#boruto has no struggle and lessons

[alexandria-is-my-firstname]

DUUUDEEEE I CAN'T FRRFRRRRRR!! FUCK BORUTO!! WHY NO PREQUAL ANTHOLOGY ABOUT THE JINCHUURIKIS AAHHHH!!!!!!!!

[mi4011mariaperera]

Final Narrative - Explaination

I'm not too sure if I have explained the final narrative in depth in one of my previous posts. But regardless, I will type it down in this post.

The final narrative:-

Nakamura sits on a park bench as she sketches for some peace and relaxation. Unfortunately, the people in the background disturb her peaceful state of mind, causing her to feel anxious and nervous in her surroundings. Nakamura covers her eyes from the sun's glare and visualizes herself drowning in a clear and calm ocean. As she slowly sinks into the deep, the glowing figure of Boruto holds onto her and brings in the hope and brightness she’s looking for.

Explanation: -

Although this narrative seems simple to on a surface level, there's more to it. Let's go deep below the surface of this narrative.

Park scene

When you have a look at the calm and peaceful park scenery where Nakamura's sketching away and a couple seems to be nearby enjoying their walk in the park, you might be wondering "Why is the audio not matching with the scenery? Why does it sound like there are so many people around?" The reason behind this is for the audience to be in Nakamura's shoes.

While watching the interview, I noticed that Nakamura hardly looked at the camera while speaking, and she would sniffle her nose from time to time while looking down. After seeing this, I got the impression that she's an introverted character. A character who's not used to being interviewed or used to speaking to new people and expressing themselves.

With this analysis in mind, I wanted the audience to experience the anxiety and nervous feeling Nakamura felt while she was outside in that park with the increasing noise made by people in the background.

2. Water scene

The reason while Nakamura closes are eyes and feels herself drifting deep into a body of water is to showcase her a 'realistic struggles of living as an animator'.

In the interview with 'Asian Boss', she mentioned that she struggles with managing finances for food and transport to the point where she sometimes has to starve herself. This relating to the fact that animators in Japan are 'Overworked and underpaid'.

Although she tries to reach out to the surface, you see that there's a sense of acceptance to her situation. She's aware that she has to struggle to survive, and sacrifices have to be made.

This scene represents Nakamura's acceptance of the harsh reality she has to live every single day.

3. Boruto's appearance

Although Boruto isn't a character she created, she received the opportunity to work on the production of the 'Boruto' series as a 'Key Animator'.

The reason why Boruto's character was chosen for this scene is to link to a connection with Naruto. (In the interview she mentioned that she got into animation after watching Naruto. For her to get a chance to work on a series related to Naruto's son, 'Boruto' must have some significance)

Boruto's appearance to save Nakamura is to showcase that her passion for animation is what keeps her alive and strong to live in this harsh reality. In the interview, she was questioned if she's ever thought about leaving the industry. To this she answered saying that she doesn't see herself working in any other industry and despite to harsh treatment to animators, she feels satisfaction in working on her passion. That's what matters to her the most.

Boruto's glowing figure represents this passion that burns in her to keep moving forward.

(If you are interested in having a look at the interview that inspired me to create this story, the link is down below)

That's all for this post! I believe the narrative I've created has a deep message to it. There's an important lesson we can learn from Nakamura. That being "regardless of your struggles, don't give up on your dreams/passion."

[neemons]

THANK YOU FOR RESPONDING TO MY POLL IT WAS FUNNY! i like how naruto sending an email is the least believable of all of them. ANSWERS UNDER THE CUT!!!!!!!

alt text in image descriptions

Kakashi teaches Sasuke how to bond with his estranged daughter - TRUE

Episode 95: Tactics for Getting Along With Your Daughter

On the day of the Leaf Village’s Parent and Child Day festival, Sasuke really struggles to connect with Sarada while Sakura is at work.

Kakashi offers advice.

All it did was make things worse.

(I didn’t say the lesson was successful LOL)

Naruto sends an email - TRUE

Boruto: Naruto the Movie + Episode 56: Rivals, Gather!

Naruto sends Boruto a congratulatory email during the Chunin Exams when he learns that he has passed the first phase.

A trading card game featuring ninja celebrities is a recurring plot device - TRUE

Recurring

(i like that this one was the most undeniably believable btw)

Throughout the series there are numerous episodes and scenes involving a trading card game called Extreme: Shinobi Picture Scrolls, aka X Cards. Boruto himself collects these cards and is shown playing them with Shikadai Nara and Inojin Yamanaka frequently. Episode scenarios include Team 5 searching for Orochimaru to get his card signed for a hospitalized kid, Boruto and Metal Lee fighting over whether Shino Aburame or Rock Lee deserves to take the final free slot, and Boruto being constantly disappointed by receiving super rare cards of Naruto.

This is also “manga canon”, not exclusive to the anime.

Orochimaru is confirmed nonbinary - TRUE

Episode 67: Super Cho-Cho Butterfly Mode! + recurring

It happens multiple times throughout the series, but Mitsuki constantly refers to Orochimaru as his “parent” as opposed to “father”. People frequently ask Mitsuki whether Orochimaru is his mother or father, and when he himself asks this question, Orochimaru responds that it doesn’t matter. Hinata also calls Orochimaru a “mom friend” in the Spiral Destiny novel.

Boruto destroyed the Hokage stone faces with a train - TRUE

Episode 1: Boruto Uzumaki!!

Boruto rescues his new friend Denki from an evil spirit that threatened to hurt him and other students, and is late to the Ninja Academy entrance ceremony as a result. Failing to stop the runaway Thunder Rail, which runs along the wall of the Leaf Village crater, he makes his grand entrance at the ceremony by derailing the train, which destroys Naruto’s Hokage Rock sculpture.

There's a baseball episode - FALSE

:(

A filler character helps save the day, then returns in a later arc and dies - TRUE

Episodes 25-32 - School Trip Arc Episodes 233-255 - Great Sea Battle of Kirigakure Arc

Kagura Karatachi was a descendent of the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura, and worked as an aide to the Sixth Mizukage, Chojuro, who entrusted him with the legendary blade Hiramekarei to become one of the new Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. When he learned that the other Swordsmen were planning a coup to take down the current Mizukage and reinstate the Hidden Mist Village’s former reputation of Bloody Mist, Kagura teams up with Boruto and his friends, who are in the Hidden Mist on a school trip, to take down the ringleader, Shizuma, the wielder of Samehada.

Later in the series, during the (not so) Great Sea Battle of Kirigakure arc, Kagura, along Boruto’s team and some of the reformed criminal Swordsmen, infiltrate a warship to stop the seafaring Funato Clan from destroying the Hidden Mist. Kagura is killed by one of the Funato Clan members. Another one of the Swordsmen, Hebiichigo, who was a villain in her debut and now an ally, was also killed during this arc. Thanks to Kagura’s sacrifice, we received the infamous ugly crying Boruto frame. This was the longest arc in the series, and the worst in terms of plot, pace, and animation quality.

There is a villain who eats people’s brains to assume their identity - TRUE

Episodes 141-175 - Mujina Bandits Arc & Kara Actuation Arc 

Boruto and Mitsuki are sent on an undercover mission to Hozuki Castle Prison in hopes of learning more about a criminal gang called the Mujina Bandits, while protecting a vulnerable, falsely-charged inmate, Kokuri, from the gang members. Unbeknownst to them, during a prison break attempt, Shojoji, the leader of the Mujina Bandits, killed Kokuri and assumed his identity in order to take advantage of his upcoming parole. After being freed, Shojoji kidnapped the son of the Land of Fire’s feudal lord, and Boruto learns the truth during his rescue. The amount of times this guy switched bodies was only revealed to Boruto and the viewer in retrospect. After reacting with fear to the mysterious mark on Boruto’s hand that appeared prior to his battle with Momoshiki Otsutsuki, Shojoji is then imprisoned in the Leaf Village and interrogated for further information. This is also “manga canon”, not exclusive to the anime.

A character uses a gatling gun - TRUE

Episode 184: Puppets

Ao uses a Scientific Ninja Tool that resembles a gatling gun and shoots Fire-Style bullets. This is also “manga canon”, not exclusive to the anime.

Boruto and Sasuke go back in time to save 12 year old Naruto from certain death - TRUE

Episodes 128-136 - Time Slip Arc

This arc was part of the Naruto 20th Anniversary project. Urashiki Otsutsuki, in search of the tailed beast chakra, knows that present-day Naruto is too strong to beat and uses a space-time dimensional device to travel back in time and steal the Nine Tails from kid-Naruto. Sasuke and Boruto, who were chasing Urashiki, are affected by the device and sent back in time with him, to the period just after kid-Sasuke had deserted the village. After Boruto and Sasuke get caught up in trouble with Naruto and Jiraiya, Tsunade orders Naruto to keep an eye on the strangers, and Boruto spends time with the other Leaf genin as a result. After Boruto and Naruto defeat Urashiki together, Sasuke uses the Sharingan to erase the memories of everyone they met before they return to the present.

Bonus: here’s a gif of Sasuke fighting some dinosaurs. unrelated to the Time Slip arc

thank you for reading i love my little nephew<3

the anime that is 76% filler!

[miyazas]

Hellooo! I have a request if you take them. Could you do a pt 2 if haikyuu boys sneaking in including Osamu and Iwaizumi + others of your choice? If you can’t that okay and I understand!

-<3 anon

SNEAKING INTO YOUR ROOM PART 2 — FT.HAIKYUU

[❤︎] — Miya Osamu, Iwaizumi Hajime, Bokuto Koutarou , Aran Ojiro

warnings: suggestive content, making out, Arans is hinted at friends to lovers

PART 1 | PART 3 | TOKREV VER

MIYA OSAMU ༢

“Your room is so fuckin’ cute, darlin.” Osamu teases as he lifts the stuffed animal that sits on your desk. “Samu stop teasing me.” You huff and yank it out of his hands before gently setting it back where it belongs. “m’ not teasin’ m’just stating a fact. What’s this one’s name huh?” He grabs another animal this time from your bed. “Leave them alone Samu.” You whine and try to grab the brown teddy bear from his hands. “Can’t, this little bear just can’t keep its paws off me.” “You wish Samu, now give me my bear back or we aren’t cuddling tonight.” You pull the bear out of his hands and hold onto it as you make yourself comfortable in bed. “Taking away ma cuddles privileges darlin’, that’s harsh.” He holds his chest in winces before settling himself in bed. “Are those glow up stars on the ceilin’? Took mines down when a’ was eight.” “Go to sleep Samu!”

IWAIZUMI HAJIME ༢

You feel yourself start to drool when you see Hajime lift himself inside your window with little to no effort.Biceps bulging out of his muscle tee he swings on leg over the window seal and is met with you impatiently waiting for him in your satin nightgown. “Hurry Haji, hurry!” You pull on his sleeve. “You ever learn a thing or two ‘bout patience doll?” He growls when he almost tips from your insistent pulling. “Yea yea, I want a kiss.” You grin and jump into your boyfriend's arms before shoving your lips on his. Hajime groans when he feels the softness of your body connect with his hard one like pieces of a puzzle. “I think I need to teach my doll a lesson about patience.” Iwaizumi chuckles before he gently sets you on the bed.

BOKUTO KOUTAROU ༢

“Push your shoulders together and just slide in Kou.” You tell him as he struggles to fit his big frame in your too small window. “Eugh! Did your window get smaller since the last time?” he complains as half of his body hangs inside of your room and the other hangs out your window. “ I think I’m stuck, help!” Kou starts to yell and you scurry to clamp his mouth shut. “Kou, you’re going to get us caught.” You whine and pull him—with all your might—into your bedroom. Boruto finally falls into the room and immediately stands up as if he didn’t take a harsh fall to the hard ground. “Baby, I missed you so so much.” He wraps his arms around your waist and sits you on the desk right next to the window. “Missed this nose,” he kisses your nose, “missed those pretty eyes,” he kisses your fluttering eyelids and you slowly wrap your legs around his hips “especially missed this cute pout” he plants a wet kiss on your lips. “Let me kiss you some more before we go the bed, please?”

ARAN OJIRO ༢

Aran stealthily sneaks into your bedroom window like he’s done this one hundred times, because he has. “Ro, what are you doing here?” You whisper hiss because he’s not supposed to be here. “Had to come keep my baby some company, obviously.” He rolls his eyes as if that was obvious. “Since when did I text you for some company?” You remark when he flops on your bed face forward. “I read your thoughts.” He says trying to hold in his smile as he wraps his arm around your waist and shoving his face in your stomach. “You got a crush on me or something?” You tease and rub at the back of his head. “Shut up and cuddle me.” He chuckles and the vibrations course through your body. “Like platonically?” You stutter as your face starts to heat up. “Don’t make me spell it out for you, you know I want you.”

[yamanaka-shin]

Wolf Wisdoms

Ship: Shino/Kiba

Rating: 18+

Time period: set around e15 of Boruto

Warning: werewolf sex (I rarely write porn so it's at attempt rather than a masterpiece)

Summary: maybe there's something to be gained from this long overdue date night beyond just the satisfaction of an orgasm and time spent with a teammate turned lover. Shino didn't go into it looking for the answer to his recent problems, but with Kiba as a lover anything is always possible.

"So what's the damage this time?" Kiba wastes no time in making a statement, not even giving his former teammate time to breathe as soon as he's off school grounds. The Inuzuka man was waiting for him, clearly, ready to interrogate. It's just his luck too. It's a harmless enough question that he can't justify declining to answer.

Shino doesn't answer immediately, though, sighing deeply and rolling his shoulders to relieve some of the tension that had built up over the day so he can answer as calmly as possible. He knows his boisterous companion is going to get impatient and probably make a scene for being made to wait but all worthwhile answers took time and patience was a valuable skill to learn. They would get on the same page eventually. The school day had just ended, all of the students heading home to trouble their families with their antics no doubt, and he wouldn't have to worry about seeing them again until the next morning. By that time he'd hopefully be well rested and prepared for another round of lessons with the most difficult class he'd ever had. Luck, though, was rarely on his side when these kids were concerned. Add to that the sudden intrusion by Kiba and all bets were off. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. Maybe, just maybe, spending a few hours with the Inuzuka man would clear up some of the stress. Just maybe.

"Are you listening? Hey!" With an indignant bark, Kiba upped his volume a notch in the hopes it would snap Shino out of whatever daze he was surely in. "Are you paying attention at all?"

Turning to him, the Aburame man looked him in the eyes before attempting to form an answer. "Yes, Kiba, I can hear you. You don't have to repeat yourself. This is because I needed a moment of silence as I have not been off the clock long enough to relax much and focus on anything except for my students. I promise I will give you my full attention."

Despite feeling like he may have just been brushed off a little bit there, Kiba throws his head back and laughs. It's a good way to snap himself out of a possible spiral of disappointment that was entirely unnecessary. Of course the well respected Academy teacher is still struggling to get out of work mode enough to have a casual conversation, or even just give his undivided attention. He settles again, thankfully quickly, and puts his arm around the shoulders of his still half uptight partner. Shino tenses up momentarily, reacting to the suddenness of the action more than the action itself, but quickly regains his cool and calm composure. It's almost amusing enough to bring another laugh out of his partner. Almost. Kiba refrains last second to keep from driving his best friend up the wall.

"What brings you around here anyway, Kiba?" Though it's hidden behind his visor, one of Shino's eyebrows cocks upward just a little. He cannot deny that it's curious that the Inuzuka has come to meet him right out of the gate.

"Are you saying you forgot?" With his free hand, Kiba slaps his forehead a little dramatically and groans. "I guess I can't be too mad, you've been busy with all this complicated shit after all. First your school gets half blown up to hell and then one of your kids in class has a meltdown."

"No, I haven't forgotten. I have just had to prioritize my students as they are still shaken after the Nue incident. I'm not permitted to tell them all of the details behind it so they have more questions than answers and a lot of them are frustrated. Suddenly losing Sumire like that didn't help matters either. In fact, I think it's the most difficult factor for them to adjust to."

It's impossible to fault the man for putting the kids first in the aftermath of such a disaster. There will be plenty more date nights in the future, and this one is still fully on the table even though it had to be postponed until tonight. A confident grin lights up Kiba's face as he thinks about how considerate his former teammate is of everyone in his life that needs his attention. His ability to alott his time to all of those asking for it goes unmatched by almost anyone else. One pushed back date for the sake of the safety of and peace of mind for the kids is a small price to pay. Tonight, now that Shino finally has the time, will be just for the two of them. The anticipation of it excites him immensely. So wrapped up in the thought of it is he that he barely processes when Shino asks something of him. It's his turn, then, to snap out of it last second.

"I've noticed that Akamaru isn't with you today. Why is that?"

"Sis told me she wanted to examine his back legs after she caught him limping the other day. I think someone may have accidentally stepped on him when he was laying in the sun, but I still trust her to do what she needs to. I'm gonna take him out to Senju Park in a couple days when he's feeling better for some exercise."

"I hope that nothing worrying is found during the examination and that he will recover from his injury quickly. What will you do in the meantime?"

"That all depends on what you have going on." Kiba shoots him a look, mischief glinting in his eyes. "Unless you're too busy, of course. I understand if you are." From anyone else that last statement would sound almost like a guilt trip but because it is the man he has known so well and for so long, Shino knows that there will be no hard feelings should he have other things going on that would prevent him from spending time with his boyfriend.

It takes him a moment to think, but beyond his obligations to his students, Shino cannot come up with anything else that was presently demanding his attention. On top of the already stressful ordeal of outside classes and trying not to further damage the school, the Ghost Incident could not have come at a worse time. The fact that said incident had one of his students at its epicenter only served to further fray his already shot nerves. Now the child behind the entire situation was safely in custody, her future uncertain, and he could bring his on-the-clock focus back to his remaining present students. That meant after work time was also freed up. Or at least it should have been. Though he knew nothing was immediately demanding his attention off the job, the topic of Sumire would continue to sit in his brain like a heavy rock. Not knowing her fate was going to cause him to lose sleep. Maybe it was for the best that he spent some good quality time with Kiba over the next few days now that he thought about it this way. The compounding worries as of late needed some kind of relief.

"I don't have anything important that needs tending to at the moment aside from our date that I have had to put off for over a week now. If you would like my company, I would be happy to spend the time with you after class each day." His tone is a little flat but Kiba knows damn well how to read between the lines by now. Besides, he can't fault the guy for sounding less than over the top enthused after everything that's happened.

"Sounds perfect to me." The Inuzuka grins wide again, canines on full and proud display. "And I want updates on what's going on with that student of yours anyway. You owe me that much. If you were gonna keep cancelling on me for this, the least I can ask is for the details."

"I will discuss what I'm allowed to mention with you later. This is because it's for the privacy of Sumire so I do not need other people to listen in on business that is hers and hers alone, especially when I'm not allowed to tell you all of it." Shino relents, knowing that he does indeed owe Kiba an explanation to the best of his abilities, but makes his own terms clear right off the bat. It seems to check out with Kiba as no petulant whining or argument follows the statement. He can breathe a sigh of relief at this.

Finally pulling his arm back to his side, Kiba lets his partner go and turns in the direction he usually takes to get home. It's still only the late afternoon and that means plenty of daylight left to enjoy before the sun goes down and it's time to get dinner. Shino looks at him, expression blank but still unassuming, as if asking the shorter man about what sort of plan he has in mind. Having nothing to do after work made it easy to plan a date but it came at the price of feeling a little aimless in between the end of work and spending dinner with the partner he hadn't properly seen in over a week. He didn't want to get into an activity that might accidentally eat up all of his time left in the day and thus interfere with the date. Perhaps he'd let his duties as a teacher get to him s little deeper than he'd thought. In the past he used to be so content to have nothing to do for long periods of time. But after devoting hours every day to working with rowdy children to teach them Shinobi life skills and how the world worked, he found that moments that were too quiet and too still had become truly boring most of the time.

"You comin'? I was thinking we could go see my ma for a little before heading back to your place. She's been kinda lonely now that Kuromaru is gone."

Nodding his head once after making sure to fully hear the other man out, this time Shino didn't even hesitate, remembering how his own father had felt getting a visit from his now grown child for the first time in a while. He had to remember to go home and see Shibi more often. And maybe, with any luck, rope Torune into coming along as well. "Yes, I would enjoy going home to see Mrs. Inuzuka. Let's stop at the Yamanaka flower shop along the way and pick up some flowers."

"Keep sucking up to her and she's never gonna let me hear the end of when am I gonna make you her son in law." He sighs through his nose, a good natured gesture despite sounding exasperated, and runs a hand through his hair and keeps that trademark grin in place. "Maybe one of these days I'll have an answer for her."

~~~~~~

There is, initially, a pleasant sort of silence that settles between the two of them after they've set their chopsticks down following the meal. Kiba seems a little spaced out, stomach full and mind at ease in the comfortable presence of the man he's known so well since they were both young. Shino, too, seems content enough outwardly for the first few minutes after he's finished eating. But something begins to bother him and morph his neutral expression into an unhappy frown little by little. His shoulders go more slack, his hands seem to fidget, and he looks like he wants to say something but can't find the words. None of this escapes Kiba's gaze the minute he locks onto the way his lover has shifted moods.

"What's troubling you so much huh?" Kiba keeps his voice low even though his hackles are up. Something is wrong and seeing his partner on edge has gotten him equally on edge. He just wishes he knew what was causing the upset without having to ask.

Though his visor is still on and prevents direct eye contact, he still tears his would-be line of sight away from the Inuzuka sitting across from him before daring to speak. "All of the kids have been talking about Sumire. Boruto is trying to make sure they don't say things too loud, but I can tell it's on all of their minds. They don't know what's going to happen to her." He lets out a saddened sigh. "And neither do I. I don't like not having answers for them, let alone for myself."

Placing his palms on the table firmly, Kiba hunches his shoulders forward and uses a very stern voice to address his companion. "If you don't know what's going to happen, then go find out. Don't wait for them to tell you. You care about that kid? Go ask about her. If you don't even know what's going on, do you think she does? She damn well deserves to."

"I don't think I'm entitled to all of that information even if I would like to know."

"You're her teacher, the closest thing that kid has to a parent at this point. You look after her more than anyone else. So you need to go and tell whoever is in charge to tell you everything."

The no-nonsense string of words, almost like a command, Shino thinks, makes a lot of sense as he mulls them over internally. The second that it became clear that Root was involved in this mess he knew it was way over his head technically. But he could not find it in himself to fully detach from the entire situation and cease to worry after the girl. She was entrenched in something no child her age should ever have to be and now her fate was uncertain following actions that had been taken under extreme duress. If no one stepped up onto her side, who knew when it would get resolved. Or if the outcome would be kind to her at all. And because she didn't even have parents to go to for reassurance or comfort in this difficult time, she should at least be able to rely on her teacher. Kiba put it fairly bluntly but he wasn't wrong in the least

"I know you have to make sure you're there to teach class and all. But worrying about the kid while trying to focus on the others won't work. Ask someone else to sub for you for the day tomorrow and go get answers. If they give you the run around, tell them you're not leaving until somebody squeals. Put your goddamn foot down."

There was that bluntness again. However, it still hit every correct note just as before, and only motivated him further. Anko could take over for one lesson if he asked her to. She'd probably give him a half hearted earful later, but it was a sacrifice that had to be made. And he could probably bribe her with sweets if it came to that. The burning drive Shino felt in his gut then, after lining up his plans in his head, was stronger than almost any instance in the past and he knew he had to take this straight to Lord Hokage in the morning. As soon as he made the request of Anko he would head to the Hokage's office and have a nice serious conversation with Naruto and not back down no matter what. Sumire deserved at least that much. Leave it to an Inuzuka to inspire motivation even when the situation looked bleak.

"Thank you, Kiba." Shino bowed his head a little towards the man sitting opposite of him. "Tomorrow I'm going to take steps to figure out what is going to happen to my student."

"That's what I like to hear." A throaty growl of support echos from deep in Kiba's chest  He smiles wide, showing off those impressive teeth again, and feels confident that something good has got to come out of this mess. "Lemme know if you want me to come with you and rough Naruto up if he tries to talk you in circles. Or if anyone else is there that doesn't wanna budge."

The Aburame man holds up one hand to placate his companion, the slightest hint of humor buried in his voice just then. "That won't be necessary I don't think, but I will call you if I need you."

And with that, Kiba leaves his spot at the low table to scoot over and sidle up next to his former teammate. A little confused but not unnerved, Shino opts to remain silent and just watch as the canine inclined nin makes his move. He's surprised in the next moment as one of those rough hands with their sharp nails comes up to rest on the back of his visor. It's then that he hears Kiba make a request.

"Are you okay if I take this off of you?"

Surprised a little by the show of courtesy but grateful for it regardless, Shino nods before replying. "You may. Please be careful with those claws though."

True to form, Kiba makes sure not to dig in his nails as he lifts the visor off of his partner's face before setting it down on the table beside them. Dark brown eyes almost always hidden from view are revealed to him then, squinting a little to adjust to the lighting of the room after being covered so long, beautiful all the same. The same hand that had taken off his eyewear now moves to place two fingers under his chin, rough thumb lightly caressing the cheek of the insect specialist, and neither of them dares to speak for several moments. Shino relaxes ever so slightly under the touch of his teammate turned lover and it seems to spur Kiba on further. In that next moment, he closes the gap between them a little more, hand moving up to cup one cheek. Brown eyes and black eyes meet and it is Kiba who asks the next question.

"Can I kiss you?"

Again it takes Shino by surprise that the impulsive, rowdy man before him is taking the time to ask permission. But he cannot say a bad thing about it. Instead of arguing, he gives him the go ahead. "Yes, I would like that."

Kiba's hand once again migrates to the back of his partner's head and pulls him in close as their lips lock. The sweet taste of winter melon lingers on Shino's lips and when the two finally pull away from each other Kiba finds himself licking his own to savor that taste. He's never been partial to greenery, but something about it on his lover's breath drives him a little wild. It is a flavor that he never would have imagined Shino tasting of in all the years they spent working together, all of the light hearted bickering that went on between the two giving him the feel of someone who would be almost bitter on the tongue. He finds that he loves being surprised at every turn when it is a surprise linked to the Aburame man he loved. The promise of such surprises keeps him coming back again and again for more.

"Kiba, are you all right?" This time it is Shino's turn to snap his companion back to the present as the Inuzuka's mind had wandered off imagining the things he wanted to do to his lover. But it's hard not to let his thoughts wander when he had such an intriguing partner. "You seem a little distracted."

Before giving him a verbal response, Kiba quickly stands up to his full height and offers a hand down to the still seated man. Shino takes it, curious internally but without questioning it out loud, and is brought up to his own full height before Kiba makes to speak. The words come out as a possessive low growl. "I want you."

It's forward for sure, Shino will give him that, but Kiba has always been shameless and doesn't seem to even know the definition of hesitation. He also can't argue that the feeling is mutual. Still, he asks anyway, just for the sake of clarity. "Would you like to join me in my bedroom?"

That's all the invitation the canine inclined Shinobi needs. In one fluid display of swiftness and strength, he scoops up his partner and makes a dash for the room down the hallway. It's a whirlwind of motion that barely gives the Aburame time to process what's going on. When the two are once again stationary, now together in the bedroom instead of the kitchen, Shino is let down on the bed, a little rough but not on purpose, while Kiba pants to catch his breath and recenter his focus. He can't fuck this up by rushing it even though he wants to so badly. The more he thinks about the oddly sweet taste of his lover's lips the more his desire grows. It's made worse when he thinks about how long it's been, how Shino has been working so hard and has had little time to relax and focus on his personal life. The man deserves this. And he badly wants to give it to him. He has to take several deep breaths to recover his wits enough to even think about talking lest his words come out a half garbled mess. At that point an actual dog would probably sound more comprehensible.

"Are you...sure this is okay with you?" He's still panting, having to swallow hard in the middle of his sentence as he's gotten himself all worked up on so little. It's shockingly easy to wind up his own metaphorical spring as tight as it can get. "Tell me...if it isn't."

"I am telling you it's fine and I mean it. I put off date night for too long and it wasn't fair to you." Shino looks up at the other man, sincerity laced in his voice and evident in his eyes though to anyone else he would sound too monotone to get any real point across. "You have my permission to do as you please tonight. I would not be here if I didn't want to be."

"I want it to be fair to you too, ya know."

"I promise that I consider it fair to me." He makes sure to sound sincere because he is and wants his partner to have zero doubts. "Now if you're not going to strike first, I will.

Though it was Kiba who initiated the scene, Shino makes good on his statement and makes the first real move. He brings one hand up to rest gingerly on the waistband of Kiba's pants and it seems to flip a switch in the Inuzuka that had been halted momentarily just a moment ago. A half whine tumbles from his throat as his sense of desire comes back to him. However, just as soon as Kiba seems to get the wind back in his sails, a lightbulb goes off over his head and he has to halt the scene once more, holding up one hand. "Just a moment, babe cuz I just had a thought. There's something I've been wanting to try so fucking bad. Please tell me if it's too much." He takes a few steps back from the bed just then and closes his eyes. Shino can feel the other man gathering chakra into his core, the aura of it similar to a spring coiling tighter, before a couple of hand signs are woven to accompany a Jutsu name. "Man Beast Transformation: Lycanthropy!"

In only the time it takes Shino to blink, Kiba changes. One moment it is a man that stands before him at the end of the bed and in the next moment he's looking into the dark eyes of something wholly lupine. If he hadn't been watching intently the entire time he might have believed the creature in his most personal space now was a monster from the dense woods surrounding the Hidden Leaf. Thankfully he knows intrinsically there is nothing to worry about and his heart picks up in pace, not in fear but in desire. Kiba had mentioned in passing several times in the recent past that he'd been working to train and perfect this technique but up until this very moment he'd not seen the results of such training. Now that the proof was standing before him, calling it impressive and perhaps even enticing was putting it lightly.

Where before there was a man now stands a bipedal canid, one that could be described with no other word better than werewolf. Lycanthrope, just as the Jutsu name described. Something straight out of myths and storybook tales meant to teach lessons to those who could use more caution and discrepancy in their lives. Kiba, the beast he'd changed into, sported a coat of shaggy medium brown fur. The shape of his head had changed just enough to support triangular ears situated up top as well as a muzzle where previously his face had been much flatter. His limbs were longer and sturdier, strong enough to support his now heavier build, and from his position laying on the bed Shino could see a tail peeking out from the pants his lover still wore. Pants, as it turned out, that definitely appeared a little too tight to properly fit on a lupine frame. The same could be said for the rest of his clothes. It gave off a feeling of imagines discomfort since everything seemed so tight. But Kiba didn't seem to be on a hurry to discard them just yet.

"Have you been practicing this just for tonight?" Shino keeps his voice small, curious but not exactly sure how to ask without sounding invasive. He opts for a simple statement and hopes it will get the job done.

Before he says anything, the newly lycanthropic Inuzuka nods his furry head and bears those wicked teeth, now much more pointed than before, in what is probably meant to be a smile. There is a hunger glinting in his eyes, still dark and confident, predatory and unafraid. "You betcha. Now let me show you the results of my training."

Leaning forward, Kiba places his large hand paws on the bed in a wide stance. His tongue lolls out of the end of his elongated muzzle and he licks his lips hungrily. It gets Shino's heart beating faster and faster by the moment, images of what that tongue might do to him flashing through his mind, and he scoots a little farther back on the bed to allow his larger lover to join him. However, as Kiba puts more of his weight on the bed and begins to stalk forth on his hands and knees, the bed dipping appropriately under the new weight, a thought occurs to the entranced Aburame. Something in his bedside drawer they have made use of before might become useful once again. They'll have to open that drawer later anyway when they need the lube, so he can use the excuse of grabbing it to fetch the other thing at the same time. And as soon as the werewolf is looming over the man, that hot breath on his neck when the head of the wolf dips low to nip at his collarbone through the fabric of his bodysuit, Shino has to fight with his own urges to keep his idea secure and clear in his head. Suddenly his own clothing feels too tight, too restrictive, too hot all over his body as he dwells on his idea and shares personal space with the were-Inuzuka. He begins to fidget in a way that suggests he wants to begin removing each piece and give his lover better access to his body. Kiba watches him, those dark eyes taking in the sight beneath him, and seems to catch on slowly but surely.

"Would you like help, babe?" His words are rough, perhaps he's still getting used to speaking in such a different form, but he's sincere. His offer is also music to his partner's ears.

Shino takes a deep breath and looks up at the beast version of the man he knew so well. "Perhaps I could help you out of yours and then you can worry about helping me."

"Ahh, hadn't even thought about that. Good point." A bark of laughter, again just as genuine, suggesting that it really had slipped his mind. "Was wondering why I felt so stiff."

Without much pretense, Shino reaches up and grips the sides of the jacket his lover is still wearing and peels it away, working it off arms that are just a little too long now as best he can, tossing it off to the side. The next piece of clothing will take more dexterity though so he expends a good amount of effort in order to sit up better. He then wasted little time in getting his fingers under the bottom edge of Kiba's shirt, pulling it up little by little over the chest and head of the wolfman, thankful that it had lacked sleeves, until it finally clears his triangular ears atop his brown furred head. The shirt joins the jacket without ceremony and is quickly forgotten. Before he can make any other moves, though, it is now Kiba's turn to help his partner out of something. Shino can feel two claws grasp as carefully as can be managed with the lessened dexterity this new form gives to the wolfman the topknot that his hair is kept in. He slides the clip free of it and tosses it haphazardly onto the nightstand. It overshoots the landing and ends up on the floor beside it with a small clang of metal on wood but neither of them can be assed to care.

"Sorry bout that." Kiba says, but he doesn't seem all that sorry. The apology is still nice though.

"I'll get it later. Don't worry about it too much." Even if Shino himself forgets that the clip is lying there, he knows he has plenty more to replace it later.

There is no time to spend fussing over a relatively cheap clip that is so easily replaced. Instead, the insect user focuses on the fact that he's now feeling slightly less restricted. It is nowhere near enough but at least it's a start. Luckily his lover is quick on the follow up and grabs at the fabric of his fancy jacket a little roughly and begins to pull it away from his body. Shino has to shrug his shoulders to get it off but eventually it works and that marks another tether free. There is a split second where he wonders if it has taken any tears or damage on the removal process but he quickly shoves that thought down as it is another item that is not one of a kind and is as such replaceable. As soon as the jacket is cast aside, he is left to wonder if Kiba will make the next move or if it his turn again. The only thing the lupine Inuzuka is still wearing is that pair of pants that somehow still had enough room in them to stay on when man became wolf. It's a marvel, really, given that he now has an extra limb in the form of a tail stuffed in the fabric but maybe they're just that well made. His eyes examine the pants in question, shamelessly drifting to the crotch section while forgetting his contemplations on the make of the fabric and wondering if perhaps his mounting eagerness is making the matter of the fit even worse. He's winding up his own curiosity by the minute and finds than he wants an answer more than he wants to wait for Kiba to help him out of more of his clothes. In the next second, his deft hands finally make it back to the waistline of those impressive fitting pants and it seems to get the attention of the wolf.

"Can't wait, huh?" The expression he wears now can only be described as his best attempt at a smirk since having a muzzle made human expressions a little awkward. "Can't say I blame you." Ahh, so his ego had been shamelessly stroked just then.

That only drove his early curiosity on further. Sure he'd seen Kiba's dick several times in the past, could never forget the feel of it and the sight of it and the skill with which he used it, but he'd never seen this new and definitely improved version of it. What did it look like now that the man before him looked and sounded just like a werewolf right out of mythology? The only way to find out was to get those troublesome pants off and see for himself. Thankfully Kiba seemed to be content to play along nicely and allowed his boyfriend to tug the restrictive pants down his hips inch by inch, putting in the effort to work the tight article of clothing down over fur that did not seem to want to make the process any easier. Thankfully it only took a few good pulls for that novel dick of his to come into view. The length of it seemed to be about the same, a respectable five inches limp, but the girth of it had definitely bulked up. And even more curious...it seemed to have a knot-capable section at the base. That got his heart racing again. Would be be able to handle something like that? Would his lover be willing to try using that on him in the first place? Sure Kiba was impulsive and brazen but he knew what the word restraint meant, especially when it came to his loved ones.

"You okay, babe? Looks like you're zoning out again." Kiba waved a clawed hand paw in front of his eyes to see if he could get Shino to come back down to earth. Thankfully, it worked.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that." Shino shook his head to clear it and rubbed at his eyes with one hand. "I think I just need a bit to get used to this."

"We have all night. Just tell me if you wanna stop at any point."

For as much as he wanted to be fully confident in himself that he could handle it, something about being told it's okay to let the other man know if he didn't think he could continue reminded him not to push himself too far. He was silently thankful for that reminder and felt the haze that settled in his head at the sight of that fascinating dick clear up a little, allowing his common sense to come back out on top. The two of them would find a way to make this work somehow. Even if in the end they had to try again another day to go as far as they'd like to. Maybe it would just be one of those things they had to build up to. In fact, it might even be more fun that way, the day it being achievable acting like a reward after a long and hard campaign of effort and diligence. It was starting to sound like a net positive the more he thought it over.

Kiba, sensing that his partner was still getting his bearings back, took the time then to work his pants off of himself the rest of the way and add them to the growing pile across the floor. He now stood before the man who used to be his teammate laying on the bed, looking for a sign to continue undressing said man so no more barriers existed between them. It only took a moment for him to get the permission he sought and then he leaned in close again to get his hand paws on the pants his lover wore. Thankfully those came off far easier than his own had as they were not stretched to their limit trying to accommodate a body that was not designed to be wearing them. The button was a little rough to undo with his longer claws in the way but he managed in the end, not letting himself be bested by one small object made to hold up a pair of pants. All of this waiting was driving him a little crazy the more he was thinking about it and he may have torn off those pants a little more roughly and with less tact then he should have. Shino didn't seem to mind though. Rather, there were only a couple barriers left between them and both men seemed very much eager to discard them so that they could stop wasting time and have at each other.

Clearing his throat then, Shino spoke up first. "It is okay if you want to tear the bodysuit off. It's going to be a pain in the ass to get off otherwise. So if you want to rip it, I give you my express permission."

Though he was meant to be a werewolf instead of an excitable pet, Kiba's tail got to wagging like a happy dog at the verbal permission. He watched for a moment as Shino peeled the top down enough away from his face so it wouldn't cause any problems or injuries and then reached forward with one clawed hand paw and dug said claws into the fabric of one shoulder, yanking the fabric away from the skin. The material gave way easily, no match for such a sharp object literally designed to rend flesh, tearing as Kiba moved his hand paw along, revealing inch after inch of fairly pale skin that spent most of its time under several layers of clothing. Skin that only Kiba got the pleasure of seeing so bare. Just the thought of that was working him up as he worked on breaking the fabric, and he could feel the first serious twinges of activity between his legs. He'd already been slowly hardening before now but something about being allowed to go wild in ripping clothing off of his lover spoke to the most feral parts of him.

As the tears in the bodysuit grew enough to finally pull the whole thing off, the men worked in tandem to separate it from its wearer. It was tossed at the trash can in the opposite corner from the rest of the clothes and actually managed to get to its destination perfectly. As if celebrating his aim, Kiba let loose a satisfied bark and further drove himself to an erect state over one job well done. His eyes now traveled down to the final barrier between their bodies: an impressive pair of underwear, dark forest green in color and just loose enough to leave plenty to the imagination. He had to remind himself not to rip that off too while still riding the little high of tearing apart the bodysuit. Shino tilted his hips up without hesitation and began to slide the underwear off, Kiba taking over for him after a moment so they didn't have to wait much longer. As soon as they were yanked down far enough his erection sprang free, already almost fully hard compared to the half mast Kiba was sporting. The level of eager desire present within the Aburame was impossible to hide in that moment.

"If I didn't know better I'd think you were more excited for this than me." There was that barking laughter again. However, he was indeed correct. But that wasn't to say Kiba wasn't excited, rather that Shino had him beat in sheer readiness just from their mutual stripping alone.

"Something about seeing you like this is doing something to me I cannot explain. This is because it's still novel and also I did not expect it to be employed this evening." Though he tried to sound level headed, it was clear Shino was fighting to keep the lust out of his voice. Thankfully his dick spoke for him and made it impossible to mistake his eagerness to see this new jutsu in action, even if the use for it tonight was less than conventional.

"So what I'm hearing is you want to be fucked by a big, strong beast. Is that it? You want to be manhandled and fucked until you're howling as loud as I am? Should I rail you so hard you can't make it to work on time tomorrow?"

Now the stiffness in his groin was getting almost painful as Kiba hit all the right notes with that assessment. Shino brought one hand up to cover his eyes so his partner couldn't read him for filth before speaking. "Yes...I want you to mark your territory. I need you to fuck me until I can't walk." His common sense was yelling at him that he had to be able to make it to work so he could ask Anko to cover for him while he went to talk to Lord Hokage, but he chose not to listen to it because it was a problem for next morning Shino instead of right here right now Shino.

"That's what I like to hear." His already gruff tone was deeper now, sultry, full of want. He put his full weight onto the bed and guided his lover down to a laying position once more, dipping his large furry head back down to lick at his neck and collarbone. The warmth of that skillful tongue sent shivers all through Shino and he reached up with one hand to grasp at whatever he could get ahold of as an anchor. He settled on gripping the side of the wolfman, fist balled up in shaggy fur, holding on for dear life as that warm tongue trailed down his chest methodically. Kiba was teasing him with such a move. Lower and lower he dove, and before he knew it, something warm and wet made contact with his painfully erect dick, flicking at the head and lapping up the little bead of precum that had already accumulated there, getting a taste of him before continuing the ministrations with the rest of his muzzle. Sensations of sharp teeth grazing just lightly over sensitive flesh only added to the stimulation. The contact lasted for several seconds but seemed to leave almost as soon as it had come. Thankfully he didn't have to wait long for a new form of contact, this time rough but warm pads on equally rough digits wrapping themselves around the impressive length of his dick, beginning to stroke soft and slow. Shino arched into the touch, mentally begging for Kiba to keep moving those hand paws of his just like he was. But that was just when the Inuzuka werewolf stopped in his tracks. This brought a moan out of his partner, already missing the friction, begging in his own way to have it back.

"You're gonna have to be louder than that, babe. I can't hear you. You wanted me to fuck you silly but I wanna be able to hear you while I'm doing it."

It took a second for Shino to center himself enough to reply but he did the best he could. "I'm s-sorry about that, p-please continue. I promise I'll be louder..."

"There's a good boy. Knew you had it in you."

As he internally chuckled at the irony of the canine calling the human a good boy, Kiba wrapped his hand paw back around the large dick belonging to his one and only lover and began pumping up and down once more. He had Shino pinned beneath him, one knee bent on either side of him on the bed, tail trailing behind him and sticking off the end of the bed just a little, other hand placed next to his shoulder as the one holding his dick worked it's magic. For now he wanted to make this man feel good, get him ready, for once he was warmed up it would be time for the predator to claim his prey. Not yet though. Soon, but not just yet. For the moment he was content to keep stroking the dick in his hands, honestly impressed even after all this time at the sheer size of it. No wonder Shino was such a confident man.

That's when the moaning began in earnest. Finally, there it was, the sound Kiba had wanted to hear. He picked up the speed of his strokes and felt his partner once again arch into the touch, desperate for the feel of rough skin on skin. This combination of beautiful sounds and confident motions made his own erection harder by the minute. He was almost fully hard and would soon be ready to mark the territory that belonged to him and only him. Shino better be ready for that, his boyfriend had plans to make it one hell of a ride. Sure the man spoke like nothing phased him but they would both see what happened when he had a thick werewolf dick shoved deep in his ass. Just thinking about that moment got the Inuzuka drooling, his tongue lolled out again to the side. The temptation to grab his own hardening dick and give it a few good strokes was almost too much to bear. But he had to control the urge as he wanted to last as long as possible when inside of his lover. Self control was a war he just had to win.

The longer the touching went on, the louder the Aburame got. His moans and his panting at this point, coupled with the arch of his back and the grip he had on both the bed and the fur of his lover, gave him away as being close to the edge. Kiba, sensing that Shino was close, moved his body back a little so he could position his head just right. In the next moment, he pulled his hand away and replaced it with his entire muzzle, quickly savoring the taste of the extra precum that had dribbled out in replacement of the small bead that had been licked up earlier before almost the entire length of Shino's dick was snuggly fit in the muzzle of his partner. The wet heat of werewolf mouth and tongue all over his dick damn near sent Shino over the edge immediately. It only got more intense when he felt those imposingly sharp teeth graze over the length of his shaft every few seconds. His breathing pace picked up and he was already seeing stars behind the eyes he couldn't help but close as he was lost in the sheer pleasure of it all. In his ears he could hear the faint, frantic buzzing of his insects reacting to his frantically swirling chakra. Kiba bobbed his large furry head up and down over the dick in his mouth, taking it in as far as he could and even gagging a little as it grazed his throat but refusing to give in. His hand paw, now free to roam, moved to cup Shino's balls and the roughness of his pads against the skin of them only made the friction insane. It only took a minute of that muzzle on his dick and those digits kneading his balls for Shino to come undone. Without warning, that familiar warmth shot to the back of the werewolf's throat, nearly choking him for a split second. Kiba took it in stride, though, managing to swallow a good half of the thick spray of cum. The other half dribbled out the side of his muzzle and dripped onto the bed below. He swiped at the side of said muzzle to clean off the rest before looking down, panting and heart racing, with satisfaction. Shino was panting too, dick finally going soft little by little, both hands now resting on top of the bed. It was a glorious site. The uptight teacher had come undone for the big, imposing wolfman. Kiba felt his dick, fully hard, begining to ache and throb something fierce, with his own precum seeping from the head now, and knew it was almost time for the hunt to commence.

As the two gave each other a moment to catch their breaths and come back down to earth, Kiba ran the back of his furry arm over his face again to try and clean off the remaining cum he'd missed the first time. He swiped a streak of it away from where it had settled into his fur, right on top of the red fang mark still present on his cheek, and then pulled the digit away to inspect it for a moment. It probably wasn't quite sweet like the taste lingering on his lover's lips earlier but it also wasn't likely to he as salty as cum usually was known to be. With this in mind, he brought the sticky white-covered digit up to his snout and licked it with that incredibly skilled tongue of his. In one shot the little bit of jizz was gone, slurped up by the lycanthrope and swallowed down like it was nothing. He almost wished his lover had seen him do this but was quite aware that the man in question was probably still trying to get the stars out of his eyes after being sucked off by a wild beast. It was understandable for him to have missed this sight just this one time.

After enough time had passed and Kiba was satisfied with how he had cleaned what he could off of his face, still painfully aware of the aching in his crotch and the trickle of precum that had begun to leak down the side of his shaft in anticipation, he chanced speaking to his recovering partner. "Are you still up for another round or are ya spent?"

Shino sat up finally and ran a hand through his hair before looking over at the wolfman. "Sorry, I just needed a moment to ride that out. This is because it has been an awful long while since the last time we did this and this time was the most intense time yet. Yes I am up for another round. This time I want you to get your satisfaction."

"Sheesh, you're awfully wordy." Kiba shot him an exasperated but happy look, accompanying smirk pairing well with his tone of voice, and continued. "Just let me know when we can get back at it. I don't wanna rush ya into it."

Something about the restraint that Kiba was showing was touching. Usually he was far too eager to get down and into it without much conversation beforehand. He'd have to do something for the Inuzuka man later to show his gratitude for his show of unusual patience during such a stressful time. "Let me just get a couple of things out of that drawer and then we are free to continue."

And with that the Aburame swiveled his body just enough so that he was able to open the drawer beside his bed and reach into it. Fishing around to the best of his ability, the first thing he grabbed and set on the bed was a half empty bottle of lube that the two of them had made great use of several times in the past. Tonight would probably be its final performance. The other thing, however, had Kiba's ears perked up the moment that flash of red came into view. A slight jingle of metal caught his attention even further as Shino now had on full display the item he had remembered before their session began. It was a strong and comfortable leather collar with silver hardware and a matching red leather leash bearing a good ten feet of length. Oh, so it was like that was it? Was the uptight Academy teacher trying to flip the script and make an obedient dog out of his Inuzuka lover after he'd been sucked off so generously not ten minutes ago, before the Inuzuka in question had even considered his own needs? Immediately Kiba had his hackles up, not in anger but in competition, and he let out a growl as if to instigate a challenge.

"Oh you want to be the one calling the shots huh? I hope you're ready for this. I'm not going easy on ya."

Now it was Shino's turn to smirk back at him. "I'd never expect you to just lie back and behave like a good dog. Go ahead and give me all that you have. I can handle a little rowdy, boisterous posturing."

"Guess you'd be a shit teacher otherwise." He shrugged before pointing a clawed finger at his sitting partner. "Okay then, challenge accepted tough guy. But don't say I didn't warn you."

Tossing the bottle of lube gently to Kiba, Shino picked up the collar next and undid the strap. They had made good use of it in previous encounters but this time it would need to be adjusted to fit a neck that was now larger as it would be adorning a wolfman instead of a fairly average human being. Kiba was busy dabbing a generous helping of the lube onto the tips of his pawpads in preparation to slather it all over his dick so that in combination with his still slowly dripping precum the initial thrust would not cause his partner any pain so they could both enjoy the experience equally. Shino gave him plenty of time and space to accomplish this task before sliding closer to the werewolf, who was now standing in front of the bed instead of kneeling on top of it, and held up the collar so both of them could acknowledge that it was time to put it on. When Kiba gave a mocking snort and a petulant nod, he bent his head just low enough for Shino to access his furry neck. The leather slid around the perimeter of it smoothly and was fastened into place, this time being set on the second to last hole instead of the second smallest to account for the size change that came with the jutsu. Once it was all secured, the leash was clipped to the hanging d ring. As he pulled away from the wolfman, he lightly brushed against the rigid monstrous dick that still had yet to be put to good use and Kiba whined in the back of his throat.

"Easy, boy. It's almost time. Just wait a little longer."

"That's easy for you to say." Replied the wolf, indignant and half desperate. "Hurry up and flip over so I can get you too and we can get down to business."

"And here I thought you were getting this patience thing down finally."

"Shut up and hurry up, you're driving me crazy. I can't take much more of this."

The Aburame figured it was time to relent a little and give his partner what he wanted so he quickly rolled onto his front and carefully lifted his ass in the air. Looking down at the sight before him, Kiba licked his lips and began to imagine the feel of his dick buried deep inside the smartass laid out just for him. Just those thoughts alone got his motor revving and he had to hold on an embarrassing yelp of excitement lest he look ridiculous. So he picked up the bottle of lube again and poured out more on his pads this time than he had poured for himself. The hand paw that was clean and dry was placed firmly on one of Shino's ass cheeks and the other hovered right up close to his waiting hole. But before making to slather the slippery liquid over his beloved, Kiba made one last check in.

"Are you okay with me putting this on you now?" Though he was nearly jumping out of his skin in anticipation, he just had to make sure his partner was on the same page.

"Yes, you have my permission. Just mind the claws again please." Those words were exactly what Kiba was hoping to hear.

"Gotcha, can do." He may have nodded a little too enthusiastically at that but Shino was turned away so he couldn't see and he probably wouldn't have cared anyway.

That was all the go ahead he needed to go to town prepping his lover for what was to come. Careful not to insert claws into delicate spots and nick delicate anatomy, Kiba worked the lube into the Aburame's hole thoroughly with a sense of expertise that only came from doing this several times in the past. Shino shivered at that ministrations but kept himself fairly well under control so he'd not throw off the groove his lupine lover had settled into too much. To distract himself momentarily, he stopped to think about the state of his currently limp dick that had already experienced one wild display of passion. Thankfully enough time had passed since his own previous orgasm that it probably wouldn't take long for him to get hard enough again to enjoy a second coming. As long as Kiba got off, however, that was what mattered. Kiba had put Shino first in priority from the get go and now it was his turn to receive the same level of pleasure he assured his partner had gotten. If the insect user failed to get off a second time it wasn't the end of the world. There would be plenty of future encounters and chances for him to experience that highly sought after breaking point.

It only took a good thirty seconds of prep work before Kiba was satisfied with the job he had done. The bottle was now reduced to being nearly empty and he figured that that meant it wouldn't be worth keeping. Chucking it idly into the trash, he brought his focus back to the task at hand and licked his lips again, salivating at the thoughts still running through his brain of all that he wanted to do to the man beneath him. All of the sounds coming from behind him signaled to Shino that his lover was probably ready to begin so he wound the leash once around his hand, not too tight so as to kill his circulation though, and gave an exploratory tug. This light pulling sensation got Kiba moving for real and he placed his other hand paw on the other ass cheek of his partner and did his best to line up his throbbing, wet dick with his target. The waiting hole beckoned him, enticed him, had him go into tunnel vision mode. Nothing else mattered now except the hunt and the victory. Another tug on the leash, slightly rougher this time, and the brief countdown had begun in his head.

"Ready for this?"

"Go ahead and do it."

At last he thrust his hips forward a little and inserted the head of his quivering dick into the ass of the man in front of him. Little by little he eased into him, making sure not to rush the first thrust so no pain would follow even though they'd used plenty of lubricant, until he had buried that thick weapon of his all the way down to his shaggy balls. For a moment the pair stayed just like that as a shiver ran down Shino's back and he adjusted to the feel of the werewolf dick inside of him all the way up to the hilt. He fisted his free hand in the sheet beneath him and with his occupied hand pulled the leash down further to indicate to Kiba that he should begin moving and settle into a comfortable pace. Kiba didn't have to be told twice. Pulling back just as slowly as he had thrust in, his lubed up dick emerged inch by inch until just the head was still inside Shino's ass, teasing his inner walls with the contact. And just like that, he had thrust it back in with a little more force than last time, accompanying the motion with a very short lived little howl. He was getting into it for real now and didn't ever want to stop. Back and forth Kiba began to move at a comfortable speed. His claws dug in to the sensitive skin of Shino's backside and Shino responded each time with a pull on the leather leash in order to make sure the two would not separate from each other just yet.

As the two found a good rhythm, Kiba began to whine more and more as the friction of the movement made him feel amazing. He got so lost in the moment he didn't hear his partner encouraging him at first. "Fuck, Kiba, that feels so good. You're a good boy, I need you to fuck me harder. Show me what your jutsu can really do."

That second fuck finally registered with the canine inclined nin and his whines switched to a throaty growl. If that's what Shino wanted, it was what he would certainly get. Moving one hand paw from the ass of the Aburame man to his mid back, those claws dug in again and Kiba picked up his pace. It may not have been possible to penetrate any more deeply but Kiba sure fucked like he was trying to. All of the friction and the motion and the vocalizations from his Inuzuka lover had stirred Shino's libido again and he could feel his dick hardening beneath him with every thrust. So in an effort to help himself along, he migrated his non-leash holding hand down and began to stroke himself with just the right amount of pressure he had been missing. The combination of claws in his back and ass, the speed Kiba was thrusting with, and his own touching of himself managed to get Shino just as hard as he was before in little time. For not having done this in a while the two sure had their combination down perfectly for maximum pleasure and efficiency. All of that stimulation began to unravel him as it continued and he moaned in time with Kiba's growls. Soon it was nearly impossible to hear any words in between the nonhuman sounds.

"Just like that, I need you to continue just like that." Shino barely managed to croak out as his mind was fuzzy with ecstasy. Kiba was even more lost in the moment as all he could respond with were grunts. He dragged those claws down Shino's back, not so hard that it would leave deep gouges at least, and grabbed a hold of his ass cheek again to use as leverage so he could get his thrusts extra deep every single time.

Time got away from them as they spiraled into a state of pure pleasure and before either really were aware each could feel an orgasm building. Perhaps it was coming on a little sooner than either would have liked but not every session was built to be a marathon after all. There was no doubt Kiba would break first, he was holding on for dear life now and being pulled forward hard to encourage him to keep up just like he was doing. And once Kiba broke it would only be a matter of time before Shino also flew over that edge. The Inuzuka kept ramming his former teammate from behind, feeling the coiling knot in his core tighten by the second, like a spring pushed to its very limits about to snap, close to jumping off that edge and blowing his load and marking his territory once again. And without realizing it he had felt the knot at the base of his dick begin to inflate. When he noticed the slight resistance to balls deep thrusting that had built up, he snapped out of his tunnel vision haze enough to eek out a question.

"Babe...do you think...you can take it all the way?" Kiba spoke in between pants, unsure if his message got across clearly.

Shino had to fight his own heavy breathing and clouded thoughts in order to respond. "I don't...know. I think we should wait...until next time at least. I don't think we should do this on the first attempt..."

"Got it, I won't go that far."

Regardless of the fact that the knot was there, his thrusts were still deep and strong and quick enough to hit just right. When the knot itself rammed against Shino's asshole it sent another round of shivers up his spine as his body so badly wanted to take in the entire inflated base of the half lupine dick. Next time, next time, he just had to tell himself. The thought of it spurred him on to stroke his own dick faster and rougher as he imagined when he would next be able to see Kiba again like this. There was just so much to look forward to. Meanwhile Kiba himself, in his attempts not to thrust the knot up into his lover, had gotten himself dangerously close to the edge. Maybe it was the fact that he had to get creative to make up for the couple inches that no longer were going and and out of Shino, or maybe he had just done that good of a job in railing his best friend. Just a few more good rams and he'd be swan diving off that wonderful cliff without remorse. Just a few more. Just a few more. He held on for dear life and angled his last few thrusts just right and then that knot in his gut unwound all at once. His balls clenched tightly and his thick stream of sticky cum shot its way up into his lover. When his orgasm let loose, so did his vocal chords, the howl that reverberated in his chest and out of his mouth would have woken up any neighbors nearby if Shino had had them. Both of them were thankful for the lack of anyone living next door in times like these. As Kiba slowed his railing down to a stop following his orgasm, quieting down his sounds of ecstatic release with them, he could feel Shino still stroking diligently at his own dick in an effort to reach his second climax of the night and end on a high note. Though his arms felt like jello, Kiba reached up with the strength he could gather and wrapped his hand paw around Shino's dick and began to pump up and down in tandem with the work Shino was already doing himself. There were those rough pads again. Oh gods. Oh fuck. He wasn't going to last. What a considerate and generous lover the Inuzuka was, he could not repay him enough for this.

"Kiba!" Shino yelled, a little garbled as his hazy brain was too lost in the feel of those pads stroking him. For the second time that night he came hard. But this time all of it had shot all over the sheets and would need to be immediately washed out as soon as the two had their wits about them again.

Breathing hard and feeling hot from all the effort, Kiba let his tongue loll out again as he tried to come back down fully from that incredible session. His dick finally went fully limp once more, the knot deflating, so he backed up slowly and removed it from Shino's ass. All of the excess cum that had been shot up in there dripped out and got all over the floor. Some stain remover would be a good idea to grab as soon as the two of them were off of cloud nine and properly dressed again. He'd have to remember to grab it after sticking these sheets in the wash. Shino collapsed on the bed just then to give his muscles a minute to go slack. He'd worry about the mess shortly, just as soon as his motor control came back to him fully and his limbs felt fully solid. Behind him his lover was finally calming down his own breathing and heartbeat as the fog in his brain lifted so his cognition returned to its natural boisterous and loud state bit by bit.

"That was incredible. I can't believe we had to put that off so long."

Flipping over onto his back, Shino glanced up at Kiba. "Maybe it was that good because we put it off. The mounting tension finally had a release after several weeks and that is why it felt better than it ever has before."

"Or maybe I'm just that good." Without a care to the state of the bed, Kiba hoisted himself onto it and slid up next to Shino to lie beside him. Brown eyes once again met black as Shino turned on his side to be face to face with the man he loved.

"I'd like to think it's both."

"Babe, you flatter me." He grinned. And a moment later, his tone of voice changed. "Okay, I think it's time to undo this Jutsu so I don't pass out from chakra exhaustion. Release!"

In another blink, the werewolf goes back to being a man. And the returned man who now lies happily next to the satisfied teacher is the most beautiful man in the world to him then. That wide, bright grin that shows off his pointed canines is the most reassuring sight to him now and always. Shino reaches up with both hands and undoes the collar around Kiba's neck, placing it on the table the best he can, before focusing all of his attention back on Kiba. The leather would get a nice oil treatment later to keep it pristine for future use. In turn, Kiba places two fingers under Shino's chin and brings him in for another quick kiss. The sweet taste is almost gone from his lips but he has not forgotten it, would never forget it. That unexpected flavor that he had found in their earlier kiss would forever be embedded in his mind.

"Thank you, for tonight." Shino speaks first. "I didn't realize how badly I needed this."

Kiba adjusts his posture to prop up his head with one folded arm. "You really needed it, babe. I don't know all of what's going on in that class of yours but I could tell you needed it even more than I did."

There is a far off look just then in those deep brown eyes of Shino's. "I just hope that I can get some answers tomorrow. For her sake, for all of their sakes."

"You will, babe, you will." Kiba looks at him seriously. "And after you do, don't let anyone hurt that kid ever again. Or any of the others. You watch over them until they graduate and even then make sure they know they can always come to you for help."

Shino lets those surprisingly wise words sink in deeply and then moves to sit up, feet dangling off the edge of the bed as if he's considering actually getting up. Kiba watches him intently but only makes to move himself when he sees his lover eyeing the clothing scattered on the floor. There is work to be done and soon. He's got a lot to think about and it must be weighing on him more than he's letting on. The Inuzuka hurts for him, but more than anything he wishes there were more he could do to help. He sighs deeply and rolls his shoulders before springing to his feet so he can look down at Shino who is still seated.

"Tell ya what. There's a good way to make sure this can never happen again. Ya wanna know what it is?"

Eyebrow raised a little in unsure curiosity, Shino responds. "What might that be?"

"Well she doesn't have parents anymore right? And she lives on her own? So no one is looking after her and making sure everything is okay." Kiba doesn't break eye contact with him. "You should take her in. No one is safer for a kid with no folks to go home to than their teacher. And I know you care about all your students so fucking much. Think about it."

The statement hits him like a solid brick to the head and stuns him for several minutes. He thinks it over, wants badly to find a way to say he can't, that he's not the fatherly type, but cannot find anything that he knows Kiba would accept as a valid excuse. Kiba was the master of convincing someone to do something impulsive. Maybe he COULD adopt Sumire...what would be the harm in it? That way he could assure that she wouldn't be sent out of Konoha and away from her friends so she'd never have to feel all alone like she did carrying the burden of being her father's weapon but not being able to tell anyone. And she wouldn't spend her days in police custody either, equally as isolated, a fate no child deserved. Maybe, if he asked, Kiba would even be willing to help out with the child rearing duties he was less prepared for. Leave it to the pack animal to be able to handle all the hurdles of caring for those who needed it most. It all was coming together just a little too well in his head and he knew there was no way he could say no at that point. So when he made to finally respond to Kiba, he sounded sincere even with a little hesitation present in his tone that he couldn't seem to shake. Somehow. Some way. The two of them would make it work.

"I think that would be an excellent idea."

"Great! Knew you'd see it my way!" Kiba beamed at him. If he'd still had a tail it would be wagging right then. "Now I think I can use a good shower."

[britishassistant]

Too Many Bridges (I Dig Canals) 1

He was twenty-two when he died.

His mama hadn’t wanted him to move out to West Texas, crying that it wasn’t safe. His dad had soothed that he’d be fine at UTEP, the first one in the family to go to university, a business major, doing them all so proud.

His little sister had said they’d all dealt with much worse in high school, where the teachers screamed at you for speaking Spanish until you could barely remember a word.

His short older sister just snuck a dumb Homestuck backpack into his luggage, filled with the latest volumes of Boruto. He’d liked to read them while eating shitty convenience store ramen at 2AM.

Then he’d run out of cup ramen in his senior year, gone to the 7-11 at 1AM to grab some more, and made the mistake of glancing at a cracker junkie shaking from withdrawal.

Last thing he knew, he was bleeding out around a knife while the druggie tore through his groceries, crooning, “C’mon, c’mon where’s the hit, where is it, I know you’re hiding it.”

He’d only had the strength left to flip the racist fucker off before he finally drifted away.

He wakes as a baby.

The only natural response to this is to begin screaming.

What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck?! Why the fuck is he a baby?! Is everyone a baby when they go to Heaven?! Or wait, his butt’s kinda damp, is this Heaven at all?! Is he in Hell?! Was him flipping off that cracker enough to get him sent to Hell, after all he’s done?! All the masses he’s been to?! For the love of Christ, what’s going on—

A woman with white-blond hair and a tired face leans over him, muttering something harsh-sounding in a foreign language.

A loud and angry sounding man’s voice shouts something from somewhere he can’t see, which startles him into crying harder.

Then a large and callused hand slams down over his mouth, practically smothering him.

The woman’s face looms over him, wrinkled and shadowed like the face of the devil himself, poisonous green eyes glaring at him.

“Damare, kuso gaki.” The devil-woman hisses.

He whimpers.

His hair is green now.

Like a dehydrated shrub left too long in the heat, spiky-dry and almost yellowing at the edges.

And his eyes are purple. As if the green spiky anime hair wasn’t enough to humiliate him.

He misses his mama and his dad and his sisters but thank Jesus they’ll never see him like this.

At least his skin color’s pretty much the same as his last life. If he ended up resembling that fucking junkie who murdered him in any way, shape or form...

Well. All he knows is it wouldn't be pretty.

His new name is Meiun Nobuo.

The devil-woman who would rather smother him in his crib than let him cry apparently gave birth to him.

The deadbeat who cursed him with this eye and hair color and returns most nights stinking of alcohol and rotting fish is the sperm donor.

He misses his real family.

They live in a dock town.

Their house is farthest from the shore, so the scent of rotting fish guts and seagull shit is vaguely bearable. It’s bigger than the fishermen and farmer’s huts and market stalls that make up the rest of the village, with a curved asian roof.

He thinks the sperm donor is in a relatively high position in the village, perhaps an official of some sort. Probably inherited, because he seriously doubts anyone with a brain would elect that drunk deadbeat to any position of authority, but who knows.

He used to think the same thing about the government in his past life, and look what happened there.

Ragged official looking people buzz in and out of the rooms he’s not supposed to enter all day every day. Some of them smile at him if they notice him, lips spread sickeningly wide and eyes sycophantically crinkled.

Others look at him like he’s a nuisance, worthy of only their ire.

As if he asked to be reborn to this fucking paltry excuse for family when he had a perfectly good one back home

The devil-woman isn’t from around here.

That much is obvious in the way she’s constantly ill at ease, snapping at the slightest inconvenience, acting like everyone’s out to get her.

To be fair, a lot of them probably are just for the chance to have some peace and quiet again.

He privately counts himself among that number.

She’s always grumbling about how much better it is in rain, but regardless of the weather her shitty attitude never seems to improve.

She also starts trying to poison him when he turns four.

When his rice tastes weirdly bitter he spits it back into the bowl.

The devil-woman slaps him across the face.

“Eat.” She hisses, forcing his head into the bowl. “I didn’t destroy my body for you to bring shame to the Dokuso name like this. Your great uncle was already immune to neurotoxins by the time he was your age. The least you can do is eat.”

He tries to struggle, to scream for someone to help him, but the devil-woman just forces his head down farther until he swallows every last grain of tainted rice.

His body won’t stop shaking for the rest of the day, every gasp of air feeling like it’s scraping his lungs raw.

It becomes some kind of demented pattern.

He’s poisoned, he suffers, his body adjusts, he’s poisoned again in a new way, rinse and repeat until he seriously finds himself contemplating whether his last death was better than this.

The look of dissatisfaction the devil-woman always wears, as though he’s somehow not doing this (or dying) fast enough for her liking, weighs the argument a lot.

On the days where he’s in less danger of throwing up his guts, he has lessons with a tutor, because of course he fucking does.

Death, taxes and homework: the three constants of existence.

The tutor calls him a prodigy with mathematics, even if his grasp of kanji is shaky.

The deadbeat uses this as an excuse to push some of his work onto a five year old with some garbled line about “carrying on the work of our forefathers”.

He hates this.

He hates it so fucking much.

He prays every night, asking Christ why he’s being tormented like this. He hasn’t got an answer back yet.

He’s gonna make a break for it as soon as he’s old enough to do so. He’s still too young to be allowed out of the house, even for festivals. He also doesn’t receive anything like an allowance yet either, though he suspects that’s more due to the fact that the sperm donor is a cheapskate.

It’s fine. It’ll be fine. He’s already got access to some of the accounts, has proven himself to be a dedicated worker beneath suspicion.

Nobody’ll suspect the kid “carrying on the work of his forefathers” if money begins disappearing, not when there are so many greedy adults around. It’s foolproof.

He’s just gotta wait until he learns where he is and how he can get away.

He can do that. It’ll be fine.

“The daimyō has declared dōjutsu users enemies of the state.” His sperm donor complains one evening. “The Mizukage has authorized the use of deadly force to subdue them.”

The devil-woman sniffs, says something nasally and contrarian back but he can’t hear her over the blood rushing in his ears.

Dōjutsu.

Mizukage.

His mouth is dry. He can’t breathe.

There’s no way—there’s absolutely no fucking way—the tech here is way too primitive, he must be hallucinating, going through withdrawal from not reading his favorite manga for so long.

There’s no way this place could be the same world as Boruto. Besides, Chojuro would never authorize a-a genocide like that, Kagura-kun would be so disappointed in him—

But Kagura-kun’s grandfather wouldn’t have had any problems with it, would he?

It’s not until the devil-woman whacks him over the head and screams at him to get up that he realizes he’s on the floor.

He climbs shakily to his feet.

He endures the scolding quietly.

He goes to his room when dismissed.

He shuts the door behind him and slides down it, trying to muffle the sounds escaping his throat. They could be hysterical laughter or sobs. He really isn’t sure.

Because of course he’s been reborn years before any of the good characters of this series or plot developments that he can clearly remember will make their appearance.

That’s just his fucking luck.

He presses his forehead to his knees and screams.

This revelation helps along his plans, at least.

If he’s in Kiri, then he knows he’s probably on one of the many islands that make up the...peninsula? Archipelago? Fuck, geography was never his strong suit.

But yeah, he’ll need to charter a boat to get to the mainland so he can disappear.

He briefly entertains the idea of becoming a ninja for Kiri, maybe growing up to become one of Chojuro’s aides and Kagura-kun’s mentors. Getting to meet Boruto when that arc comes around.

But no. Or at least, not yet.

Going there before Terumi Mei has had the chance to overthrow Yagura isn’t a good idea, what with the whole “kill everyone else you studied with to become a genin” thing they’ve got going on. Also the people claiming to be his parents might track him down and have him sent back.

Fire Country is probably his best bet to vanish. The ninja there actually care about the populace.

He might even be able to go to Konoha. See Boruto and Sarada and Mitsuki grow up firsthand.

The thought leaves a warm feeling in his chest even as his limbs tremble from the effects of the latest venom for the rest of the week.

It doesn’t last.

Of course it doesn’t.

It’s one thing to know that certain people in the community are slated for death.

It’s a different ballgame entirely to see a mob barge into the sperm donor’s office, howling for blood.

He can only hear the words “kekkai genkai filth” chanted like a curse before the deadbeat is nodding his head and rising, grabbing a huge ass sword from where it’s been gathering dust on the wall.

He tries to shrink back, tries to let the throng pass him without drawing their attention, but a hand grabs his collar and yanks him away from his little table, away from his calculations, and drags him along with the frothing crowd of people with hate in their eyes.

He’s squashed near the back of the herd, but every time he tries to get away there are hands and arms to yank him back into line, hands of men or women or—Jesus, or other kids.

He’s eventually funneled through the doorway of a tiny farmer’s hut, pushed into one of the walls by the crush of people, and he looks up and there’s—

There’s—

Oh God.

Oh God.

Oh Jesus in Heaven have mercy.

He can’t look.

It’s awful, it’s too much, he can’t look, he can’t, he gags, averts his eyes—

He sees the girl in the corner of the room.

She’s crying, mouthing “Mama” to herself over and over.

One of those murderers has seen her too.

The man takes a step towards the girl—

“Stay the fuck away from her!” He yells.

He can’t remember moving. All he knows is he’s now in between the girl and the mob, knees trembling and adrenaline pounding in his ears.

His voice is all shaky and squeaky, not intimidating at all.

He’s scared.

Jesus Christ, he’s so scared.

These monsters just killed that innocent lady for their dumb fucking witch hunt.

What’ll they do to this girl if they get their hands on her?

One of the villagers steps forward and growls, “Outta the way, boy. You don’t wanna get hurt for that thing.”

“Fuck you, asshole!” He screams back.

“Meiun, discipline your fucking brat before we do it for you!” Someone else in the mob shouts.

The sperm donor is pushed to the front and begrudgingly holds out a hand. “Don’t be stupid Nobuo. Get your ass over here, now.”

“Listen to your father!” The demon-woman shrieks from the safety of several people away.

He laughs. He can’t help it. “My father?! You want me to acknowledge that drunken excuse of a sperm donor as a father?! Get real, you fucking hag!! You and him wouldn’t know what real fucking parenting looked like if you fucking murdered it in cold fucking blood!!”

He points at what’s left of the lady. “Because guess what? Looks like ya did!”

“How dare you—” The deadbeat’s gone dark purple.

“No, how dare you?!” His hands are shaking and Christ, there’s no way this can end well, but his mouth won’t stop running. “That lady was a perfectly fucking nice lady, a loving wife and a good mom and you assholes think you can just come out here and murder her for what?! Having something that you don’t?! Being a genuinely good person, like you aren’t?! You’re all just JEALOUS FU—”

Pain explodes in his temple.

A man’s screaming, “SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP, YOU KNOW NOTHING YOU LITTLE BASTARD, SHUT UP—”

He tries to raise his arms, tries to fight back, but the man’s swinging too wildly, he can’t stop the blow to the gut that knocks the air out of him.

More arms appear from nowhere, shoving him to the ground, pinning him down, jeers and taunts about how if he loves kekkai genkai filth that much he can join them, see what happens to them.

The knife glints evilly in the light.

He doesn’t wanna die again.

Jesus Christ, he doesn’t wanna die again.

There’s cold for a moment behind his right ear.

And then there’s nothing but agony, red and sharp and pounding pounding pounding and Nobuo is screaming screaming screaming.

Until his throat feels like it’s going to give out.

Until he knows he’ll die like this.

He doesn’t wanna die he doesn’t wanna die he doesn’t wanna die he doesn’t wanna die he doesn’t wanna die he doesn’t wanna die he doesn’t wanna die he doesn’t wanna die Christ—

The sensation is sudden and painful.

Like he’s been punched in the chest again, but in reverse.

Something erupts from him, with enough force to leave him breathless.

The jeers and ugly laughter become screams as pained as his own.

“Shit, he’s one t—?!” is the last thing he hears before a sound like glass shattering over and over overwhelms all other noise, even the terrified shrieks for mercy.

Nobuo’s eyes roll back into his head.

He blacks out.

The right side of his head throbs.

He whimpers in pain, curling in on himself.

“A-are you alright? Are you hurting? I tried to patch you up as best I could...” A soft, sweet voice murmurs.

He cracks open his eyes a sliver to see a dark-haired head with a pretty face hovering over him. The pretty face looks worried, almost scared.

“What...?” He tries to ask, voice croaky as hell. “Where...?”

“Ah, I, uh, took you and ran away after you got those guys off you.” The pretty face explains, averting their eyes for some reason. Their kimono is torn in places. “You-your e-head was bleeding really bad, so I tried to fix it, but I don’t think I did a very good job...”

What?

His hand lifts to the side of his head, feeling cloth sticky with what he can only assume is blood.

And feeling nothing beneath it.

His breathing hitches. He tries to stop it, tries to gulp the panic and fear back down, he can’t cry, he’ll get hit again if he cries, he can’t—

He lets out a sound that can only be described as a wail, shoulders shaking.

There’s movement and he flinches, oh god, he doesn’t want a hit, not now, not when he’s already dealing with this—

Small, thin arms wrap around him, trembling. A head of soft hair buries itself in his other shoulder, and a low voice begins sobbing “I-I’m so-sorry, I-I didn’t, I co-couldn’t stop them, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” in his remaining ear.

A small part of his brain notes that this is the first time he’s been hugged since he woke up as a baby.

They cry for a long, long time.

Finally, when it feels like he’s gonna have a head cold for a week at least, he shrugs his shoulder minutely.

The girl looks up, face blotchy and red.

“You’re that girl, right? What’s your name?” He croaks.

The girl tenses and pulls away a little. “I’m Haku. I’m eight. A-and I-I’m a b-boy.”

“Oh. Sorry.” He rubs the back of his neck, feeling his cheeks flush. Where does he feel like he’s heard that name before...?

“And you are?” Haku prompts.

“M-Meiun Nobuo.” He states with a grimace. “M’ six.”

“Ah...then Official Meiun was...” Haku’s eyes begin to fill with tears again. “Y-your father, and, and your m-mother—”

“God no.” He snaps. “That man impregnated that woman to make me, but father and mother are the last things they can be called. Real parents don’t pull the shit they do on their kids.”

He folds his arms across his chest. “This may’ve sped up my plans, but you did me a favor, taking me with you. I was planning on running away anyway.”

Haku lets out a confused sniffle.“Where were you planning on running away to?”

“Fire Country.” He might puff out his chest a little. “Their ninja actually care about people, and they don’t hate kekkai genkai there.”

“Kekkai genkai...th-that’s what they kept calling me and m-mama...” Fat tears begin rolling Haku’s pretty face.

He shakily slides an arm around the older boy’s shoulders. “Y-you can come with me. If you want. I-I don’t exactly know the way, I was hoping to get some more geography and funds first, b-but I’ll figure something out, I swear.”

Haku takes a few deep, shuddery breaths. “I-I don’t either, but I know how to get to the next village, if that’s okay?”

“That’s great! That’s way better than what I can do!” He assures, giving his traveling companion’s shoulder a pat. “...d’you, like, wanna start going now, or...?”

“Can we stay here for a moment?” Haku asks. “J-just until I can check your head’s okay?”

Meiun Nobuo nods carefully, leaning more against the older boy. “Sure. No rush.”

[recentanimenews]

FEATURE: 3 Anime That Showed What Makes Shonen Great

  The first anime many people ever hear of is probably a "shonen" genre title. Millions of kids in the '90s were introduced to the medium through Dragon Ball Z, just as many more were introduced in the 2000s through Naruto, just as countless others were likely introduced in the 2010s through My Hero Academia. For many people, they ARE anime, becoming sort of a shorthand for it, and it's impossible to separate the genre or consider what the medium would be like without it. 

  But that's not a bad thing. Because while "shonen" literally translates to "young boy," and the shonen section is just one of many wonderful anime genres — it offers boundless amounts of creative storytelling, interesting direction, and inspirational and thoughtful themes. And thanks to Crunchyroll's Project Throwback, I think we have a great opportunity to explore those aspects and discover why certain pillars of the shonen anime genre stick with fans for so long.

  You never forget your first anime ✨ pic.twitter.com/OBP9w9Ljxv

— Crunchyroll (@Crunchyroll) August 17, 2020

  Naruto is based on the manga by Masashi Kishimoto, and if you've never seen it or somehow never heard of it, it tells the story of a young ninja named, you guessed it, Naruto. Raised in the Hidden Leaf Village, he's an outcast that dreams of being Hokage, an aspirational position that symbolizes him being accepted by his community at large. 

  See, just in the basic framework of the barest plot elements, we have one of the shonen genre's greatest strengths — creating infinitely relatable themes out of grand, heroic dreams. We don't all wish to be Hokage (though that would be pretty rad) but I don't know a single person who hasn't longed for acknowledgment and recognition at least one point in their life. And because the franchise is also about growing up, as we watch Naruto age through the original series and then through Naruto Shippuden and the sequel Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, we watch him eventually find his place in the world and become someone that can help others find theirs.

    Another example is Bleach, Tite Kubo's magnum opus about Ichigo Kurosaki, an aloof high schooler who finds himself suddenly thrust into the role of "Soul Reaper." With his newfound powers and responsibility, he must defend his friends, his fellow Reapers and mankind from malicious spirits and those that would prey on others. Bleach is also a story about growing up (many shonen anime series are) but while Naruto longs for the life experiences granted by aging and adulthood, Ichigo must learn to accept them.

  And while he does, Ichigo as a protagonist represents coming to terms with the unexpected things life throws at us. Bleach deals with eschewing what we imagine our goals to be in order to be greater for those that depend on us. Because getting older is scary and weird and always manages to present things to us that we could never have hoped to prepare for, but it's also something inevitable. Time (and evil ghosts) will not stop to smell the roses, and so Bleach's lesson ends up being "How do I become what the world needs me to be?"

    And though there are many more shonen titles in the Crunchyroll catalog you can peruse, I feel like it's important to round off this dive into the genre with Gintama. Based on the manga by Hideaki Sorachi, Gintama has always seemed to take a backseat to the heavier hitters of the Weekly Shonen Jump line-up, usually mentioned after Dragon Ball, Naruto, Bleach, One Piece, My Hero Academia, etc. when someone is talking about the most influential and renowned titles. But Gintama is anything but a second-stringer.

  First off, it frequently parodies the characteristics and tropes found in other series, with references to One Piece, Saint Seiya, Naruto, and many others found in its fourth-wall-breaking antics. The main character, Gintoki, even wants to read Weekly Shonen Jump on a regular basis.

    And enjoying manga anthologies might be his biggest goal because one thing that separates Gintama from its peers is the fact that Gintoki doesn't really seem to have any huge fantasies about his ambitions. Rather, as an ex-samurai, he runs a freelancing business, struggles to pay his rent, and simply wants to live by his own rules and his own sense of honor. However, this doesn't stop Gintama from frequently being thrilling and heartwarming, and it remains consistently underrated.

  There are many, many shonen series to enjoy on Crunchyroll, but I feel like watching these three will give you a good idea of why the genre resonates with so many people at so many different points in their lives. Because while it does mean "young boy's anime," there are certain messages that are universal regardless of age or demographic. Most of us wish to be better, wish to be there for the people we love, wish to live a life we can be proud of. We may grow older than Naruto and Ichigo and Gintoki, but they'll always be a part of us. 

      Daniel Dockery is a Senior Staff Writer for Crunchyroll. Follow him on Twitter!

  Do you love writing? Do you love anime? If you have an idea for a features story, pitch it to Crunchyroll Features.

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[todorokis-left-shoe]

Haircut

Metal was only three when Lee decided it was time to give him the signature bowl cut. But Metal, like many other kids his age, was afraid of the sharp scissors coming near his face. Lee had actually hyped up the hair cut to make it seem much more exciting, copying Hinata and Naruto when they had to give Boruto a haircut. But then when it came time to actually cut it, Metal put up a fight, which was quite the opposite to how Boruto had reacted— Metal just wasn't excited anymore. He hid under his arms, he shook his head when Lee even came within 10 inches of his head, he even screamed "no" in a big hissy.

Lee was at a loss. The season was getting hotter and hotter as the days went by and Metal's hair went past his chin, unruly and thick— defiantly an unfit summer hair style. Metal would roast with this mop covering his scalp. He had the bowl— that he was going to use as a mold of sorts— off to the side on the counter top, the scissors next it, both long abandoned. Metal had his little arms crossed over his chest, cheeks puffed out, and bushy brows furrowed tightly into a determined angry pount. Lee looked at his son, sitting in one of the two kitchen chairs wrapped up, quite messily from the prior struggles, in an old beat up bed sheet; he should have expected this. Metal was a timid child that ran away from things he didnt want to do, but when he wanted to be he could easily put his feet down and refuse to do something with more stubborn confidence than a bull! Lee eas told this would end after turning three but that was obviously a lie.

Lee leaned futher onto the counter, looking up to the ceiling for an answer— at least a hint of what to do would appease him. Lee scanned the uneven, very bumpy, surface above him as if it would give him any rational insight. Which was ridiculous to say the least. Its a ceiling! An inanimate object! Lee hung his head with a huff, exasperated and defeated equally. The ceiling can't so neither can his feet. This is hopeless!

"Daddy?" Metal's little voice piped up. Lee popped his head back up, seeing the little boy with sheepish eyes and a sad lip. His eyes looked bigger with slight guilt lingering in solid black. "Daddy, did I make you sad? Did I do somedin' wrong?" To reassure the boy that his troubles weren't real the older male broke out into a wide smile, although his eyes still hid worry inside— hopefully the boy couldnt read into that.

He waved the little one off, smile persistent. "No no son! I am fine!" He pushed himself off the counter ledge, straightening his posture to look more organized. "I was just thinking, don't worry." He chuckled.

Metal pushed the bed sheet further off his shoulders. "Okay. Can I go now?" Lee hung his head, defeated by his son's nonchalant manner. Metal tried his best to climbed down the chair while the sheet still stuck to his collar and wrapped around his body, however Lee stopped him midway, scooping the boy up in his arms. The younger didn't struggle out of his grasp, he only tugged at the sheet even more, ignoring his father's soft giggles. "No Metal, you are not getting out of this. Your hair is much too long now."

The three year old pouted again. The jounin loosened the bed sheet around his son's neck, keeping it tucked in his collar enough so he still couldn't pull it off easily. He lowered the boy down on the chair once again and knelt down to his level. He cocked his head to the side and stared the boy in the eyes, looking for an answer. "Metal," Said boy's face lit up at the mention of his name, expecting a stern talking to judging by the adult's steely tone. "Why do you not want to get your hair cut? I promise I will not hurt you or make you look bad."

Metal shook his head but said nothing.

"What is it that makes you so scared? Please tell me, son."

Metal looked away and pointed behind the other. Lee twisted around following the boy's finger to the pair of scissors. He reached for the sharp instrument. "These?" He held them by the blades, handle face up in the air. Metal rapidly nodded, still looking away. "Why—"

"'Cuz they hurt people! They cut open and they hurt!" It took a minute for the dotd to connect in in brain; he thought the scissors were kunai.

Lee thought back to a few weeks ago when he brought Metal along to watch him train, preparing for the start of his own training. Lee had set his tool pouch on the ground to avoid them from falling out as he did handstands— you know, to entertain the little one— however, as much of a watchfull eye he prided himself on, he made the mistake of looking away for a couple minutes. Metal had grown curious of his tool pouch and decided a kunai was a smart thing to play with. Lee, his paternal side kicking in full force, dashed for the boy to keep the sharp object out of his untrained hands. But the shock of his father coming at him with what looked like anger made the kunai slip and cut his hand. It wasnt a deep cut but it did bleed, much more than it had when he tripped and scrapped his knee running. Obviously, the little one did cry, it must of hurt much more to him than it would to Lee or any other adult. He is a child afterall.

Metal must of formed some sort of vendetta against them since then. Lee had to clear this up or else the kid could carry this mentality through life.

"Can you hold out your hands please?" Lee asked. Metal did so, not at all knowing what was happening. He was just doing what his dad told him to. Without another word Lee set the pair of scissors in Metal's palms. He thought about dropping them by the looks of it but ultimately decided not to. "These do not hurt people, son. And you definitely do not throw them! O-or run with them!" He quickly added the last bits— a fatherly lesson if you will.

"They dont?" Metal asked, a squeak in his voice. Lee shook his head. "They are for cutting hair. See," Lee took the instrument back and cut a couple of small strands of is own hair. He kept the strands in his palm and presented it to Metal. "For hair." He smiled.

Metal was still unconvinced. Lee let out sigh.

And then he got a potentially idiotic idea.

Lee carefully handed the scissors back and leaned forward, presenting a bit of his bang to Metal. "You try it! Go ahead!" He encouraged with a gleeful grin.

Metal looked at the object perplexingly. He took a hold of the handle like Lee had, trying his best to hold them with his tiny hands. Lee egged him on with a wider smile. Metal opened the mouth of the cutting tool, the older man watching closely. Lee leaned forward a couple more inches and Metal made contact with his hair. He closed the mouth and snip.

The hair strands fell gently down on the floor. The cut wasnt clean of course, more diagonal than straight, but nothing a little trimming couldn't fix. Not a big deal.

Lee was about to pull away when Metal pulled him down and he began to cut at the middle. Lee watched with horror as his hair fell, one strand after another. "M-M-M-Metal!? What are you doing!?" Lee managed to pull away while Metal hovered the scissors for a second. He covered the top of his head with his hands, panicked look as Metal's twisted into confusion.

"I was cuttin' daddy's hair." He said innocently.

Lee softened his face, leaving one hand on his head— very much fearful of the bald spot he might have now— and took the scissors back. He stood, Metal watching his every movement, and grabbed the large mixing bowl behind him. "Are you okay with these now?" Lee asked. Metal nodded, a slightly more confident look on his face. It still looked to be full of worry and fear but it seemed Metal was trying get past it. Lee smiled again and lightly nodded just before going behind his son and placing the bowl atop his head.

His shaggy black hair spilt out from the mouth, messy and tangled as usual. Lee put the scissors in his nondominate hand, blades facing away from Metal, and he took out one of the three combs he had in his back pouch. He combed through his son's hair, straightening it out. He finished it up, the ends threatening to curl upwards.

Lee got to work on neatly cutting away, leaving a neat undercut to keep his ears showing rather than to copy his own style. As Lee moved from the back to the front, Metal remained completely still and well behaved.

Bonus:

Later in the day, after neatening up his own hair, Lee took Metal out for groceries— and a new hat. He was on his way up to the counter when Tenten had spotted him and Metal, stopping them to say hi and compliment little Metal on his new haircut.

"Say Lee..." Tenten brought her attention to Lee's hair, noticing something different. "Did you get a haircut too?"

Lee rubbed at the back of his head, pushing Metal back a bit so he wouldnt point the embarrassing mess out. "W-what do you mean?" Tenten leaned in on Lee's personal space, trying to see the difference. Lee nerously sweat under her gaze.

Metal pulled on her pants leg, getting her attention. She looked down with a sweet smile, telling him to go on. "I c—"

Lee whisked him up in his arms, dropping the shopping basket full of nonperishables. "HE CAN RUN REALLY FAST NOW! BYE!"

Tenten watched the visibly panicked man run off with his son, and then it hit her. She hit the palm of her hand with her fist and said, "He has a bald spot now!" She laughed. "Guess being a dad has made him age faster, huh? Old man."

[nicole-queen]

episode 50 of  Boruto pointing out the flaws of the entire story

Konohamaru: This year's rookies are all prodigies, in a way. Especially Boruto. He didn't want to be labeled the son of the greath Hokage, and tried to show up his father all the time. Ordinarily, you'd expect kids like that to fail and experience huge setbacks. But he has the unusual knack of overcoming every obstacle.

Boruto doesn’t suffer any setbacks. He doesn’t care about working at the Academy but he is already such a “genius” that it doesn’t matter, he is still on top. He has pretty standard problems with his father who is mostly dealing with work and doesn’t have much time for him, but regardless loves him and isn’t treating him badly. He has childhood friends and has no problems with preaching to others and acting as if his spoiled self knows better than them (as opposed to Naruto’s lonely childhood that made him put the bonds of friendship on pedestal as well as letting him connect with people through shared pain). He throws himself head-first into doing things he’s explicitly told not to do, but he saves the day and doesn’t suffer any consequences. He doesn’t want to be treated like a kid but his actions and words are more often than not immature; yet by the end of the episode he’s also being presented as being mature and insightful. He feels like he’s not strong enough so he has to cheat in the Chuunin Exam but at the same time he is able to completely unconsciously change the Chakra Nature of his Lightning Style and create a Vanishing Rasengan without realizing it.

Shino: That's certainly true. Even during the Genin Exam, he was driven into a corner by Lord Sixth, but he figured out the answer. Konohamaru: When he went to file an appeal because he was dissatisfied with his three-man team, he outwitted Mirai, a chunin! And during their first mission, despite the fact that their foe was a powerful Rogue Ninja, those three worked together and brought him down.

One more thing that proves Boruto has no setbacks. The bell test is literally the first example in the entire Naruto manga that starts the trend of “teamwork and loyalty can overcome any obstacle“ but that one works so well because at the beginning the team can’t work well together, they have no bond and are entirely self-interested so when the real test is revealed to them, Team 7 are completely caught off-guard. With the new gen however, everyone has already worked together, everyone is friends, everyone is already willing to support each other (which I don’t find to be a bad thing, of course) so there isn’t that moment of realisation that only putting their difference aside for the common goal is the way to go. That lacks the impact of the original, because even though we, as audience know that lesson, the characters we watch have already realised it to some level and putting them through a trial to test that doesn’t actually give them any development as characters. All of Boruto’s friends told him that he is the reason they’ve underwent positive change or know what friendship is about.

And also when it comes to teamwork, Boruto, Sarada and Mitsuki work well together despite Boruto and Sarada’s clashing attitudes. There’s no real build-up as to why they work well as a team, outside of “they’re all capable and not morons”, their teamwork is never faulty, and combining the skills and jutsu of all three makes them unstoppable for Chuunin and above threats.

And also, we saw everyone’s resolve as to why they wanted to become shinobi except Boruto’s (who as MC has to have the most important resolve). Later he states that he wants to become a shinobi like Sasuke and guard Hokage!Sarada but we never actually understand why he would want to become a shinobi, outside of his desire to “defeat“ Naruto.

Moegi: That's amazing! So, what's the problem? Konohamaru: But that was all due to luck! It's essential for shinobi to come face-to-face with power that totally outmatches them. They've never been in that position, so they're weak!

This is incorrect. It’s true that none of the kids have faced proper obstacles and enemies as shinobi, and they are either overconfident in themselves or look down on anything that doesn’t appeal to their desires. But none of them had come out of any situation, present to that point, as weak because they’ve always saved the day. There isn’t a moment where they felt like underdogs facing a situation they couldn’t handle because they are already so overpowered that the only power that can properly outmatch them is that of demi-gods or aliens. Boruto was literally the deciding factor in the Sasuke/Naruto (demi-gods) vs Momoshiki (god) fight - four Kage could do nothing, Sasuke and Naruto went all out and it’s only Boruto’s completely accidental Vanishing Rasengan that can save the day.

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Basically, Boruto as MC has nothing that would make him a compelling, driven character - he isn’t missing anything in his life, he doesn’t struggle with training or school because he’s not interested in studying but still passes by with being an ill-defined “genius“, he’s got a group of friends, he’s got a loving family, he is able to change people’s outlooks by doing nothing but speaking as if his life is like theirs (as opposed to Naruto connecting with them through actual shared trauma/experience), he’s born out of two powerful bloodlines and even acquires a brand-new dojutsu and curse seal because of... whatever plot-driven reason there is, he has no tangible goal for anything. Hell, he is a “genius“ who could easily defeat pretty much anyone but still resorts to pointlessly cheating, against his best friend at that and in the end it’s Shikadai who apologizes first (for literally doing nothing wrong)!

For all his flaws, Boruto is never properly presented as problematic, always comes out on top and is the most base OP character in both Naruto/Boruto. He is essentially an upgraded version of Naruto but without any of his struggles or drive or actual reasoning as to how he can connect with people and affect them.

[sirmxkey]

Lesson learned... I need you by my side

 The sound of explosions filled the air. "Dammit! This is scary." Boruto says as he activates his jougan and Karma seal. "Ok.. I'm ready. Are you guys ready?" "Hell yeah!" Mitsuki and Sarada reply. "Ok Sasuke-san we're ready!" Boruto shouts to Sasuke. "Alright let's head out! You guys remember the plan right?" Sasuke asks as he jumps out the window. "Yes." "Good" The fight at the scene was dangerous. Anyone who went in was sure to die. "OVER THERE!" Boruto shouts at Mitsuki. "Got it!" Mitsuki used his insane speed to speed passed the enemy. "I got it! Sarada protect it with your susanoo." "Right" Sarada says as she activates her Mangekyou. "PASS IT TO ME!" Mitsuki speeds over to Sarada. "Here."

 Boruto was slashing many enemy ninja. "Oh... your using fire style eh? Well guess what? I can absorb any and all ninjutsu." Boruto stares at the enemy with disgust while the jutsu enters his hand. "That was a strong jutsu too. It could've actually killed me. It's to sad your oppoent had to be me." Boruto was a very strong ninja. Trained by Sasuke Uchiha, he could keep up with strong enemies, plus he got the karma seal, which he was scared to use most of the time. That is, unless, if he was in a dangerous situation like this. "Why? You could be one of us and use that powerful chakra to do good."

 He never really understood why people with such insane power would use it for bad. That's because his father, Naruto Uzumaki, taught him that even if you are a monster, as long as you use that monsterous power to do good, no one will be scared of you. His father was proof of that. Naruto's father the fourth hokage, Minato Namikaze, sealed the Nine tailed fox inside of Naruto. Because of that, the village got so scared of Naruto, so they treated him like he was a pest that they wanted to get rid of. Naruto could've easily destroyed the whole village. But he never did.

 He actually used that dangerous power to save the world 20 years ago in the 4th great ninja war. That is what Naruto taught him and Boruto tried to use his Karma seal and the Jougan to do good. However it wasn't always easy. When he was 12 years old while he was fighting a dangerous opponent, he ran out of chakra, and the one who gave him karma, Momoshiki Otsutsuki, took over boruto's body. That resulted in Sasuke's rinnegan nearly getting gouged out. That is why Boruto is hesitant to use the karma seal unless he absolutely has no other choice but to use it.

  "Well im not going to kill you. So go run with your scared lil ass back to your mommas house." Boruto looked so terrifying that it scared the man off. He ran as fast as he could out of there.

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"Oh god! Netflix is boring, Disney+ is boring. I wanna go out and do something. But it's raining cats and dogs out there!" Boruto complains as he's lying down on the couch in front of the tv. Boruto hated staying inside. He wanted to go out, explore. Even when it did rain, Boruto would still go out. But that didn't happen today. Hinata, Boruto's mother, wouldn't let him. "I need you to stay here today, you're going to get sick if you go out." Hinata exclaims while she's washing the dishes. "But i've never gotten sick!" Boruto shouts. Hinata sighs. "Here, if your so bored, come wash dishes for me."

 "Ok." Boruto says while walking into the kitchen.  Boruto liked cooking. In fact, he loved cooking. When Boruto walked into the kitchen, he saw ramen. The best ramen his mom has ever made for the family. "Is dad even going to be able to taste the ramen" Boruto asks. "No he's not coming home today so I need you to deliver it to him." "ALRIGHT" Boruto shouts in excitment as he hurries to finish the dishes. 5 minutes pass and Boruto is ready to go. "Bye mom!" As Boruto is walking, he notices smoke coming from the bank. "What could be going on I wonder?" Boruto hurries to the bank to see what happens.

 As he is going there, he notices that there are 4 guys  running with guns in their hands. "RUN EVERYBODY, RUN!" Shrieked a person. Everyone there was panicing. One of the gunmen opened fire. "OH NO YOU DONT!" Boruto immediatly activates his jougan and opens a portal, causing the bullets to go into another dimension. "Huh?" The gunman looked confused as to what just happened. "It was me." Boruto says while looking down on the ugly looking man. "Damn you!" The gunman ends up shooting at Boruto. Just then he freezes. "W-Why c-can't I m-m-move?" The gun man, struggling to ask that question, tries to shoot. But it doesn't work. "I call this genjutsu, the endless freeze." The endless freeze was a genjutsu that causes the one attacked to feel like the can't move, thereby restraining their actual movement. The 4 gunmen were all caught up in this jutsu. "How about we get rid of your existence for now, shall we?" Boruto opens a portal to a desert. "Try spending the money you stole over there in the desert." Boruto releases the genjutsu but the gunmen can't run anywhere, because they are falling into the portal. "Bye bye!" Boruto says with a smile.

Uhh. This is my first written story soo, im sorry if it’s trash. 😅

[lazymilkshakecolor]

The bridge

 this was originally a request by this person @ sorimashi2 

Summary: Sarada is behaving strangely because of what she has learned of the true relationship between the village and her clan, Naruto confronts her about it.

''Seventh.''

''Sarada.''

Both of them glared menacingly at each other, the atmosphere was tense, as if they were going to start a fight at any second, all it took was one wrong move.

One would expect a fifteen-year-old to cower in front of the seventh hokage's glare, but Sarada was no ordinary fifteen year old, she's the heir to a clan that used to be the mightiest, and she's the daughter of two of the strongest and bravest  ninja alive, so of course she won't cower.

''Your move,'' Sarada said, a challenging edge to her voice.

Naruto's brows furrowed in concentration, thinking about what to do, after a few seconds he decided.

Sarada smirked and moved her piece.

''Check mate.'' She said cheerfully.

''Guh, this game is stupid dattebayo!''

Sarada giggled at the hokage's distaste of chess, if you ask her, she'd say that chess is a very entertaining game.

Naruto smiled at the girl's cheerfulness, a cheerfulness he missed these couple of weeks.

The girl has been acting strange lately, he wouldn't have thought much about it, she's a teenager after all, but she started acting edgy, well edgier than normal, she's fighting with everybody that cares about her, her parents, Boruto and him, and she's distracted all the time, he didn't want to talk to her as the hokage but he had too since her distraction affected village business.

Her team failed a mission because of her distraction, Boruto and Mitsuki denied it was because of her, but Sarada admitted her fault, but she wouldn't admit why she was distracted, which prompted him to pressure her, something that he hated, but was forced to do.

And that's why he was glad she came in his office today, he wanted to apologize to her about pressuring her like that.

''Seventh I—''

''Why don't you call me uncle anymore?'' he interrupted

''Emm, cause you're the hokage.''

''Never mind that, you can call me uncle when we're alone.

Sarada nodded.

''Good.'' He said as he remembered the event of a couple of days prior.

''Sarada tell me what happened right now.''

The girl stayed quiet, gaze lowering to the floor.

''I order you to tell me.''

He knew it was wrong to do that, but he had too, he can't have her on the battlefield if she's easily distracted.

''I want to go.'' She said, jaw quivering and fists clenching as she headed towards the door of his office.

''Open that door and I'll label you as a traitor for purposefully failing a mission.''

He went too far, he knew that, and he was about to take it back but she spoke.

''Please, let me go…'' She begged in a shaky voice.

''Please, …Uncle…''

Uncle, she hadn't called him that since she was eight, it was then that Naruto realized that she needed to talk with her uncle Naruto, not the hokage Naruto, that's why he lets her go.

She gets out and he can hear his son's voice outside, he knew he was waiting for her outside, of course he would, Boruto most likely knew what's going on, but Naruto also knew that the boy would rather be labeled as a traitor rather than betray his friend.

''And I want to apologize for pressuring you the last time you were here.''

''Se-Uncle, it's okay It's my fault I should have just told you and I just…'' The girl trailed off.

''Sasa-chan,'' Sarada's head jerked up at the nostalgic nickname, ''you remember those talks we used to have when you were a kid, when you'd make me pinkie swear not to tell  anybody what you tell me?''

Naruto held out his pinkie, '' You're talking to your uncle Naruto now, not the hokage, so say whatever you want.''

Sarada remembered a time when Naruto wasn’t hokage, he was just funny uncle Naruto.

She locked her pinkie with his for a second before pulling away.

''So? If you don't want to talk now, you can come to me whenever you want, I don't care if the other four kages are here, if you need me I'll be there, okay?''

Sarada was shocked, but this was so uncle Naruto, and she was happy cause these past few months, she forgot that he’ll always have her back, someone who won’t judge her, someone who will understand her struggle and the thought of letting it all out to someone who will understand brought her to tears.

''Uncle…'' she mumbled, tears filling her eyes,  and her whole body was shaking, it was obvious that something was eating her up, and has been for a while.

And then he saw another Sarada in front of him, not the fearless ninja that made it apparent that she'll become a legend, but the eight year old girl that used to cry to him about her father being away and then he remembered twelve-year-old Sarada, who took a reckless journey to find out more about her father, and a thought occurs to Naruto, it's that if he stayed close to her when she was young then that wouldn't have happened, she would've just asked him, not go on a journey and risk her life, so he decided to always be there for the girl.

Sarada decided to tell him what’s been plaguing her for this past couple of weeks, cause she couldn’t take it anymore, every single day, she feels herself slip even more into something so dark she’s not sure she can get out of.

''The rogue that distracted me said that,'' She started confessing as Naruto moved from his hokage chair to sit beside her, '' The Uchiha bring trouble and that the village is going to get rid of us soon.''

''Is that the first time someone told you that?'' He asked since he knew Sarada would have thought he was trying to distract her and wouldn't have paid him mind if she hadn't heard something like that before.

Sarada's lips quivered as if contemplating if she should tell him or not.

''Sarada?''

''A couple of weeks ago I entered your office to get a scroll, one of the elders was here, she said she was waiting for you and she asked me who was I to enter your office without you being there, I told her I was your apprentice and then she scoffed and told me that I'm never going to be hokage cause I'm an Uchiha and that I'm going to mess up sooner and later.''

''What elder?!'' he already knew, but he wanted to make sure before he taught that traitor a lesson.

''Takuma I think is her name.'' the girl answered, as her fist clenched in anger, she could feel it gnawing at her heart, telling her to make that elder pay for what she did, but she didn’t.

At least not yet, that thought that echoed at the back of her mind made Sarada visibly tremble

Takuma is one of Danzo's subordinates and he never trusted her, and he was right not to trust her.

''And I did some research and I found out that the third ordered uncle Itachi to kill my clan and the Uchiha were oppressed and my clan was murdered and and and….''

Naruto waited, judging by his experience, it's the thing that comes out last that's really troubling the person.

Her whole body trembled, and tears streamed down her face as she raised her hands to her eyes as a searing pain came across them suddenly.

''My village, the village I love, the village I want to protect is the reason I don't have paternal grandparents, the reason I don't have an uncle, they're the reason papa was in so much pain.''

''Sarada.'' He said gently, he never expected the cause of her behavior to be so serious, he thought she probably found out something about her father's past, but not about the clan, info about the clan is highly classified, even anbu captains don't know about what really happened, he wondered for a moment how she could find info on them, but he decided to ask her later.

''The village I would've given my life to protect is the reason I have no clan…''

A feeling she could only describe as hatred came over her as a searing pain flashed behind her eyes.

Her use of the past tense worried him, and the presence of a fourth tomoe in her sharingan didn’t' help.

''No, no, no Sarada listen,'' He said as he raised her head gently so their eyes would meet.

''The Uchiha massacre was not the village's fault, it was Konoha's higher ups fault, not the village, if the villagers knew back then that they were planning on killing the Uchiha's then they wouldn't have let them.''

He tried to stay calm and not go and strangle Takuma for starting this whole mess, but it was easy to stay at the sight of a fourth tomoe in her sharingan.

There is no way I'm going to let her lose her path.

''The village of today changed, it's not what it was thirty years ago, this village, the one Kakashi sensei and I made stands on justice, and I will never sacrifice anybody for peace, Sarada, the people responsible for the Uchiha massacre are all dead now, and I promise you I will punish the people who still believe in danzo's beliefs.''

The first one being Takuma, but not just for the treachery of Konoha's beliefs, but because she was planning on indirectly making Sarada lose her path, lose her will of fire and replace it with something much more darker and sinister.

''The third was wrong with what he agreed your uncle do, but he did it for the village, for peace…''

''But he murdered innocents! They were planning a coup because of them! The third betrayed them first!'' Sarada screamed.

My family, my clan died for them and they are proud of what they have done, they don’t deserve to live...

''Yes, and the third was wrong, and a lot of people paid dearly for his mistake, but that's something that will never happen again, you know why?''

''Why?''

She was terrified of the thoughts that are filling her head, but they wouldn’t stop, and she was considering surrendering to them.

''Cause you are the heir of the Uchiha, Sarada, and I think, no I know that you will rebuild your clan with the will of fire burning in your soul, and that you will pass it down to next generations of the Uchiha clan, cause you are one of the few Uchiha in history who have had the will of fire burning in their hearts instead of the curse of hatred, and I trust you in not surrendering into its clutches cause you are one of the bravest ninja's I have encountered.’’

The will of fire, of course, love is what made this village what it is today, hatred and distrust from both sides are what led to the Uchiha’s demise, this urge to kill and destroy is going to end only in heartbreak.

''Uncle…'' the girl muttered, as she wiped her tears away and turned her sharingan off, which signaled to Naruto that he eased her worries.

''And hey maybe you're going to be the next hokage too, that would shut  people like Takuma up.'' He said.

A determined look came over Sarada's face, and fire burned in her eyes as she stood up, now no trace of tears in her eyes, body still shaking, but not from sadness and fear, but from excitement.

I’m not going to let this hatred I’m feeling overcome my love for my village, for my family, I will prove people like Takuma wrong, I have the will of fire and I will do everything in power to protect what it represents, which is that love is the key to peace.

She brought her right fist in front of her face and clenched it.

''I swear, I'm going to become hokage and prove that the will of fire burns in the souls of the Uchiha, and that it will always burn brightly shanaroo!''

Naruto smiled, partly because of the familiar battle cry, but mostly because of the determination he sees in her eyes.

She might become hokage someday.

Naruto took a step forward and patted Sarada's head, a gesture Sarada appreciated as she smiled up at him.

A bridge needs supports before it can stand on its own, and Naruto's glad that he's a support of that bridge.

This girl is the bridge that will tie the Uchiha clan to the will of fire, and it appears it's going to be an indestructible bridge.

[lacnunga]

quick run down of my boruto ocs in the cnm timeline:

Naruto oc Boruto cnm charas

 Chuufuku Hyuuga/ Chuufuku Kyoganno / Ooyama Setouchi || main character. Female, Iwa/Konoha citizen/spy. Has a lot of Defection Issues but always comes back because she loves Sarada. Pretty but also Pretty Bitchy. Actually most an asshole but is actually Very Sensitive. Both parents are alive, although she sometimes wishes they weren’t. Is a Neji type.

Dream: to serve with dedication and die for an important cause.

Horu Yamanaka || main character. Male, part of Team Kiba with Tentou and Chuufuku. A girly boy who likes to laugh while he punches your teeth out. He teases his ‘little’ cousin Inojin although they’re the same age. Is heavy crushing on both Tentou and Chouchou but is so allergic to embarrassment that he’ll never make a move unless one of them carves their intentions on a stone before smacking him with it.

Dream: to get into the top three in the fire country bingo book, beating the strongest yamanaka who was #4

Tentou Aburame || main character. Male, part of Team Kiba with Horu and Chuufuku. Prizes integrity over intelligence. When in the mood, he can bulldoze talk over you; he’s not very loud, but he cant talk-in-an-incredibly-unbroken-sentence-moving-from-topic-to-topic-so-nobody-has-a-chance-to-interrupt-it-is-really-quite-hypnotic. His middle name is Cutting Sarcasm. It’s on his birth certificate. Adopted by Shino and his boyfriend.

Dream: to breed a universal receptor bug that, through interbreeding, will allow any Aburame to carry any type of kikaichu regardless of toxicity or temperament.

Shiri Inuzuka || Female, likes to be clean, sleek and sophisticated. Her canine partner is based off of one of those afghan hounds, a new breed raised by Hana Inuzuka with some lightning country dogs. Highly intelligent. Mutually dislikes Horu bc Horu feels like she wants to take his place on Team Kiba to make the new Team 8, while she couldn’t really give a hoot. She’s the only one who gives actual helpful reviews of the beta versions of video games in development by the Aburame clan.

Dream: to develop her sound-based genjutsu techniques into viable field jutsus.

Raiden || Male. A mysterious boy with a dislike for the Uzumaki family. Bonded with Chuufuku while being Salty about Boruto. Covers his face completely. Has miswired tenketsu, making his chakra react in wild, unpredictable ways.

Chan Ji || Female. A girl with no ninjutsu talent on Team Anko with Mirai Sarutobi and Tosa Inuzuka. As a deadlast, she was placed on a team with class topper Mirai and struggled for over a year to keep up with her teammates. She was spotted by Tenten, who tried to train her before realising what type person she is. She introduced her to Lee who coaxed her out of her shyness and she bloomed into a powerful taijutsu user. Unlike Lee, she can use nin/gen jutsu to a minor degree. Brash and excitable. Has a bad case of hero worship for Gai. Likes to pick people up people she likes. Gives bone crushing Hugs Of Love. Is a senpai to Metal. Falls in love with Netsui and despite having her heart broken, eventually has her feelings returned. Collects tattoos, especially from foreign countries.

Tosa Inuzuka || Male, on Team Anko with Mirai and Chan Ji. Feels his heart flutter a bit whenever Chan Ji picks him up. Argues almost non stop with Hanmaru, his dog, about everything from dinner to tactics. Has the most lax personal hygiene ever encountered. He teases his team but if anyone else so much as breathes wrong in their direction, talk shit get hit. Often times just sleeps outside – with as many siblings as he’s got, it takes time for people to realise he’s not at the dinner table.

Harigane || Male. A boy from a powerful Wind Country clan who died in the clan wars. He’s trapped in a kokeshi doll by an old woman witch but when Chuufuku takes the doll with her as she escapes, he accompanies her on her adventures. Is very fond of riddles. Salivates whenever anyone eats anything around him. Is very nostalgic about the Old Days and sometimes talks about them in present tense. Can possess people but doesn’t have a malicious bone in his body, luckily. Once possessed Gaara, his descendant, and made him pick his nose in front of the other kages.

Shimenawa Senju || Female. A lateral descendant of the Senju clan, she is a nun on the border of Fire Country. She is a practitioner of ninshuu and possesses the ability to manipulate time to various degrees. However, she is afraid of the outside world and does not leave her home very often. She is enlisted by Chuufuku to defeat the demon Yatagarasu and by Sarada to find Chuufuku later on.

Netsui || Female. Daughter of Omoi and a prominent female member of the village council. She is very work orientated and, while cheerful and upbeat, sometimes loses herself in her duties and the responsibilities she knows she’ll have to adopt when she inherits her mother’s position. She is taken aback by Chan Ji’s love confession and turns her down sharply. Their friendship deepens, though, and she feels her own feelings appear for Chan Ji. She is pretty deep in denial though, having always had a solid future with a politically motivated hetero marriage in the future for her. When Chan Ji almost dies protecting her, she realises the true depth of her feelings, and can’t deny their bond anymore. A very strong negotiator and talented kenjutsu user. Loves flower arranging, the brighter the blossom the better, something hard to come by in Kumogakure.

Kannon || Female. A ‘failed’ experiment by Orochimaru. Considers herself Mitsuki’s big sister although they look nothing alike. She’s a cannibal that can absorb kekkei genkai by eating the respective individual’s flesh. Is a talented bento artist, something she practices to give to Mitsuki. Is freaky looking, and loves it. Has trouble with empathy, but is working on it (Dummies Guide to Normal People Ethics – Lesson 1: Don’t Eat people).

Kepura Ba-Kari || Male. A Suna ninja from a scarab-users clan in Suna. Is Shino’s age, and his lifepartner. He embarrassed himself trying to traditionally woo a completely oblivious Shino, before Kiba cleared up the situation for them because it was That Painful. He has to stop his bff Hatoru threatening Shino that she would tear out his intestines if he hurt Kepura. Kepura, as the head of his own clan, spends quite some time in Suna, missing Shino all the while. Still, the periods of separation works for them, as they are both the type to believe that absence makes the heart grow fonder. After Tentou’s parents died, he and Shino adopted him. Sometimes Kepura does feel a little left out because Tentou was raised as an Aburame before the adoption, so Shino is the one he comes to most about his kikaichu problems. Still, Kepura can pass on some of his own scarab orientated techniques that Tentou has adapted.

Ankaa Setouchi || Male. One of Chuufuku’s ‘cousins’ in Kiri. They became close during her stay with him and his parents, to the extent that he helped her escape before her father could get to her. Chuufuku still holds some mistrust towards him for his initial deception, but their relationship held. In the shinkaiden line, Ankaa is her closest confidant and the only person she’ll tell her secrets and fears too, although he is killed when the ninjas from Sun Country attack.

[murdered-with-daisies]

What're your thoughts on boruto the series so far?

Strap in folks, this is gonna be a long one.

So far I really like it but I wish that Naruto was in it more. I wish they hadn’t gone the route of “well he had no father so he doesn’t know how to be one blah blah blah” and instead went with the “he didn’t have a father so he’s gonna try to be the best god damn father ever”. I get Naruto not being there is so that Boruto has some motivation but I feel like it completely backtracks the whole shippiden series where family and friends were SO important to him. And the fact that Naruto doesn’t believe him about his special eye kinda irks me- Boruto is so excited about it and wants SO BADLY to be noticed by his father and then Naruto just kinda side panels him, that really bothered me.

But I’m really loving all the new genin though- the kids are great together and I love the rivalries that are popping up but I wish Sarada played a bigger role in it- I know her, Boruto, and Mitsuki are going to eventually be on a team so of course we’ll get some action with that but they need to stop doing these annoying classroom things and actually get to training them. One of the things I really loved about the original series is how they showed everyone’s struggles with training and developing their skills but so far we’ve only got to see Boruto do things really and even that we don’t really see him working on his techniques. Show me some at home stuff with Shikamaru teaching Shikadi how to do his shadow stuff or show me some Sai showing Injun (I hope that’s how you spell his name I can’t remember) how to draw and giving him art lessons. Show me Sarada learning to punch shit from Sakura. Literally anything besides, oh the kids just know it \(._.)/ The show needs to get out of these filler things already and start to get into actual plot lines. This eye thing is cool and I can’t wait to see how it develops BUT it feels like it’s taking forever to get things done. By episode 11 of the original we were already with Team 7 on the hunt for Zabuza, hell he was already “dead” by this point and we as an audience were already connected with these characters. There needs to be more substance to Boruto in my opinion. Besides the pretty palette and the smoothness of the animation there needs to be a lot done to make it anywhere near where Naruto was story wise.

But saying that there are a lot of things I love about Boruto; Boruto seems to be like a normal kid who’s just wanting his father’s attention and approval and I think that’s a good motivator (even though I don’t like it) and I think it’s going to be interesting later on what Naruto thinks about it. And I also really love the new modern aspects of the show. The kids playing their ninja games always has me laughing and I think the little gamescroll is great- I want one! Also Boruto’s sense of humor is great, last episode when he thought he was becoming a super hero was hilarious!

And the animation is beautiful, now if they’re gonna keep that up is in the air since I’m sure we all know the jumpyness of Shippuden but I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt and keep watching because while I’m not so sure how invested I am in the characters yet I am interested to see how they all fit together and that first episode opening scene was awesome so I want to see what’s going on with that and also the fact that they’re most likely bringing the moon guy back (which btw what does that mean since he tried to steal Hinata in the movie, what will Naruto do??)

But yeah those are my thoughts so far on Boruto- so far a 6.5/10 in my books. What do you think so far?

[recentanimenews]

Boruto Fixes Naruto's Greatest Flaw

Editor's Note: This is a republication of a feature by Peter Fobian that originally appeared on Crunchyroll News on 10/12/18.

---

    Naruto has always been an underdog story, a nobody who pulls himself out of the dirt, overcoming the prejudice of others and the loneliness of isolation to make something of himself in defiance of common sense and the inexorable laws of the hierarchy of shinobi. Eventually he reaches the top of the ninja world, ending the conflict that paralyzed it, fixing its societal flaws, and becoming the greatest of the Kage. The twin lessons of Naruto were to always reach out to others in need and that no challenge can’t be overcome if you work hard enough. Or at least that’s how it was supposed to be.

  While the first message was ultimately a success, the second was sabotaged from the very beginning and ultimately betrayed at the halfway point. Naruto never was and never had been the underdog. His compassion for others who had suffered in the same manner he had was remarkable, a true triumph of the human spirit over his unfortunate circumstances that allowed him to save others, himself, and likely the entire world in the process. But, when it came to the conflicts that ultimately allowed Naruto to connect with characters like Sasuke and Gaara, our hero had a huge advantage.

  The intended message is inescapable, said out loud in more than a few points. Nowhere was this more clear than during the Naruto vs Neji fight during the chunin exam. Neji, a prodigy and inheritor of one of the worlds greatest clan techniques in the byakugan, simply couldn’t lose to Naruto. Neji shouted as much. Repeatedly. Just as he was fundamentally stronger than Naruto, so was Neji a victim of fate who would also never rise above the circumstances of his birth, or so he believed. His defeat at the hands of Naruto was supposed to show us that these inescapable realities of privilege and power were illusions. That there was no challenge that couldn’t be overcome without sufficient hard work and good old shonen “not giving up.”

  Problem is that Naruto had a massive advantage in that fight, as well as almost every fight he walked into. Being the vessel for Kurama gave him almost unlimited stores of chakra. His entire fighting style relied on being an endless well of the stuff to continue walking armies of clones that no other shinobi could hope to manifest. In this particular fight he would have lost had the kyuubi chakra not allowed him to perform the otherwise biologically impossible task of reopening his tenketsu. Before the series began, Naruto was given a power greater than any of the bloodline limits. Prodigies like Neji and Sasuke were battling against an opponent given a tremendous advantage when they fought Naruto.

Where put into doubt before, this idea of hard work defeating destiny was entirely betrayed when Jiraiya falls in Shippuden. It’s revealed that, from the very beginning, Naruto had been a child of prophecy. Rather than a nobody who grasped the reigns of destiny to end the great ninja war and save the world, that had always been Naruto’s purpose in the world. He was simply fulfilling the role that had always been intended for him. This revelation undermines all of his sweat and tears, each of his triumphs, and every moment we were told that anyone can be something more if they dedicate themselves fully to their goal and always believe in themselves.

True, it turns out...

And that’s where Boruto surpasses the message of Naruto.

Boruto makes no qualms about the fact that its hero is exceptional from the first episode. Naruto complains that Boruto has trouble taking lessons seriously because, unlike him, everything comes naturally to Boruto. As the child of the Hokage and one of the most beloved figures in the world, Boruto is the darling of Konoha, receiving personal training and attention from its greatest shinobi. He even has an original mutation of the byakugan that acts as a deus ex machina. That isn’t a complaint by me, it’s literally what the show tells us!

Nothing is beyond Boruto’s grasp. In fact, the series admits that its Boruto’s destiny to follow the same path as his father and save the world from the next great threat that confronts it. This is where the conflict comes in for Boruto. Known as the son of his father and burdened with great destiny, his struggle is in discovering where he exists as an individual with so many aspects of who he is and what he will become already defined for him.

Seeing how much of a burden the title of Hokage is to Naruto and the effects that it has on his family, Boruto rejects the idea of inheriting that role. One of his character conflicts as the students approach their genin exam is whether he truly wants to become a ninja or if he’s just going along with what people expect of him. He’s seen how this destiny has shaped his father and fears becoming the same person with the same flaws.

All the same, there is no escape from the role he must eventually play in the coming conflict. His participation is assumed by enemy and ally alike and no amount of rebellion will help when he becomes one of the first targets. Just like his father, Boruto will become a hero, but this time no one will think of him as the underdog. Coming to terms with his destiny despite his fear of what it will make him, is Boruto’s true challenge and it one that’s a lot more honest than Naruto’s supposed rise from obscurity.

The entirety of the Neji fight and, ostensibly, all of Naruto, was about changing destiny and defining your own future. At that early point in the series, it might have seemed like Naruto truly overcame what seemed like a certain result and shifted the course of history but, in the end, that was just destiny taking its predetermined course. Neji and Hinata would escape their own destiny of hatred only because Naruto became Hokage and, in doing so, changed the Hyuga, which he was going to do from the very beginning as the child of prophecy. It was always their destiny to be saved by Naruto. Well, Hinata anyway...

The message may not be as inspirational, but it’s the truth of the Uzumaki family that we weren’t given until nearly the end of Naruto’s story. One of the nearly universal failings of shonen is the emphasis on the power of hard work only to lead to the discovery that the protagonist was special from the very beginning. Boruto and Naruto are one in the same as saviors chosen by fate, so Boruto’s story shows how having your path set out for you can be just as scary as believing you’re irrelevant. Had Naruto's destiny been so clearly laid out for him in the beginning, maybe he would have had to contend with that.

---

Peter Fobian is an Associate Features Editor for Crunchyroll, author of Monthly Mangaka Spotlight, writer for Anime Academy, and contributor at Anime Feminist. You can follow him on Twitter @PeterFobian.

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[recentanimenews]

Crunchyroll All-Stars: Brandon Sebastian on Celebrating Anime on the Field

Anime fans come from all walks of life and in all shapes and sizes. Some are students, some are scientists, some are doctors, some are artists, and some are even athletes! Crunchyroll All-Stars is a series of interviews highlighting elite professionals who harbor a passion both for their art and for anime.

  Today’s profile is on Brandon Sebastian, Defensive Back for the Boston College Eagles. We’re also introducing Sebastian with some extra-special artwork today, transforming him into the character “The Interceptor!” We spoke with Sebastian about how his older brother got him into anime, making anime references with his teammates on the field during celebrations and much more!

    When did you become an anime fan?  Was there a specific moment that affected you or changed the way you felt about something? 

  My older brother was the one who got me into anime. I vividly remember the first one I watched was Dragon Ball Z. He got me into Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh! too — always had the cards on him — and thought it was all really cool. As I got older I realized I didn’t really appreciate all of anime yet because I was just mainly a Dragon Ball Z fan. Then in my senior year of high school I got back into it and watched Tokyo Ghoul and learned about Ken Kaneki a little bit…and that got me way back into it! Tokyo Ghoul made me more open-minded and then I dove into a bunch of other anime after that.

  Are there any ways you engage with your favorite anime series or characters aside from watching them? 

  I definitely express myself through clothing. I actually met a dude on Instagram named Void Reincarnation and he hand paints and designs a bunch of anime clothing, like jeans. I have a few pairs of his jeans — Light Yagami jeans, Itachi & Sasuke jeans. And this past Halloween, we have a few anime fans on the football team and we dressed up as the Akatsuki. I was Pain.

    Have you ever bonded with someone else over anime?

  When I’d go out last summer, I’d wear anime clothes and I’d get a ton of compliments and it would spark conversations that’d last 20-30 minutes sometimes just because of anime. My brother’s into it, my best friend’s into it. Not everyone’s open-minded about it and I try to spread the word for people to watch it.

  What’s your favorite anime series of all time?

  Naruto. His struggle was so real and relatable to people in the real world. Came up from the bottom, pursued his dream, became Hokage at the end of the day which was cool to see. Then I started watching Boruto.

    Who’s your favorite anime character of all time?

  Zero Two. She carries such a swag and has a sass to her. She’s pretty badass — no one can ride the Franxx with her (they always get hurt) and she’s one of the illest drawn characters ever.

  Who would you rank as the top anime hero ever?

  Monkey D. Luffy. In every arc he’s ever been in, he’s always the savior. He impacts so many people. Definitely Luffy.

    Who would you rank as the top anime villain ever?

  Hisoka. He’s just a different breed. No one really messes with him. He’s the cream of the crop and just a weirdo in general. I like the way he acts around Killua and Gon. He always wants to challenge everyone because he believes he’s the best fighter, but he couldn’t fight the head of the spiders because Kurapika put the spell on him. Ya, he’s a creepy guy.

  Have you ever taken any elements or learnings from anime and implemented them into your daily life?

  Anime taught me how to overcome adversity. When life gets hard and you get knocked down, it’s all about how you respond. I took that theme from numerous anime. My older brother passed away from cancer when he was in college, and I was watching a ton of anime at the time — I’m seeing Jiraya get killed, Itachi dying, etc. — and I realized I learned so many life lessons from my brother. I relate it all back to the anime I was watching at the time.

    It feels like more and more athletes are showcasing their love for anime — what’s anime fandom like in college football culture? And what do you think it is about anime that attracts athletes?

  There are almost 100 dudes on my team and I’d say probably 30-40 of us watch anime. We have celebrations we do after we make a play. I'm part of the defensive backs room, and we all have jutsus we’ll do if we make a play. Like if one of my teammates gets an interception, he’ll put me in a shadow paralysis jutsu, and I’ll just freeze there like I’m stuck in it. Or another teammate will do a summoning jutsu. We just all have a bunch of roles like that. You can also talk to other players on the field when you’re out there, and you have players who see each other make those anime celebrations and they’ll come up to me like “Yo I saw that celebration...you watch Naruto? It’s one of my favorite shows”. It’s pretty cool to see and experience.

  For me and other athletes, we can put ourselves into the mindset of another character. You put yourself in that mode before you need to go perform at a high level. When we played Clemson, I had to turn up and with my face paint I usually put it on like Naruto with the Kurama stripes. I get into character to go try and achieve my dream, and the stripes give me the reminder to fully turn up and become like a nine-tail fox or something. On that level. It’s a mindset of not failing or letting your teammates down. I think lots of players think about things like this.

  What would your message be to someone who recently discovered anime and was thinking about getting into it?

  The first thing I would tell people is to be open-minded and don’t judge a book by its cover. Many anime can teach you life lessons and have numerous plot twists -- stick with them and don’t judge anything early on. A lot of people don’t want to get into anime because it’s not a traditional show or animated cartoon they’re used to seeing, but you actually learn important lessons.

  Also always stay true to yourself. Who knows what can come from it. I never thought I’d be sitting down chatting with Crunchyroll, and here I am…all because I watched anime and just stayed true to myself. Don’t always listen to other people’s opinions, work hard, pursue what you love, and everything can & will fall into place in the universe for you.

By: Guest Author

[recentanimenews]

Boruto Fixes Naruto's Greatest Flaw

Naruto has always been an underdog story, a nobody who pulls himself out of the dirt, overcoming the prejudice of others and the loneliness of isolation to make something of himself in defiance of common sense and the inexorable laws of the hierarchy of shinobi. Eventually he reaches the top of the ninja world, ending the conflict that paralyzed it, fixing its societal flaws, and becoming the greatest of the Kage. The twin lessons of Naruto were to always reach out to others in need and that no challenge can’t be overcome if you work hard enough. Or at least that’s how it was supposed to be.

  While the first message was ultimately a success, the second was sabotaged from the very beginning and ultimately betrayed at the halfway point. Naruto never was and never had been the underdog. His compassion for others who had suffered in the same manner he had was remarkable, a true triumph of the human spirit over his unfortunate circumstances that allowed him to save others, himself, and likely the entire world in the process. But, when it came to the conflicts that ultimately allowed Naruto to connect with characters like Sasuke and Gaara, our hero had a huge advantage.

  The intended message is inescapable, said out loud in more than a few points. Nowhere was this more clear than during the Naruto vs Neji fight during the chunin exam. Neji, a prodigy and inheritor of one of the worlds greatest clan techniques in the byakugan, simply couldn’t lose to Naruto. Neji shouted as much. Repeatedly. Just as he was fundamentally stronger than Naruto, so was Neji a victim of fate who would also never rise above the circumstances of his birth, or so he believed. His defeat at the hands of Naruto was supposed to show us that these inescapable realities of privilege and power were illusions. That there was no challenge that couldn’t be overcome without sufficient hard work and good old shonen “not giving up.”

  Problem is that Naruto had a massive advantage in that fight, as well as almost every fight he walked into. Being the vessel for Kurama gave him almost unlimited stores of chakra. His entire fighting style relied on being an endless well of the stuff to continue walking armies of clones that no other shinobi could hope to manifest. In this particular fight he would have lost had the kyuubi chakra not allowed him to perform the otherwise biologically impossible task of reopening his tenketsu. Before the series began, Naruto was given a power greater than any of the bloodline limits. Prodigies like Neji and Sasuke were battling against an opponent given a tremendous advantage when they fought Naruto.

Where put into doubt before, this idea of hard work defeating destiny was entirely betrayed when Jiraiya falls in Shippuden. It’s revealed that, from the very beginning, Naruto had been a child of prophecy. Rather than a nobody who grasped the reigns of destiny to end the great ninja war and save the world, that had always been Naruto’s purpose in the world. He was simply fulfilling the role that had always been intended for him. This revelation undermines all of his sweat and tears, each of his triumphs, and every moment we were told that anyone can be something more if they dedicate themselves fully to their goal and always believe in themselves.

True, it turns out...

And that’s where Boruto surpasses the message of Naruto.

Boruto makes no qualms about the fact that its hero is exceptional from the first episode. Naruto complains that Boruto has trouble taking lessons seriously because, unlike him, everything comes naturally to Boruto. As the child of the Hokage and one of the most beloved figures in the world, Boruto is the darling of Konoha, receiving personal training and attention from its greatest shinobi. He even has an original mutation of the byakugan that acts as a deus ex machina. That isn’t a complaint by me, it’s literally what the show tells us!

Nothing is beyond Boruto’s grasp. In fact, the series admits that its Boruto’s destiny to follow the same path as his father and save the world from the next great threat that confronts it. This is where the conflict comes in for Boruto. Known as the son of his father and burdened with great destiny, his struggle is in discovering where he exists as an individual with so many aspects of who he is and what he will become already defined for him.

Seeing how much of a burden the title of Hokage is to Naruto and the effects that it has on his family, Boruto rejects the idea of inheriting that role. One of his character conflicts as the students approach their genin exam is whether he truly wants to become a ninja or if he’s just going along with what people expect of him. He’s seen how this destiny has shaped his father and fears becoming the same person with the same flaws.

All the same, there is no escape from the role he must eventually play in the coming conflict. His participation is assumed by enemy and ally alike and no amount of rebellion will help when he becomes one of the first targets. Just like his father, Boruto will become a hero, but this time no one will think of him as the underdog. Coming to terms with his destiny despite his fear of what it will make him, is Boruto’s true challenge and it one that’s a lot more honest than Naruto’s supposed rise from obscurity.

The entirety of the Neji fight and, ostensibly, all of Naruto, was about changing destiny and defining your own future. At that early point in the series, it might have seemed like Naruto truly overcame what seemed like a certain result and shifted the course of history but, in the end, that was just destiny taking its predetermined course. Neji and Hinata would escape their own destiny of hatred only because Naruto became Hokage and, in doing so, changed the Hyuga, which he was going to do from the very beginning as the child of prophecy. It was always their destiny to be saved by Naruto. Well, Hinata anyway...

The message may not be as inspirational, but it’s the truth of the Uzumaki family that we weren’t given until nearly the end of Naruto’s story. One of the nearly universal failings of shonen is the emphasis on the power of hard work only to lead to the discovery that the protagonist was special from the very beginning. Boruto and Naruto are one in the same as saviors chosen by fate, so Boruto’s story shows how having your path set out for you can be just as scary as believing you’re irrelevant. Had Naruto's destiny been so clearly laid out for him in the beginning, maybe he would have had to contend with that.

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Peter Fobian is an Associate Features Editor for Crunchyroll, author of Monthly Mangaka Spotlight, writer for Anime Academy, and contributor at Anime Feminist. You can follow him on Twitter @PeterFobian.

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