"You feel my presence, don't you, son of man...?"
"Since you have struck down a god, you can no longer continue to live as a mortal..."
"Son of man, savor your destiny well, do not stop your steps..."
Boruto lay on the grass, looking at the black diamond-shaped mark on his palm through the dappled sunlight. The words Otsutsuki Momoshiki had spoken to him before dying replayed in his mind.
"Will I eventually become Otsutsuki Momoshiki?" he asked, turning his head to the side.
Kawaki, sitting beside him, heard his question and nodded slightly. "According to what I learned in Kara, when the Karma is fully 'thawed,' our physical bodies, and even our memories, will no longer belong to us. They will be replaced by the Otsutsuki who planted the Karma on us."
"What are you two little rascals whispering about here instead of properly recovering from your injuries?" Naruto walked over to them and sat down with a plop.
"Little Dad, was the food to your liking?" Boruto propped himself up with his hands and sat up straight.
"Very good."
"I've always thought Mom's cooking is even better than restaurant chefs'," Boruto said, scratching his head with a smile.
"Can you tell me what you two were talking about just now?" Naruto clasped his hands behind his head, lay down on the grass, and gazed up at the blue sky and white clouds. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves, sunlight flickering through the gaps. A long-forgotten sense of relaxation washed over him.
"Little Dad, I might become an Otsutsuki," Boruto said, his voice tinged with melancholy.
"It hasn't happened yet, has it?" Naruto glanced at Boruto's expression out of the corner of his eye. "As long as things aren't set in stone, anything is possible. When Otsutsuki Momoshiki was alive, you all managed to kill him. How much trouble can a dead person stir up? Right, Kawaki?"
Kawaki was taken aback. He was very surprised that Naruto would strike up a conversation with him. He glanced at his left hand and nodded heavily. "Right."
Time trickled by as they chatted idly.
Konoha Archives.
From the shadows, a figure cloaked in black, face hidden by a mask, suddenly rushed out. With a simple strike, the Konoha ninja on duty was knocked unconscious.
Rustle~
After dragging the unconscious ninja into a corner to hide him, the black-robed figure took a few quick steps, arriving at a wooden door in the deepest part of the archives, and gently pushed it open.
Inside the room, countless scrolls were neatly arranged on shelves lining both sides. The black-robed figure had a clear target, heading directly for the shelves in the deepest part of the room. There were very few scrolls there; the most populated shelf held only three.
His gaze swept across them, yet he hesitated to take any.
"Are you looking for this?" A voice suddenly sounded from behind him.
The black-robed figure's eyes darted backward. Hatake Kakashi, the former Sixth Hokage, was leaning against a bookshelf, casually tossing a scroll up and down in his hand.
"Regrettably, the electronic data you previously stole only contained ninja information from after the Fourth Great Shinobi War. For information from before the war, we follow tradition and record it all on physical scrolls," Kakashi said, catching the scroll and slowly walking towards him.
The black-robed figure watched him quietly.
The distance between them steadily decreased—three meters, two meters...
In an instant, sparks flew!
The two figures rapidly engaged, no grand, eye-catching ninjutsu, only the simplest, most fundamental clash of blades.
Due to his urgent desire to ascertain the other's identity, Kakashi hadn't gone for a killing blow immediately. But after truly crossing blades, he realized his opponent's strength was far from as simple as he had imagined. In terms of taijutsu, he was, to some extent, even at a disadvantage.
Zzzzt!
Purple lightning crackled in Kakashi's hand. If taijutsu won't work, then I'll have to use ninjutsu... Kakashi thought to himself.
The lightning pierced into his opponent's body.
Poof!
Glancing aside, Kakashi saw the enemy's true body appear nearby. Seeing the hand seals his opponent was forming, Kakashi's expression changed slightly. Just as he was about to defend—
A cloud of purple smoke, obscuring vision, exploded.
Kakashi reacted, rushing into the smoke, but the enemy was nowhere to be seen.
Outside, on a nearby rooftop, the black-robed figure gazed at the distant Archives building and slowly pulled down his hood.
'He fought both the Seventh Hokage and Uchiha Sasuke simultaneously. Even for him, his chakra must be nearly depleted. The time to act is now...' This was Koji Kashin.
"You're probably not a Konoha ninja, are you?" Another voice sounded from behind him. Koji Kashin's expression changed. Unlike before, when he had sensed Kakashi's approach, this time, if the other person hadn't spoken, he wouldn't have even known someone was standing behind him.
"I have no intention of fighting," Naruto said, walking up beside him.
"Who are you?" A grave look flashed in Koji Kashin's eyes. Konoha was hiding such a powerhouse, and Kara had no intelligence on him.
"Just a passerby." Naruto looked at him, a hint of confusion in his eyes. "I feel like I've seen you somewhere before." The other's life-energy signature felt familiar, but before coming to this world, he was sure he had only met Boruto and Uchiha Sasuke.
"I have never met you," Koji Kashin stated.
"Perhaps it's my imagination." Naruto didn't dwell on it. "Are you from the Kara organization?"
"You don't intend to stop me?"
"No such thought." Naruto shook his head. He had come to this world only in response to Boruto's request, and to gauge Otsutsuki Isshiki's strength. He wasn't here to save Konoha.
"They're coming. Run for your life." Patting Koji's shoulder, Naruto vanished from the spot before him.
Koji Kashin felt a wave of bewilderment. He formed hand seals and, using a Reverse Summoning Technique, returned to the Kara organization's base. However, he didn't notice that a tiny black fuinjutsu formula had been placed on the shoulder of his clothes.
Walking through a stone corridor, after several turns, he saw a middle-aged man with a full head of white hair leaning against a stone wall, clearly having waited for some time. The man's hair was neatly combed, he wore glasses with orange lenses, had a goatee, and a chain necklace around his neck. He was dressed in a black shirt and black trousers, exuding an air of competence. This was Amado.
"Jigen is in the treatment room. His chakra recovery is less than ten percent," the middle-aged man said, pushing up his glasses. "The other Inner Circle members are also on their respective missions and not in the base."
"The opportunity has come."
"I understand." Koji Kashin nodded slightly. "Do you need me to send you away?"
"If you please." The middle-aged man picked up a long iron case beside him.
"Summoning Technique!" Koji Kashin summoned a giant toad, half steel, half flesh. "It will take you to Konoha," he said, as the steam toad opened its cavernous mouth.
"What are you two doing?" A clear female voice gradually approached.
The two men turned to see a tall, beautiful woman with long yellow hair walking out from the corridor, looking at them warily.
Koji Kashin was about to step forward to deal with her, but the middle-aged man reached out and stopped him.
"Not a big problem... Time to sleep, Delta." The moment his voice fell, the yellow-haired woman lost consciousness and collapsed to the ground.
The middle-aged man walked into the steam toad's mouth and sat down on the iron case.
Watching the steam toad close its massive mouth, Koji Kashin formed hand seals, activated the Reverse Summoning Technique, and both he and the toad vanished from the spot.