Chapter 24: Three years later...
Boruto and Sarada had a fairly spacious house. With three bedrooms, kitchen, dining room and a backyard with many flowers. She liked having a colorful garden. She had taken a liking to decorating the house with vases and paintings, endowing it with an extensive life around her. And her husband had become in recent months, the muscle that transported everything Sarada Uzumaki wanted, to the place of the house that she wanted. After all, Bolt totally refused the idea that his 8-month-pregnant wife would make the slightest effort to harm the child in her womb.
"Bolt-kun ..." she laughed, whose black hair had been left long to her waist, "I'm not incapacitated." Our son is Uzumaki after all, I have not less strength, but much more.
Sarada had spent the first months of pregnancy with certain problems. The child in her womb claimed an incredible amount of chakra produced by her mother. He never seemed to be satiated. She without a doubt she was going to have the monstrous spiritual level inheritance of the children of the whirlpool. Sarada suffered enough wear and tear, but reaching the fourth month of gestation the variables were completely reversed. The fetus was already producing her own chakra. And Sarada had a huge soldier pill completing her power. Overflowing it to be precise.
They were fun months for the couple's acquaintances. Nights where Sarada's cravings began to sharpen exponentially. In the midnight of many days, half a dozen Boruto clones could be seen running, searching all over the village for whatever his wife had asked for.
Then, the small couple arguments that ended with a Bolt receiving tremendous punches that made him travel the sky from beginning to end. To finally return to meet his tearful wife who, altered by hormonal changes, was completely transformed. On a day-to-day basis, she seemed like a lunatic fighting her husband over anything. And at night, a sexual beast that didn't seem to be satiated with anything her husband did to him. That part would have been dangerous for any other man. But for Boruto Uzumaki specifically, it was just giving and receiving pleasure in more than acceptable amounts.
But long before the happy pregnancy event, Boruto and Sarada had the first two years of marriage to "fall in love."
When they had the wedding ceremony three years earlier, young Uzumaki was not in love with his bride. They both knew it. Sarada had warned him and yet she wanted to unite her life forever with him. She thought that many of the problems they had as a couple were caused by her own father. Boruto felt very embarrassed with that concept. Sasuke Uchiha could have been many things in his life, but the blame for everything that happened in the separation of the couple was not his. However, she strongly wanted to take some of the responsibility for the overall situation. She thought that if she hadn't refused to physically fulfill the love she felt for her boyfriend, many of the horrible events of the past would never have happened. Her father influenced her to avoid that union, and she blamed him for it. However, Boruto was not going to allow Sarada to put any blame on her shoulders. Not when nothing belonged to him of that poison.
That afternoon, the moment of the last discussion between Sarada and Boruto before walking down the aisle, was when the young woman showed how much she could come to love her future husband. Boruto remembered that moment like no other. He was never so afraid and ashamed as when his girlfriend told him that she knew the truth:
"A long time ago ..." she said walking through the room where they had their last conversation before getting married, "my mother confessed that she had a lover."
Any other man would have had no idea what she was talking about. Bolt sadly yes.
-She told me that she would never see him again, because she hurt me. –The girl clarified, smiling wistfully- she said that our mother-daughter bond was more important to her than any lover. And even though she didn't say who she was, now I can know her identity.
-What are you talking about Sarada-chan?
-You are not the only one who had noticed that your father and my mother looked at each other too much for years -the young woman continued- she was sexually frustrated, and then came your confession that night of the meeting for the marriage contract. A mission, a married woman from Konoha. She didn't dare think about it too much. I was furious with that "lover" you had, and I mistook her for Aunt Ino.
Boruto no longer said anything. He was too stunned to react. He felt that Sarada was waiting for the right moment to break up with everything. Perhaps all the effort to hide his love affair with Sakura had been for nothing. It was ironic, that Himawari trying to calm Sarada with her technique to avoid her jealousy, had freed her mind to think things through. And Sarada Uchiha was very smart after all.
"Oka-sama doesn't say anything ..." Sarada announced with a sigh, "she makes a lot of effort to hide what happened." Since that first night we spent together, I could understand why she is attracted to you. And I do not want…
-You don't have to blame your mother ... -Boruto interrupted him seriously- I forced her to do it. It was blackmail to prevent her from getting close to my father. What happened next, it was just ...
-It was spoiled Bolt-kun ... -the girl said smiling in a warm way- my mother was very relaxed and happy for months. She did not know the reason at the time of her, but she was a satisfied and happy woman. I have no intention of starting a fight with you or her. She just wanted to tell you something important. Before getting married, she wanted to tell you ... that she knew everything.
"What do you want me to do to repair it?" The blond asked, approaching her fiancée and taking her by both arms. "I know I have no excuse." But I am willing to do whatever it takes to ...
"Silence ..." she whispered, putting a finger to Bolt's lips, "what she did was give up on a man who treated her like my father never wanted or could." And what you have done is stay with me even though you could escape to another village. I just want you to promise me something ...
-What should I promise?
-That you're going to marry me, giving me the opportunity that you never have to go back to her. –The young woman answered, shedding some tears– I know I had to share you. I know that you love your family, your sister and also my mother in different ways. But I will marry you, if you promise me that you will make the effort to love me. To wish me the way you wanted Oka-sama. To protect me as you do with your father, mother and sister. But to love me, only me.
After that disturbing conversation and subsequent solemn promise. Boruto and Sarada got married. They got engaged despite all the revealed secrets of the past. Bolt always wondered what would have happened without Himawari's intervention in Sarada's mind. But apparently, everything had turned out too well for the initial situation.
Time passed. They began to live together and share time. Boruto just as he had promised his now wife, put everything of his will. Both kept the secret discovered by the woman. They didn't tell Sakura, but Sarada kept some distance from her mother in the beginning. The first few months, both women had to search for the new place in the relationship. Sarada was a married woman. And Sakura was Bolt's mother-in-law. That name had to be very clear, before meeting again as mother and daughter.
The young spouses had those first months to adjust to the situation. And little by little they began to enjoy much more than the long nights of sex. A breakfast together, lunch in the country on Sundays. Go to dinner and walk arm in arm. No visible rush. Without anyone interfering or harming the situation, Boruto Uzumaki fell deeply in love with his wife Sarada with him. He knew her and loved her as a friend of hers, but living with her and enjoying her every day, was completely conquering him. She had a lot of her mother, but it was definitely not a reflection of her. Boruto was able to love her individually. Beyond desire, beyond all feelings he could ever have for Sakura.
Finally, when they met their first anniversary, they held a celebration where both Bolt's family and Sakura Uchiha came together and enjoyed the celebration. There were no more grudges. Boruto and Sarada Uzumaki, they were a perfectly made couple. Even Himawari's situation seemed to be heading when she returned to her relationship with Inojin Yamanaka. The young woman seemed to have spent bad months away from her brother. But the family seemed to be better harmonized since the girl started dating the young Yamanaka again.
By the second year, Himawari and Inojin's engagement was progressing well. Young Inojin was polite and kind to her. He was respectful and a good Shinobi. The Yamanaka family were friends of Naruto. And the weekend gatherings began to commonly include Sai, Ino, and her son as well.
At the beginning of their third year of marriage, Boruto was completely insane over his wife. Three years of living together did not put out any fires between them. On the contrary, they made the husband look more actively for something that he wanted over time, to have a child.
Something that seemed within reach of him, when Sarada Uzumaki became pregnant. That third year of marriage seemed to be the beginning of a time of pure happiness. A son would change their lives forever. A son would clean up the pain of the past.
But in the land of traitors ...
Happiness never lasts forever ...
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Almost nine months later ...
Boruto Uzumaki was standing on an imposing terrace, stranded at the top of the Hokage tower. His father had relieved her of his duties as an escort in the middle of the day. Boruto showed up that morning in an ANBU suit and masked. He didn't want anyone to see him in the eye. He didn't want to have to answer any more painful questions from everyone he knew. He wanted to be invisible, he wanted to be just Shinobi. Just a guard from his father doing his assigned job. His body was present, but his mind was definitely not there. He was miserable and destroyed.
A week had passed since the tragedy. Only 7 days since he entered the private hell. Approximately 170 hours from the very beginning of the destruction of it. It was amazing how the world could turn into garbage overnight. He could hardly believe it was real.
A few weeks ago, he was a happy man. He did not possess a kind of fleeting happiness, but the complete bliss that comes from being happy at all times. His mornings for the last few months were beautiful routine. He got up at dawn, long before his wife opened her beautiful eyes and finally woke up. Boruto would leave early, looking for the freshest fruit in the markets, and all the necessary implements for a complete breakfast. He also bought chocolate, cream and tasty strawberries. He also used to buy some traditional sweets, like dangos. A whole range of succulent options to meet the needs of his woman. He was returning to his house before the sun dominated the sky. He made two delicious glasses of tea and breakfast was usually served on a tray, directly in the matrimonial room. He saw her wake up and smile. Filled with his own son. With kind eyes and a big smile like the sun. Sarada Uzumaki was all the answer Boruto needed from life.
He was a happy man. He had a steady job with his father the Hokage. Which allowed him to be in the village all the time. He had a wife that he loved. He had a woman expecting his first child. His baby, his boy. The reason for all the joys and pride of his future. It was all sweet and full of life to Boruto Uzumaki. He had what he had always wanted. He respect as a Shinobi, love as a man, and the safety of his family. He had it all, and right now in her memory of him there was absolutely nothing left.
He leaning on the railing of the tall tower, staring into the abyss in front of his eyes; he wondered if it would hurt him less to drop like a dead weight until his head slammed into the main street. It would be a great harm, but perhaps it would help him forget what was currently eating him to the insides.
-Bolt…. -Said his father appearing on the balcony- I already told you that the job is finished. Go home. You shouldn't have been back to work so soon.
There was no "home" for Boruto. Returning to that home that until days ago he shared with his wife, was not returning "home." There was only silence and heartbreaking memories. It was going back to the place where all was lost. Where his abilities and strengths had no use whatsoever. It was weak and permeable. It was a pile of garbage.
His father approached, with the confidence that the last years of close relationship gave him. Naruto like almost no other being, had witnessed all phases of his son with respect to his wife. When he married he was full of guilt and remorse. When he learned to live together. And finally when he was full of anxieties waiting for the child to come. Three years where Naruto saw his eldest son grow up, and he was able to have a front row seat to see him happy. And now he was a shadow of himself. An empty shell that found no comfort.
"Bolt ..." his father whispered, hugging him from behind and trying to transmit heat to him, "I can't even be close to assuming what you feel." But you should try to view the situation as any Shinobi mission.
-Sarada-chan was fine… - Boruto answered seriously- she went to the hospital and she was fine. Our son was going to be born. He was healthy, she was fine.
Sarada Uzumaki had died in childbirth. A strange anemia in her chakra circulatory system, was weakening her to the point of costing her life in the effort of her giving birth. The baby was a boy, and he was born affected by the same strange anemia as his mother. That child could barely survive an extra 20 hours. And he was fading like the light of a dim candle. In a matter of 7 days, Boruto went from having a wife and the birth of a child, to having nothing left.
-Son… -the Hokage pointed out- the doctors couldn't do anything. Even Sakura who is the best. Tsunade-obachan and Shizune Onee-san also searched for the solution for hours. Nobody could do anything.
Boruto clenched his teeth angrily. The sensation of pain in his body only increased when the brain fed conspiracy theories.
"Oto-sama was killed ..." he declared coldly and Naruto pulled away to look him straight in the eyes. "She was fine. I took care of her from day one. Our son was healthy, the exams were good in the previous months. Sakura-san said that she was perfectly fine. Someone had to make him do something about her.
Naruto had no argument against that. He knew very well that Bolt had been with his wife throughout the wait. Even when the contractions warned her of the impending event, Boruto had two clones of her accompanying her through the market. They rushed her to the hospital and there were no complications. Everything seemed to darken during her stay in the hospital. But for Naruto it seemed impossible that someone had attacked Sarada inside that place. Many years have passed since the signing of the peace accords. There was no reason to murder the wife of a Hokage son.
Attack the Hokage's family?
Suspicion would have crept in, if only Hanabi and then Hinata had not had their children without any problem. Even the leader of the Hyuuga clan, she had been expecting her second child for a few months. Naruto was also the father naturally, the peace agreements between the Hyuuga and the Uzumaki were fulfilled without harm. So who could want the death of Bolt's son?
-I have no idea who attacked my wife. –Declared Boruto looking at his father with clear hostility, even if it was not against the Hokage precisely- but I will find out, and I will kill him. Whoever he is.
Naruto couldn't tell him anything else, the young custodian jumped over the railing and began to carry himself across the roofs. Moving away from his father, away from everyone. He wanted to be alone and think. He felt that something important had been overlooked and because of that oversight his wife and son were dead. Someone had to pay. There was no karma to blame. Someone had committed a crime, and Boruto just hoped to quickly find out who it was.
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Again the darkness….
Her entire house was shrouded in gloom. He didn't turn on the lights because they hurt his eyes. She drank almost every night, and she could hardly sleep. The dark when single, had been an ally. But now he himself seemed more like she was his mother, cradling her sorrow. Meanwhile, a few knocks on the front door announced that they were looking for him. But Boruto Uzumaki had no desire or patience to receive anyone. The only thing that really interested him was being alone and thinking. Rebuild, reinvent yourself. Find a way to swallow all the pain he felt, to go to work the next day and not look like a lost soul.
He hurt too much everything, and he did not understand what happened….
He couldn't understand how perfect his world was, now it was a perfect storm. Whose fault was it? Who had to pay for this pain? Boruto felt his body breaking inside. That nothing would make him regain peace, until he did not vent his anger on who had caused that damage.
Everything was irrational. His father was right. What motive would there be for trying to murder his family? In Konoha, the higher ranks of the clan council did nothing but wish for the child to be born. They imagine? A child with Uzumaki blood and the possibility of inheriting the sharingan? It was something they were looking forward to without question. No one had a reason to kill his son.
-Boruto ... -he heard a voice inside his house and became alert in the darkness of the dining room- Boruto, are you there?
Bolt was there of course, but depressed and partially drunk. He had never drunk as much as in the past week. It was the only way to get to sleep. From fainting, more than fatigue. He couldn't think clearly, he couldn't work effectively, but at least he made the personal situation more bearable. He had the least rotten smell of the situation this way.
That was Sakura's voice. The voice inside his house. She surely she was as hurt as he was. Surely looking for explanations in every corner. If Boruto tortured himself trying to explain what would have gone wrong. Sakura would certainly be even worse. She was a doctor, and inside her hospital she had lost the life of her daughter and her grandson. She had monitored the entire pregnancy from the beginning. How could everything go so wrong?
Boruto was sitting on a dining room chair, elbows resting on his own knees. Just raising your head to drink from the bottle with sake. Looking to drown in liquor Fill your guts with more than pain. Sakura on the side of her, approached him with clear pain and slowness. She knelt in front of him, and tried to look into his eyes. They both shared the pain of losing the two most important people in their lives. It was heartbreaking.
-Boruto you cannot continue like this…. -Said the woman crying- we have to survive this.
"I don't understand how you got in here," the blonde pointed out gravely, "the door was closed."
"The backyard window is still open ..." she declared, resting both hands on the man's fallen head, "you never remember to close it at night." Sarada always told me - she tried to remember her daughter in a more everyday and happy situation. But right away, she came back to the present - I was going through the medical files. I have searched for all kinds of analysis. I can not find anything.
-It's impossible that it was something natural… -answered the Uzumaki- Has someone strange entered her room since she was admitted?
"I have a record of everything," Sakura said trying to control her voice through her tears. "Ino helped me review everything." Nobody weird. Only relatives. Not even strange nurses. This was just an unfortunate accident.
-And the autopsy?
Desecrating the body of his wife was the last thing Boruto would have consented to. But the sensation of an attack did not leave him. And if he hadn't been able to protect Sarada, he would do everything he could to avenge her. To her and her child. That is why he signed the pertinent permits. That's why they hadn't buried her yet.
-Shizune-sempai and Tsunade-sama took over ... -sakura indicated- I ... no ... I could ...
Bolt placed the bottle in his left hand, and as he stood up he caught the woman in front of him. She gave him a hug that meant nothing else. Just that pain that they both felt. Ninjas weren't supposed to cry. Ninjas were trained to avoid feelings and pain. Ninjas were not supposed to feel dead while they were alive, because of lost affection.
-Tomorrow should be the Boruto burial ... -sakura whispered in her ear-we can no longer keep the body in the morgue to investigate. There is no proof of anything.
Bolt still hugging Sakura, he thought he had tried everything to follow her hunch. His wife and his son were to be buried the next day. And that information was as horrendous as it was definitive. He couldn't bear it.
-I have to see Sarada-chan again ...
-No, Boruto, no ... - she warned, pulling away from her a little and taking it with both hands from her face- don't do this to yourself. My daughter is no longer how you remember her. Almost 9 days have passed. Even preserving her perfectly, you can no longer see her as beautiful as she was.
-And my son? –The man gurgled stunned- Who could wish the death of a baby? Absolutely no one. He had nothing they could….-Her argument about him faded away in his mind, until he decided to continue- my wife was much more than a Kunoichi. She was more than a pair of eyes and….
His mind stopped. Screeching like the wheels of a cart coming to a sudden stop. The baby was not important. Not without growing and developing his potential. But instead Sarada, he had something that could be the object of desire. It had to be that. IT WAS THE ONLY EXPLANATION!
-Sakura ...- he said before a gesture of seriousness- I need to go see her.
"You can't Bolt…" she warned him, "don't hurt yourself anymore."
-I don't care what you think of me ... -she said, standing up, even in her drunkenness-I need to see her right now. I have to check something.
A couple of hours later, thanks to Sakura that she had access to the entire hospital as its director; both entered the morgue. The woman rummaged through the archives, and finally found the indicated door where corpses were kept in the cold. She opened the precise place, they both slid the stretcher where the body rested.
-Are you sure about this Boruto? –The woman consulted him for the last time, and when they saw him nod they both uncovered the body in front of them.
She was there. She would have seemed asleep, if not for the white coat and the clear signs that continue to death. Her skin was extremely pale, some streaks of green running down her arms and legs. The purple effect of decomposition was more evident day by day. Her face stony hers, motionless, inert. Bolt backed away covering his face. He knew it would be difficult, so much so that she even she had exchanged that feeling for a stab to her chest. That would certainly be less painful.
-I warned you Boruto….-Sakura said that she had not left her, but she was barely standing up, clinging to the stretcher firmly- she is not… .. she is no longer….
But Boruto grunted, wiped his face to wake up, and tried to regain his sanity. At this time the sake ingested before gave him a much needed warmth and uninhibited strength. He had a sinister idea on his mind, and he had come to satisfy that damn obsession. So he made every effort to keep control of his emotions. He advanced to stand next to the body, and stretching out his hand, he opened one of the closed eyelids.
His worst thought was a reality. Where he would have to find a necrotized eyeball were artificial glass eyes. At Sakura's fright, and Boruto's furious growl. They verified that the eyes of Sarada Uzumaki, the last bearer of the sharingan, had been stolen.
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-They KILLED MY WIFE! Bolt exploded in a fury, and struck the Hokage's desk so violently that his legs gave way and the entire wooden frame fractured in the middle. He barely held the furniture upright- SOMEONE KILLED MY WIFE AND STOLE HER EYES from him!
Naruto was surprised. He just couldn't believe what his ears were conveying to her. If Sakura had not been present, crying inconsolably, surely he would have thought that her son had gone mad. There was no clue to the sentiment Bolt had nurtured in the dark for the past week. But at last, the youngest of the Uzumaki men present had proof of his theory.
There was silence. Shikamaru and the ANBU present shuddered to the core. Boruto was so out of control that he had even forgotten that this information had to be classified. He didn't care about anything. Not that the strangers present knew about it, nor that they found out in the whole village. Boruto Uzumaki was not interested in anything. He only hunted down the morons who had stolen the happiness that he felt for 10 or 11 days. Those eyes mattered very little, and when he caught those responsible for all the pain, it would be of no use to them.
"Shikamaru…" said the Hokage as the only indication.
The advisor nodded heavily. He placed the files in his hands on the table, and began issuing orders. The ANBU escorts left the office. Then Shikamaru, helped by Sakura, began to place the seals of silence. That conversation had to be private. It was the first really serious incident since the signing of peace in the entire ninja world. Was some foreign village willing to break the balance? Who would be so stupid to attack the Hokage's family?
-You must tell us all Boruto… -Shikamaru consulted when only Sakura and both Uzumaki were inside the closed place.
-My wife was murdered ... -She said trying to find the calm that she did not have, when entering the place a while ago- she was healthy, she had contractions and I took her to the hospital. She had her health intact and her chakra in perfect balance. 24 hours after hospitalization, her chakra begins to waste away, she goes into labor and this strange "disease" not only affects my wife, but it also kills my son.
There was silence, everyone looked at Sakura as she was trying to get her voice back. This part had to be clarified by her:
-Tsunade-sama… ..- she seemed to break her voice, but then she was able to continue- and Shizune-sempai carried out the autopsy 5 days ago. There is no natural cause for massive chakra loss. There were also no traces of any hostile chemicals. However, there is a possibility that you may have been injected with something. Without going any further, I myself am developing an injectable version of my chakra inhibitor. In short, the child should not have been affected if it was something internal to Sarada. It could be some kind of new poison perhaps. But definitely not natural at all.
"That doesn't matter anymore ..." Bolt clarified harshly, "only someone has taken his eyes off my wife." And I want to know if the council or you have something to do with it.
While it was a serious accusation, both Shikamaru and Naruto understood the situation. The sharingan was a valuable asset. Had it not been Naruto the Hokage, another subject with less emotional approach to the situation, he probably would have thought it a waste to bury the world's last sharingan in a common grave. But Naruto would never do that. He wouldn't let her live the guilt of doing that to his son's wife. To the daughter of his oldest friend. And would the council do it?
-The Clan Council has not even suggested it in the meetings. –Shikamaru clarified with hands in his pockets, capturing the doubts of the rest- all the leaders understand the pain that all this has caused. They knew perfectly well that a request of this type would be rejected outright by the Hokage. And if they take it to a vote, Naruto's friends would tip the balance in favor of the leader. It is unthinkable that someone acted behind everyone's back. Not with the witch hunt that has been generated in the Root question, a few years ago. If even the former Hokage Hatake Kakashi, he has ended up in prison. What would happen to the fools overriding Naruto's authority over the Sarada matter? I don't even want to imagine it.
At a minimum, execution. It was clear to everyone. But that wasn't going to stop Boruto Uzumaki. Words no longer served to stop the tornado that was being generated in the spirit of the young Hokage custodian. Someone had to pay, and logically they had to find the identity of the subject first.
"I don't care what you say Oto-sama…" Bolt added when the silence seemed to gain ground, "even if you order me not to do anything." I'm going to search under the stones, I'm going to record every file, every clue. I'm not going to stop until I find the cursed ones who killed Sarada-chan.
Naruto knew perfectly well. His son had an iron determination when something presented itself. In the last few years of training, Naruto had seen his advantage diminish day by day. Right now, he couldn't tell if he beat Boruto in combat. It was true that Naruto had the Rikudou mode and other resources. But Bolt had the terrible weapon of deep blows from him. There was no defense possible against a direct attack from the secret fist. He broke everything literally, and he destroyed even the chakra channels that allowed some chance of recovery. Furthermore, the differences in strength and speed were now tiny. Naruto certainly wouldn't choose to fight someone like that. Not to death at least.
"I understand ..." he said with a tired sigh "Sakura, Shikamaru ... please leave my office." I have to talk to my son alone.
Those mentioned were surprised. Not because of being expelled from the place, but because Naruto had not instantly supported his son. It was true that Bolt knew how to be very irrational and dangerous years ago, but right now both Shikamaru and Sakura believed the lack of control was justified. After all, Boruto had lost everything. Wife and son.
As they left the place, Sakura touched Bolt's shoulder with her hand, and told him in a whisper that she would help him to the end. She was willing to even go against Naruto, if that was necessary. Right now, seeking revenge seemed more acceptable than being depressed and dying from the pain. Boruto wasn't the only one who had entertained the idea of suicide. Sakura had had the worst week of her life. Much worse than her when she had to endure the marriage of her daughter, with the man she had fallen in love with. Much worse than noticing how happy she would have been in Boruto's company. Time had passed since then, and her mother was happy for her daughter. And now Sakura just wanted to tear the culprits of her death to shreds.
By the time they left the office. Naruto with deadly seriousness, stood up. He went to a drawer hidden behind a painting, and from the safe he extracted something that he thought he would never use again. Something that he had always wanted to destroy. But out of sheer personal responsibility, he couldn't. The file in his hands practically seemed to burn him. He started a dangerous new game of Shinobi. And the first card was to be played by the Konoha Hokage.
-You are not going to stop me with anything ... -Boruto clarified as he watched him maneuver- I plan to go to the end. If you suspend me as a ninja, if you even expel me from Konoha, I will go on my own and….
Parliament was cut off by the whip of a folder on the office side table. The desk was sagged in the middle and barely held up. Naruto would have completely destroyed him if he pressed him further. That folder, that file still had the Hokage's proper name. But it had an addition in his own handwriting. A single word, one that meant little and at the same time an endless world.
Single word…. "Root"
-Like Hokage… .- she told her son who was looking at the folder with some surprise- I cannot break the peace that I myself have lavished. There are many reasons, but the main one is the number of lives we save by avoiding new wars. But as a parent, I understand how you feel. I doubt very much that I would not act the same in your place. There is no consolation for what happened. I cannot lie when I tell you that tomorrow will be a better day and you must forget it. One night where we argued loudly years ago, you assured me that I had never trusted you. These three years have shown me that I was very wrong in doubting. And today the time has come to correct that.
-That folder was left to you by Kakashi-sensei… -added Bolt seriously- I can't…
-But I choose to give the power to my son… -Naruto contradicted moving away from the folder and allowing Bolt to approach the side table and take it- I can't control light and dark at the same time. But he trusted that together you and I, we will achieve it. He trusted you, Uzumaki Boruto.
They did not speak of the matter again. Boruto took the file and left the place. In other words, he took over activating and driving Root. With that powerful organization, he would reach anywhere and whoever. If Sarada's killers had any chance of escaping unscathed, they had just completely lost it. Boruto Uzumaki was going after them. He was an unstoppable force chasing them.
He or they were dead, they just didn't know it.
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Six months later…
Boruto was in his room finishing getting ready. His ceremonial black kimono looked flawless. The mirror gave him back an image of seriousness and renewed health. It had been at least six months since the day he became the new leader of Root. And to tell the truth, he had reactivated the power of his secret organization, only to hunt down the wretches who attacked his late wife. He had no intention of keeping espionage active and risking a new world conflict.
They didn't have a chance ...
A dozen officers were ordered to move again. Among the standouts, Kabuto Yakushi had provided Konoha's external information, while Sai and his wife Ino handled the internal sector. Sakura provided the medical type information, and the rest of the agents served to open the doors for Bolt in all the important sectors.
The third month was passing, when the 4 subjects that were part of the mercenary group were captured. Guys hired by an unknown private who never saw. A subject who for some reason had wanted to appropriate the sharingan. The captured did not know anything more about the contractor, after exchanging payment for object.
Boruto on his part, thanked his external agents with a generous payment, leaving Kabuto and the others to return to their quiet lives. The white-haired man had captured 3 of the 4 on the northern border. And the other one never left Konoha. He was a mercenary who had the cover of a merchant. He was betrayed by his companions. Then, the 4 of the team went to the deepest basement of the old base of the interrogation and torture division.
In there, for a whole month they went through all the maneuvers to inflict pain and torment that Bolt and his people could imagine. And by the time they had nothing left to confess, Boruto completed the task by giving his former teacher a whole week of healthy fun. None other than the terrible Anko Mitarashi. As affable and good-natured as she seemed in her dangos booth, she flipped into the sinister category when she walked into an interrogation room. And the subjects suffered until the last moment of their unfortunate deaths. That was the ex-Kunoichi's own guarantee.
Boruto finished getting ready for the wedding. His ceremonial garment was ready and so was he. Six months had passed since Sarada-chan's death. He had to put his best face on his sister and family. The young Himawari was finally going to unite her life with Inojin Yamanaka. They waited for time to pass since Sarada's death, to confirm the happy date. For Himawari it would have been unthinkable to be partying, while her brother suffered the loss of her. Six months passed, and although no one knew for sure, Boruto had already avenged Sarada with his murderers.
-Are you ready Bolt-kun? –Sakura said from the hall- You shouldn't be late for your sister's marriage.
Boruto left his room, to meet Sakura Uchiha. The woman had lived in the same Bolt home for the past 5 months. They both agreed that it was much better to have company. She cooked and kept afloat the neglected aspects of the man. They had not spoken again about that old relationship they had years ago. They just felt that it was good not to be alone. In a way, they had recently built a good coexistence. Only slightly damaged with little "accidents". Encounters in compromising places. Visions of nudity or simply time without feeling the warmth of an intimacy. Although they wanted to have some kind of physical approach. They did not conceive of doing it in the middle of pronounced mourning.
Together they came out formally dressed for the temple ceremony. Sakura was impeccably dressed in a pink yukata. She looked very beautiful, that little trick learned from Tsunade brought her more benefits every day. It was the envy of the ladies of her generation. And even more so, when she could afford to take the arm of one of the most handsome men in Konoha. The prying eyes and the bad tongues, it would even be difficult for them to admit that they could have a closer relationship to kinship through Sarada. Which kept them safe from gossip. But still, they looked incredibly good together. Even at certain moments, they had regained their smile.
When Himawari saw them arrive on her arm, still concentrating on fixing the last details of the celebration before going to dress, she became very worried. It had been a long time since the clandestine relationship. But still she didn't like what she saw. She did not like at all that Boruto had chosen Sakura as his tear cloth in the face of her past misfortune. Himawari would have wanted to be her personally. She would have liked to have private access to her older brother, and she was the one who had that trust. But all that was part of the past. Since he had married Sarada Uchiha, that Bolt did not have the same closeness for Himawari. Therefore, he found it unbearable when he saw her brother walk in arm in arm with Sakura. They looked like a couple, although no one else thought so.
-Onii-chan ... -Himawari smiled approaching them- how good you have come.
-I would not miss for anything in the world Nee-san. –The man replied- my little sister is going to get married. She would never stop attending. I have to threaten your future husband one last time.
Both Sakura and Himawari laughed heartily. The six months that had passed, plus the revenge carried out without almost anyone knowing, healed the Uzumaki's soul a bit. That is why he could joke, for that reason he would smile a little again.
In the distance his father and mother walked through the temple gardens chatting, carrying the cart with his third child. Minato Uzumaki slept peacefully on his journey. The child was the other reason why Boruto had regained some of his spirits. His little brother occupied, in a certain way, the emotional charge of that son who died at birth.
Himawari apologized to Sakura and Bolt, saying that she should go put her dress on. Sakura warned him that she shouldn't rush. There was no wedding where the groom did not have to wait a little for the bride. While Boruto assured him that he would see to it that Inojin did not escape the engagement. The young Uzumaki smiled again, but this time more coldly. Nobody noticed, but something did not like. She then she said:
-Onii-chan… I'd like to talk to you alone. Before I dress for the wedding.
The man nodded, and let go of Sakura to go after her sister. She possibly she was nervous and she wanted some support. She had always been a shy young woman for the most part. Although like Kunoichi, she was among the best. She was like two women in one body. She is shy, sweet and withdrawn in civil life. She strong, uninhibited and fierce like Kunoichi, or when she got very angry. By the time they found a side room where they were alone. Himawari's cheerful gestures gravely mutated. She was worried, and in a way upset too.
-You shouldn't have brought her Onii-chan ... -said the young woman facing her brother -that woman was your lover while you had a girlfriend. Have you been with her again?
-I never cheated on my wife. I have never touched another woman since the day I married my wife. I have promised it, and I have kept it. Also "that woman" as you say, -answered Boruto seriously- she helped capture the imbeciles who killed Sarada-chan. All 4 are already underground. She has been a great support to me. She has kept me sane and fed these months. She is certainly no small thing.
-Are you sleeping with her again?
-Of course not ... -said the man- Do you think I have the courage to think about that? -He accused, making her go back in a daze- my wife has died for months. I have neither the desire nor the time to explain my actions to anyone. I'm in this celebration just because it's your Nee-san. Understand that for no one else, I would be in the street dressed ridiculous as I am.
-Maybe you have come without benefit ... -said the young woman turning and turning her back to him, her hair was now long to the waist, as her mother knew in adolescence- if you had been these last months close to me as before, you would know that I am very hesitant about getting married.
Boruto sighed long. Would there be a woman in the world who did not hesitate a few minutes to say yes? The questions weren't exactly the exclusive property of the bride and groom. But it didn't have much foundation after several years of courtship and commitment.
-Quiet Nee-san… -she said approaching him and placing both hands on her shoulders behind her- take a deep breath and stay calm. -She sighed long, and she tried to find tranquility- don't be afraid. The man you are going to take for a husband, he is a good subject. He comes from a friendly family. He is also an excellent ninja and ...
"What if I still don't want to marry him?" The young woman consulted in a daze. That she desperately wanted an approving gesture from her Onii-chan.
-Why wouldn't you want to? - Boruto replied instead.
Himawari turned quickly and hugged her brother's chest, burying her face into it. Something distressed him too much. And Boruto had no idea if it was specifically the matter of the marriage. Could he be suffering from another situation?
-What's wrong sister? –The blond asked him- trust me please.
Finally she spoke. She felt very stunned and had to unload her anguish at any rate. It was the moment of truth for Himawari. Perhaps the last chance for her.
-I've thought during this time… .- she whispered still in Bolt's chest as she continued hugging him- that when you married Sarada-san, we got too far apart. I know it was your wife Onii-chan, but you practically forgot about me.
-You know that's not true Nee-san.
-If it is. Months went by before we could meet, you were never available to me. And now I think, if I marry Inojin-kun, I will have to invest all my time in him. We will be away forever.
-Nee-san ...- smiled the funny blonde of the pose- don't be childish. You know that I love you more than my life. Do you think being married to Inojin is going to make her stop loving you? I wish your happiness forever. He can give you a nice family. He is a kind and respectful boy. Also, you can always turn to me, if something doesn't work out in your marriage. He would just tear him to pieces if he hurt you -he joked amused- But you should focus on the beautiful things that you can live.
-As which? –Himawari asked without detaching from her brother.
-Love, company, intimacy. -Boruto listed calmly- you have always been very sweet and protective. You will be an excellent mother. Don't you want to give your dear brother a group of rambunctious nephews to pamper? You are very cruel Nee-san ...
-Bolt-kun! -The young woman nervously moved away and tapped her fool's brother on the shoulder-don't say such things! It is very shameful.
-hahaha… ..Nee-san you are red as tomato… ..hahaha… -the blonde laughed heartily- maybe I'm not the one to say it, but you're just a few hours away from knowing what's good. LOL.
She was so red, but she couldn't contain her laughter either. At that moment Hinata entered looking for her girlfriend and saw them so funny together, that she was automatically glad for her. Her children had always been more than brothers, they were companions and friends. Neither time nor forming other families, she was going to separate them completely. Also, it was good to see Boruto in high spirits. Especially after what happened a long time ago.
-Oka-sama look at him… ..- Himawari said wanting to return the last blow- Bolt-kun is trying to convince me not to marry Inojin.
-Oh yeah? –Hinata said understanding the joke- And what is the reason?
-He says to run away with the far away Oka-sama, he is a pervert who proposes that to his little sister.
-Ka-san that's not true! –Boruto burst out pouting at the laughter of her family -The little pervert has thought that herself! It turns out now that she doesn't want to marry Inojin, and she tries to use me as an excuse!
The three of them laughed, because Naruto who was supposed to officiate the ceremony poked his head out with a clear confused gesture. His face said it all. How was there no marriage? After organizing everything for months? The food, the temple, the paperwork? The foreign guests. What would he do to explain to Gaara that there was no wedding after traveling so far ?!
The atmosphere of laughter was a necessary blow of health for all. The pains of the past might take time to completely disappear, but little by little they would allow Boruto and everyone else; move on to a better tomorrow.
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The wedding was beautiful ...
Boruto had handed over his sister to the impossibility of his father to fulfill that double role of father and master of ceremony. The Hokage would have gladly used the shadow clones, but Hinata felt that her daughter wanted to involve Bolt in the whole event. This is how he handed over his sister near the altar, he shook hands with Inojin, and a while later he was sitting in a corner in the back next to Sakura.
Boruto was happy for his sister certainly, but the whole ceremonial act had a lot of painful memories. He could see himself instead of Inojin, and Sarada taking the place of his sister. Without realizing it, his nostalgic gaze had also been observed by Sakura next to him. The woman decided to take it by the hand and intertwine her fingers with it. Give him her support, the only thing he could do at that moment.
During the party hours later, Boruto tried to keep the best of spirits and the best face in front of everyone. He formally danced with Himawari right after her husband and her father, then retired to a quieter place to the lights and loud music. There were a lot of people, and that helped a lot to make it go unnoticed. Nobody also wanted to cross him for too long. The obvious questions were annoying, and not talking about the topic at hand seemed somewhat forced.
The only thing that broke the monotony of the night for Bolt was having Sakura's company practically all the time. The woman had friends in the place and the possibility of more lively company. Some men even tried to get her out of her to dance. They were undoubtedly one of the most attractive ladies at the event. But the hairy girl had no head for those things. She just wanted to accompany Boruto and not leave him alone. She wanted to see him happy, even if that wish seemed almost impossible. The blonde however, he could not get too far from the vice harvested in recent months. He drank a lot, too much to recommend it. And when he could see how sick he was, he decided on his own to leave the party and get some fresh air. To maybe never come back. He had left, and he could barely notice that next to him was Sakura accompanying him. The man looked at the hairy girl as if she were a Genjutsu. One step away from not believing her presence, from trying to dispel it with the reestablishment of the chakra.
-Go back to the party ... -the blond told him- I want to be alone.
-It's not true Bolt-kun ... - she replied hurt- you can't be alone, and I don't want to be alone either.
-I'm drunk Sakura-chan ... -added the man stunned- I don't want to hurt you.
Those last words indicated more than was obvious. It wasn't that physically Sakura was in danger. It was the dangerous situation. Both had lived together for months, but the distance with that necessary intimacy of his wife, had generated in Boruto the right appetite to cause damage to that "formal coexistence". He remembered seeing Sakura in a light robe at night. And again they met at the bathroom door, and both had few clothes. Sake could destroy barriers that had to be maintained forever. They couldn't get intimate again. They couldn't even kiss. Or everything was going to turn crazy again.
-I'm sorry Bolt-kun ... -the woman whispered approaching him and standing next to her while she took him by the arm- I don't want to feel alone. I don't want to feel that only by your side I can resist what happened. During these years, I tried to forget what we went through together. I believed that the happiness you had with my daughter would expel my personal desires. But I can't forget, my body doesn't forget. And now I don't know how to do it.
Full of guilt, as was the custom of her throughout her life, Sakura had had a bad time the last months at Boruto's house. In a bittersweet mix of feminine desire, attraction, and feelings to care for and protect a hurting man; added to the sinister truth of no longer being accountable to Sarada. They were alone, they had no barriers to stop the basics of desire.
They stood facing each other. She had to look up at her because Boruto was taller than her. Sakura's hands settled on the man's cheeks. So much contained basic desire for her, so much need for a warm woman on his part. They looked at each other and she bit her lower lip unable to contain what she felt. Six months was not enough to forget Sarada. But if too long to contain the brutal amounts of chakra hidden in the veins of the Uzumaki.
-Sakura-chan no… -He said without strength.
"I'm so sorry Bolt-kun…" she whispered softly, and forced him to lower slightly to shorten the distance and place her lips on the man's.
The first kiss was short and painful. Almost like poison to both of them. And the following was governed by accumulated need and sake. Boruto resolved to take her by the waist of her and push her against the trunk of a nearby tree. If the first kiss was just like a poison puff, what happened next was pure mouth-to-mouth injections of adrenaline and guilt. The horrible guilt of making an unforgivable mistake, and enjoying the process a lot.
"What are we doing…" Sakura whispered between the exchanges of kisses "What are we doing Bolt?"
"Crazy ..." the man replied and expertly loosening the hairy yukata a bit, which gave her more flexibility to make her spread her legs "this is all crazy Sakura-chan.
They kissed uncontrollably, and Boruto kept pressing his partner against the tree in the gloom. The loud music in the nearby ballroom perfectly concealed them from prying ears. More not from the curious gaze of someone in the distance. A few seconds before Boruto activated the Hiraishin no jutsu and disappeared with Sakura towards her house, a pair of eyes full of surprise had witnessed everything.
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It had been almost a month since Himawari and Inojin's wedding. Boruto was still working as an escort for the Hokage, and every so often he required some of the root agents as Naruto needed to find out some foreign matter. Everything was handled with the utmost discretion, and the missions did not compromise other villages in any way. In general, root agents were more used to verify the movements of mercenary groups, or politicians in the capital of the country. Boruto however, had also used the higher level ninjas for extra research. While it was true that the mercenaries who killed Sarada had long been exterminated, the matter of the contractor still remained to be resolved. Someone or a group were the ones who paid those subjects for the mission. Someone paid them to get the sharingan, someone paid for the assassination job. And besides, the mystery of how they did it still remained to be solved. How they managed to penetrate hospital security, inject whatever they injected into Sarada, and gain access to the morgue to extract the eyes after Tsunade and Shizune did the autopsy. A detail that Boruto had not overlooked despite the time that passed.
All that workload, unfortunately, was a sad excuse ...
After years of avoiding him, after promising his wife that he would never do it again. The same night as his sister's wedding, Boruto had gotten drunk and slept with Sakura again. He took her in her arms, and taking her from her party they appeared in the man's bedroom to rip her clothes off and fuck her. The wild feeling of desire, of flesh, sweat and pleasure. Take Sakura, as she did so many years ago. Use it to remove loneliness and pain from her. Being so filled with guilt that it was impossible to look into her eyes in the weeks that followed. And even if he had perjured himself that he would not make that mistake again, living in the same house had prevented any attempt at estrangement.
They did not speak for two days. Everything humanly possible was avoided. They even ate at different times. But on the third night since the event, Boruto had the unfortunate idea to shower earlier than usual. He had gotten off work two hours ahead of schedule, and he wanted to shower quickly to get to sleep. He wanted to avoid Sakura, and found her naked in the bathtub full of hot water. They looked at each other, tried by all means that the other was not aware of the desire they felt, and finally ended up sharing both the shower and the bed that hot night.
And the next morning they had breakfast together, to finally consider that shame and guilt were not a sufficiently large barrier; to avoid sleeping together in the same room at other times. Then Sakura accused it of being very cold the night after, and Boruto suggested that he could save on heating if only some rooms were permanently closed. For example, the guest room, which up to now had been occupied by the mother of his wife. Next, it was unfortunate that they couldn't just "sleep" when they were both in the same bed. It was the nature of the Uzumaki to have such a powerful libido, as the amount of chakra in their bodies. And Sakura could no longer deny what she evidently needed and she wanted.
By the time that first month passed, inside the house they were in every way a couple. Boruto didn't want to admit it, but the warmth was returning to his body. He no longer felt miserable every second that passed in his home, and even the flowers or the lights seemed to regain a little of that bright color that they used to have. It was cruel to make any comparison, it was even worse to think that he was making love to another woman who was not Sarada Uzumaki. But he felt good. And that made his desire to get up every day to continue his life increase every moment.
However, love is not a general feeling when it comes to couples. The happiness of two people may not mean happiness for the rest of the world. It was true that both Boruto and Sakura had taken great care not to reveal what was happening between them. But both Ino with her friend and Naruto with her son noticed the subtle positive changes. And knowing what they knew about the past, they were willing to assume what is currently happening in the present. Although of course, they did not think for a moment to question that situation. What good could Boruto or Sakura do to question the couple? Hadn't they worried a lot in the months where they suffered a great deal over the loss of Sarada? Should that little happiness and mutual company be destroyed by a situation of age or political kinship?
Both Naruto and Ino resolved to pretend that they hadn't noticed anything. The ninja world had gone through too many stages of blood and prejudice before reaching a period of peace. Both Boruto and Sakura deserved to live their private history without further cons or blame. And that destiny did its part on the chosen path. However, although the last month had been one of positive changes for Sakura to be with Bolt, sadly the work seemed to come before everything.
The Kazekage Gaara, was about to be a father. And his wife was going through the last stage of her pregnancy with difficulty. Naruto understood that it was the worst time to give this order, but Gaara was a friend of many years, and the truth was he did not want to have to put him through the horrible experience that he personally suffered as a grandfather. No, even Bolt would understand at that point. And while he may well have sent Sakura with Bolt on her escort team, the truth was that her son was actually a vital part of the job at the Hokage's office. He was not a simple guard for the leader, he was more like his auxiliary brain, his intimate partner, his best friend. And it was not necessary to forget, that he was the leader of Root. He must be aware of everything and could not deviate from work in Konoha.
Sakura and the escort team left two days later. Boruto didn't feel very comfortable seeing her leave her. But work was work. Obligations had to be met and the pelirosa would be back in a few weeks. It would be difficult days in her house without that woman. But he understood Uncle Gaara's situation like perhaps no one else.
And above all things, he had to remember that the hiring of the mercenaries who murdered Sarada was still alive. Would he ever try to steal a ninja heritage again? They couldn't risk repeating the oversight.
End of chapter.
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