Journey Beneath the Moonlight

Moonlight filled the air, the moon's glow growing hazier as the road became harder to make out.

Boruto temporarily returned home, naturally entering through the window. He recalled his Shadow Clone as well. With information cut off, after leaving a clone behind to continue following the plot, Boruto left.

The village at night was filled with lights. Beneath the neon-tinted moonlight, a lonely shadow was stretched long by the bright lamps as he walked all the way to the village walls.

Well, defecting from the village would get him treated as a rogue ninja. But this trip would surely change many things.

He easily vaulted over the wall. A soft breeze blew toward him, chilly enough to sharpen his senses.

According to the original plot of the movie, reaching the moon required passing through a cave. The glowing spring water flowing within was the passage connecting the Shinobi World to the moon.

Fortunately, the Shinobi World already had convenient Thunder Trains. Otherwise, even at Boruto's speed, simply traveling there would take until dawn, then dusk again.

The howl of the Thunder Train faded into the distance. Boruto jumped down from its roof and entered a primeval forest.

Just as Boruto was wondering how he was supposed to find that mysterious cave, a cloaked figure suddenly emerged from the nearby woods. Could it be...

Just as Boruto thought he had been followed, the figure completely hidden beneath the cloak removed his hood, revealing a head of pristine white hair.

...Otsutsuki Toneri's puppet.

"Since you wished to see me, I had no choice but to make the trip and personally welcome your arrival, Child of Destiny!"

"Personally?" Boruto's obvious doubt made Toneri pause slightly, somewhat embarrassed.

"So you noticed. Haha, because of my Chakra, I don't dare risk sending my real body to the Shinobi World."

"Well, take me to the spring that leads to the passage. The Shinobi World isn't a good place to talk."

"Alright."

Toneri nodded and took Boruto's hand, flying toward the distance.

There was no helping it. With Naruto's powerful sensory abilities, once he learned that the Boruto remaining in the village was a clone, he would definitely search the entire Shinobi World for him.

It would be awkward if Naruto mistook it for Boruto being kidnapped.

When they arrived outside the cave, Toneri frowned at the entrance, which had been filled in with wasteland. Getting inside would be difficult for the moment, and he could not use large-scale ninjutsu either, or the powerful figures of the Shinobi World might sense him.

"Toneri, lend me some Chakra. Just enough to activate the Jōgan."

"Hm?" Toneri was slightly startled. Though he did not understand what Boruto intended to do, he complied.

In the original story, the Jōgan had the ability to open other dimensions. In theory, as long as it resonated with the cave's spring water, it could directly open the connected passage and travel to the moon.

"It seems you're very familiar with your own eye. If I remember correctly, it only awakened yesterday, didn't it?" Toneri said casually.

Yeah, but hadn't you arrived early too? Boruto grumbled inwardly.

The Jōgan's radiance acted like a key, silently linking to the dimensional passage leading to the moon.

Countless bubbles filled the golden spring water, seeming to blur space and distance. The two faraway coordinates arrived successfully amid a drunken haze of gold.

The moon. Outside a towering palace, lush life adorned this castle crafted in an ancient style.

Toneri stood still, pretending to be lost in thought as he closed his eyes and recalled this place's former glory.

"You're here, Boruto," he said softly.

He still had that head of pure white hair, and his blue kimono was worn neatly. His skin was so pale it resembled albinism. Though his eyes were closed, the slight curve of his lips revealed something.

Having remained on the deserted moon all this time, the arrival of someone full of life was naturally something worth being happy about.

"Hello, Senior Toneri." The two exchanged a simple greeting.

"I'll get straight to the point. I foresaw turmoil in the Shinobi World. The future Shinobi World cannot avoid earth-shaking upheaval. Plunderers from Starry Sky will violently take everything away," Boruto said simply.

"Oh?" Toneri was visibly shocked.

"Therefore, I need power. Power capable of changing everything." Boruto's tone grew noticeably heavier. As though it carried great conviction, Toneri's body trembled slightly. "I can sense your resolve."

"You should have more say than anyone when it comes to awakening the Tenseigan. Will you help me?"

"Your physique seems insufficient to bear the power of the Tenseigan."

Toneri sensed Boruto's condition. His brows furrowed tightly as he said in a serious tone, "How much resolve do you possess, and how much are you willing to devote to the future of the Shinobi World?"

Faced with a question that was practically an interrogation, Boruto merely smiled lightly, his words carrying killing intent. "I am but a mortal, yet I will slay gods."

"Then let me see it."

After saying that, Toneri lifted Boruto by one hand and casually tossed him away as though throwing out trash.

Boruto's body floated uncontrollably upward. Before long, he reached the high sky and even touched the moon's outer barrier. From this height, he could overlook most of the moon's outline and scenery.

The area around the castle was indeed teeming with life. Everything within this region was so beautiful, with flowers and towering palaces alike.

But beyond that lay nothing but ruins.

In the original story, this place had already become ruins as well. The prosperous Ōtsutsuki Clan had once flourished here, only to slowly decline until it withered away.

"Do you see it? Everything here." Toneri's voice echoed beside Boruto's ears.

The sorrow in his words did not lessen in the slightest because of the distance. His tone was filled with grief, even loneliness. The high sky was not cold, yet the emotions Toneri revealed carried a distinctly desolate chill.

"I originally intended to change all of this, but back then, I did not know the truth and attempted to destroy the Shinobi World to rebuild the Shinobi Sect.

But in the end, I failed. Your father, Naruto Uzumaki, woke me up and prevented all of this from happening.

While helping me understand the truth, he even saved my life in the end."

Boruto already knew all of this, yet hearing Toneri say it now still made his palms sweat.

He made it sound easy, but with Toneri's strength back then, combined with the power of the Artificial Tenseigan, even Naruto would likely have been unable to stop him. (Plot armor.)

"The Shinobi World contains our ancestors' hopes. Naruto and the others made me understand that the Shinobi World has not failed. The Sage of Six Paths was right!

So I choose to support you with everything I have!"

As if he had made up his mind, Boruto returned to the ground in the next moment and stood before Toneri again.

The eyes were the windows to the soul. Looking into someone's eyes, one could more or less see what they wished to express.

Toneri's figure was deeply reflected in Boruto's eyes. Within those sightless, hollow eyes, Boruto seemed to read a trace of the sorrow of parting.

"I will entrust my Chakra to you. You are Naruto Uzumaki's son. I believe in him, and I also believe in the Shinobi World's star of hope."

"Part of my Chakra will help you awaken the Tenseigan, while another part will help reshape your physique."

He paused. "At present, this is all I can do."

A mass of deep blue Chakra drifted like flames. That gentle, peaceful power slowly floated into Boruto's body.

Feeling the vast Chakra enter his body, Boruto first sensed boundless power and immense vitality.

A tiny portion entered his right eye, and the Jōgan slowly opened. Another portion entered his left eye. It remained closed, yet a hazy glow shone through the eyelid, as bright as the stars.

Most of the remaining Chakra circulated throughout his body, washing through his Chakra pathways again and again as changes quietly took place.

Like tender bamboo shoots after rain, bursting with vigorous life and the tenacious strength to break through the earth, Boruto's bloodline seemed to awaken. The power slumbering within him was also quietly reviving.

—Pseudo-Six Paths Body!

"Your altered physique is enough to support the use of a single Tenseigan. As for the Jōgan, it is far too mysterious. I'm afraid even I can do nothing about it."

Toneri's body visibly grew more transparent. Through the Jōgan's vision, Boruto could see the emptiness within Toneri's body. The flame that had once burned fiercely was now reduced to only a few drifting sparks.

"Your body..."

"Well, I probably won't be much help anyway. I might as well fulfill you." Toneri smiled freely.

"Power can make people lose themselves. Your road is still long, and it will be filled with hardship. I'm afraid I also..."

"Right!"

As though remembering something, Toneri suddenly changed the subject. "I once sensed the resonance of another Tenseigan in the Shinobi World. It seems to have come from Kaguya's descendants on the ground."

"Hm?" Boruto was clearly puzzled.

"If you have the chance, uncover the truth for me."

"Alright." Boruto agreed solemnly.

"Alright, it's time for you to return. There will still be many things for you to do next. I look forward to seeing what kind of glory the Shinobi World can achieve under your leadership!"

Moved by Toneri's generosity, Boruto reminded him, "Be careful of the Ōtsutsuki Clan from Starry Sky..."

"That is probably the powerful clan Kaguya's ancestor feared... I will be more vigilant."

The two smiled at each other, both somewhat reluctant to part.

Author's note:

As for why Toneri did not directly bring Boruto to the moon, it was because he lacked that ability. The power of every puppet in the palace came from that Artificial Tenseigan, but Naruto and his wife had shattered it long ago.

As for why it was a Pseudo-Six Paths Body, first, Boruto himself already possessed a Sage Body. His bloodline could be traced back to the Sage of Six Paths, and he also had Hinata's genes. It could be said that he was the human closest to Kaguya.