Do You Still Want to Hit Your Mom?

Boruto swallowed hard, suddenly a little worried about his dad.

Hinata clasped her hands before her chest, unable to shake the unease in her heart.

Sasuke stood nearby and, unusually, offered a word of comfort.

"Don't worry. At most, he'll just fly a little farther."

In the heart of Konoha, night had already settled over the Hokage Building. Across from it, the white lights in the office were still on.

Naruto slumped behind his desk, with piles of documents and scrolls nearly spilling over before him.

The smell of paper mixed with cold coffee. Dark circles hung beneath his bloodshot eyes, and even the motion of raising his hand to turn pages and sign documents had become slow and mechanical.

His Seventh Hokage robe was wrinkled as if it had just been fished out of water.

The memories sent back when his Shadow Clones vanished still clogged his mind—the smashed cake, Boruto's clenched fists, and Himawari's smile before she could pull it back. He could not forget any of it.

But as the leader of a village, he had to shoulder his responsibilities. For now, he could only wrong Hinata and the two children.

Naruto picked up another document from the desk, intending to sign it after reading it.

But his hand shook badly. In the end, he forced himself to keep reviewing it. The security documents for the Joint Exams had to be dealt with tonight.

Shikamaru came over carrying a cup of hot tea and set it before him. Seeing Naruto's state, he frowned.

"Naruto, get some rest first. You look terrible. If you keep going like this, your brain's going to shut down."

Naruto did not even lift his head, his pen scratching twice across the official document.

"I can't, Shikamaru. The teams from the five