Boruto Light Novel 4

Part 2 (Baths, Drinks, and Contemplation)

"Ahh..." Sarada sighed as she sunk down into the couch, wiping the sweat off her forehead with a towel.

"That was a really great bath," said Sumire, holding out a glass of lemon water.

Sarada gladly accepted it. "Thanks."

"To think that the hotel's bath was an Onsen..." Cho-Cho fanned her face as she spoke. "Totally surprising, right? And to top it all off, it was a huge public bath. The hotel rooms have baths too, so no matter what your preference is, you can bathe without a problem."

"It really is a great hotel. Dinner was delicious too."

"But Cho-Cho, even though it was an all you can eat buffet, I don't think they intended for you to eat the entire thing."

At that, all three girls laughed together.

The dinner, from their point of view, was certainly nothing less than extravagant. The primary focus of the meal was seafood, caught fresh that day from The Village of the Mist itself. A variety of dishes were served. You could try as many as you wanted. Eat as much as you wanted.

All of the students enjoyed the meal, but Cho-Cho ate several dozen dishes to their completion.

"It's fine. Seeing as how much I enjoyed it, I'm sure the hotel staff was delighted."

"At first they seemed surprised, but as you kept eating, the looks on their faces kept getting happier and happier," said Sumire with a smile.

"Ah, we ran out of water," Cho-Cho commented as she stared at her empty glass.

Along with the drinks that were provided by the hotel, the bottles of water they bought earlier on their expeditions were now empty as well.

Contemplating for a moment, Cho-Cho decided to go out shopping to buy more drinks. And maybe a few snacks while she was at it.

"I suppose I'll come as well," said Sumire. "Sarada? How about you?"

"I think I'll chill here for a little bit longer. Be careful on your way out."

With that, Sumire and Cho-Cho left the room together. 

.  .  .

As soon as Sarada's friends were gone, the room thickened with silence.

"........"

Sarada's flushed and warm body succumbed to gravity. The usual tension that tugged at her limbs melted away and was replaced by a peaceful desire to be lazy. Her torso slid against the comfortable cushions until she was lying on her back.

...I guess it's good to slack off every once and a while.

Despite the luxury of their transportation, the trip from Konoha to The Mist had been a long one. Their schedule was packed, and even after getting back to the hotel, Sarada traded relaxation for hanging out.

"The only thing left on the schedule is sleep anyways..."

Of course, Sarada didn't intend to fall asleep on the sofa. But the desire to sit there and stare into space for awhile was compelling.

As she lay there, she suddenly thought about Boruto.

"Now that I think about it, I haven't seen him since we got back to the hotel, have I?"

Their dinner was buffet style. It wasn't just the students that dined in the large area, but other hotel guests as well. There wasn't a specific designated time to gather and eat, so Boruto and his friends probably ate after Sarada's group.

But since that idiot was usually causing trouble and raising a fuss about something, Sarada found it odd that she hadn't encountered him even once.

A strange sense of discomfort settled into her previously relaxed body. She lost more of her calm than she thought she should have.

"Maybe now is not the time to be lazing around..."

Her eyes narrowed at nothing in particular. Two things came to mind. Her dream, and the events at the memorial park.

No, it was just one question cultivated by those two events.

Don't try to stop me. If we don't take care of this now, it'll only become troublesome later on.

Iwabe's words from the park earlier that day. Meaning, if you don't completely deprive your opponent of their will to fight, there's a possibility they'll carry their resentment into revenge later on.

Sarada couldn't deny that Iwabe's words held truth.

"When a fight starts, it's important to find something that will put an end to it..."

Because of her desire to become the Hokage, Sarada put a lot of effort into learning the history of the Shinobi world. Even now, she tried to put aside her morals and emotions and understand how to settle these types of situations.

Amidst her imaginary scenarios, Sarada thought that Iwabe's solution was short-sighted, but it was also realistic. Of course, there were a few cons of his approach.

He succeeded in stealing all of his opponent's fighting spirit, but if he didn't, what would have happened?

"In times like those..."

There'd be no choice but to kill your enemy. It was a simple solution. Easy to understand.

Coming to that conclusion only took her back to her dream. The dream where her mother was killed, and she attempted to take revenge on her killer.

...But I couldn't kill him.

Even though it was just a dream, his eyes seemed so frightened... Staring into hers...

"Why... Why couldn't I kill him?"

The answer still remained unanswered in Sarada's mind. Perhaps more than why, she should have been asking, "Could I kill someone if it came down to it?"

Up until now, Sarada hadn't really faced a life threatening "enemy." There were sparring matches in class where they practiced and trained for situations where they might encounter a fearsome opponent. But even if she couldn't beat her classmates, they'd never be a threat to her life.

"......"

Sarada goal was to become a shinobi. Not just any shinobi: the Hokage. And if she wanted to become the Hokage, there would be times when she would have to fight and kill enemies.

In those times... Would she hesitate?

Defeating her opponent was a given. But even after they should have been down and out for the count, what would happen if her enemy refused to give up?

Just like Iwabe said, it was necessary to rid your opponent of their will to fight back.

Not too long ago, Sarada saw the seventh demonstrate his true power in the Uchiha Shin incident. He easily stole the will to fight from his adversary. Proving that you are leagues stronger than your enemies seemed to be a surefire way to end a battle.

"But in the future... What if..."

Sarada wasn't as strong as Naruto. What would happen if she ran into someone that she couldn't overwhelm with pure power alone? If she had no choice but to kill them, would she be able to do it?

She pursed her lips. No matter how many times she imagined it... She couldn't find a clear answer.

.  .  .