XX-level Hokage

"Hello, I'm Yamanaka Namijin." Inojin said with a smile, showing no sign of shyness. "Squad leader, you're here too. What brings you all here?" Boruto asked.

Noticing that Boruto had only just realized her presence, Kansui felt a pang of sadness, but still said in an incredibly gentle tone, "We just finished training and were looking for a place to eat together when we unexpectedly found you at the restaurant."

"Training? If I remember correctly, today is Sunday." Boruto said, somewhat puzzled.

"The Chunin Exams are coming up soon, and Hanabi-sensei is giving us intensive training," Mashiro explained. "Hanabi-neechan is really strict," Boruto remarked with a touch of admiration.

"You should pay more attention too." At that moment, another female voice came. Sarada and Mitsuki walked over together.

"We've brought you the application form." Yiyue handed a form to Boruto.

"What do you mean, Mitsuki? I said I wasn't planning on participating." Seeing Sarada and Mitsuki approach, Boruto took out his game console again and started playing games nonchalantly.

"Is that so?" Inojin said, somewhat surprised.

"Why are you still saying things like that?" Lu Tai said helplessly.

“Since Boruto says so, I don’t really care, but are you sure you don’t want to participate?” Mitsuki said gently.

"Of course not! I came to check on you because I was worried, and you actually said something like that? This matter has been unresolved for months. I'm telling you, Boruto, becoming Hokage is my dream." Sarada grabbed Boruto's collar and said seriously.

“I know,” Boruto said, shaking off Sarada’s hand.

“I don’t have time to waste as a genin; I need to pass the exam as soon as possible,” Sarada continued. “Easier said than done,” Inojin said softly upon hearing Sarada’s words.

He didn't believe the Chunin Exams could be passed so easily. "Yeah," Mitsuki agreed.

"But what about you? Are you trying to stop me from achieving my dream?" Sarada questioned Boruto. "Of course not! If you want to be one, then go be one yourself," Boruto said, dissatisfied.

"Um, it seems like those two are arguing. Shouldn't we go and try to stop them?" Kuanjin whispered in Mashiro's ear.

"No rush, none of the others close to them have spoken yet, let's just watch the show." Zhenbai turned around and whispered in Lan Jin's ear. The warm breath made Lan Jin's ears feel hot.

“Didn’t you hear what the teachers said? Teamwork is very important during exams,” Sarada continued. “I’ll go find someone for you,” Boruto said nonchalantly.

"Looking for it now? There's no way we'll find it now," Sarada said, dissatisfied.

“That’s right, teamwork isn’t something you can master overnight,” Lu Tai said. “Yes,” Jing Zhen nodded.

As the newly appointed Ino-Shika-Cho trio, they deeply understood the difficulty of team coordination. "It has nothing to do with me," Boruto said in a deep voice.

"Boruto, you've been acting strange lately. Who are you arguing with?" Sarada asked, puzzled. "No one," Boruto replied softly.

Shikadai gave Boruto a deep look, his eyes filled with helplessness.

"Boruto, no matter how much others praise you, it can't compare to someone saying you're amazing, right?" Just then, Yotsuki spoke up.

"What do you know about me?" Boruto looked at Mitsuki with some impatience. "I know, because you are my sun," Mitsuki said with a smile.

"I thought something was serious, how childish." Hearing Mitsuki's words, Sarada now understood why Boruto was being difficult. "I heard everything," Boruto said.

“Boruto, this is really going too far. Is this the kind of person you are?” Sarada said seriously.

"Sarazana, you guys go back first. I'll talk to Boruto. Leave the application here for now, and I'll have Boruto bring it to you tomorrow," Mashiro finally said softly, unable to bear it any longer.

Upon hearing this, Sarada and Mitsuki exchanged a glance and said, "Then we'll leave it to you, Mashiro."

After saying that, Mitsuki handed the application to Mashiro, and the two left together. After Sarada and Mitsuki left, Shikadai and Inojin also made an excuse to go back first.

"Lan Jin, I'm very sorry, something came up and I can't have dinner with you today," Zhen Bai said with a hint of sympathy.

"It's nothing, it's nothing." Lan Jin hurriedly waved her hand, then got up and left. After everyone left, Mashiro sat down opposite Boruto.

She originally just wanted to watch the show, but Sarada's words left her speechless. She could only say that she was indeed Sakura and Sasuke's daughter. She came with concern for Boruto, but she spoke in a harsh tone.

"Let me make this clear first, I'm not going to participate in the Chunin Exams," Boruto said awkwardly, looking at Mashiro. Seeing Boruto's expression, Mashiro suddenly laughed and said, "You're really cute."

He possessed Naruto's stubbornness as a child, Sasuke's arrogance, Hinata's sensitivity, and Neji's awkwardness. "What...what strange things are you saying?!" Boruto's face instantly turned red upon hearing Mashiro's words.

"Did they have another falling out with the Seventh Hokage?" Shiro clearly sensed that there was a deep rift and conflict between Boruto and Naruto.

Boruto remained silent.

"Don't you want to give it a try? Make the Hokage proud of you. This is a great opportunity to let everyone see your power. I think he'll be very happy then, and maybe he'll go home more often because of it," Mashiro said softly, leaning back in her chair.

Upon hearing this, Boruto was taken aback.

“Even if it weren’t for the Hokage, I think Mashiro and Aoi would be very happy, especially Aoi. You will be her role model, and I will also cheer for you and be happy for you,” Mashiro continued.

"Seriously, I agree, okay?" Boruto said helplessly. "That's more like it," Mashiro chuckled.

The two then left the fast food restaurant together.

On the way home, Boruto said, "Although I'm not interested in becoming a Chunin, I can still easily pass the exams. I have to scare everyone and show them what I, Uzumaki Boruto, am capable of."

"You're right, I believe you." Mashiro said softly. [Boruto's favorability +10]

That's right. Boruto's face turned red again. "Onii-chan, Ota-san."

Just then, Himawari's voice came from behind. "Hibiscus." Mashiro turned around with a smile.

“Sunflower.” Boruto laughed too.

Hinata was standing not far away with Himawari at that moment.

Mashiro and Boruto walked over, and Mashiro skillfully took the groceries from Hinata's hands.

"Why are you and Boruto going home together today?" Hinata asked with a smile. Hearing this, Boruto quickly gave Mashiro a look.

“Boruto and I were training in the same training ground, so we’re going back together,” Mashiro said softly.

"Is it for the Chunin Exams? It's rare to see Boruto training so hard," Hinata said, stroking Boruto's hair, clearly pleased.

Chapter 232: Sunflower's Birthday

"I'm home! My brother and Mashiro are back too!" Himawari knocked on the door as they arrived and said. "Welcome back, ya!" Naruto opened the door and smiled.

Upon seeing Naruto at home, Hinata smiled and glanced at Boruto.

Boruto's expression softened; so he remembered Himawari's birthday.

"Dad! I'm back! I'm back! I'm back! I'm back!" Upon seeing Naruto, Himawari excitedly rushed into his arms.

"Welcome back, welcome back, welcome back..." Naruto smiled and kept responding to Himawari. Only Mashiro looked at Naruto with some confusion, but quickly smiled back. Back home, Hinata quickly prepared a birthday feast.

Boruto and Mashiro also helped decorate Himawari's birthday party.

Next came the birthday present part. Hinata handed Himawari a package. When she opened it, there was a fluffy teddy bear inside. Upon seeing the teddy bear, Himawari happily hugged it to her chest.

Then Mashiro handed Himawari a small yellow gift box. Inside was a hair clip decorated with a sunflower.

"Thank you, Mashiro-neechan," Himawari said happily. Mashiro took the hair clip and placed it in Himawari's hair.

In the hallway outside the living room, Naruto and Boruto were having a father-son conversation.

"You still remember our promise?" Boruto said awkwardly, leaning against the wall. "Yeah," Naruto replied.

"Barely passable," Boruto suddenly said. Naruto was taken aback.

"I can tolerate it because I'm a man, but I've thought it through. If you disappoint Himawari, I will never forgive you. She needs your company more than I do, so this is barely acceptable. I'll forgive you for now," Boruto explained.

"Thank you." Hearing Boruto's words, Naruto chuckled and nodded, "I understand." Boruto said with a touch of pride, then walked towards the living room. Soon everything was ready.

"Alright, that's all set." Boruto said with a smile. Now all that's left is for Naruto to bring the cake over.

"Okay, the cake is here." Naruto dragged the cake over. "It's huge!" Boruto exclaimed, looking at the cake in Naruto's hands. Himawari was also incredibly excited.

Hinata also looked at Naruto with a gentle expression.

Mashiro sighed inwardly and silently got up from her chair.

"Hibiscus's birthday party has begun." Naruto said, carrying a cake as he walked towards Himawari.

But just as he reached the table, Naruto suddenly vanished with a "whoosh," and the cake fell to the ground.

Immediately afterward, Mashiro, who had been prepared, reached out and caught the cake steadily, placing it on the table. "Shadow clone," Boruto muttered to himself, watching Naruto disappear.

Although the cake wasn't damaged, the birthday party atmosphere was ruined.

Sunflower lowered her head somewhat dejectedly. Tian looked at Boruto with some worry.

Boruto stared at the ground, his hands clenched tightly, his eyes filled with anger.

Himawari noticed Boruto's change in mood and said with some worry, "Brother, I..."

"That bastard, what does he think Himawari's birthday party is?" Boruto stood up, slammed his hands on the table angrily, and turned to leave. "Boruto!" Hinata quickly grabbed Boruto's arm.

"Let me go, Mom! That bastard keeps doing this, I'm going to beat him up!" Boruto said angrily. "Boruto, Dad works so hard for the people of the village," Hinata explained.

"Then aren't we considered part of the village? Does that mean the Hokage should abandon his family?" Boruto said, still as angry as ever.

“Dad didn’t neglect you,” Mayu tried to explain, but Boruto interrupted her again. “I’ve heard this so many times, I don’t want to hear this excuse anymore,” Boruto said angrily.

Himawari watched the two arguing with disappointment. At that moment, they seemed to have forgotten that it was Himawari's birthday. Seeing this, Mashiro came to Himawari's side and gently hugged her.

Sensing Mashiro's movement, Himawari hugged her. "Mashiro-neechan, brother..." Himawari whispered.

"It's not his fault this time; there was a reason." Mashiro said, gently stroking Himawari's hair.

In Mashiro's opinion, this was Naruto's fault; he only sent a shadow clone for his daughter's birthday.

When she got home today, Mashiro noticed Naruto the moment she saw him. At first, she thought she was seeing things and observed him carefully for a while.

Furthermore, as time passed, Mashiro could clearly sense that the chakra in Naruto's shadow clone was constantly weakening, and it was almost completely depleted when it brought the cake over, which is why she had prepared to catch the cake in advance.

Naruto was a good Hokage, that much is undeniable, but he failed to handle his official and personal affairs, as well as his relationship with his family and the village, very well.

Normally it would be fine, but it's his own daughter's birthday and he does it like this. Even if he can't put aside his official duties, he could send a few shadow clones to handle it in the office. Instead, he insists on doing it himself and sending a shadow clone to the birthday party. What's worse, he didn't even tell her in advance.

Not everyone is Hinata. Just like Boruto said, they are also villagers of Konoha. "Boruto..." Looking at the extremely angry Boruto, Hinata knew that she could no longer explain anything.

“When Dad was a child, his grandfather, who was the Hokage, had already passed away, so he didn’t have to understand the joy of family reunion, and that’s why he could be indifferent,” Boruto said.

Hinata remained silent in response.

"Why is my dad the Hokage, all he does is sit at his desk all day putting on airs? Anyone could do that job!" At this moment, Boruto's dissatisfaction with Naruto completely erupted.

He was unaware of Naruto's past; in his eyes, Naruto was an incompetent and irresponsible father.

"Boruto, it's understandable to feel lonely on such an important day when your father isn't here. But you're different from him when he was little. You have a father now, and that's why..." Hinata was saying when Boruto turned and left.

"Have you two had enough of arguing?" Mashiro suddenly spoke up. Mashiro's tone was calm, but it was very powerful.

This wasn't just true for Boruto, but also for Hinata, giving Hinata a strange feeling of being scolded by her older brother. "Mashiro?" Hinata turned her head and looked at Mashiro.

But Mashiro reverted to her previous gentle demeanor and said softly, "Aoi's birthday isn't over yet."

Hinata glanced at Boruto, then returned to the table. Boruto silently followed suit.