Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto and Boruto nor its characters.

Quick Note: Please read Author's Important Note Below! It's regarding UPDATE SCHEDULING.

The young Uchiha untangled her crossed arms, one of them reaching up to adjust her glasses. And once she did, a menacing look that Boruto was all too familiar with (for he had been late on certain important missions and occasions, too) began to show on her darkening face.

"He's late." She said under her breath, in an ever so vexing way.

Sarada's image of the Hokages was nothing less than grand.

She respected them, admired them. Especially the Seventh, who had been the one who inspired her to embark on her own journey of becoming a Hokage. The Seventh even encouraged her to chase after her dream. Her mother and father supported her dream. She didn't want to let them down. She didn't want to let anybody down. She wanted to become strong; strong enough to protect the village. She wanted to be acknowledged, because she knew only when the village acknowledged her prowess and capability, would she then be able to truly become the Hokage. She wanted to sharpen her skills, improve on her abilities gifted to her from birth and learn new things that could be of help to her future. Thus, she accepted the Sixth Hokage's help.

She had admired the Sixth Hokage in her own way. She had heard amazing things about Kakashi and his achievements from both her mother and others (In particular from her classmate Houki back at the academy, who had been a huge fanboy over the Sixth.).

He was a skilled man who became Jonin at an extremely young age. He was feared by Villages. He was an honourable soldier during the last war. He was the original, well-regarded Team leader of Team 7. He was the one who nurtured The Seventh Hokage whom she looked up to.

And this man…this man who was regarded so highly among Shinobi world was… late.

Not a minute late. Not a little late. Not just very late. But, extremely late.

She was sure he probably had beaten Boruto in his own tardiness!

No, no Sarada… she thought, trying to reassure herself. Something important must have come up for him! There is no way Kakashi-sensei would be this late intentionally. Maybe I just got the date and timing wron—

"Hello, Sarada!" A familiar voice greeted her, with energy and enthusiasm bursting in his tone. Looking up, she watched as Kakashi hopped off one of the shelters before landing on the ground in front of her. "K-Kakashi-sensei!" Sarada stammered, adjusting her glasses a little to double-check. Well on the bright side, she didn't get the date wrong.

"Sorry for being a little late…" He started, and Sarada listened. Because while one of her pet peeves involved tardiness, and while she'd always nag at Boruto who almost always found himself triggering her pet peeve, she didn't find herself that annoyed at Kakashi. Sure, she was a little vexed at first at his untimely arrival. But she remembered that he wasn't just her sensei; he was the Sixth Hokage too. So surely, he must've had a good, reasonable and valid reason as to why he was this late—

"You see, I got lost on the road of life." He laughed light-heartedly. And in an instant, Sarada shot him a blank look; disbelief.

What?

"Is that… all?" She asked, as if prompting him to give a valid, believable reason. Or even a believable lie. He didn't seem like he was even trying to think of a good excuse.

Was this the same man who fought her the other day? He had been so stern with her yesterday, and now he seemed like a carefree Uncle.

"Yep. That's all." Kakashi nodded nonchalantly, and Sarada's eyes narrowed intensely, and for a moment she was tempted to activate her Sharingan to see if this was just Boruto's terrible sense of humour taking its shape; that he transformed himself to Kakashi to prank her. "Do I have something on my face…?" He queried upon noticing her intense gaze taking the form of a familiar glare he had witnessed from another Uchiha he mentored long ago, who had given him an equally exasperated look when he arrived late.

Upon having her glare pointed out, the young Uchiha immediately shook her head and relaxed her glare. "No, its nothing." She laughed a little nervously. He can't be Boruto, he should be training with Papa by now... she concluded quietly to herself.

"Perhaps I arrived a little too early." She said, deciding to not press any further on the reasonings behind his tardiness. After all he was the Sixth Hokage, and he probably had to settle important things before he could arrive, highly classified things that he couldn't tell her. She doubted, and maybe was in denial, of the fact that his tardiness was all due to the metaphorical reasoning he gave her about being lost on the road of life. Besides, it wasn't as if this was going to be a regular occurrence, right?

Right?

Kakashi offered a shrug. "Perhaps." He responded. And perhaps I shouldn't have re-watched the Icha Icha tactics movie the other day… I had almost forgot that I'm an active sensei again. He sighed, briefly thinking back to the time when Sakura, Naruto and Sasuke had been genin under his care. He remembered how they were all irritated at the fact he was late for their first meeting. At least Sarada seemed to spare him her true fury, for now.

"What are we going to do today, anyway?" Sarada questioned, switching the topic. "Shuriken? Or are we going to work on my Sharingan? O—"

"Well," Kakashi interrupted, taking a quick glance at the sky. "It's still early," Sarada resisted a sarcastic retort that nearly slipped off her tongue; although if it had been Boruto she wouldn't have mind running him over with all her sarcastic remarks about his tardiness. "I would like to bring you to a place nearby before we start anything." He continued, before he spun around and walked off, expecting her to follow.

Sarada tilted her head slightly before catching up to him. "A place?" She asked, her brow raised, curiosity piqued. "What place?" She questioned, wanting him to specify. But to no avail, Kakashi responded with a mere, but weak sounding, "You'll… see." And it only made her curiosity grow.

The last place Sarada had anticipated for Kakashi to take her to was the Konoha Cemetery.

Her eyes darted around the graveyard, feeling her heart sink a little when she thought about the several lives stolen during the Great Ninja War. Seeing the tombstones was a reminder to her to be grateful for the peaceful times that they currently lived in as opposed to living in a world consumed by tragedies back then. What a cruel and terrible thing, that is war. Future Hokage or not, she hoped to safeguard the peace Konoha now lived in. She hoped to never experience the tragedies and hatred that came with war, and if she did, she hoped to be able to protect everyone… her loved ones.

The graves also reminded her about her clan, about their abrupt annihilation.

What a cruel thing death is, she couldn't help but to think. It doesn't discriminate, it crushes lives without a second thought.

"Why… did you bring me here?" She asked, her sullen eyes averting its gaze away from the graves towards her Sensei, whose own pair of greyish hues focused elsewhere while they walked. "Kakashi-Sensei?" Sarada called.

"Well…" He started, and she noticed how his earlier jolliness had transitioned into something more solemn and heavy. He then stopped in his tracks, standing in front of a grave that he frequented whenever he had time. "As your sensei, I don't want to just teach you fighting techniques."

Sarada's brows knitted, puzzled as to what he meant. And why that was relevant to the reason why he brought her here. "What do you—"

"Have you heard of White Fang?" He asked.

"…Yeah." Sarada nodded, recalling the few stories that she heard back at the academy. "An honourable Ninja. Well regarded and respected. Rumoured to have more power than the legendary Sannins at that time…" She said, before her tone became a little sadder. "But I heard due to some unfortunate circumstances, and betrayals that he was met with, he passed away early in his life." Although, I can't exactly recall the specific reason behind the betrayals… she thought.

"…He and his teammates were sent to complete a mission vital to Konoha." Kakashi started, "And he came to a point where he had to choose between saving his teammates' lives, or completing the mission. And in the end, he chose to save his teammates."

For Kakashi to tell a story with a solemn tone, wearing a sorrowful and grieving look, Sarada doubted that the tale of White Fang he was currently telling had ended on a happy note. What he said after proved that to be true.

"The failure of his mission wasn't regarded well by the leaders of Konoha back then, he was practically vilified and made a villain by the entire Land of Fire." He said, "And to make things worse, the comrades he saved mocked him for not continuing his missions to the bitter end. Eventually, upon being dishonoured… all the resentment got to him, and he eventually took his life, leaving his only son behind."

Sarada's eyes widened, heartbroken and saddened by the devastating tale. "That's horrible…" She mumbled. "How… could they? Even after he had saved them?"

"People can be cruel." Kakashi noted. "That was a long time back. Admittedly, times have changed since then. Things have been… better." He said, and paused briefly.

"But even up till today, in the Shinobi world, those who abandon their mission are still regarded as scum by villages." He spoke, and Sarada recognized his mantra instantly, the one he had told them back when they were undergoing their genin exam. "But—"

"But those who abandon their friends are worse than scum. Right?" Sarada finished his sentence for him, a small smile forming on her lips. "I… understand that now." She added, recalling the Mitsuki incident when he had fled the village for reasons unknown to her during that time. She had almost, almost given up on Mitsuki, and had attempted to dissuade Boruto to chase after him because she genuinely had considered the possibility that he had indeed betrayed them. And then, she was met with a question that forced her to re-evaluate herself.

"Listen, Sarada…" He had asked back then, sounding so disappointed with her and her resolve back then. "The Hokage that you want to become… is it just a Shinobi with amazing skills?"

Maybe Boruto wasn't aware of the influence he had on her since then—or rather, since the beginning. But at that time, he had opened up her eyes of how important and precious friendship could be. And while she still believed that there were time Shinobis had to set their emotions aside, she still understood that she could not just abandon and give up on her comrade and friend so simply.

Kakashi looked at her briefly pondered. "That's good." He spoke, before he turned around. "As long as you know and understand that, you'll be a fine Shinobi, Hokage, even."

Sarada eyes widened. It seemed like even the Sixth Hokage saw some potential in her. She felt a little more pressure; but it wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

She just didn't want to let anyone down.

"Wait, Kakashi-sensei!" She called when she saw him already beginning to walk off. There was still something in his incomplete story that she was just a little curious about, that she couldn't just shrug off. She was an avid reader after all, and she didn't like incomplete endings. "What happened to his son?"

Kakashi looked at her wide-eye in surprised, and scoffed slightly. It wouldn't hurt telling her, he thought. "Well… at first, he didn't want to follow his father, and believed that orders should be followed to the bitter end, even if it meant abandoning his comrades. He was a real stuck-up brat." He started off, and Sarada frowned at the contrast between him and his father; but there was pity in her eyes, because to some extent she could sympathise with him, and she could understand why he wouldn't want to follow his father's footsteps, not after that traumatizing event. Albeit, she had a feeling that the ending of the story regarding White Fang's son wasn't purely melancholic. "But then, thanks to a particular friend of his, he changed his mind about that. Mm… I think he turned out to be an alright Shinobi." And she was right.

"That's good to hear." She smiled, glad that there was some sort of happy ending for that unfortunate tale. "You talk about him as if he's so familiar… is he your friend? What is he up to these days?"

"I wouldn't say friend." He laughed lightly, as he walked ahead of her. Calmly, he continued, "I am his son."

Now, that was a plot twist that Sarada hadn't expect, nor did she know how to react other than showing a shocked expression that had sub-consciously slipped onto her face. "Y-You—"

"Now, come on." He interrupted, feeling that he entertained her questions enough. "We don't want to waste any more time now, would we?"

The next place Kakashi took Sarada to was to a more mountainous terrain; a canyon more specifically. It was an area perfect for what he had in stall for her later on in their training if she still had a sufficient amount of chakra and energy left to spare.

For now, he watched her closely as she threw Kunai after Kunai at the targets he had set up earlier. Her aim never wavered, nor did her strength as each Kunai pierced through sharply into each target. It was relieving to see that her focus had been more in tact as compared to when he first had a closer observation of her skills.

What impressed him the most when she decided to show-off a little. With her sharingan deactivated, eyes closed completely shut, her body positioning itself in its perfect and still form, she had almost gotten all bullseye for the targets.

That remarkable display of her skill reminded him of Itachi, her late Uncle. He remembered his own skilful display of abilities upon entering ANBU. The moment the members witnessed him spiral elegantly in the air—upside down—and at the same time maintaining balance while hitting all the targets right at the bullseye, any form of underestimation they had for the youngest member diminished instantly.

He had no doubt that someone like Sarada could achieve something like that, with due time.

The next activity he had planned was a brief one-on-one spar. And the first thing he noticed aside from her sheer will and determination to beat him, was the fact that she seemed to curse her underdeveloped Sharingan under her breath whenever her genjutsu failed or whenever she was unable to dodge in time.

At first, Kakashi did wonder just how much could he guide Sarada. There was only so much things he could teach her. However, after noticing these minor things, it seemed that there was still a lot of room for his mentorship after all.

"You know," Kakashi first spoke during their little break after that strenuous spar, "For you to be able to use that level of genjutsu with just one tomoe in your Sharingan, it's already quite impressive." He added on.

"But it's not enough…" There was that familiar dissatisfaction in her voice that Kakashi would soon grow accustomed to. "…Back then, Mirai managed to catch me in a genjutsu. I wasn't strong enough to counter." Her eyes narrowed in frustration while her fists clenched in utter devastation. She felt a little ashamed just thinking about it. After all, weren't Uchihas well known for their genjutsus? And yet she still fell into her trap. But to be fair, Mirai had underwent more training than her, had experienced more than her—Sarada acknowledged that much.

Albeit, she couldn't help but wonder if things would've turned out the same back then if her Sharingan had been a little more developed, a little more sharpened. She had the same thought with Kakashi, who had managed to avoid almost all—if not, all—her attempts at capturing him, trapping him under her genjutsu spell.

"Mirai, huh?" Kakashi pondered. "An undoubtedly skilful Shinobi too. She worked hard to get to where she is in the Ninja world now." He said.

"I know… and I know just because I have the Sharingan doesn't mean I will automatically have victory. And that there will still be people who can outsmart the Sharingan…" Sarada sighed, turning towards Kakashi. "But to not be able to maximise this ability that was practically gifted to me, it's frustrating. Especially after two years… I don't want to remain stagnant."

Kakashi saw the strong desire to improve deep in her eyes. The drive. The push.

She was earnest in her efforts, in her words. But in them, there was a tinge of burning impatience. It reminded him of Sasuke a bit, back when his drive for strength was for vengeance. That's where he and Sarada differed as genin, Sarada's drive for improvement stemmed from the fact she wanted to protect her loved ones as well as achieve her dreams of becoming the Hokage.

With that in mind, he wanted to make sure that her motivations would never become corrupt—which he doubted would ever happen, given the peaceful times they were in, given the fact that she was nurtured with so much love by her mother during her father's absence. Sarada's heart was at the Will of Fire, and he doubted she'd ever deter away from that.

And he hoped he wouldn't be a failure as a sensei to this Uchiha, like how he was to Sasuke when he was unable to set his mind straight back then.

"Strength takes time and patience." Kakashi responded. "And while it isn't wrong for you to want to improve on your Sharingan, understand that your strength as a Ninja doesn't just primarily come from your abilities bestowed since birth."

"What do you mean by th—"

"Anyhow," Kakashi had cut in. "Do you still have some chakra and energy left?" He asked.

"Yeah…" Sarada nodded as she stood up, stretching her arms and back as if preparing for the next set of training Kakashi was bound to throw at her. "Why?"

"You've heard of Chidori, right?" He questioned, and the sudden spark and glimmer that popped excitedly in her eyes, of which erased her dreary and despondent mood a second ago, answered his question enough. It was good to see that her excitement to learn outweighed the bitterness she felt whenever her insecurities and flaws was brought up to her. What Konoha Ninja hadn't heard of it? It was said to be a powerful Jutsu created by him, and to her knowledge, it was passed down to her father.

"From yesterday's fight, it seems like you're familiar with lightning nature already." Sarada nodded. "But it doesn't mean it'll be any less difficult to master it." He mentioned, cracking his knuckles. It had been a little while since he last used Chidori, but regardless, no matter how much time went by he still lived up to his name and title of the Sixth Hokage.

"So, are you ready?"

"I don't think you're ready." Was the first thing Sasuke said flatly to the Uzumaki who begged and pleaded desperately to learn a new Jutsu.

"Ehhhh?" Boruto groaned, disheartened. But to be frank, what did he expect? It'd be a lie if he said he had expected him to jolly-well agree and let him master another powerful technique like the Rasengan. "Why not? Whaddaya mean I'm not ready dattebasa!"

Like father, like son. Sasuke couldn't help but think, slightly annoyed. Datte this, datte that…

"While your aim in regards to your Rasengan has improved since the last time, and you're able to produce more, sustainable shadow clones for now… I think you should sharpen on your own skill assets and basic techniques even further before you think of mastering something new." He said plainly, his expression as monotonous as ever. "Moreover, your Rasengan still has ways to go."

"Huhh? Didn't you just say my aim was getting better?" Boruto frowned.

"Yes. But there's still more to work on." Sasuke paused, both his eyes tracing down towards his hand, particularly the diamond shaped symbol that was tattooed into his skin. "And there's your karma seal." He added. "A seal that we are yet to know more about. It hasn't acted up recently, did it?" He asked calmly, and Boruto shook his head in response.

"Nope." He sighed—perhaps a little too over-dramatically—, his own eyes focusing onto the mark engraved in his skin.

It had only ever acted up twice.

The first time was on a mission assigned to Team 7. They had split themselves up after agreeing on the plan that they thought they'd be able to execute without much trouble. However, being a Shinobi, things always didn't go so smoothly. One thing happened after the other and he and Sarada had been ambushed while Mitsuki and Konohamaru were elsewhere, unaware of their comrades' current predicament. Outnumbered, panicked, and the sight of Sarada who was getting hit and weakened by the ambushers that Boruto wasn't able to counter that well either, the seal acted up in the moment of stress. Blue streaks painted itself over his body, and from what he heard from Sarada, the hue of his right eye had darkened, blended into a different colour. It was no longer the familiar shade of comforting blue she grew up with.

He became more aggressive, and by the time Konohamaru and Mitsuki arrived to the scene, Boruto had handled the ambushers (albeit, a little too mercilessly, explicit details that Boruto had forgotten and didn't want to remember). Sarada managed to stop him before he went too far. Unfortunately, he passed out soon after. The rest was a blur.

"It seems to be uncontrollable." He grumbled.

Sasuke raised a brow, before letting out an unimpressed 'Hn'. "I don't think it's uncontrollable." He started, "You just need the will, the strength and the time to seize control of it."

"Yeah…" Boruto hoped so.

Sarada had been so worried that day, though… He couldn't help but think. As much as they argued and disagreed, at the end of the day, they were childhood friends, teammates. The first thing he remembered waking up to a warmth he felt around his hand that he later learnt was Sarada's. Sarada's warmth, her hand wrapped around his reassuringly when he came to.

He was happy that that was the last time his Karma seal ever acted up so ruthlessly in front of his teammates, and he'd like to think it was thanks to his control. But it wasn't, it was probably by some luck that it didn't decide to go wild again.

The second time was when Sasuke pushed him to his limits, in hope of getting a closer look at the abilities of the Karma Seal. It wasn't as disastrous as before, since Sasuke had been there to stop him if he ever spiralled out of control.

Thinking about Sarada and Sasuke-san …I should probably ask him about that now… Boruto thought. So I won't say anything stupid…

"Say, Sasuke-san." Boruto said, there was a hesitance in him that Sasuke seemed to notice, but didn't comment as he motioned for him to carry on. "So, I was walking home with Sarada one day… and we were talking… and I thought she knew about it but I didn't want to bring it straight up y'know, since it's a sensitive topic… but then, well…"

Sasuke hadn't had a clue as to what Boruto was going on about, and he, at least at first, didn't think it was anything of concern. What he and his daughter chatted about shouldn't highly concern him. They were just kids, weren't they? He was soon to be proven otherwise though.

"What is it?" He asked, although it sounded more of a demand for him to spit it out already.

"Did you… tell Sarada that you once abandoned the Leaf?"

For the first time ever, for a fleeting second, Boruto saw Sasuke's expression switch to something more vulnerable, nervous and regretful before he forced it to settle back to his usual stoic look and calmness. Boruto could only imagine how much his past bothered him, and he was respectful enough to not press onto it any further.

"I-I didn't mention it to her or anything! I mean, I almost did…" He watched Sasuke's expression shift into something horrifying before anxiously continuing, "B-But I didn't! She seemed to have brushed it off as nonsense… which is, eh, nothing new… But! I didn't say a word." Boruto swiftly reassured, his hands waving in the air as if to deny any lingering suspicions of Sasuke that he had exposed a part of his past. "It's… not my business after all."

The only thing that answered back to Boruto was the gusts of wind that blew by, calming breezes that unfortunately didn't blow away the tension hanging heavily in the air.

Did… Boruto gulped as he thought. Did I say something wrong—

"…Yeah." Sasuke finally spoke, turning away from Boruto. "I didn't tell her." He paused, considered for a second and continued. "Not yet."

Sasuke was a man of few words. But with the few words he spoke, Boruto could understand (at least a little) what he meant. "Okay." He nodded. He was sure Sasuke had his reasons for not telling Sarada anything yet. Hell, even he found out about it unintentionally. Had he not get sent back in time with him back then, he doubted he would have ever open up that much about his past to him. At least, not now. And maybe not before he had told Sarada. However, he didn't have that freedom of choice.

Although, there were still some—a lot of things Boruto didn't know about him. About what happened after he left the village, after he chose the life of a rogue Ninja… an avenger.

"Ya'know, I messed up in front of Sarada a lot…" He suddenly said, feeling a need to reassure his mentor. "But she has a forgiving heart… at least, after she nags at me." He said, a small smile cracking on his lips. "I'm sure she'll understand."

To think I'd have heard this from my own pupil… Sasuke thought silently. But what Boruto said was right, his daughter did have a forgiving heart. Her heart had been big enough to pardon his absence and forgive the terrible first reunion they had.

She may forgive me for the act of leaving the village… He considered. But can she forgive me for acts I've done after I left? The lives I hurt?

His mind drifted to Sakura, Naruto, Kakashi and many others. The lives he had hurt when he was blinded with nothing less than the desire of getting his vengeance. And maybe because Boruto was not fully aware of the events that occurred after Sasuke's departure, he didn't think informing Sarada was that much of a big deal.

And can she forgive the Leaf of the past? What fate they had once cruelly forced upon the Uchiha Clan? He pondered. It may have been in the past, and sure, things have definitely changed since then.

But history leaves scars, ugly scars that sometimes don't fade away or heal completely, and once upon a time Sasuke Uchiha couldn't just forgive and forget as simply as that.

Time could only tell how she'd react.

Sarada didn't have the time to hesitate, to waste.

Sweat trickled furiously down the raven's forehead and cheeks endlessly as she tried her best to control her breathing.

It was as Kakashi said, even if she had already mastered other lightning-natured jutsu, it wouldn't make mastering the Chidori that much easier. She had already lost track of how much time it was taking her to just garner a single spark of lightning in her palm.

"One of the major drawbacks of Chidori is the fact that because your body moves so fast, your vision becomes obstructed. A tunnel-like vision. Therefore, most Ninjas can't use this safely against an enemy." He had told her at the start of mastering this new Jutsu. "But because of your sharingan, you can overcome these drawbacks and risks."

Sarada bit her lip, forcing and focusing every ounce of her chakra to be channelled to her hand, in the form of highly concentrated lightning. Subconsciously, her sharingan activated mid-way as her body grew more tensed. Kakashi decided not to say anything for now, and just observed.

"Do not over-work yourself." He had cautioned after witnessing her putting a little too much pressure after her first few attempts, which he observed and knew it irked her because even then with her immense effort, a single spark or hint of lightning was yet to appear. "Push yourself too much, and it will result in severe and negative consequences that risks your life as a Shinobi."

It had been easy to channel the yellow-coloured lightning jutsu she was so familiar with, that she copied from another Ninja while she was on her own personal mission. Who'd have thought channelling a lightning of a blue-ish hue, that—as quoted from Kakashi—released a sound similar to a thousand birds chirping, would've been this difficult?

But Sarada didn't have any complains. She didn't expect success to be served to her on a silver platter just because of her heritage.

She wasn't sure how much chakra she had left, nor was she sure how she managed to last this long given her weakness in stamina.

One more time… she chanted in her head. Just… I have enough Chakra just to push through one more time, I think—

Her thoughts were cut off when her eyes caught sight of a tiny little spark that began to form in her hand. She grew excited. Exhilarated. I-It's appearing! She exclaimed internally, as she watched it grow bit by bit—that was, until the rebellious trace of lightning shocked her palm before it vanished after five seconds.

"Ouch!" She yelped, hand wrapping around the palm that received the hurt, that was probably scarred. Her Sharingan deactivated as any remaining form of Chakra disappeared into thin air with the little bits of Chidori she barely even managed to muster.

"Are you hurt?" Kakashi sprinted towards her, worried upon hearing her shriek.

"N-No…" She stammered just slightly as she tried to catch her breath. Her onyx eyes took a peek at her palm, and they relaxed upon seeing that there were just minor injuries imparted by the lightning. She didn't feel faint, considering she hadn't exactly gone over her limit; she had only reached it. After all, what Kakashi had warned her about pushing herself too far doing this exercise had restrained her from crossing that fine line. "I'm fine…"

Kakashi's eyes narrowed, a little suspicious of her "I'm fine", but decided to let it go for now since she wasn't bleeding, nor was she showing any symptoms of pain. Although, he was at least happy to know that Sarada Uchiha knew how to control and not exceed her limits. If she had went any further, especially with the unnecessary activation of her Sharingan, I would've stopped her half-way… he sighed.

"Alright." He said. "For now—"

"Did I do well?" She asked, and there was this fierce look that appeared in her pair of eyes. "Did I do enough today?"

Kakashi stared at her, and he had trouble telling if it was her determination demanding an answer or if it was the insecurities hiding in her confidence, waiting to burst and erupt if he had told her an answer she didn't want to hear.

"How did you think you did today?" He countered, his head tilting sideways in curiosity as he awaited an answer from the raven who had been caught by surprise, regarding his question.

He watched her eyebrows knit together before her eyes—that slowly lost the fierceness residing in them, as a new emotion took its place; something that Kakashi determined to be either uncertainty or disappointment—traced down to her slightly injured palm. "I…" She started, sounding rather unsure. Kakashi wondered where her confidence and unwavering determination from during her earlier trials had went. "I don't know… I mean, it seems like a failure." She forced a chuckle towards the end.

As your sensei, I don't want to just teach you fighting techniques.— Kakashi stood by what he said. He wanted to impart meaningful messages and lessons to her; something that he felt that he had failed to do so with the other Uchiha he once had under his wing several years back. And one of the things he hoped to drill into her was unwavering, resolute confidence that she seemed to have partially lost during the years when she watched her peers improve, while she believed that she had remained stagnant due to her under-developed Sharingan.

And above all, after spending some time with her, watching her closely, there was one thing especially that he hoped he would be able to teach her, to impart on her.

Author's Note:

NEXT UPDATE: EARLY AUGUST – SEPTEMBER

Firstly, I apologise for the late update.

Secondly, I know Boruto's karma mark's first 'breakout' was in a different moment; so there'll be a little canon divergence regarding that. I might change how his first breakout in this fanfic, depending on the future direction of this fanfiction; of course if I do make any previous chapter changes, I will alert you all in the next chapter or you can keep up with me on tumblr (rosaline-kei). (I also haven't kept up with the manga for a bit and this was written before new recent info-containing chapters were released. So, I apologise in advance for any inaccuracies; I'll change/update anything if anything in this fanfic is seriously off haha)

All in all, I hope this chapter is okay. And to everyone, stay safe, stay healthy and stay strong during these tough periods in time.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this! Please Leave A Review! Constructive Criticism is welcomed.