61 Arc 3: Phase 2: Close Encounter

Author's note: Hey there Readers!, Looks like we've finally entered Arc 3! I Hope you guys enjoy! I would also like to thank you guys for the Reviews. Favorites, and follows :)

Still, I haven't found a Beta Editor yet, so I'm really alone on this one.

Also, feel free to share some of your ideas on how Boruto and Sarada will finally meet Sasuke.

Expect some grammar and spelling mistakes along the way.

Thank you for Understanding :)

Arc 3: Phase 2

Sai secretly took a deep breath as he stood before the person that was considered one of the most dangerous individuals in recent times. The young member of root thought that he could handles this altogether but seeing the guy for the first time just sent shivers down his spine.

He secretly gulped for the first time, having this strange feeling of nervousness as he continued observing the other teen in front of him, whose full appearance was slightly shrouded by the darkness surrounding him. He just knew that those blood red eyes were directly staring at him even though he wasn't engaged in a conversation with him.

"You're late"

Those couple of words were enough to make him snapped from his thoughts, bringing him back to reality.

"Am I mistaken? weren't you supposed to be here honing me new jutsus this afternoon, Orochimaru?" The Uchiha teen asked, his voice radiating with sarcasm directly towards the snake sannin.

Kabuto gritted his teeth in annoyance." There's that insolent tone again." He gave his own comment as a means to defend his snake master. He also just hated the Uchiha's attitude and guts.

There was quietness from the snake sannin himself. He didn't said a word for a little while, but to only hold his left arm and adjusting his sleeves to cover up the scars, that he sustained during the training sessions, secretly. This was also noticed by the moving eyes of Sai, who quickly took note of what was happening around him.

Orochimaru gave a slight smile." Don't worry, that will come Sasuke, But why don't we do something different today?" He replied back." Besides, I got a present that would likely cheer you up!" He added, pointing towards the young member root.

"He's a Shinobi from the leaf, I thought it would be a better way for you guys to reminisce!" He explained." Share some stories and memories from home." He gave a little chuckle.

"Get lost!" The Uchiha exclaimed, with disinterest in his tone of voice.

Sai was surprised to hear that kind of rude response, he still kept his smile, but deep down inside, he was shaken. He then took a deep breath again and continued with a new response." It seems that I'm the sort of person that people wouldn't like right away even if I wore a smile." He said.

"Naruto immediately dislike my efforts in a matter of seconds." He added, not aware that it slightly triggered the Uchiha teen.

Kabuto gave a smirk at the back." Nobody will ever like you." He muttered with an intent of insulting the teen. Although, he immediately felt the pain in his balls again as he gave a cringed.

Sai shook his head as he just smiled yet again before continuing his response towards the main teen.

"However, I think you and I are going to get along just fine, considering that were Leaf Shinobi after all." He finished his sentence with a smile.

There was no response from the Uchiha teen, he just sat there, staring at him with cold eyes. On the other hand, Sai saw this as a means to continue his words and he didn't stop from there. Although, he was about to speak when he suddenly felt numbness in his muscles.

Soon that numbness turned into aching cramps and pain as he suddenly fell into his knees, his eyes still staring at the blood red Sharingan.

"What's happening?" Sai asked himself." Why am I having this feeling and emotion?" He added.

Images began to flash in his mind, His world around him became distorted and he felt as if he was thrown into some kind hell accompanied by screams of people and giant corrupted eyes surrounding him. It felt like an eternity for him but in truth, it was only a minute. Soon, the images died down and he found himself back in reality again, albeit in a different condition.

"I'm sweating." Sai thought as he found himself chasing for his breath. This was indeed a whole new thing for him. " I don't have emotions, but I somehow fear him just by looking into his eyes." He added into his thoughts.

"It's not really a good idea to provoke Sasuke too much or else you'll end up like the rest of the guys." Orochimaru spoke this time." He's even more difficult than I am." He added, with a slight snicker.

Sasuke continued to observed the young member of root, he kept quiet for awhile before speaking up." You're a waste of time." He said then turning his attention to the snake sannin." If this is the only reason on why you're here for, then I guess I'll be leaving now." He said as he stood up from the steps.

"Wait!" Sai interrupted once again, causing the raven haired teen to give one last attention towards him.

"Naruto told me a lot about you." He said." He's been searching for you alongside with another teammate for the past three years now."

Everyone kept quiet as they waited for the Uchiha teen's response regarding about his infamous former teammate. They all expected a somewhat ignorant or arrogant response from the teen but as the latter finally spoke, they received a somewhat different response.

"You mean that good for nothing idiot?" He asked." And that annoying forehead?"

Sai smiled and nodded." Yes, they really treat you as a part of the family already." He explained." Especially, Naruto, he really thinks of you as a brother."

Sasuke gave a slight chuckle to which everyone's surprised, He then gave one last look at the young root." Oh I see." He said." Why I'm not surprised?" He added." Best of luck to them for trying to find me."

With that said, the Uchiha teen disappeared in a puff of smoke as he finally left the area leaving a confused and baffled Sai. He was puzzled and wondered if the Uchiha teen was trying to be sarcastic or serious or maybe just a combination of the two. In one simple word:

He was unpredictable.

While Kabuto and Orochimaru shrugged it off as only a part of personality or some teen angst, there was more to it than meets the eye.

(INTERVIEW)

"During that time before Sasuke left off to somewhere, I saw a glimpse of a human shape figure but taller than him standing close behind him. As if it was another presence but it had the same energy as him and also had two red eyes same as him.

"Or maybe It was just part of the Sharingan effect."

-Sai

(RIDE THE WIND)

It was a kind of experience that the rest of the team would describe as breathtaking and life-risking altogether. Who would've thought that four Shinobi teens would be flying in the air right now, well not that they were capable of flying themselves but they were in fact riding through air via Showtaro. Yes, the duck himself who ate one single chakra pill and has now transformed into ten times bigger than his original size and can also able to summoned a clone of himself, with the same current size as himself.

It was crazy but at the same time it was somehow fun.

Naruto and Sakura felt like little kids as of now, they were very much enjoying every moment, this was in fact their first time flying through the air and riding a giant duck at the same time, still they couldn't figure out if Showtaro was summon, an ordinary duck or something else. But so far, he was one of the good guys.

The two main members of Team 7 found themselves riding behind the two rookies. Naruto was with the blonde rookie while Sakura was with the raven haired rookie. They were all riding through the air via the two giant ducks right now.

Naruto had this wide grin and the eyes of an excited child, he was moving his head all over the place, this was indeed a new experience for him, by just seeing the vast lands, the houses from small villages, the rivers and mountains from above, it was now safe to say that he was in another level of experience that he hadn't been on before.

Sakura, on the other hand, had the same feelings and reaction like her teammate, although she was more calmer. She really had to admit that this was a new experience for her and refreshing, away from the busy atmosphere of the hospitals and clinics. It was really indeed in another level.

It was during that moment in time, that both of them began having the same thoughts about the mission and their long lost raven haired teammate. Even though, the mission was on the brink of being aborted, they still kept their heads up and decided to continue on. They knew that it would be a bit life risking because their brown haired sensei is incapacitated and sideline for the rest of the mission, but they have been into missions like this before so it was not new to them.

They were doing this because they wanted to save and bring back their friend once and for all. They also couldn't help but thank the two rookies for giving them the motivation and hope that they really need to continue on, they were really not sure on what could have happen without their help.

Right now, they were gonna enjoy every moment of this ride.

(MEANWHILE)

Sarada closed her eyes as she took one deep breath. Her thoughts were the only things that were entertaining her right now. She had to admit that this was a whole new high level of experience for her, literally high above the ground. Sure, she had jump from Hokage mountain before as a part of her training before and even riding a blimp back in the future. But to experience this kind of riding through the air with the strong wind almost blowing you away was really a ride to remember.

Still, there were these little butterflies that didn't go away and remained. Sarada felt as if she was going to fall, even though she was holding on to Showtaro's large feathers tightly. She decided to close her eyes for awhile in hopes for the nervousness to go away and she expected that she would be in this position for the rest of the journey.

It was at this time that her instincts began to take over and she quickly had a feeling or urged to open her eyes and turned into a certain direction, to which she really did. Her nervousness soon began to go away by the time she laid sight on a certain blonde haired teammate.

"Boruto?" She muttered under breath, wondering about the blonde teen.

There was really something about him that would always kept her calm. She was just really glad that her blonde teammate was here. For the last couple of minutes she kept her eyes on him and began to observed him. She was also unaware that a smile began to form in her lips. Finally finding comfort when she looked into him.

It was at the same time that Boruto felt something as if someone was looking or staring at him from a certain direction. He then proceeded to look towards his right side and immediately caught the source, which was none other than his raven haired teammate, who looks as if she was in a trance.

It was at this moment that the two locked eyes together in the most unexpected way. A good one minute of silence took over, Boruto was a bit confused, he wondered on why his teammate was giving him that look.

Was she hungry right now? or maybe She looks as if she really needs a hug or something?

This was really driving him nuts right now, and as he was about to let out his words, he was suddenly interrupted by his other blonde counterpart, who began to gripped and squeeze his shoulder tightly which really startled him.

"Bolt, I think I'm gonna throw up, Dattebayo!"

Naruto had unexpectedly entered the scene, with his unpredictable antics yet again. He was so caught off in the moment that he began to experience air sickness and now he was about to explode at any moment now much to the blonde rookie's horror.

"Oh come on D-Naruto!" Boruto exclaimed as he began to move around to avoid being puked on." Not in a time like this!" He added, with annoyance in his tone of voice.

Sarada was also startled and has finally snapped back into reality. She found himself staring at two blondes struggling together. A young lord seventh who was about to puke and his future son who was doing all his best to avoid being a victim.

"Could you two please stop moving!?" Showtaro finally spoke for the first time, his eyes filled annoyance and slight panic." If guys don't wanna fall to your deaths, then it would best to behave or else!" He added. He also stressed the fact that if they keep doing on whatever they are doing, the clone might not handle the stress and would immediately burst out in a puff smoke, jeopardizing the two blondes.

Boruto and Naruto immediately straigtened up and started behaving as expected. Although, there were sacrifices which had to be made. The blonde rookie stopped avoiding and just accepted his fate of being puked on by his young dad, while the other tried his best on not puking, even reaching to the brink of swallowing his own puke.

Sarada and Sakura both gave grossed out expressions, both feeling sick for a few moments before laughter came into the picture as the best medicine for them.

Showtaro, on the other hand had a few laughs, but mostly focused on the flying part. He kept reminding himself that it was his responsibility on giving these teens a safe ride but it was going to be a tough challenge alright.

There was this time when he almost lost his composure because of the strong winds, causing the rest to slightly panic. The weather was very much windy during that time or so he thought. The strong winds would be later accompanied by dust of sands indicating that they have reached a different new place.

The rest of the team began looking around their surroundings to see what was going on. The general visibility was beginning to slide down as more sand kept on flowing towards their eyes, to which they immediately covered.

"Where are we?" Sarada was the first one to asked.

"Are we in a different place already?" Sakura then asked her own question.

"By the looks of it, I think we're currently inside a sandstorm!" Boruto replied, causing the rest to give him a surprised look.

"You've got to be kidding me Dattebayo!" Naruto commented. He was taken by surprised and even tightened his grip on the rookie.

"No kidding man." Boruto replied, cringing for a little bit." We gotta find a way out of here." He added." Showtaro, is it possible if you can speed this up?" He asked.

All eyes were on the big duck himself, he was the main pilot in this journey and he will be the one to decided on what would be the next step. There was a little quietness that followed before the duck finally made his decision.

Showtaro sighed, giving the rest of the team a serious look and a smile.

"Hang on tight!"

Showtaro exclaimed for another time as he and his clone prepared themselves to boost things up while the rest of the team did their part and braced themselves for a possible roller coaster ride.

It took no longer than a few seconds as Shotaro and his clone gave their aim on a certain direction and eventually gathering their speed thus in a matter of moments, boosted from their current position as the roller coaster ride began.

(INTERVIEW)

"Going from one point to another was pretty much an easy task but if your starting point is inside a sandstorm, then that'll be a different story. When we sped up the process, the rest of guys were really trying their best on hanging on, so glad that they managed to overcome their fear of falling."

-Showtaro

"It was like this big portion of sand, attempting to go through your eyes! Even my glasses were helpless on the subject matter and there were times that you felt you were gonna let go because it was just too fast. I still don't know on how did we manage to get pass through the ordeal."

-Sarada

"Well, if you asked me, it was a fun Dattebasa! You may call it a scary ride, but I call it a heck of a ride!

Although, the only problem is that young dad really gave my shoulders a beating and I can't even move them properly.(Chuckles)

-Boruto

(LATER ON)

When they finally got over the hump and were able to passed obstacle of going through the sandstorm, the visibility became clear as day.

Most of everybody still felt dizzy over the whole process of riding through the sand storm, little annoying difficulties such as portions of sands had latched into their bodies giving them a hard time to focus on the main journey. Although. it was only a little problem that they were able to solve in a short period of time.

When the view had became clearer, the team found themselves looking over a familiar place which was revealed to be none other than a desert. This also gave confusion amongst the teens, especially Naruto.

"A Desert? Are we really going to Sunagakure?" The confused blonde teen asked. " And could the hideout be really here?" He added.

Sakura gave a sigh." Yes Naruto, in fact Yamato-sensei said something about the hideout having these structures above it in the desert." She explained, meaning that the location of the hideout was indeed located somewhere in the desert.

"You mean that over there?" Showtaro spoke this time, spotting portions of weird structures on an particular area in the desert.

The rest of the team then turned their attention over the direction that the duck had pointed to, and indeed they were all surprised that those were indeed looked like structures.

"I think so." Sakura replied back.

Showtaro gave a sigh yet again." Alright fellas, buckle up, we're heading there!" He announced to the whole team, before directing his path towards the new target with an increased speed all the way.

The Journey was nearing completion, sooner than later, the team finally reached the ground to which they finally arrived at their destination.

(EXPLORE)

In all of the hideouts that Sai had infilitrated, this particular hideout was one of the biggest and explorable places that he had ever seen. The only surprising things about it is that the place itself was located in a desert and under its sand. The only clue on locating it would be the old ruined structures from above.

It was only that, the hideout itself could be compared to a large inn, with its rooms scattered all over the place, the purpose of those rooms were a mystery but he deduced that those rooms were for Orochimaru's henchmen or a prison for his experimental subjects.

He might never know the real truth inside those rooms unless he would take and effort to find all of it by himself, because he knew that in one of those rooms, is where his target is residing.

It was at this time that he found himself walking along the hideout dim-litted corridors and was being led by the silver haired man himself, who surprisingly had a new attitude, far different from his arrogant self from before.

"Nowadays, we hardly even received new members much like you." Kabuto said, as he began to entertain the teen with his stories along the way while the other continued to listen.

"I can't even recall on the last time we recruited new members, but if If my memory serves me right, Sasuke was the most recent one in three years." He explained, giving out a slight chuckle.

Sai didn't say anything but only nodded. He also wasn't that amused. He was just secretly been shaking his head and commenting on how bad they are in recruiting members for their insane experimental crusade on power and immortality.

"In those three years, much has happened." Kabuto said." When Konoha and the rest of the other villages intensified their man hunt towards us, we had no choice but to stay low and put to stop in our recruitment activities." He explained." Sasuke is so far our best recruited member.

He would then go on to explained that Uchiha teen had been almost driven into insanity because of his thirst for power and revenge. It almost caused his life because of that. The sparring sessions that were held almost everyday can be compared to deathmatches.

Of course, Orochimaru would emerged as the victor in those sessions. Treating the Uchiha teen as if he was a personal enemy to boost the latter's grit and strength of the mind. Kabuto himself was the lone witness to all those sessions, he saw how the development and progress increased as time passed by.

Kabuto gave a chuckle." I really don't know now on how did things had come to this." He said, his voice sounded as if he was questioning life itself.

Sai raised an eyebrow in confusion." What do you mean?" He spoke for the first time.

The silver haired man then gave the teen a look." I guess I haven't told you more about that yet." He replied, further increasing the confusion.

He then took a deep breath as he continued his story." If you recall on what I told you about Sasuke falling into coma before." He said and continued." That was the final time that I saw him lose to Lord Orochimaru." He added." During that session, He overused his Sharingan to the point where he instantly collapse on the ground and fell unconsciousness." He paused for a bit.

He then continued." We were actually expecting that to happened but when we were not aware that he almost died from it." He said, recalling that time they were in a race against time to save his life.

"So what happened after that?" Sai asked.

Kabuto sighed." Well, the problem eventually was solved, his life was saved." He said." Although, like I said before, He was put into coma for a number of days." He added, also stating that the number of training sessions were put into a halt.

"We were actually worried for the first time, and since he was very valuable to our plans, we did our best for him to live." He added. There were so much potential in the Uchiha teen.

Sai secretly shook his head in pity, the fact that the guy was blinded by his own goals of vengeance and wasn't aware of himself being used for their plans. He just couldn't see any hope for redemption.

"Although, things change differently by the time he finally emerged from his coma." Kabuto continued." He seemed a bit different altogether, He still retained his arrogancy but he wasn't that crazy kid anymore."

"Interesting." Sai thought to himself.

Kabuto gave another sigh." And He's now the victor in every sparring session." He explained, also stating that Orochimaru sustained even more injuries from the Uchiha teen recently.

It was at this time that the silver haired man finally stopped his tracks at a certain door, He drew out his keys, unlocked the door, and opened it revealing nothing but darkness. He then proceeded to walk inside towards a lone table with a candle on top, which was revealed by the light of the torches from the corridors. He took out a match stick, lighted it up, and brought light to the whole room.

"This will be your room." He said, as he turned around to face the teen.

Sai nodded, as he then proceeded to look around the room.

"The Bathroom is at that side." Kabuto pointed towards certain direction before heading to towards the exit. "We'll inform you if anything happens." He added, taking one more look at the teen.

" And one more thing, there's a small canteen just right near this area, feel free to get a snack!" He said before leaving the room.

Silence was now in charged once again, at the same time the man left, Sai began to make his move as he took out a couple of scrolls from his backpack. He placed to the two scrolls on the table, opened it, summoning a lone dark blue bingo book.

He can now finally set the plan in motion without suspicious eyes watching him.

(ARRIVAL)

It was definitely ruins of a long lost forgotten ancient structure, at least that what they thought of.

The team became fascinated as soon as they stepped down on the sandy ground, after their adventurous flight from above. They soon began to explore the area, checking possible clues that could lead them to the hideout's main entrance.

Showtaro observed his surroundings once he had dispelled his clone and transformed back into his original form."Hmmm, this place seemed familiar." He commented as he continued to move around." Or maybe I just heard this place from somewhere before?"

He was confused at first, he can't seemed to remember all of it but he knew that this place was included in his investigation papers and then it immediately came back into his mind. "Oh now I remember!" He widened his eyes in realization.

This was indeed the place that He and Miyuki had discussed about prior to his meeting with Boruto and Sarada. A long old forgotten place where a guy obsessed with immortality was currently residing somewhere inside.

Now that he finally remembered all of it, the only goal that he currently had right now was to assist the kids on locating the entrance to this hideout. He just hope that it wouldn't be that tough to find it.

(LATER ON)

Sarada was taken by excitement, she had this fascination of ancient buildings or structures since she was a little girl and as of right now, she felt as if she was really an excited little girl, admiring the sites in front of her.

She also couldn't help but bring out her smartphone, which still had good battery life, and proceeded to take pictures as remembrance for her a trip down memory lane in the future.

"Ooooh! What kind of markings are these?"

"These structures could really stand the test of time!"

"Oh man, this is so awesome!"

The sight seeing continued for about awhile, as the Uchiha teen filled her smartphone memory with photos and selfies of the ruined structures. During that time, she felt as if she was a tourist travelling around the world to visit this sites, she was on the brink forgetting everything before the interruptions came that brought her back.

It was during a time that she was in a certain area, along a huge structure taking her possible final selfie when the colour blonde made its presence known.

"Hey Sarada-chan! What's up!?" The voice of her blonde teammate broke the silence.

Sarada was indeed startled, she gave this weird face before pushing the button which instantly took a horrible photo of her being startled while the innocent goofy face of her blonde teammate was also captured. To top that, she almost dropped her smartphone.

"What the heck Bolt!?" Sarada exclaimed, giving her teammate an annoyed look.

Boruto was a bit surprised by his teammate's cute outburst, he then gave an apologetic grin." Sorry about that Sarada-chan hehe." He gave a little chuckle while scratching the back of his head.

"You do realized that if they see you with that, it may cause changes in the timeline." The blonde knucklehead teased.

Sarada rolled her eyes as she gave her teammate a deadpanned look.

Boruto, that's not gonna convinced me to stop from what I am doing right now." She said, while the other just replied with a goofy innocent smile.

The Uchiha teen then gave a sigh as she check the photo again. She found herself staring at a photo of her being surprised by a curious and innocent teenage blonde. She wasn't sure on whether to delete this or not but her mind was telling her not to.

It was also at this time when her fingers instinctively swiped the smartphone, thus bringing in another picture. When the Uchiha teen darted her eyes towards the smartphone again, her heart stop beating as she found herself staring at an old photo which consist of herself and her parents. A few moments later, a little of her emotions started pouring out in the form of sadness and joy mixed together.

She recalled the day when the photo was taken, her Papa had just gotten back from his journey and her Mama called for a Homecoming celebration, it coincidentally a festival was going to be held that day and it was perfect time for the Uchiha family to hangout and bond. The funny thing about this photo is that her Papa volunteered in a eating contest and almost won if not for Cho-cho's dad.

A smile formed around her face, she wished that she had the opportunity to relived this moment but by just looking at the photo and was the only thing for her to feel home once again.

Boruto was quiet, he gave a sad smile and placed his hand on his teammates shoulder. He could feel the emotion coming out from the girl. The only thing that he can do right now is give her the emotional support and he was trying his best all the time.

The blonde gave a smile." Don't worry, We can do this." He said, with a comforting tone of voice.

"I know." Sarada said, as she then took off her glasses and wiped out the little tears that managed to come out.

(INTERVIEW)

"We were at the point, where things just kind of remind us that this was our reality now, we just gotta face it with a strong heart. We knew it was coming soon."

-Sarada

"There's not much I can do at this point but to give her the support that she needs. Even I'm getting those butterflies as time flies by, We're not sure on what's gonna happen by the time we go down in that Hideout."

-Boruto

(THE RABBIT HOLE)

Do you really think the entrance to the hideout could be here?"

Naruto wondered, as he and his pink haired teammate were exploring the rest of the area for about twenty minutes now. They didn't expect that this area would be that wide and they really have to focus on locating it.

"Yes, It could be here." Sakura replied back." Yamato said something about a giant hole located in here somewhere.

Naruto raised an eyebrow in confusion." Wait, a giant hole? You mean like a secret entrance or somesort?" He asked.

Sakura simply nodded. In fact she too doesn't know where the giant hole was exactly located in this area. Before their brown haired sensei went Bananas, he had informed the pink haired teen that he had sent a clone to secretly pursue Sai, and even putting some kind of tracking object in him.

Naruto was surprised to learn that the information. In fact, he was glad that the man had a secret plan to further increase the progress of the mission. Now, they were only several steps ahead towards their goal.

Along the way, the two began to have a little conversation regarding the events happening as of now.

"It's really crazy to think that we are on our own in this mission, continuing it without our captain." Naruto commented, with realization in his tone of voice. He just can't get over the fact that they were placed in a position that they have a full control off.

Sakura gave a sigh." Don't try to think much of that Naruto." She said." It's not like we've done this before right?" She added.

"I guess you're right." Naruto replied with a little chuckle and then continued his words." I just kinda remember our first official D rank mission which turned into A rank mission in one day."

Sakura then widened her eyes." Oh you mean, the mission with Uncle Tazuna?" She asked.

Naruto simply nodded." Yeah that's the one!" He said before giving his teammate a look." How could you not remember?" He gave a little chuckle.

Sakura gave another sigh." I remember all of it, now that you told me." She said before giving a sad smile." It's just that we could've done better during that mission."

"We could've save Zabuza and Haku, they were pretty much redeemable at that point." She added.

Naruto could only looked down. He definitely agreed with the pink haired teen. There was that guilt which remained for years, that was the first time that they failed to save a couple of souls from falling down to a tragic end. They called it" Bittersweet" because those two were able to redeemed themselves but sacrificed their lives to prevent further destruction.

The world was just plain mean.

Then a thought came into their minds in form of a certain raven haired teen. Sasuke would soon later become a victim of a tragic story, he was in his path to darkness, although, there was still time, and the hope of saving him had not faded away.

There was a moment of quietness that took over, Naruto and Sakura were thinking about the possibilities that could happened as their mission progress, they were hoping that this was the time that they could really bring him back. Both still have the burden, and they're gonna carry it until this ends.

"Hey fellas!"

A familiar voice from above interrupted and finally broke the silence.

Naruto and Sakura looked up to see a certain white duck calling out to them with excitement, as if he had discovered something big.

"You gotta check this out!" He continued his announcement." I think I found the giant hole entrance you guys were looking for!"

"Seriously?" Both of the teens asked in unison.

Showtaro simply nodded as he beckoned them to look onto a certain direction. When they did what they were told, they were in for a big surprised.

From a few distances away, there was a round giant hole near a large boulder, and there was a person standing next to that giant hole.

The person was revealed to be none other than, their brown haired Sensei, Yamato himself.

(LATER ON)

There was confusion amongst the rest of the team regarding the presence of a familiar brown haired man. Boruto perfectly recalled storing an unconscious Yamato inside the scroll hours ago before they took flight with Showtaro. It was until he realized and learned from his young Aunt Sakura that it was in fact a clone of the man, which was sent to during and after the incident at Tenchi bridge.

"Man, this is so weird and unexpected." Boruto commented as he found himself watching and observing his young dad and young aunt, conversing with the clone.

It also turned out that the giant hole was not a secret entrance, but their sensei's clone had apparently used the Earth Release: Tunelling technique to dug out the ground hence why there was a giant hole in front of them right now.

"I guess we should thank Yamato-sensei for thinking in ahead of the mission." Sarada said, giving her sensei the credit.

Boruto gave a little laugh." I know, and by the looks of it, the clone is not gonna last that long." He commented, as the Yamato clone disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Looks like we're on our own again." Showtaro sighed, adding his own comment.

It was at this time that Naruto and Sakura finally came forward, with them having an exhausted look.

"Are you guys okay?" Sarada asked.

"How did the discussion went?" Boruto added.

Naruto gave a sigh." Overall, it was fine, we're in the right place." He said then continued." But Yamato-sensei's wood clone kept asking questions about his original self." He replied." He was wondering on why he can't even sense the original one."

"So what did you told him?" Boruto asked, wanting to know their response.

Sakura gave a little chuckle." Well, we actually told him the truth on what happened during and after the Tenchi bridge incident." the pink haired teen said, she would go on to explained that the wood clone was so shocked that it suddenly and unexpectedly burst out.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Boruto surprisingly exclaimed, while Sarada and Showtaro gave their little laughs.

Naruto just shook his head." No kidding." Before drawing out two small objects in his pocket, which turned out to be seeds." Here, He also wanted you two to have this."

Boruto raised both eyebrows." Oh, what does these seeds do?" He asked.

"They're tracking seeds, these will help us locate Sai and also keep track of us altogether." Sakura explained as she poke this time.

"Cool!" Boruto said, excitement filling his eyes.

Sarada then raised a hand." So do you have your own seeds as well?" She asked.

Naruto nodded and smiled." Yup, we swallowed it." He said, with proudness in himself.

Both rookies then gave a cringed, they observed the seed, and decided that they're not gonna swallow these seeds. By the looks of it, the seeds were definitely not that appetizing.

"I think, I'll just keep it in my pocket." Boruto said as he placed the seed right in his pocket.

Sarada gave a smile." Me too." She said as she imitated what her blonde teammate did just now. Their millenial side coming out again. They don't really know much about these seeds, rather than they were already replace with advance tracking devices back in the future.

Naruto and Sakura both gave the two rookies a confusing look, before shaking both of their heads and shrugging it off as common rookie attitude and tendencies.

(A LITTLE LATER)

"How deep is this whole by the way?"

The first question was finally said by Showtaro. The rest of the team had been preparing themselves for the past minutes, readying the necessary gear they need for an infiltration. Now they were all looking down and observing the big hole that their sensei's wood clone had dug.

It didn't take long for the rest to jump down as Naruto and Sakura had jumped down first leaving the two rookies and the companion duck behind.

"Probably more deeper than 10 feet." Boruto replied back, as he held his back pack tightly.

Showtaro then gulped, letting out his nervousness, to which the two noticed." Oh man." He muttered aloud.

"Is something wrong?" Boruto asked, wondering why the duck was a little afraid of jumping through a giant hole.

Showtaro then would go on to explained that he had a little phobia of falling down to such places. He almost fell on a hole which had giant snakes on it that attempting to eat him and almost got roasted when he almost fell into a mouth of a volcano.

Boruto and Sarada were surprised to learn this. They really were starting to believed that duck went through great lengths for the world to be saved.

Sarada gave an assuring smile." Don't worry Showtaro, we're doing this together and everything's gonna be alright!" She said.

"Yeah, it's gonna be alright dattebasa!" Boruto added with his Uzumaki grin.

For awhile there, Showtaro felt relieved from his thoughts and fear, these kids were really something." Well then, I must say thank yo-" He didn't get to finish his sentence as both of the teens grabbed him, securing him into safe position, and jumped down the hole.

"You said this was gonna be alright!"

(INTERVIEW)

"I'm pretty sure that Showtaro did enjoy the ride down under, we're gonna get that phobia finally out of him once and for all! Dattebasa!"

-Boruto

(CANTEEN)

In fact, Kabuto was really telling the truth, that the hideout really did housed a canteen area. It was not that bad to be honest, the place was clean and well-maintained. He was also not alone, as the canteen was currently occupied by the hideout's residences or to simply put as the snake sannin's captives who been prisoner for a some time.

The young member of root took off from the counter as he finally was able to get his snack, which consist of a sandwich and a cup of cold ice orange juice. It was not too long that the teen was now finding his own seat, and his eye caught a person sitting on that particular seat.

As Sai got closer, the person was revealed to be that of a lone boy, eating his own snack, in silence. By the time, he got to that particular area, he stood looking over the boy.

At the same time, the boy look up revealing his facial appearance. He was somewhere about ten to eleven years old, he had slightly spiky dark brown hair and eyes, and he had that look which reminded him of a certain blonde teammate.

The boy simply nodded, as he allowed the teen to sit at the opposite seat.

Sai gave a smile." Thank you very much." He thanked the boy." My name is Sai, what's yours?" He asked in a very awkward manner.

"Mitsue." The boy replied." Are you new here?" He asked.

Sai nodded in response." Yes! in fact, I was invited here!" He responded happily, while the boy just gave him a weird look.

"Oh okay, at least that's good." The boy named "Mitsue" said.

Sai raised a questioning eyebrow." What do you mean it's good?" He asked. He was curious.

The boy sighed." It's good because you were not kidnapped or force to join here in order to survive." He explained.

"Why did you even join here in the first place?" Sai asked, while the boy just gave him a look.

"I didn't join this place, I was forced too." He said, he would then go on to explained that he used to have a family that he cherished very much, but soon those days would be over as he was taken away from his family and brought here as a means for the madman's experiments.

Sai simply nodded in understanding. He also gave a sad smile, aa he took pity on the boy even though he rarely shows his emotions." I'm sorry for your lost." He said.

"Don't be." The boy said, as he gave the teen a small smile." Someday, I will see them again." He added.

"Although, the only good thing about this place is that you get to meet new people and make friends with them." He added.

"Friends?" Sai asked.

The boy "Mitsue" nodded again." Yes friends!." He said before continuing with a question." Did you ever have friends before?" He asked.

Sai was just silent for awhile. The question really did hit him in the heart. It was true that he really didn't have that a lot of people that he can consider as friends. He was a loner in the first place and lack the social skills to do so, but surprisingly he was doing all of this right now.

"No." Sai simply replied." But I'm looking forward to find a friend myself." He added.

"Do you happen to know a person name Sasuke Uchiha in this place?" He followed with a question.

At this time the boy's eyes lit up when heard the name being mentioned." You mean the guy with the duckbutt hair?" He asked.

Sai was a bit surprised to see that kind of reaction from the boy. Did he knew the Uchiha personally?

The boy gave a smile." Of course, I knew him!" He said." He's my friend!" He proudly said.

"You're friend!?" Sai exclaimed for a little bit." For how long?" He asked.

The boy then became silent for awhile, as if he was thinking of a good way to explain his story." Well, not that too long ago." He said." It was just recent to be honest, maybe a few weeks ago."

Sai nodded, his interest on the subject was increasing. The boy would then continue to explained that the Uchiha teen used to be quiet and emotionless. He wouldn't even speak to anybody, let alone Orochimaru who was in charge of training him. It would continue on until the day he was put into coma during a training session.

Mitsue then continued to tell him that there were unexpected changes that happened after that incident. Mainly the Uchiha teen, who seemed had undergo a bit of a personality change when woke up from his coma.

Things such as that he was more respectful and became a bit friendly with the other people here in the canteen. It was not only that, occasionally, he would flashed a smile which was not even his cup of tea for a very long time. He would soon go back to his original self whenever Orochimaru or Kabuto was around.

Information like this were pretty much hard to believe, at least for Sai. If he was going to believed on what the boy was telling him, he might as well find it out for himself, since he had to fulfill the mission of asassinating him later on.

Although, Sasuke Uchiha was indeed an interesting individual.

(ARRIVAL)

The dim-litted and gloomy atmosphere of the hideout's corridors greeted the team by the time they managed to blow up a passage way in order to sneak inside. Once they got there, they were quite surprised to see that the hideout wasn't they expected as it was to be.

"Is it me or did they gave the hideout a dungeon makeover?" Boruto asked, as he observed the surroundings around him.

"Beats me, this place also has a lot of rooms." Naruto added his own comment." Pretty much a dungeon hotel."

Sakura gave a sighed." Dungeon Hotel or not, we gotta be careful now, that we're in hostile territory." She said as she reminded the two boys to be alert and cautious at times.

The team found themselves currently at the first stages of the hideout. They all had the feeling that this place was going to be huge enough for a long exploration. So the group had a brief meeting on what to do next. It didn't took long enough for all of them to decide that they should split up into two groups because that was the only way for them to increase their chances of locating Sai and Sasuke.

The two groups were created once the split commenced. Boruto and Naruto teamed up together while Sarada and Sakura were in the other team. As for Showtaro, he was given the decision on choosing the group that he would accompany during the split up.

This time, he chose to go with Boruto's group, with the intention of also needing their assistance on a certain case, which was part of his investigation mission here in the human world, and that the location this said investigation is coincidentally here in this hideout.

Once everything was sent in motion, the team proceeded to split up and their mission had finally began.

(INTERVIEW)

"Splitting up was by far, the most possible way to boost up the search, I can really tell that my heart is beating faster right now. (Chuckles)"

-Boruto

"I guess I'll be in same thought level as Bolt right now, We're getting very anxious and a little excited as time passes by, just to meet the person, who is the main focus of this mission.

"Time will tell."

-Sarada

"I will just try my best to guide these kids throughout this hideout search, the enemy is still watching from behind the shadows and its part of my job to assist them if anything out of the ordinary happens."

(CHAPTER END)