Konoha Village is extremely quiet at night. The moonlight shines on the street. The night wind is already chilly, but this chill is far less than the coldness in Sasuke's heart at this moment. Boruto and Sasuke stand side by side on a small bridge across the stream. The sound of running water under the bridge is particularly clear in the silence.
To be fair, the world does not have any ill will towards him. Sasuke even saw his long-dead parents again and said those words that he had buried in his heart for many years and thought he would never have the chance to tell... Thinking about it carefully, the price of this gift does not seem to be unacceptable.
However, for Uchiha Sasuke, who is still extremely proud in his bones, these reasons are far from enough to heal the shame that surges in his heart. The absurd feeling of seeing his "other self" develop that kind of relationship with Naruto is still stuck in his throat.
"... Mr. Sasuke," Boruto spoke carefully, breaking the silence, "Your relationship was so good when you were young?... I mean! There is no such relationship! You..."
Realizing that he had said the wrong thing, Boruto immediately stuttered and didn't know how to recover. Sasuke couldn't help but wonder in his heart, when did this child's mouth become so arrogant?
"I mean! Under different circumstances! It's possible that your relationship with your father could be so... uh, 'normal'," Boruto said, getting darker and darker, "Fortunately, it won't affect our..."
He couldn't speak anymore, because Sasuke was looking at him with that seemingly calm but chilling look. Boruto swallowed and closed his mouth obediently.
"Yeah," Sasuke's voice sounded particularly cold in the night wind, "So in comparison, you are just causing trouble for me, so you are pretty good."
It was unclear whether this sentence was sarcastic or sincere, and the atmosphere fell into silence again. The two of them just stood quietly at the dark bridge.
"... Mr. Sasuke," Boruto couldn't help but speak again, trying to ease the awkward atmosphere, "Do you think there is a world in which the father is actually a girl?"
"..." Sasuke slowly turned his head, "Do you want to talk about this topic?"
"Uh... I'm just kidding." Boruto waved his hands quickly, realizing that he was adding fuel to the fire again.
A gust of night wind blew by, and sparkling waves appeared on the water under the bridge. Boruto looked at the broken moon shadows, and his voice suddenly dropped.
"Mr. Sasuke... what should the mothers of this world do?"
There was a rare vulnerability in his tone, which came from deep concern for his mother.
"Mom, she is very gentle, but sometimes very stubborn... What would she do if her father didn't choose her?"
Sasuke was stunned when he heard this. He looked at the uneasiness on Boruto's face, and then he realized that the possibilities of this parallel world also made this young man feel troubled and uncomfortable.
"Boruto, remember, this is not our world line. Your mother is still in our future, she is still your mother, this will never change."
Sasuke organizes language, which is rare in ordinary times. "Also, although I don't know much about your mother, Naruto has told me about her before." Sasuke looked into the distance. "She used her persistence to 'choose' your father and bring him to her. This power cannot be shaken by any other trivial 'possibility'."
"And, Boruto, if the Hinata of this world knew that Naruto was accompanied by... another girl," he paused subtly, "Maybe what you are worried about would not have happened in the first place."
Boruto was stunned, obviously not expecting Sasuke to comfort himself so patiently. After thinking about these words carefully, the haze on his face gradually dissipated, revealing a relieved smile. "Haha, that's right. We just need to protect our world and protect the possibilities we have decided."
Although he said this, Boruto secretly decided to find a chance to take a look at the Hyūga Clan in this world.
As the atmosphere became more relaxed, Boruto said again half-jokingly. "By the way, in the future of this world, am I going to be called Mr. Sasuke Acting Master Mama?"
"Crack."
As he finished speaking, Sasuke's hand that was holding on to the bridge guardrail suddenly made a deep mark. Sawdust fell from his fingers.
Sasuke's eyes became scary again. Boruto immediately realized that he had said the wrong thing again and hurriedly added. "That! I mean! I think Mr. Sasuke's Sharingan is really handsome! So... I..."
Realizing that this sentence might make the situation worse, Boruto wisely kept his mouth shut.
"Boruto..." Sasuke's voice was so low that it almost sounded like a sigh, "Let's go and practice."
"Eh? Now?" Boruto looked at the moon that was already hanging high in surprise.
"Well," Sasuke turned around, "After all, we don't know when Urashiki will attack, so hurry up."
"That's it... okay..." Boruto agreed, but an ominous premonition surged in his heart. He always felt that tonight's practice might not be too easy.
On the afternoon of the next day, four people gathered at the training ground located on the edge of Konoha, each of them engaged in different practices.
Uchiha Satsuki is practicing ninja throwing with concentration, and each Shuriken accurately hits the bullseye in the distance.
Not far away, Uzumaki Naruto was sitting cross-legged under the shade of a tree, carefully flipping through a heavy scroll. Sasuke always felt that the scroll looked familiar.
Uzumaki Boruto, on the other hand, moved his body with some distress, and from time to time he showed a grinning expression due to muscle soreness. Last night, Uchiha Sasuke's training instructions were more severe than he expected. Although the other party obviously reserved strength to ensure that he would not be really injured, the high-intensity training still made his body protest.
This morning, Boruto also deliberately found the mansion of the Hyuga Main Family. He hid in the distance and saw the mother of this world - Hinata Hyuga. She was practicing with a young man who had only been seen in family photos. That was his uncle Neji Hyuga, a relative who had sacrificed before he was born.
During the observation, Boruto discovered that the mother of this world had a gentle and natural expression when getting along with Neji, with no emotion of loss or regret at all. Could it be that, as Sasuke said, the mother of this world chose a different path from the beginning?
Unfortunately, before he could observe for long, Byakugan of Neji sensed his presence. Boruto had to flee the scene in a hurry, but felt mixed feelings about this discovery.
Uchiha Sasuke was standing on the edge of the training ground, leaning against a tree trunk seemingly casually, but in fact he was always vigilant.
Although he is nominally the subject of surveillance, in fact he is performing a protection mission, quietly waiting for the attack of Urashiki.
When will Urashiki come? Li said before that it was "a few days later", but this vague time range makes people uneasy. Sasuke calculated the worst possibility in his mind - now!
Sasuke opened his eyes suddenly, and at the same time, a frivolous and dangerous voice came from above.
"It's finally here. The plan has been disrupted, but forget it... let's harvest the troublesome guys together."
Everyone looked up and saw a figure dressed in white and holding a red fishing rod suspended in mid-air. He looked down at the people on the training ground with a joking smile, and his pupil-less eyes flashed with dangerous light.