Who Was the Hunter?

The mist in Despair Forest grew thicker and thicker.

It wasn't ordinary water vapor, but a gray-white haze mixed with chakra residue and the stench of blood. Like living tentacles, it clung viscously to every ancient tree, obscuring the moonlight and the path ahead.

Boruto walked in front, with Tsukine following behind. They kept a distance of three meters between them.

The distance was a delicate balance—close enough for Tsukine to see the one-armed boy's back and make sure he hadn't disappeared, but not so close that she felt suffocated. She was still afraid of him, afraid of the monster who had just crushed a spear with one hand and stomped a head to pieces.

"Y-you really only have one arm?" Tsukine finally couldn't stand the silence any longer. Her voice trembled slightly in the mist.

Boruto didn't look back or slow his pace. "You saw for yourself."

"But... you used a Shadow Clone just now, and that Rasengan..." Tsukine hurried a few steps, trying to keep up with him. "A normal person can't form hand signs or control their chakra properly with one arm missing."

"So?" Boruto's voice was cold as ice.

"So you must actually be strong, right?" Tsukine muttered, as if trying to convince herself. "My cousin said you were the family failure, someone who'd been abandoned, but I think she was lying to me. How could someone who fights like that be a failure?"

Boruto stopped abruptly.

Tsukine jumped back in fright and bumped into a dead tree, thinking she had angered the grim reaper.

Boruto slowly turned around. The night wind whistled through his empty right sleeve, making it flutter and look especially forlorn. Dried blood stained his left cheek, and his blue eyes were as deep as pools in the darkness.

"Your cousin didn't