62 Arc 3: Phase 2: Close Encounters Part 2

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.

Expect some grammar and spelling mistakes along the way.

Thank you for Understanding :)

Arc 3: Phase 2

"So do you think she could help us again with the plan?"

"It is most certain Lord Orochimaru, if you wanted to speed up the process."

In a dim-litted room, the snake sannin sat down on his chair as his eyes focused on a certain direction of the screen. The source of light, which came from the projector, created the visualize images of the plans for the certain future. It also gave new information to the snake sannin, which currently being explained by his silver haired henchman.

The information was all about a certain former female individual, who used to be part of the snake sannin'a brigade. The topic about her only came to life when the changes in his body began to take effect. The deteriorating process was increasing as more time passed by.

"I assure you that her whereabouts could be easily trace, that will happen if you give me some time to track her current location." Kabuto added to the information, it was true, it's been a very long time since she left.

Silence had took over, there was uncertainty on the snake sannin's eyes. Sure he understood the fact that Guren would be a benefit for his plans but time was running short, and he needed the best possible way to avoid being part of the deteriorating process. This vessel was rejecting him and he knew it would all over once it reaches the breaking point.

As for Sasuke, He just wasn't still ready yet. He hadn't reached his full potential and it may take some time for him to be the immediate candidate. Not just that, all of his test subjects weren't fit to be vessels. They all had weak bodies which also couldn't take the impact of his experiments.

Even though, Kabuto did his best to find the most possible ways, the snake sannin still wouldn't agree to each one of them. His heart would probably prefer the Uchiha himself as the best and final candidate for being a vessel. But still, it wasn't the right time yet and they had to choose other options.

"Why would you hesitate?" A faint male voice was then suddenly heard whispering only to the snake sannin's voice.

There was this feeling of encouragement that suddenly surged up within the snake sannin's mind. He suddenly felt as if these options or proposals were now very important to him. He didn't understood what was happening to him but he moved his and nodded unconsciously.

Kabuto was surprised to see that the snake sannin nodding and agreeing with his proposals. It was very strange for him to see the man like that as he would normally be standing on what he believed in. No one could easily convince or persuade him, but this time, it was a rare moment.

"Just go with the plan Kabuto, Make sure that things will go according to what you've discuss." Orochimaru finally spoke, his tone and words were clear as day.

Kabuto simply nodded in understading, with him getting the permission he needed, it was safe to say that he can now proceed to the next step. After all, the intention was for the greater good.

A win-win solution.

The two men thought that they were making up the decisions by themselves, it was unbeknowst to their knowledge that another presence was with them inside the room. Undetectable and free, the presence was revealed to be that of a familiar figure standing from behind, influencing their minds to decide.

Tensai knew from the start that these two men were one of the easiest ones to manipulate. Sure, they were deemed dangerous by these villages because of how many they have killed, but to him and the organization, they were just ordinary throwaway pawns for the greater plans ahead.

There were these specific events that the organization needed to achieve. In order to reach and make those events happen, they chose specific individuals such as the snake sannin and Kabuto, whispering to their ears, and influencing their decisions to create a domino effect which will lead them to that event.

The organization, which was established, long ago after Kami's sacrifice, had a goal of creating a new world away from the old one. They've been manipulating and changing events in history into their advantage, without the knowledge of the council or from any of those officials from the Pure land. They were also not alone on this one.

Their true goal was only a secret for now.

A small smile formed across the dark brown haired man's lips. So far everything was according to the plan. There were no interruptions or whatsoever, he had took over this operation by himself in hopes of avoiding any errors that would take place if one of the members took over. It was only a moment then when he suddenly felt multiple presences that had entered the place.

His eyes then drifted to a spot where a group of monitors are located, showing the different areas of the hideout. In a few moments, Each of those monitors began to off one by one and in that time, he caught a glimpse of feathery white blocking the view before going all static.

"The monitors are going off!?" The voice of Kabuto then exclaimed. The annoyed silver haired man immediately went to the said area in. an attempt to check and fix the problem." They always go off at the wrong time!" He added.

Orochimaru just only shook his head and placed his hand on his forehead." I guess you need to replace those outdated piece of technology Kabuto." He commented while the silver haired man ignored the snake sannin's comments.

Tensai stood there silent as he observed the silver haired man panicking. Although, he paid no heed to the man's worries as his attention directed towards the newcomers and a small devious smile forming around his lips.

"Looks like their finally here."

(EXPLORING)

"You think that's the last of it?"

"Yeah, I think it is, for the time being."

Boruto let his focused eyes down, as he disabled the supposed last of the CCTV cameras in the whole area. Whenever they managed to come across one, they would immediately proceed to disable it by hooking out all the wires inside the cameras and trying their best not to dropped them on the floor. Making a lot of noise is not their best priority right now.

Once the disabling process was finished, they took a couple of minutes to rest. They didn't even bother to count on how many cameras that they have disabled but rather just focused on discussing the strategies on how will they navigate the whole hideout.

"Looks like this Orochimaru guy has hundred of rooms in this sanctuary." Showtaro commented as he observed the metallic and wooden doors." Does he intend to keep his victims inside there for a long time there?" He added.

Naruto gave the first little chuckle." Well, everyone in the team used to think that the snake bastard was obssesed with kidnapping and keeping children." He said." Although, I think he is still doing it till this day."

Showtaro gave a disgust cringe." Well, I guess this will be the only and final time that we would discuss this." He said as his mind can't even imagine the scenarios of those kidnapped children.

The duck himself was disgust to hear that the human would commit horrible acts such as this. It makes him wonder on why the people in this world had slowly been corrupted and after Kami's sacrifice, the corruption had become more worst.

They continued the journey without discussing the topic more further.

Boruto took the reigns as the temporary leader of his group, which consists of himself, his young dad, and Showtaro, who were exploring the corridors of the hideout for a good amount of time already. They've been into each room that they came across and so far there were still no signs of their target.

They already had expected that the search wasn't going to be an easy task and so without any complains, they continued and still kept on going as the rest of the time passes by.

Despite the thoughts and worries that continued to circle around their minds, the guys, especially Boruto were able to keep in touch with the other team via a walkie talkie that the blonde rookie himself had brought for this mission, The other team, which consisted of the raven haired rookie and the pink haired kunouchi were the reasons why there was calmness around the the guys

Boruto, indeed was secretly thinking about his raven haired teammate for the past hour. The Uzumaki teen gave a sigh of relief when her voice first came out from the walkie and that's when the first conversation between the two camps started.

"Bolt, do you copy?" The voice of Sarada , from the walkie, finally came out.

Boruto then immediately pressed the button and replied." Yup, looks like the reception is wide and clear beneath the ground." He commented with a little chuckle.

"How's everything so far?" The voice of his teammate asked." Have you guys found any clues to P-Sasuke's whereabouts?" She added.

Boruto gave a sigh." Nope not yet." He said before turning his head towards his young dad and Showtaro, who were also eavesdropping or just listening to their conversation. At the same time, both of the guys then turned back to their former positions and pretended as if they weren't listening the whole time.

Boruto gave a short laugh as he shook his head before turning his attention back to the walkie.

"We're still sweeping the corridors, most of the rooms that we came across were pretty much empty." He explained." So far, no signs of Sasuke or Sai here." He added, he had to admit that these guys were really tough to locate in a place like this. They pretty much almost looked the same, except that Sai was more socially awkward than the brooder.

The two continued to talk about Sai, and the next step that they would do if they either of them crossed paths or encountered him during the search.

"Stupid Sai!"

"Gay Idiot!"

Naruto can be heard blurting out a number of offensive and foul comments which caused the rookie and Showtaro to give away surprised glances at him, with Boruto mostly having the serious looked at him.

"Yeah same too, looks like this will take a lot of time for awhile." The voice of Sarada replied at the same time.

Boruto gave another sigh before turning back to the walkie." I know Sarada, but we still gotta keep searching." He replied." I have a feeling that we're getting closer to either of those two, so be ready." He added.

There was a brief moment of quietness that took over, Boruto can sense that his raven haired teammate was dipping in her thoughts.

"Yeah, we'll be ready." The voice of his teammate finally replied.

As the conversation concluded, Boruto placed the walkie back on his pocket. He took a deep breath as he turned around to face his young dad and Showtaro, who also had just finish eavesdropping.

"So how did it go?" Naruto was the first one to asked.

"Did the girls finally found something?" Showtaro added.

Boruto simply shook his head and gave a sigh." Nope, they haven't found any traces of the two." He explained, before directing his eyes towards Showtaro.

"So Showtaro-san, you said that this hideout is also a part of your investigation? He asked.

Showtaro gave a surprised look before nodding." Uhmm, Yes, I was actually planning to asked you two, if you could also assist me during your search." He said, as awaited for the blonde's response.

There was a moment of quietness that took over before the rookie gave him a smile and nod." Alright, if you could just tell us the details and more about this investigation." He said, while the other simply nodded.

"I will." Showtaro replied.

As for Naruto, confusion took over his mind. His eyes darted between the two guys as he wondered about this investigation that they were talking about. He only knew that Showtaro was a kind of summon but he didn't know that he also had a mission of his own which was pretty strange and new to him.

Exactly, what was this investigation all about?

(MEANWHILE)

Sarada sighed as she closed out another door yet again. It was probably the hundreth door and room that she had searched through only to discover the disappointment yet again, as like many other rooms from before, it was all nothing but empty and no signs of either Sai or Sasuke.

"Still no sign either of them here."

Sakura simply nodded, the pink haired teen had already expected that this was going to be a tough search. There was also uncertainty in them that they weren't sure on which of the two guys will they search first. Anything can happen during this search, but still, both of their two targets were considered to be dangerous as of now.

The two girls continued their search as they found themselves exploring the hideout, traversing through occasional mazes and searching through every room that they came across which all turned out to be empty so far. The two girls wondered the purpose of these rooms, What were they all for? Why there were more than a hundred of them in this very hideout?

It was yet another mystery as the raven haired girl came up with several theories, a couple of them were considered to be the most possible or logical theory with one suggesting that the rooms could be intended for the snake sannin's newly recruits for his gang that would follow or obey anything for his goals or the rooms could belong to his experiments.

Having the same thoughts, both girls' minds slowly drifted to certain person. At this time, they can't help but think of a raven haired teen known as Sasuke. Anxiousness and excitement were slowly creeping up to them, they were really not sure on what to do if they ever crossed paths with him during this search.

At the same time, both girls felt each others worries, they both turned to each other and let out the same question:

"Are you alright?" They both said to each.

"You look very worried." They added both again.

"Jinx!" They softly exclaimed before giving their own little chuckles.

"I'm so sorry about that." Sarada was the first one to speak while scratching the back of her head.

Sakura gave a smile and sigh." Me too." She said." I guess we're having the same mind waves right now." She added, not knowing that the rookie was thinking about the same person right now as her.

"I know, searching for two troublesome people is kind of stressful." Sarada gave her own comment. Using Shikadai's signature line.

Sakura reacted to the raven haired rookie's statement, reminding her of a lazy friend named Shikamaru. Indeed those two teens were considered to be troublesomes as of now, leaving this tough task or challenge for the girls and rest of the team to locate by themselves without a main leader in their brown haired sensei.

While continuing the search, the conversation also continued between them.

"You've been keeping that anxious face for awhile." Sakura commented, as she voiced out her concern for the rookie. She had been wondering on why she looked more nervous now than the time of the incident back at the bridge. What was really bothering her? Was this some kind of rookie trauma affecting her and if not, then what was it?

Sarada simply gave her a reassuring smile." Nope, I'm just fine." She replied." It's kind of a surreal thing for me in a mission like this." She added." As if this already had happened before."

There a slight puzzlement from the pink haired teen's eyes before raising both of them in a surprised." You mean like a strange case of Dejavu?" She tried to clarify.

Sarada simply nodded." Something like that." She said. Although, she knew that this kind of experience already had happened before once.

Sakura was bewildered, she was aware that the rookie was a first time Shinobi and only been assigned into her second mission, but it did really made her confused and intrigued her the fact that her rookie counterpart was having the same feelings as her in this mission. As if, she knew what was gonna happen next or that she also somehow knew Sasuke even though she'd never met him before.

Sarada kept quiet, she tried her best not to expressed her true feelings about the subject. Although, there were times that she couldn't help but to let out some of the emotions that she had been hiding inside of her. She never knew that she would be meeting her Papa once again, or at least the younger version of himself.

She could feel already feel the moment getting closer.

(LATER ON)

As their search continued throughout the neverending corridors, the two girls encountered a couple of challenges, with one of them in the form of CCTV cameras attached on some of the walls. The only solution that they had was to sabotage or break each one of them carefully, but when they were about to do what they have to do, surprised came in directly, as it turned out that the cameras weren't even working and were just there as a display.

This baffled the two girls even more, they were in a potential high class hostile hideout and the cameras weren't even working. What was really going on right now?

"I'm starting to get the feeling that these cameras were only here for display just to intimidate anyone who dared to go through here." Sakura spoke this time, examining her surroundings.

Sarada simply nodded." I know right, since this hideout have cameras that don't even work, then couldn't they afford some proper lighting system rather than be using a torches?" She added and wondered.

"Well, I guess so, looks like their money management just really suck." Sakura added, which automatically causes an exchange of small laughter between the two.

"Oops, I really didn't mean to be laughing my butt off right now." Sarada said and apologized.

Sakura manage to calm herself down." It's alright, we've been so serious for the past hour that we almost forgot how to laugh." She explained to which had a point. They really need to at least release bad tension that had been building up inside of them.

Sarada just smiled, she understood that they needed this little moment to get a sigh of relief, In fact, it was only short-lived as their search was almost over by stumbling upon an unexpected new presence heading towards their direction.

Foot steps were suddenly heard as a shade of shawdowy black could be seen from a near distance to which immediately alerted the two teens.

"Someone's coming!" Sarada whispered to her pink haired counterpart as they turned their heads around to look for any areas or spots fit for hiding.

Sakura could only nod back as she also attempted her best on not letting her anxiety get the best of her as she also checked out some of the rooms surrounding them. Maybe these rooms or at least one of them isn't locked this time.

As luck was on their side, a certain room was not locked, and the pink haired kunouichi immediately turned the knob and quickly opened the door." Got it!" She said, before turning to the raven haired rookie.

"Sarada! quickly in here!" Sakura called out as quietly as possible and signalled the rookie to rush as fast as she can inside.

Sarada did not hesitate, as the newcomer was fast approaching, the raven haired rookie wasted no time and rushed towards the room, carefully semi-closing the door so that they can have good view of the newcomer.

(INTERVIEW)

"Our hearts were really pounding, we were in the middle of a conversation trying to calm ourselves down and the next thing we know, we're already getting into a state of panic on finding a hiding spot from this unexpected newcomer.

And something came up and we began to think that this could be either of the two."

-Sarada

"We waited for about several seconds for this person to show up. Lo and Behold, we finally found something that was definitely a part of the jackpot.

And to explained it simple terms: The person that came up in front of our eyes was indeed Sai."

-Sakura

(DISCOVERED)

Heading back towards his own room, Sai walked through the dim-litted corridors once again with new thoughts and a new perspective in his mind. The young member of root was quiet as he thought about his previous conversation between him and the boy back at the small canteen. The conversation was very much interesting and it gave him more information that he needed about his target.

The infamous story of Sasuke Uchiha had reached into a level that can be considered as a local tale or rumour amongst the Root, and for them, locating this certain person was already challenge for them because of his ellusiveness. He was already part of the of their top most wanted persons to assassinate for the sake of their superior's measures to protect the village.

There were already many attempts and many members that were sent to locate the guy and eliminate him. Nobody knows what happened to the rest of those members, since some of them returned with failure in their bags or some had never returned back. Sai found himself, as one of the recent attempts and he had to make sure that this attempt would be successful this time and the last.

The last thought that came up into his mind was about "Mitsue" the boy that he had a conversation with earlier at the canteen. Mysterious was the only word that he could give as a description for him. It was this innocent and calm boy, who provided him more about the place and learned that even he himself has difficulty of locating the guy since this was a very wide and convoluted hideout that can be already compared to a maze.

With that said, he finally had a plan formed inside his mind.

Sensing that his journey back to his room was nearing completion, Sai took the last few moments to think about his time at the canteen, the poor people there who were probably taken away from their homes and forced to work or be subjects under an insane man's experiments. Speaking of Mitsue, the boy spoke as if he had been in this place for a very long time, he had the eyes of someone longing to rest from all this mess.

As much he wanted to help the boy, it was very much not a part of his mission. His mind was focus on one goal and that is to locate the rogue Uchiha and eliminate him.

Sai stopped his tracks as he found himself staring at the brown wooden door which act as a bridge between him and his temporary room. As he was about to reach the knob, he suddenly felt something from behind as he stopped and turned around to see nothing but the blank space. For a several moments he observed his surroundings to see if he can catch anything suspicious with his eyes, he even walked a a few steps to investigate and so far not a single soul was around.

Concluding that no one was following him, the black haired teen then grabbed the knob and opened the door, he immediately entered his room and closed the door shut.

(MEANWHILE)

Both girls released their breath as they sighed in relief. They had been hiding in that small corner for a good amount of time now, as they also kept their eyes on a certain black haired teen.

"Looks like he went back to his room." Sarada whispered as she was the first one to go out from the hiding spot followed by her pink haired counterpart.

Sakura had a blank and clueless expression, for the first time, she didn't knew on what would be the next step after this, she was behind the raven haired rookie and for a few moments was depending on her and was about to asked the next step, before her main self came back to her.

"I think, we should carefully sneak in and surprise him." The pink haired teen suggested, as she took over and pointed towards the door while slowly heading towards there without making any loud foot steps.

Sarada simply nodded." Good Idea." She said as she gave the pink haired teen a confident smile.

The two teens then positioned themselves beside the door as they readied themselves for their first action inside this very hideout.

(MEANWHILE WITH SAI)

Immediately after entering his room, Sai quickly resumed back to his works. The young root headed towards the table where The scroll and the rest of his things were placed. So far there weren't any signs of Kabuto or anyone breaking into his room and rampaging through his valuables, they were all intact from what he last saw before.

Sai took a deep breath as he continued on his plan, opening his bingo book, flipping the pages, and stopping at a page which contained the details of the known information of his target. At the same time, he was also looking at the scroll and it's symbols as his mind was deciding on which Ink creature would be best to used at this time.

For the past couple of minutes, he began constructing his plan, taking any best possibilities and crossing out anything that would lead him to a dead end. He reminded himself that this hideout was a very huge place and he cannot locate his target all by himself, so he needed a faster and efficient way to do it.

When He finally decided on an Ink creature to summon, the young teen immediately formed several types of hand signs as he began to summon a number of the Ink creatures. Although, the only catch is that it may take some time for his summon to materialize in its physical form, so he had no choice but to wait.

It was at this time that the young teen began searching through his back pack to find a certain book of his. Confusion and Panic began to creeped out as there was no trace of the book. Sai was getting annoyed, he kicked the foot of the bed in frustration as he realized that his carelessness got the best of him earlier as he assumed that he dropped his book somewhere in the forest during the incident at Tenchi Bridge.

It was at this time that he suddenly heard a knock coming from the door. Sai immediately turned around to face the source of the knocking. His right hand then grabbed the Kunai and proceeded to slowly walked towards the door.

"It's either him or Kabuto." He thought to himself as he kept guessing between the two. Although, it doesn't really matter for him right now.

As he reached the door, there was this feeling of cautiousness that took over, sensing on whoever is behind the door, was hostile and also had bad intentions. So he gripped his Kunai tight and reached for the knob yet again.

By the time He had readied himself and was about to tilt the door knob, something very unexpected had happened as the door in front of him suddenly burst open hard that it directly hit him in the face and sent him sliding on the ground and towards the table which he crashed on.

"Shannaro!" A familiar voice of a girl was then heard exclaiming.

Sakura kicked the door so hard that it was forcibly opened and literally broke the knob. She entered the room with her usual rage, unaware that she already hit a certain person in the head." Alright Sai where are you!?" She exclaimed one more time.

Sarada was a bit startled when this happened, from being in a nervous state, her young mom was suddenly fueled by her motivation as she suddenly stood up and performed this strong kick that pretty much broke the door. The other surprising part was that Sai was coincidentally near the door and unfortunately became the victim.

"Uhmm, I think you just accidentally knocked over Sai." Sarada let out her first words over.

Sakura managed control her emotions as the rookie's voice calmed her down. She then quickly realized on what she had done just now and gasp.

"Oh no Sai! Are you alright!?" She began to freaked out as she rushed towards the young root, grabbed by the shoulders and forcibly began shaking him as a means to wake him up which also wasn't any help.

Sarada could only sighed and shook her, she recall how her Mama would freaked out in certain situations similar to this. But at least for now, they have a found something that is a part of their goal.

The only thing unbeknownst to them was that several Ink summons in the form of a mouse had finally formed and had escape the room.

(INTERROGATION 1)

Being stuck and trapped on a chair after being unintentionally hit on the head wasn't Sai's main expectations, he could still feel the pain as a small bruise appeared on his forehead. He found himself staring at the two girls in front of him, who had the obvious intention of getting answers from him.

Sarada stood as she observed the teen, she had been keeping this serious face as a means to intimidate him, however her stare doesn't even affect the teen since he had no emotion at all.

On the other hand, Sakura had more sympathizing look, her feelings were in between whether to still trust the latter or maybe just completely give up on him since he betrayed the team. As of now, She allowed the raven haired rookie to take over the questioning process.

Silence had took over for awhile, Sarada had a brief stare off with the teen, the guy seemed to be letting his guard down and not even resisting. At the same time, she was already preparing her questions carefully inside her mind, thinking of any ways to make him spill out the beans.

As she was about to speak, the young man had beaten her first, and starting with a smile, he finally spoke.

"Well, I guess there's no point of denying or resisting." Sai said, giving a sigh and a smile, and also causing confusion amongst the two girls.

Sarada raised an eyebrow." What do you mean?" She asked.

Sai was silent for a few moments, he then directed his eyes towards the pink haired teen as if he was telling her that she has something that belonged to him.

Sakura responded with a nod as she then drew out a small object from her pocket which turned out to be the picture book that she found back at the forest and handed it over to the teen." I believed this is yours, right?" She said.

"Thank you." Sai smiled as he simply accepted the picture book back. There was this kind of little appreciation that he felt. He never expected that the pink haired teen would keep it in one piece all this time.

Sarada cleared her throat to get the teen's attention once again." Can you tell me your real purpose here?" She asked, giving the teen a serious look." Are you taking orders from a man named Danzou?" She added.

"He's plotting something which involves Orochimaru in the mixed, isn't he?" Sakura added." And you're chosen to be their liason, if I'm correct."

"So that's why you were so distant from us since the beginning." Sarada added.

The two girls had brought themselves to the point of being overwhelming as they kept bombarding the guy with every question that they have in mind. On the other hand, Sai kept quiet and patiently waited for the two girls stop.

Just tell the whole truth, what are they up to?" Sarada finished the bombardment, with a little demanding tone of voice. She had to admit that this teen version of Inojin's dad was very annoying.

Sai smile as he then took a deep breath." Now that you've discovered me, I guess there's no point of hiding any secret from you two." He replied. He had come to point where he had concluded that he really had no match against these two monsters if he tried to resist.

"Just as you said, The truth about this conspiracy is that we're trying to destroy Konoha in every way possible."

(INTERVIEW)

"When I heard his statement, I was pretty much bewildered to learn the fact that Uncle Sai was a part of a conspiracy to destroy the village. It was really a twist to the story and why I'm not surprised about hearing similar statements from other interrogations before?"

-Sarada

(MEANWHILE)

Taking a short break from leading the group, Boruto took the back seat and had let Showtaro led the way for the meantime. He had never forgotten the fact that the duck also had a mission that he needed to attend to. Although, he had to admit that it was pretty tough to balance between two missions at the same time. As for now, he was gonna let the flow take over and let things naturally come into place.

Turning the cap and opening his water bottle, the Uzumaki teen took a sip to replenish his energy that has been slowly depleted from the hours of exploring and searching throughout the hideout.

He also thought that there would be silence for awhile after hours of conversing and planning for their next step, but it seemed that the other blonde would continue to keep it alive. He kept discussing this certain topic regarding Sai, and mainly his recent bretayal on the team and mission.

"If there is a chance that we might bumped into Sai, we really should make sure that traitor learned his lesson Dattebayo!" Naruto blurted out, still can't get over the hump with the black haired teen.

This also gave annoyance to the rookie as he this was the last straw for him to hear those kind of statements. He then stopped his tracks and turned towards his blonde counterpart.

"Alright Naruto, what seems to be the problem?" He calmly asked, giving his young dad a serious face.

Naruto widened his eyes in surprised when he met the rookie's serious and stern look. He wasn't expecting this kind of reaction from him as he thought that he was gonna laugh at it with him." W-What do you mean Bolt?" He said.

The rookie just continued to look at him seriously for an amount of time. He was confused as he tried to figure out on what did he do or said that caused the latter to be in that state. It didn't took long enough when finally realized that him, criticizing the black haired teen was the main cause.

"Wait, don't tell me that you're-" He was about to finish his sentence when he was cut.

Boruto raised a hand as a sign to interrupt his blonde counterpart's sentence." I'm sorry to cut you off Naruto, but let me tell you something you first." He paused, and then continued." You don't have to judge a person right away without knowing his true colors first!"

Naruto was taken aback by the rookie's statement. He didn't expect to hear that kind of response from him, so he then frowned in annoyance." Oh come on now, you've personally seen his true self already dattebayo!" He argued, referring to the previous time before the guy went rogue.

"Even if he shows kindness, he still will be that same irritating guy!" He added to his argument.

Boruto just sighed, he was getting this "Arguing with his old man" feeling again. How he hated this kind of situation, where he's fighting for the right explanation against a person who is very tough to be convince. All he wanted to do is to simply tell the young seventh about judging too early. He too didn't knew anything about the black haired teen but with the stories coming from Inojin and Aunt Ino, he learned the real picture behind the scenes.

Boruto took a deep breath as began to explain hia side of the story." Yes, I'm aware that he can be the most irritating guy in the world, but have you consider checking out his past or background?" He said, before adding more.

"What caused him to become that way?"

There was silence between the two, especially Naruto, who was surprised." Why didn't I think of that earlier?" He asked himself before looking back at the rookie.

Boruto continued his reason." I know you want to beat him up so badly, but at least try to understand him for awhile." He said, before pausing." You said it yourself that there's still hope in people like Sai." He explained." He could still have that change of heart, if you're willing to understand."

"The same as you perceived that Sasuke could still be save!" He added and finished his sentence.

Naruto stood there shocked and dumbfounded. He didn't expect to received that kind of explanation from the rookie. He was beginning to realized on what his blonde counterpart was telling him that the case of Sai was very much similar to the case of his Uchiha teammate. He had a very good point and that he should reconsider on taking a chance on saving black haired teen while there's still time.

Boruto was quiet, he just waited for his teenage dad to reply back. He really had no choice but to explain to him the truth and make him realized that cursing and bashing a guy like that for life wasn't gonna really help solved his problems.

It took several key moments before the latter gave a sigh and nodded." I guess you're right Bolt." Naruto finally replied as he then gave a small calm smile before scratching the back of his head." Thanks for telling Dattebayo." He added, before continuing on as he passed by the rookie and duck.

Showtaro was very much surprised as he became the audience for the two. He really had no idea on what was really going on between the two but he was glad that it somehow ended on a good note." What was that all about?" He asked, as he turned his eyes to the rookie.

Boruto gave a small smile and simply nodded." Just making him realize the good things and stuff like that." He replied, with an unsure tone of voice. He was even amazed on how he was able to talk his teenage dad in a very professional manner.

"Oh I see." Showtaro with a surprised nod. This kid was really something else.

(INTERVIEW)

"Just like I said, the kid was something else! At this age of his, He's pretty much mature already."

-Showtaro

"It's just something that I really hope to put to end, I mean the old man was really getting bitter on teenage uncle Sai and somehow, I managed to help him realized that there's still a chance for him to be saved."

-Boruto

(MEANWHILE)

"So you're saying that you're a part of an alliance with Orochimaru while also spying behind is back?"

"Yes."

This might be the one of the most complex conspiracies that Sarada has heard, and one of the most dangerous too. The raven haired rookie stood there staring and dissecting every information that she received from the black haired teen. Same goes to Sakura, who had the same doing as well.

Turns out that a conspiracy to destroy the village had been forming behind the scenes between The Root and Orochimaru. Something that everybody wasn't expecting or having heard off.

"The moment Konoha is destroyed, Orochimaru will definitely betray us." Sai explained." It's a preventive measure and we must be one step ahead at any cost."

Sarada raised an eyebrow." So why not do it by yourselves?" She said." Since you all know that He's gonna double cross you at the end?"

"The Root organization doesn't have the power or force to create chaos." Sai explained." That's why we need the snake to do that part because he has that capability of causing destruction on a village." He said, as he also referred to the Otogakure invasion that the man orchestrated years prior.

"So basically the Root wants to create this destruction just to make the village theirs?" Sarada tried to clarified.

Sai simply nodded." You're partially correct, but it was my superior's goal since from the beginning." He added.

Sakura widened her eyes in surprised." So it's true that Danzo wanted for himself." She said, while the other nodded.

"And you're supposed to make that happen all by yourself?" Sarada spoke this time.

Sai kept quiet for a little while, it was a sign that he was definitely doing this all by himself." I was chosen mission because of my ability to leak information right away." He explained.

"Are you completely mad!?" Sakura exclaimed." You do realized that a lot of innocent people's lives is at stake here!?" She was really furious that the black haired teen would do all of this willingly. She recalled on how the Otogakure invasion devastated the village from three years ago, causing a lot of deaths and destruction. She wasn't gonna let that happen again.

Sai wasn't affected by her words." Who cares, I'm just following orders." He replied causing the pink haired teen to mention his name and shake her head in disappointment.

"And one more thing, "Sai" was just a name assigned for me in this mission." The black haired teen added." I am merely a nobody and just one of Danzo-sama's arms." He finished his sentence as if he really wasn't bothered and didn't care.

"I do not exist and there's no point of insulting or criticizing me."

Sarada was shocked to hear the revelation. After all these years, The name "Sai" was simply a fake name. She really can't imagine on how Inojin will react to this truth. It must've been really weird for a person not knowing or having their true name and at this point in time, there's not much hope for the black haired teen except for a certain picture book on his right hand.

Sakura immediately took noticed of the book and planned to discussed it with the teen." But why do you still keep that picture book as a treasure even though you're telling us that you have no real purpose in your life?" She asked.

The moment she had said this, the black haired teen's eyes widened in surprised. He wasn't expecting this to enter the conversation. He instinctively raised right hand so that he can look at the book and it's distinctive cover and thus the memories began to flooding in.

"Why do you treasure it so much?" Sakura asked again." Is it because that you dearly missed your brother?" She added, causing the rookie to turned her attention towards her.

"Or is it because that book is the only thing and reason that proves that you exist in this world?" Sakura added.

Sai was silent, the things that he was hearing right now had been greatly affecting him deeply. He wasn't just showing it to the two girls.

"You haven't lost your emotions as much as you claim it to be." Sakura continued, she was finally getting the full picture about the guy." The fact that you accepted the book back and said " Thank You" proves it and you felt relief when I handed it to you." She stopped to catch her breath.

Sai was surprised and at the same time, confused, emotions were forming around him for the first time." In what way does carrying a picture book around prove that I exist?" He asked, his interest rising on the topic.

"The reason you don't want to let go of the picture book is because you can't give up the image you have of yourself as a little brother." Sakura simply explained." And your ties with your brother are very important to you." She added." You don't wanna severe that strong ties."

Sai was struck deeply inside. Emotions were starting to creeped up as a certain word appeared in his mind.

"Bonds"

The young Root felt hands shaking. He tried to ask himself of this strange feelings that he has been having right now. He could feel joy, anger, and sadness at the same time and remembering his big brother at the same time.

"Shin."

This was indeed the first time that he felt these emotions. Emotions that had been sealed away since his grueling training at Kiragakure and it came like a surging giant wave inside him. The memories of himself and everything from the beginning to the current end. The last image that he saw was that of the smiling face of his "big brother" before he went on.

Sai then looked down as he took a deep breath." This picture book was supposed to be a present for him." He spoke." But before I can complete it, He..." The black haired teen trailed off as he attempted to finished his sentence but couldn't bring himself to do it.

"H-He passed on before I could show it to him." Sai finished his sentence but at the cost of letting out a little bit of his emotions in the form of a small tear that secretly came out and before he knew, he started to sob a little.

The two girls were surprised and also saddened to see the teen like this. Who knew that he would letting out emotions that he never had before. It was a bitter sweet to see Sai finally getting in touch with his human emotional side but at the same time they had to continue interrogating the man.

(INTERVIEW)

"This teenage version Uncle Sai was indeed a tough heart to break. Seeing him emotionless since the beginning of the mission and then seeing him crying for a litte bit was a big change for me. I think he's beginning to see that there's still hope to change, but still we needed him to cooperate for us to find Papa."

-Sarada

(CHANGE OF HEART)

Although, Sai spoke and this time tone was different." If you're gonna search for Sasuke Uchiha, you're gonna have a hard time locating his exact place." He said.

The atmosphere immediately changed, there was seriousness that took over.

The black haired teen had decided to help the two girls and he was now giving all the information he can to help them find the Uchiha.

"Orochimaru is often with him." Sai continued" So if you want to really find Sasuke, you'll have to go through that snake first." He explained." If you pursue him, you might end up as a subject for his insane experiments."

"And besides, why do you still continue to pursue him even though, he possibly doesn't care about you and Naruto anymore?" He added.

There was quietness that took over yet again. It was indeed a tough question to answer and the guy had a point. Why waste time to pursue a person who had no hopes of being saved?

Sakura just sighed but gave a smile." You know that's the reason why we still have hope." She said, causing confusion for the black haired teen.

"I don't speak for Naruto but, I guess the reason why he doesn't give is because, He always say that Sasuke would often acknowledged him more than anyone else did." She explained, which left the other widening his eyes in surprised.

Sakura continued." It's kind of a bond that happens very rarely, you treat each other as brothers and sisters." She said. She would then go on to explain that the bond that was formed during the early days of Team 7 had been going strong for all these years.

"Even If you asked me or Naruto, we really don't care about all these set backs ahead of us." Sakura said.

"No matter what happens, we're gonna bring Sasuke back home." The pink haired teen added, finally finding her confidence.

Sarada watched the whole the scene unfold, she was amazed and proud at the same time. No one could really bring that confidence down.

Sai felt humbled this time." Bonds" He muttered under his breath as his interest on this kind of ties, began to grew inside. He wanted to find out more about it and learned from it.

It seemed that everything was heading to a good end, the two girls had successfully helped Sai in his emotional state and he was on board on rejoining and assisting them again for real. The only hindrance as of now was an unexpected newcomer from behind.

"Well, what do we have here." A recognizable male voice spoke from behind.

The two girls then immediately turned around to face a familiar face. An annoying face to be exact." You've got to be kidding me." Sarada sighed and commented. She didn't expect that she had to go through this yet again.

The newcomer was revealed to be Kabuto himself, who had apparently just discovered them.

"Looks like you've become a prisoner Sai." Kabuto said, giving an arrogant face while the black haired teen remained silent.

"Oh not you again!" Sakura sarcastically exclaimed as she was having the same thoughts as the raven haired rookie. She too was sick of facing this guy.

Kabuto gave an arrogant laugh and ignored the pink haired girl's comments as he focused on the black haired teen." It's doesn't looked like you've betrayed us, so I'll trust for now." He said before forming an evil grin in his face.

He was about to summon his Chakra blade in an attempt to rescue the black haired teen before something unexpected had happened. As soon as he change into battle stance, he suddenly felt immense pain from under. He suddenly stopped his attempts and instead held his junior and his knees dropping on the floor.

"Not again." He muttered aloud as the last image he saw was that of a certain raven haired teen, who was the one responsible for kicking him in the balls once again.

Sarada wasn't bothered and didn't even care, she had enough of this and took upon herself to end the conflict in a matter of seconds. She then turned towards the two, who were giving a very surprised look. They were dumbfounded on what happened just now, and they were about to ready themselves for battle.

Sarada just gave them a slight grin. Now they finally have the second key to locate their target.

(INTERROGATION 2)

Kabuto found himself forcibly sitting and had been strapped down on the chair via Sai's ink substance. He had never expected this to happened and also never anticipated that the black haired teen would double cross him. He was now subjected to a sudden interrogation.

"Alright, where is Sasuke?"

The first question was heard coming from the pink haired teen herself, while the rest watched from behind.

Kabuto was quiet as he observed his surroundings. He was trying to find a way out of this mess or a possible move to escape his current situation. So far luck wasn't on his side to begin since he was facing three people who are capable of really teaching him lesson, especially that raven haired girl with the glasses.

He secretly gave his frustration because he had obviously no choice but sit down in defeat and he had to cooperate in order to make his escape work out. By the time he took a deep a breath, he began to speak.

"By now, He's probably finished with his training and has gone back to his room in the inner area." He replied.

"Are you sure about that?" Sarada asked.

Kabuto gave a slight arrogant chuckle." Of course, I've personally seen him train awhile ago." He said.

"I don't think he's lying." Sai spoke this time and followed up a question thereafter." Which part of this inner area?" He asked.

"Be specific!" He demanded.

Kabuto gave a smirked before rolling his eyes." I don't know which room." He said before continuing." This hideout has a lot of inner areas and chambers that would really make it tough for you to locate him." He explained.

"Then we'll keep searching for him down there." Sarada said, having her determination intact.

"Well, that could work randomly." Kabuto replied." But, I warned you three, if you commit at least one small mistake, you might disturb a snake that will jump at you." He added with a devious smile.

There was silence that took over inside the room. Kabuto thought that by discouraging or taking away their motivation, they might give up on their goal. Although, that would only come true in his dreams as he failed at that part.

Sakura then smirked back "If you think that we're gonna get killed, then you're very wrong four eyes!" She replied back with a strong tone of voice as he beckoned the rest to move forward and leave the room.

Kabuto widened his eyes in surprised as he began to see his failed attempt and in a few moments time, the three immediately left, leaving him alone and still strapped in the chair. He soon began to shake his head and give a defeated smirked.

"You won't, unless you try."

(SIDE MISSION)

"It must be here somewhere."

Showtaro wiped the sweat from his forehead as he flew towards through the corridors, behind him were the two blondes catching up to him. There was this feeling that he would be reaching the area that he was looking for all this time. The only regret that he had was that he didn't have the time to explain his mission in detail to the two because of the little time that they had.

Though he was able to summarized his mission and it was basically about locating a person of interest in his investigation. A person that he believed to be a possible witness and a whistle blower that might relay him top secret information about the unknown doings of the council's culprits.

When Boruto asked the question on why would this person of interest would end up in this hideout in the first place, the answer was simple:

This person of interest might be on the run from the enemy or forcibly exiled for revealing too much classified information.

Showtaro also revealed that this hideout was originally a prison from a very long ago and considering its dungeons-like rooms, broken chains scattered and its overall appearance, it made sense that any person or being with atrocities would be placed in here. It was only unrecognizable because it had been

After a good amount of time traversing through the inner areas, the inner areas itself were larger than the previous ones and the group found themselves stopping their tracks as they found themselves looking at dead end in the form of a huge wall.

"Looks like a dead end." Boruto said, recommending the rest to continue their search in other areas.

"Are we even in the right place?" Naruto added as confusion was hitting him slowly.

Showtaro simply shook his head and gave a small smile." We're in the right place." He said, as he moved towards the wall to get a closer look.

He soon began to study and examine the walls, discovering mysterious yet somehow familiar round symbols attached and written on the wall itself. The symbols were small enough to be touch by a hand. Showtaro drew his small journal book, flipping to a certain page, which also contained symbols, and began to compare it to the symbols on the wall.

"Just as I thought, these symbols are from the Otsutsuki clan." Showtaro said causing mixed reactions from the two blondes.

Boruto widened his eyes in shock after hearing the "Otsutsuki" word itself, he had never expected that this would be involved in the duck's investigation." No way." He muttered out.

Naruto was bewildered, he kept glancing at the two back and forth, wondering what the heck was going on. Who were the Otsutsuki? Were they even human? What's with all these weird symbols on the wall? There were just so many questions in his mind right now.

Meanwhile, Boruto moved closer as he too was now examining these symbols. "So these Otsutsuki symbols are what for? He asked.

"There basically codes or puzzles to unlock a certain door or passage." He said and would go on to explain that by unlocking or decoding these puzzles, the walls would lose its defensive barrier thus leading them into their goal by destroying the walls first.

Boruto nodded, accepting and understanding his explanation." So how are you gonna decode the puzzle?" He asked.

Showtaro simply smiled as he finally found a way." Well, it's simple." He said, pointing to the symbols and his small book." A friend from the Otsutsuki world, gave me advice on solving these puzzles." He added." As you can see on the wall, all symbols must be in their proper positions and one of the symbols here is suspiciously upside down." He explained.

"So what's the next step?" Boruto asked.

Showtaro nodded." Simple, you just turned this symbol back into its right position." He said as he adjusted a certain round symbol with a crescent moon design inside, back to its original position by tilting the symbol a little bit. Once he brought the symbol back, all three symbols and the wall began to glow, in a few moments time, the glow began to die down. The duck then proceeded to press the middle symbol, which acted as a button and moments later a portion of the wall began to collapse leaving an entrance.

The group stood and found themselves staring at a new passage, Both Boruto and Naruto were amazed and surprised while Showtaro kept calm as usual for the reason that he already did this many times before in the past.

"Now that's something you don't see everyday." Naruto commented, as he proceeded to enter the new passage along with the two. He also hoped that his long lost raven haired teammate would be in here too.

As they entered the passage, the atmosphere had change as the feeling of cautioness instantly took over the three. Naruto immediately drew out his Kunai, in case of a possible ambush, although he doubt that Orochimaru or Kabuto even knew this area in their own hideout to begin with. The whole area itself was almost covered in darkness, but with the help of a single torch that Boruto had taken and brought with them, they can at least see what was inside.

The area looks almost like a chamber or somesort.

Boruto, who was in the middle, kept calm as he secretly activated his Jougan in order to get an idea or appearance of the whole area. By the time, he had activated it, his eyes was suddenly met with hundreds of symbols that were on its walls and floors glowing brightly." What in the world!?" He exclaimed to himself.

By the time, he looked straight to his direction, there was this certain blue aura concentrated from a few distances away from where they are now.

At the same time, Showtaro had stopped his tracks on certain spot where a huge cauldron was located. "Hey Kid!" He called out the blonde rookie to come forward with the torch.

Boruto snapped back to reality as he headed towards the duck." So what do we now, Showtaro?" He asked.

"Place the torch in the cauldron and then use that Fire Jutsu Element of yours to boost up the flames, so we can fully light this place up." He simply said and explained.

Boruto nodded as he did on what was told, he placed the torch on the huge cauldron and there suddenly fire on it, he then immediately cast a Fire jutsu to boost up the fire. Once its all done, there was suddenly light that was emitted and the darkness slowly faded away, and the area's appearance was finally revealed to be that of a big chamber.

Boruto and Naruto, were amazed to see their new surroundings, this was indeed a remarkable site to see. They both deduced that this chamber was ancient, considering its appearance and current state of being hidden and untouched for a very long time.

"Wow"

"This so cool Dattebayo!"

As for Showtaro, he didn't pay attention to the overall appearance of the chamber, in fact he was more focused on certain person that was a few distances away from them. He immediately narrowed his eyes and proceeded to towards the person laying down and resting on a concrete wall, He donned a tattered white Kimono and also bound on a chain. He was not alone as beside him were skeletal remains of people that were also imprisoned and chained inside this big chamber.

"Gotcha!" He widened his as he immediately headed towards the person.

Meanwhile, Both Boruto and Naruto also noticed Showtaro's hurry as they also proceeded to catch up with their duck companion.

(INTERVIEW)

"I had a feeling that the chamber itself was indeed a prison. By the time I saw the person bound to chains, that was the evidence for me. Considering his tattered white kimono with crescent moon symbol designs on it:

It hit my mind to conclude that the person of interest was an Otsutsuki."

-Showtaro

(MEANWHILE)

As soon as they got out from the room, leaving the silver haired man still strapped on his chair, the group. which now composed of Sarada, Sakura, and the returning Sai, who recently had a goal of now redeeming himself from the mistakes that he commited in this mission.

This time they have intensified their search more as they checked from room to room, regardless if these rooms were empty or not. Despite some of them being locked, they forcibly broke the doors in any hopes or possibilities that Sasuke would be inside. But still, not a single trace of him were located inside those rooms.

"Not in here either." Sarada gave out the bad news as she closed the door of the last room in this area that they're in now.

The group stopped for a brief rest before they can continue on with their search at the inner next area of the hideout. It was estimated that they've already checked more than a hundred rooms now, and there is still a lot more to go in the next area.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Sakura commented as she voiced out her frustration on the subject.

Sai could only sympathized with the pink haired teen, as he too was awaiting for any possiblities." Looks like this hideout ia bigger than we thought." He said." We need to think of more ways to find him." He suggested.

"To hell, with that! We're gonna find him no matter what!" Sakura exclaimed, as she gave the black haired teen a serious look.

"Whatever it takes."

Sarada watched as she could sense that her young Mama really loved her Papa, even though he was deemed a hostile enemy at this point by many. " Sakura, we're gonna find him, don't worry." She assured her teenage mom. She too was also having the same feelings as her right now. She also offered her a water bottle for her to use in order to replenish her energy.

Sakura didn't respond back but gave the raven haired rookie, an exhausted smile and accepted the offer.

The next area that they were supposed to enter was composed of three separate corridors, one of them will possibly contain the Uchiha that they were looking for. The easiest that they find him was to split up and head towards each corridor which they decided to do.

"We're gonna have to split up." Sai suggested, it was the only choice that they have to speed up the search.

"Got it!" Both girls said in unison, both of them determined.

With that said, the three finally split up and headed to their respective corridors.

(THE ENCOUNTER)

The excitement and fear had finally risen to higher levels. Sarada was doing her best to calm herself down as she was rushing as fast as she can through the corridors. She knew that the moment was getting closer and possible scenarios began to play inside her mind.

Before all of this, she had a few moments of brainstorming as she thought of ways to make her search faster and efficient. Only one possible way came into her mind, and that was to activate and use her Sharingan to find any trace of chakra or presence in every door she passed.

At the start of her search, there weren't any trace of any person's energy but as she continued on, traversing and moving from area to area, there was a sudden flicker of hope as she detected a presence from a several blocks away, the presence that she felt was strong, overwhelming yet somehow familiar.

Thoughts began to come up her mind, and she asked herself questions about this lone presence, Why does it bother her more than anything else right now? Could it be really him?

Sarada shook her head as she removed all the thoughts clouding her mind, she needed to focus right now and locate its source. She began to run faster than before paying no heed to any threats that could be possibly waiting for her ahead.

It didn't took long enough as she suddenly stop her tracks on a certain spot, the raven haired girl then turned to her right and found herself staring at two huge metallic doors. The difference was that the doors were fully opened and that she could see what was inside, which turned out to be a big training chamber.

The place was dim-litted, with only a handful of fire torches displayed on particular spots inside the chamber, several large pillars supporting the chambers shelter and a huge rectangular field that acted as the sparring box.

Sarada described the place gloomy and eerily silent, it felt like many people had died inside this chamber or maybe that was just her thinking and theory. The surprising thing that baffled her was the presence itself, which suddenly vanished by the time she arrived at the place.

When the raven haired teen took the first steps, she felt the immediate hostile atmosphere as if she was being watched and falling into an ambush. But the mystery was that there wasn't any trace of multiple enemies awaiting her that would have already attack her right away.

What was really going on right now!?

Sarada proceeded to continue exploring the chamber as she headed to a certain spot where a pillar was situated. The place was very much silent as she could also hear the sound of her footsteps echoing. She tried her best to keep quiet and calm even though her legs were shaking in anxiousness.

By the time she had reached the pillar, she caught noticed of a symbol carved on the pillar itself. The symbol was the Uchiha clan crest and that made the girl surprised and bewildered. She then reached out her nervous hands to the freshly carved in order to examined it and by the time she had touch it, something unexpected suddenly interrupted her.

"So you've finally found me." A male menacing voice said from behind and had interrupted the silence.

Sarada froze as she widened her eyes in shock, her heart stopped beating at the moment when she heard that voice. It was so young yet very familiar to her ears.

"Turn around." The male voice said again but this time in a demanding tone.

The raven haired teen had no choice as she slowly turned around, before that, she deactivated her Sharingan to avoid more suspicion. She felt the same presence, that she detected from before, once again and by the time she completely turned around, her heart stopped once more.

She found herself staring at a human figure that slowly began to reveal its true identity as it neared her. Sooner, a raven haired young man stepped out from the shadows. He donned a white long-sleeved shirt kept open at the torso, dark blue pants secured with a purple belt and black arm guards that cover his forearms.

He had a sharp distinctive face and familiar black eyes.

"Are you one of them?" The young man asked with a serious tone as he pointed his blade towards the girl.

Sarada was still in shock and her body was frozen as she kept her eyes on a person that she thought was gone from her life. A person that she considered as family and that helped her through times of trouble.

Although her courage and confidence managed to prevail as she finally let out a word in the form of a mutter.

"Papa?"

(CHAPTER END)

(INTERVIEW)

"When I saw those eyes, It instantly came up right away in my mind that the person in front of me was no ghost or illusion, it was really him."

-Sarada