"I found it in your luggage," Boruto said. "When Anbu was searching, I asked them to keep an eye out for any personal belongings. This was hidden in your pillowcase."
Yamada stretched out his hand, his fingertips hovered over Forehead Protector for a second, and then touched it lightly. His movement was very gentle, as if he was stroking something fragile.
"What do you want to say?" His voice was a little hoarse.
"I want to say that you are betting thirty-one years to pursue this matter, not for 'evolution', nor to break the barrier between humans and gods." Boruto looked directly into his eyes, "You want to find an answer. Why does light die, why does that kind of power choose her, and why can't you save her."
Yamada's fingers froze.
"Am I right?"
Silence spread between the two of them. There were no windows in the basement, and there was only an oil lamp burning in the corner, making the shadows of the two of them very long and distorted on the wall.
"Yes." Yamada finally said, his voice so soft that it was almost inaudible, "You are right."
"Then did you find it?"
Yamada raised his head, and there was something flickering in the pair of Byakugan. It wasn't the light of Chakra, but something more primitive and human.
"No." He said, "I found a lot of data, a lot of theories, a lot of secrets about the Ōtsutsuki Clan. But I didn't find the answer. The death of light is random, a product of probability, and the result of the collision of countless variables. There is no reason, no purpose, and no meaning."
When he said these words, his tone was terrifyingly calm. It was not acceptance, but an emptiness after all the emotions had been exhausted.
"But now," Boruto continued, "You have a new answer."
Yamada looked at him, with real confusion in his eyes for the first time.
"The core is stable, and the consciousness of God is back in place." Boruto said, "This means that the corrosive power will degenerate, and it means that there will no longer be victims like the light. This is not the answer you were originally pursuing, but this is the best answer you can get."
"What do you want to say?"
"I want to say," Boruto pushed Forehead Protector forward and let it stop at Yamada's hand, "Your thirty-one years have not been in vain. It's just that the result is different from what you imagined."
Yamada looked down at the Forehead Protector and didn't speak for a long time.
"Before Shiki leaves," Boruto suddenly changed the subject, "Let me promise him something."
"What's the matter?"
"He said, no matter what form he takes, no matter what traces remain in his core, don't go looking for him. It's no longer him."
Yamada raised his head, something was changing in his eyes.
"I agreed." Boruto said, "But now I want to ask you a question. You are an expert in this study, and you understand the nature of God's consciousness better than I do. Tell me, what does Shi mean by 'no longer him'?"
Yamada was silent for a long time. The flame of the oil lamp jumped, casting a swaying shadow on the wall.
"After the consciousness of God returns," he finally spoke in a low voice, "It will enter a fusion process. It will not merge with a specific person, but with the core itself. That process will erase all individual characteristics, all memories, and all emotions. What is left in the end is just a pure, functional existence. It still has the knowledge of the style, the logic of the style, but it no longer has the..."
He paused, as if searching for the right words.
"Soul?" Boruto finished for him.
"If you want to use that word."
Boruto nodded, his expression unchanged. But Yamada noticed that his fingers tapped lightly on the table three times. It was an unconscious movement, as if he was confirming something.
"So," Boruto said slowly, "Shiki already knew this before he left. He knew that once he entered the core, he would disappear. Not death, but a more complete dissolution than death."
"Yes."
"But he still chose to do it."
"Yes."
Boruto stood up and walked to the corner, with his back to Yamada. The lines of his shoulders were tight, as if he was bearing some kind of weight.
"Do you know what's the most ironic thing?" His voice was dull. "In the past seven years, I have always regarded him as a threat. An intruder living in my body, an enemy that could take my body at any time. I guarded against him, resisted him, and even hated him. But now that he is gone, I realize..."
He stopped and did not finish speaking.
"What did you just find?"
Boruto turned around, his face expressionless, but something was burning in his eyes.
"I found that he was the only one who believed that I could bear all this from the beginning." He said, "My parents believed in me, but they also protected me. My companions believed in me, but they were also worried about me. Only Shiki, he never worried, never protected, he just taught me everything he knew, and then let me face it on my own."
"That is Ōtsutsuki Clan's education method." Yamada said, "They believe in the survival of the fittest and believe that pressure creates the strong."
"I know." Boruto said, "But Shi Shi's belief... is different. That's not cruelty, that's respect. He respects my choices, even if those choices may seem stupid to him. He respects my failures, even if those failures cost him."
Yamada didn't speak. He looked at the young man in front of him and suddenly realized a certain connection between himself and the other person. They both lost important people, both were looking for answers, and both became incomplete in the process.
"What do you want me to do?" he asked.
Boruto walked back to the table and sat down again. His expression had returned to calm, and only the light in his eyes proved that the mood swings just now were real.
"I want you to live," he said, "Not as a prisoner, not as a witness, but as a human being. Your research is still valuable, and your knowledge is still needed. Light is dead, but there are still many people alive, and they need your help to fight against the corrosive forces."
"You're offering me a job?"
"I'm giving you a reason." Boruto corrected him, "A reason to continue living. Because you are like me now - you have lost important things and feel that everything is meaningless. But meaning is not found, it is made. You taught me this truth, and now I give it back to you."
Yamada was stunned. He looked at Boruto as if he were looking at a stranger.
"When did I teach you this?"
"At the port," Boruto said, "You said, 'I have deduced countless possibilities, but there is not enough data to support any of them.' At that time, you admitted your ignorance and your limitations. For a person who has been betting for thirty-one years, that is more powerful than any rhetoric."
Yamada lowered his head and looked at the Forehead Protector on the table. The old Forehead Protector glowed softly under the oil lamp, and the logo of Leaf was clearly visible.
"I need to think about it," he said.