Sarada gazed at Mirai standing in front of her, frozen in place.
Sarada nodded in satisfaction, then turned and waved lightly to Boruto and Mitsuki behind her, signaling that the task was done.
"Sarada's amazing—she easily defeated a Chunin on her first encounter," Mitsuki praised.
"Naturally…" Sarada lifted her chin proudly, then glanced at Boruto, who stood with his hands in his pockets and a calm look, clearly waiting to be acknowledged.
"Hm, truly impressive, Sarada." Boruto gave her a thumbs-up in approval.
Hearing Boruto's praise, a brilliant smile bloomed on Sarada's face, and before she could stop herself, she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.
Seeing this, Mitsuki wisely turned away, pretending he hadn't seen a thing.
"Sarada, there are people around—and you just kissed me," Boruto said helplessly.
"Sorry, sorry! I just couldn't help it," Sarada said, sticking out her tongue playfully.
Just then, a figure appeared in front of Mirai.
"Mirai didn't know Sarada already has the Three-Tomoe Sharingan. If she did, she probably wouldn't have stopped you."
Konohamaru appeared beside Mirai, formed a hand seal, and dispelled the Genjutsu cast on her.
"Brother Konohamaru, I actually fell for an illusion…" Mirai muttered in disbelief as she blinked her eyes, the world returning to focus.
"The Three-Tomoe Sharingan? How's that possible? How old are you to have awakened it already?" she asked, astonished.
"What's so impossible about that? Sarada is Mr. Sasuke's daughter," Konohamaru said with a small smile before turning serious.
"As for you, Mirai—being a Chunin and getting defeated so easily by a Genin, especially in the field you specialize in—Genjutsu—you still need more training."
A faint blush of embarrassment crossed Mirai's face, but she quickly straightened up and said firmly, "Yes, Brother Konohamaru. I'll work harder."
"Konohamaru-sensei, you two know each other?" Mitsuki asked curiously.
"Yeah," Konohamaru replied. "Mirai's full name is Sarutobi Mirai. She's my cousin."
Just then, several Konoha ninja walked out of the forest ahead. The middle-aged man leading them spotted Boruto and quickly jogged over.
"It's Young Master Boruto! Mirai, why are you blocking Young Master Boruto?" he asked, confused.
"Sorry, Captain," Mirai said, scratching her head. "I saw Boruto and the others and thought they wanted a spar."
"A spar? With a Genin? You're taking your Chunin rank a bit too lightly," the man scolded, then turned to Boruto with an apologetic smile. "Young Master Boruto, my apologies for the trouble."
Boruto waved his hand casually. "It's fine. I'm just here to see my dad."
"Oh, of course! I'll take you right to him," the man said, gesturing for them to follow.
They walked through the forest until they reached an open training field.
At the center stood Naruto, surrounded by six ninja who were maintaining a sealing barrier around him.
Naruto continuously unleashed various Wood Release Ninjutsu, breaking the combined barrier of six Jonin with only a few strikes.
Seeing this, Naruto sighed to himself.
Enemies could attack Konoha at any moment. This kind of sealing barrier wouldn't even slow them down.
"This is Wood Release?! Uncle Naruto can use Wood Release too? And the range is huge!" Sarada exclaimed, eyes sparkling with admiration.
"Purple Flame Formation, huh?" Boruto muttered. "Trying to replicate the Red Yang Formation from the Fourth Shinobi World War? To counter the coming Ōtsutsuki—Momoshiki and Kinshiki?"
He frowned slightly. "Even the Four Red Yang Formation used by the Konoha F4 barely restrained Six Paths-level enemies. Obito broke through it easily. In the end, raw power's what matters."
"Boruto, Sarada—what are you doing here?" Naruto called out.
"Uncle Naruto, we came to ask for something," Sarada said confidently. "Please, give us the designation of Team Seven."
"Seventh Hokage, I also make the same request," Konohamaru added.
"We'll inherit the glory of the original Team Seven—and surpass it," Sarada declared with determination.
Naruto looked at the three young ninja before him—Boruto, Sarada, and Mitsuki—and for a brief moment, he saw the image of his younger self and his old team.
A warm, proud smile touched his face.
He nodded. "Then, the new Team Seven is born."
The Next Day — Hokage's Office
"According to tradition, the first mission is personally assigned by the Hokage," Shikamaru said, glancing at the team lined up before him.
The first ninja mission, huh? Boruto thought lazily. I'll just treat it like a trip. Training and filming can be left to my Shadow Clones.
"The first mission for the new Team Seven," Naruto announced, "is to repel bandits."
Shikamaru unfolded a map and pointed to a small area. "The request comes from Green Bank, a small village on the border between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind. Many farming villages are scattered in that region."
"This year's been rough—continuous droughts, poor crops. Some neighboring villages have turned to stealing grain from Green Bank's warehouses. The villagers requested our help to drive away the bandits," Shikamaru explained.
"So it's a dispute between villagers?" Konohamaru asked.
"Yeah. It's classified as a D-rank mission, but don't underestimate it," Shikamaru warned.
"Unexpected dangers often hide behind simple missions," Naruto added. "And most importantly, this will test your teamwork. Do your best, my young shinobi."
Soon after, Konohamaru set out with Boruto, Sarada, and Mitsuki toward their mission site.
"Once we cross this bridge, we'll reach the village," Konohamaru said as they walked along a wooden suspension bridge.
But at the far end, the bridge had been lifted, leaving only a deep canyon below.
Konohamaru turned, preparing to ring the bell to signal the villagers to lower the bridge.
"It's the Konoha ninja, Lady Kiri," a young man said, peering through binoculars before handing them to a short-haired girl with dark purple hair.
"Is that so?" Kiri muttered, raising the binoculars to her eyes. "Three little kids? What use are they?"
Boruto watched Konohamaru reaching for the bell and shook his head. "Konohamaru-niisan, take your time with that—we'll go on ahead."
Before anyone could react, Boruto manipulated gravity and flew easily to the other side, carrying Sarada and Mitsuki with him.
"Hey, you three—why'd you go over by yourselves?" Konohamaru shouted, surprised but amused. He sighed. "Never mind…"
Then he crouched and leapt across the canyon in a single bound.
Kiri lowered the binoculars, stunned. "Those kids can fly? Are they really Konoha ninja?"
...
Author's Note:
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