"He will be the perfect steward," the voice of the Remnant echoes in the image, "Efficient, rational, absolutely obedient to the logic of the filtering mechanism. He will protect the Earth, yes, but in a way that brings all life into perfect balance, eliminating all surprise, all chaos, all... humanity."
The image switching shows the possible future: no war, no disaster, no pain, but no creation, no love, no all the irrational, imperfect, but real things that Sarada cherishes. Boruto - or in other words, the existence that occupies the body of Boruto - will become a benevolent tyrant, using absolute power to maintain absolute boredom.
"There is only one way to stop him," the relic said, focusing the image on Sarada, focusing on her newly awakened abilities, "at the moment the transformation is completed, the moment he becomes the administrator, use his complete inhumanity as a signal, use 'Time Dilation' to lock that time Node, and then--"
He demonstrated that action. Not a simple killing, but a more precise time-locked detachment of Boruto's existence from the law of cause and effect. Not death, but never existing, reversing all his effects on the planetary network, resetting the screening mechanism's mark on the earth.
"This is the ultimate application of 'Time Dilation'," Yimin said, "I call it 'Causal Severance'. I have only used it three times in the past thousand years, and I paid a corresponding price each time."
"What price?"
"Memory," the survivor's Light Pattern suddenly flashed violently, showing some painful memories, "The existence of the severed person will disappear from everyone's memory, except the executor. You will remember him, Sarada, and you will alone remember the boy named Uzumaki Boruto, remember his smile, his stupidity, his bravery, and his parents, his sisters, and the entire world will no longer know that he exists."
Sarada felt that her heart was clenched by some cold hands. This was more cruel than death and more lonely than killing. She would kill him and then mourn forever for a ghost that had never been known to anyone.
"Why me?" she asked, her voice trembling, "Can't you do it yourself?"
"My 'Time Dilation' is exhausted," the survivor showed his eyes - where Mangekyō Sharingan once was, now only gray and white turbidity remains. "Thousands of years of use, thousands of years of price. My current power is only enough to observe, teach, and... trade."
"What if Boruto doesn't transform? What if he can find a third way?"
The expression of the survivor did not change, but the surrounding time flow subtly fluctuated, showing some kind of emotional fluctuation. "Then the transaction is automatically canceled. I will not force you to do anything, descendant of Uchiha. I am just providing an option, an insurance, a... hope."
"Hope?"
"I hope your Boruto can maintain his humanity," the survivor stood up, lowered his hood again, covering his withered eyes, "I hope I will never have to charge this price. But if that day comes, if you see the light in his eyes turn pure gold, and see that there is no longer any warmth when he smiles-"
He handed Sarada a crystal, which was similar to the memory crystal brought back from the seabed by Boruto, but it was older and the surface was covered with fine cracks.
"Here is the complete knowledge of 'Time Dilation', as well as my record of using 'Causal Severance' three times. Learn it, master it, and pray you never need to use it."
Sarada took the crystal and felt it pulsing in her hand, like some kind of living thing. Her Mangekyō Sharingan was still bleeding, and the black spots in her field of vision were expanding, but she forced herself to raise her head and look directly at the shadow under the hood of the remnant.
"Why are you doing this? You escaped from the harvest a thousand years ago, you hid and observed for a thousand years, and now you want to cultivate the power to fight the 'Bridge' - what is your purpose?"
The survivors were silent for a long time. When he spoke again, there was some emotion in his voice that Sarada couldn't interpret. It might be sadness, it might be envy, it might be the madness after a thousand years of loneliness.
"Because I once faced the same choice," he said, "There was once a candidate alongside me, and I thought we could change the system together. But she chose to transform and became the perfect administrator, and then... she harvested my planet."
He turned around and walked towards the shadow, his figure began to blur, as if he was blending into the gap in time.
"I can't save her," the last words seemed to come from far away, "But maybe, you can save him. Or, kill him. In any case, don't let his existence become another perfect tragedy."
Then he disappeared, leaving Sarada kneeling alone in the burning village, holding the crystal in his hand, his eyes bleeding, and his heart carrying a secret that he could not share with anyone.
When Sarada returns to Leaf, Boruto is waiting for Village Entrance.
His Light Pattern pulsed softly in the night, and the golden and blue pattern was more stable than it was three days ago. The moment he saw her, he showed her familiar, slightly awkward smile - not the administrator's perfect smile, but Boruto's, human, imperfect expression.
"Your eyes--" His smile froze, Light Pattern turned sharp blue due to alertness.
"Mangekyo," Sarada said calmly, not hiding anything, and could not hide it, "I woke up at the border and met some...Blank Body."
She did not mention the remnant, the transaction, or the possibility of that future. She just looked at Boruto, with her bleeding eyes and her newly acquired vision that could see the texture of time, looking at the normal flow of time around him, looking at the signs of his chaotic, beautiful life that was still human.
"Price?" Boruto asked, his voice tight. He knew better than anyone what Mangekyo meant - his uncle, his ancestors, all Uchiha's history were reminders of the curse of this power.
"Controllable," she lied, "The remnants showed up and taught me some methods."
This was part of the truth, she told herself. Not the whole truth, but enough.
Boruto frowned, his senses - now able to touch the essence of the emotion - picking up on a certain incongruity. But Sarada's Mangekyō Sharingan was able to subtly distort the flow of time around her, causing her physiological indicators, her Chakra Wave movements, and even her emotional signals to all appear to be filtered, delayed versions.
He can't see the truth. At least not now.
"We need to talk," Boruto said, "about the seeds, about the backdoors, about the possible third way I found. But first--"
He stretched out his hand, Light Pattern gently wrapped her eyes, bringing a cool relief. This was not treatment, just relief, just human care between friends.
"--You need to rest. Real rest."
Sarada nodded, allowing herself to be supported by him, allowing her weight to temporarily rest on his shoulders. At the moment of contact, her Mangekyō Sharingan was activated uncontrollably, and "Time Dilation" instinctively tried to analyze his time flow--
She saw it.
It is not a certain future, but a fog of probability. Among the countless branching timelines, there is one that is particularly bright, particularly heavy, and particularly... lonely. On that line, she stands in a space made of light, holding some kind of weapon in her hand. In front of her is Boruto, who has been completely dehumanized. His Light Pattern is pure and cold, and his smile is perfect and ruthless.
And at the end of the line, she is the only one who remembers it.