Rasengan

Classroom.

White clouds drifted across the ocean-blue sky, and a pair of azure eyes stared at them for a long while. His thoughts had long since flowed away with the clouds, vanishing to who knew where.

"Boruto... Hey, Boruto, you've been lying there staring out the window ever since you came into the classroom. What exactly is so fascinating out there?"

"Ah. Nothing. I'm just troubled by a bunch of annoying things, like whether I should skip class later or something."

"..."

Shikadai slapped his forehead in his seat and silently cursed how troublesome this was. He had thought Boruto had finally settled down, but... just as expected.

In truth, Boruto was worrying over how to avoid Naruto, this communication hub, and capture Tailed Beasts to become a Jinchuriki.

Or rather, since there was no getting around Naruto, perhaps he should just be open about it—make it clear that he wanted to gather the Tailed Beasts again, reassemble the Ten-Tails, and become the Ten-Tails' Jinchuriki!

But if he told Naruto that, he would probably get beaten to a pulp on the spot. Not a good idea!

Maybe... he could form an organization too, and arrogantly announce to the Shinobi World, just like Akatsuki, that he wanted to revive Kaguya!

I'm the Black Zetsu of a new era. I'm going to save my beloved mother, Kaguya Ōtsutsuki.

...That was getting way too far ahead.

For now, he should strive to learn a few more awesome ninjutsu. To solve his Chakra issue, he also needed to put Senjutsu training on the agenda.

He remembered that they would be taught the Summoning Technique in a couple of days. Should he sign a contract with a toad and then use Reverse Summoning to go to Mount Myōboku?

As he thought about it, Boruto suddenly remembered that, according to the plot, he would have a duel with Iwabee, who had been held back, this afternoon... Considering he did not know any other ninjutsu, and his taijutsu was definitely inferior to Iwabee's.

During the basic assessment on the first day of school, Boruto had ranked below Iwabee. So in the original story, it had likely been plot armor, but now he was genuinely experiencing all of this.

Either he chickened out—or rather, simply avoided provoking Iwabee—or... he crammed at the last minute and learned one or two practical ninjutsu.

As an old Naruto fan, the first thing Boruto thought of was seduction... No, it had to be the Rasengan!

The more Boruto thought about it, the more pressed for time he felt. Training in the Rasengan could not wait. So, the instant the teacher stepped into the classroom and was about to introduce himself, Boruto suddenly interrupted him.

"Excuse me!"

Amid the astonished gazes of his classmates, Boruto slowly said, "I'd like to take the day off today!"

The entire class: ???

It was only the first day of school! If you didn't want to attend class, just say so, okay!?

"Hey, hey." Shikadai looked at Boruto as he stood up and could not help gently tugging on his sleeve, whispering, "Why are you suddenly asking for leave when everything was fine?"

The air went quiet for several seconds. Someone in the class disliked Boruto's behavior and teased, "The rich kid is really willful, asking for leave on the day school starts. You're really putting the teacher in a difficult position."

Shino held his forehead, adjusted his glasses, and patiently asked, "This student, what do you need leave for?"

Uh... Boruto could not think of an excuse for a moment, so he changed his words. "Sorry, I misspoke. I just want to go to the restroom."

Shino: ...

"Then hurry up and go." Shino sighed. This troublesome student really did like causing trouble, just as the rumors said.

The classroom soon filled with murmurs. Quite a few people understood what was meant by "rich kid." Wasn't that the Seventh Hokage's son?

"So that's him. He doesn't look like anything special. I heard he's always giving his father headaches."

"Yeah, yeah."

Seeing that the class was getting out of hand, Shino, as their teacher, cleared his throat and sternly said, "Quiet!"

Inwardly, he was helpless: I was ignored again. Do I really have that little authority?

Once the classroom quieted down, Shino glanced toward the corridor. Not seeing Boruto, he said first, "Next, we'll head to the training ground for a basic ability assessment."

"Okay~~"

...Training ground.

A pile of obstacles had been placed around the flat field. Since this was an assessment of the new students' agility and reactions, the obstacles were not particularly difficult. In the original story, it had only measured the time taken to pass through them.

By the time Boruto arrived at the field, most of the class had already completed their assessments. Naturally assigned to go last, Boruto instead made a grand finale entrance and took the MVP of the entire event!

Afterward, Boruto looked at the data sheet Denki handed him and frowned slightly. In terms of speed, he was still slower than first-place Iwabee.

He had gone all out this time, yet he was still inferior to Iwabee. Then this afternoon's fight would depend on how things went with his original body!

Over at the original body.

Boruto arrived in a dense forest somewhere in the village. After confirming there were no passersby nearby, he began training in the Rasengan.

Rasengan training was divided into three steps: rotation, power, and maintenance!

Naruto had spent quite a bit of time figuring it out back then. But since Boruto knew the difficult points and methods of the training, it was like having a multiplication table—he only needed to memorize the formulas by rote.

Thus, Boruto used his remaining two Shadow Clones to begin the first stage of training...

Noon.

The shadows beneath the trees slowly shifted, while the sunlight changed from gentle warmth into scorching heat.

At this point, Boruto's training had reached the third stage, the most difficult one: maintenance. Once he mastered this stage, he would be done.

However, compared to the week Naruto had spent on it, Boruto, with his experience, easily figured out the trick.

The Rasengan's structure was nothing more than high-density Chakra. Its form could be divided into two parts: the outer "membrane" that wrapped around the core, and the "core" that spun chaotically within.

Because of his limited Chakra, Boruto dispelled his Shadow Clones at this stage and relied on his own hands for the actual operation... Boruto's practical skills were quite strong.

Moreover, Boruto's Rasengan was far smaller than a normal one. Therefore, the difficulty of his training was nowhere near that of a standard A-rank technique.

Classroom, or rather, the dueling arena.

As expected, Shadow Clone Boruto successfully triggered the plot and began a duel with Iwabee, who was dissatisfied with the examination system that had caused him to repeat two consecutive years.

On the flat yet relatively complex field, Boruto and Iwabee stood facing each other. Boruto's golden pineapple-like hair swayed in the wind, and beyond confidence, there was also a trace of laziness in his gaze as he looked at Iwabee.

Perhaps because the original body's training had consumed too much Chakra, affecting the Shadow Clone's formation, but his task was only to stall until the original body arrived.

Just like in the plot, this duel drew the attention of the entire class. Aside from the class representative, who stood there at a loss, the other students watched as if it were a show, urging the match to begin.

"Then let's begin," Boruto said to Iwabee.

Iwabee immediately answered with a confident and provocative smile, declaring, "I'm ready anytime."

As the duel began, Boruto, being a Shadow Clone, had no spare Chakra to perform ninjutsu. Thus, the fight began as a clash of taijutsu.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Boruto hurled several Shuriken with a special technique, then swiftly moved across the field as he rapidly closed in on Iwabee.

At that moment, Boruto not only had to fight Iwabee head-on, but also had to be careful not to suffer injuries that were too severe. Otherwise, the Shadow Clone would disperse on the spot.

"Ha!"

"Hah!"

Iwabee made several small sidesteps to evade the incoming Shuriken, then fearlessly engaged Boruto in close combat.

Fists and palms collided, joined by nimble reactions and powerful strikes. For a time, the two fought so fiercely that neither could gain the upper hand.

Watching this close-quarters fight, where every blow landed solidly, the spectators on the sidelines cast aside their previous misgivings about Boruto and began shouting loudly.

"Go for it, everyone!"

Soon, the two separated after a powerful exchange. Boruto immediately turned and threw two kunai before quickly following up.

Having witnessed Boruto's strength, Iwabee no longer underestimated him. He formed hand seals and coated one arm in rock, blocking the kunai.

Then he charged at Boruto once more with his rock-covered fist.

"This is bad," Boruto silently groaned.

He decisively chose to avoid the edge of the attack, quickly widening the distance with several backflips as he considered a response. At the same time, he prayed that his original body would hurry over and save him!

There was no question that Iwabee's attack power had risen several levels with rock covering his hand. If they continued clashing head-on, Boruto would probably disperse after a single exchange.

After two seconds of tense standoff, Iwabee made his move. He pulled a smoke bomb from his pocket and threw it out, quickly filling the field with dust and smoke that severely obstructed vision.

Yet at that moment, Boruto's Jōgan opened strangely. There were clearly no external factors that should have triggered it, but the sudden development and Iwabee's rapid approach gave Boruto no time to think.

He continued running sideways to widen the distance while pulling a kunai from the pouch behind his back, preparing for a sneak attack.

With the Jōgan activated, Boruto had x-ray vision. In this smoke-filled field, it not only effectively concealed the Jōgan's secret, but also greatly limited Iwabee's vision.

Soft footsteps steadily drew closer. Boruto stealthily approached Iwabee from behind, gripping the coldly gleaming kunai tightly as he rushed forward.

Suddenly! Iwabee shouted, "Earth Release, Earth Flow River!"

At such close range, the earth flow was like a river splitting open the ground, striking Boruto with an inescapable impact.

"So you weren't blind after all. You were listening to my footsteps the whole time, weren't you?"

As the struck Boruto began to disperse, he suddenly understood—but unfortunately, it was already too late.

Just as Iwabee thought victory had been decided, he heard a soft pop and immediately froze for a moment before warily scanning his surroundings.

The dust and smoke quickly dispersed. Only Iwabee remained on the field, tensely searching all around him and staying alert for Boruto's surprise attack.

"What's wrong with him? Wait, where did Boruto go?"

"Hm... Judging by his stance, Boruto hid during the chaos. That's why Iwabee is watching his surroundings so warily."

As the smartest person present, Shikadai still could not find that familiar figure on the open field.

Boruto could only have hidden behind the earthen stone pillars erected not far from the field, but he could not stay hidden there for long before Iwabee found him. After all, there were only so many places large enough to hide a person.

But Shikadai was puzzled. Why had Boruto not used his signature Shadow Clones even now?