Chapter 17: One, Three
Dusk.
The Ninja Academy.
School's out.
"Mom? What are you doing here?"
Sarada was chatting with Hinata, occasionally laughing softly. By her side stood Himawari—Naruto's daughter and Boruto's younger sister—who had followed Hinata.
Sarada left Chōchō Akimichi and Uchiha Itachi behind and ran over to Sakura.
Under the gentle gaze of Hinata's Byakugan, Boruto reluctantly parted from his friends, Mitsuki and Shikadai.
"...Sarada, your dad said a surviving member of the Uchiha clan is coming over to our house tonight. I think his name was Shunhi. I came specifically to pick you two up."
Sakura said this with a smile on her face.
Hinata also gently told Boruto something similar.
"Sigh, I don't want to go. And that idiot old man's actually coming too? Unbelievable. I figured he'd still be holed up in the Hokage's office."
Boruto muttered indifferently.
"Big brother, you shouldn't talk about Dad like that."
Himawari tugged on his sleeve.
"Alright, alright, I get it. I'll go."
"Actually, I kind of want to see Uncle Sasuke too."
Under Hinata's quiet, firm gaze, Boruto finally gave in.
"Shuyu, you should come to my house too. Your father will be there."
Sakura looked toward Uchiha Itachi, who stood not far away.
Uchiha Itachi gave a slight nod.
Looking at Sakura and Sarada standing beside her, Itachi couldn't help but think of the girl who used to chase after Sasuke all the time. He genuinely felt happy that Sasuke now had a family of his own, and he silently resolved to protect Sasuke and his family no matter what.
This was Sakura's new home, arranged specially by Naruto.
Her previous place had collapsed due to her monstrous strength.
Hinata and Sakura busied themselves in the kitchen, preparing dinner.
Boruto, Uchiha Itachi, Sarada, and Himawari waited in the living room.
"You're from the Uchiha clan too?"
After spending some time together, Boruto had already learned who Uchiha Itachi was.
A Uchiha was now rarer than a giant panda.
"Yeah."
"...I'm Uchiha Shuyu."
As the son of the world's savior, Naruto, Boruto still maintained basic respect for others. Itachi, on the other hand, wasn't good at interacting with people. After hesitating a moment, he simply repeated his name.
"I'm Boruto Uzumaki. Looking forward to getting to know you."
Despite how he treated his own father, Boruto was generally friendly toward others.
Seeing Boruto extend his hand, Uchiha Itachi reached out and shook it.
"Hey, hey, I've got a question—can you use the Sharingan?"
Hearing Boruto's question, Uchiha Itachi hesitated. He wasn't sure whether he should reveal his ability.
Though he had a Mangekyō Sharingan, against weaker opponents, he would typically only activate the standard three-tomoe Sharingan to conserve chakra.
After a brief pause, Uchiha Itachi gave a nod.
The Sharingan would eventually be exposed anyway. Rather than shocking everyone later with a sudden three-tomoe display, he might as well reveal it now.
After all, suddenly activating the three-tomoe version would seem far too unbelievable.
"Shuyu, can you show us your Sharingan too?"
"Come on, let me see it!"
Sarada shook his arm excitedly.
Uchiha Itachi typically wouldn't agree to this sort of thing. The Sharingan was meant for combat, not showing off—but in the end, he activated it anyway.
Whether ninja or ordinary person, no one could resist the law of doting on younger generations—or the law of "I really want to see this."
Three tomoe appeared in Uchiha Itachi's eyes.
"That's... that's a three-tomoe!"
Sarada was visibly shocked, and the single-tomoe Sharingan in her own eyes appeared involuntarily.
She still hadn't fully mastered control over her newly awakened Sharingan.
"Huh? What's the big deal, Sarada? Is unlocking the three-tomoe version really that hard?"
Boruto scratched his head, unfamiliar with the Uchiha clan's intricacies.
"Of course it's hard. Once you have the three-tomoe Sharingan, your strength is already at jōnin level."
At just 13 years old, Shuyu had achieved this—undoubtedly a genius.
"What?! So Shuyu's stronger than our academy teachers? He could go on missions all by himself!"
Boruto was shocked in turn after Sarada's explanation.
"Boruto, be a little more polite when you're a guest in someone else's home!"
Hinata emerged from the kitchen, followed closely by Sakura.
"Sorry, Mom. But Shuyu already has jōnin-level power!"
After apologizing, Boruto immediately explained himself.
Boruto might have missed out on his father's discipline, but he definitely hadn't missed his mother's.
"Jōnin-level power?"
Hinata and Sakura turned toward Uchiha Itachi at the same time.
"Yes, Shuyu's already unlocked his three-tomoe Sharingan."
Sarada explained.
"Really?" Sakura immediately stepped in front of Uchiha Itachi. "Can you show me?"
Sakura didn't quite have the same intergenerational affection toward Itachi, but still—she was his brother's wife. Refusing outright didn't seem appropriate, especially when trying to maintain his 13-year-old persona.
Uchiha Itachi nodded and once again revealed his three-tomoe Sharingan.
"It really is three tomoe... That's wonderful."
Sakura hugged the 13-year-old Itachi tightly.
Ever since becoming Sasuke's wife, Sakura had truly held the Uchiha clan close to her heart. To meet such a talented survivor of the clan—she was genuinely happy.
Uchiha Itachi awkwardly tried to push her away, but there was no way he could overpower someone like Sakura with monstrous strength.
"Sorry, Shuyu, I just got a little too excited." Sakura let go and added, "You can keep using the Uchiha name. I'll talk to your father myself."
No matter what, talents like this had to remain within the clan.
"Mom, what's wrong with Auntie Sakura?"
Himawari tugged at Hinata's hand and looked up at her.
"She's just really happy."
Hinata smiled gently and stroked Himawari's hair.
"Sakura, we're here!"
Naruto called out loudly. Beside him stood a silent Sasuke—and an unwilling Shunhi.
Shunhi hadn't wanted to come. Ever since assigning himself the role of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Deputy Director, he always felt uneasy around Naruto and Sasuke, afraid they'd uncover his true identity and team up to take him down.
But he still came.
Because Sasuke and Naruto had dragged him out of his shop and brought him here by force.
"There's something I have to tell you—Shuyu has already awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan."
Upon hearing this, Naruto exaggerated his surprise, while Sasuke, after a brief moment of shock, quickly returned to his usual calm.
Only Shunhi's expression didn't change.
"Uncle Shunhi, from the look on your face, did you already know?"
No—Shunhi was just really bad at faking facial expressions.