"Don't be so nervous, I mean you no harm."
Seeing Boruto so nervous, Karot said with a mix of amusement and exasperation.
"Do you want to stay by Naruto's side? I can help you."
"Really?"
"Of course, he will listen to what I say."
"Karot said confidently."
Just as Karot and Boruto were having a great time chatting, Naruto and Sasuke returned.
"Professor Karot, what are you doing here?"
Naruto noticed that Karot and the little guy in front of him seemed to be having a good chat and said something.
"Naruto, why do you call Master Karot' sensei'?"
"Didn't I tell you? Teacher Karot guided my training."
Sasuke, upon hearing Naruto's words, began to Naruto. He had researched Karot's background; Karot was widely recognized as the strongest Ninja World. Now that Naruto had received Karot's training, did that mean Naruto's strength had surpassed his own?
"If Naruto can do it, then can I too?"
Sasuke's eyes began to light up as he looked at Karot.
"Huh? What kind of look is that?! I'm not gay."
Karot kept his distance from Sasuke's gaze.
"Teacher Karot"
Naruto's shout brought Karot back to his senses.
"I felt sorry for this little boy, so I'm here chatting with him."
"Right, little one?"
Karot said to Boruto with a smile.
"Yes, I'm so grateful to this uncle for keeping me company, otherwise I wouldn't know what to do."
Boruto said pitifully.
"Wrong, it's brother."
Karot corrected himself righteously, and with a threatening look in his eyes, Boruto had no choice but to change his mind.
"Thanks to this brother."
After listening to Boruto's words, Karot nodded with satisfaction.
"Naruto, you'll be in charge of looking after this kid."
"Why, Professor Karot? We should send him to the Police Force! That would make it easier for his family to find him."
Naruto asked, puzzled.
"Because you both have blond hair, what a coincidence! You left him, a poor kid, in the Police Force, starving and cold, it's so pitiful. You're a man destined to be Hokage!"
Naruto was completely bewildered by Karot's words, and Karot's final line, "You're going to be Hokage," was a fatal blow.
"Don't worry, Professor Karot, I will take good care of him."
Naruto patted his chest and assured him.
I have high hopes for you.
Karot pointed at Naruto with both hands in a gun-like gesture and said.
"Then I'm leaving."
Karot turned and left. Sasuke, seeing Karot leave, also said goodbye to Naruto and went to chase after Karot.
"By the way, I still don't know your name?"
"Boruto."
"Good name. Boruto, it's getting late, come home with me."
Naruto said to Boruto. Naruto felt a strange sense of familiarity with Boruto, which he couldn't quite explain.
On the way home, Naruto saw Boruto looking hesitant and asked him something.
Is there something you need?
"Naruto, who is that guy named Karot? You seem to respect him a lot."
"You mean Teacher Karot? He's a powerful ninja. My dad told me Karot's never been defeated since his debut."
"And did you know? Back then, he single-handedly overwhelmed the Hidden Kumogakure, almost killing the Eight-Tails. He was the strongest man in the Ninja World."
Once Naruto starts talking about Karot, he just can't stop, and he got all this information from his father. Keep in mind that Karot had just graduated at that time.
"Oh, right, he also has a younger brother who is my teacher, named Kakashi."
"Isn't that the sixth generation's name? How come I didn't know the sixth generation had an older brother!"
"Could it be that this timeline is different because of Karot?"
At this moment, Boruto had a bold hypothesis in his mind.
"We're here. This is my home."
"I'm back."
Naruto opened the door and called out.
"Welcome back, Naruto."
"Huh, what's this?"
Minato and Kushina noticed a child next to Naruto and asked...
"This is someone I was asked to look after by Teacher Karot. He got separated from his family. His name is Boruto."
Naruto honestly explained Boruto's background.
"How pitiful! Come in quickly, are you hungry? We're just about to eat."
Kushina enthusiastically grabbed Boruto's hand and dragged Boruto straight into her house, as if she were snatching a child away.
"Are these Grandpa and Grandma?"
This is the first time Boruto has met his grandparents, as they passed away when Naruto was young and no photos of them have been taken.
"Mom, I have something urgent to take care of and need to go out for a bit."
Naruto made an excuse to go out.
"What's wrong, Naruto? Don't you like Mom's lovingly prepared meals?"
Kushina's hair started to flutter.
"I'll go out after I finish eating."
"That's a good child from Mommy."
Kushina spoke with a smile.
Boruto didn't understand Naruto's idea of running away, but when Boruto saw the dishes on the table, he fully understood Naruto.
Eat up! Don't be shy.
Kushina served Boruto a lot of food, afraid Boruto embarrassed.
Boruto stared at the black steam rising from the dishes, feeling as if he'd swallowed a fly whole. He swallowed hard.
Boruto struggled to lift his chopsticks, while Naruto looked at him with the eyes of someone looking at Boruto.
Boruto's face turned pale as he took a bite of his food. At that moment, Boruto felt as if his soul had left his body.
"How about it?"
Kushina looked on with a thirst for knowledge.
"Tasty."
After Boruto swallowed the food, he gave Kushina a thumbs up.
"Great, Minato. Finally, someone agrees with you that my cooking is delicious."
Kushina hugged Minato and said happily.
"You made it very delicious to begin with."
As if to prove his point, Minato started eating heartily. Naruto Minato, not to be outdone, did the same.
Kushina, on the other hand, looked at her husband and son with a happy expression.
"Dad, have you ever lived like this?"
Boruto, seeing how happy Naruto was in this timeline, couldn't help but feel sorry for his own father. He learned from Sasuke how miserable his father's childhood had been.
"If only Grandpa and Grandma hadn't died."
Boruto thought to himself.
"Boruto, you should eat more too!"
Kushina noticed Boruto staring blankly at her family and assumed he was shy.
"Oh."
Boruto then joined in the ravenous eating.
Minato, however, began to observe Boruto intermittently, because he felt a sense of familiarity with the child, just like Naruto, and most importantly, Boruto was someone Karot had asked Naruto to take care of.