Itachi stared at the messages in the chat.
His pupils shrank.
Sasuke’s daughter…
Then wouldn’t that make her…
my niece?
He carefully studied Sarada’s profile picture.
[Uchiha Tekka: Uchiha Sarada Are you really an Uchiha?
Why are you wearing glasses…?]
[Uchiha Tajima: This is the first time I’ve ever seen an Uchiha wearing glasses…]
[Uchiha Sarada: …]
[Sasuke Uchiha: Are you…
really my daughter?]
[System: Let’s continue watching the video first…]
The Video Continues
“Kakashi’s been absent from class a lot lately…”
Resting his chin on one hand, Obito gazed out the classroom window at the rainy evening, his brow furrowed.
“I heard his father passed away…”
Rin gently placed a hand on Obito’s shoulder, sadness evident in her voice.
Obito froze.
A look of surprise crossed his face.
“Kakashi must be having a really hard time…”
Rin lowered her head, her expression growing dim.
The screen slowly faded to black.
Then an older Obito’s calm narration could be heard.
“After that…
Kakashi graduated from the Ninja Academy early.”
The scene changed.
Kakashi sat alone in a park, silently watching the setting sun disappear beyond the horizon.
With his hands in his pockets, Obito happened to pass by.
When he noticed Kakashi’s lonely figure, countless emotions welled up inside him.
Several weeks passed.
Obito still hadn’t seen Kakashi again.
Finally, one day, he gathered his courage and approached two Konoha shinobi.
“Excuse me…”
“Were you talking about Hatake Kakashi?”
One of them looked at him curiously.
“And who are you?”
“I’m…
his classmate from the Ninja Academy.”
“Are you friends?”
Obito hesitated.
“…Not really.”
The shinobi frowned.
“He can be difficult to get along with.”
“But…”
Obito lowered his voice.
The shinobi sighed.
“That kid is a real headache.”
“Being assigned to the same squad as him makes every mission more difficult.”
[Kakashi Hatake: So this was from back then…]
[Mei Terumī: Ahem.
Then here’s the question—why did Kakashi’s father take his own life?]
[Gengetsu Hōzuki (Second Mizukage): Now that’s a good question.
]
[A (Third Raikage): Hiruzen Sarutobi Danzō Shimura Care to explain?]
[Senju Tobirama: Hiruzen!
Just what has become of Konoha?!]
[Hashirama Senju: This is infuriating!
Hiruzen, where did you disappear to?
Say something!]
[Hiruzen Sarutobi: Lord First…
I’m here…]
[Uchiha Tekka: Doesn’t matter if you’re here!
Damn you, Hiruzen!!]
[Uchiha Shisui: Itachi Uchiha I entrusted the future to you…
and this is what happened?!]
[Uchiha Izuna: Enough arguing!
Everyone calm down!]
[Hanzō of the Salamander: I don’t know why…
but seeing Konoha suffer actually makes me happy.]
[Orochimaru: My, my…
Sensei, have you truly fallen this far?]
[Tsunade Senju: Great-Grandfather, Great-Uncle…
let’s just keep watching the video.]
The Video Continues
“So that’s it…”
“Kakashi’s already carrying out missions.”
Obito sounded discouraged.
A month passed in the blink of an eye.
Before long, Obito was assigned to Minato’s team.
Determined to catch up with Kakashi,
he began training with everything he had.
On a rainy night—
Obito leapt down from a cliff.
Three shuriken embedded themselves into wooden targets.
He lightly stepped across puddles of rainwater.
Rapidly forming hand seals,
he took a deep breath.
“Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!”
A blazing fireball erupted from his mouth.
Immediately afterward,
he gathered chakra beneath his feet,
ran up a tree,
and began doing sit-ups while hanging upside down from a branch.
Hidden beneath an umbrella,
Rin silently watched from the shadows.
She bit her lip with concern.
“Obito…”
“It’s so late…”
Unable to bear it any longer,
she stepped out from behind the tree.
“Rin?”
Obito looked down.
The moment he saw her,
he became distracted.
His chakra control faltered,
and he slipped from the tree.
Rin immediately threw away her umbrella and rushed toward him.
“Obito!”
“Are you alright?”
Obito staggered to his feet and awkwardly scratched the back of his head.
“Haha…”
“My foot slipped.”
“I’m fine.”
“It’s raining so hard.”
“Why are you still training?”
Rin asked softly.
“I just think…”
“If I want to catch up to him…”
“I have to work even harder.”
“Him?”
“Kakashi.”
Obito clenched his fists.
“One day…”
“I’ll make him admit defeat.”
“Otherwise, how could I ever become Hokage?”
“He’s already going on missions.”
“If I slack off now…”
“He’ll only leave me further and further behind.”
Looking at Rin,
a trace of shyness appeared in his eyes.
“That’s the spirit.”
“Good luck, Obito.”
Rin smiled warmly.
Obito’s cheeks reddened slightly.
Silently, he made a promise to himself.
I’ll become Hokage…
And I’ll protect you.
[Kakashi Hatake: Obito…
is that really how you felt back then?]
[Uchiha Obito: Hmph.
Pathetic Kakashi.
So what if you know now?
Did you protect Rin?!]
[Kakashi Hatake: Obito…
I’m sorry.
I couldn’t protect her.]
[Nohara Rin: That’s enough!
Stop arguing, both of you!]
[Minato Namikaze: Obito…]
[Uzumaki Boruto (Future): So this is what Dad’s generation was like…]
Boruto’s Timeline
Hidden inside a cave,
Boruto leaned against the wall, breathing heavily as he evaded pursuing shinobi.
He glanced outside at the rain.
His expression was complicated.
[Uzumaki Naruto: Uzumaki Boruto (Future) Um…
can I ask you something about your name…?]
Boruto had just been about to reply to his father—
when…
[Uzumaki Boruto (Future): Well…
actually, I…]
[System: Ahem!
No revealing future events.]
[Uzumaki Boruto (Future): …Alright.]
[Uzumaki Naruto: You’re actually my dad, aren’t you?
Waaaah…
Dad, I’ve missed you so much!
]
[Uzumaki Boruto (Future): …]
[Sasuke Uchiha (Future): .]
[Minato Namikaze: ???]
[Uzumaki Naruto (Future)]
Because of the mysterious screen,
the Chūnin Exams were forced to be postponed.
As a result,
Orochimaru’s Konoha Crush was also temporarily put on hold.
After returning home,
Naruto lay down on his bed.
His eyes remained fixed on everyone in the chat who shared the surname “Uzumaki.”
The suspicion he’d been harboring only grew stronger.
“Old Man Third told me…”
“My parents died in battle…”
“But…”
“I really wish I could see them again.”
Naruto wiped away the tears in his eyes.
Looking once more at Uzumaki Boruto, whose face bore such a striking resemblance to his own,
he became even more convinced of his ridiculous conclusion—
Boruto had to be his father.