The Evolution of Chakra

"Did it say anything to you?"

"Not in words," Boruto said. "Only... emotions. Curiosity, affection, and a little fear. It's afraid of this world, afraid of its own existence, afraid of all the uncertainty in the future."

"Then how did you respond?"

Boruto smiled, his expression gentler than ever before. "I told it that it was okay. It's normal to be afraid. What matters is not letting fear stop you from moving forward."

Those were words Isshiki had once said to him. Now he was saying them to Isshiki's successor. A kind of cycle had been completed in that underground chamber. No one had witnessed it, but everyone felt it.

"Let's go," Boruto said. "We should head back to the Leaf. But before that, there's something I need to do."

"What?"

"Give it a name."

By the time they returned to the surface, the sun was already high in the sky. Boruto stood in the center of the settlement and gazed up at the blue sky. The Light Spot existed quietly in the depths of his consciousness, waiting for an identity.

"How about 'Star'?" Sarada suggested. "It's small, like a star, but it shines."

"Too ordinary," Naruto said, shaking his head. "And it could easily be confused with something else."

"How about 'Hikari'?" Yamada blurted out, then immediately shook his head. "No, that name... already belongs to someone."

Boruto closed his eyes and communicated with the being in the depths of his consciousness. Not with words, but in a more direct way, sharing feelings, images, and memories.

He saw Isshiki's memories: the ancient home worlds of the Ōtsutsuki Clan, the long journeys across the stars, and the birth and destruction of countless worlds. In those fragments of memory, one word appeared again and again. It came from the ancient language