Boruto Light Novel 4

Part 4 (10pm Roll Call)

**For those of you who were curious about the "kirin" from the last chapter, I updated it to reflect the correct terminology**

Somehow, Boruto and Sarada made it back before 10pm for roll call. They weren't early by any stretch of the means; in fact, it could be said that they barely managed to slip in on time. And of course, they weren't able to weasel their way out of retelling their cover story to all of their classmates. 

"Ahh... I'm so tired," sighed Sarada, completely exhausted. She'd been running around for more than half of the day. Using her sharingan completely depleted her stamina, and she had to fight for her life. Not to mention, that was her first serious battle. To say she wasn't tired would have been a blatant lie. 

"So?" She directed her attention to Iwabe and Mitsuki. "Where did you two come from?"

When she regained consciousness after the battle, Boruto wasn't the only one in Memorial Park. Mitsuki and Iwabe were there, along with Hachiya, who took the responsibility of transporting her back to the hotel.

Sarada thought Hachiya was nothing more than a delinquent, but apparently he was also the type who didn't mind looking after strangers. 

At first, she wondered if Sumire and Cho-Cho's cover story hadn't gone over well and caused Mitsuki and Iwabe to go looking for them. She didn't have time to ask until after roll call came to an end, but now that she was finally getting answers, it seemed as though that wasn't the case. 

"Actually..."

According to Iwabe's story, he noticed Boruto was missing of his own accord and went looking for him, then ended up getting into a fight with one of the seven ninja swordsmen. They dealt each other simultaneous blows so the fight resulted in a stale mate, both of them passed out. That alone was a testament to just how strong Iwabe was. 

Furthermore, it seemed like the swordsman Iwabe defeated, as well as the three defeated by Chojuro and Buntan herself, were all taken into the Mizukage's captivity. The details remained unknown, but Sarada knew the Mizukage would be capable enough to do something about the situation. 

On the other hand, Mitsuki was looking for Boruto because he had useful information to deliver. He announced that Chojuro wasn't killing anyone for being in opposition to his ideals. That lie was one of the main reasons why Shizuma was able to convince Kagura to follow him. 

In a way, Shizuma was slaying the people who were his so-called comrades, those who were left out of the rapid development of The Village of the Mist. His goal was to make the Mizukage's approval ratings fall. 

Moreover, it seemed that this was done in collusion with the radicals in the Land of Water who were unhappy with Chojuro's moderate reform policy. In other words, Mitsuki revealed that the so called "correct future" that Shizuma had been talking about was nothing but mere fiction, painted over by secret agreements and assassinations. 

Kagura was left dumbfounded by the news.

He thought Shizuma was only looking out for him. In the end, he was just another tool in the shed.

Perhaps it wasn't that either.

For Shizuma, everything in the world whether it was someone's life or their soul itself was just another fun toy for him to play with. 

Shizuma met his life's end swallowed up by his own blade--by Samehada. He merged with the ninja sword and ran amok, rampaging wherever his destructive impulses took him. 

"At that point, I thought I wasn't gonna make it out alive. But Kagura stood up and fought alongside me. Together, we kicked Shizuma's sorry butt," said Boruto. 

"I never thought Hiramekare could split into two like that," Mitsuki followed. "It was cool to see Boruto and Kagura wielding it as a pair."

Just from listening to their story, Sarada could see the scene play through her mind like a movie.

And in that moment, she remembered the puzzle Inojin bought the day before. The small box with an intricate pattern carved in its surface that was said to have been used in The Village of the Mist since the olden days. The puzzle was a three-dimensional box that couldn't be opened on its own. But when you put two boxes together, the surface of the first box would slide the second box open. The sight of red changing to white by the movement of the pattern was rather mysterious. 

It was as if Kagura, who had been dyed blood-red by the ways of Shizuma, was affected by Boruto acting as the second box who returned him to the soft foggy white mist that enveloped the present day village.

"All's well that ends well. No wars here, just a fight between kids," said Boruto, yawning with his mouth open wide. From the looks of it, Sarada wasn't the only one who was exhausted. "It's getting late. We should call it a night."

Mitsuki took one look at him and followed up with, "I agree. I'm sleepy." 

Mouth still stretched open, Boruto stood to his feet. Just as he turned around and started wobbling to his room in a daze, Sarada called after him.

"Boruto, I know you're tired, but make sure you pack up your suitcase before you fall asleep. We have to get going early tomorrow!" 

"Kaay," he said, loosely waving his hand. 

Even though he just got involved in a life or death battle, his attitude remained completely unchanged, as if this was just another normal day.

Seeing him like that made Sarada sigh. It wasn't a sigh of dismay, but rather one of relief. And on the same token, she thought that this probably wasn't the first time Boruto was involved in a crisis situation. 

And she also thought that she was glad she was able to lend him her strength this time, even if she wasn't able to help in the past...