In Naruto with the Flame-Flame Fruit-Chapter 494: - : Naruto’s Story

Kiyosuke told Boruto a bit about what Naruto went through back then. This kid’s life was way too good—so good he thought he could do whatever he wanted. Not giving him a beating was already Kiyosuke showing respect for Naruto. First, he’d try educating him. If the kid really couldn’t be saved, then giving him a beating later wouldn’t be too late.

"Was that... how Grandpa and Grandma died?"

He had always believed his grandparents died in the war while protecting the village. He never expected there’d be hidden circumstances behind it.

"Yeah. Back then, the Nine-Tails’ claw stopped just centimeters from Naruto. A little more, and he would’ve died—and you wouldn’t exist. Kid, wake up. Your life is way better than what your dad had."

"But didn’t Dad have you taking care of him, Kiyosuke-san?" 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

"I was never his father. Understand? I looked after him, but that doesn’t mean I could replace his father. That’s why I always told him to call me uncle."

Boruto lowered his head and asked:

"Then how did he make it all the way to becoming Hokage?"

"Battle after battle. Tempered between life and death. Kid, your generation is nothing like Naruto’s. Do you think Shino is weak?"

"A... a little." Boruto scratched his cheek, embarrassed.

"No. Back then, I thought he was the most suitable person to become a ninja. He won every mission. Later he decided he wanted to be a teacher, so he went to the Academy."

Shino’s talent had been excellent. Every mission was carried out perfectly. A calm mind, plus the Aburame clan’s insect techniques and his natural low presence—he could’ve been the perfect shinobi. But since he chose to be a teacher, he no longer worked missions.

Boruto blinked in confusion.

"I never saw him as amazing..."

"He and your mom were both my students. And you think he’s weak? Back then, your mom and the other two survived my hell training. Your whole generation is too pampered—just like Naruto used to be."

Thinking about it... maybe a Konoha Crush plan was needed?

The Third wasn’t even dead yet. Maybe he should be sacrificed?

The Third Hokage, already old and falling apart: "..."

"I feel like they’re weaker than us," Boruto muttered.

Kiyosuke glanced at him, raised his hand slightly, then sighed.

"Exactly. Too much comfort leads to this. Back then, we went straight to the Shinobi World War right after graduation. Naruto’s generation fought in the Fourth Shinobi World War. Without blood and fire, you can’t grow."

He shook his head, disappointed in Boruto’s generation. No wonder the Third had once agreed with Orochimaru about destroying Konoha and dying with it—an overly peaceful life couldn’t sustain the village’s growth.

For the sake of the village, that old man had really been ruthless.

But Kiyosuke wouldn’t do something like that—unless he sacrificed Naruto. Which would accomplish nothing.

In the village, everyone who knew him was elderly. The kids had grown up hearing his legend, but how much respect did they actually have? He didn’t care. It might even be better that way.

So sacrificing himself was useless.

There was no need to waste his life just to force growth onto a generation.

If Konoha required that kind of hardship every time, the village was doomed anyway.

"Alright. I’m taking you to see your dad."

"Right now?"

"Of course."

Kiyosuke brought Boruto to the Hokage’s office. Sure enough, Naruto was still working overtime, while Shikamaru had gone home.

Naruto’s face was exhausted. Even as a Jinchūriki, the workload was wearing him down.

"This place is a mess. Every time I come here, it feels like walking into a dump." Kiyosuke looked at the mountains of paperwork. "You have shadow clones. Why is it like this?"

Shadow clones should’ve made multitasking easy. So why was Naruto buried like this?

"I can’t help it. There’s too much to do. Konoha’s growing fast, and everything piles up." Naruto sighed.

"Boruto, what happened? Why’d you come with Kiyosuke-san?"

Seeing them walk in together caught him off guard.

"This kid awakened a strange ocular ability. My guess is it’s a mutation of the Byakugan. It responded to my Sage power earlier and manifested. But he can’t control it yet."

"For real?" Naruto blinked. "Last time you said you awakened the Byakugan and nothing happened. I thought you imagined it. So this was the reason."

He came over, apologetic.

"Sorry, Boruto. I misunderstood you."

"I-it’s fine..." Boruto muttered awkwardly.

This kid was so damn tsundere.

Kiyosuke didn’t want to deal with the awkward father-son pair.

"This ocular ability is probably the result of your Uzumaki blood mixing with Hinata’s Hyūga blood. A one-in-a-million mutation. It should surpass the Byakugan—but it’s only in one eye, and it triggers randomly. With this ghost incident in the village, it keeps activating. Probably because of some special chakra."

"I see. But this isn’t necessarily a good thing for you. You’re not trained enough." Naruto understood his son well. Getting looked down on by his father made Boruto instantly bristle, but Kiyosuke slammed a hand on his shoulder and pinned him down.

"Your dad’s right. Your training is lacking. You haven’t even graduated, and you think you can control something like this? Impossible."

"How can you say that? I think I—"

"I don’t care what you think. What I say is what matters. You’re not ready, Boruto. You’re weak. Don’t let a little cleverness make you arrogant. There are several kids at the Academy stronger than you. Mitsuki, Sarada, Shinichi—they’re all above you."

Boruto lowered his head, frustrated—but Kiyosuke wasn’t wrong. Sarada being stronger annoyed him. Shinichi... that guy was basically a walking cheat. And Mitsuki had easily beaten the Iwagakure kid Boruto spent forever fighting.

"Know yourself. Your chakra is too low. When your dad was your age, he could make dozens of shadow clones. You can make three. At your age, I could make twenty. That’s the difference. We all went through intense training. If you don’t want to suffer and want instant results, then don’t be a ninja. Go home and sleep."

The cold tone crushed Boruto.

"Kiyosuke-san... he’s still young," Naruto said helplessly.

"He’s not. If we don’t teach him now, he’ll tear the roof off next."