I stood barefoot on the cool stone paving, bits of sand and dirt from the earlier explosion wedged between my toes, digging painfully into my skin.
I slowly pulled my right hand out of my pocket, curled every other finger into my palm, and raised just one skinny pinky, beckoning them over.
"Come on. Don't say I bullied the younger generation. Just this one finger-if any of you can make me move half a step, you win."
Boruto's little face instantly turned purple, veins throbbing at his temples and teeth grinding. "Quit looking down on us! I'm breaking that finger today!"
Sarada pushed her slipping red-framed glasses up her nose. Beneath the lenses, the single tomoe in each of her scarlet eyes spun rapidly as she called out in a low voice:
"Boruto, don't rush in! He's full of openings, but I can't see his chakra flow at all. Something's seriously wrong!"
Konohamaru drew a kunai with a backhand motion and held it across his chest. Sweat rolled down his cheeks and fell onto the rubble, leaving a small dark patch.
"Follow my lead. Spread out in formation three. Boruto, attack head-on. Sarada, break his defense from the flank. Mitsuki, look for a chance to cut off his blind spots. Don't hold back!"
"Shadow Clone Technique!" Boruto swiftly crossed his hands into a cross-shaped seal. Two clouds of white smoke burst out with a pair of pops, and three blond clones charged at me, yelling.
The original stayed behind and hurled two shuriken with explosive tags attached. Wind Release chakra howled around them as they shot straight at my face.
He'd learned quite a mixed bag of flashy tricks, but his footing was as unsteady as if he were walking on cotton candy.
His breathing was so ragged it could