Naruto: Boruto Returns to Shippuden

Chapter 7 Returning to Konoha

Sasuke and the others felt a chill run down their spines upon seeing this.

They thought Kakashi was about to take some harsh measures against Boruto.

Kakashi's actions surprised everyone. He didn't make any aggressive moves, but gently removed Boruto's headband.

He smiled and said to Boruto, "You're wearing a headband from a Konoha rogue ninja now, you know."

He continued, "If we let you walk right through the gates of Konoha, regardless of what other ninja villages think of Konoha, I'm afraid you'll be captured by Konoha's ANBU before you even get inside."

When Naruto saw that Kakashi had only removed Boruto's headband and hadn't actually taken any action against him, his tense nerves finally relaxed.

"What?! Kakashi-sensei, you can just say something like that, is it really necessary to make such a fuss?"

Kakashi scolded the nonchalant Naruto: "What do you mean by 'just this kind of thing'? Every ninja village takes the matter of rogue ninjas very seriously, and I'm not joking."

After giving Naruto a stern lecture, Kakashi's expression softened slightly. He handed the rogue ninja headband back to Boruto.

"Anyway, Boruto, you should put away this rogue ninja headband for now. Don't show it to just anyone. This thing must be very important to you, right?"

"Yes! Thank you, Kakashi-senpai." Boruto nodded, took the headband from Kakashi, and put it into his ninja tool pouch. This headband was a gift from Sasuke-sensei.

"Alright! Let's move on then!" With that, Kakashi strode forward.

......

Boruto followed closely in Kakashi's footsteps and together they entered the border of Konoha Village. They encountered no obstacles and successfully crossed the entrance to Konoha Village.

As Boruto and Kakashi's group entered Konoha Village, the first thing they saw was the village's most eye-catching landmark—the Hokage Rock.

This huge rock is carved with the faces of all the Hokage to date, arranged in order from the First Hokage to the Fourth Hokage.

Boruto and his friends wander through the streets of Konoha Village and find that it is completely different from what they remember.

This change also made him feel unfamiliar, as if he was no longer part of the village, but had become a traveler visiting for the first time.

Kakashi laughed and said, "We've been walking for so long, you must all be hungry by now. Let's go, I'll treat you to Ichiraku Ramen."

"Yay!" Naruto was so excited when he heard that Kakashi-sensei was going to take him to Ichiraku Ramen that he jumped up and waved his hands in the air.

Sakura and Sasuke were exasperated by Naruto's exaggerated reaction. They both covered their foreheads with their hands, pretending not to know him, which was really embarrassing.

Boruto also wanted to try out what made Ichiraku Ramen different in this era.

Boruto stood in front of Ichiraku Ramen, his gaze lingering on the exterior. He noticed that the shop wasn't as grand as he had imagined; instead, it seemed rather small.

As Boruto and his friends stepped into Ichiraku Ramen, they were greeted by the familiar and enthusiastic welcome from the owner, Uncle Ichiraku: "Welcome! Oh, isn't this Naruto? It's been a while since I've seen you."

Uncle Ichiraku then turned his gaze to Boruto behind Naruto, and said with a hint of curiosity, "Oh? There's another unfamiliar face I've never seen before. This kid looks just like Naruto, almost like twins."

"Right? I also think this kid is a bit like me." Naruto chuckled and patted his stomach. "Let's not talk about this anymore, I'm starving! Uncle Ichiraku, give me a big bowl of miso chashu ramen!"

Uncle Ichiraku responded to Naruto's order with a smile: "No problem, one large bowl of miso chashu ramen. Does anyone else want to order?"

Afterwards, the others also began to order food, choosing their favorite ramen based on their personal tastes and preferences.

After everyone had chosen the ramen that suited their taste, Uncle Ichiraku immediately got busy in the kitchen.

......

After a satisfying meal, they slowly stood up and thanked Uncle Ichiraku. They then left the ramen shop together.

Naruto patted his round belly, his words filled with love for ramen: "It's truly worthy of Ichiraku Ramen. Every time I eat here, it's unforgettable. It's always so delicious!"

Looking at Naruto, who was beaming with happiness, Boruto thought to himself: I never knew my dad loved ramen so much when he was little.

Kakashi stood to the side, a smile on his face, but a hint of helplessness was visible in his eyes.

His wallet seemed rather empty after Naruto's huge bowl of ramen, as if silently telling his story of grievance.

Kakashi muttered to himself, "I didn't expect Naruto to be such a big eater. After one meal, my wallet and Naruto's belly have completely swapped places."

Kakashi composed himself and looked at everyone, saying, "I must go ahead now. I need to report the results of our mission to the Hokage. I will rejoin you later."

After everyone responded, Kakashi quickly disappeared from their sight.

Seeing that it was getting late, Sasuke bid farewell to everyone.

During Sakura's trip to the Land of Waves, her relationship with Sasuke improved significantly, and she felt it was a rare opportunity to further deepen their feelings for each other.

So, she mustered her courage and, as Sasuke was saying goodbye, seized the opportunity to ask him out on a date, hoping to use this opportunity to further develop their relationship.

Sasuke coldly and ruthlessly rejected her, leaving Sakura no room for illusions: "If you have so much free time to bother me, you might as well practice some more techniques."

Sasuke turned around and added insult to injury for Sakura, bluntly stating, "To be honest, your performance on this trip to the Land of Waves was even worse than Naruto's." As soon as he finished speaking, Sasuke left without looking back.

This resulted in Naruto, who was eavesdropping on their conversation, being caught in the crossfire.

Sakura, who was already feeling down after being rejected on a date, was then hit hard by Sasuke's words, "You're not even as good as Naruto." It was like the last straw that broke the camel's back, deeply hurting her and making her feel more defeated than ever before.

Boruto was stunned by what he heard. He never expected that Sasuke's master from when he was a child would be so sharp-tongued and speak so mercilessly.

As Naruto watched Sasuke's figure gradually disappear into the distance, he waved to Sakura and shouted, "Sakura! Don't worry about that arrogant Sasuke. I'm always ready and have plenty of time to spend with you!"

Boruto felt a little embarrassed when he heard Naruto's words. He took a few steps back, gently touched his forehead with his hand, and showed a helpless bitter smile on his face.

I really can't bear to watch anymore. How come my dad had such low emotional intelligence when I was a kid?

Hearing Naruto's words brought Sakura back to her senses, who was deep in thought. She immediately rolled up her sleeves and punched Naruto hard on the head.

After dealing with Naruto, Sakura stormed off in anger.

Naruto lay on the ground, his gaze following Sakura's receding figure. He stretched out a hand, as if trying to hold her back, and softly called out, "Sakura..."

Boruto watched Naruto sprawled on the ground, looking utterly pathetic. He thought, "How could my dad be so spineless when I was little? If it were me..."

No, no, Dad used to like Aunt Sakura so much, what about Mom? Come to think of it, I still haven't seen Mom.

Looking at Naruto lying on the ground in a disheveled state, Boruto couldn't help but ask curiously, "Naruto, why is Sakura so mean to you? She seems to have a bad temper. Why do you still like her?"

When Naruto heard Boruto's question, he replied, "What does it matter? As long as someone is cute, it doesn't matter if they have a bad temper."

Boruto was taken aback. "Really? As long as someone's cute, it doesn't matter if they have a bad temper..."

As Boruto fell into deep thought, Naruto slowly stood up from the ground, gently patted the dust off his clothes, and said to Boruto.

"Hey Boruto, you've just arrived in Konoha, you probably haven't found a place to stay yet, right? If you don't mind, you're welcome to stay at my house for a while. My house isn't very big, but it can still accommodate one more person."

Boruto's eyes lit up when he heard Naruto's suggestion, and he replied, "I would be more than happy to accept that, how could I possibly mind?"

......

Naruto and Boruto walked side by side down the main street of Konoha Village. Boruto's eyes kept darting around, filled with curiosity about the village in this era.

As they walked, the street gradually branched into several different paths, and Boruto unconsciously headed in the direction he remembered, the place where he used to live.

"Hey, Boruto, where are you going?" Naruto called out to Boruto, puzzled, as Boruto turned onto another side road.

Boruto paused for a moment, then answered without thinking, "Where else could I go? Of course, back to... Oh! Sorry, sorry, I was a little distracted just now and almost went the wrong way." Boruto realized his mistake halfway through his sentence and quickly corrected himself.

I almost forgot, this isn't the world I used to live in anymore.

As Boruto continued following Naruto, he began to notice the unusual nature of their surroundings. The streets they passed were mostly silent, a stark contrast to the bustling scene they had just witnessed.

Boruto noticed that the people standing at the door were also watching them with scrutinizing and wary eyes, whispering among themselves.

Whenever Boruto glanced at the people standing at the door, they would seem flustered and quickly look away, avoiding eye contact with him.

Boruto gently tugged at Naruto's sleeve and asked him, "Naruto, have you noticed that they're looking at us a little strange? Is there something on our faces?"

As Boruto spoke, he carefully wiped his cheeks with his hands, trying to clean off any non-existent "dirt" on his face.

Naruto took a deep breath, trying to keep a calm expression. He didn't want Boruto to realize his situation in the village, worried that if Boruto knew about the rumors about him, he might start to distance himself from him like the other villagers.