Boruto Light Novel 4

Part 3 (Enduring the Pain)

"Mm.... ugh..."

It was in that moment.

Boruto frowned. He groaned.

"Boruto?! Boruto..!"

Sarada leaned over, and just like that, his eyes were open.

"Huh... Sara... da...?"

"Thank goodness... You came to!" Breathing a sigh of relief, her previously tense facial expression relaxed.

Boruto struggled into a sitting position and took in his surroundings. It almost seemed like he didn't know what happened to him.

"Sarada... Why are you... Wha-Ow!" He cried out in pain. He wasn't fully covered yet. It was a given that moving around would aggravate his injuries.

Once his pain subsided, Sarada pointed over at Hachiya. "He told me where you were."

Hachiya lightly scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. The gesture somehow seemed to rekindle Boruto's anger.

"Ah! You! You're one of Shizuma's lackeys!" He attempted to get to his feet and go after Hachiya. But a sharp pain shot through his body, stopping him in his tracks. "Ow!"

Sarada reached out, supporting him while he writhed in pain.

Hachiya became a bit panicked. He came up to Boruto's feet and hung his head down low. "You're wrong... I'm... I'm not like that anymore!"

"Huh? Whaddya mean?" Boruto was rather angry.

Considering everything Haychiya told Sarada about the situation, that anger was justified. She figured that it wouldn't be fair to stay quiet in a situation like this, so she decided to explain Hachiya's side of the story.

"This guy was also injured pretty badly before running away. He was only used by Shizuma and thrown away once he fulfilled his purpose."

Boruto's eyebrows raised.

Hachiya, teary eyed, continued. "Sarada-san treated my injuries... I owe her my life! I'm seriously thankful!" With that, he knelt on the ground.

"......" Boruto let out a sigh. At least it seemed like Hachiya wasn't lying. But the situation was so different from the one he knew to be true... He was just having trouble coming to terms with everything.

"I'm not the best at medical ninjutsu... So I was surprised you actually woke up," said Sarada, turning her gaze to Boruto. And then she sighed. "Speaking of, Boruto. What were you doing?" She was now glaring in his direction.

After making her worried sick, giving her crushing anxiety, and nearly causing her heart to collapse, it was no wonder her tone of voice was harsh.

"Er--!"

At Sarada's interrogation, Boruto's color visibly changed. Now it was his turn to panic. He was at a loss for how to answer. A sweat droplet dripped down his cheek.

But before he could answer, another voice answered for him. The voice of Hachiya.

"S-Sorry... I didn't know! I didn't know that Shizuma-san was seriously trying to start a war!!" He bowed his head over and over again.

"That... You think you can get off Scott-free just because you didn't know?"

"I just... He told me I could do something cool! And I looked up to him..." He rubbed his head on the floor in a dogeza stance. "I never thought he was someone who could kill someone without hesitation..!"

"So then..." Sarada looked at Boruto straight on. It couldn't be helped that her gaze faltered a bit and became remorseful. After all, she'd been really worried about him this whole time. "Even though I've said 'don't cause trouble on the school trip' this many times... What do you plan to do now?"

There was a brief hesitation on Boruto's face, as if he wasn't really sure what to do next. But somehow, his hesitation melted away and turned into determination.

"First, we have to save Kagura." 

Enduring the pain, Boruto stood to his feet.