503 Naruto the Flame-Flame Fruit

In the end, Boruto and the others were saved from punishment because Chōjūrō sent in a petition asking Konoha not to hold them accountable. The handling of the situation hadn't been ideal, but the intention behind it was good.

Boruto and Mitsuki were punished with cleaning duties at the Ninja Academy, while Shinichi was sent by Kiyosuke to train under Orochimaru.

"That's the situation, Orochimaru-sensei. I'm leaving this kid in your care."

He gave his son a pat on the back, nudging him forward to greet Orochimaru—who somehow looked even younger lately, with his gender growing more ambiguous by the day.

"O-Orochimaru-sama, h-hello…"

"Oh? Shinichi-kun, you really do resemble Kiyosuke-kun. Though you're not quite like him—he wasn't the type to fear anything, you know? When he first met me, he wasn't scared at all. He earnestly sought power." Orochimaru smiled.

"I'm not some kind of monster. Since your father brought you here, we'll begin your training. Suigetsu."

"Y-Yeah, yeah." The adult Suigetsu was following Orochimaru again. Back in Kirigakure, he had also been involved—Orochimaru had asked him to look after Mitsuki and pass along the message telling him not to intervene. Of course, Mitsuki ignored it anyway.

"Dad, how long do I have to train here?"

"Until you graduate from the Academy." Kiyosuke sat in a chair, looking over the numbers on a tablet.

"Don't worry, I'll come check on you often. Also, Suigetsu's body works the opposite of ours—he's the perfect sparring partner for you. Suigetsu, I'm leaving my son to you. Beat him up if you need to—just leave him alive."

Suigetsu sighed. "You guys really treating me like a kindergarten teacher? Anyway, this kid didn't learn your firebomb technique yet, right?"

"Nope. Haven't taught it."

Suigetsu let out a breath.

"Good. If he knew that move, he'd blow this whole place up. Orochimaru-sama would definitely be pissed."

Orochimaru chuckled. "I wouldn't be angry, exactly. But everything here is quite expensive. If something really does get destroyed, I'll just send Kiyosuke-kun the bill. I heard you made a fortune helping rebuild Konoha."

"A few times is fine, but I can't afford to keep replacing things forever." Orochimaru's lab equipment was ridiculously pricey—no matter how much money he had, endless repairs would eventually break him.

He looked at his son. "Don't do anything stupid."

"Yes." Shinichi nodded quickly. Suigetsu patted him. "Alright, let's go. Time to see how strong you actually are. Hopefully you're not as freakish as your old man when he was your age."

"My dad was freakish when he was young?"

Suigetsu rolled his eyes.

"When he was thirteen or fourteen, he took down the Third Mizukage, overpowered the Fourth Mizukage, and stomped half of Kirigakure's shinobi. At that age he already had the power to become Hokage. You tell me—freakish or not?"

"…"

Was Dad a monster?

Shinichi straightened up.

"I want to be as strong as Dad someday."

As they walked, Suigetsu said, "That might be tough. Kiyosuke-sama's power is basically impossible to replicate. Orochimaru-sama told us before—there will never be another person in this world with strength like Asakawa Kiyosuke. Not before, not after."

"What about the God of Shinobi, Senju Hashirama?"

"Well… your dad once fought Uchiha Madara—Hashirama's rival. If Madara's body hadn't been in that weird undead state where he couldn't die, the Fourth Great Ninja War would've ended way sooner."

You couldn't permanently kill someone in Edo Tensei, so Kiyosuke lost.

"How strong is Dad, really?!" Shinichi felt like his father was hiding way too much.

"Just… really strong. That's enough."

The two headed toward the training grounds.

Meanwhile, Kiyosuke and Orochimaru continued talking.

Orochimaru found it amusing that Kiyosuke had brought his son here.

"I didn't expect this, Kiyosuke-kun. I thought you would personally train Shinichi-kun."

"This kid doesn't listen. He keeps causing trouble, and he has no sense of danger. If he keeps this up, he's going to get himself killed."

Shinichi's weakness was his blind confidence. During his fight with the New Seven Ninja Swordsmen, he had left openings everywhere, surviving purely through innate ability. Otherwise he would've been chopped to pieces in a few moves.

"Heh. Not everyone can stay level-headed after gaining power like you did," Orochimaru said.

"Shinichi-kun is reacting normally. But you're right—relying too much on his ability isn't good for him. I'll place a Five Elements Seal on him later and make him focus on taijutsu training. As for his ability development, you handle that afterward."

"Sure. No problem."

Kiyosuke had brought him here so the kid could suffer a little and learn some caution—something he and Terumī Mei had agreed upon.

Compared to his genius, low-maintenance sister, Shinichi was far more troublesome. He had power but lacked the mindset to match it. That was dangerous—being controlled by power would only lead him down a dark path.

So—he needed someone from the "dark path" to teach him.

Orochimaru was the best candidate. And if Orochimaru really led him astray, Kiyosuke had his own ways to straighten him out.

A father's iron fist of love!

"How's my kid doing?" Orochimaru asked.

Kiyosuke thought for a moment.

"He listens well enough. His grades are great. But… did you put some weird ideas in his head? He and Boruto walk around everywhere together—people might think they're a couple."

"Hmm. Should I have designed Mitsuki as a girl instead?" Orochimaru mused.

"…"

If Mitsuki had been designed female, Naruto would have gained a daughter-in-law.

"So, I'm leaving him with you until graduation, Orochimaru-sensei."

"Hehe. Leave him to me."

After watching his student's back for a moment, Orochimaru returned to his work.

...

Winter passed and spring arrived. Yuka became a Chūnin, and with excellent grades and skill, quickly rose to Jōnin. She wasn't the only one—Kakashi's children and Obito's son did the same. They all became Konoha's young elite.

Their strength even made Kiyosuke and Kakashi sigh that time spared no one.

"Sora, you kid—stay away from my precious daughter!" Kiyosuke grabbed Obito's son by the top of his head, squeezing hard.

"OW OW OW! Kiyosuke-san, my skull! My skull!! Ahhh!! I'm not giving up though!"

Just like his father, Sora was hopelessly devoted—he'd liked Yuka ever since they were little.

"Haha! Kiyosuke, just agree to the marriage already!" Obito said, enjoying the show.

"Obito, you wanna die?! Thousand Years of Death!"

"Don't come any closer!!"