Boruto Light Novel 4

Part 1 (Choosing a Field Trip Rep)

(The titles in parentheses aren't canon. I just named them so it wouldn't be confusing. The only canon names are in the chapters with pictures of title pages).

"Well then, shall we choose the class representative for the field trip?" Shino stood on the platform after giving a general explanation. "Do we have any volunteers?"

The buzzing classroom became so silent that you could hear a pin drop. Their reaction was to be expected. With a class full of problem children, it was nearly impossible for one person to keep them all under control.

Sumire already had the role of class president, and while she was responsible at her core, she had been forced into the position because she was weak to social pressure. This time, it seemed like not even she would dare to accept the daunting role. After all, keeping track of students in a foreign country, even well-behaved ones, was a difficult task. 

Sarada didn't miss the slight perspiration on Sumire's forehead.

If it comes down to this... Should I do it?  Sarada wondered.

At this rate, Sumire would probably be forced into the role despite her wishes. Actually, the probability of that happening was relatively high. Even in this situation, Sarada didn't want to force Sumire to undergo the burden of taking more care of the class than she already was.

So, she raised her hand.

At first, she planned to volunteer as tribute. At first, that was.

"Shino Sensei." All of the attention in the classroom shifted to Sarada. "I think Uzumaki Boruto would be a good class representative for our school trip."

In the few milliseconds it took to raise her hand, her mind was filled with the images of countless hardships she would experience if she became a member of the school trip committee. Involved right in the center of seventy percent of those images was Boruto.

Anytime there was an uproar about something, Boruto was there.

Not even Sarada could say that he was completely unbearable. But it wasn't wrong to say that he frequently made problems even bigger than they already were.

It wasn't that she hated Boruto, but she didn't care for the way he acted. To put it bluntly, he was too laid back. Even though he could pull off extraordinary feats for a prank, at school he lacked effort and enthusiasm and used the excuse that he was "prioritizing efficiency." If Boruto would just get serious, he'd be able to do even more amazing things, but his habit of laziness got in the way.

That's why Sarada sometimes thought to herself, put in a little more effort, will ya?

Generally speaking, since Boruto always caused trouble, it would only be fair to let him take care of it as well. And in that sense, he was the perfect man for the job.

Besides, Sarada didn't like how Boruto always went off on his own. If he became the class representative, he would actually be forced to keep an eye on his surroundings. That, and maybe he would come to understand why Naruto made it a point to keep an eye on their village.

As Sarada's proposal was discussed in murmurs around the classroom, Boruto violently struggled against the rope. He was clearly thrashing about in protest, but his classmates were in agreeance with Sarada.

"Sounds good! I also think Boruto would make a good representative, Shino Sensei." 

The first one to raise his voice in agreement was Nara Shikadai, who had a habit of saying that everything around him was a drag or a pain. He was capable of using every ounce of his brainpower just to run away from troublesome situations. Sarada had a feeling he would back her up.

"Boruto is always smiling and cheerful, and he's at the center of everyone's attention. I think he's the perfect fit!" Sarada responded before anyone had time to form other opinions.

The more the rest of the class agreed with her, the more Boruto's struggle against the rope escalated.

"Hmm... Excellent use of the 5 emotions 5 desires jutsu, Sarada." Mitsuki whispered with interest.

"Huh? What's that?"

"It appeared on our test the other day. It's a classic psychological induction jutsu."

Iwabe made a face of blatant confusion, to which Denki responded with an explanation. "It's not a ninjutsu per se, but a way of guiding people's thoughts in your desired direction through the use of conversation... right?"

Of course, if one were to simply try and force their opinion on the other, this technique would undoubtedly fail. In this case, no one wanted to be the class representative for the field trip, so it succeeded.

"Hmmm, so maybe the reason why I can't stop eating potato chips is because of that?"

And then there was Cho-Cho, caught up in herself as usual.

"Mmm---! Mu----! Nn---!!" The rope that suspended Boruto from the ceiling began to make a creaking sound, ringing out his protest to the class. But no one seemed to care. Even their homeroom teacher decided to interpret Boruto's struggles as a deep gratitude and appreciation for Sarada's nomination.

"Then, it's decided. Boruto will be our representative."

Sumire proceeded to write Boruto's name in chalk on the blackboard. And once his name was written in full, there was no changing it.

Boruto, who was still tied up in rope, slumped his head in shock and swung back and forth like the pendulum of a grandfather clock.

Sarada, who had decided everything would probably be alright now, pulled a shuriken out of her tool pouch. "It seems like the new school trip representative has something to say." She threw the shuriken and cleanly severed the rope that suspended Boruto.

Once he was free from the restraint and had dropped to the floor, he ripped the adhesive tape off of his mouth and immediately started to protest. But exactly as Sarada had planned, his complaints simply resounded in the room full of unwilling applicants.

.  .  .