The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring

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This article, Diaries of the Hidden Waterfall/The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring, is a part of an alternate universe.

The Seventh Hokage and the Scarlet Spring (七代目火影と緋色の花つ月, Nanadaime Hokage to Akairo no Hanatsuzuki) is the second act of Part III of Diaries of the Hidden Waterfall. The story's focus shifts to Sarada Uchiha, second daughter and fourth child of Uchiha patriarch Sasuke Uchiha, and her pursuit to find and connect with her perpetually absent father as well as the conspiracy of Akatsuki's "resurgence." It is preceded by the Academy Entrance Arc and succeeded by the School Trip Arc.

Summary

Setting the Stage

With graduation exams coming soon, Denki Kaminarimon tries mastering Tree Climbing Practice to no avail and he worries that he will repeat a year like Iwabee Yuino, the comment immediately souring their relationship; Denki is approached by Metal Lee who takes him rock climbing as a change of pace and while he makes progress, Denki still falls. He is caught by Metal's father, Rock Lee, who offers his assistance; in the meantime, Iwabee struggles with arithmetic despite receiving help from Boruto Uzumaki, leading Shikadai Nara and Inojin Yamanaka to conclude that Denki would be a better teacher. Denki spends the day training with the two Lees and receives a jumpsuit from them for his efforts, despite making little progress; the next day, Iwabee spots Denki still struggling to climb the wall and after offering some advice, Denki visibly improves. This worries Denki as he asks why Iwabee did that despite Denki's earlier disrespectful comment; as a repeater, Iwabee had lost all of his friends and he would not wish that onto someone else. This causes Denki to offer to tutor Iwabee who denies the help but is forced to accept it upon Denki seeing his most recent test's score and explaining his own rationale. Initially struggling with absorbing the content like he did with Boruto, Denki tries having Iwabee study while hanging upside down from the ceiling which quickly improves his learning. On the day of the test, Denki and Iwabee stumble upon a burning building with the latter immediately storming the apartment complex to rescue three children who were still trapped inside; Denki follows after Iwabee upon concluding the sprinkler system was malfunctioning but finds Iwabee hotwiring the fusebox himself. The two escape the building with the children and arrive too late to the take the exam, despite Boruto's please to Shino Aburame to delay the test for them; as they explain to Shino why they were late, he asserts that the two has no need to take the test as they had instead applied their knowledge to a real situation and passes them, much to the felicitations of their classmates.

As part of their final lessons, Shino has Class A learn water walking. Meanwhile, Sarada Uchiha assists her mother Emiri Uchiha's packing for a home visit to Takigakure and denies souvenirs; she then offers to take a present for one of the Konoha Hospital patients. However, she makes the blunder of forgetting the present on the train and balks when considering the idea of hopping across roofs like Boruto; in the meantime, Boruto was teaching Denki how to fish alongside Shikadai and Inojin but catch nothing over two days and they decide to find a different fishing spot. After helping an old lady find her train, Sarada chases after the train with her package and leaps onto the roof but is noticed by Shikadai who was riding the train with the boys; together, they decide to catch Sarada in the act for material to tease her with as she had so vehemently denied riding on the roof of a train before. She narrowly escapes from their surveillance but is caught by Chōchō Akimichi who approves of her delinquent activity before bringing her to the lost and found; she claims her lost package but discovers that it belongs to someone else and with Chōchō's help returns it to its owner, an old lady from Takigakure, while mastering water walking at the same time that Emiri greets her parents' graves in Takigakure before making the rounds with her relatives. Sarada returns the present which turns out to be a teddy bear that Emiri brought back to repair to the young girl in the hospital.

Boruto reminisces about his mother's inauguration ceremony as Seventh Hokage when Himawari falls sick as Himawari too had a rather rough time then; she could not awaken her own mother who was sleeping so soundly due to returning home extremely late and extremely drunk the previous night from celebrating too much with her friends. Boruto takes it upon himself, jumping on top of his mother to shock her awake, as she was sleeping in far too much seeing as Boruto's father and other younger sister had already left for the ceremony; during the preparations, Kakashi Hatake expresses his relief in passing on the mantle of Hokage but is confused to not find Wakame on her way yet. Neji sends Keika home to check while he goes to pick up the Hokage cloak from the seamstress. At home, Boruto and Himawari were fighting over a teddy bear with the former insisting the latter leave it home because he didn't want to be stuck with teddy bear-sitting duty when Himawari falls asleep during the ceremony; their ensuing tug of war wrecks the teddy bear, causing Himawari to activate her Byakugan in rage. She then proceeds to knock out Wakame from her attack piercing a chakra point after the latter moved to defend Boruto upon sensing Himawari's killing intent and Keika soon arrives home to witness this carnage; she quickly sends a clone to inform her father about her mother's absence before moving to fix Himawari's ruined teddy bear while utterly confused as to why her brother is muttering about not angering Himawari ever again. In the present, Boruto berates her mother who just so happens to return home to check on Himawari's condition; the two then argue over what Himawari should eat but are sent away by Neji as they were too loud. Wakame brings her son to Ramen Ichiraku where they are greeted by Ayame who thanks the Seventh for bringing huge business to her store; the mother and son converse over food and reconnect, although Boruto worries about his mother's workload increasing again upon the news covering the upcoming Five Kage Summit to which Wakame simply shrugs off.

In the second week of December, Class A prepares for their graduation exams at the end of the week; those who can train with their parents do so—Boruto vandalizes his mother's Stone Face and plays hide and seek with her, Shikamaru trains Shikadai's Shadow Imitation Technique until they spot Boruto's vandalism and hold him down, while Chōchō embarrassingly avoids training with her father Chōji Akimichi over lunch with Sarada. Chōchō inquires into Sarada's mental state which Sarada returns by questioning the value of the graduation exams; she further elaborates that she has never properly met her father (or, if she did, she cannot remember). Upon returning home, she asks her mother about her father's whereabouts but is only given reassurance that her father is thinking about her and her family; this is further backed by her other mothers, Azuma Suiren and Suikazura, and her older brothers. Her brothers especially assure her that Sasuke can return home anytime he wants to and he isn't doing so because he is helping the Seventh protect Konoha from the outside. This calms Sarada's doubts but she still harbors a desire to meet her father. At the same time in a remote section of the forest near Konoha, Sasuke appears visibly exhausted from a portal before he is suddenly attacked by a young boy.

The Long-Awaited Encounter

Using Chidori to disable the boy through his kusarigama}, Sasuke is shocked to find the boy wearing the Uchiha crest and possessing Sharingan but cannot extract anymore information as the boy fled. Sarada, meanwhile, rushes towards the Hokage office to ask the Seventh about her father; the Seventh reads Sasuke's letter, informing him about the Uchiha boy and how he did not match any of the other Uchiha in either Konohagakure or Takigakure, and after consulting his former teacher, agree that Orochimaru is somehow involved. At the same time, the boy meets with a hooded figure who vows to kill Sasuke as he murdered Itachi Uchiha, a blatantly false rhetoric due to Itachi still being alive—albeit rarely seen in the public eye since the end of the Fourth Shinobi World War. Sarada overhears Wakame intending to leave Konoha to meet up with Sasuke so she quickly returns home to change and head to the gates; there, she meets Chōchō who intends to come with her. Wakame had earlier just left after asking Shikamaru to apologize to Boruto; Boruto soon arrives, rather out of breath and carrying a lunchbox, which clues Shikamaru in. Clicking his tongue, Boruto moves to return home but is convinced by Shikamaru to give the lunchbox to Sarada who promises to give it to Wakame before taking off with Chōchō. Boruto shrugs before returning to the Hyūga compound for his biweekly training with his grand-uncle. Half an hour later, Sarada and Chōchō are accosted by the young boy with the Sharingan who was ordered by the hooded figure to capture Sarada; the boy names himself as "Shin Uchiha" which greatly confuses Sarada as she knows no Uchiha with his appearance but is left with no time to deliberate as the boy attacks relentlessly.

Just when Shin is about to kill Chōchō, Wakame intervenes, forcing the boy to angrily manifest Mangekyō Sharingan; this has Wakame reassess the boy's threat level as she enters Six Paths Sage Mode. Through telekinesis, Shin tries a surprise attack but is immediately rebuffed by the Seventh which prompts the appearance of a strange creature ordering Shin to retreat. Wakame deems that it was too dangerous to send the two back to Konoha and decides to bring them with her; Sarada delivers Boruto's lunchbox to Wakame who thanks her and along the way, Wakame talks about Sasuke, assuring Sarada that her father was an amazing person. Upon arriving near Ridge Tower—Sasuke's designated rendezvous point, Sarada excuses herself and makes her way to the tower first; in her anticipation of her reunion with her father, her Sharingan manifests and remains active upon her entering the tower where she finds her father who initially does not recognize her and draws his sword; Sarada calls her father's name which stops his blade, returning it to his sheath before stepping forward to give her a hug and complimenting how fast she grew. This sooths Sarada somewhat although she is still noticeably upset her father failed to recognize her. Sasuke dodges his daughter's irritation by demanding why Wakame thought to bring two students with her which causes Sarada to sulk even more as she bombards her father with questions about why he never comes home. Sarada storms outside after getting tired of her father and Wakame dodging her questions; Wakame follows her, comforting Sarada and once again reassuring her that there is many good reasons that Sasuke cannot be home for a long period of time, which fails to resonate with her.

Resurrecting Evils

As Wakame wonders how to convince Sarada, she senses an incoming presence; a horribly disfigured man claiming to be Shin's father declares the revival of Akatsuki and attacks Wakame and Sarada. At the same time, Chōchō was offering chips to Sasuke as a form of reconciliation with Sarada when he also senses the incoming presence, immediately darting outside to assist Wakame. Shin and his father continue the attack with Shin's father grabbing Sasuke's sword, allowing Shin to attack him, to no avail as Sasuke easily avoids the attack with Amenotejikara and bombards both with Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique. However, Shin's father uses Shin as a shield before manipulating Sasuke's sword that he had previously marked with his Mangekyō Sharingan to stab Wakame, somewhat weakening her, and introduces himself as Shin Uchiha and that he had come for Sarada; this prompts Emiri Uchiha's appearance as she bisects Shin from the waist down with her ignited sword who declares that nobody will touch Sarada. Shin is then restrained by Wakame but manages to teleport away with Sarada but brings Emiri with him instead as she—amplified by the White Kāma—reacted fast enough to trade places with Sarada. Emiri subsequently finds herself surrounded by all the other Shins in their hideout.

Unable to sense where Emiri is, Wakame concludes that they're either too far away or concealed behind a barrier; at the same time, Emiri is horrified by Shin killing the injured clone and harvesting his parts to repair the damage she had dealt to him earlier. Shin further reveals his clones were made from cultivating his teeth and nervous tissue, confirming that he was a former follower of Orochimaru. Wakame and Sasuke reach the same conclusion with Shin's Sharingan-embedded arm as damning evidence, however, the former is skeptical of Shin colluding with Orochimaru as he is under constant surveillance but the latter thinks it prudent to confirm with Orochimaru themselves. Disheartened by her father's lack of worry for Emiri, Wakame reassures Sarada that they needn't worry about Emiri as she is incredibly strong, however, if Sarada continues to be anxious for her mother's safety, they must go see Orochimaru now. Shin explains his rationale concerning life, death, and evolution to Emiri, declaring that conflict is required to make shinobi stronger and that the current peaceful state of the world is detrimental; further, she announces that he will kill Sasuke and take his Sharingan, a comment Emiri does not let slide as she prepares to fight him again by drawing on her Kāma and revealing her Rinnegan. Wakame, Sasuke, and the children arrive at Orochimaru's hideout, greeting Yamato at the gate, before speaking with Orochimaru, who verifies Shin's origins, his conviction in the false story of Itachi's death, and reveals his location, thankful that someone could dispose of Shin for him. With enough time having elapsed, Sasuke's ocular prowess returns to him and he manifests the Susanoo to fly them directly to Shin's hideout.

The Uchiha Household

When they were near the hideout, Sasuke asks Wakame to sense if Emiri and Shin are anywhere near; there was no need to do this as Emiri declares her presence quite easily, bisecting the cave hideout with her enhanced sword. Reuniting with her family, Emiri explains all the information she had gathered from Shin; Wakame volunteers to guard the outside, protecting Chōchō and fighting the clone army descending upon them, instructing the Uchiha family to confront Shin alone. Emiri conjures a storm of large Fūma Shuriken but has her control of them stolen from her as Shin flashes his Mangekyō Sharingan; Sasuke protects Emiri with his Susanoo, declaring that he will bring Shin to Konoha for questioning which elicits great laughter from Shin. A clone moves to attack Sasuke but Sarada begs her father not to kill the clone which gives Shin the opportunity to stab Sasuke through his clone; Sasuke switches places with Emiri, giving her the opportunity to destroy Shin's makeshift arm of blades. The clone army outside immediately retreat from Wakame and head inside to seemingly rescue their father but they turn on Shin, declaring that he had grown weak and that the clones will evolve in his place; Shin attempts one last retreat but Emiri informs Sarada of the creature Shin is using to teleport and she immediately moves to destroy it, allowing her parents to catch a glimpse of Sarada's first use of her newly awakened Sharingan in combat. The Shin clones continue to fight but are all terrified into submission once one attempts to stab Wakame, allowing them all to see a vision of Kurama, with Shin succumbing to his wounds. Wakame decides to bring all the clones with them back to Konoha and have them be cared for in Kabuto Yakushi's orphanage; with the battle behind them, Sarada asks her parents if their feelings really connect with each other, causing both Sasuke and Emiri to burst into laughter as they hug Sarada, explaining that her existing is the very proof of their connection. Upon returning to Konoha, Chōchō spots her slimmed down father and recognizes him as the handsome man from her childhood after Ino informs her of the ability Chōji used; Sasuke stays long enough in the Uchiha household to have a family portrait taken and the following day, Sarada declares to Boruto her intention of becoming Hokage.

Chapters

Part III chapters are all compiled into volumes with the prefix Genesis Testament (GT) (創約, Sōyaku) to differentiate it from Part I and Part II chapters.

#	English Title	Japanese Title	Volume Number
37	Wall Training: First Half	壁登り練習・前編, Kabe-nobori Renshū: Zenpen	GT 6
38	Wall Training: Second Half	壁登り練習・後編, Kabe-nobori Renshū: Kōhen	GT 6
39	Water Training: First Half	水面歩行の業・前編, Suimen Hokō no Gyō: Zenpen	GT 6
40	Water Training: Second Half	水面歩行の業・後編, Suimen Hokō Gyō: Kōhen	GT 6
41	Life in the Uzumaki Family: First Half	うずまき家の生活・前編, Uzumaki-ke no Seikatsu: Zenpen	GT 6
42	Life in the Uzumaki Family: Second Half	うずまき家の生活・後編, Uzumaki-ke no Seikatsu: Kōhen	GT 7
43	A Father Who is Rarely Home	めったに家にいない父親, Mettani Ie ni inai Chichioya	GT 7
44	Circumstances of the Uchiha Household	うちは家の事情, Uchiha-ke no Jijō	GT 7
45	The Boy with the Sharingan!!	写輪眼の少年!!, Sharingan no Shōnen!!	GT 7
46	Give My Regards to Mother	お母さんによろしく伝えてください, Kāsan ni Yoroshiku Tsutaete	GT 7
47	Uchiha vs. Uchiha!?	うちはVSうちは!?, Uchiha Bāsasu Uchiha!?	GT 7
48	Chance Encounter 1	邂逅①, Kaikō 1	GT 7
49	Chance Encounter 2	邂逅②, Kaikō 2	GT 8
50	The False Uchiha!!	偽りのうちは!!, Itsuwari no Uchiha!!	GT 8
51	What It Means to be a Family	家族であることの意味, Kazoku dearu Koto no Imi	GT 8
52	Uncle Itachi's Worst Fan	イタチおじさんの最低ファン, Itachi-ojisan no Saitei Fan	GT 8
53	Begin the Assault!!	攻撃を開始!!, Kōgeki o Kaishi!!	GT 8
54	Father and Mother	父と母, Chichi to Haha	GT 8
55	My Name is Sarada Uchiha!!	私はうちはサラダ!!, Watashi wa Uchiha Sarada!!	GT 8
56	Return to Konoha	木ノ葉隠れの帰還, Konohagakure no Kikan	GT 9
57	My Dad is Sasuke Uchiha!!	私のパパはうちはサスケ!!, Watashi no Papa wa Uchiha Sasuke!!	GT 9

Trivia

References