.
Inari raised his eyebrows. "Yeah sure, Go ahead."
Boruto took a few moments to organize his thought"s before speaking. "Could you tell me where we are right now?" He inquired.
Inari thought for a moment before answering. "Umm, my gramps and I are on our way to Konoha." He replied.
"Konoha? Why are you going there? It"s dangerous! That place is nothing but a wasteland now, you have to turn around and go back." Boruto said as he looked the boy dead in the eyes.
The boy just gave him a puzzled look. He was excited to go to the village for the first time, but then some guy comes along and tells him that the place is nothing but a wasteland? Not buying it.
"What do you mean by wasteland? This is my first time going to that place and I heard that the place has got a mountain with five faces on it." Inari said excitedly.
Boruto shook his head." I think you are mistaken, Kid, but Konoha is really..." Boruto was going to correct the boy but instead trailed off.
"Konoha is what?" Inari asked impatiently.
"Five faces?" Boruto whispered, his words barely leaving his lips. It was impossible.
"You said there were five faces in the mountain?" He asked.
Inari nodded. "Yeah, that"s what I heard from Grandpa." He explained.
Boruto"s expression was blank. The gears in his mind turned. How could the place he called home be alive and well? He saw the destruction of the village with his own eyes. Then there were only five faces on the Hokage mountain? That"s absurd but unless he was telling the truth, then that must mean that he somehow...
(Interview)
"When Realization had took over me, it was really a shocking revelation. I even tried to deny it as many times as possible in my head but something was convincing me that somehow this was all true."
-Boruto
There was then a sudden interruption as the wagon lurched to a stop. The silence was broken as Inari immediately hopped out of the wagon and went to the front to see what was happening, and Boruto followed.
The wagon had stopped in a small and open field. Tazuna surveyed the area and determined it was where they would set up camp for the night.
"Gramps, what"s going on?" Inari, who just came out from the wagon asked. Boruto scanned the field as he came to a stop beside Inari.
"Sorry if I startled you boys, but we are going to have spend the rest of the day here." Tazuna explained.
(LATER ON)
It was already afternoon and the sun was going to set soon. So, it would be best for them to set camp here to have a deserving rest after a very tiring and eventful day.
Night had finally come as the moon glowed bright. The guys had finally settled in their camp. The bonfire was already big enough to accommodate everyone from the cold breeze.
Boruto also had the two unconscious girls brought out from the wagon and were now in the camp area along with the warm heat from to the bonfire to keep them warm. The two girls were placed in two different sleeping bags that were fluffy enough for them to be comfortable.
Boruto observed the two girls as he sat on a wooden log facing them wondering how long they would sleep and when they would wake up.
"Hey, kid, are you alright?" A voice then interrupted the blonde"s thoughts as he looked to see the boy"s grandfather.
"Umm, Yes sir, I"m okay." Boruto politely said. Although, He was obviously exhausted.
"I know, it"s been an exhausting day, but dinner is ready if you"re hungry," Tazuna said, offering the blonde some food.
"Thank you, sir." Boruto thanked the old man.
He then looked back at the two sleeping girls" Be right back, girls." Boruto said as he went to join the two for dinner.
The rest of the night was uneventful except for the blonde conversing with the boy and old man with him. He learned that the old man, named Tazuna, was a master builder while his grandson was his protege.
They were on a journey to the village of Konoha because the old man had been called there while the boy only wanted to tag along. They continued to bombard him with questions, and Boruto thought each and every answer through carefully.
"So, what brought you to the forest? Did you get yourself in trouble?" Tazuna asked. Considering the tattered condition of the clothes that the blonde wore right now.
"Well, umm... actually, we came from a small village far away from here. Eventually, our village was attacked and destroyed by raiders. My little sister and my friend and I were the only survivors." Boruto explained. He couldn"t tell them too much. He needed to be as careful as possible.
"That"s horrible, I"m very sorry..." Tazuna apologized. He was sad to hear the terrible news from the blonde.
There was silence around the area, right in the blonde"s mind he kept replaying the events that happened during the destruction of the village that caused the death of his loved ones and fight between him and Kawaki.
"It"s alright sir, the important thing is that we survive but the only problem is we have nowhere to go." Boruto explained. It was true though, their only home was destroyed.
At the same time, Inari"s eyes widened. "Hey! Maybe the Hokage can help!"
Both Tazuna and Boruto turned to the boy with surprised reactions." I heard that she was really scary though." Inari added before taking another bite of his food.
"Hmmm...The Hokage, Lady Tsunade." Tazuna said which caught the attention of the blonde.
"Granny?" Boruto muttered aloud enough for the old man to hear.
"Granny? Do you know her?" Tazuna asked. What was the kid talking about?
Boruto came back to his senses. "Oh, uhmm... I heard from the people that I know that the hokage there is quite old already." He explained.
Tazuna was surprised. "Oh well then. But she looked incredibly young for her age." He said wondering why the teen would say that.
There was silence for a few moments before the old man spoke again.
"So, what are you going to do now?" He asked.
Boruto sighed. "Well, I guess I have no choice but to go to Konoha since it"s the nearest and safest place. Although, I have to talk to the Hokage herself." He Explained.
Tazuna nodded. "Well, I hope all goes well for you." He said as he then drank his cup of water.
Boruto nodded. "Thank you, sir." He respectfully thanked the old man before eating a spoon full of his beef stew.
"By the way though!" Boruto looked up to see the boy looking at him. The blonde raised both his eyebrows in question.
"How"d you learn how to fight like that? Are you some kind of Shin.o.bi or something?" Inari asked. He was curious how the blonde handled the bandits.
"Can you teach me?" Inari added.
"Inari, could you please stop? Let him eat his dinner in peace," Tazuna said.
"Sorry hehehe." Inari giggled while scratching the back of his head.
Tazuna could only sighed. "I"m very sorry about my grandson. He wants to be just like those Shin.o.bi," He explained.
"It"s alright, I understand, I also wanted to be one." Boruto chuckled. He was surely going to enjoy this night. No more dangers, no more bandits, and no more sudden interruptions.
Just him and the comfy heat of the bonfire.
As midnight neared, Boruto finally got a chance to lay down on one of the sleeping bags. After all the ordeals and challenges, he faced today, he deserved a proper rest.
Before that, He checked the two sleeping girls up to see on how they were doing and made sure that they were in a comfortable and alright. He kissed his little sister"s forehead and adjusted his Uchiha teammate near the fire.
"Man, this is the best thing that happened to me Dattebasa!" He exclaimed quietly as possible as everyone had already gone to sleep.
He yawned tiredly as he relaxed his head on a small pillow. He thought about what happened that day. From waking up in a random forest to finding himself in this journey back home.
He concluded that he somehow had been transported back in time after the clash with Kawaki. He didn"t know how it happened, but he did know he had more questions than answers.
How would he convince the Hokage to believe him and help him?
Would they believe him? Or would they think he was lying and dismiss him without another thought?
This was just too much problems for the blonde to handle but to all of that. He remembered something Uncle Sasuke had said to him before. Overthinking will lead to your destruction.
"Thanks, Uncle Sasuke," He muttered as he yawned again.
Boruto looked up at the night sky with the full moon glowing from above. He wondered as his consciousness drifted away.
"Will there ever be a chance to go back to the life that he once knew?"
END OF CHAPTER
Authors note: Thank you for reading the chapter! If you have any ideas for the story, feel free to share them to me by PM.