To Become Strong

Chapter 1: To Become a Student

After their grueling fight against Momoshiki, the five Kage along with Boruto and Sasuke returned to the Leaf Village. Once they exited the portal, the five kage were all greeted by some medical-nin who started to treat their injuries that they had sustained.

Sakura and Sarada rushed over to the group, making their way towards Sasuke, "Papa are you okay?" Sarada asked her father as she greeted him with a hug.

Sasuke returned the hug and gave her a small smile, "Nothing, to worry about."

Sakura also hugged her husband with more strength than he would've liked, "Darling, are you sure you`re okay?" She asked, inspecting him for any injuries.

"I`m fine Sakura. All I need is a little rest." He replied.

Sakura then grabbed her husband by the back of his collar and forcefully dragged him home, "Well in that case I`m taking you home so you can rest and have a hot meal."

The look of embarrassment on Sasuke`s face as everyone stared at him being dragged away by his wife. Sarada couldn't help but be a little embarrassed herself, "Mama! Please be careful with papa!" She yelled, running after them.

Later that evening, at the Uchiha household Sarada, Sakura, and Sasuke were having dinner after Sasuke took some time to recuperate from his battle. The three Uchiha ate peacefully as they chatted among themselves.

Sarada had just finished eating her food, "Papa, Boruto told me what happened when you guys went to go rescue the seventh. He said that you were amazing."

Sasuke calmly excused himself from the table, "Hn, is that so?" He muttered as he walked into the living area, plopping himself on the couch.

"Yeah, I wish I could have gone and seen you in action!" Sarada exclaimed as she smiled enthusiastically and sat next to her father.

Sasuke couldn't help but give a small smile towards his daughter, "You wish to be like your old man?" He asked putting his only arm around her.

"If by that you mean only having one arm no thanks." She laughed, while poking fun at him.

He simply smiled and said nothing more, until Sarada asked him another question, "Papa…what do you think of me wanting to become Hokage?"

The stoic man turned to look at his daughter and asked, "Is that your dream Sarada?"

"Yeah! If I become Hokage, then I would be able to make connections with everyone in the village!" She explained proudly.

Sasuke stared at his daughter and thought to himself, "She will become a better person than I ever was." Then he ruffled her hair, "That`s my girl. You must walk a different path, don't be like me, be the first Uchiha to become Hokage the likes of which has never been seen."

The young Uchiha was in awe at the words her father told her. He has never said anything like that to her before, and she couldn't be happier about it; it gave her the biggest smile she ever wore. She immediately jumped at Sasuke and gave him a hug, "I love you Papa."

Sasuke, surprised at his daughters words simply smiled and returned the hug. He thought to himself, "You`re the only thing I ever did right in my life Sarada."

Sakura watched the scene unfold from the kitchen knowing how special this was for Sarada, all she ever wanted was to know Sasuke and have him in her life. This is the biggest step for them, to become close with each other, "Alright you two, how about we all watch a movie together?"

"Yeah that's a good idea. Papa how about you pick the movie?" Sarada asked as she released him from the hug.

"I don't really know anything about movies." He replied.

Sarada got up from the couch, tugging her dad over to the shelf were they kept the movies. She pointed to all the different ones that they had, "Mama and I have plenty to choose from! I'm sure there's one here that you will like."

Sasuke scanned the different movies until one had caught his eye. He pointed to it, "What about this one? Samurai vs. the World?"

"Oh you will definitely like that one papa! It's got lots of sword fighting action!"

He grinned, "Well I guess this one will do."

"I'll make some popcorn while you two start the movie." Sakura added.

Sarada nodded as she took the movie from the shelf and headed over to the TV to play the movie. Once she was able to start it, Sarada sat back down on the couch where Sasuke was and cuddled up to him. A few minutes later, Sakura came back with a bowl of popcorn in hand and also cuddled up next to her husband.

They continued to watch the movie for the rest of the night, with Sasuke making comments and asking questions about the Samurai character. Sarada happily answered her father's question, but she still didn't know if he understood the movie. Either way, he seemed to enjoy the movie and once it was over they all headed off to bed.

The next morning, the young Uchiha woke up to the smell of breakfast coming from downstairs. She got dressed and headed down, surprised to only find her mom in the kitchen.

"Mama, where`s papa?" Sarada asked as she sat down.

Sakura served her daughter some breakfast, "He woke up early today. Said he was going to train with Boruto before heading out for another mission."

Sarada began eating her food, "You know, I don't see how papa can put up with Boruto sometimes. He is such a knucklehead, it`s surprising that it`s even possible."

"Oh, trust me. Your father and I went through that with Naruto, I`m sure he can handle Boruto no problem." Sakura chuckled.

"Really? It`s hard to imagine, Lord Seventh is so nice!"

Sakura smiled and sat at the table, "The Seventh was completely hopeless when he was a genin. No talent what-so-ever and the biggest knucklehead that you would have ever met."

Sarada was baffled at the answer, "Come on mama, you`re exaggerating. I've seen Lord Seventh in action remember? He's super strong!"

"It`s true, it was embarrassing how much of a loser Naruto was. But those are stories for another day." Her mother explained, while cleaning up the dishes.

Sarada thought to herself for a moment, "Could the Seventh have really been a hopeless genin?" She then asked another question, "Mama, if Lord Seventh was really weak like you said then how did he become so powerful?"

"Oh? Well that's a really long story. But in short, Naruto overcame every obstacle that stood in his way." Sakura explained while washing dishes, "No one believed that Naruto would achieve anything, but he just kept proving everyone wrong. After every single action he took, everyone started to believe in him, especially during the war. Now he stands here as a hero and our Hokage."

"Did….did you believe in him?" Sarada asked.

Sakura blinked in confusion for a moment, but then gave a smile, "No, not at first. I was probably the one who pushed him away the most when we became a team."

"Really? Why?"

She sighed, "I thought he was always just an annoying brat, but it turns out I wasn't much different." Sakura then walked over to her team 7 picture and looked at it, "I neglected him so much when we were genin, not just me, but the entire village."

Sarada walked up behind her mother, "Because of the nine-tailed fox right? I learned about that attack at the academy."

"Back then only the adults knew what was inside Naruto. I and the rest of my class had no idea, but then one day during a mission I learned the truth." Sakura explained.

Sarada held her mother's hand, "What happened?"

"Naruto and the nine-tails weren't on good terms back then. So during that mission I saw what was inside him and…..it was the most terrifying thing I ever saw." She then picked up the picture, "That's when I realized all the pain Naruto had went through his whole life, why he was neglected." Sakura told her daughter, a small tear coming down her face.

"Mama?" Sarada looked at her, squeezing her hand.

Sakura wiped the tear from her face and smiled, "After that we became closer and he started training a lot more. That's when I started to believe Naruto was the only one who could change things and he proved me right when he saved the village from pain."

Sarada raised an eyebrow, "Pain?"

"Like I said. Stories for another time." Sakura told her as she walked back into the kitchen.

"So in the end Lord Seventh achieved his dream?" Sarada asked.

Her mother smiled, "That's right."

Sarada then thought to herself, when an idea popped into her head, "Mama I`m heading out. I`ll be back later."

"Wait, sweetie where are you going?" Sakura asked.

"I`m going to ask Lord Seventh if he can train me!" Sarada exclaimed as she headed out the door. Sakura baffled at her daughters answer simply smiled.

Naruto sat in his office as he was working on his computer, filing his daily reports. His advisor, Shikamaru was also there, explaining the status of some of the shinobi who were out on missions and the damage that was being repaired during the Otsutsuki incident. Even after being kidnapped, Naruto still had his duties to perform and he was even more focused now that Otsutsuki clan was becoming a real threat.

"Restoration efforts to the stadium are going well. Thanks to you, the stadium was the only damaged building." Shikamaru explained.

Naruto nodded, "What about Sasuke?"

"I already gave him the information for his next mission. He headed out and said he would contact you when he gathers Intel."

Suddenly there work was interrupted as they heard a knock at the door, "Wonder who that could be? Come in." Naruto answered.

To his surprise he found the daughter of his best friend enter, "Oh Sarada? Sorry, if you're looking for your dad, he already left."

Sarada bowed, "No, I`m here because I wanted to ask you something Lord Hokage."

Naruto cheerfully grinned, "Well what can I help you with?"

She slightly blushed, scratching her cheek, "Well… I was wondering if… you would… accept me as your student. Please?"

Naruto was surprised by her question, "You want me to train you? Where did this come from Sarada?"

"If I want to become Hokage, then what better way than to learn from you." Sarada stated, "Besides Boruto is being trained by my papa. It`s only fair that I learn from his dad don't you think?"

Naruto stood up and made his way towards her, "Promise me one thing Sarada." The Hokage said, crossing his arms.

"Anything!"

"No matter what happens, no matter what challenges you face don't ever give up." He told her in a serious tone.

"That`s a promise!" She proudly stated.

Naruto gave his signature grin, "Then I would be glad to accept you as my student!" raising a fist to her.

Sarada`s eyes lit up as she gave the Seventh a fist bump. This was going to be the start of her journey to becoming Hokage and no one was going to stand in her way.

A/N: Hey everyone! Hope you enjoy this story. I havent updated this story in a long while and decided that I would get back to it because I don't want to leave this story unfinished. Firstly I will be updating the chapters that are posted so far, since I feel like I have gotten better at writing. Then I will post a new one soon. Thanks for reading! Please R&R!