Five minutes later, Sarada reached the end of the valley, arriving before the mountain wall where the Gate of Taoyuan opened and closed.
She was faced with a terrible reality.
The Gate of Taoyuan was not something she could open at will.
She had only seen it twice—once half a month ago when Uchiha Akira opened it from the outside, and once half an hour ago when Konan opened it from the inside. Sarada had been observant… during both instances, she had used her Sharingan to copy the hand seals.
"The seals to open it from outside and inside are reversed… I remember the ones Akira used…"
She raised her hands and formed the seals exactly as she had memorized.
"Open!"
Nothing happened.
She tried again.
"Open!"
Still nothing.
"Open!!"
"Open!!!"
She refused to give up, repeating it over and over.
"OPEN ALREADY!!!"
"…Damn it!"
Of course it wouldn't work. Even if she could replicate the seals with her Sharingan, she had never formed a summoning contract with the Gate of Taoyuan.
After failing repeatedly, Sarada pressed against the mountain wall, her eyes scanning desperately for some kind of mechanism… but there was nothing. Just cold, lifeless stone.
This won't work… I can't waste time here…
Helplessness surged within her.
"Is anyone there!? Open the door!!"
"Please, save Boruto! He's in danger!!"
"Open it! Please open it, I'm begging you!!"
"Let me in! Please!! Hurry!!"
"Obito! Are you there!? You were there before, right!? You suddenly appeared outside the training ground! You're there… you have to be there, right!?"
No response.
"AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" Sarada was on the verge of breaking.
Crackling lightning burst from her hand as she formed Chidori, slamming it again and again into the mountain wall in a frenzy.
She actually hoped… that this would somehow draw attention from inside Taoyuan.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Cracks spread across the stone as fragments shattered and fell.
Eventually, beneath the battered wall, Sarada collapsed to her knees among scattered rubble. Her knees were torn open, blood flowing freely. Her clothes were tattered, and her exposed skin was covered in cuts from flying debris.
As the lightning in her hand faded, her last hope shattered with it.
She broke down, screaming, "At this rate I'm going to lose Boruto… please! It's all my fault! I know I was wrong!! Anyone, please!!! Open the door!!!"
At that moment, a White Zetsu emerged from behind her.
In truth, it had wanted to appear a minute ago, but had been too frightened by her frenzy.
That lightning finally stopped… I thought she might kill me if I showed up earlier…
Composing itself, it asked, "What are you doing here?"
Sarada's dull eyes suddenly regained light. She spun around and grabbed its shoulders, shaking it violently. "Open the door!! Hurry and open it!!! It'll be too late!!!"
So strong… my head's about to come off…
"Calm down! What do you mean it'll be too late!?"
"Boruto! He's in danger—his life is in danger!"
"Boruto… who was that again?"
"You've seen him before! We were both there!"
"Sorry, that might not have been me…"
"I don't care who you are! Open it or I'll die right here!!" Sarada pulled out a kunai and pressed it against her own throat with trembling hands. The blade cut into her skin, and blood began to flow.
Her thoughts had completely unraveled. She was actually trying to threaten them with her own life.
She's completely lost it… but if this keeps going, she really will die…
"I know you're in a hurry, but calm down. Let me inform the people inside first…"
"Hurry! GO!!!"
The White Zetsu sank into the ground.
In reality, there was no need to report anything. This Outer Unit No. 14 Zetsu had been monitoring everything in real time, relaying information through another unit so that Akira was fully aware of everything happening in the valley.
It was just pretending.
Thirty seconds later—
The Gate of Taoyuan rumbled open.
Sarada dashed inside without hesitation.
"Don't run around! Lord Shadow is at the Foxfire Hall in the northern district!" the White Zetsu called out as it resurfaced.
On the other side, Konan maintained the seal, her blue hair fluttering in the wind, her amber eyes gleaming faintly.
"So this is the power of love… kids these days… wait, I'm still young too. The parts that should be white are white, and the parts that should be pink are perfectly pink."
The Hidden Shadow Village was once again shrouded in rain, as it had been for months. Lightning flashed through the clouds, followed by distant thunder.
Standing atop a telephone pole under the dim light, Obito watched the girl sprinting desperately through the rain-soaked streets, stumbling yet refusing to stop.
It was like a parent watching a child learning to walk—wanting to help, but unable to.
He clenched his fist, filled with hope. "Good girl… once you get past this, you'll grow up…"
Foxfire Hall.
Beneath bronze-colored walls stood fierce guardian statues. There were no lights—only clusters of tomoe-shaped foxfire floating in the air, flickering faintly.
Akira sat on a stone chair, resting his chin on one hand, expressionless as he watched the battered, panting girl who had burst through the doors.
Before she could speak, he spoke first.
"Uchiha Sarada. I believe I told you that day at the gate—you are not to leave Taoyuan without my permission. You agreed to that and chose to stay, didn't you?"
"And what did you do? Did you think my rules were just for show? Do you think this place is like your childish Konoha, where you can come and go as you please?"
"You broke the rules and still have the nerve to stand before me. What exactly were you thinking?"
Thud.
Sarada dropped to her knees before him.
"Punish me however you want! Kill me if you must! But Boruto is your disciple—he was carrying out your mission when his life was put in danger. You can't just let him die!"
"Kill you?" Akira said coldly. "What would I gain from that? I'd only earn a reputation for cruelty—and then I'd have to deal with burying your corpse."
"As for Boruto, he chose to become my disciple. And not only that, he is also an official ninja of the Hidden Shadow Village. Dying for a mission is something every ninja must be prepared for."
He looked at her with disappointment. "Uchiha Sarada, if this is all the resolve you have, then get out of my sight."
At that moment, Sarada made her decision.
"As long as you save Boruto, I'll never act willfully again. I won't play tricks or schemes anymore. I'll obey you in everything."
She removed her Konoha forehead protector, clenched it tightly, and threw it to the ground with a loud clang.
"From this moment on, I, Uchiha Sarada, sever all ties with Konoha! I will serve you as a ninja of the Hidden Shadow Village!"
"Please… Uchiha Akira, Lord Shadow… this is my lifelong plea! Please… save him… save my Boruto!!!"
As tears streamed down her face, beneath her crimson-framed glasses, a brilliant Mangekyō Sharingan pattern bloomed in her eyes.
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