Only Time Can Tell

CRY

CHAPTER 23

CRY

BORUTO UZUMAKI

I tried to get to my feet. But I fell down immediately shuddering in pain. I looked down at my leg, pulling up the pant leg. My leg had turned a horrifying shade of purple. I gingerly touched it and recoiled at the pain. It stung like a hundred bees stinging me at once. Thankfully it only went up to the knee. This isn't good, I thought to myself.

"SAI! SARADA! NEJI!" I called out, adding to the screams. I shoved myself up on my elbows, trying to sit up, biting my lip at the pain. "God damn it." I muttered, taking my good leg up under me, trying to push me up. I slowly stood up again, I couldn't help but curse. "Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit." I said finding my footing. I grabbed a convenient branch nearby, trying my best to stay balanced with my bad leg.

I used it like a crutch and began to hobble in any direction that made sense. I just made it over a hill when I saw a plume of smoke reach into the sky. I began to hobble faster towards the smoke, hoping that it was a sign from my missing friends.

"SARADA!!! NEJI!!! SAI!!!" Still no answer. But then off in the distance I see something. It's a giant white and black hawk, and then I remember, it's one of Sai's drawings. Sai... "He's alive then..." I mutter sadistically. I squint to see if the bird has any passengers but from this distance I can't tell anything. It could be empty for all that I know.

No signs from Fred either. His giant storm cloud seems to have disappeared. How did this happen again? Oh yeah, Sai got the scroll, and it must have sent us here...why here though?

The ground shakes and all the sudden I feel my stomach knot as I see a huge monster grow, my throat catches as I count the tails....6....7....8.....9........10. It's the 10 tails. One of the most legendary of events, during the war, Madara and Obito worked together to gather the chakra of the tailed beasts to create the Ten Tails. My mind scanned back to boring history lessons, but thankfully information of the Ten Tails was something that I actually partially paid attention to.

The Ten Tails was able to create mountain ranges with a small movement, and everywhere it went it spread massive devastation to the Ninja Forces, when I looked closely I could see them now. The ninja fighting desperately against the giant beast, hundreds of them being mowed down in an instant.

I watched in horror as the Ten Tail's raised its hands and sent down giant wooden spears, it instantly cutting through the bodies of the shinobi there. The panic continued to grow. I continued to hobble forward gauging more of the scene. Why? Why here?

Sai's hawk flew faster and faster towards the chaos. He knew this war well enough, he had lived through it. I watched as shinobi put up walls to try and protect themselves from the spears.

I felt my stomach clench when I saw something that I instantly recognized. It was my father's rasengan. The same rasengan that I had been trying so hard to perfect. He made it seem easy, sending multiple into the Ten Tail's at once. And despite the complex jutsu that I idolized, it held no effect on the Ten Tail's. More and more shinobi died. The screams growing and then silencing over and over again. My eyes couldn't keep up with the deaths.

I felt myself hurrying to the scene. I couldn't stop myself. I knew that my leg would keep me from fighting, but I couldn't stop myself from being pulled in. I could see clearer now, my dad, his orange jumpsuit still making him look like an absolute fool was in Sage mode throwing as many rasenshuriken as he could at the beast.

Alongside him was my uncle Neji, except grown; he fought in a way that made the whole Hyuga proud. He was a genius after all. I saw my aunt Sakura on the battlefield roaring, "SHANNARO!!!" As she brought up huge chunks of earth with her bare hands to protect the rallying shinobi behind her. She was a monster, nothing like the auntie I knew now. I can definitely see the resemblance to her daughter.

I could now see some of the biggest villains in history perched on top of the Ten Tails, Madara Uchiha, and Obito Uchiha. They're way shorter than I thought they would be.

"Here's a few more!" I hear my dad yell from below. He sends his shadow clones to throw more shuriken at the Ten Tails. They immediately disappear after throwing them and my dad collapses, his face uncomposed. Not like I normally see him. His shoulders are shaking and he's struggling to remain upright.

I forge closer, now officially on the battlefield, I push myself over the bodies and the wounded. I see my mother up close, except she's younger, her Byakugan activated as she stands with the Hyuga protecting my dad. She's working hard, I knew that my mom was badass, but it was totally different in real life. She was able to redirect the spears with her bare hands, her arms outstretched protecting my dad who's still trying to catch his breath after the last barrage of rasenshuriken.

"Boruto!" I hear, I jump having heard someone say my name in this strange place. I look up and see Sai on his hawk, his face covered in blood...and something else. "Move!" He said soaring down, I duck, my movement causing me to drop my crutch, I hiss as my leg makes contact with the ground. I feel something knock me on the head, I pick it up, it's the scroll. "But Sai!" I said looking up again, why did he want me to hold onto it?

The world is filled with white noise as I watch another round of spears head down from the Ten Tails, all of them aimed at my father. Blood pounds in my ears as I watch my mother horror in her eyes as she throws herself in front of my dad, a look of fear and determination in her eyes. There was nothing she could do now.

My heartbeat speeds up and all I can hear is the accelerating pounding in my ears. My Uncle Neji...he turns looking at the impending attack, he turns to see my mother, standing over my defenseless father, in a moment of sheer courage he throws himself in front of her, to protect both of them with nothing but his body. It's happening too fast as I watch a blur fall from the sky, it connects with Neji's shoulder and shoves him out of the way, he falls to the ground, completely bewildered. Another person stands in his place.

"NO!!!" I scream my arm outstretched knowing that I'll never be able to reach them in time. "SAI!!!" I hear Sarada's voice scream, my eyes transfixed on the nightmare unfolding.

Silence overwhelms me in this last second as the spears impale him. He smiles at me weakly as he's stabbed through, the sound of his flesh tearing makes me want to vomit. His face is determined, standing between my mother and father and the final attack, he mouths something to me that I don't quite catch, and I stare my eyes open wide as I see my friend begin to cry.