Ōtsutsuki Tsukihime

At dawn on the Training Ground, the dew still clung to the grass. Sasuke stood in the center, his gaze sharp as a blade. His voice was calm, yet allowed no argument. "The first step to controlling your power isn't using it. It's feeling it. Listen to that 'strange' flow within you, the way you'd listen to your own heartbeat."

Boruto took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

He sank into himself, guiding the power hidden deep within his bloodline. Blue markings spread from his arm to his shoulder. His forehead grew warm, his right eye gradually turned pure white, and the Rinnegan pattern slowly emerged.

"Keep going," Sasuke ordered.

Chakra surged, and the signs of Ōtsutsuki Transformation grew increasingly clear. Gold and blue light intertwined around him, while the air trembled faintly as the energy warped it.

But after only ten seconds, Boruto suddenly dropped to his knees, drenched in cold sweat, his right arm jerking violently.

"Stop!" Sasuke rushed forward and gripped his shoulder.

The light faded. Boruto panted heavily, his face pale.

"This is much harder than I thought." He wiped the sweat from his forehead and gave a wry smile.

"Of course it is." Sasuke tossed him a bottle of water. "This is the power of the Ōtsutsuki—not a tailed beast, and not Senjutsu. It's a power that reshapes life, drawn from the very source of the universe. One wrong move, and you'll be assimilated into a vessel for them."

Boruto caught the bottle and gulped down several mouthfuls. His throat felt as if it had been scorched by fire.

"How did you control the Curse Mark back then?" he asked.

Sasuke gazed into the distance, his eyes seeming to travel through time.

"Willpower," he said. "And time. It took me three years to truly