Chapter 1

The day started in its typical fashion. The sun emerged quickly as if telling people that it was time to wake, and a cool breeze flowed throughout neighborhoods in a sing-song manner. The rain season ended only two weeks ago, leaving a lush of greens shining with dew for children to touch and smell. These moments exemplified of a country of prolonged peace and continuing prosperity.

The citizens of Konoha awoke to do various jobs – some prepared for upcoming missions, some began opening up family shops, and others started making breakfast for their families. Uzumaki Hinata, a well-respected 35-year old citizen Konoha, was among those who were making breakfast on this day. Being a housewife was a job that many found suited for her when considering her soft-spoken, well-mannered personality. She served her husband well and rarely admonished her children with harsh words or strict punishments. After discovering that she was pregnant again during her mid-20s, she retired her status as a joinin and decided to maintain her role as the house matriarch of the Uzumaki family.

And while she loved being the wife of the current hokage, and being a mother to two children that proudly represented both her and her husband's personalities, she found herself missing the shinobi life. Shortly after losing her cousin Neji during the Fourth Ninja War, she began to see the Hyuuga name as a sign of strength. Ironically it took the loss of Neji, the strongest person of their clan, to die in order for her to realize her own strength. Perhaps that was how she meant to grieve for him properly; she had to finally gain her own confidence. Since his death, she continued to find comfort in her familial branches prior to marriage and thus slowly became stronger. She swore to one day merge the main and branch houses of the Hyuuga in his honor in order to celebrate that his life was not in vain. Unfortunately, she had failed to make this happen due marriage, children, and the death of her father.

As she continued to whisk eggs for breakfast, she sadly recalled her conversation with her younger sister from years ago. It was three days after the funeral, and both were clearly mourning. Despite this period of grieving, the leader of the clan had to be decided immediately in order to gain balance in the houses. By age, it was meant to be Hinata.

- FLASHBACK

"Sister, I cannot take this title away from you," Hanabi said. "The head of the Hyuuga family is not meant for the second sister." Their tears had long dried, as they had been crying a year in advance since his diagnosis. The village's top healers could not stop the unknown disease that struck the head of the Hyuuga. His steady decline was marked by his paling skin, high fever, and odd hallucinations. Given his constant pain, death came as a sad blessing. Neither sisters could bear to hear their father uttering the name of their late mother.

"Nonsense, Hanabi," said Hinata, while gesturing to herself. "Look at me. A housewife cannot maintain the strength of both houses."

"You are stronger than me, sister!" Hanabi said with defiance. "It was proven during our last match!"

"That match was over 10 years ago, and I was still serving as a jounin. My skills have declined."

"You won despite having Boruto the year before-"

"This title was not meant for me, as father has said before-"

"You know he meant to rescind that statement prior to falling ill."

"I would not have agreed to it then, nor will I agree to it now," Hinata said, knowing that each word was hurting both her and her sister.

She had always dreamed of the chance to merge the two houses, and this was her moment to do it. She more than enough had the credentials now; she was the eldest daughter of the late leader, wife of the hokage who was a sworn brother to both houses, and at least within the top 10 skilled ninjas of her clan. The branches had been at odds with each other for years, and she no longer wished for such separation. It was what Neji would have wanted, she was sure.

But she just couldn't do it.

Her current life would not allow her to fulfill it. Boruto, their eldest son, began to lash out shortly after his father, Naruto, took office. She knew his behavior too well as it mimicked the hokage's actions from years ago; it marked loneliness and insecurities that were often too painful for a mother to watch. She needed to stay around for him as a support. Hinata understood that taking the title of the matriarch of the main branch of the Hyuuga family would hinder her new family; she would be abandoning not only her son but the baby who was named after her late cousin - Himawari.

Her service was to her current family, but she felt a pang in her heart for not being able to fully be there for her previous family. She wondered if Neji would be disappointed in her decision. He would often say to her that his actions were for "the path of the Hyuuga." She decided that this path was meant for someone without as many responsibilities. Hanabi was perfect.

"Even if I were elected to as the head of the main branch, my first order of business would be to appoint you as my successor and then step down."

"Sister, please!"

"Please take the title and hold your name proudly as our new leader."

They hadn't spoken to each other since then.

- END FLASHBACK

"Mom?" said a young voice that alerted Hinata. She turned to see her son looking at her in an odd way. He was always so quick to worry.

"Oh! Good morning, Boruto."

"Are you okay? You looked sad for a moment."

"I'm fine, dear. Just making breakfast. "

"Do you need any help?" Boruto asked. Since Naruto became Hokage, Boruto had appointed himself to be the stand-in man of the house. It was a great improvement from two years ago, when he used to cause trouble at every waking moment.

"I'm alright, thank you. Could you wake up your father, though? Breakfast will be ready in ten minutes."

Hinata watched her son's facial expression change from slight annoyance to amused acceptance. She knew he wanted to wake up Naruto, but he was also annoyed that his father wasn't up already - it meant less time with the family overall.

"I think Himawari is already doing it, though.." Boruto trailed off while scratching his ear and looking out the window. "I'm too big to jump on him to wake him up, Kaa-chan."

Hinata smiled. What a sweet brother to allow his sister the honor of waking up Dad. She remembered how they used to fight over who could do it just a few years ago.

"Then could you help me set up the table then? The food won't take long to serve."

"Leave it to me!" Boruto said with a big grin. "I'll get it done in less than 5 secon-"

"Don't be hasty, Bo-chan."

"Kaa-chan, please. I'm not a kid anymore. You don't need to call me by that na-"

A scream suddenly erupted from Naruto's room, startling both mother and son.

"Himawari!" Boruto yelled.

Hinata could feel a slight chill down her back and could only hope no one was hurt. Naruto should be quick to protect their daughter, but that scream was too piercing, too alarming. Himawari had never made that sound before. Hinata quickly ran to the main bedroom with eyes already engaged for battle. Boruto was quick to follow her. While he was chuunin, she did not feel comfortable having him battle someone who could penetrate their home.

Himawari was found crying, backing away from her mother and father's bed. Boruto ran to help her stand up, not taking in the state of the room. Hinata stood in front of both of her children, as her eyes widened at what her daughter just saw. Holding her lip, she assessed the room for clues and memorized every detail to report to Shikamaru.

We only have seconds, Hinata thought.

"Nii-chan! He's gone! I couldn't find him anywhere!" Himawari yelled, grabbing her brother's jacket. Boruto was too frazzled to understand. He could take missions assigned by his father, but his shock at hearing Himawari scream and knowing something was wrong was inhibiting his logic. He had to maintain his emotions.

"That's it?! He might have woken early for once-"

"No, Nii-chan!" Himawari said, rapidly shaking her head. She frantically gestured to look at something. "Look at Mama's and Papa's bed!"

"What?" he yelled back in frustration.

Boruto heard a dull drop and saw that his father's prosthetic arm had just fallen off a bed that was dripping red. His signature cape was in shreds, and pieces of his clothes were scattered across the room.

He's dead, Boruto thought. Dad's dead. He's dead he's dead he's-

His mother began to spin, creating a barrier that covered both him and his sister.

"Mom?!" Boruto yelled questioningly. What was going on?

"Brace yourselves! Once we recover from this blast, we are fleeing to the main house!" she ordered, and soon the room began to brighten. While holding on tightly to his sister, Boruto looked around the room quickly for the cause of bright light. He saw multiple white papers crumbling, realizing that they were bombs. He quickly noticed his father's messy handwriting on the floor before being blinded by oncoming explosions.

Run.

The house was suddenly engulfed in light. The sound of the Uzumaki home bursting into flames was heard throughout the entire village, alarming close friends and citizens. The remaining three members of the Uzumaki family continued to flee.

Sasuke Uchiha was walking through the woods, brooding. When considering his distance, he was two weeks away from Konoha and three days away from the Cloud Country. It had been two years since he returned from his mission, and Naruto had granted him the ability to stay at Konoha and take typical missions. He was meant to be at home on a more frequent basis in order to support his wife and now teenage daughter.

However, he was not often home and his absences were months instead of 2-3 weeks that was expected from typical jounin level shinobi. He frequently asked for the most difficult missions and made sure to be precise in his execution of duties. It was the dirty work of Konoha he asked for, and it constantly took a toll on his health. It wasn't healthy and he knew it. His constant absences were also the cause of the increasing tension between him and his wife, Sakura.

Sakura Uchiha had grown into a lovely woman, but even Sasuke could tell that the wrinkles in her eyes were born from stress rather than from laughter. It caused him incredible pain to know that he was likely the cause of this, but he had no idea how to handle their situation. They never seemed to be in agreement about anything since his return home from two years ago, and their arguments continued even in letters. With each sweet letter that came from his daughter, he expected a curt response from Sakura. He had not heard from them in a month, and he was sure it was due to Sakura not wanting to talk to him again.

He did not want to take the time to review his actions, and his perfectionist attitude led him to put the most difficult things at the bottom of the list. It was easier to take life or death missions than to become a doting husband or a guiding father.

"To protect Konoha," Sasuke muttered to himself as he attempted to push away his guilt once more. There was a reason to his actions, even if he didn't want to admit why.

He could not help but remember one of his conversations with Naruto. It was still awkward seeing Naruto as hokage at times, especially when it came to important meetings. Reporting to him felt unnatural, but he realized it was due to being away for so long. Again, he had to ignore the effect of his absences.

- FLASHBACK

"Sasuke," Naruto said with pitying eyes. It was slightly annoying to see it. "Come back quickly after following up the mess with these clones."

"Of course, I will."

"No, you won't. That's why I'm telling you to do so. You have two months."

"I'm not a child, Naruto," Sasuke said, feeling slightly offended at such a restriction. He needed at least 6 months to double check areas that he visited years ago for any traces of Kaguya or these clones.

"No, but you have one waiting for your return," Naruto replied with ease. "And Sakura-chan can't continue to be a single-mother."

"She's not a single-mother. My family will be fine," Sasuke said stiffly. They were able to get on well without him, right? He wouldn't be gone for years this time. His plan was for months at a time. This would be fine.

"Yes, but not for long. I can sense their frustration and anger – especially Sakura's."

"I will take care of family business when I return if that's your worry." Sasuke began to head out the door, and purposely ignored Naruto's last comment.

"It's not family 'business,' you asshole, it's your goddamn wife and daughter we're talking about –ttebayo..."

- END FLASHBACK

"Tch," Sasuke said to no one in particular. He would be home soon enough.

He noticed a hawk following him from a distance. Odd. He was sure he didn't summon it. It was heading straight towards him, and he wondered if Naruto was again trying to persuade him to come home. The hawk was carrying something light-bluish, a significant contrast from regular parchment that was typically yellow or white.

That's one of Sakura's slugs, he realized. He felt his stomach churn, as he wondered if his family was in trouble, or if his wife was absolutely done with him this time. He stopped walking and waited for the hawk to drop the slug into his hand. He noticed the anxious looks shared between the slug and the hawk and wondered how grave the situation was at home. The hawk vanished immediately as the slug started to speak.

Is Sakura and Sarada okay? Where is Naruto? he asked himself, angry that he didn't voice it immediately.

"Sasuke-sama, urgent news!" Katsuyu said. "Sakura-sama has requested for you to return immediately!"

"What is the problem, Katsuyu?" Sasuke asked. I'm sure Sakura said "demand" and you're being kind to me.

"The hokage has gone missing, and there has been an attempt to murder his family!"

"What?!" Sasuke said, astonished that someone was able to kidnap someone as powerful as Naruto.

"Sakura-sama has provided me as she wants you to be in full health by the time you reach the village," Katsuyu said. "I will also keep you updated on events so that no time is wasted on briefing."

"Thank you, " Sasuke said, as he put Katsuyu under his collar. "We will be in Konoha in ten days. Are Sakura and Sarada okay?"

"Yes they are fine-oh dear. This is terrible! Sakura-sama absolutely demands you to be home as soon as possible," Katsuyu said quickly.

"What happened?"

"Sarada-chan has just now been attacked."

Sasuke wasted no time reacting to Katsuyu's report, as he took a moment to take a breath and close his eyes. This was his fault, he knew. Had he stayed home, there was a chance that he could have sensed someone lurking in the village. He could have helped Naruto against this nameless enemy, and he could have prevented this current attack on his daughter. He could have done so much more. He knew Sakura would heal their daughter quickly, but he could not forgive himself for being absent during this critical time.

Upon opening his eyes, Sasuke activated his Sharingan and ran at full speed. This took Katsuyu by surprise.

"Sasuke-sama?"

"Five days."