"Did it say anything to you?"
"There is no language." Boruto said, "Only... emotions. Curiosity, closeness, and a little bit of fear. It is afraid of the world, its own existence, and all the uncertainties in the future."
"Then how do you respond?"
Boruto smiled, and there was an unprecedented tenderness in that smile, "I told it, it doesn't matter. Fear is normal, the important thing is not to let it stop you from moving forward."
This is what Shi once said to him, and now he said it to Shi's successor. A certain cycle was completed in this underground secret room. Although no one saw it, everyone felt it.
"Let's go." Boruto said, "It's time for us to go back to Leaf. But before that, I need to do one thing."
"What's the matter?"
"Give it a name."
When they returned to the ground, the sun had already risen very high. Boruto stood in the center of the settlement, looking up at the blue sky. The Light Spot existed quietly in the depths of his consciousness, waiting for an identity.
"How about calling it 'star'?" Sarada suggested, "It's like a star, small, but it shines."
"It's too common." Naruto shook his head, "And it's easy to be confused with others."
"Called 'Light'?" Yamada suddenly said, then immediately shook his head, "No, that name... already has an owner."
Boruto Close your eyes and communicate with that existence deep in your consciousness. Not with words, but in a more direct way, sharing feelings, images, and memories.
He saw the memories of Shi, about the ancient planet Ōtsutsuki Clan, about the long journey across the stars, about the birth and destruction of countless worlds. Among the fragments of those memories, there was a word that appeared repeatedly, that was the ancient language of the Ōtsutsuki Clan, which meant "bridge" or "connection".
"Bridge." Boruto opened his eyes, "Call it 'bridge'."
"Bridge?" Sarada repeated, "Why?"
"Because it is an existence that connects two worlds." Boruto said, "It connects Otsutsuki and human beings, it connects the past and the future, it connects the known and the unknown. It is not an end point, but a passage. We pass through it, and it also passes through us."
Light Spot--it should be called "Bridge" now--trembled gently in the depths of his consciousness, as if in response to the name. There was a kind of satisfaction in that trembling, a kind of joy of being understood.
"I like this name." Boruto said with a smile, "He likes it too."
The first day of the trip went smoothly.
They advanced along the official road, avoiding sparsely populated mountainous areas, and chose to arrive at a small town in the evening. The town was not big, but there was a relatively clean inn. Naruto requisitioned the two best rooms in the name of Hokage - one for Boruto and Yamada, and one for Sarada and himself.
"Why don't you let me and Sarada share a room?" Boruto asked.
"Because Yamada needs to be monitored, and you are the only one who can detect in time when he makes small moves." Naruto said bluntly, "This is not a matter of trust, but a matter of division of labor."
Boruto accepted this explanation. He could indeed feel the Chakra Wave movement of Yamada. That ability came from the bridge's Resonance, giving him an unprecedented keen awareness of the inner states of the people around him.
Dinner was served in the lobby of the inn. It was simple rice, miso soup and pickles, but it was hot enough to dispel the fatigue of the day. Yamada ate slowly, as if savoring the taste of every bite of food.
"How long has it been since you had a serious meal?" Boruto asked.
Yamada thought for a while, "About... three months? When we were at the port, we mainly relied on dry food and canned food to survive."
"No wonder you are so thin."
"Being thin is not a bad thing." Yamada put down his chopsticks, "In an environment where resources are scarce, a low metabolic rate has a survival advantage."
"But you don't need to survive now, you need to recover." Boruto said, "There is still a lot of work to do next, and your body must be able to hold on."
Yamada glanced at him, and there was some subtle change in his eyes. In the past thirty years, few people cared about his physical condition. His colleagues regarded him as a research tool, his enemies regarded him as a threat target, and no one regarded him as an ordinary person who needed to eat and rest.
"Thank you." He said, his voice was very soft.
Boruto didn't respond and just continued to eat his food. But the corners of his mouth raised slightly, which was his way of expressing "you're welcome".
At night, Boruto was lying on the tatami of the inn, looking at the ceiling. Yamada was on the other bed, and his breathing had become long and regular - he fell asleep easier than he looked. This was a skill honed by living in the wild for a long time.
The bridge exists quietly deep in the consciousness of Boruto, not in a deep sleep, but in a low-power standby state. Boruto can wake it up at any time, but usually chooses to let it rest. The existence of this Newborn needs time to adapt to this world, and excessive stimulation will not be good for it.
"What are you thinking about?"
The sound of the bridge suddenly sounded, not through the ears, but directly in the consciousness. The sound had no gender or age, like the echo left by a gust of wind blowing through a wind chime.
"I'm thinking about it." Boruto responded in his heart, "I'm thinking about what he would say if he saw you like this."
"Will he be disappointed?"
"Why are you disappointed?"
"Because I'm not him." There was a hint of sadness in Qiao's voice, "I only have fragments of him, his memories, but I'm not him. I'm... a replica. A degraded version."
Boruto was silent for a few seconds. This problem was deeper and more complicated than he imagined. Although the bridge was only a few days old, it inherited Ōtsutsuki Clan's knowledge system, which contained a strict distinction between "original" and "copy".
"You are not an imitation." He finally said, "You are the successor. The knowledge of Shi gives you a starting point, but your path is your own. You will make different choices from him, have different experiences from him, and become a different person from him. This is not degradation, but evolution."
"Evolution..." Qiao repeated the word, as if savoring its meaning, "The evolution that Yamada is talking about?"
"Not exactly." Boruto said, "The evolution that Yamada is talking about is at the Chakra level, and it is a change in power. The evolution I am talking about is at the personality level, and it is self-growth. The two are related, but they are not the same thing."
"I understand." Qiao's voice became lighter, "Thank you, Boruto."
"You're welcome. Go to sleep, we have to travel tomorrow."
"Okay."
The breath of the bridge gradually converged and returned to the standby state. Boruto closed his eyes and let himself fall into sleep. But in the deepest part of his consciousness, he could still feel the existence of the bridge, like a night light, providing a weak but firm light in the darkness.
Early the next morning, they were awakened by a loud noise.
Boruto immediately stood up and rushed to the window. A group of people gathered on the street, surrounding something, the sound was noisy and nervous. Naruto and Sarada had also woken up and were quickly putting on their equipment.