Chapter 339: The Daimyō of the Land of Fire Attacked?
"When Boruto becomes Hokage, I'll finally have more time to spend with you."
On the plaza for the Hokage inauguration ceremony, Naruto stood beside Hinata, speaking to her softly.
Since it was her own son becoming Hokage, Hinata had forced herself to attend in person despite her poor health—even though she could have simply watched the live broadcast from home.
"Naruto."
"What is it, Shikamaru?"
Naruto turned to look at Shikamaru, who had approached with a constipated expression on his face, and asked in confusion. According to the schedule, Shikamaru was supposed to be hosting the Hokage succession ceremony right now.
"Naruto, there's something I need to talk to you about."
Shikamaru said seriously.
"Naruto, go ahead. If Shikamaru came to find you, it must be something important."
Standing nearby, Hinata spoke considerately. Since he hadn't brought it up right away, that meant it was something confidential that couldn't be spoken of in front of others.
"Mm. Sorry, Hinata, I'll be back in a bit." After apologizing to Hinata, Naruto looked at Shikamaru and said, "Let's go."
They walked together to a secluded area where no one was around.
"What's going on, Shikamaru?"
Standing behind him, Naruto asked with a puzzled expression.
"Naruto, has Boruto been acting strangely lately?"
"Strangely?" Naruto narrowed his eyes, frowning as he thought carefully, then shook his head. "Why? Did something happen with Boruto?"
"Last night, I saw Boruto with Uchiha Shunhi."
"With Uncle Shunhi? What about it?"
Naruto didn't react immediately.
"Not the Uchiha Shunhi from the village—the one who destroyed Konoha."
"Maybe you're mistaken, Shikamaru."
Naruto frowned. Deep down, he couldn't believe his son would have any connection to the person who destroyed the village.
"There's no mistake. The mask he wore was exactly the same as the one he had on during the destruction of Konoha," Shikamaru said firmly. "What should we do next?"
Naruto hesitated, his face uncertain. "...Shikamaru, I still can't believe Boruto would be connected to the person who destroyed Konoha."
"I can't believe it either—but this is what we saw. And if Boruto really is connected to Shunhi, that means the Daimyō of the Land of Fire, who supported Boruto becoming Hokage, might already be under Shunhi's influence."
"I have to go ask Boruto directly."
"Naruto, calm down. This is the Hokage succession ceremony. There are a lot of people here, and the villagers see Boruto as the hero who saved the village. We can't question him in public like this," Shikamaru said as he pulled Naruto back, remaining calm. "We have to wait until after the ceremony. Besides, I trust Boruto's feelings for the village—he wouldn't do anything to harm it."
"Mm."
Naruto nodded.
The two returned to the Hokage succession ceremony as if nothing had happened. Boruto was successfully inaugurated as the Eighth Hokage, and also became the youngest Hokage in history.
Hokage Office.
Sitting in a chair beside the desk, Boruto gazed sentimentally at the family photo on the desk of him, his father, Himawari, and Hinata.
Just then, the door to the office opened and Naruto and Shikamaru walked in.
"Dad? Uncle Shikamaru?"
Boruto looked at them in confusion.
"Boruto, Shikamaru and I have something we need to ask you."
Just days ago, Naruto had been overjoyed at Boruto becoming Hokage, but now his face was filled with grim seriousness.
"What is it?"
Boruto instinctively felt something was off.
"It's—"
Before Naruto could finish speaking, they were suddenly interrupted by an Anbu ninja.
"Lord Eighth… and also Lord Seventh and Lord Shikamaru, this is the latest intel from the capital of the Land of Fire."
The Anbu handed the intel to Shikamaru, then disappeared instantly.
"It's intel from Sasuke." Seeing the intelligence wrapped in a purple seal, Naruto said, "It can only be opened using a special seal. If someone tries to force it open, the Amaterasu jutsu sealed inside will destroy the contents."
Naruto quickly formed hand seals, then safely unsealed the scroll.
"...Shikamaru, something's happened in the Land of Fire!"
After reading the scroll, Naruto passed it to Shikamaru as he spoke.
According to the report from Sasuke, the Daimyō of the Land of Fire had been attacked by the darkened Shunhi. With Sasuke's help, the Daimyō had barely escaped with his life.
At the same time, a mysterious beast had appeared at the scene. Based on Sasuke's analysis, Shunhi had likely formed an alliance with the entity.
"Looks like the Daimyō is furious—he's demanding that Shunhi be captured at all costs," Shikamaru said after reading the report. "And he's ordered Konoha to send shinobi to assist in the pursuit."
"Boruto, you have no connection to Shunhi… right?"
Naruto's eyes locked tightly onto Boruto, who had just become Hokage.
"Um…"
Boruto hesitated.
Seeing Boruto's reaction, Naruto and Shikamaru understood everything without another word.
A disappointed expression appeared on Naruto's face as he continued to question, "Then… the destruction of Konoha… you were involved in that too, weren't you?"
"Mm..." Boruto nodded silently. "But no one died because of it!"
"Shikamaru, I need you to keep this from leaking out."
"But we can't guarantee that Shunhi won't leak it himself..."
Shikamaru frowned.
"I'll go with Sasuke to hunt down Shunhi. In the meantime, I'm counting on you to take care of things in the village."
"Alright."
Even though Boruto was officially the acting Hokage, Naruto seemed more like the one currently holding the office.
"Boruto, from now on, all village affairs are to be handled by Shikamaru."
Naruto looked at Boruto as he spoke. Without waiting for a response, he turned and left. Shikamaru let out a sigh and followed.
Capital of the Land of Fire.
As he received medical treatment, the Daimyō of the Land of Fire looked over the latest intel in his hand. Then, he turned to Sasuke, who was resting with his eyes closed beside him.
"According to the latest intel, your Eighth Hokage, Uzumaki Boruto, seems to be connected to the man who attacked me."
"Unless there's definitive evidence, I won't suspect anyone."
Sasuke replied coldly.
"Evidence? How about a video?"
A video of Boruto meeting with the darkened Shunhi the night before the inauguration appeared on the Daimyō's phone. Though it had no audio, the footage was perfectly clear.
It wasn't unusual for a few shinobi in Konoha to side with the Daimyō.
"After all, Boruto is Naruto's son—and also my son's friend. So as long as Konoha places him under house arrest and forbids him from leaving the village, I'm willing to consider that my bottom line!"
The Daimyō said firmly.
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