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When Sarada removed her forehead protector, she thought about the Chuunin exams.
Based from what she have read in books and records, the Chuunin exams during her Papa and Mama’s batch were also cancelled because of an ambush led by Suna. In that battle, the Third Hokage sacrificed his life to put an end to the war.
“To die in a war, huh…” She muttered under her breath, and smoothed the lines of the sigil of Konoha with her fingers.
When the Otsutsuki descendants ambushed the exams, it had been the Seventh Hokage, Boruto’s father who willingly shielded the people to protect them. He almost lost his life, just for the safety of the people, and Sarada doubted that he did that just because he was the Hokage. Uzumaki Naruto had risked his life countless times, years before Sarada and her friends were born.
She was watching intently before he was taken away. He smiled at his son reassuringly, but it wasn’t enough to keep the screaming of his son. If it were her dad, she could have done the same, but if she did, would it bring him back to life?
Most of the time, her father wasn’t home, but the reason behind that was just as important as the task of the Hokage’s responsibility. She gritted her teeth, but she gulped the yearning in. That wouldn’t do. She’s an Uchiha, and it’s her responsibility to be as strong as her Papa. That was why she would become a Hokage, too. She wasn’t oblivious of her clan’s history, and if she became Hokage, she would prove anyone that she’s also capable of saving people.
Sarada furrowed her eyebrows. Boruto’s pained scream still echoed in her mind. She didn’t want to hear it anymore. If she became Hokage…
Sarada bolted up, her forehead protector clasped in her hand. “If I become the Hokage, I will protect the people til the end of my life! Shannaro!” She punched the air, and for a second she thought she heard something crack. She ignored it, though, and she sat back on her chair.
Surely, there would come a time when their dads and moms would be leaving them. She cast her eyes down, and realized that her parents weren’t growing any younger. It was also one of the realizations that she had when the Hokage saved them. She knew that they were strong, but soon enough they, the children, would be the ones to inherit the Will of the Fire. Boruto’s fear exactly reflected her own, and although they did not talk about it, she knew deep down how much his father meant to him, and if the Hokage had really died, could Boruto take it?
Sarada knew the answer to that, and she knew exactly what to do.
He promised to be Sarada’s right-hand man, and although she’s not the Hokage yet, she would look after him, and do everything in her power so that they could get stronger, together, just like how their fathers were.
After all, they’re not the new generation for nothing.