Companions (I)

The next morning.

After spending the entire night diligently practicing sealing techniques, Boruto sat at the dining table with heavy dark circles under his eyes.

"Brother, why have you turned into a panda?" Himawari asked.

"Boruto, did you stay up all night playing games?" Hinata asked.

How am I supposed to talk my way out of this? There's no way I can tell them the truth.

So Boruto could only give an awkward smile. "I ran into a really difficult level. I couldn't resist last night and spent the whole night clearing it."

Hinata's delicate brows furrowed slightly. As she washed the kitchenware in her hands, she said sternly, "You still need moderation when playing games. What are you going to do about class today?"

"Well, the purpose of class is to teach students. If I already know everything in the curriculum, wouldn't attending class just be a waste of time?" Boruto countered.

Hinata froze. She had not expected the boy to be so quick-witted. She wanted to refute him, yet had nothing to say.

"Don't worry, Mom. I won't cause trouble for the teacher. On the contrary, by tonight, you'll probably receive praise from the teacher because of me."

Boruto grinned at Hinata, putting on a clumsy little act to make her happy.

"Brother is so silly," Himawari said as she bit into her sandwich.

Hinata smiled faintly and was no longer quite so angry. "You just need to make sure you don't cause trouble for the teacher."

Boruto was brimming with confidence. If he had calculated correctly, this morning would be when the teacher fell into darkness. Helping his teacher emerge from the shadows of despair would surely count as a great achievement, wouldn't it?

On top of the train, its low rumble drifted softly past his ears. The wind blew Boruto's pineapple-like hair upright, sending it fluttering messily in every direction.

Beside him sat Mitsuki, dressed in a wide-sleeved, kimono-style robe. The two sat together atop the front of the train, heading toward the academy.

Along the way, Boruto suddenly said, "Our luck might not be very good today. We may run into some trouble."

"What kind of trouble? You've probably already thought of a solution, right?" Mitsuki asked.

Boruto smiled. "It's not a big problem. We'll just be fighting an experienced jonin, one who participated in the Fourth Great Ninja War."

"Oh?" Even Mitsuki's normally placid eyes could not hide his surprise.

Boruto had originally intended to laugh it off. Normally, he preferred handling this sort of thing alone, because people their age were simply too weak to be of any help.

But Mitsuki would be his companion in the future, so Boruto patiently explained, "Last night, I only showed you the secret of my left eye, but that wasn't everything."

Mitsuki said nothing. He understood that Boruto was revealing some of his secrets, secrets he had not even told his father. That trust alone said a great deal, and it had nothing to do with the cooperation between Mitsuki and his father last night.

"My right eye can see certain things, things that even Sage Mode cannot sense—abnormal Chakra.

"That kind of Chakra attaches itself to people whose emotions have undergone great upheaval. It can drive them mad or make them violent, like the civilians on the street yesterday morning, or the construction workers repairing the collapsed academy."

Without exception, they were all infected.

Boruto paused briefly, giving Mitsuki time to think. Then he continued, "And today, our teacher has also been infected by that abnormal Chakra."

"So the jonin we'll be facing is Shino?" Mitsuki asked.

"That's right. And I've already found the mastermind behind this. After waking Shino up, we'll deal with that person too."

Knowing the enemy's strength, Mitsuki did not retreat. "Do you have a workable plan?"

The corners of Boruto's mouth curled into a faint smile. "To wake Shino up, we first have to defeat him. When the time comes, the two of us will keep him occupied. My current body is a Shadow Clone, so it'll be troublesome if it gets injured."

Mitsuki quickly understood why. "You still have to capture the mastermind, right? So your Chakra is divided, and your strength has dropped significantly."

Boruto nodded in approval and praise. Mitsuki's combat instincts really were impressive.

At the academy's target range, a dense forest located on the mountain behind the school, Boruto and Mitsuki had arrived early and were waiting.

A breeze stirred through the area, carrying an oppressive feeling in the air, as though a heavy boulder were pressing down on their hearts.

From far away, they saw Shino slowly approaching with a dispirited look on his face, his lowered expression concealing whatever he was thinking.

Boruto's Jōgan activated passively, allowing him to see a ghostly shadow clinging to Shino's back.

Because Shino was a jonin, he could provide a considerable amount of Chakra at once. In the original story, after Sumire Kakei absorbed Shino's Chakra, an entire row of symbols on the Ox-Head Heavenly King lit up.

At the same time, this would also be when she let her guard down.

"Hey, Sensei. It's only been one day. Why do you look like your mentality has completely collapsed?" Boruto asked bluntly.

"I... will kill you," Shino said in a low voice.

Boruto and Mitsuki exchanged glances and nodded. Then they immediately ran toward the forest behind them. Shino's ninjutsu involved parasitic insects, and those things could devour Chakra. They were a major threat to anyone.

Seeing this, Shino burst forward in pursuit. He was far faster than the two of them, and before long, a dense swarm of insects swooped down at them.

"Wind Style: Breakthrough."

Mitsuki took a deep breath, then exhaled a fierce gale, attempting to disrupt the insects' flight paths.

But the insects received Shino's command and scattered at once, evading the gust of wind.

At the same time, more and more insects poured out from Shino's body, blotting out the sky like a river made of densely packed grains of sand, flowing behind him in a dark mass.

The two immediately split up and ran in opposite directions.

Shino paused slightly, then divided the insects into two groups and headed toward Boruto himself.

"Good. I knew you'd fucking target me!"

Boruto stared behind him with his Jōgan, every movement in the wind and grass fully within his grasp.

Leaping swiftly through the trees, dodging and weaving, Boruto suddenly turned around and faced the overwhelming swarm of insects rushing toward him.

They were close. The buzzing of the insects blended into a single droning mass, even noisier than the chants of Buddhist monks. Boruto merely threw a kunai tied with an Exploding Tag, then rapidly formed hand seals.

"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"

Shino was stunned. Did he have enough Chakra to use a ninjutsu like that?

The truth was, kunai as dense as raindrops shot toward the swarm of insects. Combined with Boruto's own strength, there was no time for them to scatter.

Boruto smiled and formed a hand seal. "Explode!"

Every Exploding Tag activated. Amid a dazzling flash of explosions, a mushroom cloud slowly rose, completely swallowing the insects in the blast.

Shino cried out in heartbreak, "No! My insects!!!"

But this was far from over. Boruto formed another hand seal, and a Shadow Clone in a nearby bush that had been gathering Sage Mode Chakra dispersed with a pop—Sage Mode activated.

Boruto charged straight out of the mushroom cloud. Before Shino could react, a massive Rasengan rapidly formed in his hand. Everything happened in the span of a heartbeat, timed with perfect precision.

Facing the enormous Rasengan, even Shino, who usually claimed to understand Boruto well enough, could not help but freeze.

What the hell is this? Is this really that mischievous Boruto?!!

However, as a jonin, Shino reacted quickly after his brief shock. He controlled a huge number of newly produced insects, gathering them into the shape of a wall.

Boruto's Rasengan shattered the wall of insects without surprise, then violently broke through it and continued onward.

Unbeknownst to him, Shino had already assumed a stance. Boruto drove the Rasengan forward as he dove toward Shino on the ground, but Shino did not dodge. It looked as though he intended to take the attack head-on.

But was that really the case?

The experienced Shino immediately raised a hand and commanded the insect "carpet" spread across the ground to rise like a reverse flood, forming a pillar. Countless insects surged up from the ground and grabbed Boruto's body like a giant hand.

Shino smiled grimly. Under the insects' absorption, Boruto's Rasengan quickly dissipated, and even the Chakra within his body was completely drained away.

Just as Shino believed the battle was decided and prepared to head toward Mitsuki—

A soft pop rang out. To Shino's ears, it sounded like the solemn toll of a bell, bringing with it an utterly unreal feeling.

Sure enough, with no target remaining, the insects continued flying aimlessly while Boruto had long since vanished. This confirmed Shino's suspicion: the Boruto who had fought him so evenly had still been a Shadow Clone!

Shino's expression darkened. His mentality had already collapsed from the blow he had suffered, and now he had been humiliated by a Shadow Clone once more. He was utterly ashamed.

A chilling killing intent quietly spread through the entire forest. Countless insects swept through the sky, determined to find Boruto and kill him alone!