In the A Pass District, Boruto had escaped atop a massive boulder with the two main combatants.
This was where Boruto's Shadow Clone had arrived earlier. At the time, Naruto had brought him to this relatively safe location both to pursue the enemy and protect Boruto.
After leaving behind a Flying Thunder God Technique mark, Boruto had dispersed the clone.
Naruto was still unconscious, while Sasuke's injuries beside him were far from optimistic. His heart had been pierced, and he had six penetrating wounds across his body. His bones and internal organs were severely damaged, and multiple blood vessels had ruptured.
An ordinary person would have died on the spot. Even if they had survived by chance, they would have gradually died from excessive blood loss.
With injuries like these, even the Mystical Palm Technique probably could not save him. Other than Tsunade, there were likely few people in the entire Shinobi World who could heal him.
At Hidden Leaf Hospital, Naruto slowly awoke in his hospital bed. He stared blankly at the white ceiling and lights, his gaze full of loss, when the sound of the door opening reached his ears amid the silence.
At the sound, Naruto numbly turned his head. Hinata had come to visit him with Himawari, while Nurse Shizune followed close behind.
"Dad, you're awake!" Himawari eagerly ran to Naruto's bedside.
"Yeah, I'm fine now." Naruto answered with a smile.
Hinata approached carrying a fruit basket, gazing gently at her husband. The two exchanged a faint smile. Between husband and wife, a single glance could convey so much. Hinata did not ask further, merely sitting nearby to peel fruit.
Himawari kept Naruto company and chatted with him for a long, long time. It was rare for her to be able to quietly sit with her father and talk like this. Her cute, clingy, soft little voice was incredibly soothing.
After changing Naruto's nutrient drip, Shizune quietly left. As she stepped out of the room, she brushed past Boruto. He asked, "My dad's not seriously hurt, right?"
"No. He's just overly exhausted. He'll be fine after getting more rest," Shizune said.
Boruto nodded, then casually asked, "What about Uncle Sasuke in the other room?"
"He's already out of critical condition. Lady Tsunade is still doing everything she can in the room, and Sakura is there too. He should be fine soon."
"Okay." Boruto nodded before pushing open the door and walking in.
Shizune froze for a moment as she watched Boruto's figure and steady, mature stride. Was he really as mischievous as the rumors claimed?
Inside the hospital room, Hinata had finished peeling the apple. Thoughtfully, she cut it into pieces, stuck toothpicks into them, and brought the plate to Naruto's bedside.
Only when Boruto entered did Naruto's expression grow slightly more serious. Sensing the subtle shift in atmosphere, Hinata silently took Himawari and left.
"Come visit again next time. Let Dad get some proper rest," Hinata said.
"Okay~" Himawari readily agreed.
Boruto picked up the plate of fruit, used a toothpick to lift a piece to Naruto's mouth, and fed it to him. Then he used another toothpick to pick up a piece for himself.
The quiet hospital room filled with the sound of teeth chewing. Apple juice flowed through their mouths and down their throats, conveniently opening up the conversation between father and son.
"How's Sasuke?" Naruto asked.
"He's out of critical condition. His injuries are severe, so he won't recover anytime soon." Boruto casually picked up another piece of apple and ate it.
"Hinata peeled those for me," Naruto muttered unhappily.
"You weren't seriously injured. At most, you were exhausted. Since you have time to lie around comfortably here, isn't that better than processing documents in the office?"
"Yeah, but that's Dad's job too. Even though you protected me this time." Naruto scratched his head.
"Grandpa's Flying Thunder God Technique. I left marks around the village before I left," Boruto explained.
Naruto stared at Boruto for a long while before gradually coming back to himself. With a relaxed expression, he said, "Haha, I wasn't trying to blame you. We were only able to escape thanks to you."
Boruto smiled it off and asked, "Something this serious happened. Are you going to announce it to the Shinobi World? With that person's strength, wiping out any village would be no trouble."
"The Five Kage Summit will be convened soon." Naruto's expression looked somewhat unnatural. "Too many things have happened recently. You need to be more careful in the village too. Or... do you want to take a leave from school?"
"That won't be necessary."
Although Boruto did not want to attend classes either, if he took leave, Naruto would probably arrange for him to stay at his side. That would only make private actions more restrictive.
Naruto forced a smile. "Oh, then that's not much of a problem."
Boruto roughly understood what he meant. During the previous battle, he had disrupted the White-Robed Man's plans. It was possible the man held a grudge against him, or might even infiltrate the village and kill him outright.
"From what the White-Robed Man said, he hasn't killed Sarada. He probably wants to use her as a bargaining chip," Boruto said.
"I was too careless." Naruto shook his head awkwardly.
"So in the short term, before the enemy has set up an inescapable net to lure you all over, I should be fine."
Seeing Boruto analyze the situation like this, Naruto stopped insisting and instead calmed down. "All right. Then take care of yourself. If anything happens, use the Flying Thunder God Technique to escape immediately."
"Yeah."
Boruto nodded. After finishing all the apples on the plate, he left.
Elsewhere, the White-Robed Man's Mangekyō finally faded. Although he had kept it in an energy-saving state, the Mangekyō was still the Mangekyō. Keeping it activated for so long put a tremendous burden on his eyes.
As the Mangekyō closed, it seemed as though the entire world changed. Aside from the White-Robed Man standing quietly on the ground, a girl dressed in red lay unharmed at his feet.
Blood trickled from the corners of her eyes. The activation of the Mangekyō, combined with the relentless torment of Genjutsu, had pushed both her body and mind to the brink of collapse. At last, she could no longer endure it and passed out.
The gentle healing light of the Mystical Palm Technique traveled across the girl's body. She slept quite peacefully, despite having just suffered breakdown and despair before falling unconscious.
Even so, the White-Robed Man was disappointed with the results of this trip. Only one eye had awakened into the Mangekyō. The other had been forcibly interrupted midway due to her frail constitution, barely reaching the stage of activating the Sharingan.
As time passed, she finally began to show signs of waking. Moonlight shone upon the girl, making the sweat-dampened strands of hair around her face gleam softly.
"My head feels so dizzy... Am I dead?" Sarada murmured weakly, looking utterly drained.
She slowly opened her eyes and looked at the moon with some discomfort. Her newly awakened eyes had cured her nearsightedness, so this was the first time she had seen the world clearly since losing her glasses.
"You're awake. Get up and continue on our way," the White-Robed Man urged impatiently.
At his voice, Sarada's delicate body jolted. She hurriedly sat up, only to meet the White-Robed Man's gaze. His Mangekyō had faded, revealing pale pupils tinged with the blue of a sky washed in color.
The moment Sarada came to her senses, her face filled with terror. She shuffled backward, wanting to get farther away from this terrorist who had thrown her from the sky without a word.
But as she kept retreating, she felt that thought was far too childish. Her head was still muddled, and her thoughts remained on everything she had experienced inside the Genjutsu space.
Back then, the White-Robed Man had viciously replayed the scene of Sasuke being harmed countless times, embellishing it each time. It was as though she had been standing at the scene herself, witnessing her father's death with her own eyes.
Only when her mind could no longer bear it and collapsed, awakening the Mangekyō's ocular power, had she seen through it all as Genjutsu—including him throwing her from midair and every bit of pain she had suffered after hitting the ground.
It had all been the White-Robed Man's Genjutsu!! (Drunken Life)
As her memories gradually returned, Sarada looked down at her body. There was not a single wound, nor did she feel any pain. Instead, her body was pleasantly warm, filled with an indescribable sense of comfort.
"Get up, then start moving. For the next while, I'm afraid you'll have to endure working with me on a mission," the White-Robed Man reminded her coldly.
Sarada had countless questions in her heart, but under the White-Robed Man's threats, she had no choice but to obediently stand up. Seeing this, he said nothing more and walked ahead.
"Um... may I ask what our mission is?"
"Seven-Tails Chōmei... capture plan," the White-Robed Man said simply.
Before you continue