Chapter 300:
In the end, nothing changed. Thanks to Naruto's Talk no Jutsu, Sasuke still returned to the Hidden Leaf Village. In this final battle, the two of them each lost an arm imbued with either the power of Yin or the power of Yang.
After the end of the Fourth Great Ninja War, everything gradually returned to a state of prosperity and peace.
Outside the Hidden Leaf Village—
"I'll leave the memory erasure to you."
Future Boruto stood in front of Sasuke and spoke.
"Mm. While I search for the remnants of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki, I'll erase the memories of anyone who's seen you," Sasuke replied with a reliable nod. "What about you? When are you heading back?"
"The memories of the villagers have mostly been erased. The only one left is Hanabi."
"I see…"
Just as Sasuke looked at Future Boruto and was about to say something, Boruto's figure suddenly vanished.
"Yo, Sasuke! You sure walk fast—I thought I wouldn't catch up in time."
Naruto appeared next to Sasuke with a grin.
"I thought you weren't coming to see me off," Sasuke replied.
Since Naruto's memories had been erased, he naturally had no recollection of Future Boruto.
…
Inside the Hidden Leaf Village—
With the end of the Fourth Great Ninja War, deep bonds of friendship were formed between the various villages. The wariness that once existed had lessened significantly, and more people began traveling between villages. Especially popular was traveling to the Leaf to catch a glimpse of the hero who saved the ninja world—Naruto.
"Naruto!"
Sakura suddenly ran up and tapped Future Boruto on the back as he walked through the village.
Boruto slowly turned around, looking puzzled as he stared at Haruno Sakura.
"Ah—sorry, I mistook you for someone else." Sakura quickly bowed in apology. "I thought you were Naruto."
"You mean the hero who saved the ninja world?" Boruto replied with a smile. "Yeah, a lot of people say I look just like him."
"You really do. From behind, the resemblance is uncanny…" Sakura smiled as well. "Oh, your arm?"
"Oh, this?" Boruto replied casually. "I lost it during the Fourth Great Ninja War, but just surviving was already lucky."
"I can't form seals with my left hand anymore, so I've basically lost any future as a ninja. That's why I've been thinking about settling down here in the Leaf Village."
"There really have been a lot of people moving to the Leaf lately—it's driven the housing prices way up."
Sakura sighed.
"Sakura?!"
A voice rang out from behind, and she turned to look.
"Hinata! What are you doing here?"
"Naruto?" Hinata looked at Future Boruto, then shook her head. "No… you're not him."
"Right? You think so too, Hinata?" Sakura said with a smile. "Honestly, I completely mistook him at first."
Under normal circumstances, meeting a stranger—no matter how much he resembled Naruto—shouldn't have led Sakura to strike up a long conversation. But with Future Boruto, she felt a strange sense of familiarity she couldn't explain.
"Mm." Hinata nodded as she looked at Boruto, then suddenly seemed to remember something. "Oh, Sakura, have you seen Hanabi?"
"Hanabi? What about her?"
"She's gone missing. She hasn't come back for days."
"What?! Hanabi's missing?!"
Boruto exclaimed, then vanished on the spot without bothering to keep up the act.
"He's fast…" Sakura murmured, staring at the spot where Boruto had disappeared. "This is bad! Hanabi's missing, and now a powerful ninja like him just showed up in the village? Hinata, we have to report this to Lord Kakashi."
By now, Kakashi had already become the Sixth Hokage of the Hidden Leaf.
Hokage's Office—
"…I'm already aware." Kakashi's expression was once again solemn as he faced Sakura and Hinata, who had come to report the situation. Ever since the war ended, such seriousness had become rare for him. "Regardless of why that mysterious ninja has come to the village, our top priority right now is to find Hanabi."
Meanwhile, Naruto, having just finished chatting with Sasuke, was strolling leisurely through the streets of the village, watching ninja leap across the rooftops. He murmured, "Even in peaceful times, ninjas still stay busy, huh?"
"Naruto!"
An Anbu ninja suddenly dropped down in front of him.
"Lord Sixth is summoning you."
"Kakashi-sensei wants to see me?"
Naruto pointed to himself, confused.
At the Village Gates—
"Kiba, Sakura, Hinata—you're all here!"
Naruto called out as he ran up.
"Took you long enough, Naruto."
Kiba frowned in annoyance.
"Sorry, sorry!"
Naruto put his hands together in apology.
"We got Hanabi's personal item from Lord Hiashi. With this, we should be able to track her down quickly."
As Kiba spoke, he held Hanabi's training clothes up to his ninken, Akamaru.
Akamaru sniffed a few times and barked.
"Alright, everyone—follow Akamaru!"
…
"She's just up ahead!"
Kiba pointed toward the woods outside the Leaf as Akamaru barked again.
"Alright! I'll speed up from here!"
Naruto closed his eyes, bringing his consciousness into his inner world.
Inside Naruto's Mind—
"Kurama, please lend me your power."
Naruto stood before the Nine-Tails with his hands clasped together.
"Hah? We're not even fighting an enemy. Why should I lend you my power just to save a brat?"
"Please, Kurama."
"No."
Kurama turned his head away coldly.
Naruto suddenly opened his eyes, scratching his head in embarrassment as his teammates looked at him in confusion.
"Sorry, Kurama's not willing to help."
"It's alright, Naruto," Hinata said softly.
"Seriously, you always fall short at crucial moments," Sakura said with a helpless shake of her head.
"I can't help it, Sakura… Kurama just won't cooperate… huh?"
As Naruto leapt through the trees, he suddenly entered Nine-Tails Chakra Mode.
"Hmph. If people start mocking my Jinchūriki, then I'd be mocked too."
Kurama muttered an explanation, then fell silent again.
"Thanks, Kurama."
Returning to the real world, Naruto turned to his teammates. "Alright, I'll go on ahead. Everyone—and Hinata—don't worry. I'll bring Hanabi back safely."