Another Not-so-Happy Birthday

Preparations

Exactly one month before Boruto's birthday, Sarada stopped by and visited Naruto. 

"Hey lord seventh."

"Oh, Sarada! What brings you here?"

"Well... I wanna be hokage in the future and all, so I was wondering if there was anything I could help you with," she said, peering around the room. "Kinda like... an assistant." 

"Really? I mean... won't that take away from your missions? You're a chuunin now..."

"Just in my spare time. Whenever I'm free."

"That would be great!" Naruto was practically beaming. 

"So? What can I help you with?" 

"Mmm..." He pushed his chair back, hand on his chin, eyebrows wrinkled. "I have most of the village covered with my shadow clones, but... Sarada, how fast can you read?"

"Hm? Pretty fast, why?"

Naruto smirked. Picking up a large pile of papers, he handed them to her. "Can you read these and tell me what they're about? Every time I stare at them... My eyes just start spinning... I know it's important, but there are just some things a guy can't do, ya know?" 

Sarada laughed and took the papers. "Understood. I'll have them read and analyzed in an hour."

"...An hour?!"

She felt the stack with her fingers. "There's not too many papers... I'd say maybe 50. And if I read one per minute, it'll take about an hour." 

Naruto's jaw dropped. "As expected of Sasuke and Sakura's daughter... I'm just not cut out for paperwork."

She giggled and got started on the stack. Most of them were documents that detailed the completion of missions. Reports from chuunin and jonin alike. There were a couple other reports mixed in, but nothing to be alarmed at. 

"Seventh, what do you do with these when you read them?"

"Hm? Oh. I just stamp them if the mission was completed without any trouble. Then they go to the agency to be sorted so teams can collect their payment," said Naruto, picking up his pen. "Then again... usually if something happens on a mission, they'll tell me before I even look at the paper... I don't understand why I have to read all these..."

The dread on his face looked similar to that on Boruto's when she scolded him. She couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her throat. 

"What?"

"Nothing... All of these were completed without a problem. Do you want me to stamp them for you?"

"Sarada-chan, you're a life saver." 

.  .  .

A week went on, Sarada helping the seventh whenever she could in between missions. Finally, Boruto and Mitsuki decided to confront her about it.

"Why do you keep going to see my dad?" 

Sarada next to Mitsuki, sliding her tray with her burger and fries onto the table in front of her. "Well if I want to be hokage someday, don't you think I should start learning what a hokage does?" She folded her arms. "Between paperwork and email, it's a wonder he ever gets to leave..."

"Hmm... I see. What does he have you do," asked Mitsuki. 

"Mostly just busywork... Reading mission reports and stamping them, organizing files, watching him assign missions, adding D rank missions to the mission book... Sometimes he even has me watch the office while he steps out."

"Heh," said Boruto, "I didn't even know he left. Can't he just use shadow clones for that stuff?"

"Most of his shadow clones are busy," said Sarada. "He uses them to help out around the village... Stuff like carrying groceries for old ladies and patrolling to make sure nothing bad is happening. Even with the security system, it doesn't mean that our city is crime free..."