Otsutsuki Toneri

The scene instantly fell silent. Iwabee slowly approached the stone pillar rising from the platform. If nothing unexpected happened, Boruto had to be hiding there.

To guard against a sneak attack from Boruto, Iwabee climbed to the top of the pillar first. Two more steps forward and he would be able to see everything behind it.

Just then, Iwabee, who was about to lower his head and look, suddenly flew backward and fell straight off the top of the pillar.

The spectators: ???

"Did Boruto make his move?"

From this angle, with Iwabee's back facing them, they would not be able to see it if he had been attacked head-on.

"Damn it."

Iwabee muttered sharply and quickly steadied himself, gathering Chakra beneath his feet to cling to the side of the stone pillar.

"Huh???" Denki looked utterly confused.

"Don't make such a fuss. Iwabee is two grades above us, so it's not strange for him to stand on a vertical surface."

Shikadai, standing nearby, took on the role of commentator.

"Then Iwabee..."

"Boruto probably attacked him. Though I don't know how he climbed such a tall stone pillar."

After a long while, the audience still did not see the figure they had been expecting atop the pillar, and doubts began to arise.

Was Boruto planning to launch another sneak attack? Would Iwabee play along with him?

In fact, Iwabee really did jump back onto the top of the pillar, because he had no idea how he had been knocked down just now!

At that moment, smoke once again spread through the area where Iwabee stood.

Iwabee immediately assumed a fighting stance, ready for Boruto's sneak attack at any moment.

At the same time, he taunted, "Hey, are you just going to keep hiding like a turtle?"

Suddenly, something stirred within the smoke. It seemed as if something was flying toward Iwabee, but he could not make out what it was.

Wind Release? Iwabee guessed inwardly.

A tiny Rasengan struck Iwabee precisely in the abdomen. Compared to the failed attempt from before, this one was nearly identical to a normal Rasengan in both shape and power, except that it was as small as in the original story.

Iwabee's body was swiftly blasted out of the smoke. Still unable to understand what had happened, he only felt as though someone had punched him solidly, yet he had not caught sight of Boruto.

What's going on? Iwabee's mind was in a daze.

"It's a new ninjutsu I learned," Boruto's familiar voice came from atop the stone pillar.

Everyone looked toward the top of the pillar. Boruto stood there, drenched in sweat, smiling confidently.

The spectators thought: Just as expected!

"Still want to continue, Iwabee?"

Standing high above, Boruto looked down at Iwabee lying flat on the ground and called out loudly.

"Don't get carried away, brat! All you know are cheap tricks!" Iwabee roared as he climbed to his feet, then quickly ran toward the rear.

"Oh?"

"Watch out, Boruto! He's going to retrieve his weapon!" Denki shouted, warning the unmoved Boruto.

"Fine, then I can only throw another little ball. This time, make sure you see it clearly!" Boruto reminded him.

Once Iwabee retrieved his weapon, his strength instantly rose several levels. Some of his ninjutsu seemed to require the long iron staff in his hand to perform. (That seemed to be the case in the original story.)

Boruto did not waste any words. He quickly formed a ping-pong-ball-sized Rasengan in one hand and hurled it straight at Iwabee.

Seeing this, Iwabee was just about to raise an earthen wall to block it when he saw the little ball vanish midair.

Uh... for a moment, he was confused, hesitating over whether he should defend himself.

Iwabee was instantly startled. That familiar force slammed directly into his abdomen, and even his clothes were torn apart by the Rasengan's rotational power.

"What?!!!"

Everyone froze, seemingly recalling that this was exactly how Iwabee had been blown away earlier.

"I see. A ninjutsu that disappears... Boruto, just what are you..." Shikadai was somewhat shocked. Based on what he knew of Boruto, Boruto should not have had a ninjutsu like that.

"Okay, now it's my turn!"

As Boruto spoke, he jumped down from the stone pillar. In midair, he formed hand seals with both hands. "Shadow Clone Technique!"

Seeing Boruto take the initiative to approach after having just been beaten senseless, Iwabee grinned and tightened his grip on the long iron staff. He condensed it into the shape of a hammer from the ground, swung it up, and smashed it into the earth to trigger the earlier Earth Flow River!

"It's useless. I won't fall for the same attack twice!"

Boruto's Shadow Clone grabbed Boruto's real body and flung him to the side, cleverly evading the earth flow before charging toward Iwabee.

"Cut the crap!" Iwabee growled.

With that, he raised the iron hammer and unleashed Earth Flow River at Boruto once more.

Well, with my amount of Chakra, I can only try the Compressed Rasengan Boruto used in the original story. Boruto thought.

Even as he thought, Boruto's steps did not stop. He circled around Iwabee while his remaining three Shadow Clones each formed a glowing blue Rasengan in their hands.

"The same move again? I won't fall for it this time!" Iwabee sneered. "Earth Release: Earth Flow Wall!"

Four earthen walls immediately rose around him, concealing Iwabee from view.

"This gives me plenty of time. After all, I only learned the Rasengan recently, and this is my first time trying to compress it!"

The three Shadow Clones shattered in response. The Rasengan in Boruto's hand immediately grew larger, then rapidly shrank to the size of a marble, though it became even brighter.

In the original story, the Compressed Rasengan could easily destroy a huge boulder. Boruto only needed to break through one earthen wall to hit Iwabee, so the outcome was obvious.

Boom—!!

In the instant Iwabee looked surprised, the compressed Chakra erupted, and a massive shockwave crashed toward him.

"This is bad!"

At that moment, Shino, who had arrived at the platform long ago, used the Body Flicker Technique to reach the stage and controlled his insects to shield Iwabee.

Iwabee was merely blasted away by the explosive airflow and did not suffer any serious injuries.

After doing all that, while everyone on the platform was focused on Iwabee, Boruto immediately created a Shadow Clone and fled the scene. He would leave the cleanup to the clone.

Besides, from the information sent back by the Shadow Clone, the activation of the Jōgan during the battle seemed to be something only that person could have done.

After a fierce battle and the continued expenditure of Chakra and stamina, the real Boruto secretly ran to a park bench and slowly fell asleep.

The moon.

Light and shadow slanted across the empty room. A few beams of light shone before him, allowing Boruto to barely make out his surroundings.

"I am speaking with you through a dream," someone said from the darkness.

Toneri? Boruto was not surprised in the slightest.

At present, the only ones who knew he possessed the Jōgan were Hamura's descendants on the moon—Otsutsuki Toneri!

The Shadow Clone had automatically triggered the Jōgan earlier, and Boruto quickly realized that only Toneri knew anything about his eye. That was why Boruto chose to sleep after the battle.

"Ah, I have plenty of questions for you too," Boruto said calmly.

"Boruto Uzumaki, in the face of the coming destruction, your eye is the star of hope!" As Toneri spoke, he floated toward Boruto.

"A power of hope sleeps within your body. With this eye, you will bear the fate of the world!"

Through that strange pale blue light, Boruto seemed to vaguely see those crimson eyes—the eyes of Nue.

"Your eye will guide you and use light to dispel darkness," Toneri continued on his own.

"Wait." Boruto suddenly interrupted Toneri. "Let's meet in person. On the moon."

Toneri: ???

The confident radiance in the boy's eyes left even Toneri stunned for a moment.

"Before long, I'll come to the moon and find you myself!" Boruto said calmly.

"You..."

Toneri was still bewildered. Could Naruto have told Boruto about him as a bedtime story?

"Well, you said my eye can predict the future, right? I foresaw your arrival ahead of time, and I know what happened to you on the moon, but that has nothing to do with me."

Boruto spoke indifferently, then his gaze suddenly turned much more serious as he said something astonishing: "All I need is information on activating the Tenseigan!"

Toneri: ?!!!

Is the Jōgan really that amazing? I've never used it, so don't lie to me!

After hesitating again and again, Toneri nodded. "All right. I'll wait for you."

The mist dispersed, and the dream ended.

When Boruto opened his eyes, it was already night. Gazing at the moonlight beneath a sky full of stars, he had already formulated his plan. His grand goal, the beginning of everything, would start with awakening that powerful eye.

The Tenseigan was absolutely no weaker than the Rinnegan!