Chapter 114: Sasuke's Inner Struggle
"…You did that on purpose just now, didn't you?"
Boruto held a bedsheet, baring his teeth as he wiped the chili sauce off his face.
"What do you think? Confess and you'll be treated leniently; resist and things get worse. Kid, you'd better come clean yourself. We're only going easy on you because of your relationship with Naruto. Otherwise, you'd already be locked up in the dark interrogation room of Konoha's Torture and Interrogation Department."
Jiraiya withdrew his smile and spoke to Boruto with a stern expression.
"That's right. Asuma-sensei was killed. Even if you're Naruto's son, if you can't give us an explanation, I'll take revenge for Asuma-sensei immediately."
Shikamaru also made his stance clear. He took out the lighter he had picked up from Asuma's body and burned a small lock of Boruto's hair.
"Boruto, speak. But don't bring up irrelevant things. We should avoid revealing unnecessary information."
Sasuke patted Boruto on the shoulder.
He wasn't entirely sure why Boruto had done this, but he already had some guesses.
"…Where exactly did I give myself away?"
Boruto lay sprawled on the bed with a miserable expression.
"You're still hung up on that? Fine, let me ask you something. Have you ever cheated?"
Jiraiya sat down at the edge of the bed and asked Boruto.
"Cheated? Of course not, uh, heh heh… I have."
Boruto was about to deny it outright when he remembered how he'd been publicly exposed for cheating during the Chūnin Exams. The entire village, people from other villages, and even Sasuke beside him had all seen it. He immediately felt a little embarrassed.
"You got caught, right?"
"Yeah, but at first I wasn't discovered. It was only at the very end…"
"Everyone noticed from the beginning."
Sasuke interrupted him.
Seeing Boruto look at him in shock, Sasuke turned his head away. "At least the other four Kage noticed. They just didn't say anything to save your father's face."
"You have too many little expressions. If you were in front of an interrogation expert like Ibiki, he wouldn't even need to do anything. One look and he'd know you were hiding something."
"Alright, we've answered your doubts. Now it's your turn to answer ours."
Jiraiya crossed his arms and looked straight at Boruto.
"Fine, I'll confess."
Boruto let out a breath of relief. The process had been rough, but the result didn't seem much different.
At least he didn't have to agonize over this all by himself anymore.
"Sasuke-san, Jiraiya-san, Uncle Shikamaru… it's like this…"
Boruto explained how his memories had gradually become blurry, and how Momoshiki had told him that history had to be corrected, or else his sister and friends would disappear.
After coming clean, Boruto felt much lighter all over.
"I don't know what to do. Even though Momoshiki was the one who killed him, if I hadn't chosen to run away, Momoshiki wouldn't have been able to take over my body while I was conscious. So I do bear responsibility."
After saying that, Boruto knelt upright on the bed, waiting for judgment.
Jiraiya didn't speak immediately. Instead, he first looked toward Sasuke.
"I've felt something along those lines too, but not as strongly as Boruto."
Sasuke gave an affirmative answer.
Just as Momoshiki had said, on one hand, Sasuke himself already existed in this era. He would only change along with changes to the future; he wouldn't disappear outright.
On the other hand, Sasuke had had his chakra siphoned off by Urashiki and had also consumed a great deal of ocular power. His strength had been greatly weakened.
"What I want to ask is whether what Boruto said about the future is true. Don't worry, if it really comes down to correcting history, you can always use your genjutsu at the end to erase this memory from us."
Jiraiya asked Sasuke for confirmation.
"Yes. The Third Hokage did indeed die during the Konoha Crush. He used the Reaper Death Seal to seal Orochimaru's arms."
When Sasuke reached this point, he hesitated slightly. "As for Sarutobi Asuma… I wasn't in the village at the time. I heard that not long after, he was killed by Hidan of the Akatsuki, leaving behind a posthumous daughter…"
"Wait!"
Shikamaru, who had been grieving, suddenly realized something was wrong when he heard the last part.
"You said Asuma-sensei left behind a posthumous daughter? But right now, Asuma and Kurenai-sensei haven't even confirmed their relationship yet!"
As he said this, Shikamaru abruptly stood up and looked at Boruto, who was kneeling on the bed.
On this mission, Ino hadn't come along. With three men in the team, they'd naturally chatted about some man-to-man topics.
When they were soaking in the hot springs, Asuma had mentioned this to him, even wanting the sharp-minded Shikamaru to give him some advice. Shikamaru had laughed and refused, saying that this kind of thing had nothing to do with intelligence.
So Shikamaru was absolutely certain about this.
"What?! I killed him too early? No, Momoshiki killed him too early?!"
Boruto was stunned as well. He grabbed his head with both hands. "It's over, it's over. Then doesn't that mean the future is gone?"
That sentence carried a double meaning.
"Don't panic. This is just an individual-level impact. It won't cause the entire future to disappear."
Jiraiya comforted him.
"No, I mean Future-nee. Sarutobi Mirai is gone~"
Boruto clutched his head, on the verge of collapse.
Wasn't he supposed to be saving his future family and friends?
How did he end up personally strangling Future-nee in the cradle… uh, strangling her while she was still a 'demonic pill'?
"Uh… so that's the 'future' you meant."
Jiraiya looked awkward. He hadn't expected the 'future' Boruto was talking about to be a person's name.
After Boruto finished wailing, Jiraiya looked toward Sasuke, who had been silent and gloomy the whole time. After thinking for a moment, he spoke: "Uchiha Sasuke, if you have something to say, say it. We'll solve it together. I believe that in the future, you won't be alone anymore."
"…Mm."
Sasuke nodded and let out a quiet sigh, gazing out the window with a melancholy look.
"Based on what Boruto said, and the intelligence I've gathered these past few days, this era has been altered far too much by someone called Shiromo."
"If we want to correct it, the best method would be to kill most of the people who were supposed to die in the future, then use genjutsu to alter memories. Only then can we ensure, as much as possible, that the future won't change."
"Including me, right?"
Jiraiya's expression turned solemn.
"Yes. Given the current situation, the people who were supposed to kill you won't do so now."
Sasuke nodded.
His concern for Jiraiya's life mainly came from Naruto. Naruto's bond with Jiraiya ran deep, so Sasuke cared as well.
But there was one person who, in this era, aside from Naruto, mattered most to him.
Yes, certainly not Sakura.
It was, nii-san.
According to the intelligence, Itachi might no longer die at Sasuke's hands.
Then would Itachi die from illness?
But with Itachi's ability and intellect, even surviving a little longer would be enough to change the course of events.
Moreover, Itachi might be able to break free from Sasuke's genjutsu. He might even still have Shisui's Kotoamatsukami.
In Sasuke's heart, his nii-san was unquestionably powerful and someone who had to be taken seriously.
But precisely because of that, does he have to personally kill his nii-san once again?
Sasuke's heart was filled with struggle.
"Sasuke-san, Momoshiki said that once Urashiki arrives, we can cooperate with him first, deal with the person disturbing this space-time, and then correct the timeline."
"He'll scold and 'educate' Urashiki not to change the past, make them return to their original space-time, and then let everything proceed as it originally should…"
Boruto pressed one hand to his head and repeated Momoshiki's words from his mind.
As soon as these words were spoken, Sasuke, who had still been somewhat lost, froze for a moment. Then his gaze grew firm.
What exactly was that original future?
Was it really such a beautiful future, one worth protecting?
Why should he kill his nii-san for the sake of such a future?
Based on the intelligence he had gathered, under Shiromo's influence, the future of this space-time felt far more hopeful.
(End of this chapter)