just completely give up on him since he betrayed the team. As of now, She allowed the raven haired rookie to take over the questioning process.

Silence had took over for awhile, Sarada had a brief stare off with the teen, the guy seemed to be letting his guard down and not even resisting. At the same time, she was already preparing her questions carefully inside her mind, thinking of any ways to make him spill out the beans.

As she was about to speak, the young man had beaten her first, and starting with a smile, he finally spoke.

"Well, I guess there's no point of denying or resisting." Sai said, giving a sigh and a smile, and also causing confusion amongst the two girls.

Sarada raised an eyebrow." What do you mean?" She asked.

Sai was silent for a few moments, he then directed his eyes towards the pink haired teen as if he was telling her that she has something that belonged to him.

Sakura responded with a nod as she then drew out a small object from her pocket which turned out to be the picture book that she found back at the forest and handed it over to the teen." I believed this is yours, right?" She said.

"Thank you." Sai smiled as he simply accepted the picture book back. There was this kind of little appreciation that he felt. He never expected that the pink haired teen would keep it in one piece all this time.

Sarada cleared her throat to get the teen's attention once again." Can you tell me your real purpose here?" She asked, giving the teen a serious look." Are you taking orders from a man named Danzou?" She added.

"He's plotting something which involves Orochimaru in the mixed, isn't he?" Sakura added." And you're chosen to be their liason, if I'm correct."

"So that's why you were so distant from us since the beginning." Sarada added.

The two girls had brought themselves to the point of being overwhelming as they kept bombarding the guy with every question that they have in mind. On the other hand, Sai kept quiet and patiently waited for the two girls stop.

Just tell the whole truth, what are they up to?" Sarada finished the bombardment, with a little demanding tone of voice. She had to admit that this teen version of Inojin's dad was very annoying.

Sai smile as he then took a deep breath." Now that you've discovered me, I guess there's no point of hiding any secret from you two." He replied. He had come to point where he had concluded that he really had no match against these two monsters if he tried to resist.

"Just as you said, The truth about this conspiracy is that we're trying to destroy Konoha in every way possible."

(INTERVIEW)

"When I heard his statement, I was pretty much bewildered to learn the fact that Uncle Sai was a part of a conspiracy to destroy the village. It was really a twist to the story and why I'm not surprised about hearing similar statements from other interrogations before?"

-Sarada

(MEANWHILE)

Taking a short break from leading the group, Boruto took the back seat and had let Showtaro led the way for the meantime. He had never forgotten the fact that the duck also had a mission that he needed to attend to. Although, he had to admit that it was pretty tough to balance between two missions at the same time. As for now, he was gonna let the flow take over and let things naturally come into place.

Turning the cap and opening his water bottle, the Uzumaki teen took a sip to replenish his energy that has been slowly depleted from the hours of exploring and searching throughout the hideout.

He also thought that there would be silence for awhile after hours of conversing and planning for their next step, but it seemed that the other blonde would continue to keep it alive. He kept discussing this certain topic regarding Sai, and mainly his recent bretayal on the team and mission.

"If there is a chance that we might bumped into Sai, we really should make sure that traitor learned his lesson Dattebayo!" Naruto blurted out, still can't get over the hump with the black haired teen.

This also gave annoyance to the rookie as he this was the last straw for him to hear those kind of statements. He then stopped his tracks and turned towards his blonde counterpart.

"Alright Naruto, what seems to be the problem?" He calmly asked, giving his young dad a serious face.

Naruto widened his eyes in surprised when he met the rookie's serious and stern look. He wasn't expecting this kind of reaction from him as he thought that he was gonna laugh at it with him." W-What do you mean Bolt?" He said.

The rookie just continued to look at him seriously for an amount of time. He was confused as he tried to figure out on what did he do or said that caused the latter to be in that state. It didn't took long enough when finally realized that him, criticizing the black haired teen was the main cause.

"Wait, don't tell me that you're-" He was about to finish his sentence when he was cut.

Boruto raised a hand as a sign to interrupt his blonde counterpart's sentence." I'm sorry to cut you off Naruto, but let me tell you something you first." He paused, and then continued." You don't have to judge a person right away without knowing his true colors first!"

Naruto was taken aback by the rookie's statement. He didn't expect to hear that kind of response from him, so he then frowned in annoyance." Oh come on now, you've personally seen his true self already dattebayo!" He argued, referring to the previous time before the guy went rogue.

"Even if he shows kindness, he still will be that same irritating guy!" He added to his argument.

Boruto just sighed, he was getting this "Arguing with his old man" feeling again. How he hated this kind of situation, where he's fighting for the right explanation against a person who is very tough to be convince. All he wanted to do is to simply tell the young seventh about judging too early. He too didn't knew anything about the black haired teen but with the stories coming from Inojin and Aunt Ino, he learned the real picture behind the scenes.

Boruto took a deep breath as began to explain hia side of the story." Yes, I'm aware that he can be the most irritating guy in the world, but have you consider checking out his past or background?" He said, before adding more.

"What caused him to become that way?"

There was silence between the two, especially Naruto, who was surprised." Why didn't I think of that earlier?" He asked himself before looking back at the rookie.

Boruto continued his reason." I know you want to beat him up so badly, but at least try to understand him for awhile." He said, before pausing." You said it yourself that there's still hope in people like Sai." He explained." He could still have that change of heart, if you're willing to understand."

"The same as you perceived that Sasuke could still be save!" He added and finished his sentence.

Naruto stood there shocked and dumbfounded. He didn't expect to received that kind of explanation from the rookie. He was beginning to realized on what his blonde counterpart was telling him that the case of Sai was very much similar to the case of his Uchiha teammate. He had a very good point and that he should reconsider on taking a chance on saving black haired teen while there's still time.

Boruto was quiet, he just waited for his teenage dad to reply back. He really had no choice but to explain to him the truth and make him realized that cursing and bashing a guy like that for life wasn't gonna really help solved his problems.

It took several key moments before the latter gave a sigh and nodded." I guess you're right Bolt." Naruto finally replied as he then gave a small calm smile before scratching the back of his head." Thanks for telling Dattebayo." He added, before continuing on as he passed by the rookie and duck.

Showtaro was very much surprised as he became the audience for the two. He really had no idea on what was really going on between the two but he was glad that it somehow ended on a good note." What was that all about?" He asked, as he turned his eyes to the rookie.

Boruto gave a small smile and simply nodded." Just making him realize the good things and stuff like that." He replied, with an unsure tone of voice. He was even amazed on how he was able to talk his teenage dad in a very professional manner.

"Oh I see." Showtaro with a surprised nod. This kid was really something else.

(INTERVIEW)

"Just like I said, the kid was something else! At this age of his, He's pretty much mature already."

-Showtaro

"It's just something that I really hope to put to end, I mean the old man was really getting bitter on teenage uncle Sai and somehow, I managed to help him realized that there's still a chance for him to be saved."

-Boruto

(MEANWHILE)

"So you're saying that you're a part of an alliance with Orochimaru while also spying behind is back?"

"Yes."

This might be the one of the most complex conspiracies that Sarada has heard, and one of the most dangerous too. The raven haired rookie stood there staring and dissecting every information that she received from the black haired teen. Same goes to Sakura, who had the same doing as well.

Turns out that a conspiracy to destroy the village had been forming behind the scenes between The Root and Orochimaru. Something that everybody wasn't expecting or having heard off.

"The moment Konoha is destroyed, Orochimaru will definitely betray us." Sai explained." It's a preventive measure and we must be one step ahead at any cost."

Sarada raised an eyebrow." So why not do it by yourselves?" She said." Since you all know that He's gonna double cross you at the end?"

"The Root organization doesn't have the power or force to create chaos." Sai explained." That's why we need the snake to do that part because he has that capability of causing destruction on a village." He said, as he also referred to the Otogakure invasion that the man orchestrated years prior.

"So basically the Root wants to create this destruction just to make the village theirs?" Sarada tried to clarified.

Sai simply nodded." You're partially correct, but it was my superior's goal since from the beginning." He added.

Sakura widened her eyes in surprised." So it's true that Danzo wanted for himself." She said, while the other nodded.

"And you're supposed to make that happen all by yourself?" Sarada spoke this time.

Sai kept quiet for a little while, it was a sign that he was definitely doing this all by himself." I was chosen mission because of my ability to leak information right away." He explained.

"Are you completely mad!?" Sakura exclaimed." You do realized that a lot of innocent people's lives is at stake here!?" She was really furious that the black haired teen would do all of this willingly. She recalled on how the Otogakure invasion devastated the village from three years ago, causing a lot of deaths and destruction. She wasn't gonna let that happen again.

Sai wasn't affected by her words." Who cares, I'm just following orders." He replied causing the pink haired teen to mention his name and shake her head in disappointment.

"And one more thing, "Sai" was just a name assigned for me in this mission." The black haired teen added." I am merely a nobody and just one of Danzo-sama's arms." He finished his sentence as if he really wasn't bothered and didn't care.

"I do not exist and there's no point of insulting or criticizing me."

Sarada was shocked to hear the revelation. After all these years, The name "Sai" was simply a fake name. She really can't imagine on how Inojin will react to this truth. It must've been really weird for a person not knowing or having their true name and at this point in time, there's not much hope for the black haired teen except for a certain picture book on his right hand.

Sakura immediately took noticed of the book and planned to discussed it with the teen." But why do you still keep that picture book as a treasure even though you're telling us that you have no real purpose in your life?" She asked.

The moment she had said this, the black haired teen's eyes widened in surprised. He wasn't expecting this to enter the conversation. He instinctively raised right hand so that he can look at the book and it's distinctive cover and thus the memories began to flooding in.

"Why do you treasure it so much?" Sakura asked again." Is it because that you dearly missed your brother?" She added, causing the rookie to turned her attention towards her.

"Or is it because that book is the only thing and reason that proves that you exist in this world?" Sakura added.

Sai was silent, the things that he was hearing right now had been greatly affecting him deeply. He wasn't just showing it to the two girls.

"You haven't lost your emotions as much as you claim it to be." Sakura continued, she was finally getting the full picture about the guy." The fact that you accepted the book back and said " Thank You" proves it and you felt relief when I handed it to you." She stopped to catch her breath.

Sai was surprised and at the same time, confused, emotions were forming around him for the first time." In what way does carrying a picture book around prove that I exist?" He asked, his interest rising on the topic.

"The reason you don't want to let go of the picture book is because you can't give up the image you have of yourself as a little brother." Sakura simply explained." And your ties with your brother are very important to you." She added." You don't wanna severe that strong ties."

Sai was struck deeply inside. Emotions were starting to creeped up as a certain word appeared in his mind.

"Bonds"

The young Root felt hands shaking. He tried to ask himself of this strange feelings that he has been having right now. He could feel joy, anger, and sadness at the same time and remembering his big brother at the same time.

"Shin."

This was indeed the first time that he felt these emotions. Emotions that had been sealed away since his grueling training at Kiragakure and it came like a surging giant wave inside him. The memories of himself and everything from the beginning to the current end. The last image that he saw was that of the smiling face of his "big brother" before he went on.

Sai then looked down as he took a deep breath." This picture book was supposed to be a present for him." He spoke." But before I can complete it, He..." The black haired teen trailed off as he attempted to finished his sentence but couldn't bring himself to do it.

"H-He passed on before I could show it to him." Sai finished his sentence but at the cost of letting out a little bit of his emotions in the form of a small tear that secretly came out and before he knew, he started to sob a little.

The two girls were surprised and also saddened to see the teen like this. Who knew that he would letting out emotions that he never had before. It was a bitter sweet to see Sai finally getting in touch with his human emotional side but at the same time they had to continue interrogating the man.

(INTERVIEW)

"This teenage version Uncle Sai was indeed a tough heart to break. Seeing him emotionless since the beginning of the mission and then seeing him crying for a litte bit was a big change for me. I think he's beginning to see that there's still hope to change, but still we needed him to cooperate for us to find Papa."

-Sarada

(CHANGE OF HEART)

Although, Sai spoke and this time tone was different." If you're gonna search for Sasuke Uchiha, you're gonna have a hard time locating his exact place." He said.

The atmosphere immediately changed, there was seriousness that took over.

The black haired teen had decided to help the two girls and he was now giving all the information he can to help them find the Uchiha.

"Orochimaru is often with him." Sai continued" So if you want to really find Sasuke, you'll have to go through that snake first." He explained." If you pursue him, you might end up as a subject for his insane experiments."

"And besides, why do you still continue to pursue him even though, he possibly doesn't care about you and Naruto anymore?" He added.

There was quietness that took over yet again. It was indeed a tough question to answer and the guy had a point. Why waste time to pursue a person who had no hopes of being saved?

Sakura just sighed but gave a smile." You know that's the reason why we still have hope." She said, causing confusion for the black haired teen.

"I don't speak for Naruto but, I guess the reason why he doesn't give is because, He always say that Sasuke would often acknowledged him more than anyone else did." She explained, which left the other widening his eyes in surprised.

Sakura continued." It's kind of a bond that happens very rarely, you treat each other as brothers and sisters." She said. She would then go on to explain that the bond that was formed during the early days of Team 7 had been going strong for all these years.

"Even If you asked me or Naruto, we really don't care about all these set backs ahead of us." Sakura said.

"No matter what happens, we're gonna bring Sasuke back home." The pink haired teen added, finally finding her confidence.

Sarada watched the whole the scene unfold, she was amazed and proud at the same time. No one could really bring that confidence down.

Sai felt humbled this time." Bonds" He muttered under his breath as his interest on this kind of ties, began to grew inside. He wanted to find out more about it and learned from it.

It seemed that everything was heading to a good end, the two girls had successfully helped Sai in his emotional state and he was on board on rejoining and assisting them again for real. The only hindrance as of now was an unexpected newcomer from behind.

"Well, what do we have here." A recognizable male voice spoke from behind.

The two girls then immediately turned around to face a familiar face. An annoying face to be exact." You've got to be kidding me." Sarada sighed and commented. She didn't expect that she had to go through this yet again.

The newcomer was revealed to be Kabuto himself, who had apparently just discovered them.

"Looks like you've become a prisoner Sai." Kabuto said, giving an arrogant face while the black haired teen remained silent.

"Oh not you again!" Sakura sarcastically exclaimed as she was having the same thoughts as the raven haired rookie. She too was sick of facing this guy.

Kabuto gave an arrogant laugh and ignored the pink haired girl's comments as he focused on the black haired teen." It's doesn't looked like you've betrayed us, so I'll trust for now." He said before forming an evil grin in his face.

He was about to summon his Chakra blade in an attempt to rescue the black haired teen before something unexpected had happened. As soon as he change into battle stance, he suddenly felt immense pain from under. He suddenly stopped his attempts and instead held his junior and his knees dropping on the floor.

"Not again." He muttered aloud as the last image he saw was that of a certain raven haired teen, who was the one responsible for kicking him in the balls once again.

Sarada wasn't bothered and didn't even care, she had enough of this and took upon herself to end the conflict in a matter of seconds. She then turned towards the two, who were giving a very surprised look. They were dumbfounded on what happened just now, and they were about to ready themselves for battle.

Sarada just gave them a slight grin. Now they finally have the second key to locate their target.

(INTERROGATION 2)

Kabuto found himself forcibly sitting and had been strapped down on the chair via Sai's ink substance. He had never expected this to happened and also never anticipated that the black haired teen would double cross him. He was now subjected to a sudden interrogation.

"Alright, where is Sasuke?"

The first question was heard coming from the pink haired teen herself, while the rest watched from behind.

Kabuto was quiet as he observed his surroundings. He was trying to find a way out of this mess or a possible move to escape his current situation. So far luck wasn't on his side to begin since he was facing three people who are capable of really teaching him lesson, especially that raven haired girl with the glasses.

He secretly gave his frustration because he had obviously no choice but sit down in defeat and he had to cooperate in order to make his escape work out. By the time he took a deep a breath, he began to speak.

"By now, He's probably finished with his training and has gone back to his room in the inner area." He replied.

"Are you sure about that?" Sarada asked.

Kabuto gave a slight arrogant chuckle." Of course, I've personally seen him train awhile ago." He said.

"I don't think he's lying." Sai spoke this time and followed up a question thereafter." Which part of this inner area?" He asked.

"Be specific!" He demanded.

Kabuto gave a smirked before rolling his eyes." I don't know which room." He said before continuing." This hideout has a lot of inner areas and chambers that would really make it tough for you to locate him." He explained.

"Then we'll keep searching for him down there." Sarada said, having her determination intact.

"Well, that could work randomly." Kabuto replied." But, I warned you three, if you commit at least one small mistake, you might disturb a snake that will jump at you." He added with a devious smile.

There was silence that took over inside the room. Kabuto thought that by discouraging or taking away their motivation, they might give up on their goal. Although, that would only come true in his dreams as he failed at that part.

Sakura then smirked back "If you think that we're gonna get killed, then you're very wrong four eyes!" She replied back with a strong tone of voice as he beckoned the rest to move forward and leave the room.

Kabuto widened his eyes in surprised as he began to see his failed attempt and in a few moments time, the three immediately left, leaving him alone and still strapped in the chair. He soon began to shake his head and give a defeated smirked.

"You won't, unless you try."

(SIDE MISSION)

"It must be here somewhere."

Showtaro wiped the sweat from his forehead as he flew towards through the corridors, behind him were the two blondes catching up to him. There was this feeling that he would be reaching the area that he was looking for all this time. The only regret that he had was that he didn't have the time to explain his mission in detail to the two because of the little time that they had.

Though he was able to summarized his mission and it was basically about locating a person of interest in his investigation. A person that he believed to be a possible witness and a whistle blower that might relay him top secret information about the unknown doings of the council's culprits.

When Boruto asked the question on why would this person of interest would end up in this hideout in the first place, the answer was simple:

This person of interest might be on the run from the enemy or forcibly exiled for revealing too much classified information.

Showtaro also revealed that this hideout was originally a prison from a very long ago and considering its dungeons-like rooms, broken chains scattered and its overall appearance, it made sense that any person or being with atrocities would be placed in here. It was only unrecognizable because it had been

After a good amount of time traversing through the inner areas, the inner areas itself were larger than the previous ones and the group found themselves stopping their tracks as they found themselves looking at dead end in the form of a huge wall.

"Looks like a dead end." Boruto said, recommending the rest to continue their search in other areas.

"Are we even in the right place?" Naruto added as confusion was hitting him slowly.

Showtaro simply shook his head and gave a small smile." We're in the right place." He said, as he moved towards the wall to get a closer look.

He soon began to study and examine the walls, discovering mysterious yet somehow familiar round symbols attached and written on the wall itself. The symbols were small enough to be touch by a hand. Showtaro drew his small journal book, flipping to a certain page, which also contained symbols, and began to compare it to the symbols on the wall.

"Just as I thought, these symbols are from the Otsutsuki clan." Showtaro said causing mixed reactions from the two blondes.

Boruto widened his eyes in shock after hearing the "Otsutsuki" word itself, he had never expected that this would be involved in the duck's investigation." No way." He muttered out.

Naruto was bewildered, he kept glancing at the two back and forth, wondering what the heck was going on. Who were the Otsutsuki? Were they even human? What's with all these weird symbols on the wall? There were just so many questions in his mind right now.

Meanwhile, Boruto moved closer as he too was now examining these symbols. "So these Otsutsuki symbols are what for? He asked.

"There basically codes or puzzles to unlock a certain door or passage." He said and would go on to explain that by unlocking or decoding these puzzles, the walls would lose its defensive barrier thus leading them into their goal by destroying the walls first.

Boruto nodded, accepting and understanding his explanation." So how are you gonna decode the puzzle?" He asked.

Showtaro simply smiled as he finally found a way." Well, it's simple." He said, pointing to the symbols and his small book." A friend from the Otsutsuki world, gave me advice on solving these puzzles." He added." As you can see on the wall, all symbols must be in their proper positions and one of the symbols here is suspiciously upside down." He explained.

"So what's the next step?" Boruto asked.

Showtaro nodded." Simple, you just turned this symbol back into its right position." He said as he adjusted a certain round symbol with a crescent moon design inside, back to its original position by tilting the symbol a little bit. Once he brought the symbol back, all three symbols and the wall began to glow, in a few moments time, the glow began to die down. The duck then proceeded to press the middle symbol, which acted as a button and moments later a portion of the wall began to collapse leaving an entrance.

The group stood and found themselves staring at a new passage, Both Boruto and Naruto were amazed and surprised while Showtaro kept calm as usual for the reason that he already did this many times before in the past.

"Now that's something you don't see everyday." Naruto commented, as he proceeded to enter the new passage along with the two. He also hoped that his long lost raven haired teammate would be in here too.

As they entered the passage, the atmosphere had change as the feeling of cautioness instantly took over the three. Naruto immediately drew out his Kunai, in case of a possible ambush, although he doubt that Orochimaru or Kabuto even knew this area in their own hideout to begin with. The whole area itself was almost covered in darkness, but with the help of a single torch that Boruto had taken and brought with them, they can at least see what was inside.

The area looks almost like a chamber or somesort.

Boruto, who was in the middle, kept calm as he secretly activated his Jougan in order to get an idea or appearance of the whole area. By the time, he had activated it, his eyes was suddenly met with hundreds of symbols that were on its walls and floors glowing brightly." What in the world!?" He exclaimed to himself.

By the time, he looked straight to his direction, there was this certain blue aura concentrated from a few distances away from where they are now.

At the same time, Showtaro had stopped his tracks on certain spot where a huge cauldron was located. "Hey Kid!" He called out the blonde rookie to come forward with the torch.

Boruto snapped back to reality as he headed towards the duck." So what do we now, Showtaro?" He asked.

"Place the torch in the cauldron and then use that Fire Jutsu Element of yours to boost up the flames, so we can fully light this place up." He simply said and explained.

Boruto nodded as he did on what was told, he placed the torch on the huge cauldron and there suddenly fire on it, he then immediately cast a Fire jutsu to boost up the fire. Once its all done, there was suddenly light that was emitted and the darkness slowly faded away, and the area's appearance was finally revealed to be that of a big chamber.

Boruto and Naruto, were amazed to see their new surroundings, this was indeed a remarkable site to see. They both deduced that this chamber was ancient, considering its appearance and curre-->>

next page