Night.
The streets, which should have been bustling, were now exceptionally deserted.
Naruto leisurely walked with Boruto among them. He had promised to take the little guy to a hot spring, and he didn't want to break his promise over some strange occurrences.
"Are we really not going to check on Uncle Sasuke?" Boruto asked in a low voice.
After all, considering the commotion earlier, combined with the currently deserted streets, even someone with no brains would know that something major had happened.
"Do you know what happened?"
"No."
"Do you think your strength is enough to get involved in a battle of that level?"
"No."
"Then what help do you think you can offer your Uncle Sasuke if you go?"
"…None at all."
Snap!
Naruto snapped his fingers. "In that case, why should we go and be a burden?"
"Ever been to a hot spring before?"
"I've been a few times with Mitsuki and the others."
"And who is Mitsuki?"
"My teammate."
"Boy or girl?"
"Boy."
"…" Hearing this, Naruto couldn't help but glance back at him. After a moment, he shook his head and sighed.
"What's with that expression?" Boruto couldn't help but ask.
"I've figured it out. Mitsuki is your true love; Sarada is just an accident."
"What do you mean?" Boruto was taken aback.
"Haven't you noticed? When you talk about Sarada, you look impatient, but when you talk about Mitsuki, you get more and more animated. It was like that just now, and it's like that again," Naruto said, with an expression of exasperation, like a parent disappointed in a child not living up to expectations.
"Are you… into guys?"
Naruto leaned closer to him, glanced left and right, then made a cupping gesture with his right hand, forming a half-circle.
"It's okay, I can understand… Although it's a bit surprising, it's ultimately your own choice… What about Himawari? Don't let her be corrupted by you…"
Boruto's face was full of black lines. He had figured it out; this world's old man looked serious on the surface, but once you got to know him, you'd find out he was a 'shameless old rascal.'
Even though he was about the same age as him, he always pretended to be mature. And while he was indeed quite mature, that demeanor and his youthful face always seemed particularly mismatched.
"I'm not into guys, I'm very straight! And I like this kind of…" As he spoke, Boruto gestured an hourglass figure in front of him with both hands.
"As for why I always look disgusted when I talk about Sarada, if you'd met her, you'd understand. She's basically more manly than any man."
"As for Mitsuki, he always says I'm his sun…" Boruto scratched his head, grinning sheepishly.
"It's over. He's a bottom too," Naruto couldn't help but shake his head and sigh upon seeing this.
"What did you say?" Boruto didn't quite hear him because his voice was too low.
"Nothing. I just said we've arrived at our destination," Naruto said, pointing to the hot spring shop in front of them.
"Where's the owner? Why isn't he here?" Boruto poked his head in and asked, puzzled.
"Evacuated."
Naruto glanced at the price list, placed the fee for both of them on the counter, and led the little guy into the back.
"Evacuated?"
"Didn't you hear the signal earlier?"
"Why use a hawk cry as a signal?" Boruto paused, recalling the sound he'd heard earlier. "Wouldn't a loudspeaker be better?"
"It seems technology in your era has advanced quite rapidly," Naruto said, taking off his clothes and placing them in a locker.
"Technology in this era is somewhat… lopsided. The things you mentioned exist, but they're not stable. Ninja hawks are more reliable."
"Is that so?" Boruto nodded in sudden understanding.
Splash!
A basin of warm water was poured over his head.
"Hooo…" Naruto let out a soft breath.
"Why did you become a missing-nin?" Boruto similarly poured a basin of warm water over his own head.
"There are many reasons."
"Can you tell me about them?"
"…Alright." Naruto wiped the water from his face.
"You should know I'm the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki."
"Mm." Boruto sat obediently beside him, nodding slightly.
"It was probably when I was six. At the Third Hokage's suggestion, I started living alone. At first, I thought I was no different from other children, at most just lacking two people to take care of me."
"Under the Third Hokage's arrangements, I moved into a studio apartment of about twenty square meters."
"Tidying my own room, preparing my own food, and… going shopping for the first time."
"It's hard for you to imagine, walking down the street alone, having done nothing at all, yet everyone who sees you casts a cold, rejecting gaze your way."
"Asking for the price of an item, you don't get a reply, but cold indifference from the vendors."
"When they get annoyed by your questions, they'll pick up the item you were looking at and smash it on your head."
"They'll coldly shout at you: Scram! Get away from my stall."
Boruto stared blankly at him. He had never known that his father, the Seventh Hokage, who always appeared so glamorous in public, had such an unbearable childhood.
"After that, I started to withdraw from people's sight, living a reclusive life, never going out unless absolutely necessary."
"The days passed like that, one by one. Even after I entered the Ninja Academy, my lifestyle remained the same."
"Perhaps the villagers of Konoha got tired of it, gradually forgetting my existence."
"My living conditions also improved somewhat. At least I wouldn't be cursed at when I went out to buy groceries."
"I originally thought I would just live like that. After all, I had nowhere else to go."
"Until later, the Konoha Crush Plan a year ago…"
Naruto suddenly stopped himself from saying more.
"What happened later?" Boruto couldn't help but ask.
"When you grow up, and have experienced more things, go ask your father then," Naruto said, patting his head.
Telling a child who hadn't yet experienced the world about these things, exposing him to the dark side of this world too early, would only harm him.
So he chose to remain silent.
"Huh?" Boruto was instantly displeased. "Why are you all like this?"
"Why are there some things you can only understand when you grow up?"
"A person's worldview generally takes shape around the age of twenty. Perhaps for some, due to special experiences, this shaping process might happen earlier," Naruto said, standing up and walking towards the hot spring pool.
Boruto quickly followed behind him.
"Little guy, let me tell you a story: There was a cake shop. Their business wasn't great, but it wasn't too bad either, just barely managing to stay afloat."
"And across from them lived some villagers who relied on the cheap bread sold by the cake shop to survive."
"Selling cheap bread to these villagers was the main source of income for this cake shop."
"Every night, the cake shop would have a lot of leftover pastries. You should know, cakes can't be kept overnight."
"The cake shop had two choices: One, throw all their unsold cakes into the trash can. Two, distribute these cakes to those struggling villagers."
"If it were you, which option would you choose?"
"Two," Boruto answered without hesitation.
"Since those cakes can't be sold anyway, it's better to give them to those in need and help improve their lives."
"Mm." Naruto, soaking in the hot spring, nodded slightly.
"Is there a problem with that answer?" Boruto looked at him, puzzled.
"There's no problem with the answer itself. It even shows you're very kind-hearted."
"Then why do you have that expression?"
"Little guy, if you were one of those villagers, and you knew someone would bring you cake every night, would you still choose to spend your already scarce money to buy cheap bread?" Naruto didn't answer directly but posed a counter-question.
"…No." As he said this, Boruto paused.
"You're very smart." Naruto nodded slightly. "Having a mature worldview will make it easier for you to see through the essence of things, not to be deceived by their surface."
"Not letting you know some things too early is to prevent your still-forming worldview from being led down the wrong path of development."
"I understand." Boruto fell into deep thought.
"To be honest, I really admire your father. In the same upbringing environment, I didn't possess his broad-mindedness to tolerate those rights and wrongs, those grievances," Naruto said with a sigh.
"So I chose to become a missing-nin."
"In this aspect, I am inferior to him."
"No." Boruto shook his head. "Both of your choices are admirable."
"If I had grown up in that kind of environment, I might have sought revenge on Konoha."
"You are both strong individuals worthy of my learning from."