Boruto curled his lip, strode to his seat, and plopped down beside Shikadai Nara.
Shikadai propped his head on one hand and idly twirled a pen with the other, looking half asleep.
"Hey, Shikadai!" Boruto immediately leaned over and lowered his voice. "I've got something seriously weird to tell you! This morning, on the train, I saw this black monster clinging to Denki! It looked like a shadow mixed with sludge! Then, whoosh, it jumped straight through the window and disappeared!"
Shikadai did not even pause in twirling his pen. Barely bothering to lift his eyelids, he said in a flat, here-we-go-again tone, "Oh. And next you're going to say, 'But nobody else on the train could see that monster except me,' right?"
"Yeah! How did you know?!" Boruto's eyes widened with delight, as though he had finally found someone who understood him.
"Like hell I knew!" Shikadai finally put down his pen and turned to look at Boruto as though he were some hopeless creature. His voice brimmed with exasperation. "Boruto, I'm begging you. Could you please wake up from that dream where you're the world's main character and Savior?"
"This is the real world, not that Warring States Illusion Sasori set up for you last time, where you could cheat your way through everything."
"It wasn't an illusion! You've got to believe me, Shikadai! I saw it perfectly clearly! That thing even looked at me with eyes like two black holes! It felt seriously creepy!" Boruto gestured excitedly, his voice rising without him noticing.
"Heh. Your hallucinations are getting more creative, Boruto. Next time, will the Sage of Six Paths visit you in a dream and teach you a Secret Technique to save the world?" Sarada mocked without even turning her head.
"You!" Boruto sprang to his feet,