Sunlight spilled across the hospital rooftop, and a gentle breeze swept softly by.
Naruto held the back of his head with both hands, his face beaming with his signature cheeky grin as he loudly proclaimed:
"Man, after all that tossing and turning, my stomach has been growling for ages."
As he spoke, Naruto exaggeratedly patted his sunken belly.
Then, Naruto's eyes lit up as he excitedly suggested, "How about we go get some ramen?"
"Just thinking about that piping-hot, delicious ramen makes my mouth water!"
With that, Naruto cast a look full of expectation toward Kakashi, who was standing off to the side.
Kakashi was caught somewhat off guard by Naruto's sudden gaze and failed to react to Naruto's intention for a moment.
At that exact moment, the quick-witted Young Boruto seemed to catch on immediately. A smile playing on his lips, he turned to Kakashi and said in a sincere tone:
"Kakashi-sensei, you're treating us."
Hearing this, Kakashi couldn't help wearing a helpless expression as he muttered in complaint:
"Why is it always me who has to pay?"
Yet, faced with those two yearning gazes, it was hard for him to refuse.
Young Boruto stepped closer to Kakashi's ear, lowered his voice, and whispered:
"Kakashi-sensei, you shouldn't play favorites like this." Blank-faced and bewildered, Kakashi questioned back, "How am I playing favorites?"
Boruto explained with a calm expression: "Look, Sasuke and Naruto are both your star pupils."
"Yet you taught the Chidori to Sasuke, but didn't teach Naruto the Rasengan. Isn't that a bit unfair?"
"Besides, Naruto is the teacher's son. Doing this feels a bit letting the teacher down, doesn't it?"
"Now you're just treating us to ramen, don't be so stingy."
Having said that, Boruto blinked, looking at Kakashi with a half-smile.
Hearing this, Kakashi's originally calm face instantly turned gloomy. Lowering his voice as if deathly afraid of being overheard by others, Kakashi said:
"How do you know Naruto is the teacher's son?"
Young Boruto, standing nearby, was clearly taken aback. A trace of confusion flickered across his face as he puzzledly asked:
"Is this supposed to be some kind of dark secret?"
With a tense expression, Kakashi grabbed Young Boruto's arm, pulled him into a relatively secluded corner, and then earnestly admonished him:
"This matter is of the utmost importance. Absolutely no one else can find out, especially Naruto himself!"
"Once this news leaks, the consequences will be unthinkable."
Upon hearing these words, Young Boruto fell silent. After a long moment, he slowly raised his head, gazed at Kakashi, and pressed on:
"Why keep it a secret like this? What kind of important reason is hidden behind it?"
Kakashi let out a heavy sigh, then continued in a grave tone:
"Since you already know Naruto is the teacher's son, you must surely be aware that the Demon Fox has always been sealed inside his body."
"Precisely for this reason, the Demon Fox holds an immense attraction for many people harboring malicious intentions."
"They are constantly coveting this formidable power, leaving Naruto in a state of perpetual and extreme danger."
Young Boruto nodded silently in understanding upon hearing this.
Seeing Boruto's reaction, Kakashi paused for a brief moment before going on:
"Actually, in the beginning, the village higher-ups did not want Naruto to become a ninja."
"After all, someone possessing the power of the Demon Fox draws too much attention and easily attracts the prying eyes and attacks of various factions."
"However, thanks to the persistence and staunch support of the Third Hokage, Naruto was finally able to set foot on the path of the ninja."
Pausing slightly, Kakashi continued in a slow, deep voice:
"If it were made public that Naruto is the teacher's son, his situation would inevitably become far more perilous."
As he spoke, his solemn gaze looked out toward the distance, as if he could already see the impending crisis approaching.
"Back in the day, the teacher cut down countless ninja from hostile villages. Surely you know of such formidable military achievements and the bloody fruit they bore?"
Meanwhile, Young Boruto, standing quietly aside and listening, felt an overwhelming wave of self-reproach well up deep inside regarding Naruto.
All along, he had assumed he knew very well the crushing burdens his father had carried since childhood, but seeing it now, his father's predicament was far more difficult than he could ever have imagined.
Young Boruto slowly lifted his head, fixed his eyes on the Kakashi before him, and spoke in a remarkably complex tone:
"But, at least..."
After pausing for a short moment, Boruto drew a deep breath as if after careful deliberation, then spoke slowly once again:
"I think... at least Naruto should be let in on this. After all, he has the right to know the truth."
Hearing these words, Kakashi's previously lowered eyes snapped upward. After meeting Boruto's gaze for a second, he quickly averted his eyes and fell into a brief silence.
Kakashi pressed his lips tightly together, pondering inwardly just how he should respond to Boruto's proposal.
For even he himself was at a bit of a loss right now, having no idea how to bring up such a sensitive topic with Naruto.
At that moment, Young Boruto's mind flashed with a scene he had witnessed when he came here in the past—the cabinets stacked mountain-high with instant ramen in Naruto's home.
At the thought of this, Boruto's gaze grew even firmer as he continued:
"Besides, even if we don't tell him about that, shouldn't we at least improve his current living conditions?"
"We can't just keep letting him scrape by on that unnutritious instant ramen, can we?"
Hearing this, Kakashi trembled slightly, a trace of surprise flashing across his face.
He truly hadn't expected Boruto to be so well-informed about Naruto's poor living conditions.
Yet, very quickly, he regained his composure and simply gave a slight shake of his head, indicating his own helplessness in the matter.
However, Boruto did not let the matter drop, immediately pressing further: "The stipends the teacher received for completing missions shouldn't have been small, right?"
"Why couldn't a portion of that be set aside to help Naruto improve his life?"
Faced with Boruto's questioning, Kakashi once again chose silence.
For a moment, the atmosphere on the scene grew exceptionally heavy.
Just as Boruto was about to say something more, a familiar shout suddenly rang out, breaking the stillness.
"Kakashi-sensei, don't be so stingy!"
"You're just treating me to a few bowls of ramen, after all."
Hearing the voice, Young Boruto turned his head and saw Naruto's bright, energetic face, prompting the corners of his mouth to lift slightly into a warm smile.
Then, he turned back to Kakashi, who remained silently standing beside him, and said softly:
"As for these issues, let's leave them for another time when there's a suitable opportunity to discuss them slowly."
With that, Boruto took a step forward and walked straight toward Naruto.