We're Different. | The Other Uchiha ✓ (Boruto)

When the Night Was Kind

The sun had dipped beneath the line of the Hokage Monument, casting Konoha in the kind of soft golden hush that only came after a long day. 

Most of the village was winding down, its shinobi returning from missions, its merchants closing up shop, and the lanterns of restaurants flickering to life. 

But on the uppermost balcony of the Hokage's office, there was a different kind of stillness, one that clung more heavily to the silence between two men who had seen far too many endings and too few beginnings.

Naruto stood at the edge, arms folded on the railing, his eyes not quite focused on anything in particular.

He watched as the wind stirred the trees far below and carried the scent of cooking fires and fresh earth up to them. 

Beside him, Sasuke leaned against one of the pillars, arms crossed, gaze sharp and distant, as if watching something only he could see.

For a long while, they didn't speak. It wasn't awkward, not between them. 

Their silences had always carried more weight than most people's conversations. 

But tonight, there was a heaviness that wouldn't lift. A question neither had voiced yet, but both were waiting for the other to bring up.

Then, softly, just above a whisper, Naruto broke the quiet.

"There's a lot Orochimaru isn't telling us about her."

Sasuke didn't answer immediately. His eyes narrowed slightly, but not in surprise. 

He had expected this. He had been thinking the same thing. Still, hearing Naruto say it out loud made it real, made the doubts harder to ignore.

"I know," Sasuke said finally, his voice low. "And she knows we're catching on."

Naruto shifted, glancing sideways at him. "Do you think she's hiding something dangerous?"

Sasuke took a slow breath, weighing his words. "She hid her chakra. Completely. Not suppressed, but erased. Even the sensory unit couldn't find her. And I couldn't either. Not even when I was actively searching."

Naruto's brows drew together. "You?"

"She used genjutsu," Sasuke continued, voice flat now, more analytical, but with a thread of unease beneath it. "Never seen before, except with Itachi." He finished. Naruto took a sharp breath in.

 She's been masking her chakra for years. Reflexively. As if it's second nature to her." Sasuke continued.

"And yet..." Naruto trailed off, his fingers tightening around the metal railing. "She never used that kind of jutsu on missions. Never flaunted anything. Never even stepped out of line."

"She's been surviving," Sasuke replied, almost quietly. "Not living."

Naruto's throat tightened at that. "She's just a kid."

"She's more than that. And she's been alone for a long time. Longer than we knew." Sasuke turned slightly now, facing Naruto. 

His voice was calm, but his eyes gave away the unease that had been growing steadily inside him. "There are pieces missing. Her chakra signature... It's similar to something I've felt before. But I can't place it."

"The DNA test was inconclusive?" Naruto asked, though he already knew the answer.

"She wasn't in the civilian registry. Not under any official clan. It was only when we ran a match through the older archives that we found anything. Her blood matches the rogue shinobi from a decade ago whom she killed today. A couple of their names were redacted."