Boruto Light Novel 4

Part 4 (The Cenotaph)

"Sorry I'm late!" Boruto ran to their meeting spot in the yard behind their hotel.

Sarada and Chojuro were already waiting for him.

"Have you finished with what you needed to do?" asked Chojuro.

Boruto's response was a toothy grin. "Yup! I made sure to ask Denki to stall them for us."

"Wait, what about Shikadai and Mitsuki?"

Boruto laughed at Sarada's apparent surprise. While they were running through the Mist, they'd decided on a few dependable people to take care of things in their absence. Boruto was supposed to talk to Shikadai and Mitsuki. Sarada, to Cho-Cho and Sumire. They were going to enlist their help to deceive the teachers.

But unlike Sarada, Boruto searched everywhere and couldn't find anyone except for Denki in the hotel lobby.

"I can't even with you right now..."

"It couldn't be helped! No one was there but him."

"That should be fine. If push comes to shove, I should also be able to manipulate a few things behind the scenes for your convenience... Besides, we can't let this go on any longer." Chojuro stepped in between Boruto and Sarada. "Even if we subtract the issue of roll call on school trips, there still isn't much leeway in our current situation. As we speak, the New Seven Ninja Swordsmen are making advancements."

"Ah! I forgot to ask. Do you have any idea where they are?"

Chojuro responded to Boruto's question with a stiff expression. "Yes... A report came, informing us of their location. They're in the Mist Village's Memorial Park, heading towards the memorial monument in the center."

"The cenotaph..." Sarada frowned. She heard about the cenotaph in her conversation earlier with Hachiya. It was a monument to the victims of The Mist's tragic past. A monument to comfort their tortured souls.

But it was also said that the names of those who did not comply with the wishes of the Mizukage were not engraved on the memorial. Including Kagura's family name.

"Mizukage-sama... There's something I'd like to ask you." 

Sarada straightened up and looked at Chojuro directly. This was something she felt that she had to confirm before they saved Kagura. As someone who aspired to become Hokage and rule the village just like the Mizukage ruled his, she needed to hear the answer to this question.

"I heard Hoshigaki Shizuma say that you killed those who were in opposition to you. And the cenotaph doesn't have their family names listed on it... Is this true?" 

Her tone of voice was much different from the persuasive tone she used when convincing him to join them on this venture. Before, she had to bring out the feelings he was trying to bury in his heart. Now, it was the opposite. She needed to hear the words spoken from his standing as the Mizukage.

"When you say that... You're referring to Kagura aren't you..."

Sarada and Boruto nodded.

In response, Chojuro opened his mouth slightly, as if he was about to chew on something. "No matter what I say, it will sound like an excuse. Even if I try to explain my myself, it wouldn't satisfy the answer you seek. So I will just say this. It is indeed my fault that the names of Kagura's family—in other words, Yagura's descendants—are not inscribed on the cenotaph."

Yagura's name meant fear to the villagers of the Mist. It was rather illogical. A good amount of time elapsed since his death, and yet the fear of his name still lingered. This fear was not only of Yagura himself, but of everything related to him. The systems he established, the buildings he made, the laws he created. Everything he loved. His subordinates, his bloodline... It all became a symbol of fear.

"That's why Kagura took the name 'Karatachi' instead of 'Tachibana.' Everything related to Yagura is taboo."

The fear of Yagura was also the hatred of his heritage. That's why Chojuro had no choice but to erase everything related to Yagura from The Mist. Otherwise, those that feared Yagura would likely have gotten rid of it by force.

There was also the intention to shut down those who admired Yagura's ideals. People like the New Seven Ninja Swordsmen. But it was clear that the bigger goal was to appease the troubled victims of Yagura's reign of terror.

As a result, most of the scenery that blanketed the town during the Bloody Mist era was removed from the village as a whole. Yagura's bloodline was erased from the Village's history. Everything Yagura related was treated as if it never existed in the first place.

Sarada recalled a memory.

It was about the time when Kagura got entangled with Iwabe. He said, "The blood of the past has been washed away."

Iwabe's response was, "It's not about the past... It's about the people who are still alive. Why are you trying to act like it's all over?"

She understood it now.

Kagura had no choice but to talk about it like it was the past. To treat it as if it was something that no longer existed. Because that was the only way that he and all those related to him by blood would be allowed to exist.

He couldn't overthrow that delicate balance. If he did, it would mean he agreed with the people who wanted to bring back he era of war. Just like he was doing right now.

And to top it all off, Yagura wasn't exactly "history" yet. There were still people left with memories of him. Vivid memories. Just like Iwabe said, it was "about the people who are still alive."

"Even though I know it's a sin," Chojuro continued, "it's the only way to move past it. And I will bear the burden of all of those sins so they are not passed down to the next generation. It is a burden I placed upon myself."

Kagura. Chojuro didn't want to place any of the blame on Kagura. He didn't put it directly into words. But as the Sixth Mizukage, that's what he was trying to say.

In the tone of his voice, there was regret for his lack of strength, and yet a will for the future.

"Thank you for telling me, Mizukage-sama."

Sarada expressed her gratitude to Chojuro for showing her his will. As the current "person in charge" of the village, he conveyed his willingness and determination to the "future person who will be in charge."

"Thank you as well... Shall we set off then?"

With those words, a boy and a girl, and one man took off into a sprint. In order to protect those important to them. To bring them back home.